The Silver Swan
Genre: Animation/Family/Fantasy
Directors: Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey
Writer: Jacob Jones
Voice Cast: Morgan Freeman, Emmy Rossum
Plot: DISCLAIMER: The following feature will be told both in part by the stylings of The Kings’ Singers and the narrator (Morgan Freeman). We thank both for their participation.
Once upon a time, out in the faroff brooks of Ireland, where the trees swayed among the breeze and the brook babbled and bobbed along the river, there lived a beautiful young swan with a long, shiny golden beak, shimmering black eyes and long, neatly trimmed silver feathers, granting her the name of the Silver Swan (Voiced by Emmy Rossum).
All the animals by the lake loved the swan, for she was beautiful and swam about with grace and precision. Yet even so, the swan was unhappy. Every day, she would wake up and hear the chirping noise of songbirds singing their merry tune, the croaking of frogs as they hopped from one lily pad to another, the quacking of ducks as they waddled into the river, yet the swan, as graceful as she was, did not speak. For she had no voice of her own.
For years, the swan had wanted so desperately to sing and talk to her animal friends. Yet, whenever she tried to open its beak, no sound would come out. Spring past, summer too, fall and winter, no matter what season, the swan continued to yearn for the day that she too would speak. A dream that she thought would never come true.
One day, however, the Silver Swan noticed a beaver scurrying down the path, carrying with it a map. Now, the Silver Swan had never seen a beaver down this part of the lake before, so she followed the beaver down the path until finally, the beaver stopped in its tracks, its beady eyes scouring through a piece of paper.
The swan gently approached the beaver, nodding in acknowledgement of its presence. The beaver however, paid no attention. The swan stood about, unsure of what to do. Why had the beaver rejected their bow?
The swan lightly bobbed its head up and down in a final bid to get the beaver’s attention. Yet the beaver stayed focused on their paper. Now the swan was really perplexed. What was so special about this piece of paper that the beaver would ignore all of her gestures? The swan swam towards the beaver, her eyes gazed on the paper, and wouldn’t she believe it, it was no ordinary paper. This was a map, guiding the way to a place called the Land of Harmony.
Well, the Silver Swan was very excited. She spun around and around in the lake over the idea. As she did, however, she splashed several drops of water onto the beaver. The beaver tapped onto the map, silently acknowledging the swan’s presence. By watching the swan bob her head up and down, he could tell that she wanted to join him, so the beaver held the map up to the swan, motioning for her to follow him.
The beaver and swan would travel down the river, stopping by to greet the praying mantis along the way. Before they could travel any further, however, the swan spotted a mess of lily pads scattered about, frogs hopping here and there, to and fro, blocking the pathway.
The beaver was frustrated. Now they had no way of reaching the Land of Harmony! While the beaver stewed in their sorrow, the swan examined the hopping path of each frog and got an idea.
She swam up to the lily pads, hoping to catch the eye of the next frog she saw. As luck would have it, one tiny little frog would spot the swan, stunning in size and stature. He hopped up to the swan, landing on her beak. The frog and swan eyed each other, not sure of what to say.
Before long, the frog’s eyes would motion towards the map, and he too would learn of the swan and beaver’s journey to the Land of Harmony. The frog had always wanted to find his own voice, having grown tired of ribbeting in the pond, so when the frog saw that the path had been blocked, he turned towards his friends, motioning for them to move their pads aside.
The frogs, wanting to be kind to their young friend, hopped off their pads, setting them aside so the swan could move forward. The swan thanked the little frog by giving him a little peck on the cheek and invited him to join them by sitting on her back. So they went over, continuing their journey towards the Land of Harmony.
The days passed by, and the river grew long and arduous, the mornings being harsh and long, the evenings being dark and cold. All the animals grew tired from their travels.
And hungry.
Lucky for them, the beaver knew of a place where they could stop to eat. A nice little tree with a few bushes with enough berries and leaves and plants for them all to share. The beaver even found a nice twig for him to chew on! That night, the animals rested by the plentiful garden, dreaming about what their lives would be like once they reached the Land of Harmony.
The beaver figured that once he got his voice, he could tell all the jokes in the world.
The frog hoped that one day, he could be the king of the pond with a voice commanding enough for all to hear.
And the swan? She just wanted a voice to call her own.
The next day, however, there was trouble in the air. A terrible storm was on pace for the brooks, and the winds were growing harsher and stronger. The swan, beaver and frog tried to press forward, but the waves were growing too large for the swan to swim, and the map was only just barely hanging onto the beaver’s hands. Any time the frog tried to hop, he’d nearly get blown away.
All of a sudden...
KABOOM!
Lightning struck, causing the beaver to jump into the brook, only to realize that he had forgotten the trusty map. Just before he could reach, however…
KABOOM!
The thunderous lightning hit again, perilously close to the brook, forcing the animals to close their eyes to keep from being blinded. When the lightning went away, the beaver trepidatiously stepped onto the ground, his jaw opened wide when he saw that the map to the Land of Harmony had been ripped to shreds thanks to the lightning and now, was sure to be soiled by the rain.
The beaver, frog and swan all hung their heads in defeat. Now they would never reach the Land of Harmony! The swan sadly turned towards her newfound friends, giving them a small nod, as a token of thanks for trying and started to swim away…
Before she could go far, however, the animals heard another, unfamiliar sound. That of a blackbird chirping on top of a tree, inviting them to go under its branches. The beaver and frog did so, but the swan could not. Instead, the blackbird took its nest over, placing it on top of the swan’s head.
At that moment, the blackbird saw the charred remains of what was once their map and fluttered about.They knew the way to the Land of Harmony, and they were more than happy to help them on their journey! The others were overjoyed, it was as if though the clouds had parted and the sun was once again shining in the sky! The blackbird led the way, guiding the animals throughout the bobbing brook until finally…
…they arrived.
The Land of Harmony, at long last.
The first thing the swan saw was that of a violin soaring through the sky, similar to that of the blackbird. That was only the beginning as the animals saw:
* A herd of trumpets marching, being led by a snare drum.
* A trombone slide, one that a young piccolo slid down.
* A cello gondola being used by a pair of saxophones, one tenor and one alto.
* A group of flute flies fluttering about, one even being eaten by the frog (who in turn tweeted like the flutes)
And at the center of it all was the most beautiful sight. An organ sporting many faces and many different voices, all singing the same song. It was a marvelous sight, a beauty to behold!
That’s when the swan spotted something not too far from the organ. A small little red button, with a note placed on top. It read:
“Press the button, you make your choice,
And claim yourself a beautiful voice,
One that all the world can see,
A gift from the Land of Harmony!”
The swan was overjoyed. At last, she would finally have the voice she was after. She pressed the button, waiting for her chance to speak…
…but nothing happened.
At least, not at first.
The next thing anyone knew, the organ began to play a soothing song, one fit a swan so graceful and beautiful as herself. And when she sung, she had the most wonderful voice. It was oh so stirring and all so stunning.
She swam and spun about, singing her joyous melody for all to hear. When she was finished, the swan felt free. Finally, she had found her voice…
…but as she opened her eyes. She noticed something.
The frog and beaver were gone.
The swan was confused. Did they not want to have their voice as well? The swan looked over to the button again, the note now longer than what it was before.
“Claiming your voice comes at a price,
You must share the wealth and play nice.
If you are greedy, then I fear,
All your friends will disappear.”
In pushing the button, the swan had made a fatal error. All three of the animals had to push it at the same time. By only pushing it herself, she had neglected her friends, the very creatures that got her to this point.
The swan was heartbroken, all she had wanted was to have a voice all her own, but knowing now she had no one share it with…
…she started to cry.
And so the swan made the long, sad, arduous journey back home, dejected and without life in her body. She would forever have her voice, but now, she would forever be alone.
The moral of this story? Cherish those you have around you and share your joy with others…
…because you never know when it might disappear.
THE END
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