The Wild Swans

"The Wild Swans"
Short story by Hans Christian Andersen
"The Wild Swans" by E. Stuart Hardy
Original titleDe vilde svaner
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish
Genre(s)Literary fairy tale
Publication
Published inFairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet (Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Ny Samling. Første Hefte)
Publication typeFairy tale collection
PublisherC. A. Reitzel
Media typePrint
Publication date2 October 1838
Chronology
 
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
 

"The Wild Swans" (Danish: De vilde svaner) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell cast by an evil queen. The tale was first published on 2 October 1838 in Andersen's Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet (Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Ny Samling. Første Hefte) by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been adapted to various media including ballet, television, and film.

It is categorized as an Aarne-Thompson type 451 ("The Brothers Who Were Turned into Birds").[1] Other type 451 variants include The Twelve Brothers, The Six Swans, The Seven Ravens, The Twelve Wild Ducks and Udea and her Seven Brothers.[2]

  1. ^ Frankel, Valerie Estelle (2014). From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine's Journey Through Myth and Legend. McFarland and Co. pp. 15–17. ISBN 9780786457892.
  2. ^ Ashliman, D. L. (2013). "The Twelve Brothers". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2020-05-22.