:00:26
The old woman remembered
a swan she had bought...
:00:29
many years ago in Shanghai
for a foolish sum.
:00:34
"This bird," boasted
the market vendor...
:00:37
"was once a duck that
stretched its neck...
:00:39
in hopes
of becoming a goose.
:00:41
And now look.
It is too beautiful to eat."
:00:52
Then the woman and the swan
sailed across an ocean...
:00:54
many thousands of li wide...
:00:57
stretching their necks
toward America.
:01:07
On her journey
she cooed to the swan...
:01:09
"In America I will have
a daughter just like me.
:01:14
But over there, nobody will say
her worth is measured...
:01:17
by the loudness
of her husband's belch.
:01:23
Over there, nobody will
look down on her...
:01:26
because I will make her speak
only perfect American English.
:01:37
And over there, she will always be
too full to swallow any sorrow.
:01:48
She will know my meaning
because I will give her this swan...
:01:52
a creature that became more
than what was hoped for."