Our story begins at the grand, royal court, where a magnificent ball is about to take place.
Servants are busy preparing the halls, setting out bedecked tables, clearing
space for the guests to arrive. The guest of honor, is of course,
the Prince himself. Prince Siegfried, who is about to turn 21. He is tall, dark-haired, and handsome.
To celebrate, there will be music, dancing, and décor such as has never
been seen before in the land. Yes, the prince is heir to the kingdom,
and his mother has high hopes for this special birthday.
Perhaps here, he will choose a wife of his own, a girl fit to rule their beautiful kingdom.
Perhaps here, during the ball, her son—her beloved son—will begin the journey to…
“Yes, mother, the journey to love…I want to marry for love,” he says,
when the queen approaches him. “No, my dear, the journey to goodwill,
I was about to say. For I did not marry your father out of love.
It was the will of our parents that two kingdoms be united. And so, we sat on the throne together,
as was planned for many years before our wedding day.”
As she speaks, she presents her son with a gift. It is covered in a silken cloth,
and when she lifts the cloth up, it reveals a beautiful crossbow.
“Exactly,” says another voice. It is his mother’s councilor and his mentor, von Rothbart. He seems
to always be interrupting their conversations. The Prince looks a bit disdainfully at his mother,
and then at von Rothbart. He is unhappy that they must have this conversation yet again.
He takes the crossbow from her hands, and leaves, without saying a word.
Heaving himself up on his horse, Siegfried gallops away, crossbow in hand.
He heads towards the forest, his mind a mix of thoughts and anxieties.
Must he always be concerned with what others feel is best for him?
Must he always obey? Must he always do his parents’ bidding and comply with their wishes?
At 21 years old, perhaps he can find a way out of this madness.
In the middle of the forest, there is a glistening lake.
And it is here that the prince often comes to think, or to read.
It is getting late. The evening light is fading, and he knows the forest will soon be very dark.
But he doesn’t care, it feels better to be out here on his own, in silence and solitude.
This time, as he approaches the water, he sees a bevy of swans flying over their own
reflection. He decides now is the time to try this new crossbow from his mother.
Carefully, he takes an arrow, fits it to the bow, and aims precisely at one of the swans.
However, before it can pierce her chest, the swan spreads her wings, spins
as magic dust falls over her in the evening glow….and suddenly, right before his eyes…
…the swan magically morphs…into a beautiful woman.
The prince watches; mesmerized; enraptured. Is this truly the enchanted forest he often
read about in fairy tale books as a child? Or is he simply dreaming?
Perhaps he has been thinking too much, and now his mind is playing tricks on him…
There are too many thoughts; too many questions.
Siegfried approaches the woman and cautiously holds out his hand for her to take. He does
not know how such a creature greets another, but his curiosity has now gotten the best of him.
Now, the moon is high above the lake, its glow casting a spotlight on silver waters.
The woman, just as surprised to see the prince, gives a smile, and then her hand.
As their eyes meet, their fingers touch, and their hearts melt in one swift moment.
They walk along the lake shore, hand in hand. At first, there is only silence between them,
as if speaking would break some sort of spell.
Finally, after a few long minutes, it is the prince who attempts conversation.
“Tell me your name,” he says. “I am called Odette,” the woman replies.
As they talk, he prods her to tell him what is this scene which he has just witnessed.
At first, she seems reluctant. But, with time, she finds she likes his company.
He finds out that she is a cursed princess. She, and the bevy of swans,
who are in fact her ladies-in-waiting, have been under the spell of von Rothbart.
The prince realizes what he suspected all along: the man is, in fact, an evil sorcerer.
During the day, Odette and her friends all become swans. And, under moonlight,
they reveal their true selves. Under the cloak of darkness,
nobody knows this secret that the forest and the lake keep hidden.
And, of course, only true love can break the curse.
Now, you may suppose that true love had already found its way to the lake,
and that, with a simple kiss, the prince can break this dark enchantment.
But, it is not to be…not yet. In that moment, the evil Rothbart appears,
his fiery eyes enraged. He places his strong arms on Odette's shoulders,
and tears her away from the prince.
“Dance away!” he orders. The women, cowering in fear, all move
away and run to the other side of the banks. Siegfried decides to not pursue Odette—for now.
He heads back to the castle, where the royal ball is in full swing.
Here, he finds many pretty maidens to dance with, and obliges a few—for his mother’s sake.
But nothing will take his mind off Odette. The music plays, his body dances in time to the
waltz. But he only longs to dance with Odette. Unbeknownst to him, the evil sorcerer Rothbart,
meanwhile, has cast a spell on his own daughter, Odile, to make her look exactly
like the woman the prince now loves. The doors of the great hall burst open,
and everyone turns to see the most beautiful woman standing at the entrance.
The prince turns towards Odile, thinking it is Odette.
Now, he cannot look away. Can it be that his dreams will indeed come true on this night?
He approaches her, cautiously, lest the sorcerer reappears to steal her away.
The prince invites the woman he assumes is Odette, to the dance floor, and she follows.
They dance, at first very formally, and then more intimately. The young woman
smiles—a bewitching smile—and the prince is convinced he has found his beautiful bride.
He will announce it tonight, he decides. For, what would make mother happier?
The music is playing, the other dancers are swaying, and the prince’s mood has changed from
melancholic to full of joy. At the end of the song,
the prince takes the woman to the stage, and announces for all to hear, that he is sorry.
He apologizes for leaving them earlier in the evening, but it was something his heart had
called him to do. He quickly explains that he has gone on a magical journey and returned.
“And now, she is here with us,” he concludes. “My intended bride.”
Everyone applauds the decision of the prince to take a wife. His mother is all smiles,
and in the corner, the sorcerer is gleaming. The prince turns to the woman at his side:
“I pledge to marry you and make you my queen,” he promises. “We will have a grand celebration.
In a few days’ time, you will stand here, by my side, and rule the kingdom with me.”
There is a bit of commotion and shuffling on the dance floor. The prince looks to the audience,
to see that there, before him, yet at a further distance, stands another woman.
He is confused. The woman below, pushing her way through the crowd, looks exactly the same as the
one who he now holds in his arms. Which one is his true love?
There must be an explanation. “Naturally,” a voice calls,
as the evil sorcerer steps forward. “Naturally, you want to marry for love.
But, my lad, I have been planning this moment for years. The moment when an enchanting spell
would call you away from your duties and entice you to follow your heart into the forest.
There, I planned, you would see the woman who would steal your heart away.
But you see, only I hold the key to the spell.
Now that you have promised your love—and your throne to another—you must keep your promise.”
“It cannot be,” says the prince, turning to look into the eyes of the woman that stands beside him.
But as he inspects her gaze, he sees that she has turned cold. And,
in that moment of recognition, she morphs into her true self: Odile—not Odette.
The prince cries out in horror as he realizes his mistake. He has pledged his
love to another woman, blindly. The prince dashes off the stage,
leaving Odile standing alone. He climbs down to reach out to Odette, who now looks at him with
glistening tears streaming down her face. The prince has indeed made a mistake. Too late,
and with too little time left to resolve anything.
The clock chimes midnight, and he knows that Odette will only appear as a beautiful woman
for about four more hours. After that hour, the sun will
begin to climb over those distant hills. The light in the forest will grow brighter.
Dawn will break. The spell, which keeps his lover bound, will remain unbroken.
He should have proclaimed his love to her on the lake!
He should not have let the evil force come between them!
He should not have waited an hour too long, or one more night.
…and yet, he did. In doing so, the prince
had made the biggest mistake of his life. He had promised his love and devotion to another.
The court heard everything he said. It is indeed too late.
Odette realizes this and runs away. She runs, runs, and does not stop until
she comes to the lake. It is so still now, so enchanting.
As a child, she wanted to stay here forever. But now, she is cursed under the moonlight,
and the water only feels like an appropriate grave.
Back in the castle, the prince has seen the real Odette running away. He drops the hand of Odile
and again summons his horse so that he can go and find her.
Leaving the party without an explanation, prince Siegfried hurries as fast as he can on horseback.
He must find her before it is really too late! At the lake, the prince finally arrives to see
Odette being consoled by her friends. They are too, enchanted and under this spell.
They comfort her and dry her tears. They do not see the prince approaching.
“Please,” he calls out, “Let me try to explain. I did not intend to marry another, and in fact,
I have not yet done so. The same sorcerer who cast this evil spell on you has also tricked me and
made me fall for an imposter. Please, Odette, do not hold this mistake against me…I love you.”
Odette turns to the prince upon hearing these honest words. As she looks his way,
she notices two giant black birds swooping down from the thick forest behind him.
“Look out, Siegfried,” she cries. The prince turns to see the creatures,
suddenly knowing in an instant that these two are Rothbart and his daughter under the
guise of night fowl. They have giant wings, and things that appear on their faces like beaks.
“A promise is a promise, dear prince,” says Rothbart,
coming closer to his face. “You have tricked me,”
the prince says, his defenses up, and his strength to fight the evil Rothbart renewed.
“I would rather die together with Odette than marry an imposter,” he calls out.
Rothbart and his daughter rush forward, attempting to lunge at the prince and hurt him.
However, their plan to do him harm is foiled. The prince is strong and ready to defend his
true love. He swoops over to Odette, whose feathers and wings are now forming, her face
morphing into a bird’s, and a beak also appearing where once her luscious lips almost kissed him.
As he sees the change taking place with the strength of the sun emerging,
the prince knows what he must do. He bends down to swoop up the swan,
dives into the lake, and swims into the water with her.
Rothbart and his daughter look on with horror as the prince and Odette disappear into the water.
The ripples from their dive grow into waves. The water, now a sea of glistening diamonds,
surrounds them like a wall, blocking the view of Rothbart and Odile.
Now, covering the lake are dozens of swans. They are no more silent, but squawking and barking,
the way swans do when they are defending their kind from danger.
You see, the prince had decided that he would much rather die
than marry the person he had not truly given his heart to.
Hand in hand, the two lovers disappear under the waters…for a few moments, the sorcerer and
his daughter watch in dismay as the bevy of swans and the prince fade from their sight.
But then, somewhere beyond the mist, they behold two figures forming, rising back up
out of the waters. The swans are no more. In their place, are dozens of girls, friends of Odette.
Leading the way is Odette herself—her hand still clasps the prince’s.
Together, they rise to the surface, floating serenely, the water is lifting them up. And,
as they take their breaths of air, they turn to each other knowingly.
The spell has been broken. They had decided to go together to the
depths of the lake…and yet, all was not lost. The prince had proven that his love for Odette
went even to the point of sacrificing his own life.
Rothbart and Odile watch as the two figures, still afloat, now ascend.
They rise higher, higher, higher. Two spirit beings in love, united. And, they will stay
united in the heavens, their next destination. The spirits of two lovers lift up into
the clouds, as do the spirits of all the other girls, the swans who followed them on the lake.
Elegantly, gracefully, they all keep rising, until finally, like the swans, they too, fly away.
This classic story has been told over and over again, in story books and on the ballet stage.
Swan Lake is a story of beauty and impossible love. Those who look upon
the prima ballerina playing Odette see her grace and angelic movements.
And, if they look deeper, they also see her pain.
She is confident with each stride, each step of the dance.
But sometimes, she dances alone, in isolation. For it is on the lake, in seeming isolation,
that she has found a way to cope with the sadness. She cannot break the spell on her own.
She must wait for her lover to come and discover her hiding place, to see her
both in the light, and in the darkness. In the end, evil cannot win over good.
Darkness cannot penetrate the light. Although all seems lost, it is far from hopeless.
And, even in death, the spirits of the two lovers rise to new heights, together.
Hand in hand, hearts combined. The music plays another long and soulful rift.
We see the light of dawn breaking, and we know that another day will find the lovers,
awakened from their dream, and stepping into a new, better, and brighter reality.
I hope you enjoyed this sleep story, and that it gives you courage tonight.
Remember, whatever you are going through tonight, your heart is strong enough to carry it.