Once upon a time there were twelve royal children – eleven brothers and one older sister, Elisa.

Der var engang tolv kongebørn – elleve brødre og deres storesøster, Elisa.

One day the mother died, and some time later the king married again. The new wife, however, was an evil witch.

Men en dag døde deres moder, og nogen tid senere giftede kongen sig igen. Den nye dronning var dog en ond heks.

She turned the eleven princes into swans and sent them far away to a distant land beyond the large forest.

Hun fortryllede de elleve prinser, så de blev til svaner og sendte dem langt bort til et fjernt land på den anden side af skoven.

She dressed the girl in rags and smeared an ointment onto her face that turned her so ugly, that even her own father no longer recognized her and chased her out of the castle.