Eglė žalčių karalienė 

Eglė the Queen of Grass Snakes

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. They had twelve sons and three daughters. The youngest daughter was named Eglė.

One summer evening, the three sisters decided to bathe in the water. After swimming and refreshing themselves, sisters got out on the shore to get dressed. When trying to reach the dress, the youngest sister saw a grass snake curled up inside the sleeve of her dress. The eldest sister grabbed a stick and was about to hit the grass snake when suddenly…

……. it spoke like a person:

“Dear Eglė, promise to marry me, and I’ll leave your dress.”

Eglė was scared and angry.

“Give me back my dress and go away!” she shouted.

But the snake didn’t move.

“Promise to marry me, and I’ll go.”

Her oldest sister whispered:

“Just promise. He’s only a snake. You won’t really have to marry him.”

So Eglė made the promise.

A few days later, many grass snakes came to Eglė’s house to take her as a bride. Her parents didn’t want to give her away. They tried to trick the snakes by sending a goose, a sheep, and then a cow dressed in Eglė’s clothes. But each time, a cuckoo bird warned the snakes:

“They fooled you!”

Finally, the snakes came back angry. Eglė’s parents gave up and let her go.

At the shore, Eglė met a handsome young man. He said he was the grass snake she had promised to marry. They crossed the sea together and arrived at a beautiful underwater castle.

They got married and lived happily. Eglė started to feel at home.

Nine years passed. Eglė and her husband, Žilvinas, had three sons—Oak, Ash, and Birch—and one daughter, Aspen.

One day, the oldest son asked:

“Mom, where do your parents live? Can we visit them?”

Eglė missed her family and asked Žilvinas for permission to visit. He agreed, but only if she could complete three hard tasks:

1. Spin endless silk – An old woman told Eglė to burn the silk. Inside it, a toad was hiding and making more silk. Once it was burned, the task was done.

2. Wear out iron shoes – Žilvinas gave her heavy iron shoes and said she could go when they were worn out. Eglė took them to a blacksmith, who heated them. She wore them out in just three days.

3. Bake a cake with no tools – With help from the old woman again, Eglė used a sieve to get water and made the dough.

After completing the tasks, Žilvinas took Eglė and the children across the sea. He warned her to return in nine days and to call him with special words when she came back.

Eglė’s family was happy to see her, but her brothers became jealous. They wanted to kill Žilvinas. They tricked little Aspen into telling them the secret words Eglė used to call her husband.

On the ninth day, Eglė stood by the sea and called:

“Žilvinas, dear Žilvinas,
If you’re alive – come in milky foam,
If you’re dead – come in bloody foam…”

Bloody foam came, and a voice answered:

“Your twelve brothers killed me with scythes.
Aspen, our dear daughter, gave away the secret.”

Eglė was heartbroken. She cried and said:

“Who will welcome us now?
We have no home…”

Then she turned her children into trees:

• Oak, Ash, and Birch became strong trees.

• Aspen became a shaking tree that trembles in the wind.

• Eglė herself became a dark, lonely fir tree.

And that’s why, even today, aspen trees shake in the wind—and the sea still tells the sad story of Eglė, the Queen of Grass Snakes.

THE ENDINGS CREATED BY THE STUDENTS. 

Slovenian ending 

The snake turned into sand which the wind blew away. The young sister then felt dizzy and got ill.

She stayed in bed for three days, and every day she got greener. The forth day she went outside and all the grass snakes around came to her and brought her a crown. She thought that she was dreaming but NO!

This was all true, and that‘s how she became the queen of grass snakes.

Catalan ending 

when suddenly the snake talks and asks to be his wife and he gives her clothes, and then the girl accepts.  Her sisters say she shouldn’t accept this offer and she can use their clothes, but the girl goes with the snake.

Later the girl goes to the snake house and discovered that the snake was a human, then they live together and have a happy life.

Greek ending 

…the snake looked up and said “Wait! Don’t hit me! I’m not bad!”

The girls were very surprised. “Did the snake just talk?” asked one sister.

“Yes I can talk,” said the snake. “And I’m here to find a friend.”

The snake looked at Eglė and said “I think you are kind. Will you be my friend?”

Eglė looked at her sisters. Then she smiled. “Yes I will be your friend.”

The snake was happy. He jumped onto a rock and said “Come with me to see my home. It’s very cool!”

The girls followed the snake to a small hole in the ground. When they looked inside, it was shiny and full of little lights.

“This is the entrance to the snake world,” said the snake. “Eglė you can visit any time.”

Eglė waved goodbye to her sisters and went inside. She wasn’t scared. She was excited.   And that is how Eglė found a new world and a new best friend.