have ten kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of the court."

"Oh--but we should not like that at all!" said they. "What are you muttering?"
asked the Princess. "If I can kiss him, surely you can. Remember that you owe
everything to me." So the ladies were obliged to go to him again.

"A hundred kisses from the Princess," said he, "or else let everyone keep his
own!"

"Stand round!" said she; and all the ladies stood round her whilst the
kissing was going on.

"What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the pigsty?" said the
Emperor, who happened just then to step out on the balcony; he rubbed his
eyes, and put on his spectacles. "They are the ladies of the court; I must go
down and see what they are about!" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel,
for he had trodden them down.

As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very softly, and the
ladies were so much engrossed with counting the kisses, that all might go on
fairly, that they did not perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes.

"What is all this?" said he, when he saw what was going on, and he boxed the
Princess's ears with his slipper, just as the swineherd was taking the
eighty-sixth kiss.

"March out!" said the Emperor, for he was very angry; and both Princess and
swineherd were thrust out of the city.

The Princess now stood and wept, the swineherd scolded, and the rain poured