The Brave Shepherd
A long time ago, in a far-off land, there lived a fierce and powerful king. His servants were very afraid of him and rushed to obey his commands immediately, fearing his wrath. As a result, they kept out of his way as much as possible, which seemed to be the wisest course of action.
One day, the king summoned his head minister.
“I have just made a new law,” he declared. “From now on, every time I sneeze, everyone in the Royal kingdom must say, ‘To your very good health!’”
The head minister hurried off to announce this strange new law to the people. A few days later, the king called him back.
“Tell me,” the king said, “when I sneeze, does everyone say, ‘To your very good health’?”
The minister looked uneasy. “Yes, Your Majesty, they do—everyone except one person. But don’t worry, sire; he’s just an ignorant shepherd boy.”
“No excuses!” snapped the king. “Bring him to me at once.”
The minister obeyed, and the shepherd boy was brought to the palace. When he appeared before the Royal court, the shepherd was unafraid of the stern-looking king. His attention was instead drawn to the king’s daughter, the beautiful princess, who thought to herself what a fine and brave young man the shepherd was.
“Now then,” said the king impatiently, “say, ‘To your very good health.’”
“Certainly,” the shepherd replied with a grin. “To my very good health!”
“Mine, not yours!” thundered the king.
“I said, ‘my health,’” the shepherd retorted.
The king, furious, roared, “If you do not say it properly, there will be dire consequences for you. This is my final warning.”
“I will only say it if you give me your daughter’s hand in marriage,” the shepherd replied boldly. “That is my final word.”
The king, beside himself with anger, shouted, “Take him to the Bear Pit and throw him in!”
The guards dragged the boy away, much to the princess’s distress. She knew no one had ever survived the Bear Pit.
The next day, the king and his court went to inspect the Bear Pit, fully expecting to see the lifeless body of the shepherd. But to their surprise, the boy was unharmed, sitting on an upturned bucket and calmly facing the massive bear, which hadn’t touched him.
The king ordered the shepherd to be brought out. “Now,” he said, “you’ve had a taste of what I can do. Say, ‘To your very good health, Your Majesty,’ and we’ll let this matter rest.”
“It makes no difference to me,” the shepherd replied. “Will you give me your daughter’s hand in marriage, or not? If not, I will not say it.”
“You must admit, father,” sighed the princess, “the shepherd boy is very brave.”
“Brave!” roared the king. “Throw him to the wolves!”
The guards marched the boy away and threw him into the wolves’ den. The princess was distraught, for she knew how ferocious the pack of wolves could be.
The next day, the Royal court visited the wolves’ den. To their astonishment, the shepherd was playing a flute, and the wolves were dancing to his tune. When the boy saw the king, he stopped playing and bowed.
“Now will you say it?” asked the king, tired of the ordeal.
“Only if I can marry the princess,” the shepherd shouted back. “The wolves have not harmed me at all.”
“Enough!” roared the king. “Throw him into the Well of Knives!”
The soldiers dragged the shepherd to a deep, dark well, its walls lined with sharp knives. It was a horrifying sight.
“The man who goes down there will never return,” the shepherd observed calmly. “Before you throw me in, allow me a moment to say a prayer. Please turn your backs.”
The soldiers complied, and the shepherd quickly threw his cloak, hat, and knapsack into the well. Then he darted away and hid. When the soldiers turned back and saw the shepherd’s belongings at the bottom, they assumed he had jumped in and was dead. They returned to report this to the king.
“Well,” said the king, surprised, “I have never known anyone so eager to jump into the Well of Knives. Perhaps, daughter, your shepherd boy really is brave after all.”
“Yes, father, he is,” the princess replied. “And after all this, you still haven’t made him say, ‘To your very good health, Your Majesty.’”
“And he never will,” cried the shepherd, stepping out from his hiding place.
“You are brave and clever,” admitted the king. “But if you say the words I demand, I will give you a forest where every leaf is made of gold, a lake full of diamonds, and a palace of ivory. All this will be yours.”
“Save your breath,” the shepherd interrupted. “I will not say those words until my wedding day when I marry your daughter.”
At last, the king relented. “You cannot be bought or bullied,” he said. “And that is more than can be said of most men. Take the princess. You have my blessing.”
The shepherd boy and the princess were married, and as soon as the wedding was over, the shepherd raised his glass of wine high and cried:
“To your very good health, Your Majesty!”