“Three swans means danger is near. So what do four swans mean?” Fiona asked.
“Ach, no, Fiona,” said her mom. ” The three swans must be flying to signal danger. Those four swans, swimming — well, that’s a different story. Would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, please,” Fiona said.
As they trudged along the beach toward home, Mom began. “The King of the Swans had a beautiful daughter named Eala. Male swans, you know, are called cobs, and two cobs were always assigned to be with Eala, one of either side of her. When either cob sensed danger, they urged her to fly to safety. They flew in that three swan formation. That’s how the three-swan story came to be. The cobs had a keen sense of nearby trouble.
“When cobs from other flocks tried to approach Eala, her guards sensed them coming and helped her escape.”
“How did they know about the other cobs?” Fiona asked.
“Guard cobs have an intuition,” Mom explained. “They can detect evil intent better than any other creature.”
“So how did the fourth one get there?”
“Ah — only a cob that is pure of heart gets past the guards and is worthy of the princess.”
“So he’s good?”
“Yes — he passed the test,” Mom replied. “Eala was the first swan to have guards, but it continues today.”
Fiona furrowed her brow. “I think I want cobs, too.”
“Ah, my Fiona, you don’t need cobs. Human girls are given that intuition, Learn to listen to it.”
250 words.
My submission to this week’s Unicorn Challenge, whose only requirements are base the story on the picture and limit yourself to 250 words.
I read somewhere that three swan flying in formation portends disaster. Is it true? Is a black cat an evil omen? How about broken mirrors? Who knows.
And I certainly don’t know about cob guards — total fiction.
Should girls listen to their creep-meters? YES!
Oh, and — Eala is the Gaelic word for swan.
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
Lovely tale. Always trust your instincts.
Lovely story đĽ°
Delightful tale, Sally.
And sound advice.
Beautiful tale I could hear the Scottish accent as I read it.
Sometimes they need cobs before/until they fine tune their intuition. Unfortunately some never seem to develop it at all.
So true!
Sally I really enjoyed this tale – it could become a new modern story! It is that engaging!!
A fascinating and engaging story. I do like the idea that ‘human girls’ have the same intuition as the guards. It’s probably true, however I’m not sure every human girl masters the art of listening to it. đ¤
This is a conversation I have had with my daughters multiple times. Any time that they say someone makes them feel uncomfortable for reasons like inappropriate comments, double entendres, invading personal space, etc I tell them to listen to their gut. Trust it. You can still be polite while holding someone at arm’s length.
I don’t know if there’s a three-swan-story or not but that is a moot point.
Your story will do very nicely, Sally! A lovely tale with some sage advice thrown in for good measure!
What a charming story.
A ‘story of a story’, from the technical viewpoint, a lot more difficult than it may seem.
At least when done so skillfully.
Awesome tale! đđđ Definitely listen to the creep meter!