listening to Akka and theold goose-master, when Dunfin came flying up to him. "Thumbietot,Thumbietot!" she cried. "Morten Goosey-Gander is dying! I have killedhim!"
"Let me get up on your back, Dunfin, and take me to him!" Away theyflew, and Akka and the other wild geese followed them. When they got tothe goosey-gander, he was lying prostrate on the ground. He could notutter a word--only gasped for breath.
"Tickle him under the gorge and slap him on the back!" commanded Akka.The boy did so and presently the big, white gander coughed up a large,white root, which had stuck in his gorge. "Have you been eating ofthese?" asked Akka, pointing to some roots that lay on the ground.
"Yes," groaned the goosey-gander.
"Then it was well they stuck in your throat," said Akka, "for they arepoisonous. Had you swallowed them, you certainly should have died."
"Dunfin bade me eat them," said the goosey-gander.
"My sister gave them to me," protested Dunfin, and she told everything.
"You must beware of those sisters of yours, Dunfin!" warned Akka, "forthey wish you no good, depend upon it!"
But Dunfin was so constituted that she could not think evil of any oneand, a moment later, when Prettywing asked her to come and meet herintended, she went with her immediately.
"Oh, he isn't as handsome as yours," said the sister, "but he's muchmore courageous and daring!"
"How do you know he is?" challenged Dunfin.
"For some time past there has been weeping and wailing amongst the seagulls and wild ducks on the island. Every morning at daybreak a strangebird of prey comes and carries off one of them."
"What kind of a bird is it?" asked Dunfin.
"We don't know," replied the sister. "One of his kind has never beforebeen seen on the island, and, strange to say, he has never attacked oneof us geese. But now my intended has made up his mind to challenge himto-morrow morning, and drive him away."
"Oh, I hope he'll succeed!" said Dunfin.
"I hardly think he will," returned the sister. "If my goosey-gander wereas big and strong as yours, I should have hope."
"Do you wish me to ask Morten Goosey-Gander to meet the strange bird?"asked Dunfin.
"Indeed, I do!" exclaimed Prettywing excitedly. "You couldn't render mea greater service."
The next morning the goosey-gander was up before the sun. He stationedhimself on the highest point of the island and peered in all directions.Presently he saw a big, dark bird coming from the west. His wings wereexceedingly large, and it was easy to tell that he was an eagle. Thegoosey-gander had not expected a more dangerous adversary than an owl,and how he understood that he could not escape this encounter with hislife. But it did not occur to him to avoid a struggle with a bird whowas many times stronger than himself.
The great bird swooped down on a sea gull and dug his talons into it.Before the eagle could spread his wings, Morten Goosey-Gander rushed upto him. "Drop that!" he shouted, "and don't come here again or you'llhave me to deal with!" "What kind of a lunatic are you?" said the eagle."It's lucky for you that I never fight with geese, or you would soon bedone for!"
Morten Goosey-Gander thought the eagle considered himself too good tofight with him and flew at him, incensed, biting him on the throat andbeating him with his wings. This, naturally, the eagle would nottolerate and he began to fight, but not with his full strength.
The boy lay sleeping in the quarters where Akka and the other wild geeseslept, when Dunfin called: "Thumbietot, Thumbietot! Morten Goosey-Ganderis being torn to pieces by an eagle."
"Let me get up on your back, Dunfin, and take me to him!" said the boy.
When they arrived on the scene Morten Goosey-Gander was badly torn, andbleeding, but he was still fighting. The boy could not battle with theeagle; all that he could do was to seek more efficient help.
"Hurry, Dunfin, and call Akka and the wild geese!" he cried. The instanthe said that, the eagle flew back and stopped fighting.
"Who's speaking of Akka?" he asked. He saw Thumbietot and heard the wildgeese honking, so he spread his wings.
"Tell Akka I never expected to run across her or any of her flock outhere in the sea!" he said, and soared away in a rapid and gracefulflight.
"That is the self-same eagle who once brought me back to the wildgeese," the boy remarked, gazing after the bird in astonishment.
The geese had decided to leave the island at dawn, but first they wantedto feed awhile. As they walked about and nibbled, a mountain duck cameup to Dunfin.
"I have a message for you from your sisters," said the duck. "They darenot show themselves among the wild geese, but they asked me to remindyou not to leave the island without calling on the old fisherman."
"That's so!" exclaimed Dunfin, but she was so frightened now that shewould not go alone, and asked the goosey-gander and Thumbietot toaccompany her to the hut.
The door was open, so Dunfin entered, but the others remained outside.After a moment they heard Akka give the signal to start, and calledDunfin. A gray goose came out and flew with the wild geese away from theisland.
They had travelled quite a distance along the archipelago when the boybegan to wonder at the goose who accompanied them. Dunfin always flewlightly and noiselessly, but this one laboured with heavy and noisywing-strokes. "We are in the wrong company. It is Prettywing thatfollows us!"
The boy had barely spoken when the goose uttered such an ugly and angryshriek that all knew who she was. Akka and the others turned to her, butthe gray goose did not fly away at once. Instead she bumped against thebig goosey-gander, snatched Thumbietot, and flew off with him in herbill.
There was a wild chase over the archipelago. Prettywing flew fast, butthe wild geese were close behind her, and there was no chance for her toescape.
Suddenly they saw a puff of smoke rise up from the sea, and heard anexplosion. In their excitement they had not noticed that they weredirectly above a boat in which a lone fisherman was seated.
However, none of the geese was hurt; but just there, above the boat,Prettywing opened her bill and dropped Thumbietot into the sea.
STOCKHOLM
SKANSEN
A few years ago, at Skansen--the great park just outside of Stockholmwhere they have collected so many wonderful things--there lived a littleold man, named Clement Larsson. He was from Haelsingland and had come toSkansen with his fiddle to play folk dances and other old melodies. As aperformer, he appeared mostly in the evening. During the day it was hisbusiness to sit on guard in one of the many pretty peasant cottageswhich have been moved to Skansen from all parts of the country.
In the beginning Clement thought that he fared better in his old agethan he had ever dared dream; but after a time he began to dislike theplace terribly, especially while he was on watch duty. It was all verywell when visitors came into the cottage to look around, but some daysClement would sit for many hours all alone. Then he felt so homesickthat he feared he would have to give up his place. He was very poor andknew that at home he would become a charge on the parish. Therefore hetried to hold out as long as he could, although he felt more unhappyfrom day to day.
One beautiful evening in the beginning of May Clement had been granted afew hours' leave of absence. He was on his way down the steep hillleading out of Skansen, when he met an island fisherman coming alongwith his game bag. The fisherman was an active young man who came toSkansen with seafowl that he had managed to capture alive. Clement hadmet him before, many times.
The fisherman stopped Clement to ask if the superintendent at Skansenwas at home. When Clement had replied, he, in turn, asked what choicething the fisherman had in his bag. "You can see what I have," thefisherman answered, "if in return you will give me an idea as to what Ishould ask for it."
He held open the bag and Clement peeped into it once--and again--thenquickly drew back a step or two. "Good gracious, Ashbjoern!" heexclaimed. "How did you catch that one?"
He remembered that when he was a child his mother used to talk of thetiny folk who lived under the cabin f
loor. He was not permitted to cryor to be naughty, lest he provoke these small people. After he was grownhe believed his mother had made up these stories about the elves to makehim behave himself. But it had been no invention of his mother's, itseemed; for there, in Ashbjoern's bag, lay one of the tiny folk.
There was a little of the terror natural to childhood left in Clement,and he felt a shudder run down his spinal column as he peeped into thebag. Ashbjoern saw that he was frightened and began to laugh; butClement took the matter seriously. "Tell me, Ashbjoern, where you cameacross him?" he asked. "You may be sure that I wasn't lying in wait forhim!" said Ashbjoern. "He came to me. I started out early this
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