The Wild Swans

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

For children who enjoy deeper stories, the steady, repetitive “quiet work” theme can be calming. It also invites cozy pacing: you can read it in chapters and stop at a natural resting point without losing the thread.

Story Synopsis

A princess discovers that her brothers have been enchanted and transformed into wild swans. The spell can be broken, but only if she completes a difficult task in silence—working with patience, love, and endurance. She gathers nettles and weaves them into shirts, even when her hands hurt and her surroundings feel uncertain. She cannot explain herself, defend herself, or complain; she must keep going quietly for her brothers’ sake. As the swans return to her each night, she continues her work until the final moment, when the shirts are ready and the spell can be lifted. The story holds both hardship and hope, and it celebrates steadfast love. At bedtime, it works best for ages 7–11 or as a “chapter story,” read slowly with reassurance and plenty of pauses for comfort.

Story Excerpt

Far away in the country where the swallows go when winter comes there lived a king with eleven sons and one daughter The princes were bright and brave they went to school with stars on their chests and swords by their sides They wrote with diamond pencils on golden slates and they learned so quickly that everyone could see they were royal Their little sister Eliza sat on a stool as clear as glass She had a picture book so beautiful it seemed it must have cost half a kingdom The children’s days were full of laughter But happiness did not stay The king married again and his new queen had a cold heart toward the children The very first day when there were celebrations in the palace the children played at welcoming guests as they always had Usually they were given the leftover cakes and apples This time the queen handed them a teacup with sand and said they must pretend it was cake Not long after she sent Eliza away to live in the country with a peasant and his wife And she spoke so many untrue things about the princes that little by little the king stopped listening for them At last the wicked queen called the eleven brothers to her Go out into the world and make your own way she said Fly like great birds who have no voice She meant to make them ugly too but she could not Her spell turned them into eleven beautiful wild swans instead With a strange cry they…

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