There was once a wealthy farmer who had everything except a child. Mocked by others, he angrily declared he would have a child, "even if it be a hedgehog." His wife then gave birth to a boy who was a hedgehog from the waist up and a human from the waist down. They named him Hans the Hedgehog.
Due to his spikes, Hans could not sleep in a normal bed and was placed on straw behind the stove. He lay there for eight years, unloved by his parents. One day, his father went to a fair and asked what gifts to bring. Hans requested bagpipes. When he received them, he asked his father to have a rooster shod so he could leave forever.
Hans rode the rooster into the forest, taking pigs and donkeys with him. He perched high in a tree, tending his animals and playing beautiful music on his bagpipes for many years.
A lost king heard the music and sent a servant to investigate. Hans offered to show the king the way home in exchange for a written promise of "whatever first meets you in your royal courtyard." The king agreed but deceitfully wrote that Hans should not have it. The first to meet the king was his joyful daughter. Upon learning of the trick, she was relieved, saying she would never go with a hedgehog.
Hans continued his life in the tree. Later, a second lost king heard his music. Hans made the same offer, and this king honestly promised him "whatsoever first met him in front of his royal palace." Again, it was the king's daughter. Unlike the first princess, she accepted her fate out of love for her father.
Meanwhile, Hans's herd grew enormous. He returned to his village, allowing everyone to slaughter his pigs. He then had his rooster reshod and left for good.
He first went to the deceitful king's kingdom, where he was met with armed resistance. He flew his rooster to the king's window and demanded his promised reward, threatening the king and princess. The frightened king persuaded his daughter to go with Hans. However, once they left the city, Hans punished her for her father's falseness by pricking her with his spikes and sending her back in disgrace.
Hans then traveled to the second king's kingdom, where he was welcomed with honor. The princess, though terrified, kept her promise and married him. On their wedding night, Hans instructed the king to have four men wait by the chamber door with a large fire ready. At eleven o'clock, Hans entered, shed his hedgehog skin by the bed, and the men quickly threw it into the fire. Freed from the curse, Hans appeared as a handsome young man, though initially blackened. After being treated by physicians, he was restored and properly married the princess, eventually inheriting the kingdom.
Years later, Hans visited his old father, who did not recognize him. Upon revealing his identity, his father rejoiced and returned with Hans to his kingdom.