she crept under one and lay on the hard boards and wished for
night. When it was near the time of sun-setting she heard a rustling
sound, and saw six swans come flying in at the window. They alighted on
the ground, and blew at one another until they had blown all their
feathers off, and then they stripped off their swan-skin as if it had
been a shirt. And the maiden looked at them and knew them for her
brothers, and was very glad, and crept from under the bed. The brothers
were not less glad when their sister appeared, but their joy did not
last long.

"You must not stay here," said they to her; "this is a robbers' haunt,
and if they were to come and find you here, they would kill you."

"And cannot you defend me?" asked the little sister.

"No," answered they, "for we can only get rid of our swan-skins and keep
our human shape every evening for a quarter of an hour, but after that
we must be changed again into swans."

Their sister wept at hearing this, and said,

"Can nothing be done to set you free?"

"Oh no," answered they, "the work would be too hard for you. For six
whole years you would be obliged never to speak or laugh, and make
during that time six little shirts out of aster-flowers. If you were to
let fall a single word before the work was ended, all would be of no
good."

And just as the brothers had finished telling her this, the quarter of
an hour came to an end, and they changed into swans and flew out of the
window.

But the maiden made up her mind to set her brothers free, even though it
should cost her her life. She left the hut, and going into the middle of
the wood, she climbed a tree, and there passed the night. The next
morning she set to work and gathered asters and began sewing them
together: as for speaking, there was no one to speak to, and as for
laughing, she had no mind to it; so she sat on and looked at nothing but
her work. When she had been going on like this for a long time, it
happened that the king of that country went a-hunting in the wood, and
some of his huntsmen came up to the tree in which the maiden sat. They
called out to her, saying, "Who art thou?" But she gave no answer. "Come
down," cried they; "we will do thee no harm." But she only shook her
head. And when they tormented her further with questions she threw down
to them her gold necklace, hoping they would be content with that. But
they would not leave off, so she threw down to them her girdle, and when
that was