The Wild Swans
Hans Christian Andersen
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Retold by The Legendary Connection
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Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a king who had eleven sons and one daughter named Eliza. The eleven brothers were princes who went to school with stars on their chests and swords at their sides. They wrote with diamond pencils on golden slates and learned their lessons quickly, as true princes would. Eliza, their sister, sat on a little glass stool, reading a picture book that was so special it was worth half a kingdom. They were a happy family, but their happiness did not last.
One day, the king married a wicked queen who did not love the children at all. She sent Eliza away to live with a peasant family in the countryside. The queen also told so many lies about the princes that the king no longer cared for them. In her wickedness, she cast a spell on the brothers, turning them into eleven wild swans. The swans flew away, leaving their sister behind.
The swans circled over the cottage where Eliza now lived, but she didn’t see them. She spent her days missing her brothers, always thinking about them. When she was fifteen, Eliza returned to the palace. But the wicked queen, jealous of Eliza’s beauty, smeared her face with mud and tangled her hair so that the king did not recognize her. Heartbroken, Eliza fled into the forest, determined to find her brothers.
As she wandered through the woods, Eliza met an old woman who told her about eleven swans with golden crowns swimming in a nearby river. Eliza hurried to the riverbank, and at sunset, she saw the swans land on the shore. As the sun disappeared, their feathers fell away, and the swans turned into her eleven brothers. Eliza ran to them, and they embraced her, overjoyed to be reunited.
The brothers explained that they were under a curse and could only be human at night. By day, they were wild swans. Eliza was determined to help them. That night, as she slept, a kind fairy appeared in her dream and told her how to break the spell. Eliza would need to weave eleven shirts from stinging nettles, but there was one condition: she could not speak a single word until the task was finished. If she spoke, the curse would remain forever.
Eliza woke up and knew what she had to do. With great patience, she began gathering stinging nettles, even though they burned and blistered her hands. She spun the flax and began to weave, one shirt after another, working tirelessly to save her brothers.
As she worked, a kind king found her. He brought her to his castle and treated her with love and care. Though the king asked Eliza to marry him, she remained silent, for she knew that speaking would doom her brothers. She continued to work on the shirts, even as whispers spread through the kingdom that Eliza was a witch because she never spoke.
The archbishop, suspicious of her silence, convinced the people that Eliza was dangerous. She was arrested and sentenced to be burned at the stake. But even in the face of this terrible fate, Eliza didn’t give up. She continued weaving, knowing she had only one shirt left to finish.
On the day of her execution, just as the fire was being lit, Eliza finished the last shirt. At that moment, her brothers, in their swan form, flew down to save her. Eliza threw the shirts over them, and in an instant, the curse was broken. The swans turned back into princes, and Eliza’s voice returned.
“I am innocent!” she cried, and the crowd, seeing the miracle, knew it was true.
The king, who had always loved Eliza, embraced her, and her brothers shared the story of her bravery and patience. Eliza had saved them all, and the king knew she had been a blessing all along.
And so, Eliza, her brothers, and the king lived happily ever after, their story a reminder that patience, kindness, and love are the greatest strengths of all.
Original Source: Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian). “Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen.” Https://Www.gutenberg.org/Files/27200/27200-h/27200-H.htm, 4 Jan. 2021, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/27200/pg27200-images.html#wild_swa. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.
