The story of the Irish woman Fionnuala began when the Aebh married
the Irish king Lir. Aebh died in child-birth, after bearing Fionnuala and
three sons. Lir married again, this time to the sorceress Ajofe who, jealous
of her stepchildren, decided to kill them. Aiofe made believe she was sick
and couldn't take care of the children, so they were sent them to their
mother's far-off ancestral home. While they were traveling, Aiofe cast
a spell on them. The children were thereby changed from their human forms,
into swans. Aiofe's magic was so strong that there was no one in Ireland
who could change back the children of Lir for 900 years. But King Bobh,
Aebh's father and Fionnuala's grandfather, discerned what had happened
and vowed to punish Ajofe. He trapped her and, through magic, changed her
into a crane; she still haunts the Irish countryside in that form. Meanwhile
Fionnuala and her brothers remained trapped as swans. Fionnuala nurtured
her brothers during the 900 years of banishment from human form. Finally
they were freed from enchantment and, crumpling into impossibly aged people,
died almost immediately.
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