A king got lost in a forest and, in order to find his way out, he had to agree to marry a witch’s daughter and make her his queen.
The new queen was beautiful, but for some reason, the king felt fearful whenever he saw her. He was even more afraid that she might harm his seven children from his first marriage. To protect them, he sent his six sons and one daughter to a hidden castle deep within the forest.
However, the queen soon discovered this secret. She went into the forest and threw seven enchanted shirts over the king’s children.
As soon as the shirts touched them, the children transformed into swans and flew away.
The youngest princess, who hadn’t been covered by a shirt, watched her brothers turn into swans and fly off. Determined to find them, she set off on a journey.
After a long search, the princess finally found her brothers. She asked them how she could break the curse and turn them back into humans.
Her brothers told her that only clothing made from starflowers could free them, and for six years she would need to remain silent and not laugh or speak.
Resolving to save her brothers, the princess ventured into the forest, gathered many starflowers, climbed into a tree, and began sewing starflower garments.
One day, a king passed by and was captivated by the princess’s beauty at first sight.
He brought her back to his palace and married her, making her the new queen.
However, the king’s stepmother, who was also a witch, disapproved of the new queen.
When the queen gave birth to her first child, the stepmother stole the baby and accused the queen of murdering it.
Fortunately, the king didn’t believe his kind-hearted queen would do such a thing.
But after the second and third children also vanished, the king, pressured by his stepmother and the court ministers, had no choice but to agree to put the queen on trial, and eventually, she was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
Upon hearing this, the queen began sewing the starflower clothes day and night with even greater urgency. She managed to finish just before her execution and hid the clothes beneath her garments as she was led to the stake.
Desperately, she looked to the sky and prayed, hoping her brothers would arrive and put on the starflower clothes before her death.
As the flames were about to reach her, six swans descended from the sky.
Using the last of her strength, she threw the starflower clothes over them.
The moment the clothes touched the swans, they transformed back into princes.
They rescued their sister and went with her to face the king.
The queen explained the reason for her six years of silence and revealed that the stepmother had stolen her children and falsely accused her of the crime.
In the end, the stepmother was sentenced to be burned at the stake.
The queen, the king, and her brothers lived together in happiness and peace.
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