Cygnetta looked the perfect baby swan, but her behavior was anything but acceptable. While her siblings followed their parents in perfect formation, she was darting off to investigate everything in the lake. Just learning to be a swan bored her. She would rather try copy all the other birds and animals.

She followed the ducks, waddling and trying to quack. She awkwardly balanced on lily pads with the frogs. Worst of all, she loved hanging with the geese! Now, swans considered geese large ungainly, noisy, dirty, rude imitations of swans. Cygnetta would run with the geese through the dirty farmyard, bullying the other animals. With the geese, she stole corn from the chickens and oats from the horses. They chased the farmer’s children and dogs, scaring them with flapping wings and pecking beaks. She would return home muddy, unpreened, exhausted, and utterly happy.

Her parents were appalled. Her father blamed it all on her mother’s unorthodox background. Her mother blamed it on her father’s busy schedule and lack of parental attention. They bickered on and on as to whose fault it was, while the other swans watched Cygnetta’s antics with horror. They, of course, felt both parents were at fault, saying, “Why, what she needs is to be taken under a firm wing!

Cygnetta had inherited Swanlinda’s beauty, but her attitude was her own. Both beauty and attitude grew day by day. The young cobs found her intriguing. They followed her, courted her, and lied to each other about her morals. She ignored them.

When her mother begged her to please choose a mate and settle down, she exclaimed, “Those cobs are boring, arrogant and have no imagination whatsoever. This pond is far too small to be the entire world.” Her poor mother would reply, “Just wait. Raising a brood will prove to be quite an adventure, you’ll see!”

But off Cygnetta would fly...small, graceful, and trying with all her heart to produce a suitable honk.