Zwaan Kleef Aan (The Golden Swan)

Every 15 minutes the figures will move in this tiny puppet show

Story

Similar to a Grimm tale.

Once upon a time there was a princess who never laughed.
The king tried everything but nothing worked.
As a last resort the king announced that whoever could make her laugh would get to marry her.
Many tried but none succeeded.

There was a woodcutter who lived in the same realm. He had three sons.
The youngest was not as strong as his brothers and was often teased.
Everyone he knew called him Dimwit.
One day their father asked each of them what they wanted to be when they grew up. The strong brothers replied they wanted to be woodcutters. While the youngest said he would be king.

Once they were all done laughing the father sent each of them out into the forest in turn to chop wood.
They each met a cantankerous dwarf who demanded a share of their food.
The strong boys refused and misfortune befel them. While the youngest shared his meagre lunch willingly.
He was in turn rewarded with the gift of a beautiful golden swan.

As it had gotten late Dimwit stopped at a local inn to sleep.
The innkeepers daughters noticed the beautiful swan an tried to steal one of the golden feathers while he slept. But when she touched it she found she was stuck fast! Her sister tried to free her but became stuck herself.
In the morning Dimwit left with his swan and the ladies had no choice but to go along.
Along the road many people tried to free greedy daughters but they all got stuck.
In a short while Dimwit had quite the entourage.

He happened to pass by the princess window in this manner who saw and burst out laughing at this ridiculous sight.
True to his word the Dimwit and the princess were married and they were cheerful and happy for the rest of their lives.

To read the full story go to the Efteling souvenir shop and purchase the Efteling Book of Fairy Tales.

Get Swan stick on souvenirs from the Efteling souvenir shop