Who is The Swan Princess?
The Swan Princess is the magical heroine of “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” a verse fairy tale by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Prince Gvidon saves a swan, and she helps him in return. Later the bird reveals her human form and becomes the prince’s wife.
Gvidon saves the swan, and she repays him with help. The wonders of his island and the prince’s own transformations come from her magic. For your own story, borrow this exchange of kindnesses: who helped the heroine first, and how will she thank her friend? Every portrait of the Swan Princess, in a painting, an opera or a cartoon, is its own reading of Pushkin’s tale.
About the story: Wikipedia: The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
Draw the Swan Princess’s island
Our own activity ideas inspired by the story — for drawing, toys and telling stories aloud.
- Draw an island with three kind wonders. One helps travelers, the second helps animals, and the third makes life more fun for the people who live there. How do visitors find out about each wonder?
- Invent a heroine who can turn into a bird. When is it better for her to fly, and when to walk beside her friends? Draw the same day from both points of view.
Talk about it together: What kind wonder will your heroine give back to someone who helped her?
Let’s play!
How to invent your own three wonders
Let each wonder solve a small problem for the islanders: finding the way, growing a garden or delivering letters. Write the names down or draw them. To keep the story going, use our story plan built on a wish, an obstacle and help.
A question about the heroine
Who wrote the story of the Swan Princess?
The Swan Princess appears in Alexander Pushkin’s “The Tale of Tsar Saltan.” The 1994 American cartoon The Swan Princess is a different story, loosely based on the ballet Swan Lake.