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Illustration for The Wild Swans

Dutch · Beginner

De wilde zwanen

Adapted from The Wild Swans

By Hans Christian Andersen

A princess works in silence to free her brothers from an enchantment that turns them into swans.

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Beginner sample in Dutch

Scene 1

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Illustration for the scene “The wicked stepmother”

Scene 1 · Beginner

De boze stiefmoeder

The wicked stepmother

Dutch

Ver weg, in een land waar de zwaluwen in de winter naartoe vliegen, woonde een koning. Hij had elf zonen en een dochter, Elisa. De prinsen gingen naar school met een ster op hun borst en een zwaard aan hun zij. Ze leerden snel en konden goed lezen. Elisa had een prachtig prentenboek. De kinderen waren heel gelukkig.

English translation

Far away, in a land where the swallows fly in winter, there lived a king. He had eleven sons and a daughter, Elisa. The princes went to school with a star on their chests and a sword at their sides. They learned quickly and could read well. Elisa had a beautiful picture book. The children were very happy.

Dutch

Maar toen trouwde hun vader met een boze koningin. Zij werd hun stiefmoeder en hield helemaal niet van hen. Dat merkten de kinderen meteen na de bruiloft. Tijdens het feest speelden ze dat ze bezoek kregen. Gewoonlijk kregen ze dan gebakjes en appels. Nu gaf de koningin hun een kopje met zand. Ze moesten maar doen alsof het gebak was.

English translation

But then their father married an evil queen. She became their stepmother and did not love them at all. The children noticed this as soon as the wedding was over. During the celebration, they pretended to have visitors. Usually, they were given pastries and apples. This time, the queen gave them a cup of sand. They would just have to pretend it was cake.

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