much that he said, 'I will marry this maiden and none other in
the world,' and after some days he married her. But the King had
a wicked mother who was displeased with the marriage, and said
wicked things of the young Queen. 'Who knows who this girl is?'
she said; 'she cannot speak, and is not worthy of a king.'

After a year, when the Queen had her first child, the old mother
took it away from her. Then she went to the King and said that
the Queen had killed it. The King would not believe it, and
would not allow any harm to be done her. But she sat quietly
sewing at the shirts and troubling herself about nothing. The
next time she had a child the wicked mother did the same thing,
but the King could not make up his mind to believe her. He said,
'She is too sweet and good to do such a thing as that. If she
were not dumb and could defend herself, her innocence would be
proved.' But when the third child was taken away, and the Queen
was again accused, and could not utter a word in her own defence,
the King was obliged to give her over to the law, which decreed
that she must be burnt to death. When the day came on which the
sentence was to be executed, it was the last day of the six years
in which she must not speak or laugh, and now she had freed her
dear brothers from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts
were done; there was only the left sleeve wanting to the last.

When she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm,
and as she stood on the pile and the fire was about to be
lighted, she looked around her and saw six swans flying through
the air. Then she knew that her release was at hand and her
heart danced for joy. The swans fluttered round her, and hovered
low so that she could throw the shirts over them. When they had