Swan Lake
Once upon a time, far away in a deep forest, there was a lake called Swan Lake. On it lived a swan that glided silently and gracefully on the clear water.
Swan Lake, though beautiful, held a secret. When the sun set, the swan transformed into a charming young woman. The woman was a princess, and her name was Odette.
She had been cursed by an evil sorcerer, named Rotbart, because he disliked her kindness. The only way to break the spell was to find her true love.
— Still cursed, I see. Ha ha. Haven't you broken the spell yet? — You can laugh all you want. My true love will surely come and save me, Rotbart! — True love? Ah! Who will find you in this dark forest? And who will love a swan? You'll be alone here forever! Ha ha ha ha! — He will come! My heart tells me he will come!
Prince Siegfried
In a kingdom not far from the forest, lived a very kind queen. She had a son, Prince Siegfried, who was handsome, intelligent, and strong, but kindness wasn't really among his qualities.
One evening, the queen called him to her.
— Siegfried, come here! I have a surprise for you! — What surprise could you give a grown man? — Not a horse, well mother, this is an ordinary horse. — Come on, Siegfried! — No, seriously. He doesn't look strong enough. Mother, ouch! — Oh! He seems quite bold to me. Maybe you should name him Stomper. Listen, I have another surprise for you!
Siegfried saw three young girls gracefully approaching him.
— These are girls who have come to meet you for... — Marriage? But I don't want to get married, mother! And these girls don't even care about me. They just want to marry me because I'm a prince. — Oh! How rude! — Siegfried! What are you saying? It's not like that at all! — I don't want to listen anymore! Come on, horse! Let's see how strong you are! Let's go somewhere far from here!
A Hectic Journey
Stomper reared his hooves in the air and then galloped off, leaving the kingdom. Prince Siegfried couldn't control him, and no matter how hard he tried, the horse kept going.
Soon, they reached the forest. Stomper stopped abruptly, and Prince Siegfried was thrown into a pile of leaves.
— Noisy horse! You don't know how to gallop properly! You'll pay for this!
But when he turned around, he saw the lake in front of him. He was so surprised that he almost forgot he'd had a bad day. He sat down by the bushes and stayed there, gazing at the lake.
— Finally, peace and quiet. Why is mother doing this? She wants to marry me off to someone I don't even know. And she gives me a horse I don't even like. What a terrible day!
Meeting Odette
While the prince grumbled about his bad day, Princess Odette had hidden behind a tree and was now watching him.
— Who is this man? He seems very angry and upset about something. — Everything is horrible! The world is horrible, and these flowers are horrible too!
Seeing him destroy the flowers, Odette got angry.
— Hey! You can't treat flowers like that! They haven't done anything to deserve this! — You, who are you? — I am Odette. The princess of this lake. How dare you come here and destroy the poor flowers! — Hm! I am Prince Siegfried. Why should I care about these stupid flowers? — They're not stupid! They have feelings, just like me and you! — Don't agree with her!
Odette placed her hand on a flower and made it bloom again. Prince Siegfried was surprised. He had never seen anything like it.
Odette saw him looking at what she had done.
— Why are you smiling at me like that? — When you help someone in need, you'll know too. Try it, you'll see it doesn't hurt to be kind. — Are you insulting me? That's so stupid! I'm leaving! Come on, horse! — Hey, Prince! Try it just once! You'll smile too! — Fine.
An Act of Kindness
Prince Siegfried quickly galloped back. It was a long way home, and dawn was already breaking. On the way, he met a poor old man.
— Hey, youth! Would you give me some water? I'm so thirsty! — Water? Who do you think... — Hey, Prince! It's never too late to be kind! — Um, here, you can have it. Drink it all, I don't want it. — Thank you! You are so kind!
The prince was so surprised that he actually smiled. He rode home in a good mood and soon arrived.
The next day, at the palace, he decided to congratulate the maids, something he had never done before. And when he saw the expression on their faces, he felt even better.
— So that's what she meant. I think I'll pay her another visit tonight.
Return to the Lake
So that evening, he snuck out of the palace and went to his horse.
— Shhh! It's me. I want to go to the lake. Take me there now! Good, what are you doing? I mean, please, take me to the lake, Stomper!
And they set off back towards the lake. Odette was extremely surprised.
— Oh! You're back! Why? — What do you mean 'why'? Isn't a prince allowed to go wherever he pleases? Besides, thank you, because you taught me something very special yesterday. — The pleasure is all mine. Come! Let me show you around. And you, umm... — His name is Stomper. — Hello, Stomper! You're a good little horse! — Well, let's not even talk about how good he is...
Love Blooms
Overnight, Siegfried and Odette talked and laughed. She showed him many beautiful parts of the place.
But he could only pay attention to her kindness and beauty. Every evening he went to see her, and by dawn, he returned to the palace. Days passed, and everyone noticed how generous the prince had become.
The Royal Ball
— Son! I need to tell you something! — Yes, mother! — Tonight, all the maidens from the land will be invited to a ball, and you will have to dance with them. — But mother, I've already told you I don't love any of them! — My boy, the people of the kingdom are eagerly awaiting their prince to marry and then take the throne as king. Tomorrow you will have to choose a bride. This is my final word! — What am I going to do, Stomper?
A Dark Shadow
That evening, the prince danced with all the beautiful maidens present. He smiled at everyone, but he could only think of Odette. The ball lasted almost all night, but when it finally ended, the prince snuck out of the palace.
— Stomper! Let'
