![]() Romanian folklorist Marcu Beza drew attention to two other introductory episodes: (1) seven white birds steal the golden apples from a tree in the king's garden (an episode similar to German The Golden Bird), or, alternatively, they come and trample the fields (2) the hero receives a key and, against his master's wishes, opens a forbidden chamber, where the bird maidens are bathing. At some point later in the story, the mother is convinced or forced to give back the hidden clothing and, as soon as the swan maiden puts it on, she glides towards the skies – which prompts the quest. In many versions, although the man is unmarried (or, very rarely, a widower), he is aided by his mother, who hides the maiden's magical garment (or feather cloak). If the husband is able to find her again, it is an arduous quest, and often the impossibility is clear enough so that he does not even try. Although the children may grieve her, she does not take them with her. The swan maiden immediately gets her robe and disappears to where she came from. When the children are older they sing a song about where their father has hidden their mother's robe, or one asks why the mother always weeps, and finds the cloak for her, or they otherwise betray the secret. A young, unmarried man steals a magic robe made of swan feathers from a swan maiden who comes to bathe in a body of water, so that she will not fly away, and marries her. The folktales usually adhere to the following basic plot. Illustration from Jacobs's Europa's Fairy Book by John D. Legend Typical legend The hunter recognizes his bride amongst the parade of identical maidens. There are also many parallels involving creatures other than swans. There are parallels around the world, notably the Völundarkviða and Grimms' Fairy Tales KHM 193 " The Drummer". In folktales of this type, the male character spies the maiden, typically by some body of water (usually bathing), then snatches away the feather garment (or some other article of clothing), which prevents her from flying away (or swimming away, or renders her helpless in some other manner), forcing her to become his wife. The key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached. The swan maiden is a mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. In the Völundarkviða, Wayland Smith and his brothers marry valkyries who dress in swan skins. ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points.
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