Wild Swans

Wild Swans — page 1 — For the best of brothers Marcus Gresham And for Georgie Joel and Isaac and any children they may have X G K To my ugly little ducklings Prudence Violette and Albert C G Xantbe Gresham Knight would like to thank Gillian Edom author of From Sting to Spin Kate DePalma for ber brilliance creativity and patience and Robin Knight constant collaborator and love of her life

Wild Swans — page 2 — Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER Two A Girl and Her Brothers Life in the Village 12 CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR The Swans Arrive 18 Flying South 25 CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX The Young King Breaking the Spell 32 42

Wild Swans — page 3 — some some tales get lost over time They fall through the cracks of pavements or are washed out into the ocean But some child playing on the street or digging in the sand will catch sight of a story gleaming like a chip of old china or lost silver They will pick it up hold it to the light and never rest until they have experienced every moment Perhaps you are one such child

Wild Swans — page 4 — CHAPTER ONE A Girl and Her Brothers There There were once eleven brothers without a mother Her last gift to them was a baby sister whom she named Eliza which means joyful Because their father the King of the North was a busy man it was up to the princes to wipe their little sister's tears and bandage her cuts and bumps The king's every spare moment was taken up with a plague that was sweeping through his eleven kingdoms It was the same illness that had taken his beloved wife In the streets beyond the palace fires blazed People were tossing the blankets and clothes of the sick into the flames to try to burn away the disease Sometimes as the princes ran through the lines of trees and long gardens of the palace bits of black ash blew over the wall like clouds of flies For their own safety none of the king's children were allowed outside the palace walls

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