The Twelve Brothers
The Twelve Brothers — an illustrated tales story. 10 illustrated pages, free to read on Wonder Tales.
Page 1
In the Painted Desert, where the sands shifted hues with every sunrise, lived a queen, Isolde, whose womb remained barren. Her twelve sons, strong and proud, were the jewels of her heart. But a shadow loomed, a whispered prophecy foretelling a cruel twist: if Isolde bore a daughter, her sons would transform into ravens, forever bound to the skies. A fate she desperately wished to avert, for love and for fear.
Page 2
Years passed, marked by feasts and hunts, prayers and pleas. One morning, a different light streamed through Isolde's window. She knew, before the midwife spoke, that her world had shifted. A daughter, Elara, lay cradled in her arms. Isolde wept, not from joy, but from the cold dread of the prophecy fulfilled.
Page 3
A piercing cry shattered the morning calm. The brothers, gathering in the courtyard, felt a searing pain as feathers sprouted from their skin, bones contorting. Their human forms dissolved, replaced by the sleek, black plumage of ravens. With anguished cries, they took flight, circling the castle once before disappearing into the vastness of the Painted Desert. Only Elara, innocent and unaware, gurgled softly in her mother's arms.
Page 4
Years spun into a tapestry of sorrow and guilt. Elara, now a young woman, discovered an ancient tapestry depicting twelve ravens circling a mountain of obsidian. An old woman, a weaver, told her the legend. "They can be returned to human form," the weaver rasped, "but only by a heart filled with purest love and a task most perilous."
Page 5
Elara ventured into the Forest of Whispers, a place where shadows danced and secrets clung to every leaf. A gnarled tree, its branches laden with golden fruit, offered her succor. A voice, like rustling leaves, tempted her. "Rest, child. Eat of my fruit. Forget the ravens, forget the sorrow." Elara remembered her brothers' faces, the weight of her mother's grief. "Never!" she cried, pushing past the tempting tree.
Page 6
Deeper in the forest, she encountered a shimmering pool, its surface like a mirror reflecting her deepest desires. She saw herself, a queen adorned in jewels, surrounded by adoring subjects, her brothers forgotten. But then she thought of Elara then remembered something Oscar Wilde once said about temptation. 'I can resist everything except temptation.' She knew this vision was a lie, a gilded cage woven from selfish dreams. She smashed the reflection with a stone, shattering the illusion.
Page 7
The path led Elara to the Obsidian Peak, a mountain of black glass that pierced the sky. Ravens circled its summit, their cries echoing like mournful bells. A wizened crone stood at the base, her eyes like chips of ice. "Only a shirt woven of thistle-down can break the curse," she croaked. "But each shirt will cost you your voice, your sight, your memories."
Page 8
Elara began to weave, her fingers bleeding, her voice fading with each shirt completed. The sixth shirt cost her her sight; she wove on, guided by memory and touch. The eleventh stole her memories; she wove on, driven by an unshakeable love. With the twelfth shirt complete, Elara was empty, a hollow shell, yet her heart overflowed with a love that transcended sacrifice.
Page 9
Elara cast the shirts into the air. They soared like white birds, enveloping the ravens. One by one, the ravens transformed, their black plumage replaced by human flesh, their anguished cries by gasps of wonder. Twelve brothers, weary but whole, knelt before their sister, their eyes filled with unspeakable gratitude. Their sacrifices were complete.
Page 10
Isolde arrived, drawn by a song only a mother's heart could hear. She embraced her sons, then her daughter, whose silence spoke volumes. Elara had given everything to reclaim her brothers, proving that true love knows no bounds. The desert was forever changed by their sacrifice, where the sands shimmered gold with thistles in perpetual bloom, a song of devotion whispered on the wind.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
Questions and answers
Read Wonder Tales on your phone
Wonder Tales is available on Android. Get Wonder Tales on Google Play.