Writer's Block: Once Upon a Time
The Swan Princes.
It's about a king and queen that had seven princes and one beautiful princess. The queen died and the king remarried, and the step-mother had a son of her own. The step-mother wanted her son to be the heir, so she cursed the princes to be transformed into swans. The princess begged the step-mother to turn her brothers into humans once more, and finally the step-mother made a deal.
"Spend seven years in silence, and sew seven jackets of nettles If your brothers wear these jackets, they will be human."
So the princess did not speak a word. In the seven years, the princess sewed and weaved, blistering and scarring her fingers. The swan princes still stayed with her as much as possible, and comforted her in her silent days. One day, a lord from another kingdom saw the princess and fell in love with her. Even though she never said a word, he asked for her hand, and the two married, her brothers following her to this new kingdom. The lord's mother though was a high ranking noble, and she hated the princess.
The mother-in-law spread rumors of witchcraft, and when the princess miscarried, the mother-in-law accused her of murdering her son's child. Because the princess was a voluntary mute, she did not defend her name and was sentanced to be burned at the stake.
On the day of her burning, there was a parade, the kingdom gathered around the street as the princess was carted to her death. The princess was still sewing the jackets of nettles, and she was on the last jacket, but she couldn't finish in time. That day was the last day of the seven years of silence. The swan princes flew over the parade and the princess threw the jackets to them, then stood up in the cart and declared her innocence.
The lord loved her, and defended her. The kingdom sided with them as well, and the princess was no longer to be burned at the stake. Six of the seven princes returned to their kingdom, but the youngest prince, the princess's favorite, remained at her side. She could not finish the jacket in time, so his transformation was incomplete -- his arm was still a swan's wing.
That... went on longer than I thought it would... oh well, no one I know has heard of it, so I thought I'd tell it. But I like this story because there are more than a few characters, the princess is trying to save her brothers instead of the other way around, and... It was one of the few fairytales I heard as a child that didn't creep the hell out of me.
(I hadn't thought about this story until I saw a Russian lacquer box for the story a few months ago. It all came rushing back...)
It's about a king and queen that had seven princes and one beautiful princess. The queen died and the king remarried, and the step-mother had a son of her own. The step-mother wanted her son to be the heir, so she cursed the princes to be transformed into swans. The princess begged the step-mother to turn her brothers into humans once more, and finally the step-mother made a deal.
"Spend seven years in silence, and sew seven jackets of nettles If your brothers wear these jackets, they will be human."
So the princess did not speak a word. In the seven years, the princess sewed and weaved, blistering and scarring her fingers. The swan princes still stayed with her as much as possible, and comforted her in her silent days. One day, a lord from another kingdom saw the princess and fell in love with her. Even though she never said a word, he asked for her hand, and the two married, her brothers following her to this new kingdom. The lord's mother though was a high ranking noble, and she hated the princess.
The mother-in-law spread rumors of witchcraft, and when the princess miscarried, the mother-in-law accused her of murdering her son's child. Because the princess was a voluntary mute, she did not defend her name and was sentanced to be burned at the stake.
On the day of her burning, there was a parade, the kingdom gathered around the street as the princess was carted to her death. The princess was still sewing the jackets of nettles, and she was on the last jacket, but she couldn't finish in time. That day was the last day of the seven years of silence. The swan princes flew over the parade and the princess threw the jackets to them, then stood up in the cart and declared her innocence.
The lord loved her, and defended her. The kingdom sided with them as well, and the princess was no longer to be burned at the stake. Six of the seven princes returned to their kingdom, but the youngest prince, the princess's favorite, remained at her side. She could not finish the jacket in time, so his transformation was incomplete -- his arm was still a swan's wing.
That... went on longer than I thought it would... oh well, no one I know has heard of it, so I thought I'd tell it. But I like this story because there are more than a few characters, the princess is trying to save her brothers instead of the other way around, and... It was one of the few fairytales I heard as a child that didn't creep the hell out of me.
(I hadn't thought about this story until I saw a Russian lacquer box for the story a few months ago. It all came rushing back...)