swans Quotes

“Ani was eager to learn the voice of every bird that nested on the palace grounds, but the swan pond drew her return day after day. She loved to watch them swim so slowly that the water hardly rippled and watch every silent, mild movement shimmer into meaning. Soon her throat and tongue could make nearly all the sounds of the swans, and she trumpeted gleefully.”

“Everyone used to say, ‘What a nice looking bunch of ducklings-all except that one. Boy, he’s really ugly.’ The really ugly duckling heard these people, but he didn’t care. He knew that one day he would probably grow up to be a swan and be bigger and look better than anything in the pond.”

“The swan answered, ‘If you want to find Tashi, you must go down to the pond. Drop this pebble into the water, and when the ripples are gone you will see where Tashi is hiding.”