an alternate allegory (a tribute to Princess Tutu)

once upon a time, there was a prince who had lost his heart.  fortunately, he was loved by a swan, who took on the purpose of returning the lost shards of the prince's heart to him.  but when the swan returned one of the shards of the prince's heart, it turned out to be contaminated by the blood of the raven.  its own heart full of pain, the swan did the only thing that would truly heal the prince: it took up its sword and pierced the prince's heart, shattering it to pieces once more.  the swan carefully picked up all the shards of the prince's heart and held them tightly.  the shards pierced through feathers and skin, and they were soon covered in the swan's blood.  when the swan offered them back to the prince, however, the heart shards were clean and uncontaminated.  as they entered the prince's chest, his heart became healthy and whole.  but he wondered: was it the breaking, or the swan's blood that made this possible?