The Magic White Swan (folktale)
"The Magic White Swan" is a Laotian folktale that conveys a series of moral lessons through the story of a farmer and a magical swan. Set in an indeterminate time, the tale begins with a farmer who, after a series of unsuccessful fishing attempts, discovers a beautiful white pebble. The pebble magically transforms into a swan, which offers to take the farmer to a splendid flower garden. The farmer, displaying determination and reverence for nature, picks flowers while being mindful of the swan's burden, ultimately returning home to find the flowers have turned to gold, symbolizing his reward for compassion.
In contrast, the farmer's friend, who learns of this magic, approaches the experience with greed. He disregards the swan's well-being, overburdens it with flowers, and ultimately fails to receive the same reward. This folktale emphasizes values such as compassion, humility, and honesty, illustrating the consequences of one's actions and intentions. Additionally, it may reflect cultural influences from Hinduism and Buddhism, highlighting the respect for beauty and the interconnectedness of life in Laotian society. The story serves as an educational tool, particularly for children, imparting important cultural lessons.
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Subject Terms
The Magic White Swan (folktale)
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE
Country or Culture: Laos
Genre: Folktale
PLOT SUMMARY
In an indeterminate time, a farmer in Laos goes fishing. He casts his fishing net into the water. Over and over again, the net comes up empty. On his final try, he feels that his net is very heavy. When the farmer looks at his catch, it is a beautiful white pebble. Impressed by its perfection, he takes the pebble home. There, he places it on an altar situated above his head. He eats dinner and goes to bed.
The next morning, the pebble has changed into a white swan. The swan talks to the farmer and tells him that it will transport him to a gorgeous setting filled with flowers, of which he can take as many home as he pleases.
Thus, the farmer gets on the swan’s back. The swan flies to the garden with the farmer. There, the farmer enjoys all the beautiful flowers. He picks one and is surprised by its heavy weight. The next flower he picks feels even heavier, and so does the third.
Out of concern for the swan that will have to carry him and his flowers home, the farmer stops picking flowers. He does not want to overburden the swan. The swan flies the farmer to his home and then vanishes. To his surprise, the farmer finds the flowers have turned to gold, making him a rich man.
A friend of the farmer hears of his sudden wealth. He asks how he acquired such riches, and the farmer tells him the true story. On the next day, the farmer’s friend goes to the river to fish. He casts out his net three times, pulling it up empty each time. On his last attempt, he finds a white pebble in the net. He takes this pebble along and puts it into his room.
The next morning, the white pebble has transformed into a beautiful white swan. The swan tells the man that he will take him to a flower garden. The man gets on the swan’s back and is flown to the flower garden. There, the man picks three heavy flowers. He has no concern for how this weight will burden the swan and proceeds to pick two full armloads of flowers.
He tells the swan to fly home so he can deposit the flowers he has picked and then return for another run. The swan has difficulties rising into the air with his load but just about makes it to the man’s home in a wobbly flight. There, the man tells the swan to wait for him while he drops off his load at home. When he comes out again, the tired swan has flown off. Still, the man rejoices at all the golden flowers he has picked. However, when he looks at them inside his home, he finds not gold but a bunch of ordinary flowers.
SIGNIFICANCE
“The Magic White Swan” is a folktale from Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. Traditionally, the story has been told by the lowland Lao people as a moral tale to educate children and other members of the community. By 2002, Laotian-Thai folklore scholar Wajuppa Tossa had transcribed and translated the folktale as told by Laotian storyteller Sivilay Sopha in Laos. In 2008, the Magic White Swan was included in the print anthology Lao Folktales.
“The Magic White Swan” is designed to teach a rich variety of moral lessons. First, there is emphasis on determination. Even though the farmer’s net comes up empty many times, he does not give up. Among the lowland Lao farmers, fishing the lakes and rivers of the country, including the Mekong, has been an important source of food. For his determination, the farmer is rewarded at his last attempt.
“The Magic White Swan” also teaches appreciation and reverence for natural beauty. When the farmer finds the heavy white pebble in his net, he does not toss it aside for its apparent lack of utilitarian use. Instead, he is awed by its beauty and reverently puts it on his altar at home. This altar is characteristically placed high on the wall above his head. Among Southeast Asian Buddhist people, the head is strongly revered as being closest to the spirit of the Buddha. Here, the farmer shows proper reverence. In contrast, his friend merely puts his pebble at an unspecified and insignificant area of his home, indicating he does not give its position much consideration.
The folktale further teaches the core Buddhist value of compassion for all other living things. The farmer stops picking the heavy flowers out of his concern for the swan. He limits his pursuit to a reasonable scale. On the other hand, his friend treats the magic swan as a mere pack animal.
“The Magic Swan” also encourages openness and honesty among friends. When asked about the source of his new wealth, the farmer tells his friend the true story.
The folktale teaches a lesson about the second man that the storyteller’s audience can all understand: he does meet the magic white swan despite his obviously greedy intentions, but he fails the tests of compassion, humility, and reverence and is punished appropriately.
“The Magic White Swan” was possibly influenced by Hinduism. The Hindu goddess of wisdom, Sarasvatī, travels on a white swan. In Buddhism, which came to Laos by the seventh century CE, Sarasvatī is a guardian of Buddhist teachings. Laos is home to the swan goose that migrates from northern Asia in fall. The presence of this swan, which is not white, may have helped Sarasvatī’s mythical white swan enter Lao folklore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Koret, Peter. “Books in Search: Convention and Creativity in Traditional Lao Literature.” The Canon in Southeast Asian Literature. Ed. David Smyth. Richmond, UK: Curzon, 2000. 210–33. Print.
---. “Laos.” South-East Asia. Ed. Alastair Dingwall. Lincolnwood: Passport, 1995. 120–53. Print.
Ong, Walter S. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Rpt. London: Routledge, 1991. Print.
Sopha, Sivilay. “The Magic White Swan.” Trans. Wajuppa Tossa. Lao Folktales. Ed. Margaret Read MacDonald. Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 18–19. Print.
Zipes, Jack. The Great Fairy Tale Tradition. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.