There was a lad whose father died while he was a child. And when, by
slow degrees, he came to man's estate, he asked his mother one day how
his father got a living. But she heaved a long sigh, and at last said
"Your father traded in foreign countries, my dear; and if he were alive
now, we would not be in such distress now." But he said "Ah! mother,
may not I work at the same trade? Give me all the money there is, and
let me too go trading." But his mother said "Nay! my son, do not say
that. While I live, even if I have to beg, you shall not want. And if
you die in strange lands, what is to become of me?" But her son would
not hearken to her, and, begging money from her, bought merchandise,
and hired a boat, and took two men with him; and, after doing obeisance
to his mother, set forth into strange lands. And at last he moored
his boat at the ghat of a certain village, and sent his men out to
hawk his goods. But he himself stayed with the boat. And at that ghat
dwelt an aged couple, who possessed a white and beautiful swan which
they cherished as their own child, and fed with their own food. And
one day at midday, when men were enjoying their siesta, the merchant
lad saw the white swan remove her swan dress and bathe in the river,
a lovely slim maiden. Whereupon he began to pay great regard to the
old couple, and gave them of his store without money. But as time
went by, all his goods were disposed of, and then he went to the old
people and offered them a great price for their swan. Nor when they
would give it to him for nothing would he accept it, seeing that it
were a sin to take a wife as a gift. So, finally he made them take
much money and went away home, taking his swan with him. But when he
reached home, behold the swan remained a swan, and the lad was sore
vexed and lost his sleep and his food, so that his mother was in fear,
and asked sundry of the villagers what might be the matter.
And, finally, one of them, who was a wise woman, said to her:
"Something has happened to him while he was away trading, and now
you must find out what it was. And the way to do it is this: You must
get a fair girl to comb his hair; and let her pretend to grieve that
he is so ill, and let her cry into his hair, and to a fair maiden he
will tell what he would never say to his mother." So a girl came and
combed his hair, and wept silently till the tears fell on his head, and
when he asked what ailed her, said she could not bear to see him pine
away. So at last he told her of the white swan, which turned before
his very eyes into a lovely maiden, but that now it remained ever a
white swan, though he was pining away for very love of her. So she went
and told the mother, and the mother told the wise woman, who bade them
get the lad to lie awake till midnight and then the swan-maiden would
arise, and, assuming her maiden form, would worship her own country's
gods. And then he was to leap up suddenly and cast her swan skin on the
hearth and burn it; and then of a surety she would remain a maiden. So
the lad prepared a basin of oil and ashes and a yak's tail, and did
as the wise woman bade. And in the depth of night, the swan came and
felt him all over with her beak. But he never stirred a whit. And then,
believing him to be asleep, she stripped off her swan's skin slowly,
and prayed aloud to the gods of her own country. Then the lad got
out of bed very silently, and seizing the swan's skin thrust it in
the ashes. And when she smelled the burning feathers, she cried aloud
"Ah! what have you done? what have you done?" and fell senseless on
the floor. But he anointed her with the oil, and fanned her with the
yak's tail, till presently her great eyes opened and he saw that she
loved him. And then they lived happily ever afterwards. And that's all!