The Wild Swans

Early one sunny morning, Elisa woke to a castle full of giggles and feathers. Her eleven brothers liked to play hide-and-seek, running through garden paths and making silly faces. But one day, a puff of windy magic turned the boys into wild swans with snowy wings and bright orange feet! They flapped past Elisa with a whoosh and a honk, dropping feathers on her head. Elisa loved her brothers and missed their hugs and jokes. She wished upon dandelion fluff, hoping to turn them human again. One day, while walking by a sparkling pond, Elisa spotted a frog in a tiny hat. "A way to help!" croaked the frog. "But you must be very quiet and brave. Make soft shirts from green nettle plants. If you finish without saying a word, your brothers will be back!" Elisa nodded and zipped her lips tight. With her dress pockets full of nettles, she worked in the sunshine and hummed her favorite tunes. Her swan brothers flew circles above her, leaving shiny pebbles and berries for lunch, and sometimes making silly shapes in the clouds just for fun. Elisa wanted to laugh at their goofiness, but she kept quiet—even when a ladybug tickled her nose or a bunny danced nearby. Days passed. Elisa’s hands tingled from the plants, but she kept working with a smile. At last, eleven soft shirts lay in a neat row. At sunrise, the swans swooped down, honking hello. Elisa hugged each feathery neck, slipped a shirt over each swan, and… POOF! One by one, her laughing brothers returned, real boys again! Only the youngest still had one snowy feather in his hair, which made everyone giggle. From then on, Elisa’s brothers promised to always help, to share, and to fill their home with kindness—and maybe just a little bit of feather fun. Being together was the best magic of all.