The Grateful Prince

The Grateful Prince (Estonian: Tänulik Kuninga poeg) is an Estonian fairy tale.

This fairy tale has been included in various collections of literature, such as Friedrich Kreutzwald in Eestirahwa Ennemuistesed jutud, by W. F. Kirby in The Hero of Estonia, and by Andrew Lang in The Violet Fairy Book. The latter mentions his source as Ehstnische Märchen: the German translation of Kreutzwald's work, adapted by F. Löwe.

A king is travelling to through the forest, but quickly gets lost. While wandering, he meets an old man who offers to help guide him home in exchange for the first thing that comes out of the king's palace upon his arrival. Recalling that his faithful and beloved dog always greeted him first on his return, the king is displeased with the proposed deal. However, having no other obvious choices, he accepts the deal. Unexpectedly, when he reaches his palace, the first thing that comes out is his infant son in the arms of a nurse. Upon seeing this, the king plans a deception to save his son. He exchanges his son with a peasant's daughter and raises her as a princess. One year later, when the old man arrives to claim his end of the bargain, the king hands over the girl. Overjoyed that his deception worked, the king orders for a lavish celebration. In order to ensure that the old man doesn't learn about the deception, the king lets his son grow up in the peasant's house.

His foster parents get rewarded for their care of the king's son, and they are content. The prince, however learns about the deception and the fate of the girl for whom he had been exchanged. He became distraught at the knowledge that he would someday become king while she would suffer with the stranger. He develops an ingenious plan to save her.

One day, the young man leaves his home dressed in a sack and carrying a bag of peas. He then enters the same forest where his father was lost many years ago. For several hours he walks in circles, as if he was lost. Suddenly, a strange old man appears before him and begins to question where he is going. The prince replies that he is carrying the peas from his aunt's funeral and is going to deliver them to the watchers, a custom followed in the kingdom. The old man offers to give the wanderer a job and the prince agrees. Happy that the young man accepted his offer, he twirls and sings as he escorts the prince to his secret home. Because of this, the old man does not notice that the prince is dropping peas along the way.

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