SWAN LAKE

A voice exclaimed, Ah, here he comes,

And the Queen, who was greeting her guests on the terrace of the palace, looked up with some relief, and
saw her son, arriving on horseback, late for his own birthday celebration. By the gate of the garden he
dismounted with arrogant agility, before springing up the steps on his long legs.
Many of the guests were gathered on the lawns before the palace. The royal and noble families of all Europe
were well represented. And there was a particularly plentiful supply of pretty princesses of marriageable age.
Now the message went around:
Hes here, hes arrived,
All eyes were trained on the terrace, where the Queen was presenting her son with his birthday gift. It was a
crossbow with a silver handle that was intricately engraved with scenes of wild birds, hares, deer, and other
game. There was polite applause, as Prince Siegfried slung the hunting weapon across his shoulder by its
leather strap. He still wore the gift while he did his duty and mingled with the guests.

The Prince had to find a handful of polite words for each and every guest. He found it somewhat trying at
the best of times to make courtly small talk, and each time he was presented with a blushing princess, he
could not help but feel irritated. He knew perfectly well what everyone, especially his mother, expected him
to do. He was supposed to pick a Princess for his bride.

That evening, he was greeted by mouths that were toothy and grinning, others that were delicate and
demure, and still others that were luscious and red. He could choose from eyes that were feline green,
chocolate brown, sky blue, or owl grey. There certainly was no shortage of princesses in all shapes sizes and
complexions. But the whole situation seemed to him quite unbearable. Even a prince cannot be pressured
into falling in love right on cue. As darkness fell, he slipped away from the crowd and retrieved his horse.
By the time his birthday fireworks were lighting up the sky, he had reached the edge of the forest.
Very little light from the stars of the moon came through the canopy of trees, but he and his horse knew the
track well. They trod carefully, but he may have taken a different turning from usual, because he soon came
across an unfamiliar clearing in the forrest, which, as he soon found, opened up onto a lake. The Prince sat
down on a tree stump not far from the waters edge and listened to the gentle lapping of the waves. His
thumb stroked the silver handle of his crossbow. When a group of swans came gliding across the moonlit
water, he recalled that swans are said to mate for life. That, he thought, is because their love is natural and
sincere. No-one tells a swan when he or she is supposed to marry.
One of the swans rose out of the water onto the bank ,where she stretched her long neck and flapped her
wings. Prince Siegfried raised his crossbow and took aim. His finger felt the trigger, but although hunting
was one of the keenest pleasures of his gilded life, he could not bring himself to shoot a creature so peaceful
and beautiful. He lowered the weapon and put it on the mossy ground beside him. As he did so, his eyes
grew a little misty.
Dash it. Not tears, he thought. His finger wiped away a salty drop from the corner of his eye. Now he saw
that that a star was shining directly onto the swan. But she was no longer quite a swan. Her feathers were
fading, and she was undergoing some sort of magical moonlit transformation. He stood up and walked
towards the remarkable vision. By the time he reached the spot where she stood, she was more woman than
a swan, and then she fell gently backwards into his arms.
Song
Night
Falls upon the secret lake
I wake
More woman than a swan

You
Chance upon my lonely lake
You take
The arrow from my heart

I
Dance upon my pointed toes
I pose
More woman than a swan

We
Dance upon the moonlit stream
We seem
Quite destined for this part

This lake of tears

Sees me lift my chin
Sees me stretch my wing
Knows the hopes I cling

This dawn of hope

Sees us form a pair
Sees us tour the air
Sees us bound to share

These slender reeds

See me twirl around
See me stroke the ground
See me fly unbound

These skies of fire

See you lift me high
See us soar and fly

See us turn into one

At light Im gone
Back to a swan
woman no more

Can lie, can sigh, can die.

Magician condition enchanted

Only love that is loyal can grant it

Less
Woman than a
Woman than a
Swan

Romantic quite frantic I sigh

For love that is sudden can lie;

Light
Falls upon the secret lake

When the young prince returned to the castle, he was a different man from the one who had set out the night
before, because now he knew what it meant to be in love with the mysterious and magical creature known as
a woman. But this woman was even more elusive than most. At first light she had transformed back into a
swan, and he had caressed her feathery neck before she returned to the cold waters of the lake.
Naturally he believed that their love was a secret. Little did he know, that one of the guests, Prince von
Rothbart, had followed him to the lake, and had overseen his liaison with the Swan Princess. Von Rothbart
was a master of the dark arts of sorcery. It was his magic that willed Prince Siegfried to aim his crossbow at
the breast of the swan, but, on that occasion, the power of beauty overcame the evil spell before any harm
was done. Now Von Rothbart was angry. He was afraid that Princess Odette for that was who the swan
really was had found her true love. Love would smash the spell that he had used against Odette when he
had imprisoned her inside the feathers of a swan. She could soon be free. A woman once more.
The following evening the champagne flowed and the orchestra poured out music for the guests at the castle.
The grand ball, the climax of the birthday celebrations, was to be a magnificent spectator sport for the older
generation. All eyes were following Prince Siegfried to see who he would invite to dance with him, and
which pair of pretty feet would be most in step with his own. Those guests with daughters were than just
passingly interested in the outcome. And none more so than Prince von Rothbart, for it was his plan that
Siegfried should marry none other than his own daughter, Princess Odile. He did not believe in leaving a
matter of such great importance to chance, let alone to the uncertainties of the heart. Before the ball began,
he cast a spell on Odile to make her as alike in appearance to Princess Odette as his magic could manage.
Odile did not have long to wait for her invitation to dance, not just once but twice, and then thrice four,
five, six times. The onlookers were in no doubt that Prince had made his choice for the girl with a perfectly

oval face elegantly balanced on a long neck, who held herself so perfectly, whose arms were so expressive,
and who danced so lightly on her toes.
Von Rothbart congratulated himself. His connection by marriage to the royal family was all but in the bag.
In fact, the only person in the ballroom who harboured any doubts was Prince Siegfried himself. He had
seen his Princess only once before, and by moonlight. For sure, the way Odile looked and moved was
perfection, but he could no longer feel the magic current of energy between them. Each time he asked her to
dance, he was hoping to rediscover the enchantment that he had felt the previous evening. Was it her who
was different, he wondered, or himself, or perhaps the situation with the crowd of onlookers?
Only when he had danced five times with her did be begin to realise that his commitment was growing all
too publicly. In the satisfied eyes of his mother he was all but engaged. To back away now would cause talk,
perhaps a minor scandal. The Queen would be far from pleased. And so he asked Odile to dance a sixth time.
Now at last he did recognize the look in her eyes. He knew it too well. It was the satisfaction of a hunter
who has shot and bagged a catch. At that moment he looked up, and saw, standing on the balcony, Princess
Odette. The music played on. He could not stop the dance. Every beat seemed to last a tortuous eternity.
Every step was weighed down by an iron ball chained to his ankle or so he felt. And yet, for the sake of
decorum, he must dance to the last bar. As soon as he was free from the arms of Princess Odile, he bowed,
and backed away towards the door. He ran out of the castle and heard the clamorous wings of a swan,
wheeling through the night sky for the forrest. He leapt onto his horse and pursued her to the lake. There he
saw her land on the water, skidding on her feet before her. Odette, Odette, he called out. The swan turned
her head toward him and then swam away into the shadows. The Prince waded into the water and swam
after her. When he reached her they were both on the other side of life, where they are now together, for all
eternity.