Third Dish By Joan Aiken

The short story “The Third WIsh” written by Joan Aiken takes place in the forest of Savernake during just any usual Spring evening. In this heartwarming short read, the protagonist, Mr, Peters, was going about his everyday life, with no doubts. As he was driving his car on this clear spring evening, he suspected suspicious movements and sounds, as if someone was in trouble and in desperate need for help. It ended up being a bird, who was tied up in the bushes. Mr. Peters managed to give the poor bird the assistance it needed, As a reward for rescuing him, the swan provided the man with three wishes. The main lesson that this story enhances is to be appreciative of what you already have. If you are happy in the moment, that is all you need, and

From the very beginning, the details and descriptions that the story provides show that Mr. Peters was content with his life and happy all along. He is in the mind set of hesitation when the three wishes are presented to his own benefit. Aiken shows this by saying “Mr. Peters stood for some minutes reflecting on how he should use his reward. He knew very well that the gift of three magic wishes was one which brought trouble more often than not, and he had no intention of being like the forester…..” This significant quote from the story shows that Mr. Peters actually took the time to rethink the three wishes offer based on his happiness in the moment. From his reflecting, it initiated that Mr. Peters was stuck between the states of want and need. He knew he was already satisfied with his life, and he referred this situation to a forester who was unsuccessful with their wishes; someone who he didn’t want to turn out to be like. For this reason, he knew he didn’t necessarily need the wishes, and that they were only something he wanted. However, he also didn’t want to ruin his