Chapter Five — Louis, Chapter Six — Off to Montana Summary

In chapter five, Louis, the mother swan draws the father's attention to Louis's lack of voice. At first the father swan is very distressed that he would have a defective son. He wanted a perfect family. He did not want a problem in his family. After realizing that they had a couple of years before Louis has to have a voice in order to mate, he calms down. He does take Louis off on his own to talk to him. He asks Louis to make a beep or a burble. When Louis cannot make any noise, the cob tells him not to worry, that things will take care of itself. The cob tells Louis that he is dumb. The cob sees that Louis is upset...