Then the archbishop whispered evil words into the King's ear, but they did not sink into the King's heart. The marriage was to take place; the archbishop himself was obliged to place the crown on her head, and with wicked spite he pressed the narrow circlet so tightly upon her brow that it pained her. But a heavier ring lay close around her heart--sorrow for her brothers; she did not feel the bodily pain. Her mouth was dumb, for a single word would cost her brothers their lives, but her eyes glowed with love for the kind, handsome King, who did everything to rejoice her. She loved him with her whole heart, more and more everyday. Oh that she had been able to confide in him and to tell him of her grief! But she was compelled to be dumb, and to finish her work in silence. Therefore at night she crept away from his side, and went quietly into the little chamber which was decorated like the cave, and wove one shirt of mail after another. But when she began the seventh she had no flax left.

She knew that in the churchyard nettles were glowing that she could use; but she must pluck them herself, and how was she to go out there?

"Oh, what is the pain in my fingers to the torment my heart endures?" thought she. "I must venture it, and help will not be denied me!"

With a trembling heart, as though the deed she purposed doing had been evil, she crept into the garden in the moonlight night , and went through the long avenues and through the deserted streets to the churchyard.There,on one of the broadest stones, she saw sitting a circle of lamias. These hideous wretches took off their ragged garments, as if they were going to bathe; then with their skinny fingers they clawed open the fresh graves, and with fiendish greed they snatched up the corpses and ate the flesh. Eliza, was obliged to pass close by them, and they fastened their evil glances upon her; but she prayed silently, and collected the burning nettles, and carried them into the castle.

Only one person had seen her, and that was the archbishop. He was awake while others slept. Now he felt sure his opinion was correct, that all was not as it should be with the Queen; she was a witch, and thus she had bewitched the King and the whole people.

In secret he told the King what he had seen and what he feared; and when the hard words came from his tongue, the pictures of saints in the cathedral shook their heads, as though they could have said,"It is not so! Eliza is innocent!" But the archbishop interpreted this differently--he thought they were bearing witness against her, and shaking their heads at her sinfulness. Then two heavy tears rolled down the King' s cheeks; he went home with doubt in his heart, and at night pretended to be asleep; but no quiet sleep came upon his eyes, for he noticed that Eliza got up. Every night she did this, and each time he followed her silently, and saw how she disappeared from her chamber.

From day to day his face became darker. Eliza saw it, but did not understand the reason; but it frightened her--and what did she not suffer in her heart for her brothers? Her hot tears flowed upon the royal velvet and purple; they lay there like sparkling diamonds, and all who saw the splendour wished they were Queens. In the meantime she had almost finished her work. Only one shirt of mail was still to be completed, but she had no flax left, and not a single nettle. Once more, for the last time, therefore, she must go to the churchyard, only to pluck a few handfuls. She thought with terror of this solitary wandering and of the horrible lamias, but her will was firm as her trust in Providence.

Eliza went on, but the King and the archbishop followed her. They saw her vanish into the churchyard through the wicket gate; and when they drew near, the lamias were sitting upon the gravestones as Eliza had seen them; and the King turned aside, for he fancied her among them, whose head had rested against his breast that very evening.

"The people must judge her," said he.

And the people condemned her to suffer death by fire. Out of the gorgeous regal halls she was led into a dark damp cell, where the wind whistled through the grated window; instead of velvet and silk they gave her the bundle of nettles which she had collected; on this she could lay her head; and the hard burning coats of mail which she had woven were to be her coverlet. But nothing could have been given her that she liked better. She resumed her work and prayed. Without, the street boys were singing jeering songs about her, and not a soul comforted her with a kind word.

But towards evening there came the whirring of swans' wings close by the grating--it was the youngest of her brothers. He had found his sister, and she sobbed aloud with joy, though she knew that the approaching night would probably be the last she had to live. But now the work was almost finished, and her brothers were here.

Now came the archbishop, to stay with her in her last hour, for he had promised the King to do so. But she shook her head, and with looks and gestures she begged him to depart, for in this night she must finish her work, or else all would be in vain, all her tears, her pain, and her sleepless nights. The archbishop withdrew uttering evil words against her; but poor Eliza knew she was innocent, and continued her work.

The little mice ran about on the floor, and dragged nettles to her feet in order to help her; and the thrush perched beside the bars of the window and sang all night as merrily as it could, so that she might not lose heart.

It was still twilight; not till an hour afterwards would the sun rise. And the eleven brothers stood at the castle gate, and demanded to be brought before the King. That could not be, they were told, for it was still almost night; the King was asleep, and might not be disturbed. They begged, they threatened, and the sentries came, yes, even the King himself came out, and asked what was the meaning of this. At that moment the sun rose, and no more were the brothers to be seen, but eleven wild swans flew away over the castle.

All the people came flocking out at the town gate, for they wanted to see the witch burned. An old horse drew the cart on which she sat. They had put upon her a garment of coarse sackcloth. Her lovely hair hung loose about her beautiful head; her cheeks were as pale as death; and her lips moved silently, while her fingers were engaged with the green flax. Even on the way to death she did not interrupt the work she had begun; the ten shirts of mail lay at her feet, and she wrought at the eleventh. The mob derided her.

"Look at the witch, how she mutters! She has no hymn-book in her hand; no, there she sits with her ugly sorcery--tear it in a thousand pieces!"

And they all pressed upon her, and wanted to tear up the shirts of mail. Then eleven wild swans came flying up, and sat round about her on the cart, and beat with their wings; and the mob gave way before them, terrified.

"That is a sign from heaven! She is certainly innocent!" whispered many. But they did not dare to say it aloud.

Now the executioner seized her by the hand; then she hastily threw the eleven shirts over the swans, and immediately eleven handsome Princes stood there. But the youngest had a swan' s wing instead of an arm, for a sleeve was wanting to his shirt―she had not quite finished it.

"Now I may speak!" she said. "I am innocent!"

And the people who saw what happened bowed before her as before a saint; but she sank lifeless into her brothers' arms, such an effect had suspense, anguish, and pain had upon her.

"Yes, she is innocent," said the eldest brother.

And now he told everything that had taken place; and while he spoke a fragrance arose as of millions of roses, for every piece of faggot in the pile had taken root and was sending forth shoots; and a fragrant hedge stood there, tall and great, covered with red roses, and at the top a flower, white and shining, gleaming like a star. This flower the King plucked and placed in Eliza' s bosom; and she awoke with peace and happiness in her heart.

And all the church bells rang of themselves, and the birds came in great flocks. And back to the castle such a marriage procession took place as no King had ever seen.（The end）

这时，大主教又悄悄地对着国王耳朵说她的坏话，但国王根本就不当回事儿。婚礼即将举行，大主教不得不把王冠戴在她的头上，但他恶意地将窄帽箍紧紧地勒住她的额头，让她疼痛难忍。但是，在她的心头，还有一个更沉重的锁链――她为自己的哥哥们而难过，连自己身体的痛楚都感觉不到了。她的嘴巴不能说话，只要她说出一个字，就会要了哥哥们的命。但她的眼神里，流露出对善良、漂亮的国王的爱慕之情。国王做的每件事，都是为了让她快乐起来。她全心地爱着国王，感情一天比一天深。哎!自己要是能向国王吐露心思，诉说自己的痛苦，那该多好呀!但她不得不沉默，默默地做着自己的工作。因此，每天夜里，她都从国王的身边悄悄地溜走，静静地走进那个装饰得像山洞的房间，一件一件地织铠甲。但当织到第7件时，麻丝用光了。

她知道，在教堂墓地长有她需要的荨麻。她必须亲手去采摘，但她怎么去呢?

“啊，与我心头的痛楚相比，我手指上的一点疼痛算得了什么?”她想，“我必须冒险尝试一下，上天不会辜负我的!”

怀着一颗颤抖的心，好像是在做一件坏事，她在一个有月光的夜晚悄悄地溜进花园，穿过长长的林荫道，穿越无人的大街，最后来到教堂墓地。在一个宽大的墓石前，坐着一群吸血鬼。这些面目可憎的坏蛋脱下她们的破衣烂衫，好像是准备洗澡。然后，她们用瘦得皮包骨头的手指掏开那些新坟，邪恶、贪婪地拉出尸体，大吃死人肉。爱丽莎不得不从她们身边经过。她们朝她投来恶毒的目光。但爱丽莎默默地祈祷，采集那些刺人的荨麻，并带回王宫。

只有一个人看见了她，那就是大主教。当别人都在熟睡的时候，他却醒着。这回他更确信自己的判断了。这些事都不该是一个王后做的，她肯定是个女巫，她给国王和所有人都施了魔法。

他将自己所看到的、所担心的都秘密地报告了国王。当那些恶毒的话从他的舌头里说出来的时候，教堂里所有圣人的画像都摇起了头，似乎在说：“不是这样的!爱丽莎是无辜的!”但大主教错误地理解了他们的意思，他以为他们也见到了她的罪行，对她的罪过摇头呢。国王听到这些话，流下了两行眼泪。他疑虑重重地回到家，夜里假装睡觉。但他的双眼根本就没闭，他看见爱丽莎走了出去。她每天夜里都这么做，而每次国王都悄悄地尾随着她，看着她从自己的房间里消失。

国王的脸色一天比一天阴沉。爱丽莎也发现了，但她不知道其中缘由。不过这使她感到很担心，而且还要为自己的哥哥们感到心痛。她滚烫的眼泪流到王室的天鹅绒和紫色衣服上。眼泪滴在上面，像闪烁的珍珠。所有见到这种王室豪华场面的人，都希望自己是王后。这时，她已经差不多快完工了，只有一件铠甲还没有织好。但她的麻丝已经用光，因此还得再到教堂墓地去，再弄几把荨麻就可以了。她想到了独自游走在那里的恐惧，想到了可怕的吸血鬼，但她的意志坚定，就像她坚信上帝一样。

爱丽莎又去了，但国王和大主教跟在她后面。他们看见她穿过教堂墓地的格子门，然后就消失了。他们又走的近了一些，看见了吸血鬼坐在墓石前面，跟上次爱丽莎见到的一样。国王转过身子，因为他想像爱丽莎就是吸血鬼中的一员，而就在当天晚上，她的头还躺在自己的胸脯上。

“必须让人民来审判她!”他说。

人民判决她火刑。她被从一个华丽的宫殿带出来，进入一个又黑又潮的地窖。这里，风从格子窗呼啸而过。人们给她的不再是天鹅绒和丝绸，而是她采集来的一捆荨麻。她织着硬硬的、让人刺痛的铠甲，用来当作她的被褥。但这些东西正合她的心意。她重新开始工作，并向上帝祈祷。外面街头的孩子们唱着歌儿讥讽她，没有一个人用一句善意的话来安慰她。

但夜晚来临的时候，窗格子边响起了天鹅拍打翅膀的声音――原来那是她的小哥哥。他找到了自己的妹妹，爱丽莎高兴得大哭起来，尽管她知道正在临近的夜晚是她生命的最后一夜。这时工作已经快完成了，她的哥哥们也都到了这儿。

主教走过来，在她最后的时候陪伴着她，因为他已经向国王保证将会这么做。但爱丽莎摇着头，从脸色上手势上都表明自己要求主教离开，因为这一夜她还要完成自己的工作呢。不然一切都白费了，她的所有眼泪，所有痛苦，所有的不眠之夜，都将付之东流。主教讲了些恶毒的话，然后就离开了。但可怜的爱丽莎知道自己是清白无罪的，所以她继续工作。

一只小老鼠从地上跑过来，把荨麻拖到她的脚边，好帮她一起干活。画眉蹲在窗栏上，整夜都欢快地给她唱歌，鼓励她不要丧失信心。

天刚蒙蒙亮，太阳一小时以后才会升起来。11个哥哥站在王宫的门口，要求见国王。人们告诉他们，这个要求是不可能实现的，因为现在夜色未褪，国王还在睡觉呢，不能打扰他。他们先礼后兵，闹得卫兵走过来，甚至连国王也出来了，问这儿究竟是怎么回事。正在这时，太阳升起来了，11个兄弟不见了，只见11只天鹅在宫殿上方飞翔。

所有的人都涌到城门前，因为他们都想看看巫婆是怎么被烧死的。一匹老马拖着辆车，爱丽莎就坐在上面。人们给她穿上一件粗布丧服，她秀美的头发披散在漂亮的头上；她的脸像死人的脸一样苍白；她的嘴唇在轻轻地颤动，同时手指还在忙着编麻丝。尽管她正在走向死亡，但这仍然没有打搅她的工作。她的脚边放着10个铠甲，她正忙着编第11个。围观的人都在嘲讽她。

“瞧那个巫婆，她嘴里嘟哝什么呀!她手里没有拿《圣诗集》。确实没有，她还带着她那丑陋的妖物――把那东西撕成碎片!”

他们一齐走向她，想把她的那些铠甲撕成碎片。这时11只天鹅飞了过来，落在马车上，围在她的身边，拍着翅膀。围观者退到一边，他们被吓坏了。

“这是天意!她肯定是无辜的!”许多人都窃窃私语。但他们都不敢大声说出来。

这时，刽子手抓住了她的一只手。她急忙将11件铠甲扔给了天鹅，那些天鹅马上变成了11个潇洒的王子。但最小的哥哥还留着一只天鹅的翅膀，而不是长着人的胳膊，因为他的铠甲少了一条袖子，爱丽莎还没来得及织出来呢。

“现在我可以说话了!”她说，“我是清白的!”

亲眼目睹这一切的人们都向她鞠躬，好像是面对一个圣人一样。但她晕倒在哥哥的怀里，她承受了太多的担心、焦虑和痛苦。

“是的，她是清白的!”大哥说。

于是他就把事情的来龙去脉都说了一遍。在他说这些话的时候，一阵香气袭来，像是有千百万朵玫瑰绽放一样。柴堆上的每一根木头都生出了根，抽出了枝，一道芬芳的篱笆出现在那儿，又高又大，长满了玫瑰。在最高处，是一朵雪白晶亮的花儿，像一颗星星在闪烁。国王采下了这朵花，将它插在爱丽莎的胸前。她苏醒过来，内心平静、快乐。

教堂里所有的钟都自动地敲响，各种鸟儿成群结队地飞过来。在回王宫的路上，人们举行了盛大的婚礼游行，还没有哪个国王见过那种场面呢。（全文完）