Scenes of Hungarian peasant life. Above: Peasants from the Kolotaszeg region of Transylvania, from Laszlo Kovary, Magyarorszag es Erdely kepekben [Hungary and Transylvania in Pictures], vol. II 1854 Below: Peasants dancing, from Johann von Csaplovics, Pannoniens Bewohner in ihren volkstumlichen Trachten. Vienna, 1820.

The shepherd skinned the lamb.  The girl joyfully took the golden fleece to her father.  The Prussian king was happy.  He was proud that his daughter had succeeded in tricking the shepherd.

Morning came.  The shepherd was sad about the events of the night.  What would he say to King Matthias about having slaughtered the lamb with the golden fleece?  He walked toward the king’s castle and on his way began to practice the lie he was going to tell the king.  

When he reached a certain spot in the meadow, he stuck his staff into a mousehole and placed his hat on top of it.  Then he looked left and right, and bowed to the staff as if it were the king.  Finally, imitating the king, he addressed himself.

“So, what’s new out in the fields?”

Then he answered in his own voice, “Well, really nothing, Sire, except that the lamb with the golden fleece is gone.  It was eaten by a wolf!”

As soon as he said this, he became frightened, for he knew that the king would respond, “You are lying, shepherd!  A wolf would have eaten some of the other sheep, too!”

Following this, he removed his staff from the mousehole and resumed his walk toward the king’s castle.  But then he found another mousehole.  He stuck his staff in there too, and again put his hat on top of the staff and greeted it as if it were the king.

“So, what’s new out in the fields?”

“Well, really nothing, Sire, except that the lamb with the golden fleece has drowned in the well.”