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The Six Swans
A classic Brother's Grimm tale of a sibling's devotion and perseverance to rescue her brother's from an evil curse. Beautifully illustrated in water colors by international artist Olga Zakharova.
26 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2006
About the author
Jacob Grimm
6,068 books2,402 followersGerman philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as
Grimm's Fairy Tales
(1812-1815).
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 13, 2025
Once upon a time...
In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home.
He suspects that his new bride might not make the best stepmother to his 7 beloved children, because...well, like mother like daughter, I suppose.
So he hides his 6 sons and 1 daughter away in the woods and visits them there on the regular.
Now, it turns out that his instincts about his new bride were spot on, as she gets jealous of his absences, tracks down his kids, and tries her dead level best to get rid of them.
How, you ask?
She sews seven magical shirts, goes into the woods, and throws them over the princes who mistake her for their father. These shirts turn them into swans.
The princess, being a bit more cautious, probably due to women just having to be more cautious in general, doesn't run to the front door like a Labrador with her brothers and manages to escape.
She later finds her brothers, who can turn human for a few minutes each evening, and learns that she can lift the curse.
As long as she stays silent for 6 years, until she manages to sew 6 shirts out of starflowers.
Sounds doable. Let's get started!
Now, in the meantime, another king happens upon her and falls in love with her charming and witty personality. <--just kidding. Her beauty. And maybe the fact that she isn't much of a yapper?
Naturally, he carts her off to his castle to get married.
But it turns out that her stepmother's curse isn't the only thing she's got to deal with.
Enter the dreaded mother-in-law!
Shockingly, she thinks this mute bitch isn't good enough for her son. So every time her daughter-in-law gives birth to one of her grandchildren, this old cunt steals them away and tells everyone that their mother ate them!
Ate them!
And while the king defends his wife for the first few kids she supposedly eats, after a while, it gets to the point that it's time to burn her at the stake.
What else could he do, I ask?
But the princess (now queen) is still steadily sewing those shirts right up till they get ready to light the pyre. She's got 5 completely done and 1 just missing a sleeve when they start to light her up.
And this is when her brothers, in swan form, come swooping down to save her.
She tosses the shirts over their heads, and they all turn back into humans. Except one of them still has a swan wing. <--better than nothing, I say!
At this point, she can speak.
And boy oh boy does she blab about what her child theiving mother-in-law in law has been up to. Which leads to not only the discovery of all of her children alive and well, but also to the delicious smell of the king's crispy-fried mother as they slow-roast her instead of his wife.
All's well that ends well, right?
So, they all lived happily ever after.
Even the brother with the weird wing arm, as he found a woman who had a feather fetish to hook up with. <--I may have added that part, but you'll never know unless you read it for yourself.
There are tons of these swan stories, and they're all fun. I started looking into them because I read Daughter of the Forest.
This one, plus Children of Lir and The Wild Swans were the basis for Juliet Marillier's retelling, in case anyone is interested.
Recommended for fans of fairytales. And birds.
For whatever reason, they are not merged, but I listened to the audiobook version read by Katie Haigh.
In the days before GPS, a king gets lost in a forest and agrees to marry a witch's daughter if she helps him find his way home.
He suspects that his new bride might not make the best stepmother to his 7 beloved children, because...well, like mother like daughter, I suppose.
So he hides his 6 sons and 1 daughter away in the woods and visits them there on the regular.
Now, it turns out that his instincts about his new bride were spot on, as she gets jealous of his absences, tracks down his kids, and tries her dead level best to get rid of them.
How, you ask?
She sews seven magical shirts, goes into the woods, and throws them over the princes who mistake her for their father. These shirts turn them into swans.
The princess, being a bit more cautious, probably due to women just having to be more cautious in general, doesn't run to the front door like a Labrador with her brothers and manages to escape.
She later finds her brothers, who can turn human for a few minutes each evening, and learns that she can lift the curse.
As long as she stays silent for 6 years, until she manages to sew 6 shirts out of starflowers.
Sounds doable. Let's get started!
Now, in the meantime, another king happens upon her and falls in love with her charming and witty personality. <--just kidding. Her beauty. And maybe the fact that she isn't much of a yapper?
Naturally, he carts her off to his castle to get married.
But it turns out that her stepmother's curse isn't the only thing she's got to deal with.
Enter the dreaded mother-in-law!
Shockingly, she thinks this mute bitch isn't good enough for her son. So every time her daughter-in-law gives birth to one of her grandchildren, this old cunt steals them away and tells everyone that their mother ate them!
Ate them!
And while the king defends his wife for the first few kids she supposedly eats, after a while, it gets to the point that it's time to burn her at the stake.
What else could he do, I ask?
But the princess (now queen) is still steadily sewing those shirts right up till they get ready to light the pyre. She's got 5 completely done and 1 just missing a sleeve when they start to light her up.
And this is when her brothers, in swan form, come swooping down to save her.
She tosses the shirts over their heads, and they all turn back into humans. Except one of them still has a swan wing. <--better than nothing, I say!
At this point, she can speak.
And boy oh boy does she blab about what her child theiving mother-in-law in law has been up to. Which leads to not only the discovery of all of her children alive and well, but also to the delicious smell of the king's crispy-fried mother as they slow-roast her instead of his wife.
All's well that ends well, right?
So, they all lived happily ever after.
Even the brother with the weird wing arm, as he found a woman who had a feather fetish to hook up with. <--I may have added that part, but you'll never know unless you read it for yourself.
There are tons of these swan stories, and they're all fun. I started looking into them because I read Daughter of the Forest.
This one, plus Children of Lir and The Wild Swans were the basis for Juliet Marillier's retelling, in case anyone is interested.
Recommended for fans of fairytales. And birds.
For whatever reason, they are not merged, but I listened to the audiobook version read by Katie Haigh.
October 2, 2024
داستان چهل و نهم از همخوانی برادران گریم.
من یه ورژن پر از نقاشی و خوب هم برا این کتاب به صورت چاپی داشتم قبلا ولی اون دیگه قسمت بچه به دنیا آوردن و خوردن رو نداشت.:)))
کلا گریم ها با کنیبالیسم خیلی اوکی بودن مثل اینکه.
من یه ورژن پر از نقاشی و خوب هم برا این کتاب به صورت چاپی داشتم قبلا ولی اون دیگه قسمت بچه به دنیا آوردن و خوردن رو نداشت.:)))
کلا گریم ها با کنیبالیسم خیلی اوکی بودن مثل اینکه.
December 5, 2015
I have the complete set of the Grimm Fairy-Tales, and there are so many that I haven’t read! They are very short, as one would know, so I have decided to read each one and give them a review. Some are very vulgar, some are very cute and some don’t even make sense. Some of them are well known fairy-tales and some have never been told. Some are fairy-tales we know but are not the same because they have been downplayed for the children.
This is just like the crow story about a sister being mute for a certain amount of years to make her brothers turn back into human.
So that’s cool.
This is just like the crow story about a sister being mute for a certain amount of years to make her brothers turn back into human.
So that’s cool.
February 13, 2022
After reading Six Crimson Cranes, I was curious what the original fairy tale was again. It was nice to read and see the similarities Elizabeth Lim incorporated in her retelling.
July 17, 2021
The magical story of the children of a king. Six are princes who become swans, and the seventh is a maiden.
October 16, 2026
“The Six Swans” is an entertaining fairy tale about a girl who must save her six brothers after they are turned into swans by their evil stepmother. To break the spell, she must sew six shirts for her brothers and remain silent for six years. During this time, she marries a king and has three children, but the king’s mother falsely accuses her of harming them. Just before the six years are up, the girl finishes the shirts, breaks the spell, and is finally able to speak and defend herself. The truth is revealed, and she and her family live happily ever after.
While reading this story, I felt that some parts were not very realistic, but I had to remind myself that it was a fairy tale and did not have to be realistic. For example, I was surprised that the girl’s father never went looking for her. I had never heard of this fairy tale before, so I was also surprised when the king’s mother tried to accuse the girl of harming her own children. I enjoyed the illustrations because I felt they did a good job of helping tell the story. However, I wish the characters’ facial expressions had been a little more detailed to better show their emotions.
I think this book would be appropriate for second grade. I could use this book in my classroom to introduce students to a lesser-known fairy tale they may not have heard before. Before reading, I could show students the cover and have them make predictions about the characters and what might happen in the story. As I read, we could pause at important moments to see whether their predictions were correct and use details from the story to explain their thinking. After reading, students could identify the main characters, setting, problem, and solution to show their understanding of the story. This would allow students to practice making predictions and identifying story elements while exploring a less familiar fairy tale.
While reading this story, I felt that some parts were not very realistic, but I had to remind myself that it was a fairy tale and did not have to be realistic. For example, I was surprised that the girl’s father never went looking for her. I had never heard of this fairy tale before, so I was also surprised when the king’s mother tried to accuse the girl of harming her own children. I enjoyed the illustrations because I felt they did a good job of helping tell the story. However, I wish the characters’ facial expressions had been a little more detailed to better show their emotions.
I think this book would be appropriate for second grade. I could use this book in my classroom to introduce students to a lesser-known fairy tale they may not have heard before. Before reading, I could show students the cover and have them make predictions about the characters and what might happen in the story. As I read, we could pause at important moments to see whether their predictions were correct and use details from the story to explain their thinking. After reading, students could identify the main characters, setting, problem, and solution to show their understanding of the story. This would allow students to practice making predictions and identifying story elements while exploring a less familiar fairy tale.
October 30, 2026
only had to read this for a metaphysics philosophy project
June 26, 2015
A king got lost in the forest and a witch helped him get out on one condition that he would marry her daughter. He did this but with great horror. He already had 6 children and he didn't know if his new wife would treat them well so he hid them in a far away castle in the forest. The queen found out about the children and went to go see them. She had sewn shirts to make them turn into swans when the material touched them. She did this to the 6 boys. The queen thought she had got rid of her step children. The king went to visit his children when he found that his boys were gone. He wanted to take his daughter home with him to protect him. She wished to stay in the castle one more night. That night she went searching for her brothers. She went into the forest and found a hunting lodge. She slept under one of the beds and soon 6 swans came in. They blew off their feathers and turned into boys again. They told her of only one way to save them. She could not talk or laugh for 6 years while she made them each a shirt made of sunflower peddles. She set to work. She was found by a huntsman and he took her to his king. The king fell in love with her even though she did not speak. They had 3 children but the king's mother did not like the queen. The mother-in-law stole the 3 children after they were each born and told the king that the queen had disposed of them. After the 3rd child the king said the queen had to be tried for killing her children. The day the queen was to be executed was the last day of the 6 years that she could not speak. Her brothers came and were saved by the shirts that she had sewn. She then told the king what had happened and they lived happily ever after.
I liked this book.
I liked this book.
February 6, 2015
This story was a lot like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but instead about a beautiful girl and her six brothers who get turned into swans. This story is about how the girl goes through a journey of making six shirts made of the tiniest flowers and not speaking for six whole years in order to make her brothers become people again. She was brave and didn't let anything get in the way of her promise, not even her evil mother in law stealing all three of her children and blaming her on it. This story was a normal fairytale and ended with a happily ever after which all girls like to hear. This story is definitely for the elementary aged girl and the pictures were very detailed and went along with the story very well. I loved it.
November 5, 2014
This was clearly the inspiration behind the first book in Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters trilogy, Daughter Of The Forest, which I loved to bits when I read it some years ago! It made me want to revisit Sevenwaters, which I may very well do sometime in the future. I just love this story, however it's being told; I will forever be surprised it isn't a better known fairytale. I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone will make a proper film out of it someday ;)
June 10, 2011
I read this book thinking that I would love it because I am a fan of fairy tales and their re-tellings. The story of this book was fine, but I really didn't like the illustrations, and for this book I found the illustrations distrating.
February 8, 2016
One of my co-workers kept suggesting that I read this fairytale as I'm forever knitting something during our staff meetings. Though I don't think this was the version she wanted to give me, I really loved the simple artwork of Raidt.
April 12, 2020
I read a similar version of this fairy tale as a young girl. In the previous version, the shirts must be made of stinging nettles.
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
I read this as an illustrated e-book during the Covid-19 quarantine.
December 19, 2009
AR 3.9 -- 0.5
Beautiful illustrations.
Written from a girl's viewpoint whose brothers were turned into swans.
Beautiful illustrations.
Written from a girl's viewpoint whose brothers were turned into swans.
August 20, 2014
No conocía este cuento, me gustó mucho.
January 13, 2015
Lovely, intense version. Highly recommended for readers who don't mind when the heroine almost gets burned at the stake after being framed for murdering her babies. Ages 6-9?
February 23, 2015
Lovely illustrations complete this elegantly simple re-telling
November 22, 2015
I enjoyed this. They seemed to be a wealth of royals in this one - almost the whole top of the deck!
January 25, 2020
I don’t like it because I don’t know who turned the brothers into the white suit.
May 30, 2021
I think I've heard this story as a kid! But now that I'm reading all of the Grimm fairytales, I see it is very similar to a couple of other stories.
February 7, 2025
I read this inside the video game “The Longing.”
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews