The Swan's Song

Jessie sat on the Gordon Linen sacks in the Radcliffe Quad putting forsythia into her hair. Suddenly she shot upwards and ran spring-like towards an oncoming Volkswagen. "Clipper!" she shouted, "I want to go ride the swan boats. I want to buy a balloon and blow bubbles and ride the swan boats!"

"Where?" asked Clipper, coming right to the point while hauling her into the car.

"In the Boston Garden. They opened April fifteenth. I bought a big straw hat just to ride the swan boats!"

"Clipper," said Jessie as they were walking over the bridge in the park, "I want an ice cream cone."

"This is an exact miniature replica of the Brooklyn Bridge," he answered. "The Brooklyn Bridge is made out of pink granite."

Jessie ran ahead to the ticket stand, holding onto her hat. "I want a pink ticket," she stated as Clipper caught up. "This gentleman says only people under twelve can have pink tickets."

Clint, who sells tickets, interrupted: "Red tickets or nothing, lady. We aim to please, but you gotta buy a red ticket."

"I know!" Jessie exclaimed. "We can buy four pink tickets instead of two red ones."

"Suit yourself," said Clint and let them pass onto the dock. Many little children, many massive guardians, were also on the dock, as well as several attendants in sailor hats and T-shirts.

"All aboard!" shouted one of these attendants. "Don't crowd the swan!" Jessie smiled at him and he tipped his hat. "Catch that," he nudged a companion. "Hey--" he asked Jessie, "room for one more under that hat?"

Just then another swan boat docked. "He pedals it like a bicycle," Jessie noticed. "No wonder it goes so slowly." She grabbed Clipper's hand and ran aboard. "Wish we could go swimming," she said to a little boy beside her.

"Water's icky," the little boy replied. "Who wants to go swimming in water like that?" He stood up to look over the side.

"Georgie," screamed his mother, "sit down! You'll fall over. I don't want to swim in after you!"

"I can swim," Georgie said, sulking. "Besides, I saw an egg in the water."

"An egg?" asked Jessie and his mother simultaneously.

"Yeah, an egg. And I bet it was a dinosaur egg, too."

Just then a gust of wind lifted the straw hat from Jessie's head and blew it through the air until it landed among a congregation of floating ducks. "Boy oh boy!" said Georgie. "Will it sink?"

"Oh Clipper. Get my hat. I want my hat back."

"Oh, for God's sake. How am I supposed to do that?" Clipper avoided the staring eyes of fellow passengers and lollers on the shore.

"I'll swim for it," offered Georgie heroically.

"Oh no you won't," said his mother.

Meanwhile the ducks were nosing the foreign straw object with curiosity, while a collie dog ran up and down the shore barking. The swan boat changed course, pedaling full speed ahead towards the center of interest. "They're going to rescue my hat!" Jessie sighed in the tones of a movie heroine. And, indeed, the attendant was poking away the ducks with a pointed stick. After some sleight of boat and hand, he fished the hat out and proceeded on course.

"Clipper," coaxed Jessie while squeezing water from the streamer and getting her land legs, "let's go to the zoo."

"Where?" asked Clipper. But Jessie was already running ahead towards the balloon man.