<p> 1 Swansong</p><p>2</p><p>3 Paul Smith</p><p>4</p><p>5 “Look, father, an elephant! He makes such a strange sound.”</p><p>6 “An elephant makes big, scary sounds to frighten off the other males, so he can be the </p><p>7 dominant male and impress the girls. Plus he just likes showing off.”</p><p>8 “And the girl elephants?”</p><p>9 “The female elephants don’t get spooked. They just jab the male with their tusks. Or they get</p><p>10 a good lawyer.”</p><p>11 “Elephants have lawyers?”</p><p>12 “The smart ones do, the matriarchs. Look at that. Do you know what animal that is?”</p><p>13 “That’s a hyena!”</p><p>14 “Right! A hyena.”</p><p>15 “What kind of a sound does a hyena make?” 16 “A hyena makes a loud, sarcastic laugh, like he is making fun of the world. He does that </p><p>17 because he’s a predator, a scavenger who loathes himself. He uses his laugh to show everyone </p><p>18 he is an empty shell of an animal without hope or pity or anything.”</p><p>19 “That’s sad.”</p><p>20 “You’re only four years old. When you get older, promise me you’ll never laugh like a hyena.”</p><p>21 “I promise. And what animal is that?”</p><p>22 “The little sign here says it’s a trumpeter swan. It’s a kind of bird.”</p><p>23 “Does the trumpeter swan sing like other birds?”</p><p>24 “It says the trumpeter swan has a swansong, a very sad, mournful call because he hurts </p><p>25 inside.”</p><p>26 “Why does the swan hurt inside?”</p><p>27 “The male swan hurts inside because once his young are hatched, the mother takes them </p><p>28 away from him. It can happen in a nice place like this, a pond with willow trees and lily pads, </p><p>29 cheerful-looking, but unhappy. Sometimes the male swan has been like a stupid hyena or an </p><p>30 arrogant bull elephant. And the mama swan is not forgiving. Aha! There is your mother now, </p><p>31 at the entrance.”</p><p>32 “Mom, mom, we saw the animals!”</p><p>33 “I’ve been waiting fifteen minutes. We need to hurry.” 34 “We saw elephants!”</p><p>35 “You must have seen the whole zoo. I’ve just been standing around.”</p><p>36 “We saw all the different kinds.”</p><p>37 “How nice, mammals and birds and reptiles.”</p><p>38 “I explained the differences between the males and the females.”</p><p>39 “Sure you did. How about the Farm-in-the-Zoo Exhibit? That’s where they keep the geldings.”</p><p>40 “David doesn’t have to go to the zoo to see one of them.”</p><p>41 “Mom, the girl elephants jab the males with their tusks.”</p><p>42 “See?”</p><p>43 “Boy elephants are always underestimating the girls, not the other way around.”</p><p>44 “I’m sure you’ll teach David a lot about how females, about fairness, about the dissolution of </p><p>45 trust, fairness again.”</p><p>46 “Fairness has been decided. And you’re broke.”</p><p>47 “I had some help getting there.”</p><p>48 “And elephants have lawyers, mom!” 49 “Look, David and I are going to the airport. If you want to tag along, we can drop you off at </p><p>50 your flat.”</p><p>51 “No, I’ll walk. It’s spring. Nothing like a brisk walk in the city while I plan out the rest of my </p><p>52 life.”</p><p>53 “Two miles? That is brisk.”</p><p>54 “A brisk trot, then.”</p><p>55 “Will we go to the zoo again, father?”</p><p>56 “Try asking your mom.”</p><p>57 “Mom?”</p><p>58 “Oh, I don’t know. Zoos have so many germs.”</p><p>59 “There’s your answer, David. Germs are bad for you. So are elephants. So are geldings. </p><p>60 Luckily, I’m a trumpeter swan with a sad song. I’ll sing it awhile and hopefully bring some germs</p><p>61 back to your life one day soon. Give your father one more hug. The swan forgets nothing, no </p><p>62 matter where his children go, to another pond, another country. What strong arms you have! </p><p>63 Find a pond of your own, David. Find a pond they can never take away from you!”</p><p>64</p><p>65 END</p>