The Third Wish by Joan Aiken Date of

The Third Wish by Joan Aiken Date of birth: September 4, 1924 Place of birth: Rye County, East Sussex, United Kingdom Died on: 4 January 2004

Summery Mr. Peters is driving through the forest one day and sees a swan, who he helps extricate from a thorn. The swan turns into the king of the forest and grants Mr. peters 3 wishes in the form of leaves.

Mr. peters first wishes for a beautiful wife, who later appears. Her name is Leita. they have a good marriage and love each other, but Leita becomes unhappy and quiet.

Mr. peters finds her by a lake with another swan that evening. She reveals she's a swan and misses her sister, but she says to not use his wish on turning her back because he has already done so much. Mr. peters tries to do everything he can to make her happier as a human, but she just grows more sickly and depressed.

That night, he wishes her back to a swan. For the rest of his life, the swans protect him, communicate with him, etc. People think he's a bit crazy for talking to swans. When he dies, he has a peaceful smile on his face and clutches a swan's feather and one last wish leaf to his chest. The End

Vocabulary: Frantically: acting wildly with worry or fear Thrashed: moved from side to side in an uncontrolled manner Tremendous: enormous; great in amount, size, or power Utter: to say something or make a sound Composure: calm; self-control Distressed: extremely upset or worried Rash: done too quickly and without thinking Presumptuous: overconfident; arrogant Malicious: spiteful; hateful Dignity: idea of being respected or honored Preening: cleaning feathers with a beak Extricate: to free from tangle or difficulty Outskirts: the region remote from the central district of a city or town Dusky: somewhat dark in color Extricate: to set free

Technical Terms: Theme: 1 - Mr. Peters frees the swan from the thorny tangle. This is the task he completes to “earn” his three wishes. 2 - Mr. Peters realizes that it is hopeless to expect that Leita will ever become truly happy as a human. He decides to wish her back to being a swan. 3 - The mournful sound of two swans is Leita and her sister. They are singing because Mr. Peters has died. Setting: 1 - The forest of Savernake at dusk 2 - A house in a remote valley 3 - A river near the foot of the remote house

Technical Terms: Climax: Is when Mr. Peters realizes that his wife used to be a swan and that though she loves him very much, she’ll never be truly happy as a human because she was born to be a swan. Exposition: Begins with Mr. Peters saving the swan who turns out to be the Forest King. Mr. Peters is rewarded with three wishes. Conflict: Is that Mr. Peters is granted three wishes. He uses one of his wishes to receive a wife "as pretty as the forest". His wish comes true but with a few complications such as the fact that his wife (Lieta) is half swan and misses her sister who is still a swan.

Technical Terms: Internal Conflict: Is Mr. Peters due to the struggles he has in his mind throughout the story. Rising action: Includes Mr. Peters’ wishing for a beautiful wife, and one magically appearing. They get married, and seem to be living very happily. Falling action: Occurs when Mr. Peters uses his final wish to return his wife to swan form. Round Character: Mr. Peters and Leita Flat Character: King of the forest as well as Leita’s sister (swan)

Technical Terms: Antagonist: The antagonist in the story was the King of the Forest because he was in conflict with Mr. Peters, the main character. Protagonist: The protagonist in the story was Mr. Peters because the conflict in the story revolved around him. Conclusion: Mr. Peters dies with a smile on his face with one withered leaf in his hands. He dies happily. Ethic point: In order to be happy, you must make others happy too. Idiom: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it! Good Bye