The Trumpet of the Swan

“He felt relieved that he had not told his father about seeing the swans, but he felt queer about it, too. Sam was not a sly boy, but he was odd in one respect: he liked to keep things to himself. And he liked being alone, particularly when he was in the woods.”

Sam is different from most boys in that he likes to keep special discoveries to himself. Here, he keeps the swans a secret from his father, not to lie or cheat, but because he loves solitude and privacy—feelings that are maximized in nature.

“The cob’s wife pretended not to notice that her husband was showing off, but she saw it, all right, and she was proud of his strength and his courage. As husbands go, he was a good one.”

The swan is a perceptive wife and knows her husband well. She knows when he is trying to impress her, yet she is proud of him. She also knows that the cob’s strength, courage, and vanity go hand in hand, and that his good qualities balance his egoistic tendencies.

“An egg, because it contains life, is the most perfect thing there is. It is beautiful and mysterious. An egg is a far finer thing than a tennis ball or a cake of soap. A tennis ball will always be just a tennis ball. A cake of soap will always be just a cake of soap—until it gets so small nobody wants it and they throw it away. But an egg will someday be a living creature.”

Sam values nature over the manmade, seeing the egg as a transformative, life-giving wonder. Later in the novel, however, we see that certain manmade objects—such as Louis’s trumpet—can match this wonder when used by the right person (or animal).