The Holiday Swan The swan spent time on the lake it had been spotted this year all the way back to April and it is now December People walking the lake would see the swan floating out on the lake in the company of Mallards, Grebes, and other waterfowl. The stories were told about the swan, how large and black it was a rare sighting in this part of the land. Speculations, discussions, and disputes as to its roots....indigenous.....no...oh it's from Australia but what would it be doing here In this cold part of the world...alone....must be a domestic that escaped...and the talks went on and on and you could hear people's chatter walking around the lake.. The leaves turned and Fall had arrived with a chill in the air with a black swan content on the lake feeding and mingling with the other waterfowl that accepted it as one of their own. Speculations continued and wonders of when the black swan would move on it was getting chiller by the day and the swan continued to stay and feed and swim with the ducks. One day the snow came and the swan continued to stay, eating and swimming and then it was colder and the swan was colder and the talk went on from the lake walkers when will it go, maybe it can't fly, maybe it's sick... but no mind was set on the swan it had to be okay... Another day passed and there was more snow, had six or eight inches and ice was on the lake and the swan was looking sad and worn and swam away from the ducks to sit on the ice as it was cold and not feeling well...and people looked on and wondered what to do with this elusive black swan on the lake. It looked so cold, it wasn't eating or swimming, just sitting on the ice. People speculated how to get the swan, go out in a kayak, get a boat, get a group of people together to get it as swans are strong but this one looked weaker by the day. People continued to plan on how to capture the swan and the cold days of December continued on with a black swan on the ice.
Today the enormous, beautiful, elusive black swan gave in to the cold, and the feathers enclosed in frost, did once last float on the lake and sunk below the water line to give up its life to the lake. When native American Indians knew they were at the end of their life they would go lie in a snowbank, it was two-fold as it ended any pain they were having and the numbness from the snow would put them into a peaceful rest and they would die.... The Indians learned much from the swan and the respectful way to pass in peace..... ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
