Far away and long ago, there was a land where the swallows flew to spend the winter. The Queen of that land had eleven daughters and one son—Eitaro.
The King had died in the war when Eitaro was born, but his mother and sisters looked after him. His mother was kind and his sisters were beautiful and noble...
Most of the time Eitaro spent hours playing with them.
While the princesses were at school, Eitaro sat and looked at beautiful picture books, or watched swallows swoop past. He couldn't have been happier.
One bitterly cold winter, the Queen married again. Her new husband was tall and elegant, and everyone admired him.
"He's so handsome..." said one of the guests.
But he had a dark secret. The new King was a wizard!
The Queen and King celebrated their wedding with a feast as they sat down to eat, there was a croaking under the table and three warty toads hopped out.
"These are my pets," said the King. "My little toadie-woadies."
Suddenly, there was a loud ping and one of the toads leaped into the air. Princess Jozuna peeked from behind a chair with a big grin.
"Jozuna, I've told you not to use your catapult indoors," the Queen scolded.
"I will teach that girl a lesson!" growled the King.
Before the Queen could say any more, the servants brought in an enormous wedding cake. Everyone was given a slice—except Eitaro and his sisters. The King passed them bowls full of sand. "You can pretend it's cake," he told them.
"I'm not eating that!" retorted Princess Junko.
"Behave yourself, eat up." snapped the Queen who couldn't see the sand.
"Girls can be so difficult," The King smiled to himself. "I'm glad that the princesses are in trouble." he thought spitefully.
YOU ARE READING
The Swan Prince
AdventureEleven sisters who have been turned into swans by their evil stepfather are saved by their handsome brother, Prince Eitaro.
