This A2 Elementary retelling of The Six Swans keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. Once upon a time, a king had six sons and one daughter. But their mother died, and the king married a new queen.
This version is written for English-speaking learners and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable in English.
Once upon a time, a king had six sons and one daughter. The children were very happy. But their mother died, and the king married a new queen. The new queen was , but she was not . She did not like the children. "I want the palace for myself!" she said. So she made a .
One day, the queen went to the . She the six brothers. "Come, boys! I have a for you!" she said. But when they came close, she said magic words and threw white feathers at them. At once, the six brothers turned into six white swans. They , crying loudly. The sister, Elisa, watched and cried. She ran after them, but she could not fly.
Elisa . She was and . Then she met an old woman. "Why are you crying, child?" the woman asked. Elisa told her about her brothers. The old woman said, "I can help you. To , you must six shirts from nettles. But you must not speak or laugh for six years. If you do, the spell will never break." Elisa said nothing. She just nodded. Then she found nettles and began to sew. The nettles hurt her hands, but she did not stop.
A young king saw Elisa in the forest. She was so beautiful and she worked so quietly. He . "Who are you?" he asked. But Elisa could not speak. The king took her to his castle. He gave her a room with gold thread, but Elisa only used nettles. She sewed and sewed. Some people in the castle , "Why does she not speak? Is she a witch?" But the king loved her. They got married, and soon they had a little baby.
But the king's mother did not like Elisa. She was very angry. One night, she took the baby away. Then she told the king, "Elisa ate her own child! She is a witch!" The king was very sad and . He did not want to believe it, but the people shouted, "Burn the witch!" So the king had to put Elisa in . The next day, they took her out to burn her on a big fire.
Elisa did not cry. She just kept . She had five shirts. She was making the sixth. As the fire started, she looked up. Six white swans flew down from the sky. They her. Quickly, Elisa threw the shirts over the swans. One by one, the swans turned into her brothers! They were human again! But the youngest brother still had one wing instead of an arm. That's because the sixth shirt was not finished. The was missing.
Now Elisa could speak. "I am not a witch!" she cried. "I did this to my brothers!" She told the story. Everyone listened. The king was so happy. He hugged Elisa. The bad mother-in-law was punished and sent away. The stepmother's magic was too.
The king and Elisa lived happily with their baby and the six brothers. The youngest brother had one wing, but he could fly sometimes, and everyone thought it was special. Elisa never stopped sewing beautiful things, but now she used soft silk and bright gold thread. And they all laughed and talked as much as they wanted.
A king had six sons and one daughter. Their mother died. The king married a cruel new queen. She wanted the palace for herself and made a plan against the children.
The queen tricked the six brothers in the forest. She said magic words and threw feathers, turning them into swans. They flew away. Their sister Elisa saw it and cried but could not follow.
Elisa walked far, tired and hungry. An old woman told her to break the spell by sewing six nettle shirts, but she must not speak or laugh for six years. Elisa started sewing silently, though the nettles hurt her hands.
A young king found Elisa sewing quietly in the forest and fell in love. He brought her to his castle. She kept sewing nettles. People whispered she might be a witch, but the king married her and they had a baby.
The king's mother hated Elisa. She hid the baby and accused Elisa of eating it, calling her a witch. The sad king had to put Elisa in prison, and she was to be burned.
As the fire was lit, Elisa threw five finished shirts over five swans, turning them back into brothers. The sixth shirt was missing a sleeve, so the youngest brother kept one wing.
Elisa explained she was not a witch but was saving her brothers. Everyone believed her. The king was happy. The evil mother-in-law was punished and sent away. The stepmother's magic was broken.
Elisa, the king, their baby, and the brothers lived happily. The youngest brother's wing was special. Elisa sewed with soft silk and gold thread, and they all laughed and talked freely.
Let's learn some words from "The Six Swans." These are common in many fairy tales and will help you describe people, places, and magic.
- queen: a woman who rules a country or is married to a king
- palace: a large, beautiful house where a king or queen lives
- spell: special words that change something magically
- swan: a large white bird with a long neck
- nettle: a plant with small sharp hairs that can hurt your skin
- sew: to use a needle and thread to join cloth
- prison: a locked room for people who broke the law
- wing: the part of a bird or insect that it uses to fly
When you tell a story about something that already happened, you use the past tense. Many verbs change their form. Some add -ed, but others are irregular and you must memorize them.
Look at these examples from the story:
- Regular: turned → The queen turned the boys into swans. / sewed → Elisa sewed shirts.
- Irregular: fly → flew (The swans flew away.) / throw → threw (Elisa threw the shirts.) / speak → spoke (She spoke at the end.)
- Try using these past verbs when you retell the story.
Fairy tales often use adjectives to show if a person is good or bad. Let's look at some words from the story and how they describe the characters.
- kind (good, nice to others): The king was kind to Elisa.
- wicked (very bad, mean): The stepmother was wicked.
- brave (not afraid): Elisa was brave when she sewed the nettles.
- beautiful (very nice to look at): The queen was beautiful but not kind.
- You can use these words to talk about people in stories and in real life.
Great job reading "The Six Swans"! You learned new words, past tense verbs, and how to describe people. Why not try telling the story to a friend or family member? You can also write a short paragraph about your favorite character using the new words.
Keep practicing-every story you read helps you learn more!
The Six Swans comes from the German / Grimm tradition and is best known as a fairy tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Grimm/traditional; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English. Good family/curse/rescue story.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A2 English Vocabulary List. After that, try English Adjectives and Adverbs for another useful next step.
