The Six Swans (Grimm)
Short summary
A magical forest, fairy tale times. A king got lost while hunting and encountered a witch who forced him to marry her daughter in exchange for showing him the way home.
The king had seven children from his first marriage whom he hid in a secret castle. His new queen discovered them and used witchcraft to turn the six boys into swans. Only the daughter escaped.
To save her brothers, she had to remain silent for six years while sewing six starwort shirts. A young king found her in the forest and married her despite her muteness. His evil mother accused her of eating her own babies. Unable to defend herself, she was condemned to burn.
When the day came for the sentence to be executed, it was the last day of the six years during which she was not to speak or laugh, and she had delivered her dear brothers from the power of the enchantment.
Six swans flew to her, transformed back into her brothers when she threw the shirts over them. She finally spoke, proving her innocence. The evil mother-in-law was burned instead. Only the youngest brother kept a swan wing, as his shirt lacked one sleeve.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
A king became lost while hunting in a great forest and encountered an aged woman who offered to show him the way out in exchange for marrying her daughter. In his desperation, the king agreed.
The witch led him to her hut where her beautiful daughter waited. Though the king found her beautiful, she filled him with secret horror. Nevertheless, he married her and brought her to his palace. The king had seven children from his first marriage - six boys and one girl - whom he loved dearly. Fearing his new wife might harm them, he hid the children in a remote castle deep in the forest, accessible only with a magical ball of yarn given to him by a wise woman.
The transformation of the six brothers
The new queen noticed her husband's frequent absences and grew curious. She bribed his servants to reveal the secret of the hidden children and the magical ball of yarn. Learning witchcraft from her mother, she sewed enchanted shirts of white silk.
When the king went hunting, she took the shirts and followed the ball to the castle. The children, thinking their father was approaching, ran joyfully to meet her.
Then she threw one of the little shirts over each of them, and no sooner had the shirts touched their bodies than they were changed into swans, and flew away over the forest.
Only the daughter had not run out and escaped transformation. When the king returned the next day, he found only his daughter, who told him she had seen her brothers fly away as swans. The king mourned but did not suspect his wife's treachery.
The sisters quest and the curses conditions
Fearing for his daughter's safety, the king wanted to take her away, but she begged to stay one more night. That evening, she fled into the forest to search for her brothers.
After walking all night and day, she discovered a forest hut with six small beds. She hid under one bed and at sunset witnessed six swans fly in through the window. The swans shed their feathers and became her brothers for fifteen minutes.
The brothers explained they could not protect her from the robbers who used this hut, and revealed the conditions for breaking their curse:
For six years thou mayst neither speak nor laugh, and in that time thou must sew together six little shirts of starwort for us. And if one single word falls from thy lips, all thy work will be lost.
The maiden, however, firmly resolved to deliver her brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the hut, went into the midst of the forest, seated herself on a tree.
Marriage to the King and the mother-in-laws accusations
While sewing starwort shirts in a tree, the silent maiden was discovered by huntsmen of another king. Unable to speak, she threw down her jewelry to appease them, but they brought her before their king.
Despite her muteness, the king fell deeply in love with her beauty and modest bearing, and married her. His mother disapproved of the marriage, questioning the origins of a woman who could not speak. When the queen bore her first child, the wicked mother-in-law stole the baby, smeared blood on the sleeping queen's mouth, and accused her of cannibalism.
The king refused to believe the accusations. The same treachery occurred with the second and third children, while the queen continued sewing her shirts in silence.
The trial and sentence of death
After the third accusation, the king could no longer defend his silent wife. Though he believed in her goodness, her inability to speak in her own defense led to her condemnation. She was sentenced to death by fire. The execution was scheduled for the final day of the six-year period during which she was forbidden to speak.
Breaking the curse and revealing the truth
As the queen was led to the stake with the completed shirts, six swans flew toward her. She threw the shirts over them, breaking the enchantment.
The swans swept towards her and sank down so that she could throw the shirts over them, and as they were touched by them, their swan's skins fell off, and her brothers stood in their own bodily form.
Only the youngest brother's left sleeve remained unfinished, leaving him with a swan's wing instead of an arm. Now able to speak, the queen proclaimed her innocence and revealed her mother-in-law's treachery. The stolen children were returned, the wicked mother-in-law was burned at the stake, and the royal family lived happily together.