Twelve Black Swans
There was a kingdom far away
Through woods and rivers, by moonlight,
The witches spoke into the gray
Of magic distant as the night.
In the castles, upon their thrones
The king and queen sat there in throes
Inside their withered, quartered bones
A debt, to them, the witches owed.
Twelve sons, already, the queen had bore
Tall, with blue eyes and midnight hair
With child she was now, once more
The king, for them, he did not care.
So declared a royal decree
“If tis a girl the baby be
I shall cast they brutes far from thee
So all the riches fall to me.”
The queen was frightened, with surprise
She wept and wept from aching eyes
To save them all from their demise,
Devised a plot that was quite wise.
She called Benjamin to her bed,
“If I have a female child
Father will love her in your stead
So go and live inside the wilds.”
“So Benji and his brothers went
With their time in the jungle spent
They then said things they had not meant
Born from ill frustrations well spent.
The babe, a girl, grew up alone
Knew winding tales her mother had sown
Despite the riches that she owned
A beggar’s skills she sought to hone.
The shirts she found inside the room
Inspired her to take the loom
To fashion clothes of silk and satin
Not knowing they were for her own kin.
If not for curiosity
There would be no story for thee
The girl, you see, disliked the thought
That those twelve shirts were made for naught.
So she called then for her mother
Told her the shirts were made for others
No more words did she utter,
On her way to find her brothers.
For hours she searched in the woods
The cold, windy rain she withstood
Being brave and pulling on her hood,
“Must . . . be . . . patient . . .” she understood.
And then one bright clear sunny day
Upon the forest floor she lay
“I cannot do this!” she would say
“If only I had strength to pray.”
When hope and thirst became quite clear,
She hoped to find a river near
With a demeanor quite austere
She came across men wearing leers.
Upon her head they saw the crown
“Sister!” they said, and lost their frowns
She shyly unwrinkled her gown
“Come now,” they said, “You look beat down.”
And so into the cottage went
A princess among wild men
They told her of what happened then,
How she could stay with little Ben.
“We always toil in the fields
While Benjamin, he makes the meals.”
And then they pleaded with such zeal
She had to agree to the deal.
Soon one day she went out walking
With a woman, she got to talking
Didn’t see the woman stalking
At the princes she was balking.
What the princess didn’t know
Was that this woman was a witch!
She planned to deal the brothers a blow
Her plan went down without a hitch.
Twelve butterflies she planted there
Toxic, they were made to ensnare
The sister, she warned them, beware;
But for their health they did not care.
So the brothers picked the flowers
The flowers used their magic powers
And in the span of twelve long hours
Black swans stood instead of brothers.
Sadness struck the princess down
She wandered to the nearest town
Trading even her golden crown
Seeking a woman quite renowned.
At last she found the wise woman
Who told the girl that she was banned
Of her voice she would be sans
For twelve long years, “If you can.”
The girl was proud and so she knew
She’d close her lips till they were blue
Of how she would, she had no clue
But that day, she’d make the witch rue.
‘Oh, one more thing,” the woman cried
“Of a king you must be the bride
And also many adders tie
To make each brother a thick hide.”
While wary the dear princess swore
To bring about the ancient lore
She would carry out this chore
To save her brother from certain gore.
On the eve of the sixth year
The princess put on a veneer
That would draw all the kings to peer
She won the heart of great King Neer
Oh, but imagine her surprise!
The woman that she so despised
Was the king’s mother under a guise
Of sweetness, whilst cruel plans she devised.
Six years of slander she endured
And in this time, yes, she matured
Her brothers’ fates were more secured
Yet she was still not reassured.
Her husband’s mother grew stronger yet
And it was with “such deep regret”
The kind king’s anger was offset
When the queen succeeded to abet.
On the great pyre she was tied
Into the square her brothers glide!
She throws upon them the thick hides
And misses Benjamin’s right side.
Onto the great fire he fell
Was burned upon the stake as well
In their hearts her tale still dwells
A princess who freed her brothers
From their spells.
Through woods and rivers, by moonlight,
The witches spoke into the gray
Of magic distant as the night.
In the castles, upon their thrones
The king and queen sat there in throes
Inside their withered, quartered bones
A debt, to them, the witches owed.
Twelve sons, already, the queen had bore
Tall, with blue eyes and midnight hair
With child she was now, once more
The king, for them, he did not care.
So declared a royal decree
“If tis a girl the baby be
I shall cast they brutes far from thee
So all the riches fall to me.”
The queen was frightened, with surprise
She wept and wept from aching eyes
To save them all from their demise,
Devised a plot that was quite wise.
She called Benjamin to her bed,
“If I have a female child
Father will love her in your stead
So go and live inside the wilds.”
“So Benji and his brothers went
With their time in the jungle spent
They then said things they had not meant
Born from ill frustrations well spent.
The babe, a girl, grew up alone
Knew winding tales her mother had sown
Despite the riches that she owned
A beggar’s skills she sought to hone.
The shirts she found inside the room
Inspired her to take the loom
To fashion clothes of silk and satin
Not knowing they were for her own kin.
If not for curiosity
There would be no story for thee
The girl, you see, disliked the thought
That those twelve shirts were made for naught.
So she called then for her mother
Told her the shirts were made for others
No more words did she utter,
On her way to find her brothers.
For hours she searched in the woods
The cold, windy rain she withstood
Being brave and pulling on her hood,
“Must . . . be . . . patient . . .” she understood.
And then one bright clear sunny day
Upon the forest floor she lay
“I cannot do this!” she would say
“If only I had strength to pray.”
When hope and thirst became quite clear,
She hoped to find a river near
With a demeanor quite austere
She came across men wearing leers.
Upon her head they saw the crown
“Sister!” they said, and lost their frowns
She shyly unwrinkled her gown
“Come now,” they said, “You look beat down.”
And so into the cottage went
A princess among wild men
They told her of what happened then,
How she could stay with little Ben.
“We always toil in the fields
While Benjamin, he makes the meals.”
And then they pleaded with such zeal
She had to agree to the deal.
Soon one day she went out walking
With a woman, she got to talking
Didn’t see the woman stalking
At the princes she was balking.
What the princess didn’t know
Was that this woman was a witch!
She planned to deal the brothers a blow
Her plan went down without a hitch.
Twelve butterflies she planted there
Toxic, they were made to ensnare
The sister, she warned them, beware;
But for their health they did not care.
So the brothers picked the flowers
The flowers used their magic powers
And in the span of twelve long hours
Black swans stood instead of brothers.
Sadness struck the princess down
She wandered to the nearest town
Trading even her golden crown
Seeking a woman quite renowned.
At last she found the wise woman
Who told the girl that she was banned
Of her voice she would be sans
For twelve long years, “If you can.”
The girl was proud and so she knew
She’d close her lips till they were blue
Of how she would, she had no clue
But that day, she’d make the witch rue.
‘Oh, one more thing,” the woman cried
“Of a king you must be the bride
And also many adders tie
To make each brother a thick hide.”
While wary the dear princess swore
To bring about the ancient lore
She would carry out this chore
To save her brother from certain gore.
On the eve of the sixth year
The princess put on a veneer
That would draw all the kings to peer
She won the heart of great King Neer
Oh, but imagine her surprise!
The woman that she so despised
Was the king’s mother under a guise
Of sweetness, whilst cruel plans she devised.
Six years of slander she endured
And in this time, yes, she matured
Her brothers’ fates were more secured
Yet she was still not reassured.
Her husband’s mother grew stronger yet
And it was with “such deep regret”
The kind king’s anger was offset
When the queen succeeded to abet.
On the great pyre she was tied
Into the square her brothers glide!
She throws upon them the thick hides
And misses Benjamin’s right side.
Onto the great fire he fell
Was burned upon the stake as well
In their hearts her tale still dwells
A princess who freed her brothers
From their spells.