According to Swedish folklorist and narrative researcher
Ines Köhler-Zülch, tale type ATU 441 is reported in Germany,
Baltic Countries, Hungary and among
West Slavic and
South Slavic peoples (although Liungman mentioned the existence of variants in Sweden, Greece, and Italy). Estonian scholars, in the 2009 edition of the Estonian Folktale Catalogue, state that tale type ATU 441 is not very known internationally, being found in the Baltic Countries, Central and Eastern Europe, and in some parts of Asia. The Scottish version "The Hedgehurst" recited by
Traveller storyteller
Duncan Williamson has also been published in book collection.
German Another version is "Der Lustige Zaunigel" ("The Merry Hedgehog"; actually "
Porcupine") collected by
Heinrich Pröhle and published in 1854.
Romance In a
Rhaeto-Romance tale titled
Il tgiau piertg, translated to German as
Der Schweinskopf ("The [One With a] Pig-Head"), published by
Caspar Decurtins and collected in
Surselva, a man and a woman live together and suffer for not having children. One day, she gives birth to a son with a pig's head. When he is older, they send him to the forest to graze the pigs. At one time, a nobleman loses his way in the forest, and approaches the pig-headed shepherd in search of help. The pig-headed son offers his help, but in exchange for one of the nobleman's three daughters. The noble lord promises to bring one of his daughters in three days' time and is helped out of the forest by the pig-headed son. The lord returns home and forgets his promise, but three days later, the pig-headed son appears at his castle riding a rooster. The lord realizes the creature is there to get one of his daughters as bride, and explains the situation to his daughters. The elder two refuse to marry the pig-headed stranger, save for the youngest, who accepts the deal out of love for her father. The cadette princess joins the pig-headed son in church. The priest, thinking that the bridegroom was not baptized, sprinkles holy water on him. This causes the pig's head to fall off to reveal the most handsome prince alive. The elder princesses feel such envy of their cadette, they hang themselves.
Slavic In a
South Slavic tale published by Slavicist
Friedrich Salomon Krauss with the title
Prinz Igel ("Prince Hedgehog"), a childless empress and emperor wish for a child even if he is the size of a hedgehog, so God grants them their wish. Seven years later, the little animal marries a human girl, who is advised to sprinkle the hedgehog with holy water, prickle her fingers on three of his quills and let her blood fall on his body. Following this advice, the girl disenchants the hedgehog into a normal youth. The tale was translated as
Prince Hedgehog and published in ''The Russian grandmother's wonder tales''. Czech writer collected a Czech tale (sourced from
Bohemia) with the title
Ježek ženichem ("The Hedgehog as Bridegroom"), which translated as
Der Igel as Bräutigam ("The Hedgehog as Bridegroom"). In this tale, a peasant lives with his wife and does not have a child, until one night she expresses her wish for a hedgehog for a son. Her husband warns her about her words, to no avail: the next morning, a little hedgehog appears from behind the stove and becomes their son, despite the man's complaints. Some time later, the hedgehog asks his father for a whip and a shepherd's staff so he can graze the sheep. One day, a prince becomes lost in the woods, and the hedgehog offers to guide him out of the woods, if the prince agrees to give one of his daughters as bride for the animal. To seal the deal, they signs a written document. Later, the hedgehog saddles a rooster and goes to the prince's castle to fulfill the latter's part of the deal. The prince asks which of his daughters shall marry the hedgehog: the elder two refuse, but the youngest agrees to be his bride. They marry. On the wedding night, the prince's daughter cries, and the hedgehog asks the girl to take a knife and cut open his body. The girl obeys and cuts open the hedgehog's body, revealing a handsome youth underneath. The next morning, the human hedgehog takes his wife for breakfast with the prince and his family and introduces himself as the hedgehog, explaining his mother's hasty wish was the cause of his animal form. The prince's elder daughters kill themselves out of envy: one throws herself from a window and the other jumps into a well. As for the girl, she lives happily ever after with her human husband. In a
Croatian tale collected by Croatian linguist with the title
O ježu mladoženji ("About the Hedgehog Bridegroom"), a couple does not have a son, until one day the wife prays to God to be given a son, even if he is a hedgehog. Thus God grants her prayer and a little hedgehog is born to them. Scared, the woman releases a piglet after the hedgehog to shoo it away, but the hedgehog takes the piglet in the forest and raises a herd of them for nine years. Time passes, and a man loses his way amongst the pig herd, and the hedgehog helps him through it, gaining a hundred forints as a reward. The hedgehog returns home to his parents, gives them the reward and lets the herd stay with them, then asks his mother to find him a bride. Despite his mother's reservations, she finds him a maiden who is willing to marry him. They marry; at night, he takes off the hedgehog skin, revealing a handsome youth, and hides it under the bed. The next day, the maiden tells her mother about the hedgehog husband's skin, and she suggests the girl takes it and burns it in an oven. The maiden follows her advice. The next morning, the now human hedgehog wakes up and cannot find the skin, then asks his wife what she has done with it. The girl answers she burnt it, and the youth tells her that, if she had waited a little more, happiness would have been his. The tale ends. Linguist
August Leskien translated the tale as
Der Igelbräutigam ("The Hedgehog Bridegroom"), and, in his notes to the tale, supposed that the story could have led into another sequence, but the second part was apparently missing.
Poland Philologist and folklorist
Julian Krzyżanowski, establisher of the
Polish Folktale Catalogue according to the international index, classified tales about the hedgehog husband as Polish type T 441,
Królewicz-jeż ("Prince-Hedgehog"). In a Polish tale translated as
The Enchanted Hedgehog, a poor peasant woman sees a hedgehog in the forest and wishes to have a son, just like a hedgehog, so one is born to her and her husband. The little hedgehog son helps the couple in the house chores, and one day decides to herd the pigs. He brings the pigs to the forest and herds them for six years. One day, he meets a king who lost his way in the woods, and promises to help him, in exchange for one of the princesses as his wife. The king agrees and signs a deal with the hedgehog, then goes home. Later, the hedgehog rides a rooster to the king's castle and demands the king delivers him one of his daughters. The king decides to renege on his part of the deal, and sends for his army to shoot the little animal. The hedgehog, however, summons his own army of hedgehogs with a whistle to circle the castle. Afraid, the king orders his youngest daughter to marry the hedgehog. They wed in a grand ceremony, and they retire to their bedchambers. Reluctantly, the princess allows for the hedgehog to sleep beside her, and, in the morning, she finds a handsome prince in its place. The human prince explains he was enchanted to that form.
Baltic Region Estonia In the
Estonian Catalogue, the type is known as ATU 441,
Siil pojaks ("The Hedgehog as Son"): a childless couple longs for a son and wishes for one that may even look like a hedgehog, so their wish is granted. The hedgehog grows up, works as a herd and tries to woo a princess. The king is then forced to give one of his daughters in marriage: only the youngest princess agrees, and she disenchants the hedgehog with three sticks. According to the Estonian scholars, the tale type is "little known" in the country, with thirteen variants recorded, registered mostly in
Järva County and nearby, and two in
Hiiumaa.
Lithuania Lithuanian folklorist , in his analysis of Lithuanian folktales (published in 1936), listed 19 variants of type 441,
Ežys - karaliaus žentas ("Hedgehog as King's Son-in-Law"). In a later revision of the catalogue, professor renames it as type AT 441,
Ežiukas, with 67 variants registered. In a Lithuanian variant collected by linguist
August Leskien and Karl Brugman,
Vom Igel, der die Königstochter zur Frau bekam ("About the Hedgehog who took the King's Daughter for Wife"), a poor man adopts a hedgehog from the forest. The animal decides to fatten its father's pig in order to give birth to more piglets. The usual story occurs, but the narrative does not mention that the hedgehog becomes human. They also noted that this Lithuanian tale lacked the usual beginning of the mother's hasty wish and the ending with the prince's disenchantment.
Latvia According to the
Latvian Folktale Catalogue, tale type ATU 441 is quite well known in Latvia, indexed as type 441,
Ezītis-dēls ("The Hedgehog as Son"): a couple adopts a hedgehog as their son, and he works as a shepherd; later, he marries a princess, who takes his hedgehog skin and burns it. In a
Latvian tale translated into German as
Das Igelpelzchen and into English as ''The Porcupine's Little Quill Coat'', a poor couple prays to have a son, even if he is a little hedgehog. Suddenly, a hedgehog appears to them and declares to be their son. Years later, the little hedgehog offers to take care of their pigs. Three years pass, and the little hedgehog becomes a fine swineherd. One day, the ruler of the country loses his way in the forest and the little animal offers his help, in exchange for the ruler's youngest daughter in marriage. The ruler refuses and keeps losing his way in the woods, until he relents and accepts the hedgehog's proposal. The ruler's youngest daughter marries the hedgehog and takes him to the bridal chambers. The animal takes off the animal skin. The girl takes the animal skin and burns it. However, her husband (now a man) has a fever and a pained state, but endures it and becomes a man for good.
Romani people In a tale collected by Joseph Valet from a
Manouche teller named Bitilette Warner, with the Manouche title
O púmpelo Níglo, translated as
Le hérisson plein de pus ("The Pus-Filled Hedgehog"), a poor peasant couple has no children. One day, the husband finds a hedgehog in a hedge and adopts it as their son. The man hears a voice calling him, and sees that the hedgehog is talking. Sometime later, the hedgehog asks his father to buy three roosters for him: a white one, a red one and a black one. The man buys the birds and the little hedgehog rides the bird to the local castle to court one of the princesses. The king gives him the elder, who he takes to a big tree. The animal circles the tree three times and asks her if she would marry him, since he starts to leak pus. The elder princess refuses, so he brings her back and takes the middle one, who also refuses due to his ugly state. The hedgehog takes the cadette to the tree and asks her the same question, and the youngest princess admits she loves him. The couple to go the castle and the elder princesses mock their sibling, but the girl wants to marry him. The priest bars the hedgehog from entering church, and the hedgehog lets the princess go ahead of him while he goes to bake some cakes. The princess decides to spy on him and sees the hedgehog removing his skin and becoming a handsome prince. She burns the animal skin in the oven and goes to embrace and kiss her bridegroom, then shows him to her sisters. The now human hedgehog and the princess marry. ==Other adaptations==