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The sun rose like it did any other morning, but something didn’t feel right.
Stella had recently laid five eggs and had been carefully minding them so her baby swans would be healthy when they hatched.
She looked down at her future young only to realize there were no longer five eggs in the nest, but only four. One was missing!
She looked all around the nest, high and low, as far as she dared leave the others, but to no avail. One of her eggs was lost.
Simon, Stella’s husband tried to comfort her and began searching for the lost egg so that Stella could tend to the remaining four.
Three weeks went by, and the other eggs hatched, but there was still no sign of the missing swan.
The small swan family began establishing their routine of learning to swim, avoiding predators, and gathering food. The lake they lived on was quite vast, so there were plenty of opportunities for activities.
One day, as the family was out swimming, they noticed a duck family swimming off in the distance. One of the ducklings looked different from the others, but before Stella or Simon could investigate, shots rang out across the lake.
Hunters.
Quickly, the birds of all kinds dashed for cover. No time to investigate now.
Over the next few months, Stella continued to look for the duck family, but they were always just beyond her view. They must live on the other side of the lake. There was a large human population, full of hunters, on both sides of the lake, so venturing too far at this time of year was too risky.
As winter approached, the swan family made their preparations to ride out the weather. Their nest was close to a small river that never froze, so they didn’t have to migrate.
One winter evening, Simon heard what sounded like a young swan in distress just beyond the trees. He checked and saw that all of his young were accounted for and then went to investigate the noise. As he approached the lake, he saw a farmer reaching down into the frozen water to retrieve a young swan who had gotten stuck.
“Could it be? Is it the lost swan?” He thought. He wanted to follow the farmer, but the sun was beginning to set, and he knew if he didn’t get back to his family, he might not make it through the night. When Stella heard the story of the frozen, but alive, swan, her hope was rekindled.
As spring approached, the swan family began venturing out for afternoon swims. The young swans had grown so much, they were no longer grey hatchlings, but white and elegant.
One afternoon Simon and Stella were off gathering materials to refresh the nest, and the siblings went out for a swim.
Suddenly a melancholy looking swan approached them, “Please just kill me and put me out of my misery.” The siblings looked at each other and then at the stranger.
“Kill you? Why would we do that? Look at you! You are one of us! And you are the finest swan we have ever seen!”
The new swan looked at his reflection in the lake. All his life he had been bullied and tormented because he was an ugly duckling, but look at him now! He was a swan!
He joined in with the siblings and told them his story of woe and struggle.
The siblings began to wonder if this could be their long lost brother. They thought their parents could tell, so all five swans headed towards Simon and Stella.
Simon looked up from his gathering and saw his children approaching, but something was different. There weren’t just four children, there was a fifth swan their same age with them! Impossible!
“Stella, Look! Five!” He said breathlessly.
Simon and Stella rushed toward their children. They recounted how they had run into the new swan at the lake, and he told his story again.
The children were asked to line up together. As Simon and Stella compared features with the new swan, they determined this was indeed their long, lost son! The line of grey feather under both wings was a mark only their family carried.
The family was reunited at last, and the lost swan finally found home.
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