Once upon a time, a beautiful princess married a prince and went to live with him in his castle on a mountain.
The prince was very loving but every night he went away, returning only at dawn. When the puzzled princess asked him, he said that she must never ask him about it and never follow him.
Every night, he walked away towards a lake among the mountains. However, she was anxious about any danger he might be facing. So, she crept out to follow him.
The prince walked till he reached a dark lake with an island that shone like silver in it, surrounded by white swans. On the island stood a tall man in silvery robes. As the prince reached the lake, he was transformed into a gorgeous black swan.
The tall man made the swans dance the whole night on the lake and the black swan led the dance. As dawn came, the princess saw that the dance ended and she saw the prince wipe away a tear from his eyes. Princess ran back to the castle. She knew that the prince was unhappy, but didn’t know how to help him. So, she went to a wise woman to ask her.
“The tall man is an evil magician who has placed a curse on the prince to make him dance,” said the wise woman, “If you wish to break the curse, you must find the magician’s heart and destroy it. That’s not easy, because he keeps it in a diamond hidden at the bottom of that lake!”
The princess was frightened, but determined to save her prince. That night, she followed the prince and dived into the lake as soon as the dance began. But the magician had seen her and tied her with a spell.
The furious magician cursed the prince to remain a swan forever. The princess was heart-broken. But the prince whispered, “What a brave and loving wife I have! Now dive as soon as I attack!”
As the black swan attacked the magician with his beak and his powerful wings, the princess dived deep into the lake. The diamond gleamed in the dark water as she reached it. She came to the surface and crushed it with a stone.
The spell broke as the magician vanished in a cloud and the prince stood before her with all his attendants— the other swans. The princess hugged the prince and they all returned to live happily ever after in the castle!
