The Wild Swans - Danish

My name is Elisa, and I remember a time when my world was filled with sunshine and the laughter of my eleven older brothers. We lived in a beautiful castle where flowers bloomed in our storybooks and our days were as bright as the jewels in our father's crown. But a shadow fell over our kingdom when our father, the King, married a new queen with a heart as cold as winter stone. She did not love us, and soon her jealousy turned into a terrible curse, a story that would come to be known as The Wild Swans. One evening, she transformed my brave, handsome brothers into eleven majestic white swans and sent them flying away from the castle forever. My heart broke as I watched them disappear into the sky, their sad cries echoing in the wind.

Alone and heartbroken, I fled the castle, determined to find my brothers and break the spell. My journey led me deep into dark forests and across the wide sea. One night, in a dream, a beautiful fairy queen came to me. She told me there was only one way to save my brothers: I had to gather stinging nettles from graveyards, crush them with my bare feet to make flax, and then spin and knit eleven long-sleeved shirts. The most difficult part of her instructions was that from the moment I began my task until it was finished, I could not speak a single word. If I did, my brothers would perish instantly. Though my hands burned and blistered from the nettles, I worked tirelessly, my love for my brothers giving me strength. During my silent work, a handsome king from a nearby land found me in the forest. He was charmed by my quiet beauty and took me to his castle to be his queen. But the archbishop at his court was suspicious of my silence and my strange nightly task of gathering nettles, whispering to the king that I must be a wicked witch.

The archbishop's cruel words eventually convinced the king and the people. I was declared a witch and sentenced to be burned. As I was taken to the town square, I clutched the nearly finished shirts in my arms, desperately knitting the final stitches of the last one. My heart pounded with fear, not for myself, but for my brothers. Just as the flames were about to be lit, a rush of wings filled the air. Eleven magnificent swans swooped down from the sky and surrounded me. I quickly threw the shirts over them. In a flash of light, ten of my brothers stood before me, returned to their human forms! The last shirt was not quite finished, so my youngest brother was left with one swan wing instead of an arm, a mark of our shared struggle. I could finally speak, and I told everyone the whole story of my quest and the evil queen's curse. The king, filled with remorse and admiration, embraced me, and the people celebrated my courage and love.

Our story, first written down by the great Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen on October 2nd, 1838, has been told for generations. It reminds people that true love requires great sacrifice and that perseverance can overcome even the darkest of spells. The tale of 'The Wild Swans' has inspired countless books, ballets, and films, showing how a sister's silent, determined love can be the most powerful magic of all. It teaches us that even when we face painful challenges, the bond of family can give us the strength to do incredible things. And so, our story continues to fly on, a timeless reminder of courage, loyalty, and the magic of a loving heart.