In the tale, a peasant couple find a swan or goose and bring it home, which transforms into a human girl they adopt as their daughter.
The tale was first published by Carl Cappeller [sv] in a 1924 German language translation of Lithuanian fairy tales with the title Von der Schwanenjungfrau, die des Königs Gattin wurde[1] ("About the Swan Maiden who became a King's Wife").
One day, she takes her son to the garden and sees her swan flock flying overhead.
The old man advises him to put some tar on the windowsill the next time the swan comes to rock the child.
[4] The tale was classified by Bronislava Kerbelyté as type AT 400* of the international Aarne-Thompson Index,[5] also known as The Swan Maid.
[6] "The Swan Maiden" also functions as a frequent introduction to the more general type ATU 400, "The Man on a Quest for the Lost Wife".
[7] Lithuanian folklorist Jonas Balys [lt], in his analysis of Lithuanian folktales (published in 1936), identified a specific version of the Swan Maiden narrative in Lithuania, which he classified as type 404*, Mergaitė - gulbė ("The Swan Maid") - not included at the international Aarne–Thompson Index at the time.
[8] Fellow folklorist Bronislava Kerbelyte [lt] reports only 11 Lithuanian entries as separate tales of type AaTh 400*: the bird maiden (swan, duck, goose) loses her featherskin to a human hunter or to a human couple, but later regains it when her swan flock gives her a new set.
Some time later, a prince passes by the old couple's house, falls in love with the now human swan maiden and marries her.
[13] Scholar S. S. Sabitov located a similar narrative in the "Catalogue of Tales of Magic from the Mari people", indexed as type 400, "Девушка-лебедь" ("Swan Girl)".
[14] In a tale from the Cheremis (Mari people), collected by Arvid Genetz from an informant in District of Krasnoufimsk, Province of Perm, the swan maiden is captured by a human and marries him.
[18] In a tale from the Chuvash people, "Альдюк" ("Aldyuk"), a poor old couple has a son named Ivan.
Some time later, a flock of geese flies over the house and begs Aldyuk to join them, but the girl says her goose coat has been burnt.
[19] A similar narrative is attested in the Bulgarian folktale catalogue indexed as type *400A, "Птица-дъщеря" ("Bird-daughter"): a peasant couple find a lame duck and bring it home, which takes off its birdskin and becomes a human girl.
In this tale, a prince named Ivan, son of a Tzar (sic), captures a swan with pure white feathers near some marshlands, but decides to spare it and make it his pet.
Ivan marries the swan maiden and she gives birth to a baby boy "near the end of the winter".
As time passes and seasons change, the swan maiden appears more taciturn and quiet.