hin each a charm. One day soon after, when the King
was gone out hunting, she took the little shirts and went into the
forest, and the cotton showed her the path. The children, seeing some
one coming in the distance, thought it was their dear father, and ran
out full of joy. Then she threw over each of them a shirt, that, as it
touched their bodies, changed them into Swans, which flew away over the
forest. The Queen then went home quite contented, and thought she was
free of her step-children; but the little girl had not met her with the
brothers, and the Queen did not know of her.

The following day the King went to visit his children, but he found only
the Maiden. "Where are your brothers?" asked he. "Ah, dear father," she
replied, "they are gone away and have left me alone"; and she told him
how she had looked out of the window and seen them changed into Swans,
which had flown over the forest; and then she showed him the feathers
which they had dropped in the courtyard, and which she had collected
together. The King was much grieved, but he did not think that his wife
could have done this wicked deed, and, as he feared the girl might also
be stolen away, he took her with him. She was, however, so much afraid
of the step-mother, that she begged him not to stop more than one night
in the castle.

The poor Maiden thought to herself, "This is no longer my place; I will
go and seek my brothers"; and when night came she escaped and went quite
deep into the wood. She walked all night long, and a great part of the
next day, until she could go no further from weariness. Just then she
saw a rough-looking hut, and going in, she found a room with six little
beds, but she dared not get into one, so crept under, and laying herself
upon the hard earth, prepared to pass the night there. Just as the sun
was setting, she heard a rustling, and saw six white Swans come flying
in at the window. They settled on the ground and began blowing one
another until they had blown all their feathers off, and their swan's
down slipped from them like a shirt. Then the Maiden knew them at once
for her brothers, and gladly crept out from under the bed, and the
brothers were not less glad to see their sister, but their joy was of
short duration. "Here you must not stay," said they to her; "this is a
robbers' hiding-place; if they should return and find you here, they
would murder you."

"Can you not protect me, then?" inquired the sister.

"No," th