The carol's seven swans become territorial animals competing for space with the geese in the imagined garden. Repetition takes both groups to forty-two, overwhelming what had been a small fish pond and ordinary lawn. The maids-a-milking are imagined arriving with cows, bringing animal waste and the work of milking into a domestic garden. The parent must also feed the milkers and wonders who will pay their wages. Receiving the gift therefore creates obligations for which this household has neither the facilities nor a plan.
Chapter · 27:28-28:39
Waterfowl, dairy cattle, and resource mismatch
Swans, geese, cows, and arriving milkers require pond space, facilities, and an operating budget that the imagined household lacks.