is bloody all over, and sends her back to the kingdom in disgrace. The second king agrees to the marriage; the princess holds herself bound by her promise and Hans My Hedgehog marries her. On their wedding night, he tells the king to build a fire and to post guards at his door. Hans removes his hedgehog skin and instructs the guards to throw the skin in the fire and watch it until it is completely consumed. Hans appears black, as if he has been burned. After physicians clean him he is shown to be a handsome young gentleman. After several years Hans returns home to collect his father and they live together in the kingdom. Characters Characters list Hans – Main character, with a tiny human's lower body but quilled head and torso of a hedgehog. Farmer (Hans' father) – Wishes for a son "even if it's a hedgehog" Farmer's wife (Hans' mother) First King – Betrays Hans and breaks his promise reward him with his daughter's hand in marriage. Second King – Fulfills his promise and becomes Hans's father in-law. First Princess – Refuses to marry Hans and is punished by being pricked by Hans' quills until she bleeds. Second Princess – Honors her father's wishes and agrees to marry Hans. Analysis Tale type The tale is similar to other ATU 441 tales such as Straparola's literary fairy tale Il re Porco ("King Pig") and Madame d'Aulnoy's Prince Marcassin. The animal husband Polish philologist Mark Lidzbarski noted that the pig prince usually appears in Romance language tales, while the hedgehog as the animal husband occurs in Germanic and Slavic tales. Also, according to Swedish folklorist , in type ATU 441 the animal husband may be a hedgehog, a wild boar or a porcupine. The Grimms' notes state that in these fairy tales, "Hedgehog, porcupine, and pig are here synonymous, like Porc and Porcaril". Variants According to Swedish folklorist and narrative reseacher , 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). Another version is "Der Lustige Zaunigel" ("The Merry Hedgehog"; actually "Porcupine") collected by Heinrich Pröhle and published in 1854. The Scottish version "The Hedgehurst" recited by Traveller storyteller Duncan Williamson has also been published in book collection. Hungary The Hungarian Folktale Catalogue (MNK) registers 8