Andersen "Wild Swans. Encyclopedia of Fairytale Heroes: Wild Swans

Hans Christian Andersen is a world famous children's storyteller. He was born into a poor shoemaker's family. As a child, the father told the boy that he was allegedly a relative of Prince Frits. This was the reason for the child's fantasies about his acquaintance with the offspring of the royal family. Even when Hans grew up, he did not stop dreaming and inventing various implausible stories. All this is reflected in the wonderful fairy tales that glorified him throughout the world. Many of them we know from childhood. Andersen wrote one of his best works in 1838. "Wild Swans", a summary of which is given in this article, is a fairy tale about the value of kindred feelings, about selfless love in all its manifestations. Even the possibility of her own death does not frighten the main character. She has only one desire - to save her brothers. Let's remember how it was...

There lived a king. And he had eleven beautiful sons and one daughter, whose name was Elsa. They lived well and amicably, until a stepmother appeared in their family. She was an evil witch. Appearing in the castle, the stepmother immediately established her own rules there. She sent Elsa to be raised in a remote village, and turned her brothers into white swans. They flew away to no one knows where. Their sister, who lived in the wilderness, became more and more beautiful every day. And now she has already turned into a real beauty, which is not more beautiful in the world. When Elsa returned to her father in the castle, her stepmother, seeing her, became even more angry. She decided to make her stepdaughter ugly. For this, the sorceress sent three nasty toads to her. But as soon as they touched the innocent girl, they turned into red poppies and floated down the river away from her. Then the stepmother smeared Elsa with mud so that even her own father could not recognize her and drove her out of the castle.

After that, the girl had to spend the night in the forest. There she has a dream in which she sees herself and her brothers as a child. In the morning, waking up, Elsa washed herself in a forest pond, after which she again became a beauty. And the girl went to look for her brothers. On the way, she met an old woman with a basket full of berries. She treated them to Elsa and told that she would soon come to the river, where eleven beautiful swans in golden crowns fly. In the morning, the beauty went to the river and waited for her brothers. In the evening swans arrived and turned into good fellows. At dawn, the brothers flew away again, promising to take their sister with them. The next day they took her away in a willow basket to a cave overgrown with greenery. Elsa stayed there. One night she had a strange dream: the old woman, who showed the way to the brothers, told her the secret of their salvation. She said that the swans would turn into young men if they were dressed in shirts made from nettles that grow in the cemetery or near this cave. Only at the same time the girl must be silent, otherwise the spell will not work. Elsa set to work the next day. She picked nettles near the cave and began to knit the first shirt. But before she had time to finish the second shirt, she was found by the local king, who hunted in these places. He was fascinated by the beauty of Elsa, took her to his castle and married her.

Only one circumstance upset the king - his young wife was always silent, showing what she needed, only with signs. The archbishop who served with him told that his beauty was a witch. At night, he himself saw how she went to the cemetery and picked nettles there. Why does an ordinary girl need this? The king wanted to see for himself. The next night, he caught his wife in this business. Soon the people became aware that the young queen was a witch. People demanded that Elsa be burned at the stake. The girl herself could not explain to them why she was tearing nettles, as this would have destroyed all her efforts. Even when the girl was taken to the execution, she sat and knitted. She had to finish the last shirt. The swans circled around her. At that moment, when the executioner grabbed her hand, she managed to throw knitted shirts over her brothers, and they turned into young men. Only she did not have time to finish the sleeve on the last shirt. The younger brother was left with a wing instead of a hand. Having done this, Elsa fainted. And the brothers told the king their whole story. At that moment, the logs for the fire turned into a bush of scarlet roses. Only one flower in the middle was dazzling white. The king tore it off, put it on the girl's chest, and she woke up. The evil spell of the sorceress has been broken. Joy and peace settled in Elsa's heart. This concludes the tale of the brave girl and her eleven brothers (here is a summary of it). "Wild Swans" is a work of selflessness and love. It teaches us to believe that good will always triumph over evil, no matter what happens. Children love this story. Based on her motives, both cartoons and feature films were created.

The fairy tale "Wild Swans", a summary of which is given here, is perhaps one of the best works of Hans Christian Andersen.

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.

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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 variety; 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 to 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. ABOUT! 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!

The fairy tale of H. H. Andersen - "Wild Swans" tells about amazingly pure and selfless love. The main events take place in the life of the royal family among the legitimate children of the king and their new "mother". Until the evil stepmother appeared in the family, who began to reproach the child, everything was fine.

But one day she decided to get rid of the children and used the help of dark forces and witchcraft, namely, she turned eleven brothers into silent swans, and endowed their sister Elsa with a repulsive appearance, because of which everyone began to shun her and even her own father did not recognize. From this point on, the main events are described in the light of the children's attempts to break the evil spell that their stepmother has cast on them.

This work teaches sacrificial love for dear people and unity, in order to achieve common goals, which are happiness.

Read the summary of Andersen Wild Swans

The royal family had twelve children - eleven sons and one sister. Their life was easy and rosy, until a stepmother appeared, sending Elsa to live in distant lands, and bewitching her brothers into swans, who had the opportunity to take on a human form only after sunset. With each day spent in the village, the beautiful Elsa became more and more beautiful, but sadness for her brothers overshadowed her.

Returning to her father's castle, she tried to find out something about the fate of her brothers, but all such attempts were thwarted by her evil stepmother. One morning, she tried to disfigure the girl with a secret spell, but the plans were unsuccessful - the three toads that were used for this jumped away, barely touching the innocent beauty. Seeing this, the stepmother became furious and soiled her stepdaughter in the swamp mud to such an extent that not a single person wanted to talk to her, and her own father, not recognizing, ordered to expel the disfigured woman.

Elsa spends the next night in the forest, where she dreams of the old days, when they were all happy and not separated by the curse of their stepmother. In the morning, barely waking up, exhausted from thirst and all dirty, she finds a clean pond, in which she quenches her thirst and washes herself, again transformed into a beauty.

Looking for a way out of the forest, the girl comes across a kind old woman who gives her a handful of berries and shows her the way out of the forest. Then the girl begins to ask her questions about the eleven beautiful swans that must be found in these places. Hearing about them, the old woman immediately recalls the birds with golden crowns, which she recently saw in a nearby pond, which Elsa tells about. Upon learning this, the girl throws all her strength into getting to the reservoir described by the old woman as quickly as possible. At sunset, she discovers a large river and swans splashing in it, which begin to turn into her brothers. In the morning they all leave the pond, and Elsa is carried in a willow basket. The whole flight, the girl admires the expanses of her native land and sees cloud castles.

Having settled down for the night in a dark cave, she sees a new dream in which the forest old woman tells how the brothers can be saved: to do this, you need to pick nettles and knit a shirt from it for each of the eleven brothers, while you can’t break the silence with your voice, and otherwise death will befall the brothers.

The brothers returning to the cave in the morning find their sister knitting and notice that she is silent, not interrupting her knitting with a word or a song. They take it for another stepmother's spell, but when they see that the sister is knitting diligently and moving on to the next shirt, they understand what's wrong. After some time, she is noticed by the king, who hunts in these parts. He takes the girl to his kingdom and makes her his wife. Seeing her classes, he takes her to a separate room and brings nettles, from which he knits new shirts.

One day, when the nettles ran out, she gets out of the castle and wanders to the cemetery, where she finds nettles and, having plucked them, heads back to the castle. The king's adviser, who saw this, takes the girl for a sorceress and reports everything to his ruler, who, having made sure of everything, wants to wait. When once again the girl goes to the cemetery, she is seen by the inhabitants of the kingdom, who bind, as it seemed to them, a sorceress and condemn her to be burned at the stake. The king agrees, but leaves her free to finish her job.

Left alone in captivity, Elsa does not stop weaving shirts. Upon learning of this, the brothers come and try to explain everything to the king, but they do not have time and again turn into swans.

In the morning, while the girl is being taken to be torn to pieces, a distraught and ferocious crowd attacks from all sides, trying to snatch her products from the “sorceress”. When the executioner, grabbing her, drags her to the fire, eleven swans suddenly appear and protect her from the fire, and the girl, having completed work on the last shirt, throws them on her brothers, destroying the spell. After that, she faints, and people surround the young men, who tell the king what the matter is. Hearing the explanation, the king takes off and runs up to the unconscious woman. The fire in front of them goes out and turns into a bush of scarlet roses surrounding a single white rose. Having plucked it, the king puts the flower on the girl's chest, and Elsa wakes up, finding happiness and peace.

Picture or drawing Wild swans

Plot

Wanting to get rid of her husband's children, the stepmother turned her stepchildren into wild swans. Eliza was distinguished by an unprecedented beauty. The stepmother smeared her face with mud, the father did not recognize her daughter and drove her out of the yard. Eliza was sent to the forest, where she met a kind old woman. The old woman told the beauty where 11 swans with crowns on their heads live. Eliza found her brothers. The old woman explained that in order to break the spell, she needed to knit nettle shirts for each of the brothers. The king notices her and marries her. The king's adviser and the common people see how Eliza goes to the cemetery at night to pick nettles, and take her for a witch. On the way to the fire, Eliza knits the last shirt and throws clothes on the swans that have flown in to protect her. They turn into stately young men.

Conclusion (my opinion)

Eliza's fortitude and patience saved her and her brothers. She overcame difficulties, not allowing her heart to harden, and stubbornly knitted shirts from stinging nettles. Selflessness for the sake of loved ones pays off with happiness and spiritual peace. She did everything she could to help her beloved brothers, like them, who were ready to step into the fire instead of her. Such actions delight and elevate a person.

Hans Christian Andersen

"Wild Swans"

The king had eleven sons and one daughter. The royal children lived well and carefree, until a stepmother appeared, who gave Eliza to be raised in the village, and turned the brothers into swans - they flew away. The beautiful Eliza grew prettier every day, but she always remembered her brothers. When she returned to the castle, her stepmother decided to make her ugly with the help of three toads, but they floated on the water with red poppies, barely touching the innocent girl. Then the witch-stepmother disfigured her stepdaughter with mud; even the king-father did not recognize his own daughter and kicked her out.

The girl spent the night in the forest, in a dream she saw herself and her brothers in the old days, and in the morning she washed herself in the pond and again became a beauty. The next day, the old woman she met gave a handful of berries and pointed to the river, where she saw eleven swans in golden crowns. Eliza went to the river delta - at sunset, swans flew there, which turned into her brothers. In the morning they flew away, and the next day they took Eliza with them in a basket of willow bark. After spending the night on a small ledge, in the morning the swans flew again. All day Eliza admired the cloudy castle of Fata Morgana, and spent the night in a cave overgrown with green plants. She dreamed that the fairy of the castle, who looked like an old woman from the forest, told about how to save the brothers: you need to pick nettles near the cave or in the cemetery and weave eleven shirts for the brothers, but do not utter a word, otherwise the brothers will die.

Returning in the morning and noticing the dumbness of their sister, the brothers at first mistook it for another stepmother's witchcraft, but then they understood everything. As soon as Eliza took on the second shirt, she was found by the king, who was hunting in those parts. He took the forest beauty as his wife and took her to his castle, and even moved her nettles to a special room. But the archbishop whispered to the king that his wife was a witch, and one night he saw the queen picking nettles in the cemetery. The archbishop reported all this to the king; he saw with his own eyes that it was true. When Eliza once again went to the cemetery, she was caught hot; the people condemned the "sorceress" to be burned at the stake.

In captivity, the girl finished braiding the last shirt. The brothers came to the king, trying to intercede for their sister, but did not have time - with the dawn they again turned into swans. In the morning, while the old horse was taking Eliza to the fire, the crowd wanted to tear the shirts, but the brothers flew in. The executioner had already grabbed the girl by the hand, but she managed to throw shirts over her brothers, which means she was able to say: “I am innocent!” — and fainted. The brothers told everything, and the logs for the fire turned into a bush of scarlet roses with a single white rose, which the king put on Eliza's chest, and she woke up, and "in her heart were peace and happiness." retold Mouse

Once upon a time there was a big friendly royal family. But the king became a widower, and 11 sons and a daughter were left without a mother. The father married another woman, who turned out to be an evil witch. She turned the brothers into swans and drove them out of the castle, and sent the girl to the village.

Eliza never forgot her brothers, after a while she returned to the castle. The stepmother, seeing the stately beauty, decided to make Eliza ugly. Three toads were supposed to do a dirty deed. But, touching the girl, they turned into scarlet poppies and floated past. The evil stepmother did not let up, she smeared Elise with mud. The king did not recognize the daughter in the girl and drove him out of the court.

Eliza spent the night in the forest, washed herself in the pond at dawn and became her former self. The saddened girl wandered wherever her eyes looked until she met an old woman. She gave a handful of berries and told: 11 swans in golden crowns fly to the river delta. Elise's heart told her that the birds were her brothers.

The girl waited for sunset and saw the swans, which turned into young men. They spent the night together, and in the morning, turning into birds, they flew away. The next day, the brothers in a basket of twigs carried Eliza away from these places.

During the day, the girl admired the cloudy castle of Fata Morgana, and at night she slept in a cave. An old woman appeared in a dream, she taught how to remove the spell from the brothers: you need to weave shirts from nettles and put them on each. Nettles should be torn near a cave or in a cemetery and not a word be said until the end of the work. Eliza silently set to work at dawn.

The king, who was hunting in those places, came across a cave and saw Eliza. The beauty of the mute girl struck the king, he decided to take her as his wife, even moved the nettle to the castle. But the local archbishop did not like the forest beauty, he began to follow her. Once he came to the king and said: this girl is a witch. He allegedly saw her go to the cemetery at night. When Eliza once again went for nettles, she was caught. The people demanded that the witch be burned at the stake.

Even in confinement, Eliza was silent, she hurried to finish the last weaving. In the morning they put her in a wagon and took her to the place of execution. The people wanted to tear the shirts, but the swans flew in and protected the girl. She began throwing shirts over them. Then she said "I am innocent" and fell down dead.

The brothers, turning into young men, told the truth to the people and the king. The logs for the fire turned into scarlet roses, among them was a white one. The king put it on Eliza's chest and the girl woke up. Since then, everyone has lived happily ever after.