However, her constant companion is a with a permanently bowed, sad head, which she uses as a small boat to ride across the mountain lake. One day, noticing the bird’s deep sorrow, Snežana asks why it is so unhappy. The bird confesses that it is sad because it is black, which makes it feel ugly and out of place in the beautiful, white world of winter.
Njen glas se ledom odbija. Vetar (koji pripoveda) šapuće publici: "Ovo nije priča o tome da svi postanu labudovi. Ovo je priča o tome kako biti ptica kojoj je krilo slomljeno u svetu koji više ne gleda u nebo."
– Zašto ne pokušaš da plivaš onako kako ti osećaš, a ne kako drugi očekuju?