fallen down in the very yard whereCaesar lived, for there he stood right over him. "Who are you?" hegrowled. "How did you get into the house? Don't you belong down amongthe reed banks?"
It was with great difficulty that he gained the courage to answer."Don't be angry with me, Caesar, because I came into the house!" saidhe. "It isn't my fault. I have been wounded by a gunshot. It was thepeople themselves who laid me in this basket."
"Oho! so it's the folks themselves that have placed you here," saidCaesar. "Then it is surely their intention to cure you; although, for mypart, I think it would be wiser for them to eat you up, since you are intheir power. But, at any rate, you are tabooed in the house. You needn'tlook so scared. Now, we're not down on Takern."
With that Caesar laid himself to sleep in front of the blazing log-fire.As soon as Jarro understood that this terrible danger was past, extremelassitude came over him, and he fell asleep anew.
The next time Jarro awoke, he saw that a dish with grain and water stoodbefore him. He was still quite ill, but he felt hungry nevertheless, andbegan to eat. When the mistress saw that he ate, she came up and pettedhim, and looked pleased. After that, Jarro fell asleep again. Forseveral days he did nothing but eat and sleep.
One morning Jarro felt so well that he stepped from the basket andwandered along the floor. But he hadn't gone very far before he keeledover, and lay there. Then came Caesar, opened his big jaws and grabbedhim. Jarro believed, of course, that the dog was going to bite him todeath; but Caesar carried him back to the basket without harming him.Because of this, Jarro acquired such a confidence in the dog Caesar,that on his next walk in the cottage, he went over to the dog and laydown beside him. Thereafter Caesar and he became good friends, and everyday, for several hours, Jarro lay and slept between Caesar's paws.
But an even greater affection than he felt for Caesar, did Jarro feeltoward his mistress. Of her he had not the least fear; but rubbed hishead against her hand when she came and fed him. Whenever she went outof the cottage he sighed with regret; and when she came back he criedwelcome to her in his own language.
Jarro forgot entirely how afraid he had been of both dogs and humans inother days. He thought now that they were gentle and kind, and he lovedthem. He wished that he were well, so he could fly down to Takern andtell the wild ducks that their enemies were not dangerous, and that theyneed not fear them.
He had observed that the human beings, as well as Caesar, had calm eyes,which it did one good to look into. The only one in the cottage whoseglance he did not care to meet, was Clawina, the house cat. She did himno harm, either, but he couldn't place any confidence in her. Then, too,she quarrelled with him constantly, because he loved human beings. "Youthink they protect you because they are fond of you," said Clawina. "Youjust wait until you are fat enough! Then they'll wring the neck off you.I know them, I do."
Jarro, like all birds, had a tender and affectionate heart; and he wasunutterably distressed when he heard this. He couldn't imagine that hismistress would wish to wring the neck off him, nor could he believe anysuch thing of her son, the little boy who sat for hours beside hisbasket, and babbled and chattered. He seemed to think that both of themhad the same love for him that he had for them.
One day, when Jarro and Caesar lay on the usual spot before the fire,Clawina sat on the hearth and began to tease the wild duck.
"I wonder, Jarro, what you wild ducks will do next year, when Takern isdrained and turned into grain fields?" said Clawina. "What's that yousay, Clawina?" cried Jarro, and jumped up--scared through and through."I always forget, Jarro, that you do not understand human speech, likeCaesar and myself," answered the cat. "Or else you surely would haveheard how the men, who were here in the cottage yesterday, said that allthe water was going to be drained from Takern, and that next year thelake-bottom would be as dry as a house-floor. And now I wonder where youwild ducks will go." When Jarro heard this talk he was so furious thathe hissed like a snake. "You are just as mean as a common coot!" hescreamed at Clawina. "You only want to incite me against human beings. Idon't believe they want to do anything of the sort. They must know thatTakern is the wild ducks' property. Why should they make so many birdshomeless and unhappy? You have certainly hit upon all this to scare me.I hope that you may be torn in pieces by Gorgo, the eagle! I hope thatmy mistress will chop off your whiskers!"
But Jarro couldn't shut Clawina up with this outburst. "So you think I'mlying," said she. "Ask Caesar, then! He was also in the house lastnight. Caesar never lies."
"Caesar," said Jarro, "you understand human speech much better thanClawina. Say that she hasn't heard aright! Think how it would be if thepeople drained Takern, and changed the lake-bottom into fields! Thenthere would be no more pondweed or duck-food for the grown wild ducks,and no blackfish or worms or gnat-eggs for the ducklings. Then thereed-banks would disappear--where now the ducklings conceal themselvesuntil they are able to fly. All ducks would be compelled to move awayfrom here and seek another home. But where shall they find a retreatlike Takern? Caesar, say that Clawina has not heard aright!"
It was extraordinary to watch Caesar's behaviour during thisconversation. He had been wide-awake the whole time before, but now,when Jarro turned to him, he panted, laid his long nose on his forepaws,and was sound asleep within the wink of an eyelid.
The cat looked down at Caesar with a knowing smile. "I believe thatCaesar doesn't care to answer you," she said to Jarro. "It is with himas with all dogs; they will never acknowledge that humans can do anywrong. But you can rely upon my word, at any rate. I shall tell you whythey wish to drain the lake just now. As long as you wild ducks stillhad the power on Takern, they did not wish to drain it, for, at least,they got some good out of you; but now, grebes and coots and other birdswho are no good as food, have infested nearly all the reed-banks, andthe people don't think they need let the lake remain on their account."
Jarro didn't trouble himself to answer Clawina, but raised his head, andshouted in Caesar's ear: "Caesar! You know that on Takern there arestill so many ducks left that they fill the air like clouds. Say itisn't true that human beings intend to make all of these homeless!"
Then Caesar sprang up with such a sudden outburst at Clawina that shehad to save herself by jumping up on a shelf. "I'll teach you to keepquiet when I want to sleep," bawled Caesar. "Of course I know that thereis some talk about draining the lake this year. But there's been talk ofthis many times before without anything coming of it. And that drainingbusiness is a matter in which I take no stock whatever. For how would itgo with the game if Takern were laid waste. You're a donkey to gloatover a thing like that. What will you and I have to amuse ourselveswith, when there are no more birds on Takern?"
THE DECOY-DUCK
_Sunday, April seventeenth_.
A couple of days later Jarro was so well that he could fly all about thehouse. Then he was petted a good deal by the mistress, and the littleboy ran out in the yard and plucked the first grass-blades for him whichhad sprung up. When the mistress caressed him, Jarro thought that,although he was now so strong that he could fly down to Takern at anytime, he shouldn't care to be separated from the human beings. He had noobjection to remaining with them all his life.
But early one morning the mistress placed a halter, or noose, overJarro, which prevented him from using his wings, and then she turned himover to the farm-hand who had found him in the yard. The farm-hand pokedhim under his arm, and went down to Takern with him.
The ice had melted away while Jarro had been ill. The old, dry fallleaves still stood along the shores and islets, but all thewater-growths had begun to take root down in the deep; and the greenstems had already reached the surface. And now nearly all the migratorybirds were at home. The curlews' hooked bills peeped out from the reeds.The grebes glided about with new feather-collars around the neck; andthe jack-snipes were gathering straws for their nests.
The farm-hand got into a scow, laid Jarro in the bottom of the boat, andbegan to pole himself out on the lake. Jarro, who had now a
ccustomedhimself to expect only good of human beings, said to Caesar, who wasalso in the party, that he was very grateful toward the farm-hand fortaking him out on the lake. But there was no need to keep him so closelyguarded, for he did not intend to fly away. To this Caesar made noreply. He was very close-mouthed that morning.
The only thing which struck Jarro as being a bit peculiar was that thefarm-hand had taken his gun along. He couldn't believe that any of thegood folk in the cottage would want to shoot birds. And, beside, Caesarhad told him that the people didn't hunt at this time of the year. "Itis a prohibited time," he had said, "although this doesn't concern me,of course."
The farm-hand
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa. English Page 40