The Swan and the Chickens, a fairy tale

Based on a story told to me by Janine...

Once upon a time, there was a Swan who came to realize that, as much as some of the other animals enjoyed it, the pond where she spent her time was no longer as beautiful and peaceful to her as it once had been. She shared the pond with many different kinds of animals, but there was one in particular of whom she had grown tired: the Chicken. The Chicken liked to cluck around the edge of the water where the Swan swam and make a lot of noise about unimportant things. She liked to peck at some of the animals at the pond, including the Swan, to keep them in the areas she had determined to be theirs, while to others she gave presents and allowed them to move about the pond area. At times, the Swan had thought she would like to move to a different area, to do something different. She had seen some of the things the other animals did, and thought she'd like to give them a try. Perhaps she wanted to be like the Beaver, solving problems of flooding and drought by building beautiful dams. Maybe she wanted to try out digging like the Mole, who got to dig into interesting things, and was always finding something new and exciting to share with everyone. But everytime she tried, the Chicken was there, pecking at her until she was forced back into the water. After awhile, she found she didn't have much fight left in her to try and it was easier to stay in the pond and swim, as she had always done. After a while, the Chicken seemed to grow just as tired of pecking at the Swan as the Swan was of being pecked, but still the Chicken continued to peck anyway, so the Swan decided it was finally time to move on and find a new pond.

She knew of another large pond, about the same size as her pond, on the other side of the hill. She even knew some animals who had come from that pond to hers, and some who had gone from her pond to that one. She had visited it a couple of times, and though she knew that the pond was very similar to her current pond, in her eyes, it was far more appealing. The water seemed bluer, the grass greener, the air fresher. She had heard from some of these animals that the other pond also had a Chicken. Some animals didn't like the other Chicken, saying that he could be just as loud and irritating as the Swan's Chicken. But the Swan decided that it was worth it to try something new. After all, could a new Chicken possibly be any worse than her current Chicken? It seemed hard to imagine. Maybe that Chicken would at least let her out of the water once in a while so she could explore the area around the pond, as her current Chicken never had.

She told the Chicken that she would be leaving, and the Chicken seemed unconcerned. She made arrangements to move, but decided to stay at the old pond until the monthly clean-up week was done. Once a month, all the animals worked together (while the Chicken supervised) to clean up the area in and around the pond and put things back tidy again. The Swan felt that it was important for the animal friends she was leaving behind that she stay one last time and help them, particularly to the Golden Goose, who she knew would likely be the best swimmer left in the pond, and therefore take on more and more of the Chicken's attention. The Chicken liked the Golden Goose, but the Swan knew that even being liked by the Chicken was sometimes not easy to bear.

As the days of the monthly clean-up approached, however, the Chicken grew more and more agitated. News of other animals leaving the pond - for new ponds in various places and sizes - had spread and the Chicken was concerned about how the pond would stay clean with so few animals to help. And without anyone to supervise, there was a greater chance that the Chicken would have to do some of the clean-up work herself. So, unknown to the Swan, the Chicken spoke with the Swan's new Chicken. She told the new Chicken that, even though the Swan would be moving to the new pond after this month's clean-up, she wanted the Swan to return to her old pond for the following month's clean-up. The new Chicken, being a chicken as he was, agreed, telling the old Chicken that he wanted to make sure there was peace between their two ponds and that he would work to make sure that the Swan's move was seamless to them all. When the Swan found out about their discussion, she was indignant. How dare the Chickens discuss her comings and goings without her? It was the peck of all pecks, as if the old Chicken was trying to keep the Swan in her pond one last time. The old Chicken tried to make it all sound okay, even offering presents to the Swan in return for coming back. The Swan resisted. The presents sounded good, but her pride was worth more than even the finest lilly pad in the pond. She wanted to be rid of the pond that had become dirty and smelly and confining in her eyes. She wanted to spread her wings at the new pond and not look back. She would keep in touch with her animal friends from the old pond, that was to be sure. They had all already made arrangements to meet in the dairy barn just down the road from both ponds for cheese snacks at least once a month. She did not want to go back and sit in the old pond's murky water, but she wondered what would happen with the new Chicken if she refused. Would he turn into the same troublesome pest that the old Chicken had become for her? As she packed her things to leave the old pond, she pondered her choices. The Swan left for her new pond still undecided about whether or not to return to the old pond for the next month's clean-up week.

In the end, the Swan decided that she would offer support to her animal friends from the old pond for the following month's clean-up, but she would do it without actually getting in the water and without actually touching anything at the old pond - so as to not cross-contimanate the water from both ponds. She would allow them to send the messenger Pigeon to her at the new pond with questions as often as they liked. She would answer questions for the other animals about where to put things away and where to find the cleaning supplies. She would avoid her former Chicken as much as possible. And she would NOT allow the Chicken to peck her back into the murky water from which she had finally escaped. The Swan felt good about her decision - she would help, but on her own terms, not either of the Chickens'.

And she lived happily ever after.