Learning to Live in England, Part 07

Demetrios went to the store today and came back limping.

'What happened?' I asked.

'I had an encounter with one of those swans.'

It seems he was passing too near the seven cygnets. 'And one of the parents hissed at me.'

'At innocent you?'

'At me.  Hissed! I didn't even know a swan could hiss.'

'These ones can vocalize, too. "Mute Swan" appears to be a bit of a misnomer.'

'Well, anyway, I thought I was about to find myself in a ridiculous situation. I mean, the last thing I wanted was to find myself fighting, publicly, with a swan!'

'That swan would've won, too.'

'Or even worse if I had injured those poor cygnets' mother.  No doubt there'd have been someone in the park with a camera in his cell phone, who would have caught the whole disaster on video.'

'I can just see you on Youtube. Swan Decks Man.  Or, heaven forbid, Man Wrings Swan's Neck.'

'So I got out of there. Twisting my ankle in my haste.'

Hint from Helen: Well, you don't need Helen to tell you this one.  Around here, there's a proverb that says a swan can break your arm.