A king's eleven sons are turned into swans by their evil stepmother, and his daughter, Elize, is sent away. Determined to break the curse, Elize seeks her brothers and learns in a dream that she must knit eleven shirts from nettles, remaining silent throughout the process, or her brothers will die. She perseveres despite the pain and isolation, but is discovered by a king who, fearing she's a witch, imprisons her. On the day of her execution, the swans appear, and Elize throws the nettle shirts over them, transforming them back into princes, though the youngest retains a swan wing due to an unfinished sleeve. Elize's silence is broken, proving her innocence and saving her brothers, leading to her acceptance by the king.

A king's eleven sons are turned into swans by their evil stepmother, and his daughter, Elize, is sent away. Determined to break the curse, Elize seeks her brothers and learns in a dream that she must knit eleven shirts from nettles, remaining silent...

The Wild Swans | Classic Fairy Tales