Kabanata Kabanata 46 · The Six Swans

. The Six Swans

Once upon a time, a certain King was hunting in a great forest, and he

chased a wild beast so eagerly that none of his attendants could follow

him. When evening drew near he stopped and looked around him, and then

he saw that he had lost his way. He sought a way out, but could find

none. Then he perceived an aged woman with a head which nodded

perpetually, who came towards him, but she was a witch. “Good woman,”

said he to her, “Can you not show me the way through the forest?” “Oh,

yes, Lord King,” she answered, “that I certainly can, but on one

condition, and if you do not fulfil that, you will never get out of the

forest, and will die of hunger in it.”

“What kind of condition is it?” asked the King.

“I have a daughter,” said the old woman, “who is as beautiful as any

one in the world, and well deserves to be your consort, and if you will

make her your Queen, I will show you the way out of the forest.” In the

anguish of his heart the King consented, and the old woman led him to

her little hut, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She

received the King as if she had been expecting him, and he saw that she

was very beautiful, but still she did not please him, and he could not

look at her without secret horror. After he had taken the maiden up on

his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the King reached his

royal palace again, where the wedding was celebrated.

The King had already been married once, and had by his first wife,

seven children, six boys and a girl, whom he loved better than anything

else in the world. As he now feared that the step-mother might not

treat them well, and even do them some injury, he took them to a lonely

castle which stood in the midst of a forest. It lay so concealed, and

the way was so difficult to find that he himself would not have found

it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of yarn with wonderful

properties. When he threw it down before him, it unrolled itself and

showed him his path. The King, however, went so frequently away to his

dear children that the Queen observed his absence; she was curious and

wanted to know what he did when he was quite alone in the forest. She

gave a great deal of money to his servants, and they betrayed the

secret to her, and told her likewise of the ball which alone could

point out the way. And now she knew no rest until she had learnt where

the King kept the ball of yarn, and then she made little shirts of

white silk, and as she had learnt the art of witchcraft from her

mother, she sewed a charm inside them. And once when the King had

ridden forth to hunt, she took the little shirts and went into the

forest, and the ball showed her the way. The children, who saw from a

distance that some one was approaching, thought that their dear father

was coming to them, and full of joy, ran to meet him. Then she threw

one of the little shirts over each of them, and no sooner had the

shirts touched their bodies than they were changed into swans, and flew

away over the forest. The Queen went home quite delighted, and thought

she had got rid of her step-children, but the girl had not run out with

her brothers, and the Queen knew nothing about her. Next day the King

went to visit his children, but he found no one but the little girl.

“Where are thy brothers?” asked the King. “Alas, dear father,” she

answered, “they have gone away and left me alone!” and she told him

that she had seen from her little window how her brothers had flown

away over the forest in the shape of swans, and she showed him the

feathers, which they had let fall in the courtyard, and which she had

picked up. The King mourned, but he did not think that the Queen had

done this wicked deed, and as he feared that the girl would also be

stolen away from him, he wanted to take her away with him. But she was

afraid of her step-mother, and entreated the King to let her stay just

this one night more in the forest castle.

The poor girl thought, “I can no longer stay here. I will go and seek

my brothers.” And when night came, she ran away, and went straight into

the forest. She walked the whole night long, and next day also without

stopping, until she could go no farther for weariness. Then she saw a

forest-hut, and went into it, and found a room with six little beds,

but she did not venture to get into one of them, but crept under one,

and lay down on the hard ground, intending to pass the night there.

Just before sunset, however, she heard a rustling, and saw six swans

come flying in at the window. They alighted on the ground and blew at

each other, and blew all the feathers off, and their swan’s skins

stripped off like a shirt. Then the maiden looked at them and

recognized her brothers, was glad and crept forth from beneath the bed.

The brothers were not less delighted to see their little sister, but

their joy was of short duration. “Here canst thou not abide,” they said

to her. “This is a shelter for robbers, if they come home and find

thee, they will kill thee.” “But can you not protect me?” asked the

little sister. “No,” they replied, “only for one quarter of an hour

each evening can we lay aside our swan’s skins and have during that

time our human form; after that, we are once more turned into swans.”

The little sister wept and said, “Can you not be set free?” “Alas, no,”

they answered, “the conditions are too hard! For six years thou mayst

neither speak nor laugh, and in that time thou must sew together six

little shirts of starwort for us. And if one single word falls from thy

lips, all thy work will be lost.” And when the brothers had said this,

the quarter of an hour was over, and they flew out of the window again

as swans.

The maiden, however, firmly resolved to deliver her brothers, even if

it should cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the midst of

the forest, seated herself on a tree, and there passed the night. Next

morning she went out and gathered starwort and began to sew. She could

not speak to any one, and she had no inclination to laugh; she sat

there and looked at nothing but her work. When she had already spent a

long time there it came to pass that the King of the country was

hunting in the forest, and his huntsmen came to the tree on which the

maiden was sitting. They called to her and said, “Who art thou?” But

she made no answer. “Come down to us,” said they. “We will not do thee

any harm.” She only shook her head. As they pressed her further with

questions she threw her golden necklace down to them, and thought to

content them thus. They, however, did not cease, and then she threw her

girdle down to them, and as this also was to no purpose, her garters,

and by degrees everything that she had on that she could do without

until she had nothing left but her shift. The huntsmen, however, did

not let themselves be turned aside by that, but climbed the tree and

fetched the maiden down and led her before the King. The King asked,

“Who art thou? What art thou doing on the tree?” But she did not

answer. He put the question in every language that he knew, but she

remained as mute as a fish. As she was so beautiful, the King’s heart

was touched, and he was smitten with a great love for her. He put his

mantle on her, took her before him on his horse, and carried her to his

castle. Then he caused her to be dressed in rich garments, and she

shone in her beauty like bright daylight, but no word could be drawn

from her. He placed her by his side at table, and her modest bearing

and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, “She is the one whom I

wish to marry, and no other woman in the world.” And after some days he

united himself to her.

The King, however, had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this

marriage and spoke ill of the young Queen. “Who knows,” said she, “from

whence the creature who can’t speak, comes? She is not worthy of a

king!” After a year had passed, when the Queen brought her first child

into the world, the old woman took it away from her, and smeared her

mouth with blood as she slept. Then she went to the King and accused

the Queen of being a man-eater. The King would not believe it, and

would not suffer any one to do her any injury. She, however, sat

continually sewing at the shirts, and cared for nothing else. The next

time, when she again bore a beautiful boy, the false step-mother used

the same treachery, but the King could not bring himself to give credit

to her words. He said, “She is too pious and good to do anything of

that kind; if she were not dumb, and could defend herself, her

innocence would come to light.” But when the old woman stole away the

newly-born child for the third time, and accused the Queen, who did not

utter one word of defence, the King could do no otherwise than deliver

her over to justice, and she was sentenced to suffer death by fire.

When the day came for the sentence to be executed, it was the last day

of the six years during which she was not to speak or laugh, and she

had delivered her dear brothers from the power of the enchantment. The

six shirts were ready, only the left sleeve of the sixth was wanting.

When, therefore, she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her

arm, and when she stood on high and the fire was just going to be

lighted, she looked around and six swans came flying through the air

towards her. Then she saw that her deliverance was near, and her heart

leapt with joy. The swans swept towards her and sank down so that she

could throw the shirts over them, and as they were touched by them,

their swan’s skins fell off, and her brothers stood in their own bodily

form before her, and were vigorous and handsome. The youngest only

lacked his left arm, and had in the place of it a swan’s wing on his

shoulder. They embraced and kissed each other, and the Queen went to

the King, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak and said,

“Dearest husband, now I may speak and declare to thee that I am

innocent, and falsely accused.” And she told him of the treachery of

the old woman who had taken away her three children and hidden them.

Then to the great joy of the King they were brought thither, and as a

punishment, the wicked step-mother was bound to the stake, and burnt to

ashes. But the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many

years in happiness and peace.