gether the whole day.

Towards evening the rest came back, and as the sun went down they
resumed their natural forms. "To-morrow," said one, "we shall fly away,
not to return again till a whole year has passed. But we cannot leave
you here. Have you courage to go with us? My arm is strong enough to
carry you through the wood, and will not all our wings be strong enough
to bear you over the sea?"

"Yes, take me with you," said Eliza. They spent the whole night in
weaving a large, strong net of the pliant willow and rushes. On this
Eliza laid herself down to sleep, and when the sun rose and her brothers
again became wild swans, they took up the net with their beaks, and flew
up to the clouds with their dear sister, who still slept. When the
sunbeams fell on her face, one of the swans soared over her head so that
his broad wings might shade her.

They were far from the land when Eliza awoke. She thought she must still
be dreaming, it seemed so strange to feel herself being carried high in
the air over the sea. By her side lay a branch full of beautiful ripe
berries and a bundle of sweet-tasting roots; the youngest of her
brothers had gathered them and placed them there. She smiled her thanks
to him; she knew it was the same one that was hovering over her to shade
her with his wings. They were now so high that a large ship beneath them
looked like a white sea gull skimming the waves. A great cloud floating
behind them appeared like a vast mountain, and upon it Eliza saw her own
shadow and those of the eleven swans, like gigantic flying things.
Altogether it formed a more beautiful picture than she had ever before
seen; but as the sun rose higher and the clouds were left behind, the
picture vanished.

Onward the whole day they flew through the air like winged arrows, yet
more slowly than usual, for they had their sister to carry. The weather
grew threatening, and Eliza watched the sinking sun with great anxiety,
for the little rock in the ocean was not yet in sight. It seemed to her
as if the swans were exerting themselves to the utmost. Alas! she was
the cause of their not advancing more quickly. When the sun set they
would change to men, fall into the sea, and be drowned.

Then she offered a prayer from her inmost heart, but still no rock
appeared. Dark clouds came nearer, the gusts of wind told of the coming
storm, while from a thick, heavy mass of clouds the lightning burst
forth, flash after flash. The sun had reac