The Wild Swans (1)

The Wild Swans (1)

Once upon a time there lived a king.

One day he was out hunting in a great wood.
When evening came he stopped and realized that he was lost.

Suddenly he saw an old woman coming towards him.
She was a witch.

" My good woman, " the King said.
" Can you show me the way out of the wood ? "

" Yes I can, " she answered.
" But there is one condition. I have a beautiful daughter. Merry her and make her Queen and I will show you the way out. "

The king reluctantly agreed.

The old woman led him to her daughter.
Although she was very beautiful, the king could not look at her without  a feeling of dread.

However, he could not break his word, so he helped the maiden on to his horse.



The old woman showed him the way out of the wood and he was soon home at his royal castle, where the wedding was held.

(1/8)  

The Wild Swans (2)

The Wild Swans (2)

The King's first wife was already died, leaving seven children :six boys and one girl, whom he loved more than anything in the world.

Afraid their new stepmother might do them some harm, he took children to live in a lonely castle in the middle of a forest.

The road to the castle was hidden so the King used a magic ball of tarn to find it. When he threw it down, it unrolled itself and showed him the way.

The King went so often to see his children that the new Queen grew angry. She wanted to know why he went out alone into the wood so often.

She bribed his servants and they told her about the secret castle and the magic ball of yarn.

The Queen did not rest until she had found the yarn.
Then she made some white silk shirts with a charm sewn in each of them.

When the King was out hunting, she took the shirts into the wood and used the ball of yarn to show her the way to the castle.

The children saw someone in the distance but thought it was their father and ran to meet him.

(2/8)   

The Wild Swans (3)

The Wild Swans (3)

The wicked Queen threw the shirts over the children.

When the shirts touched their bodies, they changed into swans and flew away.



The Queen went home very pleased, but as the daughter had not run out with her brothers, the Queen knew nothing about her.

The next day the King went to see his children, but he found no one but his daughter.

The girl told him about her brothers turning into swans.
The King grieved , but he didn't know that it was his Queen who had done this.

He tried to take his daughter back to the royal castle, but she begged the King to let her stay one more night.
She thought , " I must go and look for my brothers. "

(3/8)  

The Wild Swans (4)

The Wild Swans (4)

When night came, she went into the wood.
She ran all night and the next day until she was in another land.

At last she came to a hut with six beds.
She crept underneath one and rested on the hard floor.

When sunset was near, she saw six swans fly in the window.

When they landed, they turned into her brothers.

The boys were delighted to see their sister, but their joy did not last long.

" You can't stay here, " they said. " This is a robbers' den. "

" Can't you protect me ? " asked their sister.

" No, her brothers answered. " We are only human every evening for a quarter o an hour. "

Their sister wept and asked, " Can nothing be done to set you free ? "

" No, " they replied.
" It would be too much to ask. For six years you could not speak or laugh. During that time you would have to make six shirts out of nettles. If you spoke before they were finished, the spell would not be broken. "

Suddenly. they changed into swans and flew out the window.

(4/8)      

The Wild Swans (5)

The Wild Swans (5)

The girl decided to set her brothers free, no matter what it cost her.
She went out into the wood and climbed a tree and slept there.

Next morning, she set to work.
She gathered nettles and  began sewing them together, not minding the stings.
She had no reason to laugh and there was no one to speak to.

A long time passed.

One day some huntsmen through in the wood and saw the girl sitting on a tree.
" Who are you ? "   they called out.



But she did not answer.

" Come down, " they cried.
" We won't hurt you. "

But she only shook her head.

The huntsmen climbed the tree, carried her down and brought her to the King of this foreign land.

The King asked kindly, " Who are you ?  What were you doing in the tree."

But she didn't answer.

(5/8) 

The Wild Swans (6)

The Wild Swans (6)

The king spoke to her in all the languages he knew, but she remained  silent.

However, the King felt a great love for her.
She saw he was very kind and liked him very much.
After a few days they were married. 

The King had a wicked stepmother who was unhappy with the marriage.
" Who knows where this girl is rom ? "she asked.

" She doesn't speak a word ! She is not worthy of a king. "

After a year had passed, the young Queen had her first child.

The King's stepmother stole the baby away and told the King that his wife had killed the child.

The King didn't believe the stepmother and ordered that no one should harm his wife.

All the while, the young Queen went on quietly sewing the nettle shirts.

(6/8)

The Wild Swans (7)

The Wild Swans (7)

Some time later, another baby was born.

The King's wicked stepmother once again stole the baby and blamed the young Queen, but the King would still not believe his mother.

When the young Queen had a third baby, the stepmother again stole it away.
She accused young Queen and this time the court forced the King to bring her to justice.
The Queen was sentenced to death by fire.

The day she was due to die was the last one of the six years o toil.
In that time she had neither spoken nor laughed to free her dear brothers from the evil spell.

The six shirts were ready, except one that was missing the right sleeve.

The young Queen was led to the pile of wood, carrying the six shirts with her.

As the fire was about to be lit, she suddenly shouted out.
There were six swans flying towards her and her heart burst with joy.

The swans landed around her and stooped so that she could throw the shirts over them.

(7/8)