The Wild Swans (folktale)
The Wild Swans is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, and is essentially the same story as The Six Swans, collected by the Brothers Grimm.
It is the story of a princess whose brothers are all turned into swans by her stepmother. In order to save her brothers, she must weave each a shirt of nettles, all the while never speaking. Having left home, she lives in the woods making her shirts; one day she is discovered by a king, who takes her home to be his wife. This is more creepy in some renditions than others.
They are married, but the king's mother dislikes her and believes her to be a witch - after all, she never speaks, and she hangs out in graveyards collecting nettles. She has nearly finished the shirts when she is to be burnt as a witch, and when she is tied to the stake, her brothers fly to her. She throws the shirts over them and they turn back to men, all but her youngest brother whose shirt was unfinished; thus he retains a swan's wing. The girl is able to explain her 'witchcraft' and is saved.
Reinterpretive works
Novels
- Swan's Wing - Ursula Synge
- The Wild Swans - Peg Kerr
- Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier
- The Swan Kingdom - Zöe Marriott
- Birdwing - Rafe Martin
- The Seventh Swan - Nicholas Stuart Gray
- Witherwing - David Jarrett