560 THE WILD SWANS.

‘The sea now lay before the young maiden, in all its
splendour, but not a sail was to be seen, and not as much as a
boat could be descried. How was she to proceed further ?
She looked at the countless little pebbles on the shore, which
the water had worn till they were quite smooth — glass, iron,
stones, everything in short that lay there and had been washed
by the waves, had assumed the shape of water, though it was
softer still than her delicate hand, “ It rollsalong indefatigably,
and wears away the hardest substances — I will be equally in-
defatigable. ‘Thanks for the lesson you give me, ye clear roll-
ing waves! My heart tells me you will bear me to my dear
brothers.”

Just at sunset, Elise saw eleven wild swans, with gold crowns
on their heads, flying towards the shore, one behind the other,
like along white ribbon. Elise then went up the slope, and hid
herself behind a bush; the swans came down close to her, and
flapped their large white wings.

‘The eun had no sooner sunk into the water, than their swan’s
plumage fell off, and Elise’s brothers stood there as eleven hand-
some princes. She uttered a loud scream ; for, changed as they
were, she knew and felt it must be they. She flung herself into
their arms, calling them by their names; and the princes were
quite happy on recognising their little sister, and finding how
beautiful she had grown. They laughed and cried all in a
breath, and they had soon related to each other how wicked
their stepmother had been to them all.

« We brothers,”said the eldest, “ fly about, as wild swans, as
long as the sun stands in the heavens; but no sooner has it
sunk down, than we recover our human shape. Therefore,
must we always provide a resting-place for our feet towards
sunset ; for were we flying in the clouds at this hour, we should
fall into the sea on resuming our natural form. We do not