The Wild Swans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "The Wild Swans" |
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"The Wild Swans" by E. Stuart Hardy
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| Author | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Original title | "De vilde svaner" |
| Country | Denmark |
| Language | Danish |
| Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale |
| Published in | Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet (Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Ny Samling. Første Hefte) |
| Publication type | Fairy tale collection |
| Publisher | C. A. Reitzel |
| Media type | |
| Publication date | 2 October 1838 |
| Preceded by | "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" |
The Wild Swans (in Danish: De vilde svaner) is a classic fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the exciting story of a princess named Elisa. She bravely tries to rescue her eleven brothers from a terrible spell cast by an evil queen.
This famous tale was first published on October 2, 1838. It appeared in Andersen's book Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet. The book was released by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark. Over the years, "The Wild Swans" has been made into many different things, like ballets, television shows, and movies.
The story is known as an Aarne-Thompson type 451 tale. This means it's a story about "The Brothers Who Were Turned into Birds." Other similar stories include The Twelve Brothers, The Six Swans, and The Seven Ravens.
Contents
The Story of The Wild Swans
In a faraway kingdom, a king lived with his twelve children. He had eleven princes and one princess named Elisa. One day, the king decided to marry again. But he chose a very wicked queen who was also a powerful wizard.
The evil queen hated the king's children. She used her magic to turn the eleven princes into beautiful swans. They were forced to fly far away. Luckily, they could turn back into humans when the sun went down. The queen then tried to cast a spell on Elisa, who was 15 years old. But Elisa's good heart was too strong for the magic. So, the queen had Elisa banished from the kingdom.
Elisa's Difficult Quest
Elisa's swan brothers carried her to a safe, foreign land. There, she met the queen of the fairies. The fairy queen told Elisa how to break the spell. Elisa needed to gather stinging nettles from graveyards. She then had to knit these nettles into eleven shirts for her brothers.
This task was very painful. The nettles stung Elisa's hands, leaving them blistered. Even harder, Elisa had to take a vow of silence. She could not speak a single word until her task was done. If she spoke, she and her brothers would die.
A New King and a Big Problem
One day, a handsome king from another land found Elisa. He saw that she could not speak, but he fell in love with her kindness. He invited her to live in his castle. There, Elisa continued knitting the nettle shirts. Eventually, the king asked her to marry him and become his queen. Elisa accepted.
However, the Archbishop of the kingdom did not trust Elisa. He thought she was a witch. The king did not believe him. One night, Elisa ran out of nettles. She had to go to a nearby church graveyard to collect more. The Archbishop was watching. He saw strange spirits in the churchyard and thought Elisa was working with them.
The Trial and Rescue
The Archbishop told the king that Elisa was a witch. He claimed the spirits were proof. Even though the statues of saints in the church shook their heads in protest, the Archbishop misunderstood this sign. He ordered Elisa to be put on trial for witchcraft. Elisa could not speak to defend herself because of her vow. She was sentenced to death by burning at the stake.
Elisa's brothers found out about her terrible situation. They tried to reach the king, but the rising sun turned them back into swans. As Elisa was taken to her execution, she kept knitting. She was determined to finish the shirts. The people were angry and almost ripped the shirts from her hands. But then, the swans flew down and protected Elisa.
The people saw this as a sign from Heaven that Elisa was innocent. Elisa quickly finished the last shirt. The executioner was still preparing the fire. Elisa threw the shirts over her brothers, and they immediately turned back into humans!
A Happy Ending
One of the brothers, the youngest, had a swan's wing instead of an arm. This was because Elisa did not have time to finish one sleeve of his shirt. Now, Elisa was free to speak. She fainted from exhaustion, so her brothers explained everything to the king.
As they spoke, a miracle happened. The firewood around Elisa's stake took root and burst into beautiful flowers. The king picked the top flower and placed it on Elisa's chest. The white flower revived her. The king and Elisa were happily married, and they lived happily ever after.
Adaptations of The Wild Swans
"The Wild Swans" has inspired many creative works. Here are some of them:
- The Wild Swans: A Soviet animated movie.
- Wild Swans: A ballet created by Elena Kats-Chernin.
- A Wild Swan: And Other Tales: A book by Michael Cunningham that tells the story from the youngest brother's point of view.
- Stories to Remember: The Wild Swans: An animated short film narrated by Sigourney Weaver.
- Sekai Meisaku Douwa: Hakuchou no Õji (The Wild Swans: The Princess of the Swans): A 1977 anime film by Toei Animation. It mixes parts of "The Wild Swans" with "The Six Swans" by the Brothers Grimm.
- A 1960s Canadian children's show called Mr. Piper made an episode about the story.
- Jessica Jung's photo for Girls' Generation's album The Boys was inspired by Elisa.
- The Springfield Swans: A story by Caroline Stevermer and Ryan Edmonds. It retells the tale as a baseball contest.
- Daughter of the Forest: A novel by Juliet Marillier based on Andersen's tale.
- De Vilde Svaner: A 2009 Danish movie adaptation. The screenplay was written by Margrethe II, the Queen of Denmark.
- Spinning Starlight: A science fiction retelling of the story by R.C Lewis.
- De Wilde Zwanen (The Wild Swans): A funny audio play from Belgium.
- A Wild Winter Swan: A novel by Gregory Maguire that focuses on the sixth brother.
Images for kids
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Illustration from 'the book Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1872
See also
In Spanish: Los cisnes salvajes para niños
