The Three Swans

		<p>There once was a time<br> On the banks of an Icelandic river marsh<br> Where there lived a fisherman with his wife<br> And they had three daughters.</p>

Then came one day
When the three little daughters all held hands
And ran away to the willow grove in a trance
And three magic swans came to them.

And the very next day
The fisherman and his wife were frightened
When the three daughters came back holding three baskets
And the baskets were filled with strange starflowers.

And the fisherman and his wife
Were horrified beyond belief
When they saw that their little daughters
Would say not one word.

Said the fisherman to his wife
"Our daughters have been cursed by the swans"
And the woman realised the destiny
Of her three daughters
So she sent them far away.

She walked her eldest daughter to the river
And set her adrift on a small boat with a blanket
Then she did the same to her second daughter
And she never saw them again.

The third daughter was sad to leave the willow grove
So she took up her basket and ran into the woods
When her mother came back from the river
She was gone.

The first daughter sailed to a distant shore
And came to a tower
Where she sat and began to knit
All the starflowers from the basket
Into a little swan shirt.

For eight long years she sat in the tower knitting
And the only friend she had was a raven
Who came and brought her apples
And cups of water from the spring
And she spoke not one word.

The second daughter sailed to a remote rock island
And found a deserted hut
Where she sat and began to knit
All the starflowers from the basket
Into a little swan shirt.

For eight long years she sat in the hut knitting
And the only friend she had was a gull
Who came and brought her fish
And cups of water from the well
And she spoke not one word.

The third daughter ran deep into the woods
And found a hollow oak tree
Where she crawled up inside and began to knit
All the starflowers from the basket
Into a little swan shirt.

For eight long years she sat in the tree knitting
And the only friend she had was a swallow
Who came and brought her nuts
And cups of water from the stream
And she spoke not one word.

The fisherman and his wife were sad
As they missed their daughters
But they never knew that
There once was a time
In a Germanic forest land
When there lived a king and queen
Who had three kind hearted sons
But the queen died in the birth of the youngest one.

Then came one day
When the king was out hunting in a distant wood
When he spied a brilliant white doe bolting ahead
And the king gave chase as fast as he could
But he couldn't catch the white doe
Still he chased until he was lost
In a valley far away from his men.

As the sun fell low in the sky
The king's heart sank
He knew that he might not
Escape from the forest

But when night fell
The king heard a voice
Out of the dark
Stepped an old witch woman.

"Please show me the way out of the forest" said the king
Hoping that she would not
Know he was a king.

"I will only show you the way if you promise one thing" said the witch
Knowing that he was lost
And could not refuse.

"I promise" said the king
Who was a man of his word.

"You must marry my daughter" said the witch
"She is beautiful beyond compare"
"And would make a fine wife for a king".

The king was horrified
But he was bound to consent
So he asked the witch
To lead him to her.

The king was horrified
When he saw the witch daughter
Who was indeed beautiful
And powerful beyond compare.

The king did not care for the witch daughter
But he asked for her hand
And she granted him
And the witch led them
Safely to the edge of the forest.

The king knew that his three sons
Would not be safe
From the evil of his new bride
So he hid them away
In a tower deep in the woods.

Once every moon the king rode
To the secret tower
And brought gifts and knowledge
To his three sons.

One day the queen spied him riding
Out of the forest with three horses
And the horses had empty saddles.

The jealous queen flew into a rage
And she vowed to find out
Where her husband was going.

So at the next moon
She bribed the palace guards
And took a tracker dog
To follow the king.

The queen followed the king's trail
All the way to the secret tower
Where she learned that the king had three sons
And her rage turned to cold fury.

The queen knitted a set
Of three cursed shirts
And on the front were
The feathers of three swans
And the red fabric pigment
Was from the blood of those swans.

So at the next moon
The queen dressed up
In the robes of a gypsy seller
And she rode to the secret tower.

When she knocked on the door
Of the secret tower
The door was answered
By the eldest son.

In turn she convinced each
Of the three brothers
To don a cursed shirt
And the spell was struck
When the youngest son
Put the last swan shirt on.

In an instant the three brothers
Were transformed into three swans.

When the king rode up to the tower
All he could see were three swans
And no sign of his sons.

The king was distraught
And he wept for his sons
But he didn't know
What his queen had done.

Many years later
While riding in a distant land
The captain of the king's army found a tower
And in that tower the captain of the king's army
Found a beautiful maiden knitting.

The captain fell in love with her
And asked for her hand
The maiden nodded her head
But she spoke not one word.

So the captain rode back to the castle
With the maiden and declared to the king
That he had found a wife.

When the witch queen saw the maiden
She was frightened
So she went to her mother
Who gave her a magic looking glass.

When the witch queen looked in the looking glass
She was furious to see the maiden
Secretly knitting a swan shirt
Made out of starflowers.

So she crept to the maidens room in the night
And wiped the blood of a slaughtered infant
In the mouth of the maiden
And the next day showed the king
There was evidence of a child eater
And the maiden was locked in a cell.

Many moons later
While sailing on a distant sea
The captain of the king's navy found an island
And on that island in a hut the captain of the king's navy
Found a beautiful maiden knitting.

The captain fell in love with her
And asked for her hand
The maiden nodded her head
But she spoke not one word.

So the captain sailed back to the castle
With the maiden and declared to the king
That he had found a wife.

But the witch queen looked in the looking glass
She was furious to see the maiden
Secretly knitting a swan shirt
Made out of starflowers.

So she crept in the maidens room in the night
And wiped the hair and the scent of a wolf
On the legs and arms of the maiden
And the next day showed the king
There was evidence of lycanthropy
And the maiden was locked in a cell.

Many days later
While hunting in a land far over the sea
The king himself found a hollow oak tree.

On top of that oak tree was a swallow beckoning
And in that hollow oak tree the king
Found a strange little maiden knitting.

The king was a kind man
He didn't want to leave the maiden
Alone in the hollow oak tree
So he took her on his horse
But she spoke not one word.

On the eve of nine years
After the loss of his sons
The king arrived back at the castle
And he found that the annal day had come.

In the courtyard tied to bonfire stakes
Were the two silent sisters
Who had married the king's captains.

When the queen recognized that the king
Had arrived with the youngest sister
She gave a shriek and tried to catch her.

But the youngest maiden
Leapt up and ran to her sisters on the pyre
And prised them free from their bonds.

At that very moment
The three swan brothers swept down
And the daughters threw the starflower shirts
Over the necks of the three swans
And they were returned to the form
Of the king's sons.

But alas the left arm was unfinished
Of the shirt knitted by the youngest daughter
On her long journey with the king on the horse
So the arm of the youngest son
Remained as a swan wing.

When the king saw his sons
He understood the treachery of the witch queen
And ordered his guards to tie her to the stake
And they burned the witch queen on the pyre
That was meant for the silent daughters.

And the king and his eldest sons
Lived happily ever after
With the eldest daughters and their captains.

And the youngest son of the king
With his arm as a swan wing
Set off with the youngest daughter.

They returned to the Icelandic river marsh
On a late spring day
And they knocked on the door of the little house
And the old woman came to the door weeping.

The old fisherman lay dying
But when he saw his youngest daughter
And the boy with the swan wing
His eyes started shining.

The old fisherman and his wife knew then
That the curse had been broken
And they went to their graves smiling.