alace, and as the cook came out, he
went up to him with the basket of white figs in his hand. "What
miserable figs did you sell me this morning!" cried out the cook to him.
"As soon as the king, queen, and princess had eaten your figs, great
horns grew on their heads." "Be quiet," said the shepherd; "I have a
remedy here, and can soon remove the horns. Take me to the king." He was
led before the king, who asked him what kind of figs he had sold. "Be
quiet, your Majesty," said the shepherd, "and eat these figs," at the
same time giving him a white one; and as soon as the king had eaten it
one of the horns disappeared. "Now," said the shepherd, "before I give
you any more of my figs you must give me back my whistle; if not, you
may keep your horn." The king in his terror gave up the whistle, and the
shepherd handed the queen a fig. When one of the queen's horns had
disappeared, he said: "Now give me my purse back, or else I will take my
figs away." So the king gave him his purse, and the shepherd removed one
of the princess' horns. Then he demanded his tablecloth; and when he had
received it he gave the king another fig, so that the second horn
disappeared. "Now give me my ring," he said; and the king had to give
him his ring before he would remove the queen's horn. The only one left
now was the princess, and the shepherd said: "Now fulfil your promise
and marry me to the princess; otherwise she may keep her horn as long as
she lives." So the princess had to marry him, and after the wedding he
gave her another fig to eat, so that her last horn also disappeared.
They had a merry wedding, and when the old king died the shepherd became
king, and so they remained contented and happy, and were like a bundle
of roots.[8]

* * * * *

The second version of this story is represented by but three examples,
none of them worth giving at length. In one (_Pomiglianesi_, p. 110)
the princess wins the magic objects (purse, cloak that renders
invisible, and horn that blows out soldiers) at play. The loser
disguises himself as a priest and confesses the princess when she is
ill, and makes her give back the objects she has won or stolen. In a
Florentine version (_Nov. fior._ p. 349), the owner of the objects, a
poor shepherd's son, pretends to be the son of the king of Portugal. He
plays with the princess and wins, but his true origin is discovered and
he is thrown into prison. There he makes use of the magic