- 2 days ago
A peasant woman, craving a child, gives birth to a hedgehog-like baby, which is met with dismay and scorn from the father and villagers.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00When people told themselves their past with stories,
00:13explained their present with stories,
00:16foretold the future with stories,
00:20the best place by the fire was kept for the storyteller.
00:30A story.
00:53Imagine a cold night and a dark night.
00:58A night like this one.
01:01And imagine a bed with a farmer and his wife fast asleep,
01:04snuggling up for warmth.
01:06And in this bed, the farmer, shivering, reaches out for his wife.
01:12But instead of a head, he finds a foot,
01:15because his missus is rubbing noses with their dog,
01:18who sleeps every night at the end of the bed.
01:21What kind of dog?
01:23I don't know. A dog. Some kind of dog.
01:26Some kind of dog. Terrific story.
01:30Should I bark?
01:32Oh, no!
01:34Just for tonight.
01:36Don't be dense, woman.
01:37One night, walnut. It might work.
01:40Sleeping upside down? What good's that gonna do?
01:43Midwife said it sometimes helps.
01:46You're not gonna get a child.
01:48If you want company, get a widow woman up from the village.
01:51I'll come up this end.
01:54I'm proper frozen.
01:58But the farmer's wife didn't want no widow for company.
02:03She wanted a baby.
02:05And she'd wanted this child for what seemed a lifetime
02:08until she couldn't bear to watch the lambs born,
02:11or the calves come, or the eggs hatch.
02:13It hurt her soul.
02:14And she drove the farmer mad with her cranky books
02:18and her cranky charms and remedies.
02:21They're stings.
02:23That's good.
02:25That's good?
02:26I'm making you a nice tonic and all.
02:28To be drunk night and morning.
02:30I want a child.
02:32I don't care if it were a strange thing
02:34made of marzipan or porridge.
02:36If it were ugly as a hedgehog.
02:37I want a baby to wrap in a bundle
02:42and sink to it and snoodle with
02:44and hug to bits.
02:49Now, to say you wouldn't care
02:51when you want something is a dangerous thing.
02:55That woman wanted a baby so bad
02:57she couldn't care what she got.
03:00If she got a hedgehog,
03:01she'd bring it snout to her breast.
03:04Here's twitch that shouldn't be listening.
03:06And no sooner said than done
03:09she got her wish, the farmer's wife.
03:11She's all swollen stomach
03:13and thinks it's the baths he took
03:15or the sleeping upside down.
03:17But in fact, of course,
03:18it's the saying you wouldn't care
03:20what you got, what gets you jiggered.
03:22As everyone knows what heard a proper story.
03:25She has her boy.
03:27And straight away, there he is.
03:29Little ball.
03:30As ugly as sin with a pointed nose
03:33and sprouting hair everywhere.
03:35Hedgehogs do not have hair.
03:39They have quills.
03:45But this hedgehog baby
03:48had quills as soft as feathers
03:50and his mother held him to her breast
03:53and wrapped him in a bundle
03:54and snoodled him and hugged him to bits.
03:56And she gave him the name Hans.
04:00Hans, my hedgehog, she called him.
04:03Oh, yes.
04:04The mother loved her baby all right.
04:07But not everybody did.
04:09What?
04:10There's a hedgehog.
04:11What a laughing stock.
04:15Guys, get out of here.
04:17Come on, mate.
04:18Come on, yes.
04:20Bring the freaks in there.
04:22Don't watch you in there now.
04:23What are you doing?
04:24We're going home.
04:25What about our chores?
04:27That's the end of parading ourselves in public.
04:30Don't cry, my sweet.
04:32Don't even cry like a proper baby.
04:36Could you shut that squealing?
04:37And the farmer grew to hate his son,
04:44Hans the Hedgehog Boy.
04:47Out in the field,
04:48he chopped and sighed and bundled and milked,
04:50but all the while,
04:52the shame of what had befallen him
04:53turned a knot in his heart.
04:56One moment, the rage welling up in him,
04:58the next, tears,
04:59huge tears splashing his boots.
05:04And time passed by.
05:06Day following day,
05:08Weak chasing weak,
05:09and the Hedgehog Boy grew up.
05:12Hey, Beastie!
05:13You, Clitterchub!
05:14Orange-a-chub!
05:14Triple Black!
05:15Hog heads!
05:16Grupple Hog!
05:17Grupple Hog!
05:19And Hans, my hedgehog,
05:21learned he was strange,
05:22and he learned he was ugly,
05:24and he learned to be sad,
05:26and he learned the name that was given him.
05:31Grupple Hog!
05:37That's enough!
05:43Out!
05:48Out!
05:50I see.
05:51From now on, I'll eat out there with the other beasts!
05:54Hans!
06:03Hans!
06:06Hans!
06:11Come on!
06:13Hans heard them,
06:15but he wouldn't answer.
06:17He lay there all night,
06:18his rooster for company,
06:20and thought and thought
06:21until he thought a hole in the ground.
06:24And his mother couldn't sleep,
06:25and his father wandered the dark hours,
06:28a great needle in his heart.
06:31In the morning,
06:32weary,
06:33the farmer returned.
06:35By the step,
06:35asleep,
06:36was his son,
06:37the Grovel Hog.
06:38I've trudged all night for you.
06:41You'll never eat for a week off my food.
06:43Father,
06:44I want you to do some things for me.
06:47Do what?
06:48I want you to go to the village
06:49and have me a saddle made for my rooster
06:51so I can ride him.
06:53And I want some of your sheep
06:55and some hens and some pigs.
06:56Oh, do you now,
06:58fancy fine!
06:59I know which ones I'd like,
07:00and they would be happy to come with me.
07:02Come with you?
07:03Come with you where?
07:05Where I go,
07:07which is away,
07:08which is to somewhere
07:08where I can't hurt anyone
07:10and no one can hurt me.
07:12And when are you planning
07:13this gad to away and somewhere?
07:15When I have the saddle.
07:18You can't go nowhere!
07:21What would your mother say?
07:23The root don'ts on you.
07:25Father,
07:26all night I lay out door
07:28to understand why you don't love me.
07:31And I've thought
07:31until I've thought
07:32there's a hole in the grass.
07:34And now it's all right.
07:36When I have the saddle,
07:37I'll go.
07:39And the farmer felt ashamed.
07:42And he brought home
07:43a saddle for the rooster
07:44and he herded up the animals
07:45his son had asked for
07:46and he told his wife,
07:47pack a pack lunch.
07:48And all the while,
07:50the growl hog
07:50sat on the stoop
07:51and waited.
07:52And when all was done,
07:54he went to his mother
07:54and she kissed him
07:55and then to his dad
07:57and hugged him.
07:58And the farmer knew
07:59for the first time
08:00how soft he was.
08:02They watched him
08:04until he was a faint smudge
08:05in the distance
08:06and his mother felt a crack
08:08in her heart
08:08like a tiny pencil line.
08:10And each day
08:11after the pencil line
08:12got thicker and thicker
08:13and one day
08:14not long after,
08:16her heart split in half
08:18and she died.
08:22Twenty years later,
08:24a king got lost
08:25in a great forest.
08:27And after he got lost,
08:28he got more lost
08:29until he was so lost
08:30he began to tug his ear,
08:32which is a sure sign
08:33of big trouble.
08:34When he heard a sound,
08:36which was a bitter sound
08:37and a sweet sound
08:38all at once,
08:39which began like hello
08:40and ended like goodbye.
08:42And tugging his ear
08:43like billio,
08:44he followed the sound
08:45until he came to a clearing.
08:48And the palace
08:48the king saw before him
08:50was the most extraordinary
08:52palace in your whole borne.
09:08I, uh,
09:09I'm very lost
09:10and I'm very hungry.
09:14And, uh,
09:15somewhere back there
09:16a long time ago,
09:19I was a king.
09:20But now,
09:21so lost
09:22and so hungry,
09:24you wouldn't
09:24hawk at a beast's house.
09:26Oh, well, um,
09:27you are welcome
09:29in my house, sir,
09:30and at my table.
09:33And the king
09:35sat at the
09:35grovel hog's table
09:36and ate
09:37of the greenest greens
09:38and the sweetest sweets
09:39and the juiciest juices.
09:41Oh, how very, very kind.
09:43After,
09:44his host took up
09:45the bagpipes
09:46and played old songs
09:48which were bitter
09:48and sweet
09:49all at once
09:49and began like hello
09:50and ended like goodbye.
09:52And before he could think,
09:54I'm full now
09:56and found,
09:57the king was asleep.
10:00Well,
10:01this king woke up
10:02the next morning
10:03after a night
10:03of the kind of dreams
10:04you only dream about.
10:06He opened his eyes
10:07and almost yanked
10:08off his ear
10:08because he found himself
10:10under a tree
10:10which certainly wasn't
10:11where he'd fallen asleep.
10:13And more confusing,
10:14it was a tree
10:15from which he could see
10:16the edge of his kingdom.
10:18And he began to dance
10:19as only kings
10:20once lost
10:21and then found
10:22can dance.
10:23A jig,
10:23a jiggle joggle
10:24and a leap.
10:24I've heard this story
10:26and you're telling it
10:27all wrong.
10:29What happens is
10:30the king wants to give
10:31the grovel hog
10:32a reward
10:33for all his help
10:34and so he says,
10:35name anything.
10:37And the hog
10:38thing says,
10:39give me the first thing
10:41to greet you
10:41when you arrive
10:42in your kingdom.
10:44And the king agrees
10:46because he knows
10:46the first thing
10:47to greet him
10:48will be his faithful
10:49flop-eared
10:50wager,
10:52the royal dog.
10:53So the king says,
10:54yes,
10:55and the hog thing says,
10:57I'll collect my reward
10:58in a year and a day.
11:00And off he goes
11:01on his ridiculous rooster.
11:04But,
11:05things don't go
11:07as he planned,
11:07do they?
11:08And it's not
11:09poor wager
11:10who gets there first.
11:18And the king
11:19lets go of the princess
11:20of sweetness
11:21and cherry pie
11:22and his face clouds over.
11:24But then he shrugs
11:25and turns back
11:26to his daughter
11:27and dog
11:27and walks away
11:29for a year
11:30and a day.
11:36Here we are,
11:37dearie-o's,
11:38in the king's
11:39great hall.
11:40And lo and behold,
11:41a handsome storyteller
11:43has been summoned
11:44to court
11:44to entertain
11:45the royal family.
11:49King.
11:50Now, of course,
11:51the king here
11:52has been counting
11:53the days off
11:54his calendar
11:54and it is a year
11:55ago today,
11:56you see,
11:56since he made
11:57his rash promise
11:58to the grovel hog.
11:59And tomorrow,
12:00you remember,
12:01is the day
12:01when the grovel hog
12:02is due to arrive
12:03to collect his reward.
12:08Princess.
12:13I'm very good at this.
12:17Eh?
12:18Get rid of him!
12:21All idiots
12:22from in the dungeon!
12:24Feed him
12:24each by inch
12:25to my royal staff!
12:26What they won't eat
12:28give to his dog!
12:29No!
12:30Help!
12:30No!
12:31No!
12:31Put me down!
12:32Put me down!
12:34Your majesty,
12:35a huge army
12:36appears at the gates.
12:37Oh, does it?
12:38Not men,
12:39but animals, sire.
12:41Told you.
12:41Sire?
12:42I heard you!
12:44Let them in!
12:46Oh,
12:46oh,
12:46oh,
12:47oh,
12:47oh,
12:47I'll give a fellow
12:49some space.
12:50I want to hear this.
12:53Do you remember me?
12:55I drew
12:56a year and a day
12:57have passed
12:58since last we met.
12:59Will you keep
13:00your promise to me?
13:02I will!
13:04He will?
13:11Do you know of me, lady?
13:14I do, sir.
13:16You saved my father,
13:17and he owes you his life.
13:18Do you know of his promise to me?
13:22He promised you the first thing to greet him
13:25on his return.
13:27And what was that?
13:28And what was that?
13:31Hmm?
13:32Me, sir.
13:37I am yours.
13:40Then I want you to be my wife
13:41and come live with me
13:43in the forest.
13:44I want you to be my princess
13:45of sweetness
13:46and cherry pie.
13:48I want to catch you up
13:49and sing to you.
13:52I want you to love me.
13:53Yes, sir.
13:56Do you find me
13:58very ugly?
13:59No, sir.
14:01Not so ugly
14:02as going back
14:03on a promise.
14:07Come on,
14:08shift yourselves.
14:09There's a royal wedding.
14:10You're all to be pardoned.
14:12I don't know why,
14:12I'm sure.
14:13Oh, come on.
14:14I don't know about wedding.
14:16Up there,
14:16it's more like a funeral.
14:17Good, good, good, good, good,
14:18good, a wedding.
14:20I might even be asked
14:21to tell a story or two.
14:22Who knows?
14:23It's on days like these
14:24that artists
14:25come into their own.
14:26We are gathered here today.
14:56The most unhappy wedding party you ever saw.
15:02And that night, in her bedchamber, it was a terrified princess who lay waiting for her new husband to join her.
15:26The most unhappy wedding party you ever saw.
15:55Lying there, half sweetness, half cherry pie, the princess could hardly credit what she'd seen.
16:03But creeping to the window, she looked down, and there, sure enough, a man moving among the animals in the quiet rain.
16:10And she found herself going to the abandoned coat of hair and quills, and touching it, soft and warm and remarkable.
16:21And the first rays of morning woke her from dreams of waterfalls and ice cream.
16:29And there she was in her bed.
16:33And by the embers, the grovel hog, back again, beast again.
16:38And so had she dreamed all this peeling off of skin?
16:42Surely she must have.
16:43But that night, the same scene, her husband standing over her as she pretended to sleep.
16:50The tender touch on her arm, not prickly, but so smooth she felt an ache when he left her.
16:57And she found herself going to the skin and lying against it.
17:01And how comfortable she found it.
17:03And she felt drowsy, lying there by the fire, so peaceful.
17:08She felt herself drifting off, and knew she mustn't, but really couldn't help herself.
17:19Sir, I woke and you had gone, and left behind you your coat of quills.
17:23Which would you have for husband?
17:29The man, or the creature?
17:33I have a husband, sir.
17:35And he is what he is.
17:37No more and no less.
17:40Then forgive him, madam, if he returns to his skin.
17:44For I am enchanted and cannot leave it.
17:47But if you say nothing of this for a third night,
17:51then loyal love will break the spell.
17:53Forever.
17:55I promise.
17:58But we all know about promises, don't we?
18:02And secrets.
18:04What use are there when no one knows about them?
18:07When they twist and turn and tickle in our stomachs.
18:11When they tickly little fish wriggling into our conversations.
18:16Now you see, the princess had a mother,
18:18and mothers have this way of catching secret fish and promise fish.
18:22They eye us with wise eyes,
18:25and all our rivers are glass to them.
18:27Just so with the queen,
18:29who that morning at breakfast sees her daughter skip to the table.
18:33Eat, when for days no appetite.
18:35Hungry?
18:35Laugh.
18:36Yes.
18:36Went for days no laughter.
18:38Sleep well.
18:39Yes, thank you.
18:40Not troubled by the creature?
18:44No, mother.
18:45And please don't speak of him as a creature.
18:49Listen, daughter.
18:50Last night, your father and I went to a wise woman and told of your tragedy.
18:54And she knows of these creatures, these grovel hogs, and knows the remedy.
19:02He is enchanted, you see.
19:05I know.
19:06Oh?
19:08I mean, I knew that he must be, something like that.
19:13Yes, I see.
19:15He's enchanted.
19:17He's told you, hasn't he?
19:19No, really, he hasn't.
19:21I just knew he must be.
19:24And, um, does he take off his skin?
19:28No.
19:29No, he doesn't.
19:31The only way to break the spell is to throw the skin into the fire.
19:36Cast the skin into the flames, and he will be free of it.
19:38That's not the way.
19:39So, he has told you.
19:44That night, the third, when everything happens as before,
20:09the princess is haunted by her mother's advice.
20:12And, oh, dear, oh, dear.
20:15Oh, dear.
20:28Oh, dear.
20:34Please.
20:35Please.
20:36Please.
20:36Please.
20:42Daughter!
20:45And there she sat, the princess of sweetness and cherry pie,
20:50weeping into the fire, and she would let no one see her,
20:53not even me, and I was her favorite.
20:55No, she thought and thought until she thought a hole in the hearth,
20:59until she knew what she must do.
21:02She went to the blacksmith and got from him a pair of iron shoes,
21:05and that night, when all slept, she slipped out of the palace
21:08and set off to wander the world in search of her husband.
21:14She walked and walked until she wore out the first pair of shoes,
21:19and still no one had set eyes on the grovel hog.
21:22And she got a second pair of shoes and began again,
21:25never stopping, always hoping.
21:27And the second pair of shoes wore out, and still she walked,
21:31always looking, always hoping to hear a music both bitter and sweet,
21:36beginning in hello and ending in goodbye, but nothing.
21:41Till one day, weary and wretched, she came to a stream and lay down by it,
21:47and saw in the water's mirror her hair was now quite white,
21:51and she sorrowed for her red hair, and her husband, both lost forever.
22:11To the health of that most beautiful woman
22:14who could not keep her promise for one more day.
22:19Husband.
22:21How did you find me?
22:25I have walked the world to find you,
22:28and have worn out the soles of three pairs of iron shoes,
22:31and my hair is no longer red.
22:34But I come to claim you,
22:36and catch you up,
22:38and snoodle you, and hug you to bits.
22:41Nell! Nell!
22:43Nell! Nell!
22:44Nell! Nell!
22:45Nell!
22:46Nell!
22:46Nell!
22:47Nell!
22:47Nell!
22:48Nell!
22:48Nell!
22:49Nell!
22:49Nell!
22:50Nell!
22:50Nell!
22:51Nell!
22:51Nell!
22:52Nell!
22:52Nell!
22:53Nell!
22:53Nell!
22:54Nell!
22:54Nell!
22:55Nell!
22:55Nell!
22:56Nell!
22:56Nell!
22:57Nell!
22:57Nell!
22:58Nell!
22:58Nell!
22:59Nell!
23:00Nell!
23:01Nell!
23:02Nell!
23:03Nell!
23:04Nell!
23:05Nell!
23:06Nell!
23:07Nell!
23:08Nell!
23:09Nell!
23:10Nell!
23:11and so the princess who could not keep her promise won back her husband through looking
23:21without hope of finding and holding on for dear life and in time her hair grew red again
23:27and there was another wedding all over and we were both invited and i told the best story there
23:34is to tell a story which begins in hello and ends in goodbye and for a gift she gave me a
23:41shoe worn to nothing and here it is
24:11you
24:17you
24:21you
24:26you
24:28you
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