strange. The sun standshigh in the heavens, and the birds should already be on their way.
But what the animals, on the other hand, observe, is one and anotherlittle dark cloud that comes slowly forward over the plain. And look!one of these clouds comes gradually along the coast of Oeresund, and uptoward Kullaberg. When the cloud has come just over the playground itstops, and, simultaneously, the entire cloud begins to ring and chirp,as if it was made of nothing but tone. It rises and sinks, rises andsinks, but all the while it rings and chirps. At last the whole cloudfalls down over a knoll--all at once--and the next instant the knoll isentirely covered with gray larks, pretty red-white-gray bulfinches,speckled starlings and greenish-yellow titmice.
Soon after that, another cloud comes over the plain. This stops overevery bit of land; over peasant cottage and palace; over towns andcities; over farms and railway stations; over fishing hamlets and sugarrefineries. Every time it stops, it draws to itself a little whirlingcolumn of gray dust-grains from the ground. In this way it grows andgrows. And at last, when it is all gathered up and heads for Kullaberg,it is no longer a cloud but a whole mist, which is so big that it throwsa shadow on the ground all the way from Hoeganaes to Moelle. When it stopsover the playground it hides the sun; and for a long while it had torain gray sparrows on one of the knolls, before those who had beenflying in the innermost part of the mist could again catch a glimpse ofthe daylight.
But still the biggest of these bird-clouds is the one which now appears.This has been formed of birds who have travelled from every direction tojoin it. It is dark bluish-gray, and no sun-ray can penetrate it. It isfull of the ghastliest noises, the most frightful shrieks, the grimmestlaughter, and most ill-luck-boding croaking! All on the playground areglad when it finally resolves itself into a storm of fluttering andcroaking: of crows and jackdaws and rooks and ravens.
Thereupon not only clouds are seen in the heavens, but a variety ofstripes and figures. Then straight, dotted lines appear in the East andNortheast. These are forest-birds from Goeinge districts: black grouseand wood grouse who come flying in long lines a couple of metres apart.Swimming-birds that live around Maklaeppen, just out of Falsterbo, nowcome floating over Oeresund in many extraordinary figures: in triangularand long curves; in sharp hooks and semicircles.
To the great reunion held the year that Nils Holgersson travelledaround with the wild geese, came Akka and her flock--later than all theothers. And that was not to be wondered at, for Akka had to fly over thewhole of Skane to get to Kullaberg. Beside, as soon as she awoke, shehad been obliged to go out and hunt for Thumbietot, who, for many hours,had gone and played to the gray rats, and lured them far away fromGlimminge castle. Mr. Owl had returned with the news that the black ratswould be at home immediately after sunrise; and there was no longer anydanger in letting the steeple-owl's pipe be hushed, and to give the grayrats the liberty to go where they pleased.
But it was not Akka who discovered the boy where he walked with his longfollowing, and quickly sank down over him and caught him with the billand swung into the air with him, but it was Herr Ermenrich, the stork!For Herr Ermenrich had also gone out to look for him; and after he hadborne him up to the stork-nest, he begged his forgiveness for havingtreated him with disrespect the evening before.
This pleased the boy immensely, and the stork and he became goodfriends. Akka, too, showed him that she felt very kindly toward him; shestroked her old head several times against his arms, and commended himbecause he had helped those who were in trouble.
But this one must say to the boy's credit: that he did not want toaccept praise which he had not earned. "No, mother Akka," he said, "youmustn't think that I lured the gray rats away to help the black ones. Ionly wanted to show Herr Ermenrich that I was of some consequence."
He had hardly said this before Akka turned to the stork and asked if hethought it was advisable to take Thumbietot along to Kullaberg. "I mean,that we can rely on him as upon ourselves," said she. The stork at onceadvised, most enthusiastically, that Thumbietot be permitted to comealong. "Certainly you shall take Thumbietot along to Kullaberg, motherAkka," said he. "It is fortunate for us that we can repay him for allthat he has endured this night for our sakes. And since it still grievesme to think that I did not conduct myself in a becoming manner towardhim the other evening, it is I who will carry him on my back--all theway to the meeting place."
There isn't much that tastes better than to receive praise from thosewho are themselves wise and capable; and the boy had certainly neverfelt so happy as he did when the wild goose and the stork talked abouthim in this way.
Thus the boy made the trip to Kullaberg, riding stork-back. Although heknew that this was a great honour, it caused him much anxiety, for HerrErmenrich was a master flyer, and started off at a very different pacefrom the wild geese. While Akka flew her straight way with evenwing-strokes, the stork amused himself by performing a lot of flyingtricks. Now he lay still in an immeasurable height, and floated in theair without moving his wings, now he flung himself downward with suchsudden haste that it seemed as though he would fall to the ground,helpless as a stone; now he had lots of fun flying all around Akka, ingreat and small circles, like a whirlwind. The boy had never been on aride of this sort before; and although he sat there all the while interror, he had to acknowledge to himself that he had never before knownwhat a good flight meant.
Only a single pause was made during the journey, and that was at VombLake when Akka joined her travelling companions, and called to them thatthe gray rats had been vanquished. After that, the travellers flewstraight to Kullaberg.
There they descended to the knoll reserved for the wild geese; and asthe boy let his glance wander from knoll to knoll, he saw on one of themthe many-pointed antlers of the stags; and on another, the gray herons'neck-crests. One knoll was red with foxes, one was gray with rats; onewas covered with black ravens who shrieked continually, one with larkswho simply couldn't keep still, but kept on throwing themselves in theair and singing for very joy.
Just as it has ever been the custom on Kullaberg, it was the crows whobegan the day's games and frolics with their flying-dance. They dividedthemselves into two flocks, that flew toward each other, met, turned,and began all over again. This dance had many repetitions, and appearedto the spectators who were not familiar with the dance as altogether toomonotonous. The crows were very proud of their dance, but all the otherswere glad when it was over. It appeared to the animals about as gloomyand meaningless as the winter-storms' play with the snow-flakes. Itdepressed them to watch it, and they waited eagerly for something thatshould give them a little pleasure.
They did not have to wait in vain, either; for as soon as the crows hadfinished, the hares came running. They dashed forward in a long row,without any apparent order. In some of the figures, one single harecame; in others, they ran three and four abreast. They had all raisedthemselves on two legs, and they rushed forward with such rapidity thattheir long ears swayed in all directions. As they ran, they spun round,made high leaps and beat their forepaws against their hind-paws so thatthey rattled. Some performed a long succession of somersaults, othersdoubled themselves up and rolled over like wheels; one stood on one legand swung round; one walked upon his forepaws. There was no regulationwhatever, but there was much that was droll in the hares' play; and themany animals who stood and watched them began to breathe faster. Now itwas spring; joy and rapture were advancing. Winter was over; summer wascoming. Soon it was only play to live.
When the hares had romped themselves out, it was the great forest birds'turn to perform. Hundreds of wood-grouse in shining dark-brown array,and with bright red eyebrows, flung themselves up into a great oak thatstood in the centre of the playground. The one who sat upon the topmostbranch fluffed up his feathers, lowered his wings, and lifted his tailso that the white covert-feathers were seen. Thereupon he stretched hisneck and sent forth a couple of deep notes from his thick throat."Tjack, tjack, tjack," it sounded. More than this he could not utter. Itonly gurgled
a few times way down in the throat. Then he closed his eyesand whispered: "Sis, sis, sis. Hear how pretty! Sis, sis, sis." At thesame time he fell into such an ecstasy that he no longer knew what wasgoing on around him.
While the first wood grouse was sissing, the three nearest--underhim--began to sing; and before they had finished their song, the ten whosat lower down joined in; and thus it continued from branch to branch,until the entire hundred grouse sang and gurgled and sissed. They allfell into the same ecstasy during their song, and this affected theother animals like a contagious transport. Lately the blood had flowedlightly and agreeably; now it began to grow heavy and hot. "Yes, this issurely spring," thought all the animal folk. "Winter chill has vanished.The fires of spring burn over the earth."
When the black grouse saw that the brown grouse were having suchsuccess, they could no longer keep quiet. As
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