The six swans

A fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm

Once on a time a king was hunting in a great wood, and he pursued a wild animal so eagerly that none of his people could follow him. When evening came he stood still, and looking round him he found that he had lost his way; and seeking a path, he found none. Then all at once he saw an old woman with a nodding head coming up to him; and it was a witch.

"My good woman," said he, "can you show me the way out of the wood?"

"Oh yes, my lord king," answered she, "certainly I can; but I must make a condition, and if you do not fulfil it, you will never get out of the wood again, but die there of hunger."

"What is the condition?" asked the king.

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as fair as any in the world, and if you will take her for your bride, and make her queen, I will show you the way out of the wood."

The king consented, because of the difficulty he was in, and the old woman led him into her little house, and there her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the king just as if she had been expecting him, and though he saw that she was very beautiful, she did not please him, and he could not look at her without an inward shudder. Nevertheless, he took the maiden before him on his horse, and the old woman showed him the way, and soon he was in his royal castle again, where the wedding was held.

The king had been married before, and his first wife had left seven children, six boys and one girl, whom he loved better than all the world, and as he was afraid the step-mother might not behave well to them, and perhaps would do them some mischief, he took them to a lonely castle standing in the middle of a wood. There they remained hidden, for the road to it was so hard to find that the king himself could not have found it, had it not been for a clew of yarn, possessing wonderful properties, that a wise woman had given him; when he threw it down before him, it unrolled itself and showed him the way.

And the king went so often to see his dear children, that the queen was displeased at his absence; and she became curious and wanted to know what he went out into the wood for so often alone. She bribed his servants with much money, and they showed her the secret, and told her of the clew of yam, which alone could point out the way; then she gave herself no rest until she had found out where the king kept the clew, and then she made some little white silk shirts, and sewed a charm in each, as she had learned witchcraft of her mother.

And once when the king had ridden, to the hunt, she took the little shirts and went into the wood, and the clew of yarn showed her the way. The children seeing some one in the distance, thought it was their dear father coming to see them, and came jumping for joy to meet him. Then the wicked queen threw over each one of the little shirts, and as soon as the shirts touched their bodies, they were changed into swans, and flew away through the wood. So the queen went home very pleased to think she had got rid of her stepchildren; but the maiden had not run out with her brothers, and so the queen knew nothing about her. The next day the king went to see his children, but he found nobody but his daughter.

"Where are thy brothers?" asked the king.

"Ah, dear father," answered she, "they are gone away and have left me behind," and then she told him how she had seen from her window her brothers in the guise of swans fly away through the wood, and she showed him the feathers which they had let fall in the courtyard, and which she had picked up. The king was grieved, but he never dreamt that it was the queen who had done this wicked deed, and as he feared lest the maiden also should be stolen away from him, he wished to take her away with him. But she was afraid of the step-mother, and begged the king to let her remain one more night in the castle in the wood.

Then she said to herself, "I must stay here no longer, but go and seek for my brothers." And when the night came, she fled away and went straight into the wood. She went on all that night and the next day, until she could go no longer for weariness. At last she saw a rude hut, and she went in and found a room with six little beds in it; she did not dare to lie down in one, but she crept under one and lay on the hard boards and wished for night.

When it was near the time of sun-setting she heard a rustling sound, and saw six swans come flying in at the window. They alighted on the ground, and blew at one another until they had blown all their feathers off, and then they stripped off their swan-skin as if it had been a shirt. And the maiden looked at them and knew them for her brothers, and was very glad, and crept from under the bed. The brothers were not less glad when their sister appeared, but their joy did not last long.

"You must not stay here," said they to her; "this is a robbers' haunt, and if they were to come and find you here, they would kill you."

"And cannot you defend me?" asked the little sister.

"No," answered they, "for we can only get rid of our swan-skins and keep our human shape every evening for a quarter of an hour, but after that we must be changed again into swans." Their sister wept at hearing this, and said, "Can nothing be done to set you free?"

"Oh no," answered they, "the work would be too hard for you. For six whole years you would be obliged never to speak or laugh, and make during that time six little shirts out of aster-flowers. If you were to let fall a single word before the work was ended, all would be of no good." And just as the brothers had finished telling her this, the quarter of an hour came to an end, and they changed into swans and flew out of the window.

But the maiden made up her mind to set her brothers free, even though it should cost her her life. She left the hut, and going into the middle of the wood, she climbed a tree, and there passed the night. The next morning she set to work and gathered asters and began sewing them together: as for speaking, there was no one to speak to, and as for laughing, she had no mind to it; so she sat on and looked at nothing but her work. When she had been going on like this for a long time, it happened that the king of that country went a-hunting in the wood, and some of his huntsmen came up to the tree in which the maiden sat.

They called out to her, saying, "Who art thou?" But she gave no answer. "Come down," cried they; "we will do thee no harm." But she only shook her head. And when they tormented her further with questions she threw down to them her gold necklace, hoping they would be content with that. But they would not leave off, so she threw down to them her girdle, and when that was no good, her garters, and one after another everything she had on and could possibly spare, until she had nothing left but her smock. But all was no good, the huntsmen would not be put off any longer, and they climbed the tree, carried the maiden off, and brought her to the king.

The king asked, "Who art thou? What wert thou doing in the tree?" But she answered nothing. He spoke to her in all the languages he knew, but she remained dumb: but, being very beautiful, the king inclined to her, and he felt a great love rise up in his heart towards her; and casting his mantle round her, he put her before him on his horse and brought her to his castle. Then he caused rich clothing to be put upon her, and her beauty shone as bright as the morning, but no word would she utter. He seated her by his side at table, and her modesty and gentle mien so pleased him, that he said, "This maiden I choose for wife, and no other in all the world," and accordingly after a few days they were married.

But the king had a wicked mother, who was displeased with the marriage, and spoke ill of the young queen. "Who knows where the maid can have come from?" said she, "and not able to speak a word! She is not worthy of a king!" After a year had passed, and the queen brought her first child into the world, the old woman carried it away, and marked the queen's mouth with blood as she lay sleeping. Then she went to the king and declared that his wife was an eater of human flesh. The king would not believe such a thing, and ordered that no one should do her any harm.

And the queen went on quietly sewing the shirts and caring for nothing else. The next time that a fine boy was born, the wicked step-mother used the same deceit, but the king would give no credence to her words, for he said, "She is too tender and good to do any such thing, and if she were only not dumb, and could justify herself, then her innocence would be as clear as day." When for the third time the old woman stole away the new-born child and accused the queen, who was unable to say a word in her defence, the king could do no other but give her up to justice, and she was sentenced to suffer death by fire.

The day on which her sentence was to be carried out was the very last one of the sixth year of the years during which she had neither spoken nor laughed, to free her dear brothers from the evil spell. The six shirts were ready, all except one which wanted the left sleeve. And when she was led to the pile of wood, she carried the six shirts on her arm, and when she mounted the pile and the fire was about to be kindled, all at once she cried out aloud, for there were six swans coming flying through the air; and she saw that her deliverance was near, and her heart beat for joy.

The swans came close up to her with rushing wings, and stooped round her, so that she could throw the shirts over them; and when that had been done the swanskins fell off them, and her brothers stood before her in their own bodies quite safe and sound; but as one shirt wanted the left sleeve, so the youngest brother had a swan's wing instead of a left arm.

They embraced and kissed each other, and the queen went up to the king, who looked on full of astonishment, and began to speak to him and to say, "Dearest husband, now I may dare to speak and tell you that I am innocent, and have been falsely accused," and she related to him the treachery of the step-mother, who had taken away the three children and hidden them. And she was reconciled to the king with great joy, and the wicked step-mother was bound to the stake on the pile of wood and burnt to ashes. And the king and queen lived many years with their six brothers in peace and joy.

Šestero labutí
Bratři Grimmové

yl jednou jeden král a ten si vyjel na lov do lesa, ale při pronásledování zvěře se svým lidem ztratil a pak v tom lese zabloudil a nemohl najít cestu ven. Tu uviděl, jak k němu přichází stařena s ošklivou třaslavou hlavou; inu, čarodějnice. „Milá matičko,“ pravil král: „můžeš mi ukázat cestu ven z lesa?“ „Ano, to mohu, můj králi a pane,“ odpověděla babice: „ale mám jednu podmínku. Když ti nepomohu, nikdy z tohoto lesa nevyjdeš a bídně tu zahyneš.“ „Jaká je tvoje podmínka?“ zeptal se král. „Mám dceru,“ řekla stařena: „je krásná jako bílý den, podobnou ve světě nenajdeš. Udělej z ní královnu a svoji ženu, pak ti ukáži cestu.“ Král měl strach, že z lesa sám nedostane, a tak souhlasil. Stařena ho zavedla do svého domku, kde seděla u krbu její dcera a byla opravdu velmi krásná, ale králi se stejně nelíbila, při pohledu na ni se mu zachvělo srdce. Ale nebylo zbytí, posadil dívku před sebe na koně a stařena mu ukázala cestu a za nedlouho dorazil na královský zámek, kde byla brzy svatba.

en král byl už jednou ženatý a s první ženou měl sedm dětí, šest chlapců a jedno děvčátko. Děti pro něj byly to nejdražší na celém světě, a protože se bál, aby jim macecha neublížila, odvezl je do skrytého zámku, který stál na utajeném místě uprostřed hlubokého lesa. Cestu k zámku nebylo snadné nalézt, sám král ji nalezl vždy jen pomocí klubka příze, které mu dala jedna moudrá vědma; bylo nadáno kouzelnou mocí, když je člověk hodil na zem, kutálelo se pryč a ukazovalo mu cestu. Za milovanými dětmi chodil král tak často, že královna jeho nepřítomnost postřehla a byla zvědavá, co sám pohledává v lese, co tam má skryto. Rozdala velmi mnoho zlata královým sluhům, kteří jí to tajemství prozradili, dokonce jí pověděli i o tom kouzelném klubku, které jediné jí může ukázat cestu. Teď neměla královna klidu, dokud králi klubko nesebrala, když ho zrovna nestřežil, a nevyrobila sedm sněhobílých hedvábných košil, které očarovala; však říkají, že jablko nepadá daleko od stromu!

ednoho dne si král opět vyjel na lov a královna popadla klubko i košilky a vydala se do lesa také. Princové byli radostí bez sebe, když viděli někoho přicházet, mysleli, že to je milovaný otec a běželi mu vstříc. Místo otce před nimi ale stála královna a než se nadáli, na každého z nich hodila očarovanou košilku. Sotva se hedvábí dotklo jejich tělíček, proměnili se chlapci v labutě a ty odlétly pryč. Královna odešla spokojeně domů, věřila, že se nevlastních dětí zbavila. Ale malá princeznička se svými bratříčky nebyla, a tak na ni královna zapomněla.

ruhého dne přišel děti navštívit král, ale nenašel nikoho než dcerku. „Kde jsou tvoji bratři?“ „Ach, milovaný tatínku,“ odpověděla: „jsou pryč a já jsem zůstala sama.“ A pak mu vyprávěla, co viděla oknem, jak se bratříčci proměnili v labutě a ty pak uletěly pryč. A ukázala mu pírka, která zůstala ležet na dvoře. Král se zasmušil, ale nevěřil, že by královna učinila něco tak zlého, a protože se bál, že i dívence se něco přihodí, chtěl ji vzít s sebou. Ale ta měla z macechy strach, a proto otce uprosila, aby mohla zůstat ještě jednu noc v lesním zámku, neboť se rozhodla, že půjde bratříčky hledat, a když nastala noc, utekla do lesa.

s_hacek la dlouho předlouho lesem, až padala únavou, když tu uviděla lesní chaloupku, a tak vstoupila dovnitř. Stálo tam šest postelí, ale neodvážila si do žádné lehnout, vlezla si pod jednu z nich, aby přenocovala na tvrdé zemi. Ale sotva zapadlo slunce, uslyšela nějaký hluk a otevřeným oknem dovnitř vlétlo šest labutí. Ty dosedly na zem a čechraly si peří tak dlouho, až z nich jejich labutí kůže spadla jako košile. Tu princezna uviděla, že jsou to její bratři, zaradovala se a vylezla zpod postele. Bratři byli radostí bez sebe, když ji viděli, ale ta radost neměla dlouhé trvání. „Tady nemůžeš zůstat.“ řekli: „Tohle je doupě banditů, až přijdou domů a naleznou tě, zabijí tě.“ „Copak vy mne nemůžete ochránit?“ zeptala se. „Ne.“ odpověděli: „My shazujeme svoji labutí kůži každý večer jen na čtvrt hodiny, kdy máme svoji lidskou podobu, pak se zase staneme labutěmi.“ Dívka se rozplakala a ptala se: „Copak vás nelze nijak vysvobodit?“ „Ale ano, ale je to těžké, přetěžké.“ odpověděli: „Nesměla bys šest let promluvit, ani se zasmát a musela bys po ten čas ušít šest košil z bodláku. Jedno jediné slůvko zmaří všechnu tvoji námahu!“ A když jí to bratři vypověděli, uplynula právě ona vyměřená čtvrthodina a oni opět jako labutě odletěli oknem. Dívenka se pevně rozhodla, že svoje bratry vysvobodí, i kdyby ji to mělo stát život. Opustila lesní chýši a odešla do hloubi lesa. Tam si sedla na jeden strom, aby tam přenocovala. Ráno natrhala bodláčí a začala pracovat. Mluvit neměla s kým, ke smíchu jí stejně nebylo, a tak jen seděla a myslela na svoji práci.

běžel čas, jak bývá jeho zvykem, neúprosně a bez ustání.

ednoho dne se vydal král té země do toho lesa na lov. Jeden z jeho lovců přijel až pod ten strom, na kterém seděla dívka, a zavolal nahoru: „Kdopak jsi?“ Ale nedostal žádnou odpověď. „Pojď dolů! Nic se ti nestane!“ Ale dívka jen nesouhlasně zavrtěla hlavou. A když ji dál obtěžoval otázkami, hodila mu dolu zlatý řetěz, aby jí dal pokoj a šel pryč. Ale on toho nenechal, a tak mu hodila zlatý pás, a když ani to nepomohlo, tak podvazky a nakonec všechno, co mohla postrádat, až ji zůstaly jen košilky, které šila. Ale lovec se nenechal odbýt, vylezl na strom, dívku popadl a zavedl ji před krále.

rál se zeptal: „Kdo jsi? Co jsi dělala na tom stromě?“ Ale děvče neodpovědělo. Král se jí ptal ve všech řečech, které znal, ale ona mlčela jako ryba; tedy jako velmi krásná ryba, až se jednomu tajil dech. Kdo by se divil, že se králi zalíbila natolik, že ji zahalil do svého pláště, posadil před sebe na koně a odvezl na zámek. Tam ji oblékli do krásných šatů, to vám byla krása, zářila jako slunce v jasném dni; jen po celou dobu nepromluvila ani slovo. Posadili se ke stolu a král, okouzlený jejím zjevem a skromností, řekl: „Tebe a žádnou jinou na celém světě si vezmu za ženu!“ A bylo to! Za pár dní se s ní opravdu oženil, což nebylo po chuti králově matce. Ta žena, od přírody zlá a nepřející, byla s takovou nevěstou nespokojená, mluvila o ní jen zle; kdoví odkud ta děvečka pochází a krále není hodna.

a rok poté se mladičké královně narodilo dítě, ale tchýně se vplížila do ložnice, dítě odnesla a spící královně pomazala ústa krví. Pak běžela ke králi a na královnu žalovala, že je lidožravá. Ale král tomu neuvěřil a poručil, že jeho ženě nesmí nikdo ublížit. Královna zatím mlčky seděla u své práce, pilně šila košilky a na nic jiného nepomyslila. Když za rok povila další dítko, zlá tchyně svůj zlý skutek zopakovala, ale ani tentokrát král tomu úskoku neuvěřil, pravil, že královna je dobrá, zbožná a nevinná; jistě to jednoho dne vyjde najevo. Ale pak zmizelo i třetí novorozeně a to bylo i na krále moc. Postavili královnu před soud, a protože na svoji obhajobu neřekla ani slůvko, nemohl král dělat nic jiného než ji vydat katu.

řišel den, kdy měla být upálena na hranici, a byl to i poslední den šestileté lhůty, ve které musela mlčet a šít košilky. Ty byly takřka hotovy, jen jedné chyběl levý rukáv. Když vedli královnu na hranici, měla košilky pověšeny na rukou, a když zapálili oheň, rozhlížela se s obavami kolem. Tu konečně přiletělo šest labutí a chvíle vysvobození se přiblížila. Labutě kroužily kolem hořící hranice tak, aby královna mohla na každou z nich hodit košilku; a sotva se dotkly jejich těla, změnily se labutě opět v prince, jen ten nejmladší měl místo levé ruky stále labutí křídlo. Padli si do náruče a pak královna předstoupila před krále, který byl velmi překvapen, a promluvila: „Milovaný manželi, nyní mohu mluvit a vše ti objasnit. Jsem nevinná a falešně nařčená!“ A vyprávěla králi o zlých skutcích královny matky, která jeho tři děti odnesla pryč a ukryla. Král se velmi zaradoval, ale zlá královna matka k radosti důvod neměla. Ještě téhož dne skončila na hranici, kterou připravila pro svoji snachu.