IN A POND at the center of the
Woodland lived a flock of beautiful swans.
One of these swans, however, was so
much more beautiful than the others that creatures came from all over just to
watch her glide gracefully across the water.
The other swans were terribly
jealous of the extra attention she got.
"Hmph!" said one,
"Everyone says they like the way she glides, but it's really because of
her looks!"
"That's right," said
another, "I've seen ducks and geese every bit as graceful as her but you
don't see anyone lining up to watch them!"
"Well, you know," said the
third, "I have it on good authority that she doesn't even do her own
gliding."
The especially beautiful swan
overheard this and was hurt and confused. She knew she was beautiful (she'd
seen her reflection after all) but truly believed that her gliding was as
graceful as gliding got and that her popularity had nothing at all to do with
her appearance. And she had never, ever used a gliding double.
To find out once and for
all whether she was really admired for her grace or if she was just getting by
on her looks, she decided to pretend to be some other type
of waterfowl.
To research her ruse, she took several
lunch meetings with a duck, and lived with a family of geese for a week.
When the beautiful swan returned to
the pond, she was cleverly disguised as the silliest goose you ever saw.
She spent a couple of days gliding
back and forth as gracefully as ever, all the while keeping a sharp eye out to
see if anyone was watching.
Some Woodland creatures standing on
the shoreline (not so many as usual, but respectable for an opening weekend)
commented that the silly goose out there sure could glide gracefully.
Even the swans, who normally
didn't give geese a second glance, noticed her.
"She can glide well, said one,
"I'll give her that."
"Pity she's not a swan,"
said another, "Then she'd really have something."
"Yes," said the third,
"It isn't fair, I suppose, but a goose that silly looking doesn't stand a
chance in this pond."
Upon hearing that last remark, the
beautiful swan threw off the
disguise, revealing herself to be one of them, albeit way more beautiful.
The other swans honked wildly, first
in shock and surprise, then with praise for her remarkable performance.
"A tour-de-force!" said
one, "If you watch only one swan pretending to be a goose this year, make
it her!"
"How brave of you,
darling" said another, "What was it like to not be so
beautiful?"
"Whose feathers are you
wearing?" asked the third, "They are just fabulous!"
The beautiful swan told the others
all about how it felt to not be recognized, how many hours it had taken to put
on the disguise and how the whole experience had given her a newfound respect for
geese and, to a lesser extent, ducks.
As soon as the beautiful swan glided
away, once again feeling very good about herself, the other swans started
trash-talking about her.
"What a show-off!" said
one, "What, exactly, was that supposed to prove?"
"Why would a swan pretend to be
a goose?" said another, "Geese want to be swans, not the other way
around!"
"Some birds will do anything to
get attention," said the third, "Talk about needy!"
Moral: Birds of a feather, my
ass.
