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"summary": "\"The White Swan\" by Maud Lindsay follows two young sisters who receive a beautiful porcelain swan from their godmother and immediately begin to argue over who gets to place it in water first. What starts as a small but fierce dispute over turns and fairness quickly spirals into an accident that cannot be fully undone. Their mother's quiet act of repair saves the swan — but changes it forever, leaving the girls with a daily reminder that some things, once broken, are never quite the same again.",
"clean_summary": "\"The White Swan\" by Maud Lindsay follows two young sisters who receive a beautiful porcelain swan from their godmother and immediately begin to argue over who gets to place it in water first. What starts as a small but fierce dispute over turns and fairness quickly spirals into an accident that cannot be fully undone. Their mother's quiet act of repair saves the swan - but changes it forever, leaving the girls with a daily reminder that some things, once broken, are never quite the same again.",
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"The white porcelain swan, which looked as if it had come straight from fairyland, was sent to two little sisters by their godmother. Of course, the first thing they wanted to do was to put it in water and see it float. So Nurse filled a big flowered wash-bowl for them and set it on the nursery floor. “Don’t get yourselves wet,” she said as she went out of the room. The water in the bowl was clear and shining, and the painted flowers around the edge looked beautiful.",
"“We can call it Wash-Bowl Pond, and I’ll put the white swan in it right now,” said the larger of the children.",
"But that was just what the little one wanted to do.",
"“You do everything,” she said. “And the white swan is as much mine as it is yours.”",
"“Of course,” said the other; “but I’m taller than you, and older. You might drop the swan and break it.”",
"“You broke your dolls,” said the little sister.",
"“Yes, but that was because I tripped up. I’ll be sure to look where I’m going when I have the white swan,” said the little girl who thought herself so old. “Anyway, it is my time to be first, for you rang the door-bell when we went to see Grandma, and I wanted to do that as much as you did.”",
"She took the white swan from the table and held it so high that the little sister could not reach it, though she tried very hard; and the next thing they knew, the white swan lay on the floor broken into a dozen pieces.",
"“You pushed,” said one child.",
"“You pulled,” said the other. And then, because they were sorry, and ashamed, too, they put their arms around each other and began to cry.",
"Nurse came hurrying in at the very first sound, and when she saw and heard what had happened she said:",
"“If a white swan makes you quarrel like that, I’m glad I’m not going to have one in my nursery.”",
"But when Mother heard about it and saw how sorry the children were, she said:",
"“All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again when he had a fall, but I will see what I can do for the white swan.”",
"That very day she glued the broken pieces together so carefully that when she had finished, the children thought the white swan was as beautiful as it had been before.",
"But it never could float in Wash-Bowl Pond nor anywhere else. The best that Mother and the children could do was to make a lake like the one in the Toy Shop with a piece of looking-glass; and there the white swan sat.",
"The children could look at it, but they could not play with it; and if ever they began to be cross with each other, Nurse was sure to say:",
"“Remember the white swan.”",
"Maud Lindsay was an American author active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for her gentle moral stories written for young children. She published several collections aimed at early readers and kindergarten audiences. \"The White Swan\" reflects her trademark approach of drawing large lessons from small, domestic moments — here, the consequences of sibling rivalry crystallising around a single fragile object."
],
"body_text": "The white porcelain swan, which looked as if it had come straight from fairyland, was sent to two little sisters by their godmother. Of course, the first thing they wanted to do was to put it in water and see it float. So Nurse filled a big flowered wash-bowl for them and set it on the nursery floor. “Don’t get yourselves wet,” she said as she went out of the room. The water in the bowl was clear and shining, and the painted flowers around the edge looked beautiful.\n\n“We can call it Wash-Bowl Pond, and I’ll put the white swan in it right now,” said the larger of the children.\n\nBut that was just what the little one wanted to do.\n\n“You do everything,” she said. “And the white swan is as much mine as it is yours.”\n\n“Of course,” said the other; “but I’m taller than you, and older. You might drop the swan and break it.”\n\n“You broke your dolls,” said the little sister.\n\n“Yes, but that was because I tripped up. I’ll be sure to look where I’m going when I have the white swan,” said the little girl who thought herself so old. “Anyway, it is my time to be first, for you rang the door-bell when we went to see Grandma, and I wanted to do that as much as you did.”\n\nShe took the white swan from the table and held it so high that the little sister could not reach it, though she tried very hard; and the next thing they knew, the white swan lay on the floor broken into a dozen pieces.\n\n“You pushed,” said one child.\n\n“You pulled,” said the other. And then, because they were sorry, and ashamed, too, they put their arms around each other and began to cry.\n\nNurse came hurrying in at the very first sound, and when she saw and heard what had happened she said:\n\n“If a white swan makes you quarrel like that, I’m glad I’m not going to have one in my nursery.”\n\nBut when Mother heard about it and saw how sorry the children were, she said:\n\n“All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again when he had a fall, but I will see what I can do for the white swan.”\n\nThat very day she glued the broken pieces together so carefully that when she had finished, the children thought the white swan was as beautiful as it had been before.\n\nBut it never could float in Wash-Bowl Pond nor anywhere else. The best that Mother and the children could do was to make a lake like the one in the Toy Shop with a piece of looking-glass; and there the white swan sat.\n\nThe children could look at it, but they could not play with it; and if ever they began to be cross with each other, Nurse was sure to say:\n\n“Remember the white swan.”\n\nMaud Lindsay was an American author active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best known for her gentle moral stories written for young children. She published several collections aimed at early readers and kindergarten audiences. \"The White Swan\" reflects her trademark approach of drawing large lessons from small, domestic moments — here, the consequences of sibling rivalry crystallising around a single fragile object.",
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"The white porcelain swan, which looked as if it had come straight from fairyland, was sent to two little sisters by their godmother. Of course, the first thing they wanted to do was to put it in water and see it float. So Nurse filled a big flowered wash-bowl for them and set it on the nursery floor. \"Don't get yourselves wet,\" she said as she went out of the room. The water in the bowl was clear and shining, and the painted flowers around the edge looked beautiful.",
"\"We can call it Wash-Bowl Pond, and I'll put the white swan in it right now,\" said the larger of the children.",
"But that was just what the little one wanted to do.",
"\"You do everything,\" she said. \"And the white swan is as much mine as it is yours.\"",
"\"Of course,\" said the other; \"but I'm taller than you, and older. You might drop the swan and break it.\"",
"\"You broke your dolls,\" said the little sister.",
"\"Yes, but that was because I tripped up. I'll be sure to look where I'm going when I have the white swan,\" said the little girl who thought herself so old. \"Anyway, it is my time to be first, for you rang the door-bell when we went to see Grandma, and I wanted to do that as much as you did.\"",
"She took the white swan from the table and held it so high that the little sister could not reach it, though she tried very hard; and the next thing they knew, the white swan lay on the floor broken into a dozen pieces.",
"\"You pushed,\" said one child.",
"\"You pulled,\" said the other. And then, because they were sorry, and ashamed, too, they put their arms around each other and began to cry.",
"Nurse came hurrying in at the very first sound, and when she saw and heard what had happened she said:",
"\"If a white swan makes you quarrel like that, I'm glad I'm not going to have one in my nursery.\"",
"But when Mother heard about it and saw how sorry the children were, she said:",
"\"All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again when he had a fall, but I will see what I can do for the white swan.\"",
"That very day she glued the broken pieces together so carefully that when she had finished, the children thought the white swan was as beautiful as it had been before.",
"But it never could float in Wash-Bowl Pond nor anywhere else. The best that Mother and the children could do was to make a lake like the one in the Toy Shop with a piece of looking-glass; and there the white swan sat.",
"The children could look at it, but they could not play with it; and if ever they began to be cross with each other, Nurse was sure to say:",
"\"Remember the white swan.\""
],
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"\"We can call it Wash-Bowl Pond, and I'll put the white swan in it right now,\" said the larger of the children.",
"But that was just what the little one wanted to do.",
"\"You do everything,\" she said. \"And the white swan is as much mine as it is yours.\"",
"\"Of course,\" said the other; \"but I'm taller than you, and older. You might drop the swan and break it.\"",
"\"You broke your dolls,\" said the little sister.",
"\"Yes, but that was because I tripped up. I'll be sure to look where I'm going when I have the white swan,\" said the little girl who thought herself so old. \"Anyway, it is my time to be first, for you rang the door-bell when we went to see Grandma, and I wanted to do that as much as you did.\"",
"She took the white swan from the table and held it so high that the little sister could not reach it, though she tried very hard; and the next thing they knew, the white swan lay on the floor broken into a dozen pieces.",
"\"You pushed,\" said one child.",
"\"You pulled,\" said the other. And then, because they were sorry, and ashamed, too, they put their arms around each other and began to cry.",
"Nurse came hurrying in at the very first sound, and when she saw and heard what had happened she said:",
"\"If a white swan makes you quarrel like that, I'm glad I'm not going to have one in my nursery.\"",
"But when Mother heard about it and saw how sorry the children were, she said:",
"\"All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again when he had a fall, but I will see what I can do for the white swan.\"",
"That very day she glued the broken pieces together so carefully that when she had finished, the children thought the white swan was as beautiful as it had been before.",
"But it never could float in Wash-Bowl Pond nor anywhere else. The best that Mother and the children could do was to make a lake like the one in the Toy Shop with a piece of looking-glass; and there the white swan sat.",
"The children could look at it, but they could not play with it; and if ever they began to be cross with each other, Nurse was sure to say:",
"\"Remember the white swan.\""
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