Hans Christian Andersen
Wild Swans
Translation by Anna and Peter Hansen.
Far, far away, in the country where swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza. The eleven prince brothers were already going to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled at his side; They wrote on gold boards with diamond leads and could read perfectly, whether from a book or by heart - it didn’t matter. You could immediately hear that real princes were reading! Their sister Eliza sat on a mirrored glass bench and looked at a picture book for which half the kingdom had been paid. Yes, the children had a good life, but not for long! Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked the poor children. They had to experience this on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game of visiting, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always received in abundance, gave them a tea cup of sand and said that they could imagine, like it's a treat. A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to be raised in the village by some peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he did not want to see them anymore. - Let's fly, hello, in all four directions! - said the evil queen. -- Fly big birds without a voice and look after yourself! But she could not do them such harm as she would have liked - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows with a scream and rushed over the parks and forests.
It was early morning when they flew past the hut, where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to fly over the roof, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them; so they had to fly away with nothing. They soared high, high to the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest that stretched all the way to the sea. Poor Eliza stood in a peasant hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she poked a hole in the leaf, looked through it at the sun, and it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers; when the warm rays of the sun slid across her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses. Days passed after days, one after the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes growing near the house and whisper to the roses: “Is there anyone more beautiful than you?” - the roses shook their heads and said: “Eliza is more beautiful.” Was there any old woman sitting at the door of her little house on Sunday, reading the psalter, and the wind turned the leaves, saying to the book: “Is there anyone more devout than you?” the book answered: “Eliza is more devout!” Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth. But Eliza turned fifteen years old and was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would gladly turn her into a wild swan, but she could not do this right now, because the king wanted to see his daughter. And so early in the morning the queen went to the marble bathhouse, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each one and said first: “Sit on Eliza’s head when she enters the bathhouse; let her become as stupid and lazy as you! And you sit on her forehead! - she said to the other. - Let Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father will not recognize her! You lie on her heart! - the queen whispered to the third toad. - Let her become malicious and suffer from it! Then she released the toads into clear water, and the water immediately turned green. Calling Eliza, the queen undressed her and ordered her to enter the water. Eliza obeyed, and one toad sat on her crown, another on her forehead, and a third on her chest; but Eliza didn’t even notice it, and as soon as she came out of the water, three red poppies floated across the water. If the toads had not been poisoned by the witch’s kiss, they would have turned, lying on Eliza’s head and heart, into red roses; the girl was so pious and innocent that witchcraft could not have any effect on her. Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with juice. walnut, so she turned completely brown, smeared her face with stinking ointment and tangled her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize pretty Eliza. Even her father was scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her except the chained dog and the swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures! Eliza began to cry and thought about her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and spent the whole day wandering through the fields and swamps, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself didn’t really know where she should go, but she was so homesick for her brothers, who were also expelled from their home, that she decided to look for them everywhere until she found them. She did not stay long in the forest, but night had already fallen, and Eliza completely lost her way; then she lay down on the soft moss, read a prayer for the coming sleep and bowed her head on a stump. There was silence in the forest, the air was so warm, hundreds of fireflies flickered in the grass like green lights, and when Eliza touched some bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a rain of stars. All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards and looking at the most wonderful picture book that was worth half a kingdom. But they didn’t write dashes and zeros on the boards, as had happened before—no, they described everything they saw and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds sang, and people came off the pages and talked with Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn the sheet over, they jumped back, otherwise the pictures would have become confused. When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high; she couldn’t even see it well behind the thick foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies across the grass; a wonderful smell came from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Eliza’s shoulders. The murmur of a spring could be heard not far away; It turned out that several large streams ran here, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by a hedge, but in one place wild deer had made a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the water itself. The water in the pond was clean and clear; If the wind did not move the branches of the trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted on the bottom, so clearly they were reflected in the mirror of the waters. Seeing her face in the water, Eliza was completely frightened, it was so black and disgusting; and so she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and again her white soft skin. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. You could look all over the world for such a pretty princess! Having dressed and braided my long hair, she went to the babbling spring, drank water straight from a handful and then walked further through the forest, she didn’t know where. She thought about her brothers and hoped that God would not abandon her: it was he who commanded the wild forest apples to grow in order to feed the hungry with them; He showed her one of these apple trees, the branches of which were bending from the weight of the fruit. Having satisfied her hunger, Eliza propped up the branches with sticks and went deeper into the thicket of the forest. There was such silence there that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustling of every dry leaf that fell under her feet. Not a single bird flew into this wilderness, not a single Sunbeam did not slip through the continuous thicket of branches. Tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls; Eliza had never felt so alone. The night became even darker; Not a single firefly glowed in the moss. Eliza sadly lay down on the grass, and suddenly it seemed to her that the branches above her parted, and the Lord God himself looked at her with kind eyes; little angels peeked out from behind his head and from under his arms. Waking up in the morning, she herself did not know whether it was in a dream or in reality. Going further, Eliza met an old woman with a basket of berries; The old woman gave the girl a handful of berries, and Eliza asked her if eleven princes had passed through the forest here. “No,” said the old woman, “but yesterday I saw eleven swans in golden crowns here on the river.” And the old woman led Eliza to a cliff under which a river flowed. Trees grew on both banks, stretching their long branches densely covered with leaves towards each other. Those of the trees that did not manage to intertwine their branches with the branches of their brothers on the opposite bank stretched out above the water so much that their roots came out of the ground, and they still achieved their goal. Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went to the mouth of the river that flowed into the open sea. And then a wonderful boundless sea opened up in front of the young girl, but in its entire expanse not a single sail was visible, there was not a single boat on which she could set off on her further journey. Eliza looked at the countless boulders washed ashore by the sea - the water had polished them so that they became completely smooth and round. All the other objects thrown out by the sea: glass, iron and stones also bore traces of this polishing, and yet the water was softer than Eliza’s gentle hands, and the girl thought: “The waves tirelessly roll one after another and finally polish the hardest objects. "I work tirelessly! Thank you for science, bright fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!" Eleven white swan feathers lay on dry seaweed thrown up by the sea; Eliza collected and tied them into a bun; drops of dew or tears still glistened on the feathers, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not feel it: the sea represented eternal diversity; in a few hours you could see more here than in whole year somewhere on the shores of fresh inland lakes. If a large black cloud was approaching the sky and the wind was getting stronger, the sea seemed to say: “I, too, can turn black!” - it began to seethe, get agitated and become covered with white lambs. If the clouds were pinkish in color and the wind subsided, the sea looked like a rose petal; sometimes it turned green, sometimes white; but no matter how quiet there was in the air and no matter how calm the sea itself was, a slight disturbance was always noticeable near the shore - the water was quietly heaving, like the chest of a sleeping child. When the sun was close to setting, Eliza saw a line of wild swans in golden crowns flying to the shore; all the swans were eleven, and they flew one after another, stretching out like a long white ribbon. Eliza climbed up and hid behind a bush. The swans descended not far from her and flapped their large white wings. At the very moment when the sun disappeared under the water, the plumage of the swans suddenly fell off, and eleven handsome princes, Eliza’s brothers, found themselves on the ground! Eliza screamed loudly; she recognized them immediately, despite the fact that they had changed greatly; her heart told her that it was them! She threw herself into their arms, calling them all by name, and they were so happy to see and recognize their sister, who had grown so much and looked prettier. Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried and soon learned from each other how badly their stepmother had treated them. “We, brothers,” said the eldest, “fly in the form of wild swans all day, from sunrise to sunset; when the sun sets, we again take on human form. Therefore, by the time the sun sets, we should always have solid ground under our feet: if we happened to turn into people during our flight under the clouds, we would immediately fall from such a terrible height. We don’t live here; Far, far across the sea lies a country as wonderful as this one, but the road there is long, we have to fly across the entire sea, and along the way there is not a single island where we could spend the night. Only in the very middle of the sea does a small lonely cliff stick out, on which we can somehow rest, huddled closely together. If the sea is raging, splashes of water even fly over our heads, but we thank God for such a refuge: without it, we would not be able to visit our dear homeland at all - and now for this flight we have to choose the two longest days per year. Only once a year are we allowed to fly to our homeland; we can stay here for eleven days and fly over this large forest, from where we can see the palace where we were born and where our father lives, and the bell tower of the church where our mother lies buried. Here even the bushes and trees seem familiar to us; here the wild horses we saw in our childhood days still run across the plains, and the coal miners still sing the songs to which we danced as children. This is our homeland, we are drawn here with all our hearts, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! We can stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a foreign country! How can we take you with us? We have neither a ship nor a boat!
How can I free you from the spell? - the sister asked the brothers. They talked like this for almost the entire night and only dozed off for a few hours. Eliza woke up from the sound of swan wings. The brothers again became birds and flew in the air in large circles, and then completely disappeared from sight. Only the youngest of the brothers remained with Eliza; the swan laid his head on her lap, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest arrived, and when the sun set, everyone again took on human form. “Tomorrow we must fly away from here and will not be able to return until next year, but we will not leave you here!” - said the younger brother. - Do you have the courage to fly away with us? My arms are strong enough to carry you through the forest—can't we all carry you on wings across the sea? - Yes, take me with you! - said Eliza. They spent the whole night weaving a net of flexible wicker and reeds; the mesh came out large and strong; Eliza was placed in it. Having turned into swans at sunrise, the brothers grabbed the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet sister, who was fast asleep, towards the clouds. The rays of the sun were shining directly into her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, protecting her from the sun with its wide wings. They were already far from the ground when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming in reality, it was so strange for her to fly through the air. Near her lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots; The youngest of the brothers picked them up and placed them with her, and she smiled at him gratefully - she realized that it was he who was flying above her and protecting her from the sun with his wings. They flew high, high, so that the first ship they saw in the sea seemed to them like a seagull floating on the water. There was a large cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the moving gigantic shadows of eleven swans and her own. That was the picture! She had never seen anything like this before! But as the sun rose higher and the cloud remained further and further behind, the airy shadows little by little disappeared. The swans flew all day long, like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual; now they were carrying their sister. The day began to fade towards evening, bad weather arose; Eliza watched with fear as the sun went down; the lonely sea cliff was still not visible. It seemed to her that the swans were flapping their wings vigorously. Ah, it was her fault that they could not fly faster! When the sun sets, they will become people, fall into the sea and drown! And she began to pray to God with all her heart, but the cliff still did not appear. A black cloud was approaching, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm, the clouds gathered into a solid, menacing leaden wave rolling across the sky; lightning flashed after lightning. One edge of the sun was almost touching the water; Eliza's heart trembled; the swans suddenly flew down with incredible speed, and the girl already thought that they were all falling; but no, they continued to fly again. The sun was half hidden under the water, and then only Eliza saw a cliff beneath her, no larger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The sun was fading quickly; now it seemed only like a small shining star; but then the swans set foot on solid ground, and the sun went out like the last spark of burnt paper. Eliza saw the brothers around her, standing hand in hand; they all barely fit on the tiny cliff. The sea beat furiously against it and showered them with a whole rain of splashes; the sky was ablaze with lightning, and thunder rumbled every minute, but the sister and brothers held hands and sang a psalm that poured consolation and courage into their hearts. At dawn the storm subsided, it became clear and quiet again; When the sun rose, the swans and Eliza flew on. The sea was still agitated, and from above they saw white foam floating on the dark green water, like countless flocks of swans. When the sun rose higher, Eliza saw in front of her a mountainous country with masses of shiny ice on the rocks; between the rocks towered a huge castle, entwined with some bold airy galleries of columns; below him palm forests and luxurious flowers, the size of mill wheels, swayed. Eliza asked if this was the country where they were flying, but the swans shook their heads: she saw in front of her the wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana; there they did not dare to bring a single human soul. Eliza again fixed her gaze on the castle, and now the mountains, forests and castle moved together, and twenty identical majestic churches with bell towers and lancet windows were formed from them. She even thought she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. Now the churches were very close, but suddenly they turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea fog rising above the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing aerial images and pictures! But finally, the real land where they were flying appeared. There were wonderful mountains, cedar forests, cities and castles. Long before sunset, Eliza sat on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets - it was so overgrown with soft green creeping plants. - Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom. “Oh, if only I could dream of how to free you from the spell!” - she said, and this thought never left her head. Eliza began to fervently pray to God and continued her prayer even in her sleep. And so she dreamed that she was flying high, high through the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and that the fairy herself was coming out to meet her, so bright and beautiful, but at the same time surprisingly similar to the old woman who gave Eliza berries in the forest and told her about swans in golden crowns. “Your brothers can be saved,” she said. - But do you have enough courage and perseverance? The water is softer than your gentle hands and still polishes the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; Water does not have a heart that would languish with fear and torment like yours. Do you see nettles in my hands? Such nettles grow here near the cave, and only this, and even the nettles that grow in cemeteries, can be useful to you; notice her! You will pick this nettle, although your hands will be covered with blisters from burns; then you will knead it with your feet, twist long threads from the resulting fiber, then weave eleven shell shirts with long sleeves from them and throw them on the swans; then witchcraft will disappear. But remember that from the moment you begin your work until you finish it, even if it lasts for whole years, you must not say a word. The very first word that comes out of your mouth will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a dagger. Their life and death will be in your hands! Remember all this! And the fairy touched her hand with stinging nettles; Eliza felt pain, as if from a burn, and woke up. It was already a bright day, and next to her lay a bunch of nettles, exactly the same as the one she saw now in her dream. Then she fell to her knees, thanked God and left the cave to immediately get to work. With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands became covered with large blisters, but she joyfully endured the pain: if only she could save her dear brothers! Then she crushed the nettles with her bare feet and began to twist the green fiber. At sunset the brothers appeared and were very frightened when they saw that she had become mute. They thought that this was a new witchcraft from their evil stepmother, but... Looking at her hands, they realized that she had become mute for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers began to cry; his tears fell onto her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared and the pain subsided. Eliza spent the night at her work; rest was not on her mind; She thought only about how to free her dear brothers as quickly as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she remained alone, but never before had time flown so quickly for her. One shell shirt was ready, and the girl began to work on the next one. Suddenly the sounds of hunting horns were heard in the mountains; Eliza was afraid; the sounds got closer and closer, then dogs were heard barking. The girl disappeared into a cave, tied all the nettles she had collected into a bunch and sat on it. At that same moment she jumped out from behind the bushes big dog, followed by another and a third; they barked loudly and ran back and forth. A few minutes later all the hunters gathered at the cave; the most handsome of them was the king of that country; he approached Eliza - he had never met such a beauty! - How did you get here, pretty child? - he asked, but Eliza just shook her head; She did not dare to speak: the life and salvation of her brothers depended on her silence. Eliza hid her hands under her apron so that the king would not see how she was suffering. -- Come with me! -- he said. - You can't stay here! If you are as kind as you are beautiful, I will dress you in silk and velvet, put a golden crown on your head, and you will live in my magnificent palace! - And he sat her on the saddle in front of him; Eliza cried and wrung her hands, but the king said: “I only want your happiness.” Someday you will thank me yourself! And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.
By evening, the king’s magnificent capital, with churches and domes, appeared, and the king led Eliza to his palace, where fountains gurgled in high marble chambers, and the walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings. But Eliza didn’t look at anything, she cried and was sad; She indifferently placed herself at the disposal of the servants, and they put on her royal clothes, wove pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burnt fingers. The rich attire suited her so well, she was so dazzlingly beautiful in them that the whole court bowed before her, and the king proclaimed her his bride, although the archbishop shook his head, whispering to the king that the forest beauty must be a witch, that she had taken they all had eyes and bewitched the heart of the king. The king, however, did not listen to him, signaled to the musicians, ordered to call the most beautiful dancers and serve expensive dishes on the table, and he led Eliza through the fragrant gardens to the magnificent chambers, but she remained as before sad and sorrowful. But then the king opened the door to a small room located just next to her bedroom. The room was all hung with green carpets and resembled the forest cave where Eliza was found; a bundle of nettle fiber lay on the floor, and a shell-shirt woven by Eliza hung on the ceiling; All this, like a curiosity, was taken with him from the forest by one of the hunters. - Here you can remember your former home! - said the king. - This is where your work comes in; Perhaps you will sometimes wish to have some fun, amidst all the pomp that surrounds you, with memories of the past! Seeing the work dear to her heart, Eliza smiled and blushed; She thought about saving her brothers and kissed the king’s hand, and he pressed it to his heart and ordered the bells to be rung on the occasion of his wedding. The mute forest beauty became the queen. The archbishop continued to whisper evil speeches to the king, but they did not reach the king’s heart, and the wedding took place. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of annoyance, he pulled the narrow gold hoop so tightly onto her forehead that it would have hurt anyone, but she didn’t even pay attention to it: what did bodily pain mean to her if her heart was aching with melancholy and pity for her dear brothers! Her lips were still compressed, not a single word came out of them - she knew that the life of her brothers depended on her silence - but in her eyes there shone ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became more and more attached to him. ABOUT! If she could trust him, express her suffering to him, but - alas! - She had to remain silent until she finished her work. At night, she quietly left the royal bedroom to her secret cave-like room, and there weaved one shell-shirt after another, but when she started on the seventh, all the fiber came out. She knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery, but she had to pick them herself; How to be? “Oh, what does bodily pain mean in comparison with the sadness that torments my heart!” thought Eliza. “I must make up my mind! The Lord will not leave me!” Her heart sank with fear, as if she were about to do something bad, when she made her way into the garden on a moonlit night, and from there along long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Disgusting witches sat on wide gravestones; They threw off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, tore open fresh graves with their bony fingers, pulled out bodies from there and devoured them. Eliza had to walk past them, and they kept staring at her with their evil eyes - but she said a prayer, picked nettles and returned home. Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her - the archbishop; Now he was convinced that he was right in suspecting the queen, so she was a witch and therefore managed to bewitch the king and all the people. When the king came to him in the confessional, the archbishop told him what he had seen and what he suspected; evil words poured out of his tongue, and the carved images of saints shook their heads, as if they wanted to say: “It’s not true, Eliza is innocent!” But the archbishop interpreted this in his own way, saying that the saints also testify against her, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Two large tears rolled down the king's cheeks, doubt and despair took possession of his heart. At night he only pretended to be asleep, but in reality sleep fled from him. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom; the following nights the same thing happened again; he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret room. The king's brow grew darker and darker; Eliza noticed this, but did not understand the reason; her heart ached with fear and pity for her brothers; Bitter tears rolled down onto the royal purple, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire wanted to be in the queen’s place! But soon the end of her work will come; only one shirt was missing, and with her eyes and signs she asked him to leave; That night she had to finish her work, otherwise all her suffering, tears, and sleepless nights would have been wasted! The archbishop left, cursing her with abusive words, but poor Eliza knew that she was innocent and continued to work. To help her at least a little, the mice scurrying across the floor began to collect scattered nettle stalks and bring them to her feet, and the thrush, sitting outside the lattice window, consoled her with his cheerful song. At dawn, shortly before sunrise, Eliza's eleven brothers appeared at the palace gates and demanded to be admitted to the king. They were told that this was absolutely impossible: the king was still sleeping and no one dared to disturb him. They continued to ask, then they began to threaten; the guards appeared, and then the king himself came out to find out what was the matter. But at that moment the sun rose, and there were no more brothers - eleven wild swans soared above the palace. People flocked outside the city to see how they would burn the witch. A pitiful nag was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; a cloak made of rough burlap was thrown over her; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, there was not a trace of blood in her face, her lips moved quietly, whispering prayers, and her fingers weaved green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of the work she had begun; Ten shell shirts lay at her feet, completely finished, and she was weaving the eleventh. The crowd mocked her. - Look at the witch! Look, he's mumbling! Probably not a prayer book in her hands - no, she’s still fiddling around with her witchcraft things! Let's snatch them from her and tear them to shreds. And they crowded around her, about to snatch the work from her hands, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat down on the edges of the cart and noisily flapped their mighty wings. The frightened crowd retreated. - This is a sign from heaven! “She is innocent,” many whispered, but did not dare say it out loud. The executioner grabbed Eliza by the hand, but she hastily threw eleven shirts on the swans, and... eleven handsome princes stood in front of her, only the youngest was missing one arm, instead there was a swan wing: Eliza did not have time to finish the last shirt, and in she was missing one sleeve. - Now I can talk! -- she said. - I'm innocent! And the people, who saw everything that happened, bowed before her as before a saint, but she fell senseless into the arms of her brothers - this is how the tireless strain of strength, fear and pain affected her. - Yes, she is innocent! - said the eldest brother and told everything as it happened; and while he spoke, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from many roses - each log in the fire took root and sprouts, and a tall fragrant bush was formed, covered with red roses. At the very top of the bush, a dazzling white flower shone like a star. The king tore it off, placed it on Eliza’s chest, and she came to her senses with joy and happiness! All the church bells rang on their own, birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a wedding procession as no king had ever seen before reached the palace!
Young lover of literature, we are firmly convinced that you will enjoy reading the fairy tale “The Wild Swans” by Hans Christian Andersen and you will be able to learn a lesson and benefit from it. Reading such creations in the evening, the pictures of what is happening become more vivid and rich, filled with a new range of colors and sounds. All heroes were “honed” by the experience of the people, who for centuries created, strengthened and transformed them, paying great and deep importance to children’s education. The text, written in the last millennium, combines surprisingly easily and naturally with our modern times; its relevance has not diminished at all. Simple and accessible, about nothing and everything, instructive and edifying - everything is included in the basis and plot of this creation. And the thought comes, and behind it the desire, to plunge into this fabulous and incredible world, win the love of a modest and wise princess. Of course, the idea of the superiority of good over evil is not new, of course, many books have been written about it, but it’s still nice to be convinced of this every time. The fairy tale “Wild Swans” by Hans Christian Andersen will be fun to read online for free for both children and their parents, the kids will be happy about the good ending, and mothers and fathers will be happy for the kids!
Far, far away, in the country where swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza. The eleven prince brothers went to school with stars on their chests and sabers at their feet. They wrote on gold boards with diamond leads and could read by heart no worse than from a book. It was immediately clear that they were real princes. And their sister Eliza sat on a bench made of mirrored glass and looked at a book with pictures, for which half the kingdom was given.
Yes, the children had a good life, but not for long. Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen, and from the very beginning she disliked the poor children. They experienced it on the first day. There was a feast in the palace, and the children started a game of visiting. But instead of cakes and baked apples, which they always received in abundance, the stepmother gave them a tea cup of river sand - let them imagine that this was a treat.
A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to the village to be raised by peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he did not want to see them anymore.
- Fly to all four directions and take care of yourself! - said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice!
But it didn’t turn out the way she wanted: they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows screaming and flew over the parks and forests.
It was early morning when they flew past the house where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to circle above the roof, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them. So they had to fly away with nothing. They soared up right under the clouds and flew into a large dark forest near the seashore.
And poor Eliza stayed to live in a peasant house and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys. She poked a hole in the leaf, looked through it at the sun, and it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers. And when a warm ray of sun fell on her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.
Days passed after days, one after the other. Sometimes the wind would sway the rose bushes growing near the house and whisper to the roses:
- Is there anyone more beautiful than you?
The roses shook their heads and answered:
- Eliza.
And this was the absolute truth.
But then Eliza was fifteen years old, and she was sent home. The queen saw how pretty she was, became angry and hated her even more. And the stepmother would like to turn Eliza into a wild swan, like her brothers, but she did not dare to do it right away, because the king wanted to see his daughter.
And so early in the morning the queen went to the marble bath, decorated with soft pillows and wonderful carpets, took three toads, kissed each one and said first:
- When Eliza enters the bathhouse, sit on her head, let her become as lazy as you. “And you sit on Eliza’s forehead,” she said to the other. “Let her become as ugly as you, so that her father won’t recognize her.” “Well, lay it on Eliza’s heart,” she said to the third. - Let her become evil and suffer from it!
The queen released the toads into the clear water, and the water immediately turned green. The queen called Eliza, undressed her and ordered her to enter the water. Eliza obeyed, and one toad sat on her crown, another on her forehead, a third on her chest, but Eliza didn’t even notice it, and as soon as she came out of the water, three scarlet poppies floated across the water. If the toads were not poisonous and were not kissed by a witch, they would turn into scarlet roses. Eliza was so innocent that witchcraft was powerless against her.
The evil queen saw this, rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, so that she became completely black, smeared her face with stinking ointment, and ruffled her hair. Now it was completely impossible to recognize pretty Eliza.
Her father saw her, got scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her except the chained dog and the swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!
Poor Eliza began to cry and thought about her expelled brothers. Sad, she left the palace and spent the whole day wandering through fields and swamps to a large forest. She herself didn’t really know where to go, but her heart was so heavy and she missed her brothers so much that she decided to look for them until she found them.
She didn’t walk through the forest for long before night fell. Eliza completely lost her way, lay down on the soft moss and bowed her head on a stump. It was quiet in the forest, the air was so warm, hundreds of fireflies flickered around with green lights, and when she quietly touched a branch, they rained down on her like a shower of stars.
All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers. They were all children again, playing together, writing with diamond pencils on gold boards and looking at a wonderful picture book for which half the kingdom had been given away. But they didn’t write lines and zeroes on the boards, as before, no, they described everything they saw and experienced. All the pictures in the book came to life, the birds sang, and people came off the pages and talked to Eliza and her brothers, but when she turned the page, they jumped back so that there was no confusion in the pictures.
When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high. She could not see him well behind the thick foliage of the trees, but his rays hovered in the heights, like swaying golden muslin. There was a smell of grass, and birds almost landed on Eliza’s shoulders. The splashing of water could be heard - several large streams ran nearby, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by dense bushes, but at one place the wild deer made a large passage, and Eliza could go down to the water, so clear that, if the wind had not swayed the branches of the trees and bushes, one would have thought that they were painted on the bottom, so Every leaf was clearly reflected in the water, both illuminated by the sun and hidden in the shadows.
Eliza saw her face in the water and was completely scared - it was so black and disgusting. But then she scooped up a handful of water, washed her forehead and eyes, and her white, unclear skin began to shine again. Then Eliza undressed and entered the cool water. It would be better to look for the princess all over the world!
Eliza got dressed, braided her long hair and went to the spring, drank from a handful and wandered further into the forest, not knowing where. On the way, she came across a wild apple tree, the branches of which were bending from the weight of the fruit. Eliza ate some apples, propped up the branches with pegs and went deeper into the thicket of the forest. The silence was such that Eliza heard her own steps and the rustling of every dry leaf she stepped on. Not a single bird was visible here, not a single ray of sunlight broke through the continuous tangle of branches. The tall trees stood so densely that when she looked in front of her, it seemed to her that she was surrounded by log walls. Eliza had never felt so alone.
At night it became even darker, not a single firefly glowed in the moss. Sad, Eliza lay down on the grass, and early in the morning she moved on. Then she met an old woman with a basket of berries. The old woman gave Eliza a handful of berries, and Eliza asked if eleven princes had passed through the forest here.
“No,” answered the old woman. “But I saw eleven swans in crowns; they were swimming on the river nearby.”
And the old woman led Eliza to a cliff under which a river flowed. The trees growing along its banks stretched long branches covered with thick foliage towards each other, and where they could not reach each other, their roots protruded from the ground and, intertwined with the branches, hung over the water.
Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and walked along the river to the place where the river flowed into the big sea.
And then a wonderful sea opened up before the girl. But not a single sail was visible on it, not a single boat. How could she continue on her way? The entire shore was strewn with countless stones, the water rolled them around, and they were completely round. Glass, iron, stones - everything that was washed ashore by the waves received its shape from the water, and the water was much softer than Eliza’s gentle hands.
“The waves roll tirelessly one after another and smooth out everything solid, so I too will be tireless! Thank you for science, bright, fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”
Eleven white swan feathers lay on the seaweed thrown up by the sea, and Eliza gathered them into a bunch. Drops of dew or tears glistened on them, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not notice it: the sea was always changing, and in a few hours you could see more here than in a whole year on freshwater lakes on land. Now a big black cloud is approaching, and the sea seems to say: “I, too, can look gloomy,” and the wind blows in, and the waves show their white underside. But the clouds glow pink, the wind sleeps, and the sea looks like a rose petal. Sometimes it is green, sometimes it is white, but no matter how calm it is, near the shore it is constantly in quiet movement. The water heaves gently, like the chest of a sleeping child.
At sunset Eliza saw eleven wild swans wearing golden crowns. They flew towards land, following one after another, and it looked like a long white ribbon was swaying in the sky. Eliza climbed to the top of the coastal cliff and hid behind a bush. The swans descended nearby and flapped their large white wings.
And so, as soon as the sun set in the sea, the swans shed their feathers and turned into eleven beautiful princes - Eliza's brothers. Eliza screamed loudly, immediately recognized them, felt in her heart that it was them, although the brothers had changed a lot. She rushed into their arms, called them by name, and how happy they were to see their sister, who had grown so much and looked prettier! And Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried, and soon learned from each other how cruelly their stepmother had treated them.
“We,” said the eldest of the brothers, “fly like wild swans while the sun stands in the sky.” And when it sets, we again take on human form. This is why we must always be on dry land by sunset. If we happen to turn into people, when we fly under the clouds, we will fall into the abyss. We don't live here. Beyond the sea lies a country as wonderful as this one, but the way there is long, you have to fly across the entire sea, and along the way there is not a single island where you could spend the night. Only in the very middle is a lonely cliff sticking out of the sea, and we can rest on it, huddled closely together, that’s how small it is. When the sea is rough, the spray flies straight through us, but we are glad to have such a haven. We spend the night there in our human form. If it weren’t for the cliff, we wouldn’t even be able to see our dear homeland: we need the two longest days of the year for this flight, and only once a year are we allowed to fly to our homeland. We can live here for eleven days and fly over this big forest, look at the palace where we were born and where our father lives. Here we are familiar with every bush, every tree, here, as in the days of our childhood, wild horses run across the plains, and coal miners sing the same songs to which we danced as children. This is our homeland, we strive here with all our souls, and here we found you, our dear sister! We can still stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a wonderful, but not our native country. How can we take you with us? We have neither a ship nor a boat!
“Oh, if only I could lift the spell from you!” - said the sister.
They talked like this all night and only dozed off for a few hours.
Eliza woke up from the sound of swan wings. The brothers turned into birds again, they circled over her, and then disappeared from sight. Only one of the swans, the youngest, stayed with her. He laid his head on her lap and she stroked his white wings. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest arrived, and when the sun set, everyone again took on human form.
- Tomorrow we have to fly away and will not be able to return earlier than in a year. Do you have the courage to fly with us? I alone can carry you in my arms through the entire forest, so can’t we all carry you on wings across the sea?
- Yes, take me with you! - said Eliza.
...All night long they wove a net of flexible willow bark and reeds. The mesh was large and strong. Eliza lay down in it, and as soon as the sun rose, the brothers turned into swans, picked up the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet, still sleeping sister into the clouds. The rays of the sun shone directly into her face, and one swan flew over her head, covering her from the sun with its wide wings.
They were already far from the ground when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming in reality, it was so strange to fly through the air. Next to her lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots. The youngest of the brothers dialed them, and Eliza smiled at him - she guessed that he was flying above her and covering her from the sun with his wings.
The swans flew high, high, so that the first ship they saw seemed to them like a seagull floating on the water. There was a large cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the giant shadows of eleven swans and her own. She had never seen such a magnificent sight before. But the sun rose higher and higher, the cloud remained further and further behind, and little by little the moving shadows disappeared.
The swans flew all day long, like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual, because this time they had to carry their sister. Evening was approaching and a storm was brewing. Eliza watched with fear as the sun set; the lonely sea cliff was still not visible. And it also seemed to her that the swans flapped their wings as if through force. Ah, it's her fault that they can't fly faster! The sun will set, and they will turn into people, fall into the sea and drown...
The black cloud was moving closer and closer, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm. The clouds gathered into a menacing leaden shaft that rolled across the sky. Lightning flashed one after another.
The sun had already touched the water, Eliza’s heart began to flutter. The swans suddenly began to descend, so quickly that Eliza thought they were falling. But no, they continued to fly. The sun was half hidden under the water, and only then Eliza saw beneath her a cliff no larger than the head of a seal sticking out of the water. The sun quickly sank into the sea and now seemed no more than a star. But then the swans stepped on the stone, and the sun went out, like the last spark of burning paper. The brothers stood arm in arm around Eliza, and they all barely fit on the cliff. The waves hit him with force and showered them with splashes. The sky was constantly lit up with lightning, thunder roared every minute, but the sister and brothers, holding hands, found courage and consolation in each other.
At dawn it became clear and quiet again. As soon as the sun rose, the swans and Eliza flew on. The sea was still agitated, and from above one could see white foam floating on the dark green water, like countless flocks of pigeons.
But then the sun rose higher, and Eliza saw in front of her a mountainous country, as if floating in the air, with blocks of sparkling ice on the rocks, and right in the middle stood a castle, probably stretching for a whole mile, with some amazing galleries one above the other. Below him, palm groves and luxurious flowers the size of mill wheels swayed. Eliza asked if this was the country where they were heading, but the swans only shook their heads: it was just the wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana.
Eliza looked and looked at him, and then the mountains, forests and castle moved together and formed twenty majestic churches with bell towers and lancet windows. She even thought she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. The churches were just about to approach when they suddenly turned into a whole flotilla of ships. Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea fog rising from the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing images and pictures!
But then the land to which they were heading appeared. There were wonderful mountains with cedar forests, cities and castles. And long before sunset, Eliza was sitting on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets, so overgrown with soft green climbing plants.
- Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom.
“Oh, if only it had been revealed to me in a dream how to remove the spell from you!” - she answered, and this thought did not leave her head.
And then she dreamed that she was flying high, high through the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and the fairy herself came out to meet her, so bright and beautiful, but at the same time surprisingly similar to the old woman who gave Eliza berries in the forest and told her about swans in golden crowns.
“Your brothers can be saved,” she said. - But do you have enough courage and perseverance? The water is softer than your hands and still washes over the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel. Water does not have a heart that would languish with torment and fear, like yours. Do you see nettles in my hands? Such nettles grow here near the cave, and only they, and even those that grow in cemeteries, can help you. Notice her! You will pick this nettle, although your hands will be covered with blisters from burns. Then you crush it with your feet, you get fiber. From it you will weave eleven long-sleeved shell shirts and throw them over the swans. Then the witchcraft will dissipate. But remember that from the moment you start work until you finish, even if it lasts for years, you must not say a word. The very first word that comes out of your mouth will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a deadly dagger. Their life and death will be in your hands. Remember all this!”
And the fairy touched her hand with nettles. Eliza felt pain, as if from a burn, and woke up. It was already dawn, and next to her lay a nettle, exactly like the one she had seen in her dream. Eliza left the cave and got to work.
With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands became covered with blisters, but she joyfully endured the pain - just to save her dear brothers! With her bare feet she crushed nettles and spun green threads.
But then the sun set, the brothers returned, and how frightened they were when they saw that their sister had become mute! This is nothing other than a new witchcraft of the evil stepmother, they decided. But the brothers looked at her hands and realized what she had planned for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers began to cry, and where his tears fell, the pain subsided, the burning blisters disappeared.
Eliza spent the whole night at work, because she had no rest until she freed her dear brothers. And all the next day, while the swans were away, she sat alone, but never before had time flown so quickly for her.
One shirt-shell was ready, and she began to work on another, when suddenly hunting horns sounded in the mountains. Eliza was scared. And the sounds were getting closer, dogs were barking. Eliza ran into the cave, tied the nettles she had collected into a bunch and sat on it.
Then a large dog jumped out from behind the bushes, followed by another, and a third. The dogs barked loudly and ran back and forth at the entrance to the cave. In less than a few minutes, all the hunters gathered at the cave. The most handsome among them was the king of that country. He approached Eliza - and never before had he met such a beauty.
- How did you get here, beautiful child? - he asked, but Eliza only shook her head in response, because she couldn’t speak, the life and salvation of the brothers depended on it.
She hid her hands under her apron so that the king would not see what torment she had to endure.
- Come with me! - he said. - This is no place for you! If you are as kind as you are beautiful, I will dress you in silk and velvet, put a golden crown on your head, and you will live in my magnificent palace!
And he put her on his horse. Eliza cried and wrung her hands, but the king said:
- I only want your happiness! Someday you will thank me for this!
And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.
By evening, the king’s magnificent capital, with temples and domes, appeared, and the king brought Eliza to his palace. Fountains gurgled in the high marble halls, and the walls and ceilings were painted. beautiful paintings. But Eliza didn’t look at anything, she just cried and was sad. Like a lifeless thing, she allowed the servants to put on royal clothes, weave pearls into her hair and pull thin gloves over her burnt fingers.
She stood dazzlingly beautiful in luxurious attire, and the whole court bowed low to her, and the king proclaimed her his bride, although the archbishop shook his head and whispered to the king that this forest beauty must be a witch, that she had averted everyone’s eyes and bewitched the king.
But the king did not listen to him, made a sign to the musicians, ordered to call the most beautiful dancers and serve expensive dishes, and he led Eliza through the fragrant gardens to the luxurious chambers. But there was no smile either on her lips or in her eyes, but only sadness, as if it was destined for her. But then the king opened the door to a small room next to her bedroom. The room was hung with expensive green carpets and resembled the cave where Eliza was found. There was a bundle of nettle fiber on the floor, and a shell-shirt woven by Eliza hung from the ceiling. One of the hunters took all this with him from the forest as a curiosity.
- Here you can remember your former home! - said the king. - Here is the work you did. Perhaps now, in your glory, memories of the past will amuse you.
Eliza saw the work dear to her heart, and a smile played on her lips, the blood rushed to her cheeks. She thought about saving her brothers and kissed the king's hand, and he pressed it to his heart.
The archbishop continued to whisper evil speeches to the king, but they did not reach the king’s heart. The next day they celebrated the wedding. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride. Out of frustration, he pulled the narrow gold hoop so tightly onto her forehead that it would have hurt anyone. But another, heavier hoop was squeezing her heart - sadness for her brothers, and she did not notice the pain. Her lips were still closed - a single word could cost her brothers their lives - but her eyes shone with ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became more and more attached to him. Oh, if only I could trust him, tell him my torment! But she had to be silent, she had to do her job in silence. That is why at night she quietly left the royal bedchamber to her secret cave-like room, and there weaved one shell-shirt after another. But when she started on the seventh, she ran out of fiber.
She knew she could find the nettles she needed in the cemetery, but she had to pick them herself. How to be?
“Oh, what does the pain in my fingers mean compared to the anguish of my heart? - thought Eliza. “I have to make up my mind!”
Her heart sank with fear, as if she were about to do something bad, when she made her way into the garden on a moonlit night, and from there along long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Ugly witches sat on the wide gravestones and stared at her with evil eyes, but she picked nettles and returned back to the palace.
Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her - the archbishop. It only turned out that he was right in suspecting that something was fishy with the queen. And it really turned out that she was a witch, which is why she managed to bewitch the king and all the people.
In the morning he told the king what he had seen and what he suspected. Two heavy tears rolled down the king's cheeks, and doubt crept into his heart. At night, he pretended to be asleep, but sleep did not come to him, and the king noticed how Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedchamber. And this happened every night, and every night he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret room.
Day by day the king grew gloomier and gloomier. Eliza saw this, but did not understand why, and she was afraid, and her heart ached for her brothers. Her bitter tears rolled onto the royal velvet and purple. They sparkled like diamonds, and people who saw her in magnificent attire wanted to be in her place.
But soon, soon the end of work! Only one shirt was missing, and then she ran out of fiber again. Once again - the last time - it was necessary to go to the cemetery and pick several bunches of nettles. She thought with fear about the deserted cemetery and terrible witches,” but her determination was unshakable.
And Eliza went, but the king and the archbishop followed her. They saw her disappear behind the cemetery gates, and when they approached the gates, they saw the witches on the gravestones, and the king turned back.
- Let her people judge her! - he said.
And the people decided to burn her at the stake.
From the luxurious royal chambers, Eliza was taken to a gloomy, damp dungeon with bars on the window, through which the wind whistled. Instead of velvet and silk, she was given a bunch of nettles she had picked from the cemetery under her head, and hard, stinging shell shirts were supposed to serve as her bed and blanket. But best gift she didn’t need to, and she went back to work. Street boys sang mocking songs to her outside her window, and not a single living soul found a word of consolation for her.
But in the evening, the sound of swan wings was heard at the grate - it was the youngest of the brothers who found her sister, and she began to cry with joy, although she knew that she had perhaps only one night left to live. But her work was almost finished and the brothers were here!
Eliza spent the whole night weaving the last shirt. To help her at least a little, the mice running around the dungeon brought stems of nettles to her feet, and a thrush sat at the window bars and cheered her up all night with his cheerful song.
It was just dawn, and the sun was only supposed to appear in an hour, but eleven brothers had already appeared at the gates of the palace and demanded to be allowed to see the king. They were told that this was in no way possible: the king was sleeping and could not be awakened. The brothers continued to ask, then they began to threaten, the guards appeared, and then the king himself came out to find out what was the matter. But then the sun rose, and the brothers disappeared, and eleven swans flew over the palace.
People flocked outside the city to watch the witch being burned. The pitiful nag was dragging the cart in which Eliza was sitting. A robe made of coarse burlap was thrown over her. Her wonderful, wondrous hair fell over her shoulders, there was not a trace of blood in her face, her lips moved soundlessly, and her fingers weaved green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of her work. Ten shell shirts lay at her feet, and she was weaving the eleventh. The crowd mocked her.
- Look at the witch! Look, he mumbles his lips and still won’t part with his witchcraft tricks! Snatch them from her and tear them to shreds!
And the crowd rushed towards her and wanted to tear her nettle shirts, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat down around her on the edges of the cart and flapped their mighty wings. The crowd left.
- This is a sign from heaven! She's innocent! - many whispered, but did not dare to say it out loud.
The executioner had already grabbed Eliza by the hand, but she quickly threw nettle shirts over the swans, and they all turned into beautiful princes, only the youngest one still had a wing instead of one arm: before Eliza had time to finish the last shirt, one sleeve was missing from it.
- Now I can talk! - she said. - I'm innocent!
And the people, who saw everything, bowed down before her, and she fell unconscious into the arms of her brothers, so exhausted was she with fear and pain.
- Yes, she is innocent! - said the eldest of the brothers and told everything as it happened, and as he spoke, a scent filled the air, like from a million roses - every log in the fire took root and branches, and now in the place of the fire stood a fragrant bush, all V scarlet roses. And at the very top, a dazzling white flower shone like a star. The king tore it off and placed it on Eliza's chest, and she woke up, and there was peace and happiness in her heart.
Then all the bells in the city rang of their own accord, and countless flocks of birds flew in, and such a joyful procession reached the palace, such as no king had ever seen!
Hans Christian Andersen
Wild Swans
Far, far away, in the country where swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza.
The eleven prince brothers were already going to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled at his side; They wrote on gold boards with diamond leads and could read perfectly, whether from a book or by heart - it didn’t matter. You could immediately hear that real princes were reading! Their sister Eliza sat on a mirrored glass bench and looked at a picture book for which half the kingdom had been paid.
Yes, the children had a good life, but not for long!
Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked the poor children. They had to experience this on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game of visiting, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always received in abundance, gave them a tea cup of sand and said that they could imagine, like it's a treat.
A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to be raised in the village by some peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he did not want to see them anymore.
Let's fly to all four directions! - said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice and provide for yourself!
But she could not do them as much harm as she would have liked - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows screaming and flew over the parks and forests.
It was early morning when they flew past the hut, where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to fly over the roof, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them; so they had to fly away with nothing. They soared high, high to the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest that stretched all the way to the sea.
Poor Eliza stood in a peasant hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she poked a hole in the leaf, looked through it at the sun, and it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers; when the warm rays of the sun slid across her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.
Days passed after days, one after the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes growing near the house and whisper to the roses: “Is there anyone more beautiful than you?” - the roses shook their heads and said: “Eliza is more beautiful.” Was there any old woman sitting at the door of her little house on Sunday, reading the psalter, and the wind turned over the sheets, saying to the book: “Is there anyone more devout than you?” the book answered: “Eliza is more devout!” Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth.
But Eliza turned fifteen years old and was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would gladly turn her into a wild swan, but she could not do this right now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.
And so early in the morning the queen went to the marble bathhouse, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each one and said first:
Sit on Eliza's head when she enters the bath; let her become as stupid and lazy as you! And you sit on her forehead! - she said to the other. - Let Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father will not recognize her! You lie on her heart! - the queen whispered to the third toad. - Let her become malicious and suffer from it!
Then she lowered the toads into clear water, and the water immediately turned green. Calling Eliza, the queen undressed her and ordered her to enter the water. Eliza obeyed, and one toad sat on her crown, another on her forehead, and a third on her chest; but Eliza didn’t even notice it, and as soon as she came out of the water, three red poppies floated across the water. If the toads had not been poisoned by the witch’s kiss, they would have turned, lying on Eliza’s head and heart, into red roses; the girl was so pious and innocent that witchcraft could not have any effect on her.
Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice until she turned completely brown, smeared her face with stinking ointment and tangled her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize pretty Eliza. Even her father was scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her except the chained dog and the swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!
Eliza began to cry and thought about her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and spent the whole day wandering through the fields and swamps, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself didn’t really know where she should go, but she was so homesick for her brothers, who were also expelled from their home, that she decided to look for them everywhere until she found them.
She did not stay long in the forest, but night had already fallen, and Eliza completely lost her way; then she lay down on the soft moss, read a prayer for the coming sleep and bowed her head on a stump. There was silence in the forest, the air was so warm, hundreds of fireflies flickered in the grass like green lights, and when Eliza touched some bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a rain of stars.
All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards and looking at the most wonderful picture book that was worth half a kingdom. But they didn’t write dashes and zeros on the boards, as had happened before - no, they described everything they saw and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds sang, and people came off the pages and talked with Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn the sheet over, they jumped back, otherwise the pictures would have become confused.
When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high; she couldn’t even see it well behind the thick foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies across the grass; a wonderful smell came from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Eliza’s shoulders. The murmur of a spring could be heard not far away; It turned out that several large streams ran here, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by a hedge, but in one place wild deer had made a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the water itself. The water in the pond was clean and clear; If the wind did not move the branches of the trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted on the bottom, so clearly they were reflected in the mirror of the waters.
Seeing her face in the water, Eliza was completely frightened, it was so black and disgusting; and so she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and her white, delicate skin began to shine again. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. You could look all over the world for such a pretty princess!
Far, far away, in the country where swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza.
The eleven prince brothers were already going to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled at his side; They wrote on gold boards with diamond leads and could read perfectly, whether from a book or by heart - it didn’t matter. You could immediately hear that real princes were reading! Their sister Eliza sat on a mirrored glass bench and looked at a picture book for which half the kingdom had been paid.
Yes, the children had a good life, but not for long!
Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked the poor children. They had to experience this on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game of visiting, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always received in abundance, gave them a tea cup of sand and said that they could imagine, like it's a treat.
A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to be raised in the village by some peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he did not want to see them anymore.
Let's fly to all four directions! - said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice and provide for yourself!
But she could not do them as much harm as she would have liked - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows screaming and flew over the parks and forests.
It was early morning when they flew past the hut, where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to fly over the roof, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them; so they had to fly away with nothing. They soared high, high to the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest that stretched all the way to the sea.
Poor Eliza stood in a peasant hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she poked a hole in the leaf, looked through it at the sun, and it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers; when the warm rays of the sun slid across her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.
Days passed after days, one after the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes growing near the house and whisper to the roses: “Is there anyone more beautiful than you?” - the roses shook their heads and said: “Eliza is more beautiful.” Was there any old woman sitting at the door of her little house on Sunday, reading the psalter, and the wind turned over the sheets, saying to the book: “Is there anyone more devout than you?” the book answered: “Eliza is more devout!” Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth.
But Eliza turned fifteen years old and was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would gladly turn her into a wild swan, but she could not do this right now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.
And so early in the morning the queen went to the marble bathhouse, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each one and said first:
Sit on Eliza's head when she enters the bath; let her become as stupid and lazy as you! And you sit on her forehead! - she said to the other. - Let Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father will not recognize her! You lie on her heart! - the queen whispered to the third toad. - Let her become malicious and suffer from it!
Then she lowered the toads into clear water, and the water immediately turned green. Calling Eliza, the queen undressed her and ordered her to enter the water. Eliza obeyed, and one toad sat on her crown, another on her forehead, and a third on her chest; but Eliza didn’t even notice it, and as soon as she came out of the water, three red poppies floated across the water. If the toads had not been poisoned by the witch’s kiss, they would have turned, lying on Eliza’s head and heart, into red roses; the girl was so pious and innocent that witchcraft could not have any effect on her.
Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice until she turned completely brown, smeared her face with stinking ointment and tangled her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize pretty Eliza. Even her father was scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her except the chained dog and the swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!
Eliza began to cry and thought about her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and spent the whole day wandering through the fields and swamps, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself didn’t really know where she should go, but she was so homesick for her brothers, who were also expelled from their home, that she decided to look for them everywhere until she found them.
She did not stay long in the forest, but night had already fallen, and Eliza completely lost her way; then she lay down on the soft moss, read a prayer for the coming sleep and bowed her head on a stump. There was silence in the forest, the air was so warm, hundreds of fireflies flickered in the grass like green lights, and when Eliza touched some bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a rain of stars.
All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards and looking at the most wonderful picture book that was worth half a kingdom. But they didn’t write dashes and zeros on the boards, as had happened before - no, they described everything they saw and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds sang, and people came off the pages and talked with Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn the sheet over, they jumped back, otherwise the pictures would have become confused.
When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high; she couldn’t even see it well behind the thick foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies across the grass; a wonderful smell came from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Eliza’s shoulders. The murmur of a spring could be heard not far away; It turned out that several large streams ran here, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by a hedge, but in one place wild deer had made a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the water itself. The water in the pond was clean and clear; If the wind did not move the branches of the trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted on the bottom, so clearly they were reflected in the mirror of the waters.
Seeing her face in the water, Eliza was completely frightened, it was so black and disgusting; and so she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and her white, delicate skin began to shine again. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. You could look all over the world for such a pretty princess!
Having dressed and braided her long hair, she went to the babbling spring, drank water straight from a handful and then walked further through the forest, she did not know where. She thought about her brothers and hoped that God would not abandon her: it was he who commanded the wild forest apples to grow in order to feed the hungry with them; He showed her one of these apple trees, the branches of which were bending from the weight of the fruit. Having satisfied her hunger, Eliza propped up the branches with sticks and went deeper into the thicket of the forest. There was such silence there that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustling of every dry leaf that fell under her feet. Not a single bird flew into this wilderness, not a single ray of sunlight slipped through the continuous thicket of branches. Tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls; Eliza had never felt so alone.
The night became even darker; Not a single firefly glowed in the moss. Eliza sadly lay down on the grass, and suddenly it seemed to her that the branches above her parted, and the Lord God himself looked at her with kind eyes; little angels peeked out from behind his head and from under his arms.
Waking up in the morning, she herself did not know whether it was in a dream or in reality. Going further, Eliza met an old woman with a basket of berries; hundred
Rushka gave the girl a handful of berries, and Eliza asked her if eleven princes had passed through the forest here.
No,” said the old woman, “but yesterday I saw eleven swans in golden crowns here on the river.”
And the old woman led Eliza to a cliff under which a river flowed. Trees grew on both banks, stretching their long branches densely covered with leaves towards each other. Those of the trees that did not manage to intertwine their branches with the branches of their brothers on the opposite bank stretched out above the water so much that their roots came out of the ground, and they still achieved their goal.
Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went to the mouth of the river that flowed into the open sea.
And then a wonderful boundless sea opened up in front of the young girl, but in its entire expanse not a single sail was visible, there was not a single boat on which she could set off on her further journey. Eliza looked at the countless boulders washed ashore by the sea - the water had polished them so that they became completely smooth and round. All the other objects thrown out by the sea: glass, iron and stones also bore traces of this polishing, and yet the water was softer than Eliza’s gentle hands, and the girl thought: “The waves tirelessly roll one after another and finally polish the hardest objects. I too will work tirelessly! Thank you for the science, bright fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”
Eleven white swan feathers lay on dry seaweed thrown up by the sea; Eliza collected and tied them into a bun; drops of dew or tears still glistened on the feathers, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not feel it: the sea represented eternal diversity; in a few hours you could see more here than in a whole year somewhere on the shores of fresh inland lakes. If a large black cloud was approaching the sky and the wind was getting stronger, the sea seemed to say: “I, too, can turn black!” - began to seethe, worry and became covered with white lambs. If the clouds were pinkish in color and the wind subsided, the sea looked like a rose petal; sometimes it turned green, sometimes white; but no matter how quiet there was in the air and no matter how calm the sea itself was, a slight disturbance was always noticeable near the shore - the water was quietly heaving, like the chest of a sleeping child.
When the sun was close to setting, Eliza saw a line of wild swans in golden crowns flying to the shore; all the swans were eleven, and they flew one after another, stretching out like a long white ribbon. Eliza climbed up and hid behind a bush. The swans descended not far from her and flapped their large white wings.
At the very moment when the sun disappeared under the water, the plumage of the swans suddenly fell off, and eleven handsome princes, Eliza’s brothers, found themselves on the ground! Eliza screamed loudly; she recognized them immediately, despite the fact that they had changed greatly; her heart told her that it was them! She threw herself into their arms, calling them all by name, and they were so happy to see and recognize their sister, who had grown so much and looked prettier. Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried and soon learned from each other how badly their stepmother had treated them.
We, brothers,” said the eldest, “fly in the form of wild swans all day long, from sunrise to sunset; when the sun sets, we again take on human form. Therefore, by the time the sun sets, we should always have solid ground under our feet: if we happened to turn into people during our flight under the clouds, we would immediately fall from such a terrible height. We don’t live here; Far, far across the sea lies a country as wonderful as this one, but the road there is long, we have to fly across the entire sea, and along the way there is not a single island where we could spend the night. Only in the very middle of the sea does a small lonely cliff stick out, on which we can somehow rest, huddled closely together. If the sea is raging, splashes of water even fly over our heads, but we thank God for such a refuge: without it, we would not be able to visit our dear homeland at all - and now for this flight we have to choose the two longest days in year. Only once a year are we allowed to fly to our homeland; we can stay here for eleven days and fly over this large forest, from where we can see the palace where we were born and where our father lives, and the bell tower of the church where our mother lies buried. Here even the bushes and trees seem familiar to us; here the wild horses we saw in our childhood days still run across the plains, and the coal miners still sing the songs to which we danced as children. This is our homeland, we are drawn here with all our hearts, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! We can stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a foreign country! How can we take you with us? We have neither a ship nor a boat!
How can I free you from the spell? - the sister asked the brothers.
They talked like this for almost the entire night and only dozed off for a few hours.
Eliza woke up from the sound of swan wings. The brothers again became birds and flew in the air in large circles, and then completely disappeared from sight. Only the youngest of the brothers remained with Eliza; the swan laid his head on her lap, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest arrived, and when the sun set, everyone again took on human form.
We have to fly away from here tomorrow and won’t be able to return until next year, but we won’t leave you here! - said the younger brother. - Do you have the courage to fly away with us? My arms are strong enough to carry you through the forest - can't we all carry you on wings across the sea?
Yes, take me with you! - said Eliza.
They spent the whole night weaving a net of flexible wicker and reeds; the mesh came out large and strong; Eliza was placed in it. Having turned into swans at sunrise, the brothers grabbed the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet sister, who was fast asleep, towards the clouds. The rays of the sun were shining directly into her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, protecting her from the sun with its wide wings.
They were already far from the ground when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming in reality, it was so strange for her to fly through the air. Near her lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots; The youngest of the brothers picked them up and placed them with her, and she smiled at him gratefully - she realized in her dreams that it was he who was flying above her and protecting her from the sun with his wings.
They flew high, high, so that the first ship they saw in the sea seemed to them like a seagull floating on the water. There was a large cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the moving gigantic shadows of eleven swans and her own. That was the picture! She had never seen anything like this before! But as the sun rose higher and the cloud remained further and further behind, the airy shadows little by little disappeared.
The swans flew all day long, like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual; now they were carrying their sister. The day began to fade towards evening, bad weather arose; Eliza watched with fear as the sun went down; the lonely sea cliff was still not visible. It seemed to her that the swans were flapping their wings vigorously. Ah, it was her fault that they could not fly faster! When the sun sets, they will become people, fall into the sea and drown! And she began to pray to God with all her heart, but the cliff still did not appear. A black cloud was approaching, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm, the clouds gathered into a solid, menacing leaden wave rolling across the sky; lightning flashed after lightning.
One edge of the sun was almost touching the water; Eliza's heart trembled; the swans suddenly flew down with incredible speed, and the girl already thought that they were all falling; but no, they continued to fly again. The sun was half hidden under the water, and then only Eliza saw a cliff beneath her, no larger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The sun was fading quickly; now it seemed only like a small shining star; but then the swans set foot on solid ground, and the sun went out like the last spark of burnt paper. Eliza saw the brothers around her, standing hand in hand; they all barely fit on the tiny cliff. The sea beat furiously against it and showered them with a whole rain of splashes; the sky was ablaze with lightning, and thunder rumbled every minute, but the sister and brothers held hands and sang a psalm that poured consolation and courage into their hearts.
At dawn the storm subsided, it became clear and quiet again; When the sun rose, the swans and Eliza flew on. The sea was still agitated, and from above they saw white foam floating on the dark green water, like countless flocks of swans.
When the sun rose higher, Eliza saw in front of her a mountainous country, as if floating in the air, with masses of shiny ice on the rocks; between the rocks towered a huge castle, entwined with some bold airy galleries of columns; below him palm forests and luxurious flowers, the size of mill wheels, swayed. Eliza asked if this was the country where they were flying, but the swans shook their heads: she saw in front of her the wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana; there they did not dare to bring a single human soul. Eliza again fixed her gaze on the castle, and now the mountains, forests and castle moved together, and twenty identical majestic churches with bell towers and lancet windows were formed from them. She even thought she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. Now the churches were very close, but suddenly they turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea fog rising above the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing aerial images and pictures! But finally, the real land where they were flying appeared. There were wonderful mountains, cedar forests, cities and castles.
Long before sunset, Eliza sat on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets - it was so overgrown with soft green creeping plants.
Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom.
Oh, if only I could dream of how to free you from the spell! - she said, and this thought never left her head.
Eliza began to fervently pray to God and continued her prayer even in her sleep. And so she dreamed that she was flying high, high through the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and that the fairy herself was coming out to meet her, so bright and beautiful, but at the same time surprisingly similar to the old woman who gave Eliza berries in the forest and told her about swans in golden crowns.
Your brothers can be saved,” she said. - But do you have enough courage and perseverance? The water is softer than your gentle hands and still polishes the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; Water does not have a heart that would languish with fear and torment like yours. Do you see nettles in my hands? Such nettles grow here near the cave, and only this, and even the nettles that grow in cemeteries, can be useful to you; notice her! You will pick this nettle, although your hands will be covered with blisters from burns; then you will knead it with your feet, twist long threads from the resulting fiber, then weave eleven shell shirts with long sleeves from them and throw them on the swans; then witchcraft will disappear. But remember that from the moment you begin your work until you finish it, even if it lasts for whole years, you must not say a word. The very first word that comes out of your mouth will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a dagger. Their life and death will be in your hands! Remember all this!
And the fairy touched her hand with stinging nettles; Eliza felt pain, as if from a burn, and woke up. It was already a bright day, and next to her lay a bunch of nettles, exactly the same as the one she saw now in her dream. Then she fell to her knees, thanked God and left the cave to immediately get to work.
With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands became covered with large blisters, but she joyfully endured the pain: if only she could save her dear brothers! Then she crushed the nettles with her bare feet and began to twist the green fiber.
At sunset the brothers appeared and were very frightened when they saw that she had become mute. They thought that this was a new witchcraft from their evil stepmother, but... Looking at her hands, they realized that she had become mute for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers began to cry; his tears fell onto her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared and the pain subsided.
Eliza spent the night at her work; rest was not on her mind; She thought only about how to free her dear brothers as quickly as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she remained alone, but never before had time flown so quickly for her. One shell shirt was ready, and the girl began to work on the next one.
Suddenly the sounds of hunting horns were heard in the mountains; Eliza was afraid; the sounds got closer and closer, then dogs were heard barking. The girl disappeared into a cave, tied all the nettles she had collected into a bunch and sat on it.
At that same moment a large dog jumped out from behind the bushes, followed by another and a third; they barked loudly and ran back and forth. A few minutes later all the hunters gathered at the cave; the most handsome of them was the king of that country; he approached Eliza - he had never met such a beauty!
How did you get here, pretty child? - he asked, but Eliza just shook her head; She did not dare to speak: the life and salvation of her brothers depended on her silence. Eliza hid her hands under her apron so that the king would not see how she was suffering.
Come with me! - he said. - You can't stay here! If you are as kind as you are beautiful, I will dress you in silk and velvet, put a golden crown on your head, and you will live in my magnificent palace! - And he sat her on the saddle in front of him; Eliza cried and wrung her hands, but the king said: “I only want your happiness.” Someday you will thank me yourself!
And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.
By evening, the king’s magnificent capital, with churches and domes, appeared, and the king led Eliza to his palace, where fountains gurgled in high marble chambers, and the walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings. But Eliza didn’t look at anything, she cried and was sad; She indifferently placed herself at the disposal of the servants, and they put on her royal clothes, wove pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burnt fingers.
The rich attire suited her so well, she was so dazzlingly beautiful in them that the whole court bowed before her, and the king proclaimed her his bride, although the archbishop shook his head, whispering to the king that the forest beauty must be a witch, that she had taken they all had eyes and bewitched the heart of the king.
The king, however, did not listen to him, signaled to the musicians, ordered to call the most beautiful dancers and serve expensive dishes on the table, and he led Eliza through the fragrant gardens to the magnificent chambers, but she remained as before sad and sorrowful. But then the king opened the door to a small room located just next to her bedroom. The room was all hung with green carpets and resembled the forest cave where Eliza was found; a bundle of nettle fiber lay on the floor, and a shell-shirt woven by Eliza hung on the ceiling; All this, like a curiosity, was taken with him from the forest by one of the hunters.
Here you can remember your former home! - said the king.
This is where your work comes in; Perhaps you will sometimes wish to have some fun, amidst all the pomp that surrounds you, with memories of the past!
Seeing the work dear to her heart, Eliza smiled and blushed; She thought about saving her brothers and kissed the king’s hand, and he pressed it to his heart and ordered the bells to be rung on the occasion of his wedding. The mute forest beauty became the queen.
The archbishop continued to whisper evil speeches to the king, but they did not reach the king’s heart, and the wedding took place. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of annoyance, he pulled the narrow gold hoop so tightly onto her forehead that it would have hurt anyone, but she didn’t even pay attention to it: what did bodily pain mean to her if her heart was aching with melancholy and pity for her dear brothers! Her lips were still compressed, not a single word came out of them - she knew that the life of her brothers depended on her silence - but in her eyes there shone an ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became more and more attached to him. ABOUT! If only she could trust him, express her suffering to him, but - alas! - She had to remain silent until she finished her work. At night, she quietly left the royal bedroom to her secret cave-like room, and there weaved one shell-shirt after another, but when she started on the seventh, all the fiber came out.
She knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery, but she had to pick them herself; How to be?
“Oh, what does bodily pain mean in comparison with the sadness that torments my heart! - thought Eliza. - I have to make up my mind! The Lord will not leave me!”
Her heart sank with fear, as if she were about to do something bad, when she made her way into the garden on a moonlit night, and from there along long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Disgusting witches sat on wide gravestones; They threw off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, tore open fresh graves with their bony fingers, pulled out bodies from there and devoured them. Eliza had to walk past them, and they kept staring at her with their evil eyes - but she said a prayer, picked nettles and returned home.
Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her - the archbishop; Now he was convinced that he was right in suspecting the queen, so she was a witch and therefore managed to bewitch the king and all the people.
When the king came to him in the confessional, the archbishop told him what he had seen and what he suspected; evil words poured out of his mouth, and the carved images of saints shook their heads, as if they wanted to say: “It’s not true, Eliza is innocent!” But the archbishop interpreted this in his own way, saying that the saints also testify against her, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Two large tears rolled down the king's cheeks, doubt and despair took possession of his heart. At night he only pretended to be asleep, but in reality sleep fled from him. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom; the following nights the same thing happened again; he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret room.
The king's brow grew darker and darker; Eliza noticed this, but did not understand the reason; her heart ached with fear and pity for her brothers; Bitter tears rolled down onto the royal purple, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire wanted to be in the queen’s place! But her work will soon end; only one shirt was missing, and with her eyes and signs she asked him to leave; That night she had to finish her work, otherwise all her suffering, tears, and sleepless nights would have been wasted! The archbishop left, cursing her with abusive words, but poor Eliza knew that she was innocent and continued to work.
To help her at least a little, the mice scurrying across the floor began to collect scattered nettle stalks and bring them to her feet, and the thrush, sitting outside the lattice window, consoled her with his cheerful song.
At dawn, shortly before sunrise, Eliza's eleven brothers appeared at the palace gates and demanded to be admitted to the king. They were told that this was absolutely impossible: the king was still sleeping and no one dared to disturb him. They continued to ask, then they began to threaten; the guards appeared, and then the king himself came out to find out what was the matter. But at that moment the sun rose, and there were no more brothers - eleven wild swans soared above the palace.
People flocked outside the city to see how they would burn the witch. A pitiful nag was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; a cloak made of rough burlap was thrown over her; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, there was not a trace of blood in her face, her lips moved quietly, whispering prayers, and her fingers weaved green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of the work she had begun; ten shell shirts lay at her feet completely ready, she was weaving the eleventh. The crowd mocked her.
Look at the witch! Look, he's mumbling! Probably not a prayer book in her hands - no, she’s still fiddling around with her witchcraft things! Let's snatch them from her and tear them to shreds.
And they crowded around her, about to snatch the work from her hands, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat down on the edges of the cart and noisily flapped their mighty wings. The frightened crowd retreated.
This is a sign from heaven! “She is innocent,” many whispered, but did not dare say it out loud.
The executioner grabbed Eliza by the hand, but she hastily threw eleven shirts on the swans, and... eleven handsome princes stood in front of her, only the youngest was missing one arm, instead there was a swan wing: Eliza did not have time to finish the last shirt, and it was missing one sleeve.
Now I can talk! - she said. - I'm innocent!
And the people, who saw everything that happened, bowed before her as before a saint, but she fell unconscious into the arms of her brothers - this was how the tireless strain of strength, fear and pain affected her.
Yes, she is innocent! - said the eldest brother and told everything as it happened; and while he spoke, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from many roses - each log in the fire took root and sprouts, and a tall fragrant bush was formed, covered with red roses. At the very top of the bush, a dazzling white flower shone like a star. The king tore it off, placed it on Eliza’s chest, and she came to her senses with joy and happiness!
All the church bells rang on their own, birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a wedding procession as no king had ever seen before reached the palace!
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Far, far away, in the country where swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza.
The eleven prince brothers were already going to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled at his side; They wrote on gold boards with diamond leads and could read perfectly, whether from a book or by heart - it didn’t matter. You could immediately hear that real princes were reading! Their sister Eliza sat on a mirrored glass bench and looked at a picture book for which half the kingdom had been paid.
Yes, the children had a good life, but not for long!
Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked the poor children. They had to experience this on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game of visiting, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always received in abundance, gave them a tea cup of sand and said that they could imagine, like it's a treat.
A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to be raised in the village by some peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he did not want to see them anymore.
- Let’s fly, hello, in all four directions! - said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice and provide for yourself!
But she could not do them as much harm as she would have liked - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows screaming and flew over the parks and forests.
It was early morning when they flew past the hut, where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to fly over the roof, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them; so they had to fly away with nothing. They soared high, high to the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest that stretched all the way to the sea.
Poor Eliza stood in a peasant hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she poked a hole in the leaf, looked through it at the sun, and it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers; when the warm rays of the sun slid across her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.
Days passed after days, one after the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes growing near the house and whisper to the roses: “Is there anyone more beautiful than you?” - the roses shook their heads and said: “Eliza is more beautiful.” Was there any old woman sitting at the door of her little house on Sunday, reading the psalter, and the wind turned over the sheets, saying to the book: “Is there anyone more devout than you?” the book answered: “Eliza is more devout!” Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth.
But Eliza turned fifteen years old and was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would gladly turn her into a wild swan, but she could not do this right now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.
And so early in the morning the queen went to the marble bathhouse, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each one and said first:
– Sit on Eliza’s head when she enters the bathhouse; let her become as stupid and lazy as you! And you sit on her forehead! - she said to the other. - Let Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father will not recognize her! You lie on her heart! – the queen whispered to the third toad. - Let her become malicious and suffer from it!
Then she lowered the toads into clear water, and the water immediately turned green. Calling Eliza, the queen undressed her and ordered her to enter the water. Eliza obeyed, and one toad sat on her crown, another on her forehead, and a third on her chest; but Eliza didn’t even notice it, and as soon as she came out of the water, three red poppies floated across the water. If the toads had not been poisoned by the witch’s kiss, they would have turned, lying on Eliza’s head and heart, into red roses; the girl was so pious and innocent that witchcraft could not have any effect on her.
Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice until she turned completely brown, smeared her face with stinking ointment and tangled her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize pretty Eliza. Even her father was scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her except the chained dog and the swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!
Eliza began to cry and thought about her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and spent the whole day wandering through the fields and swamps, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself didn’t really know where she should go, but she was so homesick for her brothers, who were also expelled from their home, that she decided to look for them everywhere until she found them.
She did not stay long in the forest, but night had already fallen, and Eliza completely lost her way; then she lay down on the soft moss, read a prayer for the coming sleep and bowed her head on a stump. There was silence in the forest, the air was so warm, hundreds of fireflies flickered in the grass like green lights, and when Eliza touched some bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a rain of stars.
All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards and looking at the most wonderful picture book that was worth half a kingdom. But they didn’t write dashes and zeros on the boards, as had happened before - no, they described everything they saw and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds sang, and people came off the pages and talked with Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn the sheet over, they jumped back, otherwise the pictures would have become confused.
When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high; she couldn’t even see it well behind the thick foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies across the grass; a wonderful smell came from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Eliza’s shoulders. The murmur of a spring could be heard not far away; It turned out that several large streams ran here, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by a hedge, but in one place wild deer had made a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the water itself. The water in the pond was clean and clear; If the wind did not move the branches of the trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted on the bottom, so clearly they were reflected in the mirror of the waters.
Seeing her face in the water, Eliza was completely frightened, it was so black and disgusting; and so she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and her white, delicate skin began to shine again. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. You could look all over the world for such a pretty princess!
Having dressed and braided her long hair, she went to the babbling spring, drank water straight from a handful and then walked further through the forest, she did not know where. She thought about her brothers and hoped that God would not abandon her: it was he who commanded the wild forest apples to grow in order to feed the hungry with them; He showed her one of these apple trees, the branches of which were bending from the weight of the fruit. Having satisfied her hunger, Eliza propped up the branches with sticks and went deeper into the thicket of the forest. There was such silence there that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustling of every dry leaf that fell under her feet. Not a single bird flew into this wilderness, not a single ray of sunlight slipped through the continuous thicket of branches. Tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls; Eliza has never felt so alone
The night became even darker; Not a single firefly glowed in the moss. Eliza sadly lay down on the grass, and suddenly it seemed to her that the branches above her parted, and the Lord God himself looked at her with kind eyes; little angels peeked out from behind his head and from under his arms.
Waking up in the morning, she herself did not know whether it was in a dream or in reality.
“No,” said the old woman, “but yesterday I saw eleven swans in golden crowns here on the river.”
And the old woman led Eliza to a cliff under which a river flowed. Trees grew on both banks, stretching their long branches densely covered with leaves towards each other. Those of the trees that did not manage to intertwine their branches with the branches of their brothers on the opposite bank stretched out above the water so much that their roots came out of the ground, and they still achieved their goal.
Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went to the mouth of the river that flowed into the open sea.
And then a wonderful boundless sea opened up in front of the young girl, but in its entire expanse not a single sail was visible, there was not a single boat on which she could set off on her further journey. Eliza looked at the countless boulders washed ashore by the sea - the water had polished them so that they became completely smooth and round. All the other objects thrown out by the sea: glass, iron and stones also bore traces of this polishing, and yet the water was softer than Eliza’s gentle hands, and the girl thought: “The waves roll tirelessly one after another and finally polish the hardest objects. I too will work tirelessly! Thank you for the science, bright fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”
Eleven white swan feathers lay on dry seaweed thrown up by the sea; Eliza collected and tied them into a bun; drops of dew or tears still glistened on the feathers, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not feel it: the sea represented eternal diversity; in a few hours you could see more here than in a whole year somewhere on the shores of fresh inland lakes. If a large black cloud was approaching the sky and the wind was getting stronger, the sea seemed to say: “I, too, can turn black!” - it began to seethe, get agitated and become covered with white lambs. If the clouds were pinkish in color and the wind was sleeping, the sea looked like a rose petal; sometimes it turned green, sometimes white; but no matter how quiet there was in the air and no matter how calm the sea itself was, a slight disturbance was always noticeable near the shore - the water was quietly heaving, like the chest of a sleeping child.
When the sun was close to setting, Eliza saw a line of wild swans in golden crowns flying to the shore; all the swans were eleven, and they flew one after another, stretching out like a long white ribbon. Eliza climbed up and hid behind a bush. The swans descended not far from her and flapped their large white wings.
At the very moment when the sun disappeared under the water, the plumage of the swans suddenly fell off, and eleven handsome princes, Eliza’s brothers, found themselves on the ground! Eliza screamed loudly; she recognized them immediately, despite the fact that they had changed greatly; her heart told her that it was them! She threw herself into their arms, calling them all by name, and they were so happy to see and recognize their sister, who had grown so much and looked prettier. Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried and soon learned from each other how badly their stepmother had treated them.
“We, brothers,” said the eldest, “fly in the form of wild swans all day, from sunrise to sunset; when the sun sets, we again take on human form. Therefore, by the time the sun sets, we should always have solid ground under our feet: if we happened to turn into people during our flight under the clouds, we would immediately fall from such a terrible height. We don’t live here; Far, far beyond the sea lies a country as wonderful as this one, but the road there is long, we have to fly across the entire sea, and along the way there is not a single island where we could spend the night. Only in the very middle of the sea does a small lonely cliff stick out, on which we can somehow rest, huddled closely together. If the sea is raging, splashes of water even fly over our heads, but we thank God for such a refuge: without it, we would not be able to visit our dear homeland at all - and now for this flight we have to choose the two longest days in year. Only once a year are we allowed to fly to our homeland; we can stay here for eleven days and fly over this large forest, from where we can see the palace where we were born and where our father lives, and the bell tower of the church where our mother lies buried. Here even the bushes and trees seem familiar to us; here the wild horses we saw in our childhood days still run across the plains, and the coal miners still sing the songs to which we danced as children. This is our homeland, here we are drawn with all our hearts, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! We can stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a foreign country! How can we take you with us? We have neither a ship nor a boat!
- How can I free you from the spell? – the sister asked the brothers.
They talked like this for almost the entire night and only dozed off for a few hours.
Eliza woke up from the sound of swan wings. The brothers again became birds and flew in the air in large circles, and then completely disappeared from sight. Only the youngest of the brothers remained with Eliza; the swan laid his head on her lap, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest arrived, and when the sun set, everyone again took on human form.
“Tomorrow we must fly away from here and will not be able to return until next year, but we will not leave you here!” - said the younger brother. – Do you have the courage to fly away with us? My arms are strong enough to carry you through the forest - can't we all carry you on wings across the sea?
- Yes, take me with you! - said Eliza.
They spent the whole night weaving a net of flexible wicker and reeds; the mesh came out large and strong; Eliza was placed in it. Having turned into swans at sunrise, the brothers grabbed the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet sister, who was fast asleep, towards the clouds. The rays of the sun were shining directly into her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, protecting her from the sun with its wide wings.
They were already far from the ground when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming in reality, it was so strange for her to fly through the air. Near her lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots; The youngest of the brothers picked them up and placed them with her, and she smiled at him gratefully - she guessed that it was he who flew above her and protected her from the sun with his wings.
They flew high, high, so that the first ship they saw in the sea seemed to them like a seagull floating on the water. There was a large cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the moving gigantic shadows of eleven swans and her own. That was the picture! She had never seen anything like this before! But as the sun rose higher and the cloud remained further and further behind, the airy shadows little by little disappeared.
The swans flew all day long, like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual; now they were carrying their sister. The day began to fade towards evening, bad weather arose; Eliza watched with fear as the sun went down; the lonely sea cliff was still not visible. It seemed to her that the swans were flapping their wings vigorously. Ah, it was her fault that they could not fly faster! When the sun sets, they will become people, fall into the sea and drown! And she began to pray to God with all her heart, but the cliff still did not appear. A black cloud was approaching, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm, the clouds gathered into a solid, menacing leaden wave rolling across the sky; lightning flashed after lightning.
One edge of the sun was almost touching the water; Eliza's heart trembled; the swans suddenly flew down with incredible speed, and the girl already thought that they were all falling; but no, they continued to fly again. The sun was half hidden under the water, and then only Eliza saw a cliff beneath her, no larger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The sun was fading quickly; now it seemed only like a small shining star; but then the swans set foot on solid ground, and the sun went out like the last spark of burnt paper. Eliza saw the brothers around her, standing hand in hand; they all barely fit on the tiny cliff. The sea beat furiously against it and showered them with a whole rain of splashes; the sky was ablaze with lightning, and thunder rumbled every minute, but the sister and brothers held hands and sang a psalm that poured consolation and courage into their hearts.
At dawn the storm subsided, it became clear and quiet again; When the sun rose, the swans and Eliza flew on. The sea was still agitated, and from above they saw white foam floating on the dark green water, like countless flocks of swans.
When the sun rose higher, Eliza saw in front of her a mountainous country, as if floating in the air, with masses of shiny ice on the rocks; between the rocks towered a huge castle, entwined with some bold airy galleries of columns; below him palm forests and luxurious flowers, the size of mill wheels, swayed. Eliza asked if this was the country where they were flying, but the swans shook their heads: she saw in front of her the wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana; there they did not dare to bring a single human soul. Eliza again fixed her gaze on the castle, and now the mountains, forests and castle moved together, and twenty identical majestic churches with bell towers and lancet windows were formed from them. She even thought she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. Now the churches were very close, but suddenly they turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea fog rising above the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing aerial images and pictures! But finally, the real land where they were flying appeared. There were wonderful mountains, cedar forests, cities and castles.
Long before sunset, Eliza sat on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets - it was so overgrown with soft green creeping plants.
- Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom.
“Oh, if only I could dream of how to free you from the spell!” – she said, and this thought never left her head.
Eliza began to fervently pray to God and continued her prayer even in her sleep. And so she dreamed that she was flying high, high through the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and that the fairy herself was coming out to meet her, so bright and beautiful, but at the same time surprisingly similar to the old woman who gave Eliza berries in the forest and told her about swans in golden crowns.
“Your brothers can be saved,” she said. – But do you have enough courage and perseverance? The water is softer than your gentle hands and still polishes the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; Water does not have a heart that would languish with fear and torment like yours. Do you see nettles in my hands? Such nettles grow here near the cave, and only this, and even the nettles that grow in cemeteries, can be useful to you; notice her! You will pick this nettle, although your hands will be covered with blisters from burns; then you will knead it with your feet, twist long threads from the resulting fiber, then weave eleven shell shirts with long sleeves from them and throw them on the swans; then witchcraft will disappear. But remember that from the moment you begin your work until you finish it, even if it lasts for whole years, you must not say a word. The very first word that comes out of your mouth will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a dagger. Their life and death will be in your hands! Remember all this!
And the fairy touched her hand with stinging nettles; Eliza felt pain, as if from a burn, and woke up. It was already a bright day, and next to her lay a bunch of nettles, exactly the same as the one she saw now in her dream. Then she fell to her knees, thanked God and left the cave to immediately get to work.
With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands became covered with large blisters, but she joyfully endured the pain: if only she could save her dear brothers! Then she crushed the nettles with her bare feet and began to twist the green fiber.
At sunset the brothers appeared and were very frightened when they saw that she had become mute. They thought that this was a new witchcraft of their evil stepmother, but, looking at her hands, they realized that she had become mute for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers began to cry; his tears fell onto her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared and the pain subsided.
Eliza spent the night at her work; rest was not on her mind; She thought only about how to free her dear brothers as quickly as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she remained alone, but never before had time flown so quickly for her. One shell shirt was ready, and the girl began to work on the next one.
Suddenly the sounds of hunting horns were heard in the mountains; Eliza was afraid; the sounds got closer and closer, then dogs were heard barking. The girl disappeared into a cave, tied all the nettles she had collected into a bunch and sat on it.
At the same moment a large dog jumped out from behind the bushes, followed by another and a third; they barked loudly and ran back and forth. A few minutes later all the hunters gathered at the cave; the most handsome of them was the king of that country; he approached Eliza - he had never met such a beauty!
- How did you get here, lovely child? - he asked, but Eliza just shook her head; She did not dare to speak: the life and salvation of her brothers depended on her silence. Eliza hid her hands under her apron so that the king would not see how she was suffering.
- Come with me! - he said. – You can’t stay here! If you are as kind as you are beautiful, I will dress you in silk and velvet, put a golden crown on your head, and you will live in my magnificent palace! - And he sat her on the saddle in front of him; Eliza cried and wrung her hands, but the king said: “I only want your happiness.” Someday you will thank me yourself!
And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.
By evening, the king’s magnificent capital, with churches and domes, appeared, and the king led Eliza to his palace, where fountains gurgled in high marble chambers, and the walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings. But Eliza didn’t look at anything, she cried and was sad; She indifferently placed herself at the disposal of the servants, and they put on her royal clothes, wove pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burnt fingers.
The rich attire suited her so well, she was so dazzlingly beautiful in them that the whole court bowed before her, and the king proclaimed her his bride, although the archbishop shook his head, whispering to the king that the forest beauty must be a witch, that she had taken they all had eyes and bewitched the heart of the king.
The king, however, did not listen to him, signaled to the musicians, ordered to call the most beautiful dancers and serve expensive dishes on the table, and he led Eliza through the fragrant gardens to the magnificent chambers, but she remained as before sad and sorrowful. But then the king opened the door to a small room located just next to her bedroom. The room was all hung with green carpets and resembled the forest cave where Eliza was found; a bundle of nettle fiber lay on the floor, and a shell-shirt woven by Eliza hung on the ceiling; All this, like a curiosity, was taken with him from the forest by one of the hunters.
– Here you can remember your former home! - said the king. - This is where your work comes in; Perhaps you will sometimes wish to have some fun, amidst all the pomp that surrounds you, with memories of the past!
Seeing the work dear to her heart, Eliza smiled and blushed; She thought about saving her brothers and kissed the king’s hand, and he pressed it to his heart and ordered the bells to be rung on the occasion of his wedding. The mute forest beauty became the queen.
The archbishop continued to whisper evil speeches to the king, but they did not reach the king’s heart, and the wedding took place. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of annoyance, he pulled the narrow gold hoop so tightly onto her forehead that it would have hurt anyone, but she didn’t even pay attention to it: what did bodily pain mean to her if her heart was aching with melancholy and pity for her dear brothers! Her lips were still compressed, not a single word came out of them - she knew that the life of her brothers depended on her silence - but in her eyes there shone an ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became more and more attached to him. ABOUT! If she could trust him, express her suffering to him, but - alas! - She had to remain silent until she finished her work. At night, she quietly left the royal bedroom to her secret cave-like room, and there weaved one shell-shirt after another, but when she started on the seventh, all the fiber came out.
She knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery, but she had to pick them herself; How to be?
“Oh, what does bodily pain mean in comparison with the sadness that torments my heart! - thought Eliza. - I have to make up my mind! The Lord will not leave me!”
Her heart sank with fear, as if she were about to do something bad, when she made her way into the garden on a moonlit night, and from there along long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Disgusting witches sat on wide gravestones; They threw off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, tore open fresh graves with their bony fingers, pulled out bodies from there and devoured them. Eliza had to walk past them, and they kept staring at her with their evil eyes - but she said a prayer, picked nettles and returned home.
Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her - the archbishop; Now he was convinced that he was right in suspecting the queen, so she was a witch and therefore managed to bewitch the king and all the people.
When the king came to him in the confessional, the archbishop told him what he had seen and what he suspected; evil words poured out of his tongue, and the carved images of saints shook their heads, as if they wanted to say: “It’s not true, Eliza is innocent!” But the archbishop interpreted this in his own way, saying that the saints also testify against her, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Two large tears rolled down the king's cheeks, doubt and despair took possession of his heart. At night he only pretended to be asleep, but in reality sleep fled from him. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom; the following nights the same thing happened again; he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret room.
The king's brow grew darker and darker; Eliza noticed this, but did not understand the reason; her heart ached with fear and pity for her brothers; Bitter tears rolled down onto the royal purple, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire wanted to be in the queen’s place! But soon the end of her work will come; Only one shirt was missing, and then Eliza again lacked fiber. Once again, the last time, it was necessary to go to the cemetery and pick several bunches of nettles. She thought with horror about the deserted cemetery and the terrible witches; but her determination to save her brothers was unshakable, as was her faith in God.
Eliza set off, but the king and the archbishop were watching her and saw her disappear behind the cemetery fence; coming closer, they saw the witches sitting on the gravestones, and the king turned back; Between these witches was the one whose head had just rested on his chest!
- Let her people judge her! - he said.
And the people decided to burn the queen at the stake.
From the magnificent royal chambers, Eliza was transferred to a gloomy, damp dungeon with iron bars on the windows, through which the wind whistled. Instead of velvet and silk, they gave the poor thing a bunch of nettles she had picked from the cemetery; this burning bundle was supposed to serve as a headboard for Eliza, and the hard shirt-shells woven by her were to serve as a bed and carpets; but they could not give her anything more valuable than all this, and with a prayer on her lips she again set about her work. From the street Eliza could hear the insulting songs of the street boys mocking her; Not a single living soul turned to her with words of consolation and sympathy.
In the evening, the sound of swan wings was heard at the grate - it was the youngest of the brothers who found his sister, and she sobbed loudly with joy, although she knew that she had only one night to live; but her work was coming to an end, and the brothers were here!
The archbishop came to spend her last hours with her, as he promised the king, but she shook her head and with her eyes and signs asked him to leave; That night she had to finish her work, otherwise all her suffering, tears, and sleepless nights would have been wasted! The archbishop left, cursing her with abusive words, but poor Eliza knew that she was innocent and continued to work.
To help her at least a little, the mice scurrying across the floor began to collect scattered nettle stalks and bring them to her feet, and the thrush, sitting outside the lattice window, consoled her with his cheerful song.
At dawn, shortly before sunrise, Eliza's eleven brothers appeared at the palace gates and demanded to be admitted to the king. They were told that this was absolutely impossible: the king was still sleeping and no one dared to disturb him. They continued to ask, then they began to threaten; the guards appeared, and then the king himself came out to find out what was the matter. But at that moment the sun rose, and there were no more brothers - eleven wild swans soared above the palace.
People flocked outside the city to see how they would burn the witch. A pitiful nag was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; a cloak made of rough burlap was thrown over her; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, there was not a trace of blood in her face, her lips moved quietly, whispering prayers, and her fingers weaved green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of the work she had begun; Ten shell shirts lay at her feet, completely finished, and she was weaving the eleventh. The crowd mocked her.
- Look at the witch! Look, he's mumbling! Probably not a prayer book in her hands - no, she’s still fiddling around with her witchcraft things! Let's snatch them from her and tear them to shreds.
And they crowded around her, about to snatch the work from her hands, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat down on the edges of the cart and noisily flapped their mighty wings. The frightened crowd retreated.
- This is a sign from heaven! “She is innocent,” many whispered, but did not dare say it out loud.
The executioner grabbed Eliza by the hand, but she hastily threw eleven shirts on the swans, and... eleven handsome princes stood in front of her, only the youngest was missing one arm, instead there was a swan wing: Eliza did not have time to finish the last shirt, and it was missing one sleeve.
– Now I can talk! - she said. - I'm innocent!
And the people, who saw everything that happened, bowed before her as before a saint, but she fell senseless into the arms of her brothers - this was how the tireless strain of strength, fear and pain affected her.
- Yes, she is innocent! - said the eldest brother and told everything as it happened; and while he spoke, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from many roses - each log in the fire took root and sprouts, and a tall fragrant bush was formed, covered with red roses. At the very top of the bush, a dazzling white flower shone like a star. The king tore it off, placed it on Eliza’s chest, and she came to her senses with joy and happiness!
All the church bells rang on their own, birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a wedding procession as no king had ever seen before reached the palace!
