The Wild Swans - Danish

Hello, my name is Elisa, and my life was once as bright as a summer's day. I lived in a grand castle with my eleven wonderful brothers. We would race through the royal gardens, our laughter bouncing like happy birds off the tall stone walls. But our sunny days clouded over when our father, the king, married a new queen. She had eyes as cold as ice and a heart to match. This is the story of how a wicked spell tried to break our family apart, a tale called The Wild Swans. The new queen was jealous of how much our father loved us. One morning, she came into our playroom with a strange, dark smile. She waved her hands and chanted words I didn't understand. Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room. My brave brothers were gone, and in their place were eleven beautiful, white swans. With a sad cry, they flew out the window, over the castle walls, and disappeared toward the sea. I was left all alone, my heart broken into a thousand tiny pieces.

I couldn't just sit in the castle and cry. I knew I had to save my brothers. So, I packed a small bag and left the only home I had ever known, determined to find them. I walked for many days and nights until I reached the wide, blue sea. There, I saw eleven swans, and when the sun set, they turned back into my dear brothers. That night, a kind fairy visited me in a dream. 'To break the spell,' she whispered, 'you must gather the stinging nettles that grow in graveyards. Your hands will blister and burn, but you must crush them with your bare feet, spin the fibers into thread, and knit eleven shirts, one for each brother.' The fairy told me the hardest part of all: I could not speak a single word until my task was done. If I uttered even a tiny sound, my brothers would be lost forever. It was a scary and painful job, but the thought of hugging my brothers again gave me courage. I found a small cave by the sea to be my new home and began my silent work, my hands aching but my heart full of love.

Days turned into weeks, and my pile of nettle shirts grew. One afternoon, while I was gathering more nettles in the forest, a handsome young king found me. He saw my gentle eyes and torn hands and, even though I could not speak to tell him my story, he fell in love with me. He took me to his magnificent castle to be his queen. The king was kind, but his advisors whispered that I was strange. 'Why does she sneak away at night?' they would ask. 'Why is she always knitting with those painful weeds?' They decided I must be a wicked witch and told the king I had to be punished. On the very day they were to carry out the sentence, I had just finished the last shirt. As they led me from the castle, I looked up and saw eleven white swans circling in the sky above me. It was my last chance. With all my might, I threw the shirts up to them. As the nettle fabric touched their feathers, ten of them transformed back into my handsome brothers. The youngest still had one swan's wing instead of an arm, because I hadn't had time to finish the last sleeve. The moment the spell was broken, my voice returned. 'They are my brothers!' I cried. I told everyone my long, sad story. The king and all the people finally understood, and their suspicion turned to awe at my bravery. My family was together again, and we learned that love and perseverance can overcome even the darkest magic.