Once the crowd sees Dora and her train, I stop to watch their progress into the center of the festivities. My breath is constricted from the feathers billowing from the jowls of my swan. Whenever I breathe, they tickle my nose. I feel like I am going to sneeze and I long for a handkerchief. I don't want to spray the guests, so I decide to stay outside the elegant crowd. The men are dashing and the women look like slender urns, with graceful black or white masks held aloft by delicate sticks.

I have feathers sticking out of my face and they have fans with which to hide their eyes. I envy their range of movement. At the moment, my range feels more like a pillar of salt balancing a floppy tickling headdress that has a mind of its own.

I feel a comfortable breeze and look longingly out the opening of the dark doorway. Sadly, I cannot leave but I don't want to be in the way. So I decide to stand next to the buffet. I hope that the white linen table will camouflage my dress and swan's head. Unlike Dora, I never wish to be a spectacle.

At least at the moment, everyone is too busy dancing to notice me standing here. I hear a rumble and can't turn my head far enough around to know what is coming. Then, several carts roll by. I imagine they came in through the dark doorway.

Men, head to toe in white, collect around me and set out giant steaming covered dishes.

They are wear tall puffy white hats, like the one I have seen on Bastian. I look up into the eyes of one who places a covered platter on the table next to me. I recognize Bastian at the same moment he sees me.

He gives me a wide smile and a wink. "Why look at you. Don't you look good enough to eat?"

"I'm a swan." I say with a little whimper.

"Yes, I got that. Wait a minute. Are you are not having fun?"

"How can I? This dress won't let me breathe and this mask tickles when I manage to take a breath."

"My little goose. You need me don't you. I can help you if you come with me."

Bastian takes my hand. His is sure, strong and warm. I am happy to go anywhere with him.

No one watches for all eyes are on Dora. I'm so grateful for Bastian's rescue. It is the perfect moment to escape.

If I hadn't been wearing such a tight dress I would be breathing a sigh of relief. Instead I walk across gravel and over grass, not really knowing where we are going.

Bastian leads me to a quiet gazebo where the noise of the party and sounds of the kitchen fade away. Only the strains of music softly intwine us. The ballroom had been so bright it takes time for my eyes to adjust.

"Have you danced?" he asks, voice low.

I try to shake my head, and a feather tickles the tip of my nose, making me sneeze. "Remember, I can't even move."

He turns me around and inspects my dress. "Wow, you are packed inside there. It's more like sausage casing than dress. Are you wearing anything under it?"

"A slip," I say.

Without another word he unzips the bodice and helps me wiggle out of my fashionable prison.

"Oh, that is so much better. I can breathe." The relief is instant. But my nose still tickles.

Bastian's toque and my swan's head come together. He takes off his hat and then he helps me shed this awkward concession I made for Dora. I nearly cry with relief. The feather mask plops onto the grass. It looks like a badly constructed nest.

"I can hear the music now. It's a lovely waltz."

Bastian takes me in his arms and we begin to dance. Then, Bastian kisses me. "You don't need a costume to prove you are my Goosey."

"What does that make you then, my gander?"

"Yes," He has the most wonderful smile. "We are birds of a feather. And, you know, geese mate for life."

Bastian grabs me by my buttocks and lifts me up. I entwine my legs around his waist to help him support my weight and he twirls me around and around.