Die sechs Schwäne
(The Six Swans)
Read this tale aloud, or read along with your little one. Sentences are short and the words are simple.
Once a king had six sons. A stepmother came. She wanted to get rid of them.
She turned them into swans. The little sister cried. She wanted to save them.
She met an old woman. She said: do not laugh for six years. Make six shirts.
The girl sat by the sea. She made shirts. She did not laugh.
The swans came. She threw the shirts. One was missing a sleeve.
One swan had a wing. The king came. He saw her.
He said: I will marry you. The swan came. The girl put the shirt on.
He was a man. Only the one with a wing stayed a swan. They lived happily ever after.
More tales
- Der Froschkönig (The Frog King)
- Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft (The Cat and Mouse in Partnership)
- Marienkind (Our Lady's Child)
- Märchen von einem, der auszog, das Fürchten zu lernen (The Story of the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear)
- Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Geißlein (The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats)
- Der treue Johannes (The Faithful Johannes)