Hans Christian Andersen Geese Swans. Wild swans text

Far, far away, in the country where the swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter named Eliza. Eleven brothers-princes already went to school; each had a star on his chest and a saber rattled at his left side. The princes wrote with diamond slates on golden boards and were excellent at reading, both from a book and without a book, as a keepsake. Of course, only real princes could read so well. While the princes were studying, their sister Eliza sat on a bench of plate glass and looked at a picture book that cost half a kingdom. Yes, the kids had a good time! But soon everything went differently.

Their mother died and the king married again. The stepmother was an evil sorceress and disliked the poor children. On the very first day, when the king's wedding was celebrated in the palace, the children felt what an evil stepmother they had. They started a game of "visiting" and asked the queen to give them cakes and baked apples to feed their guests. But the stepmother gave them a teacup of plain sand and said:

"That's enough for you!"

Another week passed, and the stepmother decided to get rid of Eliza. She sent her to the village to some peasants for education. And then the evil stepmother began to slander the king about the poor princes and told so many bad things that the king did not want to see his sons anymore.

And so the queen ordered the princes to be called, and when they approached her, she called out:

“May each of you turn into a black crow!” Fly away from the palace and get your own food!

But she failed to complete her evil deed. The princes turned not into ugly crows, but into beautiful wild swans. With a cry they flew out of the windows of the palace and rushed over the parks and forests.

It was early in the morning when eleven swans flew past the hut where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They flew over the roof for a long time, stretching out their flexible necks and flapping their wings, but no one heard or saw them. So they had to fly away without seeing their sister.

High, high, to the very clouds, they soared and flew into a large dark forest that stretched to the sea.

And poor Eliza remained to live in a peasant hut. For whole days she played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she pierced a hole in the leaf and looked through it at the sun - it seemed to her that she saw the clear eyes of her brothers.

Days followed days. Sometimes the wind swayed the rose bushes that blossomed near the house, and asked the roses:

Is there anyone more beautiful than you? And the roses, shaking their heads, replied:

Eliza is prettier than us.

And finally, Elise was fifteen years old, and the peasants sent her home to the palace.

The queen saw how beautiful her stepdaughter was and hated Eliza even more. The evil stepmother would like to turn Eliza, like her brothers, into a wild swan, but she could not do this: the king wanted to see his daughter.

And early in the morning the queen went to her marble bath, all sorted out with wonderful carpets and soft pillows. Three toads were sitting in the corner of the pool. The queen took them in her arms and kissed them. Then she said to the first toad:

- When Eliza enters the bath, sit on her head - let her become the same. stupid and lazy like you.

To another toad the queen said:

- And you jump on Eliza's forehead - let her become as ugly as you. Then her own father won't recognize her either... Well, you lie on her heart! - the queen whispered to the third toad. - Let her become evil so that no one loves her.

And the queen threw the toads into the clear water. The water immediately turned green and cloudy.

The queen called Eliza, undressed her and ordered her to enter the water.

As soon as Eliza stepped into the water, one heat jumped on her crown, another on her forehead, and a third on her chest. But Eliza didn't even notice. And three toads, touching Eliza, turned into three red poppies. And Eliza came out of the water as beautiful as she came in.

Then evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, and poor Eliza turned completely black. And then her stepmother smeared her face with a stinking ointment and messed up her wonderful hair. Now no one would be able to recognize Eliza. Even her father, looking at her, was frightened and said that this was not his daughter. Nobody recognized Eliza. Only an old chain dog rushed towards her with a friendly bark, and the swallows, which she often fed with crumbs, chirped their song to her. But who will pay attention to poor animals?

Eli wept bitterly and secretly left the palace. All day she wandered through the fields and swamps, making her way to the forest. Eliza didn't really know where she was going. She kept thinking about her brothers, whom the evil stepmother had also driven out of their home. Eliza decided to look for them everywhere until she found them.

By the time Eliza reached the forest, it was already night, and a poor girl completely lost her way. She sank down on the soft moss and rested her head on a stump. The forest was quiet and warm. Hundreds of fireflies, like green lights, flickered in the grass, and when Eliza touched a bush with her hand, some shiny beetles fell from the leaves in a starry rain.

All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with diamond slates on golden boards, and examining a wonderful picture book for which half the kingdom was given. The pictures in the book were alive: birds sang and people jumped out of the pages of the book and talked to Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as Eliza turned the page, people jumped back - otherwise the pictures would have been confused.
When Eliza awoke the sun was already high; she couldn't even get a good look at him through the dense foliage of the trees. Only sometimes the sun's rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies across the grass. The babbling of a stream could be heard in the distance. Eliza went to the stream and bent over it. The water in the stream was clean and clear. If it were not for the wind that stirred the branches of trees and bushes, one would have thought that the trees and bushes were painted at the bottom of the stream - they were so clearly reflected in calm water.
Eliza saw her face in the water and was very frightened - it was so black and ugly. But here she scooped up water with her hand, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and her face again became white, as before. Then Eliza undressed and entered the cool, clear stream. The water immediately washed off the juice of the walnut and the stinking ointment with which the stepmother had rubbed Eliza.

Then Eliza got dressed, braided her braids long hair and went on through the forest, not knowing where. On the way, she saw a wild apple tree, the branches of which were bent from the weight of the fruit. Eliza ate the apples, propped up the branches with chopsticks, and walked on. Soon she entered the very thicket of the forest. Not a single bird flew in here, not a single ray of sunlight penetrated through the tangled branches. The tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls. It was so quiet all around that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustle of every dry leaf that came across her feet. Eliza had never been in such a wilderness before.

At night it became completely dark, even the fireflies did not shine in the moss. Eliza lay down on the grass and fell asleep.

- No, - said the old woman, - I have not met princes, 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. Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and walked along the river bank.

Eliza walked for a long time, and suddenly a boundless sea opened up before her. Not a single sail was visible on the sea, not a single boat was nearby.
Eliza sat down on a rock near the shore and wondered what to do, where to go next?

They ran to Eliza's feet sea waves They carried small stones with them. The water had worn away the edges of the pebbles, and they were quite smooth and round.

And the girl thought: “How much work is needed to make a hard stone smooth and round! And water does it. The sea tirelessly and patiently rolls its waves and conquers the hardest stones. Thank you for teaching me, light fast waves! I will, like you, work tirelessly. My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”
On the shore, among the dry seaweed, Eliza found eleven white swan feathers. There were still drops on the feathers - dew or tears, who knows? It was deserted all around, but Eliza did not feel alone. She looked at the sea and could not see enough.

Here a big black cloud is approaching the sky, the wind grows stronger, and the sea also turns black, worries and seethes. But the cloud passes, pink clouds float across the sky, the wind subsides, and the sea is already calm, now it looks like a rose petal. Sometimes it becomes green, sometimes white. But no matter how quiet it is in the air and no matter how calm the sea is, the surf is always noisy near the shore, a slight excitement is always noticeable - the water rises quietly, like the chest of a sleeping child.

When the sun was nearing sunset, Eliza saw wild swans. Like a long white ribbon, they flew one after another. There were eleven of them. Each swan had a small golden crown on its head. Eliza moved to the cliff and hid in the bushes. The swans descended not far from her and flapped their great white wings.

At that very moment the sun sank under the water - and suddenly their white feathers fell from the swans, and no longer eleven swans stood in front of Eliza, but eleven handsome princes. Eliza cried out loudly - she immediately recognized her brothers, although for these long years they have changed a lot. Eliza threw herself into their arms and began to call them all by their names.

The brothers were very happy that they found a sister who had grown so much and became so beautiful. Eliza and the brothers laughed and cried, and then they told each other about everything that had happened to them.

The eldest of the princes said to Eliza:

We fly wild swans all day, from sunrise to sunset. When the sun goes down, we turn back into human beings. And now, by the hour of sunset, we are in a hurry to sink to the ground. If we were to turn into humans while we are flying high above the clouds, we would immediately fall to the ground and break. We don't live here. Far, far beyond the sea lies a country as beautiful as this. That's where we live. But the road there is long, it is necessary to fly over the whole sea, and there is not a single island along the way where we could spend the night. Only in the very middle of the sea rises a lonely cliff. It is so small that we can stand on it only by huddling close to each other. When the sea rages, the splashes of the waves fly over our heads. But still, if it were not for this cliff, we would never have been able to visit our native land: the sea is wide, we cannot fly over it from sunrise to sunset. Only twice a year, on the longest days, can our wings carry us across the sea. And so we fly here and live here for eleven days. We fly over this great forest and look at the palace where we were born and spent our childhood. It is clearly visible from here. Here, every bush and every tree seems to be native to us. Wild horses, which we saw in childhood, run across the green meadows, and coal miners sing the same songs that we heard when we lived in our native palace. Here is our homeland, here it draws us with all our heart, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! This time we have been here for nine days. In two days we must fly across the sea to a beautiful but foreign country. How can we take you with us? We don't have a ship or a boat.

"Oh, if only I could free you from the spell!" Eliza told the brothers.

So they talked almost all night and dozed off just before dawn.
Eliza was awakened by the sound of swan wings. The brothers again became birds and flew to their native forest. Only one swan remained on the shore with Eliza. It was the youngest of her brothers. The swan laid his head on her knees, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening ten swans flew in, and when the sun went down, they again turned into princes.

“Tomorrow we must fly away and we will not dare to return before next year,” the elder brother said to Eliza, “but we will not leave you here. Let's fly with us! I alone in my arms can carry you through the whole forest, so can we all eleven on our wings not be able to carry you across the sea?

Yes, take me with you! Eliza said.

All night they weaved a net of flexible willow bark and reeds. The net came out large and strong, and the brothers put Eliza in it. And at sunrise, ten swans picked up the net with their beaks and soared under the clouds. Eliza slept in the net with a sweet dream. And so that the rays of the sun would not wake her up, the eleventh swan flew over her head, protecting Eliza's face from the sun with its wide wings.

The swans were already far from the earth 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 ripe berries and a bunch of tasty roots - they were collected and placed near Eliza by the youngest brother, and Eliza smiled at him - she guessed that he was flying over her and protecting her from the sun with his wings.

High, under the very clouds, brothers and sisters flew, and the first ship they saw in the sea seemed to them like a seagull floating on the water. The swans flew as fast as arrows shot from a bow, but still not as fast as always: after all, this time they were carrying their sister.

The day began to decline towards evening, and the weather began to rustle. Eliza watched in fear as the sun sank lower and lower, and the lone sea cliff was still out of sight. And it seemed to Eliza that the swans were already quite tired and were hardly flapping their wings. The sun will set, her brothers will turn into people on the fly, fall into the sea and drown. And it will be her fault! A black cloud was approaching, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm, lightning flashed menacingly.

Eliza's heart fluttered: the sun was almost touching the water.

And suddenly the swans rushed down with terrible speed. Elise thought they were falling. But no, they were still flying. And so, when the sun was already half gone into the water, Eliza saw a cliff below. It was very small, no bigger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The swans stepped onto the stones of the cliff at the very moment when the last ray of the sun went out in the air. Eliza saw the brothers around her, standing hand in hand; they barely fit on the tiny cliff. The sea beat furiously against the stones and doused the brothers and Eliza with a whole rain of spray. The sky was aflame with lightning, and every minute thunder rumbled, but sister and brothers held hands and encouraged each other with kind words.

At dawn the storm subsided, and again it became clear and quiet. As soon as the sun rose, the brothers with Eliza flew on. The sea was still rough, and they saw from above how white foam floated like millions of swans across the dark green water.
When the sun rose higher, Eliza suddenly saw a huge castle in the distance, surrounded by light, as if airy, galleries; below, under the walls of the castle, palm trees swayed and beautiful flowers grew.

Eliza asked if this was the country they were flying to, but the swans shook their heads: it was only the ghostly, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana. Eliza looked into the distance again, but the castle was gone. Where there used to be a castle, rose high mountains overgrown with dense forest. On the very tops of the mountains snow sparkled, blocks clear ice descended between impregnable rocks.

Suddenly the mountains turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea mist rising from the water.
But finally, the real land appeared. There, on the shore, spread green fields, the cedar forests darkened, and in the distance one could see big cities and high castles. It was still a long way before sunset, and Eliza was already sitting on a rock in front of a deep cave. Pale green plants curled along the walls of the cave, as if embroidered green carpets. It was the beautiful home of her swan brothers.

“Let's see what you dream about tonight,” said the younger brother and took Eliza to her bedchamber.

“Ah, if I saw in a dream how to free you from the spell!” Eliza said and closed her eyes.

And then she dreamed that she was flying high, high to the castle that she saw over the sea. And the fairy Fata Morgana comes out of the castle to meet her. Fata Morgana is bright and beautiful, but at the same time surprisingly similar to the old woman who gave Elise berries in the forest and told about swans in golden crowns.

“Your brothers can be saved,” Fata Morgana said, “but do you have the courage and fortitude? The water is softer than your tender hands, and yet it makes the stones smooth and round, but the water does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; water does not have a heart that shrinks from fear and anguish, like your heart. You see, I have nettles in my hands. The same nettle grows here near the cave, and only it, and even the nettle that grows in the cemetery, can be useful to you. Remember this! Narvi nettles, although your hands will be covered with blisters from burns; then knead it with your feet and weave long threads out of it. From these threads weave eleven shirts with long sleeves and, when they are ready, throw them over the swans. As soon as the shirts touch their feathers, witchcraft will disappear. But remember that from the moment you begin your work until you finish it, you must not speak a word, even though your work has lasted for years. The very first word that comes out of your mouth will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a dagger. Their life and death is in your hands! Remember all this!

And Fata Morgana touched Eliza's hand with stinging nettles. Eliza felt pain, as from a burn, and woke up. It was already a bright day. By the very bed of Eliza lay several stalks of nettles, exactly like the one she had seen in her dream. Then Eliza came out of the cave and set to work.

With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her fingers were covered with large blisters, but she endured the pain with joy: if only to save her dear brothers! She picked up a whole bunch of nettles, then kneaded them with her bare feet and began to twist long green threads.

When the sun went down, the brothers flew into the cave. They began to question their sister about what she had been doing while they were gone. But Eliza did not answer them a word. The brothers were very frightened when they saw that their sister had become mute.

"It's a new sorcery wicked stepmother, they thought, but looking at Eliza's blistered hands, they realized that she had become mute for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers wept; his tears dripped onto her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared, the pain subsided.

Eliza spent the night at her work; she did not even think of rest - she thought only of how to free her dear brothers as soon as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she was left alone, but never before had time passed so quickly. Now one shirt was ready, and the girl started on the next one.

Suddenly sounds were heard in the mountains. hunting horns. Eliza was scared. The sounds got closer and closer, then there was the barking of dogs. The girl hid in a cave, tied all the collected nettles into a bundle and sat down near him. At the same moment, she jumped out from behind the bushes. big dog, followed by another and a third. The dogs barked loudly and ran back and forth. Soon all the hunters gathered at the cave. The most beautiful of them was the king of that country; he approached Elise. Never before had he met such a beauty!

How did you get here, lovely child? he asked, but Eliza just shook her head - she didn’t dare to speak: if she had said even one word, her brothers would have died.

Eliza hid her hands under her apron so that the king would not see blisters and scratches.

- Come with me! said the king. - You can't stay here! If you are as kind as you are good, I will dress you in silk and velvet, put a golden crown on your head, and you will live in a magnificent palace.

And he put her on the saddle in front of him.

Eliza wept bitterly, but the king said:

“I only want your happiness. Someday you yourself will thank me.

And he took her to the mountains, and the hunters rode after them.

By evening, the magnificent capital of the king, with palaces and towers, appeared before them, and the king led Eliza into his palace. Fountains gurgled in high marble chambers, and walls and ceilings were painted beautiful pictures. But Eliza did not look at anything, she wept and yearned. The maids dressed her in royal robes, weaved pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burned fingers.

In rich attire, Eliza was so beautiful that the whole court bowed before her, and the king proclaimed her his bride. But the royal bishop shook his head and began to whisper to the king that the mute beauty must be a forest witch - she bewitched the heart of the king.

The king did not listen to him, he signaled to the musicians, ordered the best dancers to be called and expensive dishes to be served on the table, and he himself led Eliza through fragrant gardens to magnificent chambers. But Eliza was still sad and sad. Then the king opened the door to a small room near Eliza's bedroom. The whole room was hung with green carpets and resembled a forest cave where the king found Eliza. A bunch of nettles lay on the floor, and a shirt woven by Eliza hung on the wall. All this, as a curiosity, was taken from the forest by one of the hunters.

“Here you can remember your former dwelling,” said the king. “And here is your work. Perhaps you will sometimes wish to amuse yourself in the midst of the pomp surrounding you with memories of the past.

Seeing her nettles and woven shirt, Eliza smiled happily and kissed the king's hand, and he pressed it to his chest.

The bishop continued to whisper evil words to the king, but they did not reach the heart of the king. The next day they played a wedding. The bishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of vexation, he pushed the narrow golden band so tightly over her forehead that it would hurt anyone, but Eliza did not even notice this. She kept thinking about her lovely brothers. Her lips were still compressed, not a single word escaped them, but her eyes shone with ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became attached to him more and more. Oh, if she could tell about her suffering! But she had to be silent until she had finished her work.

At night, she quietly went into her secret room, like a cave, and there weaved one shirt after another. There were already six shirts, but when she started on the seventh, she saw that she no longer had nettles.

Eliza knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery. And so at night she slowly left the palace.

Her heart sank with fear as she made her way to the cemetery on a moonlit night along the long alleys of the garden, and then along the deserted streets.

At the cemetery, Eliza picked some nettles and returned home.

Only one person did not sleep that night and saw Eliza. It was the bishop.

In the morning the bishop came to the king and told him what he had seen during the night.

- Drive her away, king, she is an evil witch! whispered the bishop.

"That's not true, Eliza is innocent!" the king replied, but still doubt crept into his heart.

At night, the king only pretended to be asleep. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom. The following nights the same thing happened again: the king did not sleep and saw her disappear into her secret room.

The king became gloomier and gloomier. Eliza saw this, but did not understand why the king was displeased. Her heart ached with fear and pity for her brothers; bitter tears rolled down on her royal dress, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire envied her. But soon, soon the end of her work. Already ten shirts. was ready, but again there was not enough nettle for the eleventh. Once again, for the last time, I had to go to the cemetery and pick a few bunches of nettles. She thought with horror about the deserted cemetery and nevertheless decided to go there.

At night, Eliza secretly left the palace, but the king and the bishop were watching her, and they saw how Eliza disappeared behind the cemetery fence. What could the queen do at night in the cemetery? ..

“Now you can see for yourself that she is an evil witch,” said the bishop, and demanded that Eliza be burned at the stake.

And the king had to agree.

Eliza was put in a dark, damp dungeon with iron bars on the windows, through which the wind whistled in. She was thrown a handful of nettles, which she had picked in the cemetery. This stinging nettle was to serve as Elise's headboard, and the stiff shirts she wove were to serve as a bed. But Elise didn't need anything else. She set to work again. In the evening, the noise of swan wings was heard at the grate. It was the youngest of the brothers who found his sister, and Eliza wept loudly for 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!

Eliza spent the whole night weaving the last shirt. The mice that ran around the dungeon took pity on her and, in order to help her a little, began to collect and bring scattered stalks of nettles to her feet, and a blackbird, sitting behind a lattice window, consoled her with his song.

At dawn, shortly before sunrise, eleven brothers of Eliza came to the palace gates and demanded that they be admitted to the king. They were told that this was impossible: the king was still asleep and no one dared to disturb him. But they did not leave and continued to ask. The king heard someone's voices and looked out the window to find out what was the matter. But at that moment the sun rose, and Eliza's brothers disappeared.

The king only saw eleven wild swans soar into the sky.

Crowds of people went outside the city to watch the execution of the queen. A pitiful horse was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; Eliza was put on a shirt of coarse linen; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, and her face was pale as snow. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of her work: ten shirts lay completely ready at her feet, she continued to weave the eleventh.

- Look at the witch! - shouted in the crowd. - She does not part with her magical things! Let's rip them out of her and tear them to shreds!

Someone's hands were already reaching out to the cart to snatch Eliza's green shirt, but suddenly eleven swans flew in. They sat on the sides of the cart and noisily flapped their mighty wings. The frightened people parted to the sides.

- White swans have flown from the sky! She is innocent! many whispered, but did not dare to say it aloud.

And now the executioner had already grabbed Eliza by the hand, but she quickly threw green shirts on the swans, and as soon as the shirts touched their feathers, all eleven swans turned into handsome princes.

Only the youngest had a swan wing instead of his left arm: Eliza did not have time to finish the sleeve on the last shirt.

Now I can talk! Eliza said. "I'm innocent!"

And the people, who saw everything that happened, bowed before her and began to glorify her, but Eliza fell unconscious into the arms of her brothers. She was tormented by fear and pain.

“Yes, she is innocent,” said the eldest prince and told everything as it was.
And while he was talking, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from millions of roses: it was each log in the fire that took root and sprouts, and now, in the place where they wanted to burn Eliza, a tall green bush grew, covered with red roses. And at the very top of the bush shone like a star, a dazzling white flower.

The king tore it off, put it on Eliza's chest, and she woke up.

Then all the bells in the city rang of their own accord, the birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a happy procession stretched to the palace, such as no king had ever seen!

G. H. Andersen

Far, far away, in the country where the swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza. Eleven brother-princes went to school with stars on their breasts and sabers at their feet. They wrote on golden boards with diamond stylus and knew how to read by heart as well as from a book. It was immediately clear that they were real princes. And their sister, Eliza, was sitting on a bench of mirrored glass, looking at a picture book for which half a kingdom had been given.

Yes, the children lived well, 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 the very first day. There was a feast in the palace, and the children started a game to visit. But instead of cakes and baked apples, which they always got plenty of, the stepmother gave them a teacup of river sand let them pretend that this is a treat.

A week later, she sent her sister Eliza to the peasants for education in the village, 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 did not turn out the way she wanted: they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the windows of the palace with a cry and rushed over the parks and forests.

It was early in the morning when they flew past the house where their sister Eliza was still fast asleep. They began to circle 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 under the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest near the seashore.

But poor Eliza remained to live in a peasant house and played with a green leaf she had no other toys. She pierced 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 the warm ray of the sun fell on her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.

Day after day, one like the other. Sometimes the wind swayed the rose bushes that grew near the house, and whispered to the roses:

Is there anyone more beautiful than you?

The roses shook their heads and answered:

And it was the absolute truth.

But then Elise was fifteen years old, and she was sent home. When the queen saw how pretty she was, she 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 now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.

And early in the morning the queen went to the marble bath, furnished with soft pillows and wonderful carpets, took three frogs, kissed each and said to the first:

When Eliza enters the bath, sit on her head, let her become as lazy as you. And you sit on Elise's forehead, she said to another. Let her become as ugly as you, so that even her father does not recognize her. Well, you lie down on Eliza's heart, she said to the third. Let her become angry and suffer from it!

The queen of toads let her 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 did not even notice this, and as soon as she got out of the water, three scarlet poppies floated on the water. And if the toads were not poisonous and not kissed by a witch, they would turn into scarlet roses. So innocent was Eliza that sorcery was powerless against her.

The evil queen saw this, rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, so that she became completely black, smeared her face with a stinking ointment, and disheveled her hair. Now it was almost impossible to recognize pretty Eliza.

Her father saw her, got scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her, except for a chain dog and swallows, only who would listen to the poor creatures!

Poor Eliza wept and thought of her exiled brothers. Sad, she left the palace and wandered all day through the fields and swamps to big forest. Where she should go, she herself did not really know, 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 did not walk long through the forest, when night fell. Elise lost her way completely, 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 twinkled around like green lights, and when she gently touched a branch, they fell on her like a shower of stars.

Elise dreamed of her brothers all night. They were all children again, playing together, writing with diamond slates on golden boards, and examining a marvelous picture book for which half a kingdom had been given. But they did not write dashes and zeroes on the boards, as before, no, they described everything that they had seen and experienced. All the pictures in the book came to life, the birds sang, and people stepped off the pages and talked to Eliza and her brothers, but when she turned the page, they jumped back in so that there was no confusion in the pictures.

When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high. She could not see him well through the dense foliage of the trees, but his rays shone in the sky, like a wavering golden muslin. There was a smell of grass, and the birds almost landed on Elise's shoulders. A splash of water was heard, and several large streams ran nearby, flowing into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by dense bushes, but in one place the wild deer made a large passage, and Eliza could go down to the water, so transparent that, if the wind did not stir the branches of trees and bushes, one would think that they were painted on the bottom, so each leaf was clearly reflected in the water, both illuminated by the sun and sheltered in the shade.

Eliza saw her face in the water and was completely frightened - it was so black and ugly. But then she scooped up a handful of water, washed her forehead and eyes, and again her white delicate skin shone. Then Eliza undressed and entered the cool water. It was more beautiful to look for a 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, she did not know where. On the way, she came across a wild apple tree, the branches of which were bent from the weight of the fruit. Eliza ate the apples, propped up the branches with pegs, and went deep into the thicket of the forest. The silence was such that Eliza could hear her own footsteps and the rustle of every dry leaf she stepped on. There was not a single bird to be seen here, not a single ray of sunlight made its way through the continuous plexus of branches. The tall trees were so dense that when she looked ahead, it seemed to her that she was surrounded by log walls. Never before had Eliza felt so alone.

At night it got even darker, not a single firefly glowed in the moss. Sad, Eliza lay down on the grass, and early in the morning went 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.

No, answered the old woman. But I saw eleven swans in crowns, they swam on the river nearby.

And the old woman led Eliza to a cliff, under which a river flowed. The trees that grew along its banks pulled long branches covered with dense 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 went along the river to the place where the river flowed into the big sea.

And then a wonderful sea opened up in front of the girl. But not a single sail could be seen on it, not a single boat. How could she continue on her way? The whole coast was strewn with countless pebbles, the water rolled over them, and they were completely round. Glass, iron, stones, everything that washed up on the shore took its form 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 hard, I will be tireless too! Thank you for the science, bright, fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!"

There were eleven white swan feathers on the seaweed thrown up by the sea, and Eliza gathered them into a bundle. Drops of dew or tears glittered on them, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not notice this: the sea was always changing, and in a few hours one could see more here than in a whole year on freshwater lakes, on land. Here comes a big black cloud, and the sea seems to say: "I can look gloomy too", and the wind comes up, and the waves show their white underside. But the clouds shine pink, the wind sleeps, and the sea looks like a rose petal. Sometimes it is green, sometimes white, but no matter how calm it may be, near the shore it is constantly in quiet movement. The water gently heaves like the chest of a sleeping child.

At sunset Eliza saw eleven wild swans wearing golden crowns. They flew towards land, one after the other, and it looked like a long white ribbon was swaying in the sky. Eliza climbed to the top of the cliff and hid behind a bush. Swans descended nearby and flapped their large white wings.

And as soon as the sun set in the sea, the swans shed their feathers and turned into eleven handsome princes, Eliza's brothers. Eliza cried out loudly, immediately recognized them, felt in her heart that they were them, although the brothers had changed a lot. She threw herself into their arms, called them by their names, and how delighted they were to see their sister, who had grown so much and prettier! And Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried, and soon learned from each other how cruelly their stepmother treated them.

We, said the eldest of the brothers, fly like wild swans while the sun is in the sky. And when it comes, we again assume the human form. That 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. Across the sea lies a country as wonderful as this, but the way there is long, you have to fly through the whole sea, and on the way there is not a single island where one could spend the night. Only in the very middle a lonely cliff sticks out of the sea, and we can rest on it, closely clinging to each other, that's how small it is. When the sea is rough, the splashes fly straight through us, but we are also glad to have such a haven. We spend the night there in our human form. Were it not for the cliff, we would not have seen our dear homeland at all: we need two of the 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 know 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. Here is our homeland, here we strive with all our heart, and here we found you, our dear sister! We can still stay here for two more days, and then we must fly across the sea to a wonderful, but not our native country. How can we take you with us? We don't have a ship or a boat!

Oh, if I could remove the spell from you! said the sister.

So they talked all night and dozed off only for a few hours.

Eliza woke up from the sound of swan wings. The brothers turned into birds again, they circled above her, and then disappeared from sight. Only one of the swans, the youngest, stayed with her. He rested his head in her lap, and she stroked his white wings. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest flew in, and when the sun went down, they all again took on a human form.

Tomorrow we have to leave and will be able to return not earlier than in a year. Do you have the courage to fly with us? I alone can carry you in my arms through the whole forest, so can we all not be able to carry you on wings across the sea?

Yes, take me with you! said Eliza.

All night they weaved a net of flexible willow bark and reeds. The mesh is 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 under the clouds. The rays of the sun shone right in her face, and one swan flew over her head, shielding her from the sun with his wide wings.

They were already far from the earth when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming while awake, it was so strange to fly through the air. Next to it lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots. They were dialed by the youngest of the brothers, and Eliza smiled at him she guessed that he was flying over 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 big 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, the cloud remained farther behind, and little by little the moving shadows disappeared.

All day the swans flew like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual, because this time they had to carry their sister. Evening was approaching, a storm was gathering. Elise watched the sun go down with fear, and the lone sea cliff was still out of sight. And it also seemed to her that the swans flap their wings as if through force. Oh, it's her fault they can't fly faster! When the sun sets, they will turn into humans, fall into the sea and drown...

The black cloud was moving closer, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm. The clouds gathered into a formidable lead shaft rolling across the sky. Lightning flashed one after another.

The sun had already touched the water, Eliza's heart fluttered. The swans suddenly began to descend, so rapidly that Elise thought they were falling. But no, they continued to fly. Now the sun was half hidden under the water, and then Eliza saw under her a rock no larger than the head of a seal poking out of the water. The sun was rapidly sinking into the sea and now seemed no bigger 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 hand in hand around Eliza, and they all barely fit on the cliff. The waves hit him with force and sprayed them. The sky was constantly illuminated by lightning, thunder rumbled every minute, but the sister and brothers, holding hands, found courage and comfort in each other.

At dawn it became clear and quiet again. As soon as the sun rose, the swans flew on with Eliza. The sea was still rough, and from a height it was clear how white foam was floating on the dark green water, like innumerable flocks of pigeons.

But then the sun rose higher, and Eliza saw before her, as it were, a mountainous country floating in the air with blocks of sparkling ice on the rocks, and right in the middle stood a castle, stretching, probably, for a whole mile, with some amazing galleries one above the other. Below him swayed palm groves and magnificent flowers the size of mill wheels. Eliza asked if this was the country they were going to, but the swans just 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, the forests and the castle moved together and formed twenty magnificent churches with bell towers and lancet windows. It even seemed to her that she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. The churches were getting closer when they suddenly turned into a whole flotilla of ships. Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea mist rising from the water. Yes, before her eyes were ever-changing images and pictures!

But then the land appeared, to which they were on their way. Wonderful mountains with cedar forests, cities and castles rose there. And long before sunset, Eliza was sitting on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with green embroidered carpets, so it was 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 I could see 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 in 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 Elise berries in the forest and talked about swans in golden crowns.

“Your brothers can be saved,” she said. “But do you have the courage and fortitude? Water is softer than your hands and still rolls over stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel. Water does not have a heart that has become to languish with pain and fear, like yours. You see, I have nettles in my hands? Such nettles grow here near the cave, and only she, and even the one that grows in cemeteries, can help you. Notice her! You will pick this nettle "Though your hands will be covered with blisters from burns. Then you will knead it with your feet, you will get a fiber. From it you will weave eleven long-sleeved shell-shirts and throw them over the swans. Then the witchcraft will be dispelled. But remember that from the minute you begin work and until you finish, even if it lasts for years, you must not speak a word. hands. Remember all this!"

And the fairy touched her hand with nettles. Eliza felt pain, as from a burn, and woke up. It was already dawn, and next to her lay nettles, exactly like the one she had seen in her dream. Eliza stepped out of the cave and set to work.

With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands were covered with blisters, but she endured the pain with joy just to save her dear brothers! She kneaded nettles with her bare feet and spun green threads.

But then the sun went down, the brothers returned, and how frightened they were when they saw that their sister had become dumb! This is nothing but a new sorcery of the evil stepmother, they decided. But the brothers looked at her hands and understood what she had planned for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers wept, 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 had time run so fast for her.

One shell-shirt was ready, and she started on another, when suddenly hunting horns sounded in the mountains. Eliza was scared. And the sounds were getting closer, there was a barking of dogs. Eliza ran into the cave, tied the nettles she had collected into a bundle and sat on it.

Then a large dog jumped out from behind the bushes, followed by another, a third. The dogs barked loudly and ran back and forth at the mouth of the cave. In less than a few minutes, all the hunters gathered at the cave. The most beautiful among them was the king of that country. He went up to Eliza he had never 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 her 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. You don't belong here! If you are as good as good, 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 wept and wringed her hands, but the king said:

I want only your happiness! Someday you will be grateful to me for this!

And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.

By evening, the magnificent capital of the king, with temples and domes, appeared, and the king brought Eliza to his palace. Fountains gurgled in high marble halls, and walls and ceilings were painted with beautiful paintings. But Eliza did not look at anything, but only wept and yearned. As lifeless, 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 decoration, 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 beauty of the forest must be a witch, that she averted everyone's eyes and bewitched the king.

But the king did not listen to him, made a sign to the musicians, ordered the most beautiful dancers to be called and expensive dishes to be served, and he himself led Eliza through fragrant gardens to luxurious chambers. But there was no smile either on her lips or in her eyes, but only sadness, as if it was so 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. A bundle of nettle fiber lay on the floor, and a shell-shirt woven by Eliza hung from the ceiling. All this, as a curiosity, was taken from the forest by one of the hunters.

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 entertain you.

Eliza saw a work dear to her heart, and a smile played on her lips, 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 still whispered evil words to the king, but they did not reach the heart of the king. The next day they played a wedding. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride. Out of vexation, he pushed the narrow golden circlet so tightly over her forehead that it would hurt anyone. But another, heavier hoop squeezed her heart sadness for her brothers, and she did not notice the pain. Her lips were still closed a single word could cost the 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 attached to him more and more. Oh, if only you could trust him, tell him your torment! But she had to be silent, she had to do her work in silence. That is why at night she quietly left the royal bedchamber to her secret room, similar to a cave, and weaved there 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?

"Ah, what does the pain in my fingers mean compared to the anguish of my heart? thought Elsa. I must make up my mind!"

Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her the archbishop. It only turned out that he was right in suspecting that the queen was not clean. And it really turned out that she was a witch, that's why she managed to bewitch the king and all the people.

In the morning he told the king what he saw 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 so it was every night, and every night he watched her and saw how she disappeared 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 down on royal velvet and purple. They shone like diamonds, and people who saw her in magnificent attire wished to be in her place.

But soon, soon the end of the work! Only one shirt was missing, and then she ran out of fiber again. Once again - the last one - I had to go to the cemetery and pick a few bunches of nettles. With fear she thought of a deserted cemetery and terrible witches, but her determination was unshakable.

And Eliza went, but the king and the archbishop followed her. They saw how she disappeared behind the cemetery gates, and when they approached the gates, they saw the witches on the gravestones, and the king turned back.

Let the people judge her! he said.

And the people ordered to burn it at the stake.

From luxury royal chambers Eliza was taken to a gloomy, damp dungeon with a barred window through which the wind whistled. Instead of velvet and silk, she was given under her head a bunch of nettles she had collected from the cemetery, and tough, burning shell-shirts were to serve as a bed and a blanket for her. But she did not need a better gift, and she again set to work. Street boys sang mocking songs to her outside the window, and not a single one alive soul I couldn't find a word of comfort for her.

But in the evening, the noise of swan wings was heard near the grate - the youngest of the brothers found his sister, and she wept for 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. In order to help her a little, the mice that ran around the dungeon brought stalks of nettles to her feet, and a thrush sat at the window grate and cheered her up with his cheerful song all night.

Dawn was just beginning, and the sun was not supposed to appear until an hour later, and eleven brothers had already appeared at the gates of the palace and demanded that they be let through to the king. They were told that this was by no means impossible: the king was sleeping and it was impossible to wake him up. 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 poured out of town to watch how the witch would be burned. A miserable horse was pulling the wagon in which Eliza was sitting. A hoodie of coarse burlap was thrown over her. Her wonderful, marvelous hair fell to her shoulders, there was not a blood in her face, her lips moved soundlessly, and her fingers wove green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of her work. At her feet lay ten shirts of shells, she wove the eleventh. The crowd sneered at her.

Look at the witch! Look, he mumbles his lips, but he still won’t part with his magical things! Tear them from her and tear them to shreds!

And the crowd rushed to her and wanted to tear her nettle shirts, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat around her along the edges of the wagon and flapped their mighty wings. The crowd backed away.

This is a sign from heaven! She is innocent! many whispered, but did not dare to say it out loud.

Now 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 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 before her, and she fell unconscious into the arms of her brothers, she was so tormented by fear and pain.

Yes, she is innocent! said the eldest of the brothers and told everything as it happened, and while he was talking, a fragrance spread in the air, like from a million roses, it was each log in the fire that took root and branches, and now a fragrant bush stood in the place of the fire, all in scarlet roses. And at the very top shone like a star, a dazzling white flower. The king tore it off and put 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 innumerable flocks of birds flocked, and such a joyful procession stretched to the palace, such as no king had ever seen!

Translated from Danish by A. Hansen

Information for parents: Wild swan - fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. In her tells about the brave girl Eliza, who saved her brothers, on whom the evil stepmother cast a spell. The tale is instructive, it can also be read at night to children from 5 to 9 years old. The text of the fairy tale "Wild Swans" very interestingly written. Enjoy reading to you and your kids.

Read the fairy tale Wild Swans

Far, far away, in the country where the swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza. Eleven brother princes went to school with stars on their chests and sabers at their feet. They wrote on golden boards with diamond stylus and knew how to read by heart as well as from a book. It was immediately clear that they were real princes. And their sister, Eliza, was sitting on a bench of mirrored glass, looking at a picture book for which half a kingdom had been given.

Yes, the children lived well, 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 the very first day. There was a feast in the palace, and the children started a game to visit. But instead of cakes and baked apples, which they always got plenty of, their stepmother gave them a teacup of river sand - let them imagine that this is a treat.

A week later, she gave her sister Eliza to the village to be brought up by the peasants, and a little more time passed, and she managed to tell the king so much about the poor princes that he didn’t 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 did not turn out the way she wanted: they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the windows of the palace with a cry and rushed 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 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 under the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest near the seashore.

And poor Eliza remained to live in a peasant house and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys. She pierced 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 the warm ray of the sun fell on her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.

Day after day, one like the other. Sometimes the wind swayed the rose bushes that grew near the house, and whispered to the roses:

- Is there anyone more beautiful than you?

The roses shook their heads and answered:

And it was the absolute truth.

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 and said to the first:

- When Eliza enters the bath, sit on her head, let her become as lazy as you. And you sit on Elise's forehead, - she said to another. “Let her become as ugly as you, so that her father does not recognize her.” - Well, you lie down on Eliza's heart, - she said to the third. - Let her become angry and suffer from it!

The evil queen saw this, rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, so that she became completely black, smeared her face with a smelly ointment, and disheveled her hair. Now it was almost impossible to recognize pretty Eliza.

Her father saw her, got scared and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her, except for a chain dog and swallows, only who would listen to poor animals!

Poor Eliza wept and thought of her exiled brothers. Sad, she left the palace and wandered all day through fields and swamps to a large forest. Where she should go, she herself did not really know, 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 walked for a short time through the forest, when night fell. Elise lost her way completely, 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 softly touched a branch, they fell on her like a shower of stars.

Elise dreamed of her brothers all night. They were all children again, playing together, writing with diamond slates on golden boards, and examining a marvelous picture book for which half a kingdom had been given. But they did not write dashes and zeroes on the boards, as before, no, they described everything that they had seen and experienced. All the pictures in the book came to life, the birds sang, and people left the pages and talked to Eliza and her brothers, but when she turned the page, they jumped back in so that there was no confusion in the pictures.

When Eliza woke up, the sun was already high. She could not see him well through the dense foliage of the trees, but his rays shone in the sky, like a wavering golden muslin. There was a smell of grass, and the birds almost landed on Elise's shoulders. There was a splash of water - several large streams ran nearby, pouring into a pond with a wonderful sandy bottom. The pond was surrounded by dense bushes, but in one place the wild deer made a large passage, and Eliza could go down to the water, so transparent that, if the wind did not stir the branches of trees and bushes, one would think that they were painted on the bottom, so each leaf was clearly reflected in the water, both illuminated by the sun and sheltered in the shade.

Eliza saw her face in the water and was completely frightened - it was so black and ugly. But here she scooped up a handful of water, washed her forehead and eyes, and again her white, indistinct skin shone. Then Eliza undressed and entered the cool water. It was more beautiful to look for a 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, she did not know where. On the way, she came across a wild apple tree, the branches of which were bent from the weight of the fruit. Eliza ate apples, propped up the branches with pegs and went deep into the very thicket of the forest. The silence was such that Eliza could hear her own footsteps and the rustle of every dry leaf she stepped on. There was not a single bird to be seen here, not a single ray of sunlight made its way through the continuous plexus of branches. The tall trees were so densely packed that when she looked ahead, it seemed to her that she was surrounded by log walls. Elise had never felt so alone before.

“No,” answered the old woman. - But I saw eleven swans in crowns, they swam on the river nearby.

Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went along the river to the place where the river flowed into the big sea.

And then a wonderful sea opened up in front of the girl. But not a single sail was visible on it, not a single boat. How was she to continue on her way? The whole coast was strewn with countless pebbles, the water rolled over them, 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.

“Waves tirelessly roll one after another and smooth out everything solid, I will be tireless too! Thank you for science, bright, fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”

There were eleven white swan feathers on the seaweed thrown up by the sea, and Eliza gathered them into a bundle. Drops of dew or tears glittered on them, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not notice this: 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. Here comes a big black cloud, and the sea seems to say: “I can look gloomy too,” and the wind comes up, and the waves show their white underside. But the clouds shine pink, the wind sleeps, and the sea looks like a rose petal. Sometimes it is green, sometimes white, but no matter how calm it may be, near the shore it is constantly in quiet motion. The water gently heaves like the chest of a sleeping child.

And as soon as the sun set in the sea, the swans shed their feathers and turned into eleven beautiful princes - Eliza's brothers, Eliza cried out loudly, immediately recognized them, felt in her heart that they were them, although the brothers had changed a lot. She threw herself into their arms, called them by their names, and how delighted they were to see their sister, who had grown so much and prettier! And Eliza and her brothers laughed and cried, and soon learned from each other how cruelly their stepmother treated them.

“We,” said the eldest of the brothers, “fly like wild swans while the sun is in the sky. And when it comes, we again assume the human form. That 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. Across the sea lies a country as wonderful as this, but the way there is long, you have to fly across the whole sea, and along the way there is not a single island where one could spend the night. Only in the very middle a lonely cliff sticks out of the sea, and we can rest on it, closely clinging to each other, that's how small it is. When the sea is rough, the splashes fly straight through us, but we are also glad to have such a haven. We spend the night there in our human form. Were it not for the cliff, we would not have seen our dear homeland at all: we need two of the longest days of the year for this flight, and only once a year we are 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 know 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. Here is our homeland, here we strive with all our heart, and here we found you, our dear sister! We can still stay here for two more days, and then we must fly across the sea to a wonderful, but not our native country. How can we take you with us? We don't have a ship or a boat!

“Oh, if only I could take the spell off you!” - said the sister.

So they talked all night and dozed off only for a few hours.

“Tomorrow we have to leave, and we won’t be able to return until a year later. Do you have the courage to fly with us? I alone can carry you in my arms through the whole forest, so can we all not be able to carry you on wings across the sea?

Yes, take me with you! Eliza said.

... All night they weaved a net of flexible willow bark and reeds. The mesh is 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 under the clouds. The rays of the sun shone right in her face, and one swan flew over her head, shielding her from the sun with his broad wings.

They were already far from the earth when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming while awake, it was so strange to fly through the air. Next to it lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of delicious roots. They were picked up by the youngest of the brothers, and Eliza smiled at him - she guessed that he was flying over 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 big 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, the cloud remained farther behind, and little by little the moving shadows disappeared.

All day the swans flew like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual, because this time they had to carry their sister. Evening was approaching, a storm was gathering. With fear, Eliza watched the sun go down - the lonely sea cliff was still not visible. And it also seemed to her that the swans flap their wings as if through force. Oh, it's her fault they can't fly faster! When the sun sets, they will turn into humans, fall into the sea and drown...

The black cloud was moving closer, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm. The clouds gathered into a formidable lead shaft rolling across the sky. Lightning flashed one after another.

The sun had already touched the water, Eliza's heart fluttered. The swans suddenly began to descend, so rapidly that Elise thought they were falling. But no, they continued to fly. Now the sun was half hidden under the water, and then Eliza saw under her a cliff no larger than the head of a seal poking out of the water. The sun was rapidly sinking into the sea, and now it seemed more stars. But then the swans stepped on the stone, and the sun went out, like the last spark of burning paper. The brothers stood hand in hand around Eliza, and they all barely fit on the cliff. The waves hit him with force and sprayed them. The sky, without ceasing, lit up with lightning, thunder rumbled every minute, but the sister and brothers, holding hands, found courage and comfort in each other.

At dawn it became clear and quiet again. As soon as the sun rose, the swans flew on with Eliza. The sea was still agitated, and from a height it was visible how it was floating on dark green water, like innumerable flocks of pigeons, white foam.

But then the sun rose higher, and Eliza saw before her, as it were, a mountainous country floating in the air with blocks of sparkling ice on the rocks, and right in the middle stood a castle, stretching, probably, for a whole mile, with some amazing galleries one above the other. Below him swayed palm groves and luxurious flowers the size of mill wheels. Eliza asked if this was the country they were going to, but the swans just shook their heads: it was just the wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana.

But then the land appeared, to which they were on their way. Wonderful mountains with cedar forests, cities and castles rose there. And long before sunset, Eliza was sitting on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets, so she was 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 I could see in a dream how to remove the spell from you!” she replied, and the thought never left her mind.

“Your brothers can be saved,” she said. But do you have the courage and fortitude? The water is softer than your hands and still rolls over the rocks, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel. Water does not have a heart that would languish in anguish and fear, like yours. See, I have nettles in my hands? Such a nettle grows here near the cave, and only it, and even the one that grows in cemeteries, can help you. Notice her! You will pick this nettle even though your hands will be covered with blisters from burns. Then you knead it with your feet, you get a fiber. From it you will weave eleven long-sleeved shell shirts and throw them over the swans. Then the witchcraft will be dispelled. But remember that from the minute you start the work until you finish it, even if it lasts for years, you must not say a word. The very first word that escapes your tongue will pierce the hearts of your brothers like a deadly dagger. Their life and death will be in your hands. Remember all this!”

With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands were covered with blisters, but she endured the pain with joy - if only to save her dear brothers! She kneaded nettles with her bare feet and spun green threads.

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 run so fast for her.

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 her 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. "You don't belong here!" If you are as good as good, 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 wept and struggled, but the king said:

“I only want your happiness!” Someday you will be grateful to me for this!

And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.

She stood dazzlingly beautiful in luxurious decoration, 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 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 himself led Eliza through fragrant gardens to luxurious chambers. But there was no smile either on her lips or in her eyes, but only sadness, as if it was so 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 looked like the cave where Eliza was found. A bundle of nettle fiber lay on the floor, and a shirt-shell woven by Eliza hung from the ceiling. All this, as a curiosity, was taken from the forest by one of the hunters.

- Here you can remember your former home! - said the king. “Here is the work you were doing. Perhaps now, in your glory, memories of the past will entertain you.

Eliza saw the work dear to her heart, and a smile played on her lips, 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 still whispered evil words to the king, but they did not reach the heart of the king. The next day they played a wedding. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride. Out of vexation, he pushed the narrow golden circlet so tightly over her forehead that it would hurt anyone. But another, heavier hoop squeezed her heart - sadness for her brothers, and she did not notice the pain. Her lips were still closed - a single word could cost the brothers their lives - but in her eyes shone ardent love for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to please her. Every day she became attached to him more and more. Oh, if only you could trust him, tell him your torment! But she had to be silent, she had to do her work in silence. That is why at night she quietly left the royal bedchamber in her secret room, similar to a cave, and weaved there 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 herself had to tear them. How to be?

“Ah, what does the pain in my fingers mean compared to the anguish of my heart? Eliza thought. “I must make up my mind!”

Only one person did not sleep that night and saw her - the archbishop. It only turned out that he was right in suspecting that the queen was not clean. And it really turned out that she was a witch, that's why she managed to bewitch the king and all the people.

But soon, soon the end of the work! Only one shirt was missing, and then she again ran out of fiber. Once again - the last - it was necessary to go to the cemetery and pick a few bunches of nettles. With fear she thought about the deserted cemetery and terrible witches, but her determination was unshakable.

Let the people judge her! - he said.

And the people awarded - to burn it at the stake.

From the luxurious royal chambers, Eliza was taken to a gloomy, damp dungeon with a barred window, through which the wind whistled with a whistle. Instead of velvet and silk, she was given under her head a bunch of nettles she had collected from the cemetery, and hard, burning shell shirts were to serve as her bed and blanket. But she did not need a better gift, and she again set to work. Street boys sang mocking songs to her outside the window, and not a single living soul found a word of comfort for her.

But in the evening, the noise of swan wings was heard at the grate - the youngest of the brothers found his sister, and she cried for 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!

Dawn was just beginning, and the sun was supposed to appear only in an hour, and eleven brothers had already appeared at the gates of the palace and demanded that they be let through to the king. They were told that this was by no means impossible: the king was sleeping, and it was impossible to wake him up. 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 to the countryside to watch the witch being burnt. A miserable horse was pulling the wagon in which Eliza was sitting. A hoodie of coarse burlap was thrown over her. Her wonderful, marvelous hair fell to her shoulders, there was not a blood in her face, her lips moved soundlessly, and her fingers wove green yarn. Even on the way to the place of execution, she did not let go of her work. At her feet lay ten shell-shirts, she wove the eleventh. The crowd sneered at her.

- Look at the witch! Look, he mumbles his lips, but he still won’t part with his magical things! Tear them from her and tear them to shreds!

- This is a sign from heaven! She is innocent! - many whispered, but did not dare to say it aloud.

Now I can talk! - she said. - I'm innocent!

And the people, who saw everything, bowed before her, and she fell unconscious into the arms of her brothers, she was so tormented by fear and pain.

Yes, she's innocent! - said the eldest of the brothers and told everything as it was, while he was talking, the aroma spread in the air, like from a million roses, - it was each log in the fire that took root and branches, and now, in the place of the fire, there was a fragrant bush, all in scarlet roses . And at the very top shone like a star, a dazzling white flower. The king tore it off and put 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 flocked, and such a joyful procession stretched to the palace, such as no king had ever seen!

Far, far away, in the country where the swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza.
Eleven brothers-princes already went to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled on his side; they wrote on gold boards with diamond slates and knew how to read perfectly well, whether from a book or by heart, it doesn't matter. It was immediately heard that real princes were reading! Their sister, Eliza, sat on a bench of plate glass and looked at a picture book for which half a kingdom had been paid.
Yes, the children lived well, but not for long!
Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked poor children. They had to experience it on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game to visit, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always got in plenty, gave them a teacup of sand and said that they could imagine like it's a meal.
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.
- Fly-ka pick-me-greet on all four sides! said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice and take care of yourself!
But she could not do as much harm to them as she would like - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows with a cry 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 up to the very clouds and flew into a large dark forest that stretched to the sea.
Poor Eliza was standing in peasant hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she pierced 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 glided over her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.
Day after day, one like the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes that grew near the house and whisper to the roses: "Is there anyone more beautiful than you?" - roses shook their heads and said: "Eliza is more beautiful." Did some old woman sit at the door of her house on Sunday, reading a psalter, and the wind turned the sheets, saying to the book: "Is there anyone more pious than you?" the book answered: "Eliza is more pious!" Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth.
But now Elise was fifteen years old, and she was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would have gladly turned her into a wild swan, but it could not be done now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.
And early in the morning the queen went into the marble bath, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each and said to the first:
- Sit on Elise'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 another. “May Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father not recognize her!” You lay down on her heart! whispered the queen to the third toad. - Let her become malevolent and suffer from it!
Then she released the toads into the clear water, and the water immediately turned all 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 did not even notice this, and as soon as she got out of the water, three red poppies floated on 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 affect her in any way.
Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice so that she turned completely brown, smeared her face with a stinking ointment, and tangled her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize the pretty Eliza. Even her father was frightened and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her, except for a chain dog and swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!
Eliza wept and thought of her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and wandered all day through the fields and marshes, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself did not quite know where she should go, but she yearned so much 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, when night already fell, 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 a bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a shower of stars.
All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards, and examining a wonderful picture book that cost half a kingdom. But they did not write dashes and zeroes on the boards, as they used to do before - no, they described everything that they had seen and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds were singing, and the people came down from the pages and talked to Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn over the sheet, they jumped back in, otherwise the pictures would have been confused.
When Eliza awoke, the sun was already high; she could not even see it well behind the dense foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies over the grass; there was a wonderful smell from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Elise's shoulders. The murmur of a spring was heard not far off; 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 at one point the wild deer had cut a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the water's edge. The water in the pond was clean and clear; the wind did not move the branches of trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted at 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 ugly; and so she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and again her white delicate skin shone. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. It was such a pretty princess to look for in the wide world!
Having dressed and braiding her long hair, she went to a babbling spring, drank water straight from a handful and then went further through the forest, she did not know where. She thought of her brothers and hoped that God would not leave her: it was he who ordered wild forest apples to grow to feed the hungry with them; he also showed her one of these apple trees, the branches of which were bent from the weight of the fruit. Satisfying her hunger, Eliza propped up the branches with chopsticks and went deep into the thicket of the forest. There was such silence that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustle of every dry leaf that came under her feet. Not a single bird flew into this wilderness, not a single ray of sunlight slipped through a continuous thicket of branches. The tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls; never before had Eliza felt so alone.
The night got even darker; not a single firefly shone in the moss. Eliza lay down sadly on the grass, and suddenly it seemed to her that the branches above her parted, and the Lord God himself looked at her with good eyes; little angels peeped 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. Moving on, Eliza met an old woman with a basket of berries; one hundred
Rushka gave the girl a handful of berries, and Eliza asked her if eleven princes had passed through the forest.
- 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 along both banks, stretching their long, densely leafy branches towards each other. Those of the trees that could not intertwine their branches with those of their brothers on the opposite bank stretched out over the water so that their roots crawled out of the ground, and they still got their way.
Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went to the mouth of the river, which flowed into the open sea.
And now a wonderful boundless sea opened up before the young girl, but in all its expanse not a single sail was visible, there was not a single boat on which she could launch into further way. 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 other objects thrown out by the sea - glass, iron and stones - also bore traces of this polishing, but meanwhile 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 will too to work tirelessly! Thank you for your science, bright swift waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!"
Eleven white swan feathers lay on dry algae thrown up by the sea; Eliza gathered and tied them into a bun; there were still drops on the feathers - dew or tears, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not feel it: the sea represented an eternal diversity; in a few hours one could see more than in a whole year somewhere on the shores of fresh inland lakes. If a big black cloud was approaching the sky and the wind was strong, the sea seemed to say: "I can turn black too!" - began to seethe, worry and covered with white lambs. If the clouds were pinkish, and the wind subsided, the sea looked like a rose petal; sometimes it turned green, sometimes white; but no matter how calm there was in the air and no matter how calm the sea itself was, there was always a slight excitement near the shore - the water heaved softly, like the chest of a sleeping child.
When the sun was close to sunset, Eliza saw a string of wild swans in golden crowns flying towards the shore; there were eleven swans in all, and they flew one after another, stretching out in a long white ribbon, Eliza climbed up and hid behind a bush. The swans descended not far from her and flapped their great white wings.
At that very moment, as the sun sank under the water, the plumage from the swans suddenly fell off, and eleven handsome princes, Eliza's brothers, appeared on the earth! Eliza cried out loudly; she recognized them at once, despite the fact that they had changed so much; her heart told her it was them! She threw herself into their arms, called them all by their names, and they were somehow delighted to see and recognize their sister, who had grown so much and 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 assume the human form. Therefore, at the time of sunset, we must 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, but the road to get there is long, we have to fly over the whole 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 sticks out a small lonely cliff, on which we can somehow rest, clinging tightly to each other. If the sea is raging, splashes of water even fly over our heads, but we also thank God for such a haven: if it were not for him, we would not have been 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 home; we can stay here for eleven days and fly over this great 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 is buried. Here even bushes and trees seem familiar to us; the wild horses we saw in our childhood days still run across the plains, and the coal miners still sing the songs we used to dance to as children. Here is our homeland, here it draws us with all our heart, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! We can still stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a foreign country! How can we take you with us? We don't have a ship or a boat!
How can I free you from the spell? the sister asked the brothers.
So they talked almost all night and dozed off only for a few hours.
Eliza was awakened by 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 knees, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest flew in, and when the sun went down, they all again took on a 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 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! Eliza said.
They spent the whole night weaving a net of flexible vines and reeds; the mesh came out large and durable; Eliza was placed in it. Turning into swans at sunrise, the brothers grabbed the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet, fast asleep sister to the clouds. The rays of the sun shone directly on her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, protecting her from the sun with his wide wings.
They were already far from the earth when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming while awake, it was so strange for her to fly through the air. Near it lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of tasty roots; the youngest of the brothers picked them up and placed them beside her, and she smiled at him gratefully, - she guessed that he was flying over 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 big cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the gigantic shadows of eleven swans moving and her own. Here was the picture! She had never seen such! But as the sun rose higher and the cloud remained farther and farther behind, the shadows of the air gradually disappeared.
All day long swans flew like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual; now they were carrying their sister. The day began to decline towards evening, bad weather arose; Eliza watched in fear as the sun went down, the lone sea cliff still out of sight. It seemed to her that the swans somehow strenuously flap their wings. Ah, it was her fault that they could not fly faster! When the sun sets, they will become human beings, fall into the sea and drown! And she began to pray to God with all her heart, but the cliff did not show itself. A black cloud was approaching, strong gusts of wind foreshadowed a storm, the clouds gathered into a continuous menacing leaden wave rolling across the sky; lightning flashed after lightning.
With one edge the sun almost touched the water; Eliza's heart fluttered; 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 only then did Eliza see a cliff below her, no bigger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The sun was fading fast; now it seemed only 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 him and doused them with a whole rain of spray; the sky was ablaze with lightning, and every minute thunder rumbled, but the sister and brothers held hands and sang a psalm that poured comfort and courage into their hearts.
At dawn the storm subsided, it became clear and quiet again; as the sun rose, the swans flew on with Eliza. The sea was still rough, and they saw from above how white foam floated on the dark green water, like innumerable flocks of swans.
When the sun rose higher, Eliza saw before her, as it were, a mountainous country floating in the air, with masses shiny ice on the rocks; a huge castle towered between the rocks, entwined with some kind of bold air galleries of columns; below him swayed palm forests and magnificent flowers, the size of mill wheels. Eliza asked if this was the country they were flying to, but the swans shook their heads: she saw before 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 eyes 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. It even seemed to her that she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. Now the churches were very close, but suddenly turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea mist rising from the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing aerial images and pictures! But then, finally, the real land appeared, where they flew. Wonderful mountains, cedar forests, cities and castles rose there.
Long before sunset, Eliza sat on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets - so it was overgrown with soft green creepers.
- Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom.
- Oh, if I dreamed how to free you from the spell! she said, and the thought never left her mind.
Eliza began to pray fervently to God and continued her prayer even in her sleep. And then she dreamed that she was flying high, high in the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and that 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 Elise berries in the forest and told about swans in golden crowns.
“Your brothers can be saved,” she said. But do you have the courage and fortitude? The water is softer than your tender hands, and yet it grinds the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; water does not have a heart that would begin to languish with fear and torment, like yours. See, I have nettles in my hands? Such a nettle grows here near the cave, and only this, and even the nettle that grows in cemeteries, can be useful to you; notice her! You will pick this nettle even though your hands will be covered with blisters from burns; then you will knead it with your feet, spin long threads from the resulting fiber, then weave eleven shell shirts with long sleeves from them and throw them over 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 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 a stinging nettle; Eliza felt pain, as 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 had just seen in her dream. Then she fell on her knees, thanked God, and left the cave to immediately set to work.
With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands were covered with large blisters, but she endured the pain with joy: if only she could save her dear brothers! Then she kneaded the nettle with her bare feet and began to spin the green fiber.
At sunset, the brothers came and were very frightened, seeing that she had become mute. They thought it was their evil stepmother's new sorcery, but. Looking at her hands, they realized that she became dumb for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers wept; his tears fell on her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared, the pain subsided.
Eliza spent the night at her work; rest did not enter her mind; she thought only of how to free her dear brothers as soon as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she remained alone, but never before had time run so fast for her. One shell-shirt was ready, and the girl set to work on the next one.
Suddenly the sounds of hunting horns were heard in the mountains; Eliza was frightened; the sounds were getting closer, then there was the barking of dogs. The girl hid in a cave, tied all the nettles she had collected into a bundle 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 to and fro. A few minutes later all the hunters gathered at the cave; the most beautiful of them was the king of that country; he went up to Eliza - he had never seen 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 good as you are good, 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 the saddle in front of him; Eliza wept and wringed her hands, but the king said: “I only want your happiness. Someday you yourself will thank me!
And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.
Towards evening the magnificent capital of the king, with churches and domes, appeared, and the king led Eliza to his palace, where fountains murmured in high marble chambers, and walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings. But Eliza did not look at anything, wept and yearned; she gave herself listlessly to the servants, and they dressed her in royal robes, weaved pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burnt fingers.
The rich dresses 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 took her away them all eyes and bewitched the heart of the king.
The king, however, did not listen to him, signaled to the musicians, ordered the most beautiful dancers to be called and expensive dishes to be served on the table, and he himself led Eliza through fragrant gardens to magnificent chambers, but she remained sad and sad as before. But then the king opened the door to a small room, located just next to her bedroom. The whole room was hung with green carpets and resembled the forest cave where Eliza was found; on the floor lay a bundle of nettle fiber, and on the ceiling hung a shirt-shell woven by Eliza; all this, as a curiosity, was taken from the forest by one of the hunters.
- Here you can remember your former home! - said the king.
- Here is your work; perhaps you will sometimes wish to amuse yourself among all the pomp surrounding you with memories of the past!
Seeing the work dear to her heart, Eliza smiled and blushed; she thought of saving her brothers and kissed the king's hand, and he pressed it to his heart and ordered the bells to ring on the occasion of his wedding. Silent forest beauty became queen.
The archbishop continued to whisper evil speeches to the king, but they did not reach the heart of the king, and the wedding took place. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of vexation, he pushed a narrow golden hoop so tightly over her forehead that it would have hurt anyone, but she did not even pay attention to this: what did bodily pain mean to her if her heart was languishing with longing and pity for her dear brothers! Her lips were still compressed, not a single word escaped them - she knew that the life of her brothers depended on her silence - but her eyes shone with ardent love for the kind, handsome king who did everything to please her. Every day she became attached to him more and more. O! If only she could trust him, tell him her suffering, but alas! She had to be silent until she had finished her work. At night, she quietly left the royal bedroom to her secret room, similar to a cave, and weaved there one shell shirt after another, but when she started on the seventh, all the fiber came out of her.
She knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery, but she had to tear 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 was constricted with fear, as if she was going to a bad deed when she made her way moonlit night into the garden, and from there along the long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Abominable witches sat on wide gravestones; they threw off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, tore up fresh graves with their bony fingers, dragged out the bodies and devoured them. Eliza had to go past them, and they just stared at her with their evil eyes - but she said a prayer, gathered 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 his confessional, the archbishop told him what he saw and what he suspected; evil words tumbled from his lips, and the carvings of the saints shook their heads as if to say, "It's not true, Eliza is innocent!" But the archbishop interpreted this in his own way, saying that the saints also testified against her, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Two large tears rolled down the king's cheeks, doubt and despair seized his heart. At night, he only pretended to be asleep, but in fact, sleep fled from him. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom; the next night the same thing happened; he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret little 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 on the royal purple, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire wished to be in the place of the queen! But soon the end of her work; only one shirt was missing, and with a look and signs she asked him to leave; that night she had to finish her work, otherwise all her suffering, and tears, and sleepless nights would have been wasted! The Archbishop went off swearing at her, but poor Eliza knew she was innocent and went on with her work.
In order to help her at least a little, the mice, darting about on the floor, began to collect and bring scattered stalks of nettles to her feet, and a thrush, sitting behind a 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 asleep and no one dared to disturb him. They continued to beg, then they began to threaten; the guards came, 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 over the palace.
People poured out of town to see how the witch would be burned. A pitiful horse was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; a cloak of coarse burlap was thrown over her; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, there was not a blood in her face, her lips moved quietly, whispering prayers, and her fingers wove 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 ready at her feet, she wove the eleventh. The crowd sneered at her.
- Look at the witch! Ouch, muttering! Probably not a prayer book in her hands - no, everyone is fiddling with their witchy things! Let's rip them out of her and tear them to shreds.
And they crowded around her, intending to snatch the work out of her hands, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat on the sides 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 to say it aloud.
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 one was missing one hand, instead of it there was a swan wing: Eliza did not have time to finish the last shirt, and it lacked 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 exertion of strength, fear and pain affected her.
Yes, she's innocent! - said the oldest brother and told everything as it was; and while he spoke, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from many roses, - it was each log in the fire that took root and sprouts, and a tall fragrant bush was formed, covered with red roses. At the very top of the bush shone like a star, a dazzling white flower. The king tore it off, put it on Eliza's chest, and she came to her senses to joy and happiness!
All the church bells rang of their own accord, the birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a wedding procession stretched to the palace, such as no king had ever seen!

The king married an evil queen, and she became the stepmother of his 11 sons and daughter. The unkind stepmother of the princes turned into wild swans. Their sister Eliza had to make shirts for the brothers from nettles so that they would become young men again. The girl could not speak while sewing, otherwise the curse would not disappear. Under pain of execution, Elise still managed to save her brothers.

Fairy tale Wild swans download:

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Far, far away, in the country where the swallows fly away from us for the winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Eliza.

Eleven brothers-princes already went to school; each had a star on his chest, and a saber rattled on his side; they wrote on gold boards with diamond stylus and knew how to read perfectly, even from a book, even by heart - it doesn't matter. It was immediately heard that real princes were reading! Their sister, Eliza, sat on a bench of plate glass and looked at a picture book for which half a kingdom had been paid.

Yes, the children lived well, but not for long!

Their father, the king of that country, married an evil queen who disliked poor children. They had to experience it on the very first day: there was fun in the palace, and the children started a game to visit, but the stepmother, instead of various cakes and baked apples, which they always got in plenty, gave them a teacup of sand and said that they could imagine like it's a meal.

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 didn’t want to see them anymore.

Fly-ka pick-me-greet on all four sides! said the evil queen. - Fly like big birds without a voice and take care of yourself!

But she could not do as much harm to them as she would like - they turned into eleven beautiful wild swans, flew out of the palace windows with a cry 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 to the sea.

Poor Eliza stood in the peasant's hut and played with a green leaf - she had no other toys; she pierced 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 glided down her cheek, she remembered their tender kisses.

Day after day, one like the other. Did the wind sway the rose bushes that grew near the house and whisper to the roses: “Is there anyone more beautiful than you?” - roses shook their heads and said: "Eliza is more beautiful." Did some old woman sit at the door of her house on Sunday, reading a psalter, and the wind turned the sheets, saying to the book: “Is there anyone more pious than you?” the book answered: “Eliza is more pious!” Both the roses and the psalter spoke the absolute truth.

But now Elise was fifteen years old, and she was sent home. Seeing how pretty she was, the queen became angry and hated her stepdaughter. She would have gladly turned her into a wild swan, but it could not be done now, because the king wanted to see his daughter.

And early in the morning the queen went to the marble bath, all decorated with wonderful carpets and soft pillows, took three toads, kissed each and said to the first:

Sit on Elise's head when she enters the pool; let her become as stupid and lazy as you! And you sit on her forehead! she said to another. - Let Eliza be as ugly as you, and her father does not recognize her! You lay down on her heart! whispered the queen to the third toad. - Let her become malevolent and tormented by this!

Then she released the toads into the clear water, and the water immediately turned all 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 did not even notice this, and as soon as she got out of the water, three red poppies floated on 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 affect her in any way.

Seeing this, the evil queen rubbed Eliza with walnut juice so that she turned completely brown, smeared her face with a stinking ointment and messed up her wonderful hair. Now it was impossible to recognize the pretty Eliza. Even her father was frightened and said that this was not his daughter. No one recognized her, except for a chain dog and swallows, but who would listen to the poor creatures!

Eliza wept and thought of her expelled brothers, secretly left the palace and wandered all day through the fields and marshes, making her way to the forest. Eliza herself didn’t really know where she should go, but she yearned so much 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, when night already fell, 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 a bush with her hand, they fell into the grass like a shower of stars.

All night Eliza dreamed of her brothers: they were all children again, playing together, writing with slates on golden boards, and examining a wonderful picture book that cost half a kingdom. But they did not write dashes and zeroes on the boards, as they used to, - no, they described everything that they had seen and experienced. All the pictures in the book were alive: the birds were singing, and the people came down from the pages and talked to Eliza and her brothers; but as soon as she wanted to turn over the sheet, they jumped back in, otherwise the pictures would have been confused.

When Eliza awoke, the sun was already high; she could not even see it well behind the dense foliage of the trees, but its individual rays made their way between the branches and ran like golden bunnies over the grass; a wonderful smell came from the greenery, and the birds almost landed on Elise's shoulders. The murmur of a spring was heard not far off; 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 at one point the wild deer had cut a wide passage for themselves, and Eliza could go down to the very water. The water in the pond was clean and clear; the wind did not move the branches of trees and bushes, one would think that the trees and bushes were painted at 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 ugly; and now she scooped up a handful of water, rubbed her eyes and forehead, and again her white delicate skin shone. Then Eliza undressed completely and entered the cool water. It was such a pretty princess to look for in the wide world!

Having dressed and braiding her long hair, she went to a babbling spring, drank water straight from a handful and then went further through the forest, she did not know where. She thought about her brothers and hoped that God would not leave her: it was he who ordered wild forest apples to grow to feed the hungry with them; he also showed her one of these apple trees, the branches of which were bent from the weight of the fruit. Satisfying her hunger, Eliza propped up the branches with chopsticks and went deeper into the thicket of the forest. There was such silence that Eliza heard her own steps, heard the rustle of every dry leaf that came under her feet. Not a single bird flew into this wilderness, not a single ray of sunlight slipped through a continuous thicket of branches. The tall trunks stood in dense rows, like log walls; Elise has never felt so alone

The night got even darker; not a single firefly shone in the moss. Eliza lay down sadly on the grass, and suddenly it seemed to her that the branches above her parted, and the Lord God himself looked at her with good eyes; little angels peeped 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 along both banks, stretching their long, densely leafy branches towards each other. Those of the trees that could not intertwine their branches with those of their brothers on the opposite bank stretched out over the water so that their roots crawled out of the ground, and they still got their way.

Eliza said goodbye to the old woman and went to the mouth of the river, which flowed into the open sea.

And now a wonderful boundless sea opened up in front of the young girl, but in all its expanse not a single sail was visible, there was not a single boat on which she could set off on a 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 other objects thrown out by the sea - glass, iron and stones - also bore traces of this polishing, but meanwhile 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 will also work tirelessly! Thank you for the science, light fast waves! My heart tells me that someday you will take me to my dear brothers!”

Eleven white swan feathers lay on dry algae thrown up by the sea; Eliza gathered and tied them into a bun; drops still glittered on the feathers - dew or tears, who knows? It was deserted on the shore, but Eliza did not feel it: the sea represented an eternal diversity; in a few hours one could see more than in a whole year somewhere on the shores of fresh inland lakes. If a big black cloud was approaching the sky and the wind was stronger, the sea seemed to say: “I can turn black too!” - began to seethe, worry and covered with white lambs. If the clouds were pinkish, and the wind subsided, the sea looked like a rose petal; sometimes it became green, sometimes white; but no matter how calm there was in the air and no matter how calm the sea itself was, a slight excitement was constantly noticeable near the coast - the water heaved quietly, like the chest of a sleeping child.

When the sun was close to sunset, Eliza saw a string of wild swans in golden crowns flying towards the shore; there were eleven swans in all, and they flew one after another, stretching out in 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 that very moment, as the sun sank under the water, the plumage from the swans suddenly fell off, and eleven handsome princes, Eliza's brothers, appeared on the earth! Eliza cried out loudly; she recognized them at once, despite the fact that they had changed so much; her heart told her it was them! She threw herself into their arms, called them all by their names, and they were somehow delighted to see and recognize their sister, who had grown so much and 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 assume the human form. Therefore, at the time of sunset, we must 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, but the road to get there is long, we have to fly over the whole 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 a small lonely cliff sticks out, on which we can somehow rest, clinging tightly to each other. If the sea is raging, splashes of water even fly over our heads, but we also thank God for such a haven: if it were not for him, we would not have been 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 home; we can stay here for eleven days and fly over this great 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 is buried. Here even bushes and trees seem familiar to us; the wild horses we saw in our childhood days still run across the plains, and the coal miners still sing the songs we used to dance to as children. Here is our homeland, here it draws us with all our heart, and here we found you, dear, dear sister! We can still stay here for two more days, and then we must fly overseas to a foreign country! How can we take you with us? We don't have a ship or a boat!

How can I free you from the spell? the sister asked the brothers.

So they talked almost all night and dozed off only for a few hours.

Eliza was awakened by 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 knees, and she stroked and fingered his feathers. They spent the whole day together, and in the evening the rest flew in, and when the sun went down, everyone again took on a 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 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! Eliza said.

They spent the whole night weaving a net of flexible vines and reeds; the mesh came out large and durable; Eliza was placed in it. Turning into swans at sunrise, the brothers grabbed the net with their beaks and soared with their sweet, fast asleep sister to the clouds. The rays of the sun shone directly on her face, so one of the swans flew over her head, protecting her from the sun with his wide wings.

They were already far from the earth when Eliza woke up, and it seemed to her that she was dreaming while awake, it was so strange for her to fly through the air. Near it lay a branch with wonderful ripe berries and a bunch of tasty roots; the youngest of the brothers picked them up and laid them on her, and she smiled gratefully at him - she guessed that it was he who was flying over 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 big cloud in the sky behind them - a real mountain! - and on it Eliza saw the gigantic shadows of eleven swans moving and her own. Here was the picture! She had never seen anything like it! But as the sun rose higher and the cloud remained farther and farther behind, the shadows of the air gradually disappeared.

The whole day the swans flew like an arrow shot from a bow, but still slower than usual; now they were carrying their sister. The day began to decline towards evening, bad weather arose; Eliza watched in fear as the sun went down, the lone sea cliff still out of sight. It seemed to her that the swans somehow strenuously flap their wings. Ah, it was her fault that they could not fly faster! The sun will set, 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 continuous menacing leaden wave rolling across the sky; lightning flashed after lightning.

With one edge the sun almost touched the water; Eliza's heart fluttered; 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 below her, no larger than a seal sticking its head out of the water. The sun was fading fast; now it seemed only 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 him and doused them with a whole rain of spray; the sky was ablaze with lightning, and every minute thunder rumbled, but the sister and brothers held hands and sang a psalm that poured comfort and courage into their hearts.

At dawn the storm subsided, it became clear and quiet again; as the sun rose, the swans flew on with Eliza. The sea was still agitated, and they saw from a height how white foam floated on the dark green water, like countless flocks of swans.

When the sun rose higher, Eliza saw before her, as it were, a mountainous country floating in the air, with masses of shining ice on the rocks; a huge castle towered between the rocks, entwined with some kind of bold air galleries of columns; below him swayed palm forests and magnificent flowers, the size of mill wheels. Eliza asked if this was the country they were flying to, but the swans shook their heads: she saw in front of her a wonderful, ever-changing cloud castle of Fata Morgana; there they dared not bring a single human soul. Eliza again fixed her eyes 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. It even seemed to her that she heard the sounds of an organ, but it was the sound of the sea. Now the churches were very close, but suddenly turned into a whole flotilla of ships; Eliza looked more closely and saw that it was just sea mist rising from the water. Yes, before her eyes there were ever-changing aerial images and pictures! But then, finally, the real land appeared, where they flew. Wonderful mountains, cedar forests, cities and castles rose there.

Long before sunset, Eliza sat on a rock in front of a large cave, as if hung with embroidered green carpets - so she was overgrown with soft green creepers.

Let's see what you dream about here at night! - said the youngest of the brothers and showed his sister her bedroom.

Ah, if I dreamed how to free you from the spell! she said, and the thought never left her mind.

Eliza began to pray fervently to God and continued her prayer even in her sleep. And then she dreamed that she was flying high, high in the air to the castle of Fata Morgana and that 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 Elise berries in the forest and told about swans in golden crowns.

Your brothers can be saved, she said. But do you have the courage and fortitude? The water is softer than your tender hands and still grinds the stones, but it does not feel the pain that your fingers will feel; water does not have a heart that would begin to languish with fear and torment, like yours. See, I have nettles in my hands? Such a nettle grows here near the cave, and only it, and even the nettle that grows 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 knead it with your feet, spin long threads from the resulting fiber, then weave eleven long-sleeved shirt-shells from them and throw them over 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 years, you must not speak 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 a burning nettle; Eliza felt pain, as 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 had just seen in her dream. Then she fell on her knees, thanked God, and left the cave to immediately set to work.

With her tender hands she tore the evil, stinging nettles, and her hands were covered with large blisters, but she endured the pain with joy: if only she could save her dear brothers! Then she kneaded the nettle with her bare feet and began to spin the green fiber.

At sunset, the brothers came and were very frightened, seeing that she had become mute. They thought it was their evil stepmother's new sorcery, but looking at her hands, they realized that she had become mute for their salvation. The youngest of the brothers wept; his tears fell on her hands, and where the tear fell, the burning blisters disappeared, the pain subsided.

Eliza spent the night at her work; rest was out of her mind; she thought only of how to free her dear brothers as soon as possible. All the next day, while the swans were flying, she was left alone, but never before had time run so fast for her. One shell-shirt was ready, and the girl set to work on the next one.

Suddenly the sounds of hunting horns were heard in the mountains; Eliza was frightened; the sounds got closer, then there was the barking of dogs. The girl hid in a cave, tied all the nettles she had collected into a bundle 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 to and fro. A few minutes later all the hunters gathered at the cave; the most beautiful of them was the king of that country; he went up to 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 good, 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 the saddle in front of him; Eliza wept and wringed her hands, but the king said: “I only want your happiness. Someday you yourself will thank me!

And he took her through the mountains, and the hunters galloped after.

By evening, the magnificent capital of the king appeared, with churches and domes, and the king brought Eliza to his palace, where fountains murmured in high marble chambers, and walls and ceilings were decorated with paintings. But Eliza did not look at anything, wept and yearned; she gave herself indifferently to the servants, and they put royal clothes on her, weaved pearl threads into her hair and pulled thin gloves over her burnt fingers.

Rich dresses suited her so, 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 took away them all eyes and bewitched the heart of the king.

The king, however, did not listen to him, signaled to the musicians, ordered the most beautiful dancers to be called in and expensive dishes to be served on the table, and he himself led Eliza through fragrant gardens to magnificent chambers, but she remained sad and sad as before. But then the king opened the door to a small room, located just next to her bedroom. The whole room was hung with green carpets and resembled the forest cave where Eliza was found; on the floor lay a bundle of nettle fiber, and on the ceiling hung a shirt-shell woven by Eliza; all this, as a curiosity, was taken from the forest by one of the hunters.

Here you can remember your former home! - said the king. - Here is your work; perhaps you will sometimes wish to amuse yourself among all the pomp surrounding 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 ring on the occasion of his wedding. Silent forest beauty became queen.

The archbishop continued to whisper evil words to the king, but they did not reach the heart of the king, and the wedding took place. The archbishop himself had to put the crown on the bride; out of vexation, he pushed a narrow golden hoop so tightly over her forehead that it would have hurt anyone, but she did not even pay attention to it: what did bodily pain mean to her if her heart was languishing with longing and pity for her dear brothers! Her lips were still compressed, not a single word escaped them - she knew that the life of her brothers depended on her silence - but her eyes shone with ardent love for the kind, handsome king who did everything to please her. Every day she became attached to him more and more. O! If only she could trust him, tell him her suffering, but alas! She had to be silent until she had finished her work. At night, she quietly left the royal bedroom to her secret room, similar to a cave, and weaved one shell-shirt after another there, but when she started on the seventh, all the fiber came out of her.

She knew that she could find such nettles in the cemetery, but she had to tear them herself; How to be?

“Oh, what does bodily pain mean in comparison with the sadness that torments my heart! Eliza thought. - I must decide! The Lord will not leave me!”

Her heart sank with fear, as if she were going to a bad deed when she made her way to the garden on a moonlit night, and from there along the long alleys and deserted streets to the cemetery. Abominable witches sat on wide gravestones; they threw off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, tore up fresh graves with their bony fingers, dragged out the bodies and devoured them. Eliza had to go past them, and they just stared at her with their evil eyes - but she said a prayer, gathered 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 saw and what he suspected; wicked words tumbled from his lips, and the carvings of the saints shook their heads as if to say, “It’s not true, Eliza is innocent!” But the archbishop interpreted this in his own way, saying that the saints testify against her, shaking their heads disapprovingly. Two large tears rolled down the king's cheeks, doubt and despair seized his heart. At night, he only pretended to be asleep, but in fact, sleep fled from him. And then he saw that Eliza got up and disappeared from the bedroom; the next night the same thing happened; he watched her and saw her disappear into her secret little 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 on the royal purple, shining like diamonds, and people who saw her rich attire wished to be in the place of the queen! But soon, soon the end of her work; only one shirt was missing, and here again Elise did not have enough fiber. Once again, for the last time, I had to go to the cemetery and pick a few bunches of nettles. She thought with horror of 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 followed her and saw her disappear behind the cemetery fence; coming closer, they saw witches sitting on tombstones, and the king turned back; among these witches there was, after all, the one whose head had just rested on his chest!

Let the people judge! - he said.

And the people awarded - to burn the queen at the stake.

From the splendid royal quarters, Eliza was taken to a gloomy, damp dungeon with iron bars on the windows, through which the wind rushed in with a whistle. Instead of velvet and silk, they gave the poor thing a bunch of nettles she had collected from the cemetery; this burning bundle was to serve as a headboard for Eliza, and the hard shell-shirts woven by her were to be a bed and carpets; but they could not give her anything more precious than all this, and with a prayer on her lips she again set to 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 noise of swan wings was heard at the grate - the youngest of the brothers found her 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, - so he promised the king, - but she shook her head and eyes and asked him to leave with signs; that night she had to finish her work, otherwise all her suffering, and tears, and sleepless nights would have been wasted! The archbishop went off swearing at her, but poor Eliza knew she was innocent and continued to work.

In order to help her at least a little, the mice darting across the floor began to collect and bring the scattered stalks of nettles to her feet, and the thrush, sitting behind the lattice window, comforted 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 beg, then they began to threaten; the guards came, 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 over the palace.

People poured out of town to see how the witch would be burned. A pitiful horse was pulling a cart in which Eliza was sitting; a cloak of coarse burlap was thrown over her; her wonderful long hair was loose over her shoulders, there was not a blood in her face, her lips moved quietly, whispering prayers, and her fingers wove 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 ready at her feet, she wove the eleventh. The crowd sneered at her.

Look at the witch! Ouch, muttering! Probably not a prayer book in her hands - no, everything is fiddling with their witchy things! Let's rip them out of her and tear them to shreds.

And they crowded around her, intending to snatch the work out of her hands, when suddenly eleven white swans flew in, sat 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 to say it aloud.

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 one was missing one hand, instead of it there was a swan wing: Eliza did not have time to finish the last shirt, and it lacked one sleeve.

Now I can speak! - 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 is how the tireless exertion of strength, fear and pain affected her.

Yes, she is innocent! - said the oldest brother and told everything as it was; and while he spoke, a fragrance spread in the air, as if from many roses, - it was each log in the fire that took root and sprouts, and a tall fragrant bush was formed, covered with red roses. At the very top of the bush shone like a star, a dazzling white flower. The king tore it off, put it on Eliza's chest, and she came to her senses to joy and happiness!

All the church bells rang of their own accord, the birds flocked in whole flocks, and such a wedding procession stretched to the palace, which no king has ever seen!

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Read the fairy tale Wild Swans

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