In “The Third Wish,” the river functions as a symbolic boundary between the human and magical worlds. The river is introduced early as Mr. Peters drives through the forest. At the riverbank, the trapped swan transforms into the King of the Forest and grants Mr. Peters his wishes, establishing the location as a point of contact between the natural and supernatural. The river also runs along the edge of Mr. Peters’s property. Although Leita insists that she loves Mr. Peters, she repeatedly returns to the river to visit Rhea. Her attachment to the river demonstrates that, despite her physical transformation, her true identity cannot be overwritten by Mr. Peters’s wish.

The King of the Forest gives Mr. Peters “three dead leaves” to represent three wishes (226). The imagery of dead leaves subverts expectations, as magical objects in folklore are often rare or valuable, whereas dead leaves suggest impermanence and fragility. By using ordinary fallen leaves as a magical vessel, Aiken presents the wishes as deceptively harmless, even as the “dead” quality of the leaves foreshadows the negative outcomes of Mr. Peters’s wish. The leaves also reinforce the text’s thematic interest in The Consequences of Desire by suggesting that the magic they contain will lead to loss.

Aiken uses thorns to portray the limits of human discipline. Before making his first wish, Mr. Peters pricks his tongue with a thorn “to remind himself not to utter rash words” (227). This act suggests a belief that controlled discipline will allow him to avoid the consequences of using magic. The gesture also reveals a degree of arrogance, as Mr. Peters assumes that his restraint will allow him to control the outcome of his wish when so many others have failed. 

When viewed in this context, the earlier image of the swan trapped in thorns near the riverbank—“it was a swan that had become entangled in the thorns growing on the bank of the canal” (225)—takes on symbolic significance. If thorns represent human hubris, then the King’s irritated, sarcastic tone suggests a disgust at being ensnared by human attempts to use magic.