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）

這時，大主教又悄悄地對著國王耳朵說她的壞話，但國王根本就不當(dāng)回事兒?；槎Y即將舉行，大主教不得不把王冠戴在她的頭上，但他惡意地將窄帽箍緊緊地勒住她的額頭，讓她疼痛難忍。但是，在她的心頭，還有一個更沉重的鎖鏈——她為自己的哥哥們而難過，連自己身體的痛楚都感覺不到了。她的嘴巴不能說話，只要她說出一個字，就會要了哥哥們的命。但她的眼神里，流露出對善良、漂亮的國王的愛慕之情。國王做的每件事，都是為了讓她快樂起來。她全心地愛著國王，感情一天比一天深。哎!自己要是能向國王吐露心思，訴說自己的痛苦，那該多好呀!但她不得不沉默，默默地做著自己的工作。因此，每天夜里，她都從國王的身邊悄悄地溜走，靜靜地走進那個裝飾得像山洞的房間，一件一件地織鎧甲。但當(dāng)織到第7件時，麻絲用光了。

她知道，在教堂墓地長有她需要的蕁麻。她必須親手去采摘，但她怎么去呢?

“啊，與我心頭的痛楚相比，我手指上的一點疼痛算得了什么?”她想，“我必須冒險嘗試一下，上天不會辜負我的!”

懷著一顆顫抖的心，好像是在做一件壞事，她在一個有月光的夜晚悄悄地溜進花園，穿過長長的林蔭道，穿越無人的大街，最后來到教堂墓地。在一個寬大的墓石前，坐著一群吸血鬼。這些面目可憎的壞蛋脫下她們的破衣爛衫，好像是準(zhǔn)備洗澡。然后，她們用瘦得皮包骨頭的手指掏開那些新墳，邪惡、貪婪地拉出尸體，大吃死人肉。愛麗莎不得不從她們身邊經(jīng)過。她們朝她投來惡毒的目光。但愛麗莎默默地祈禱，采集那些刺人的蕁麻，并帶回王宮。

只有一個人看見了她，那就是大主教。當(dāng)別人都在熟睡的時候，他卻醒著。這回他更確信自己的判斷了。這些事都不該是一個王后做的，她肯定是個女巫，她給國王和所有人都施了魔法。

他將自己所看到的、所擔(dān)心的都秘密地報告了國王。當(dāng)那些惡毒的話從他的舌頭里說出來的時候，教堂里所有圣人的畫像都搖起了頭，似乎在說：“不是這樣的!愛麗莎是無辜的!”但大主教錯誤地理解了他們的意思，他以為他們也見到了她的罪行，對她的罪過搖頭呢。國王聽到這些話，流下了兩行眼淚。他疑慮重重地回到家，夜里假裝睡覺。但他的雙眼根本就沒閉，他看見愛麗莎走了出去。她每天夜里都這么做，而每次國王都悄悄地尾隨著她，看著她從自己的房間里消失。

國王的臉色一天比一天陰沉。愛麗莎也發(fā)現(xiàn)了，但她不知道其中緣由。不過這使她感到很擔(dān)心，而且還要為自己的哥哥們感到心痛。她滾燙的眼淚流到王室的天鵝絨和紫色衣服上。眼淚滴在上面，像閃爍的珍珠。所有見到這種王室豪華場面的人，都希望自己是王后。這時，她已經(jīng)差不多快完工了，只有一件鎧甲還沒有織好。但她的麻絲已經(jīng)用光，因此還得再到教堂墓地去，再弄幾把蕁麻就可以了。她想到了獨自游走在那里的恐懼，想到了可怕的吸血鬼，但她的意志堅定，就像她堅信上帝一樣。

愛麗莎又去了，但國王和大主教跟在她后面。他們看見她穿過教堂墓地的格子門，然后就消失了。他們又走的近了一些，看見了吸血鬼坐在墓石前面，跟上次愛麗莎見到的一樣。國王轉(zhuǎn)過身子，因為他想像愛麗莎就是吸血鬼中的一員，而就在當(dāng)天晚上，她的頭還躺在自己的胸脯上。

“必須讓人民來審判她!”他說。

人民判決她火刑。她被從一個華麗的宮殿帶出來，進入一個又黑又潮的地窖。這里，風(fēng)從格子窗呼嘯而過。人們給她的不再是天鵝絨和絲綢，而是她采集來的一捆蕁麻。她織著硬硬的、讓人刺痛的鎧甲，用來當(dāng)作她的被褥。但這些東西正合她的心意。她重新開始工作，并向上帝祈禱。外面街頭的孩子們唱著歌兒譏諷她，沒有一個人用一句善意的話來安慰她。

但夜晚來臨的時候，窗格子邊響起了天鵝拍打翅膀的聲音——原來那是她的小哥哥。他找到了自己的妹妹，愛麗莎高興得大哭起來，盡管她知道正在臨近的夜晚是她生命的最后一夜。這時工作已經(jīng)快完成了，她的哥哥們也都到了這兒。

主教走過來，在她最后的時候陪伴著她，因為他已經(jīng)向國王保證將會這么做。但愛麗莎搖著頭，從臉色上手勢上都表明自己要求主教離開，因為這一夜她還要完成自己的工作呢。不然一切都白費了，她的所有眼淚，所有痛苦，所有的不眠之夜，都將付之東流。主教講了些惡毒的話，然后就離開了。但可憐的愛麗莎知道自己是清白無罪的，所以她繼續(xù)工作。

一只小老鼠從地上跑過來，把蕁麻拖到她的腳邊，好幫她一起干活。畫眉蹲在窗欄上，整夜都歡快地給她唱歌，鼓勵她不要喪失信心。

天剛蒙蒙亮，太陽一小時以后才會升起來。11個哥哥站在王宮的門口，要求見國王。人們告訴他們，這個要求是不可能實現(xiàn)的，因為現(xiàn)在夜色未褪，國王還在睡覺呢，不能打擾他。他們先禮后兵，鬧得衛(wèi)兵走過來，甚至連國王也出來了，問這兒究竟是怎么回事。正在這時，太陽升起來了，11個兄弟不見了，只見11只天鵝在宮殿上方飛翔。

所有的人都涌到城門前，因為他們都想看看巫婆是怎么被燒死的。一匹老馬拖著輛車，愛麗莎就坐在上面。人們給她穿上一件粗布喪服，她秀美的頭發(fā)披散在漂亮的頭上；她的臉像死人的臉一樣蒼白；她的嘴唇在輕輕地顫動，同時手指還在忙著編麻絲。盡管她正在走向死亡，但這仍然沒有打攪她的工作。她的腳邊放著10個鎧甲，她正忙著編第11個。圍觀的人都在嘲諷她。

“瞧那個巫婆，她嘴里嘟噥什么呀!她手里沒有拿《圣詩集》。確實沒有，她還帶著她那丑陋的妖物——把那東西撕成碎片!”

他們一齊走向她，想把她的那些鎧甲撕成碎片。這時11只天鵝飛了過來，落在馬車上，圍在她的身邊，拍著翅膀。圍觀者退到一邊，他們被嚇壞了。

“這是天意!她肯定是無辜的!”許多人都竊竊私語。但他們都不敢大聲說出來。

這時，劊子手抓住了她的一只手。她急忙將11件鎧甲扔給了天鵝，那些天鵝馬上變成了11個瀟灑的王子。但最小的哥哥還留著一只天鵝的翅膀，而不是長著人的胳膊，因為他的鎧甲少了一條袖子，愛麗莎還沒來得及織出來呢。

“現(xiàn)在我可以說話了!”她說，“我是清白的!”

親眼目睹這一切的人們都向她鞠躬，好像是面對一個圣人一樣。但她暈倒在哥哥的懷里，她承受了太多的擔(dān)心、焦慮和痛苦。

“是的，她是清白的!”大哥說。

于是他就把事情的來龍去脈都說了一遍。在他說這些話的時候，一陣香氣襲來，像是有千百萬朵玫瑰綻放一樣。柴堆上的每一根木頭都生出了根，抽出了枝，一道芬芳的籬笆出現(xiàn)在那兒，又高又大，長滿了玫瑰。在最高處，是一朵雪白晶亮的花兒，像一顆星星在閃爍。國王采下了這朵花，將它插在愛麗莎的胸前。她蘇醒過來，內(nèi)心平靜、快樂。

教堂里所有的鐘都自動地敲響，各種鳥兒成群結(jié)隊地飛過來。在回王宮的路上，人們舉行了盛大的婚禮游行，還沒有哪個國王見過那種場面呢。（全文完）