THE BLACK SWAN
Everyone in the park is watching the black swan in the pond. It’s the only one of its kind, and it’s much larger than the white ducks that surround it. It has stopped swimming and is just floating now while the white ducks swim circles around it. Suddenly one of the white ducks veers off to the right and swims to the shore. It waddles up toward the sand, shakes itself dry and then looks back at the rest of the gang wondering who will be next to come out of the water.
One by one, the white ducks leave the inner circle that covets the black swan and they all begin to line up along the beach. All that is left in the water now is the large black swan and three white ducklings. When he realizes the others have left, the black swan then turns to the ducklings and asks “Will you help me now? I would love to have you on my team.” They look at each other for a moment until finally the largest of the baby ducks responds: “We’d like to help, but we don’t know who you are. Tell us a little bit about yourself so we can decide what we want to do.” The black swan sighs but then replies: “Ok, if I must. Here’s the scoop, and this is all you need to know. I am the Devil. It’s that simple. I have tried to DESTROY everyone and everything. No one understands why I would want to do this to the world, and I no longer even know myself. I have been so bad for so long, and I have lost everyone I ever cared about … but I have no intention of stopping now. My fate is set, and my destiny has been decided. There is no turning back now. I could really use your help, though, if you are interested in working with me. I can assure you that you will be well compensated.”
The baby ducks can’t believe what they just heard. Could this really be the Devil? Unsure of what their next move should be, they hesitate until the one who spoke before finally says: “We may be interested, but please tell us just a bit more about what you want us to do. It’s still too vague for us to decide.” They then look very closely at the black swan and concentrate as he begins to explain what his plan is. “The most important thing I will need you to do may sound complicated,” explains the swan, “but it’s really quite easy. All you have to do right now is just pretend to be my friend. Pretend we are all buddies and occasionally swim circles around me as if you honor and respect me. I’ll take care of the rest.”
The ducklings think on this for a moment. They know they are young, inexperienced and not very worldly, but there is something about this black swan they like and trust. He seems fun and down-to-earth to them, so they make a quick decision and sign on the dotted line. As they begin to swim circles around him, the black swan begins talking to them: “Forget what I said earlier. That is what I always say to ALL the new fledglings.” Then he goes on to say, “Now that you have already committed, what I really need you to do is to kill a couple of people for me. Troublemakers who won’t follow my directions. After you do this for me,” the Devil promises “you will be richly rewarded and that’s all you will ever have to do. It’s a big job, but I think you are ready and I have faith in you.” Then he gives them the details of who he wants killed and how they should go about it.
When the ducklings return from their first assignment, they are covered in blood and their hearts are heavy. They are filled with regret and remorse, and their eyes are glazed over. Seeing them arrive, the black swan swims over, pats them on their heads and thanks them for a job well done. He then proceeds to tell them they are special and the best assassins he has ever had the pleasure to work with. They smile at his praise and begin to wash the blood off as they believe their work for the Devil is complete now. But as they swim off with their small bag of gold, the black swan calls to them: “Hey, not so fast. There is just one more thing I will need you to do for me. I should have mentioned it before, but it somehow slipped my mind. This is a different kind of job I need done now, but I know you will be great at this one also.” He then begins to explain this new assignment to them with great enthusiasm, and the ducklings perk up when they hear how much money they will be paid: “This one involves a money laundering scheme, and I will need you to fly to Russia. You are to pose as tourists in Volgograd for a few days and then fly to Austria. But before your flight to Vienna takes off, someone from our group will take your suitcases from the conveyor belt and fill them up with Russian bribe money. I guarantee you, however, that you won’t have to do anything but enjoy yourself. We will even provide you with brand new suitcases.”
At the mention of the word “suitcases”, the savviest of the ducklings begins to shake his head as if he doesn’t trust the Devil’s plan. “Don’t worry,” assures the black swan, “we do this ALL the time, and everyone at BOTH airports is paid off. When you arrive at your hotel in Vienna, the tour operator (who also works for me) will take your luggage from you as you wait for the keys to your room. Then a member of guest services will transfer all the cash into bags of laundry and make sure they get to a van which is waiting in a back alley. While you are enjoying a city tour of Vienna and eating black forest cake at a local café, the van will be on the road heading to Krakow, Poland. I won’t bother you with details of where the money goes after that, but it’s a brilliant plan I devised myself that I am quite proud of. I am definitely the best at what I do.”
When the three baby ducks return from their European assignment, they look refreshed and energized as if they have just come from a spa vacation. They are each wearing a Hawaiian shirt, carrying a cocktail and toting a designer purse. They immediately swim up to the Devil and begin talking to him excitedly about how great their trip was, how easy the job was and how much money they made for very little time and very little effort. So when the black swan tells them that they are now free to leave his organization if they want, they shake their heads. “What’s next?”, they ask the Devil. “We’re in like Flynn.”
The big black swan then begins to tell them ALL about their next job. This one involves children from Africa and the largest pedophile ring that has ever been formed in the history of mankind. He explains that he wants them to begin in the countries of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but if they like this line of work, the sky’s the limit and there are many other jobs for them all over the world. “There is even more money in this business, and you will get to meet a LOT of celebrities, politicians and heads of state who claim to love children,” explains the Devil. As the ducklings begin to take notes, the black swan then adds the following: “If you continue to do well and are loyal to me, I will make sure you have the opportunity to join my Mexican drug cartel one day. Only the very best and brightest are chosen for these jobs, and that is where the real money is.”
Copyright © 2014 (Michelle Parsons, Getting Back on Your Path). All Rights Reserved.
