Question
1 Once there was a lonely farmer who decided to go fishing one day. He wore a shawl around his head to save from being bitten by mosquitoes and other bugs and carried a long fishing net. When he reached the river, he cast his net but caught nothing. He did this again and again but still caught nothing. Not a single fish could be found inside the webbing of his net. He repeated this once, twice, three times but still found when pulling in his net from the water, not a single fish, neither big nor small. Finally, he decided to try just one last time. When pulling his net in, he was surprised at the resistance: “Oh, this is so heavy,” he said out loud.
2 Though expecting a large and appetizing fish, the farmer found instead a white pebble in his net. It was the most beautiful pebble he had ever seen. He then took the pebble home with him and placed it atop the high altar above his head. After finishing his meager dinner, the farmer went to sleep. The next day, he was surprised to find that his white pebble had turned into a beautiful giant white swan. Seeing the farmer, the swan walked over to him.
3 “I can take you away to a beautiful place far away to the Land of Flowers. Once there, you can have whatever you wish.”
4 The farmer happily complied with the invitation and climbed on top of the swan. As soon as he did, the swan beat her broad and powerful wings and off they went, soaring higher and higher into the crisp morning air. Once there, the farmer took in the beautiful scenery of the Land of Flowers and its abundance of scents and array of colors. He could not remember another time when he was so happy.
5 He picked one flower and found it to be surprisingly heavy. He picked a second flower and found it to be heavier. He picked a third and found it to be almost unbearably heavy.
6 “Oh, I don’t think you should pick any more flowers!” the swan said. “It will be much too heavy for me to carry both you and all of those flowers!” Feeling sorry for the swan, the man stopped picking any more flowers and soon enough, the two were flying back to the farmer’s house. Once there, the farmer placed the new and beautiful flowers inside. The next day when the farmer awoke, he found that all his flowers had turned into gold! He was rich!
7 The news of his wealth traveled fast and so reached the ears of his friend who became very curious. He insisted that the farmer tell him everything and so he did.
8 The very next day, his friend went to fish in the river with his long net just like his friend the farmer before him. And just like his friend, he cast out his net once, twice, three times and found his net to be empty. He cast out his net one last time and pulled. “Oh, it is so heavy,” he said while pulling up his net. He found a white pebble inside the net, just like his friend told him he would. He then took the white pebble home and placed it high above his head at the altar. He was so excited he could barely fall asleep that night. He was going to be rich tomorrow!
9 When he awoke the next day, he found the swan standing in front of him, patiently waiting. She walked over to him.
10 “I can take you away to a beautiful place far away to the Land of Flowers. Once there, you can have whatever you wish.” The man smiled and soon enough the two were off.
11 “Oh, I don’t think you should pick any more flowers!” the swan said, after the man picked his third flower. “It will be much too heavy for me to carry both you and all of those flowers!”
12 “But it’s only three flowers!” the man argued. “I’m sure you can carry more than that!” And so the man went back to the garden and helped himself to two armfuls of flowers. “Okay, take me home now,” the man said. “I will put these away and then we can come back for more.” He jumped on top of the swan’s back who winced and the swan began beating her wings as hard as she could. She barely managed to take off. The two flew, swaying side to side with the weight of all the man’s flowers. The swan managed to land with great difficulty. The swan rested her head on the lawn completely exhausted. The man jumped off her back and turned to look at her.
13 “Now wait here,” the man said to her while carrying an armful of flowers. “Don’t go away! I still want to go back and pick more flowers.” The man then walked inside his house. When he returned, the swan had disappeared. In horror, the man ran inside his room and found that his flowers were just ordinary flowers, no gold. And that’s the story.
Dusk
Above the
water hang the
loud
flies
Here
O so
gray
then
What A pale signal will appear
When Soon before its shadow fades
Where Here in this pool of opened eye
In us No Upon us As at the very edges
of where we take shape in the dark air
this object bares its image awakening
ripples of recognition that will
brush darkness up into light
even after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now
already passing out of sight
toward yet-untroubled reflection
this image bears its object darkening
into memorial shades Scattered bits of
light No of water Or something across
water Breaking up No Being regathered
soon Yet by then a swan will have
gone Yes out of mind into what
vast
pale
hush
of a
place
past
sudden dark as
if a swan
sang
Which word best describes the swans from both "The Magic White Swan" and "Swan and Shadow"?
A.
calm
B.
tricky
C.
strong
D.
hungry
2 Though expecting a large and appetizing fish, the farmer found instead a white pebble in his net. It was the most beautiful pebble he had ever seen. He then took the pebble home with him and placed it atop the high altar above his head. After finishing his meager dinner, the farmer went to sleep. The next day, he was surprised to find that his white pebble had turned into a beautiful giant white swan. Seeing the farmer, the swan walked over to him.
3 “I can take you away to a beautiful place far away to the Land of Flowers. Once there, you can have whatever you wish.”
4 The farmer happily complied with the invitation and climbed on top of the swan. As soon as he did, the swan beat her broad and powerful wings and off they went, soaring higher and higher into the crisp morning air. Once there, the farmer took in the beautiful scenery of the Land of Flowers and its abundance of scents and array of colors. He could not remember another time when he was so happy.
5 He picked one flower and found it to be surprisingly heavy. He picked a second flower and found it to be heavier. He picked a third and found it to be almost unbearably heavy.
6 “Oh, I don’t think you should pick any more flowers!” the swan said. “It will be much too heavy for me to carry both you and all of those flowers!” Feeling sorry for the swan, the man stopped picking any more flowers and soon enough, the two were flying back to the farmer’s house. Once there, the farmer placed the new and beautiful flowers inside. The next day when the farmer awoke, he found that all his flowers had turned into gold! He was rich!
7 The news of his wealth traveled fast and so reached the ears of his friend who became very curious. He insisted that the farmer tell him everything and so he did.
8 The very next day, his friend went to fish in the river with his long net just like his friend the farmer before him. And just like his friend, he cast out his net once, twice, three times and found his net to be empty. He cast out his net one last time and pulled. “Oh, it is so heavy,” he said while pulling up his net. He found a white pebble inside the net, just like his friend told him he would. He then took the white pebble home and placed it high above his head at the altar. He was so excited he could barely fall asleep that night. He was going to be rich tomorrow!
9 When he awoke the next day, he found the swan standing in front of him, patiently waiting. She walked over to him.
10 “I can take you away to a beautiful place far away to the Land of Flowers. Once there, you can have whatever you wish.” The man smiled and soon enough the two were off.
11 “Oh, I don’t think you should pick any more flowers!” the swan said, after the man picked his third flower. “It will be much too heavy for me to carry both you and all of those flowers!”
12 “But it’s only three flowers!” the man argued. “I’m sure you can carry more than that!” And so the man went back to the garden and helped himself to two armfuls of flowers. “Okay, take me home now,” the man said. “I will put these away and then we can come back for more.” He jumped on top of the swan’s back who winced and the swan began beating her wings as hard as she could. She barely managed to take off. The two flew, swaying side to side with the weight of all the man’s flowers. The swan managed to land with great difficulty. The swan rested her head on the lawn completely exhausted. The man jumped off her back and turned to look at her.
13 “Now wait here,” the man said to her while carrying an armful of flowers. “Don’t go away! I still want to go back and pick more flowers.” The man then walked inside his house. When he returned, the swan had disappeared. In horror, the man ran inside his room and found that his flowers were just ordinary flowers, no gold. And that’s the story.
Dusk
Above the
water hang the
loud
flies
Here
O so
gray
then
What A pale signal will appear
When Soon before its shadow fades
Where Here in this pool of opened eye
In us No Upon us As at the very edges
of where we take shape in the dark air
this object bares its image awakening
ripples of recognition that will
brush darkness up into light
even after this bird this hour both drift by atop the perfect sad instant now
already passing out of sight
toward yet-untroubled reflection
this image bears its object darkening
into memorial shades Scattered bits of
light No of water Or something across
water Breaking up No Being regathered
soon Yet by then a swan will have
gone Yes out of mind into what
vast
pale
hush
of a
place
past
sudden dark as
if a swan
sang
Which word best describes the swans from both "The Magic White Swan" and "Swan and Shadow"?
A.
calm
B.
tricky
C.
strong
D.
hungry
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The word that best describes the swans from both "The Magic White Swan" and "Swan and Shadow" is **C. strong**.
In "The Magic White Swan," the swan is depicted as having broad and powerful wings that allow it to carry the farmer, demonstrating strength. In "Swan and Shadow," the imagery suggests an underlying strength and grace, with the swan moving through the water and the air. While the other options may apply to certain interpretations, strength encapsulates the essence of both depictions effectively.
In "The Magic White Swan," the swan is depicted as having broad and powerful wings that allow it to carry the farmer, demonstrating strength. In "Swan and Shadow," the imagery suggests an underlying strength and grace, with the swan moving through the water and the air. While the other options may apply to certain interpretations, strength encapsulates the essence of both depictions effectively.