Chapter 3 Wild Goose Aka from Daxue Mountain

The white gander, flying with the flock, was delighted to be able to fly with the geese up and down the southern plains, and to tease the other fowl.But no matter how happy he was, by late afternoon he was starting to feel tired.He tried his best to breathe deeply and flap his wings faster, but he still lagged far behind the other geese. When the wild geese flying at the end noticed that the house goose could not keep up with the team, they shouted to the leading goose flying at the front: "Hey, Aka from Daxueshan! Hey, Aka from Daxueshan!" Card!" "Why are you calling me?" asked the leader goose.

"The white goose is falling behind! The white goose is falling behind!" "Tell him quickly, it takes less effort to fly faster than to fly slowly!" the leading goose replied, and flapped its wings to fly forward. The gander tried to do as she advised, tried to go faster, but he was exhausted, and he fell straight into the pruned willow bushes that surrounded the plow and pasture. "A-Ka, A-Ka, A-Ka from Daxue Mountain!" The wild geese flying at the tail of the team shouted again when they saw the goose struggling. "What are you calling me for again?" asked the leader goose, and it could be heard from her voice that she was a little impatient.

"The white goose is falling! The white goose is falling!" "Tell him, it's easier to fly high than low!" said the lead goose, she didn't slow down at all, she kept flapping her wings and rushed forward.The gander wanted to follow her advice, but when he flew up, he couldn't breathe, and his lungs were about to explode. "Akka, Akka." The geese flying behind called again. "Can't you let me fly safely?" The leading goose was more impatient than before. "The white goose is about to hit the ground, the white goose is about to hit the ground!"

"Tell him that you can go home if you can't keep up with the team!" She said angrily, her mind seemed to have no intention of slowing down at all, but flapped her wings forward as fast as before. "Hey, that's what happened," the gander thought to himself.He suddenly understood that the geese had no real intention of taking him to Lapland in the north at all, but just took him out to relax. He was very annoyed that he had more energy than he had, and was unable to show these wanderers that even a house goose could do something.The most unbearable thing was that he bumped into Aka from Daxue Mountain. Even though he was a domestic goose, he had also heard of a leading goose named Aka who was over a hundred years old.Her reputation was so great that the best geese were always willing to travel with her.But no one despised domestic geese more than Aka and her flock, so he wanted them to see that he was on a par with them.

He was flying slowly behind the geese, debating whether to turn back or go on, when the little figure on his back suddenly said, "My dear Morton, you should know Well, you've never been in the air, and it's impossible to follow the geese all the way to Lapland. Why don't you turn around and go home before you fall to your death?" But the gander knew that the sharecropper's boy was the most uncomfortable thing for him, and even the poor wretch didn't believe he was capable of the flight, and he made up his mind to go on with it. "If you talk too much, I'll throw you into the first marl pit we fly over!" the gander cried angrily.In a fit of anger, he became much stronger and was able to fly almost as fast as other wild geese.

Of course, he couldn't keep flying so fast for a long time, and he didn't need to, because the sun was setting quickly.As soon as the sun went down, the geese flew down quickly.Before the boy and the gander came back to their senses, they were already standing on the shore of Lake Vimbhu. "So we're going to spend the night here." The boy thought to himself, and jumped off the goose. He was standing on a narrow sandy bank with a rather open lake in front of him.The lake was ugly, as is often the case in spring, covered with a wrinkled ice, blackened and uneven, and full of cracks and holes.The ice, which will soon melt away, has parted from the shore and formed a band of gleaming black water around it.But the ice layer exists after all, and it exudes a biting cold air and a terrible smell of winter to the surroundings.

The other side of the lake seemed to be a bright open area, but the place where the geese lived was a large pine forest.It seems that the coniferous forest has the power to tie winter to its side.Elsewhere the snow has melted away and exposed the ground, while snow remains beneath the densely branched canopies of the pine trees.The snow here melts and freezes, so it is as hard as ice. The boy found himself in the icy and snowy wilderness, feeling distressed, and really wanted to cry. He was so hungry that his stomach was rumbling, and he hadn't eaten for a whole day.But where to find food?It's just March now, and nothing edible has grown on the ground or on the trees yet.

Alas, where did he go for food?Who will give him a house to live in?Who will make the bed for him?Who will keep him warm by the fire?And who will protect him from the beasts? The sun had long gone, and a chill was blowing over the lake.Night fell from the sky, and fear and anxiety also came quietly with dusk.There was a pattering sound in the big forest. The exuberant joy with which boys soar through the air is gone.He looked round with anxiety at his companions, for whom he had no one to depend on. At this time, he saw that the situation of the big gander was worse than his own.He has been lying on the place where he landed, as if he is about to die, his neck is limp on the ground, his eyes are tightly closed, and his breath is only a breath as thin as a gossamer.

"Dear gander Morton," said the boy, "try to get some water! It's only two steps from the lake." But the great gander did not move. Boys have been cruel to animals in the past, and it was the same with this gander.But at this moment, he felt that the gander was his only support, and he was terribly afraid that he might lose the gander if he failed.He hastened to push and pull him, and managed to get him to the water's edge.The gander was so big and heavy that the boy had a hard time pushing him to the water's edge. The gander's head got into the lake, and he lay motionless in the mud for a while, then stretched out his beak, shook the water from his eyes, and took a breath, finally regained his strength, and began to stand proudly again. The ground swims among the reeds and cattail grass.

The wild geese reached the lake before him.After they landed on the ground, they neither cared for the gander nor the man on its back, but jumped into the water.They had swam, brushed their feathers, and were now sucking on the half-rotted water lilies and waterweed. The white gander was lucky enough to catch a small bass in the water.He pecked the fish in one fell swoop, swam to the bank, and put the fish in front of the boy. "This is for you, thank you for helping me get into the water," he said. For the first time in a whole day, the boy heard kind words.He was so happy that he really wanted to stretch out his arms and hug the gander's neck tightly, but he didn't dare to be so rash.He is also very happy to eat this gift to satisfy his hunger.At first he felt that he would not be able to eat raw fish, but his hunger forced him to try something new.

He touched himself to see if he had the knife with him.Fortunately, the pocket knife was with me, fastened to the button of my trousers.Needless to say, the pocket knife has also become very small, very small, only as long as a matchstick.OK!Just use this small knife to scrape off the fish scales and dig out the internal organs.It didn't take long for him to eat the fish. After the boy was full, he was embarrassed because he was able to eat raw. "Well, it looks like I'm no longer a man, but a real goblin," he thought to himself.All the time the boy was eating the fish, the gander stood quietly beside him.When he swallowed his last mouthful, the gander lowered his voice and said, "We have encountered a group of wild geese who look down on all poultry." "Yes, I've seen it," said the boy. "If I can fly with them all the way to the northernmost Lapland and let them see it, a house goose can still do a great job, which is very honorable to me." "Oh..." the boy hesitantly dragged out his voice.He didn't believe that the gander could really realize those bold words, but he didn't want to refute him. "But I don't think I can handle this trip by myself," said the gander, "so I want to ask you, will you go with me and help me?" busy." Of course, the boy didn't have any other thoughts except rushing back home, so he didn't know how to answer for a while. "I thought, you and I, we were always enemies," he finally answered.But the gander seemed to have forgotten all this, and he only remembered that the boy had just saved his life. "I just want to go back to my parents as soon as possible." The boy expressed his thoughts. "Then I will send you back in the autumn," said the gander, "and I will not leave you until I have sent you to my doorstep." The boy thought about it, and it would be a good idea to let his parents see him after a while.Nor was he at all unimpressed by the proposal.Just when he was about to open his mouth to say that he could agree to go together, there was a loud noise from behind.It turned out that the wild geese all flew up from the water and stood there shaking off the water drops from their bodies.Then they formed a long line, led by the leader goose, came towards them. At this time, the white gander observed these wild geese carefully, and he felt very uncomfortable.He had expected that they would look like domestic geese, and he could feel his kinship with them.But in fact, their stature was much smaller than his, and none of them was white, but almost all of them were gray, and some had brown hairs on their bodies.Their eyes frightened him, they were yellow and shining, and seemed to burn behind them with a flame.The male goose is born with a habit of walking slowly, shaking its head three times and pacing.However, these wild geese are not walking, but half running and half jumping.When he saw their feet, he felt even more uncomfortable, because their feet were all big, and the soles of their feet were all worn out and bruised.It can be seen that the wild geese never care about what they step on, and they are not willing to take a detour when they encounter trouble.They were handsome and well-feathered, but the shabby looks on their feet made it easy to see that they were poor people from the remote mountains. The goose whispered to the boy, "You have to answer the question openly, but you don't have to say who you are." Just before he had time to say such a sentence, the wild geese had already come to him. The wild geese stood in front of them, stretched their necks, and nodded frequently in salute.The gander also salutes like a ceremonial, but nods more times.After paying respects to each other, the lead goose said, "Now we would like to ask, what kind of person are you?" "There is nothing to say about me," said the gander, "I was born in Scandor last spring. Last autumn I was sold to the house of Jorger Nilsson in the village of West Wymanhauge. And so I've always lived there." "So, your family background is not noble, and none of your family is worth showing off," said the leading goose. "Where did you get the courage to join the ranks of wild geese?" "Perhaps it is precisely because of this that I want you geese to see that our geese are not worthless." "Well, I hope so, if you can really teach us a lot," said the lead goose. "We have seen that you fly fairly well, but besides that, you may be better at other sports." Skills. Maybe you are good at long-distance swimming!" "No, I'm no good," said the gander, who could vaguely see that the leader goose was determined to drive him home, so he didn't care how to answer, "I haven't done anything other than cross a marl pit." Swim longer distances," he continued. "Then, I reckon you must be a long-distance running champion!" The leading goose said again. "I have never seen a goose that can run well, and I can't run myself," replied the gander. The big white goose can now conclude that the lead goose will definitely say that she cannot take him in no matter what.But he was very surprised to hear the lead goose answering: "Well, you answered with courage. And a man of courage makes a good traveling companion, even if he is unskilled at first. You and Let's stay for another day or two, let's see what you can do, do you think it's okay?" "I am very satisfied with this arrangement." The gander replied cheerfully. Afterwards, the lead goose pouted her flat lips and asked, "Who is this guy you brought with you? I've never seen a guy like him before." "He is my traveling companion," replied the gander. "He was born to watch goose, and it will be useful to take him along on a journey." "Well, it might be useful for a house goose," said the lead goose disapprovingly. "What do you call him?" "He has several names," stammered the gander, unable for a moment to think how to conceal it, for he did not want to reveal that the boy had a name. "Oh, his name is Thumbs Up." He finally answered with a quick wit. "Is he of the same family as the elves?" asked the lead goose. "About what time do you geese go to bed every day?" The gander asked suddenly, trying to avoid answering the last question. "At this late hour, my eyelids will close together by themselves." It is not difficult to see that the wild goose talking to the gander has grown old.The feathers all over her body are gray and white, and there is not a single dark-colored miscellaneous hair.Her head was bigger than other geese, her legs were thicker, and her feet were more worn out than theirs.The feathers are hard, the shoulders are thin, and the neck is slender, all of which show the age, except for a pair of eyes that have not been tortured by the years, they are still bright, and seem to be younger than those of other geese. At this time, she turned around and said to the gander with great vigor: "Gander, tell you, I am Aka from Daxue Mountain, and the one flying to my right is Yaxi from Vasial. Flying to my left is Kakshi from Nourya. Remember the second on the right is just Korme from Sarjekchaku and the second on the left is Nailya from Svalbawala Flying behind them are Vissy from Uvik Hill and Cousy from Sengley! Remember, these goose goose with the six geese at the rear of the flock, three to the right, three to the right. Only the one on the left, they are all mountain geese from the most noble families! You don't think of us as wanderers who can hang out with anyone. You don't think we will let anyone who doesn't want to tell his origin Guy sleeps with us." When the lead goose, Aka, spoke in this manner, the boy suddenly took a step forward.The gander spoke so frankly of himself, and so hesitantly of him, that it made him sick. "I don't want to hide who I am," he said. "My name is Nils Hogelson, the son of a sharecropper, and I have been alone until this day, but this morning..." The boy didn't have time to speak.As soon as he said that he was alone, the leading goose retreated three steps abruptly, and the other geese retreated a little further. They stretched their necks one by one and hooted furiously at him. "I've been suspicious since I first saw you by the lake," Akka yelled, "now you get out of here at once! We can't bear to have someone among us!" "That's out of the question," interposed the gander, "you geese needn't be afraid of such a little man, and he should go home to-morrow, but you must keep him with us tonight. Which of us will be able to explain why such a poor creature is left to deal with weasels and foxes alone in the dark?" The lead goose got closer, but it seemed that she still had a hard time suppressing the fear in her heart. "I've known what it's like to be a man, and I'm afraid of him whether he's a big man or a little man," she said. "But if you'll make sure he won't hurt us, he'll stay with us tonight." together. But I think our bivouac is not very comfortable for you or for him, because we're going to sleep on the ice floe over there." She thought that the gander would hesitate when he heard this sentence, but unexpectedly he said calmly, "You are very smart and know how to choose a safe camping place." "But you have to make sure that he will go home tomorrow." "Then I shall have to leave you too," said the gander, "and I promised never to abandon him." "Wherever you like to fly, just let yourself go!" The leading goose said coldly. She flapped her wings and flew towards the floe, and the other wild geese followed suit one by one. The boy was sad that his trip to Lapland was hopeless at last, and he was terrified of sleeping rough in such a cold and bitter night. "Big gander, things are getting worse." He said anxiously. "First of all, we will freeze to death if we sleep on the ice." However, the gander was full of courage. "It doesn't matter," he said reassuringly. "Now I just want you to hurry up and gather the hay, and hold as much as you can." The boy carried a big bag of hay, and the gander grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with his beak, picked him up, and flew to the ice floe.At this time, the wild geese were standing on their feet, their beaks were tucked under their wings, and they were soundly asleep. "Put the hay on the ice so I can have a place to stand and keep my feet from freezing. Do me a favor and I will help you!" said the gander. The boy did as he was told.After he had spread the hay, the gander picked up his shirt collar again and tucked him under his wings. "I think you'll sleep well and warm here," he said, clamping his wings together. The boy was so tightly wrapped in feathers that he couldn't answer.He lay there warm and comfortable, and was really very tired, and fell asleep in the blink of an eye. It is a true truth that the ice floe is fickle and unfathomable, and therefore unreliable.In the middle of the night, the large floating ice on the surface of Lake Vembu, which was not connected to the land, gradually moved, and a place was actually connected to the shore of the lake.At this time, a fox that came out to look for food at night saw this place.The fox's name was Smir, and he lived in the park of Ervid Abbey on the other side of the Great Lake.Smeal had seen the geese in the evening, but he hadn't dared to catch one.Then he jumped onto the ice floe. Just as Smir was approaching the geese, the sole of his foot slipped and his paws scraped on the ice.The wild geese woke up suddenly, flapped their wings and soared into the sky.But Smir was really caught off guard. Like a kite with a broken string, he jumped straight forward, bit the wing of a wild goose, picked it up, turned his head, and ran towards the land. However, that night, it wasn't just a group of wild geese sleeping on the ice floe, there was also a man among them, no matter how small he was, he was a human being after all.The boy woke up with a start when the gander spread its wings, and he fell on the ice, where he sat sleepily, at first wondering how he got into such a mess.Later, when he caught a glimpse of a short-legged "little dog" running off the ice with a wild goose in its mouth, he realized the reason for the commotion. The boy immediately chased after it, trying to snatch the wild goose back from the "dog".Behind him he heard the gander calling loudly, "Beware, Thumbs! Beware, Thumbs!" But the boy felt that there was no need to be afraid of such a small "dog", so Rushed forward without hesitation. The wild goose, held in its mouth by Smeer the Fox, heard the clacking of the boy's wooden shoes on the ice.She could hardly believe her ears. "Maybe this little man is trying to snatch me away from the fox's mouth?" She wondered.In spite of her situation, she croaked at the top of her voice, which sounded like a big laugh. "It's a pity that if he runs, he will fall into the ice hole." She thought regretfully. Even though the night was so dark, the boy could still clearly see all the cracks and holes in the ice and jump over them boldly.It turned out that he now has a pair of elf night vision eyes and can see things in the dark.He saw the lake and the shore as clearly as in broad daylight. Smeer the Fox came ashore from where the ice floe joined the land, and as he was running with difficulty up the slope of the bank, the boy called to him, "Put the goose down, you wretch! " Smir didn't know who the shouting person was, and he didn't bother to look back, but ran forward desperately.The fox ran into a beech forest with tall and straight trunks, and the boy chased after him, not thinking of any danger.All he could think about was how the geese had taunted him last night, and he wanted to show them that a human being, no matter how small his body, was always more psychic than other creatures. He yelled at the "dog" over and over to put down what he had taken. "What kind of 'dog' are you, shamelessly stealing a whole goose!" he yelled. "Put her down at once, or you'll be beaten like hell! Put her down at once! Put it down, or I will sue your master and tell him not to spare you!" When Fox Smir heard that he was mistaken for a "dog" who was afraid of being beaten, he felt so ridiculous that he almost dropped the goose he was holding in his mouth.Smeer is a great robber who does all kinds of evil. He is not satisfied with catching voles and mice in the fields, but also dares to go to the farm to grab chickens and geese.He knew that people in this area were terrified when they saw him, so he had never heard such absurd words since he was a child. But the boy was running so fast that it seemed to him that the thick beech trees were rattling back around him.At last he caught up with Smeer, and grabbed his tail with his hands. "Now I'll take the goose out of your mouth!" he cried, and grabbed the fox by the tail as hard as he could.But he didn't have that much strength to drag Smir.The fox dragged him along, and the dead leaves of the beech trees fluttered down beside him. At this time, Smil seemed to understand that the people who were chasing him were not in any danger.He stopped, dropped the goose to the ground, and held her down with his front paws so that she would not have to escape.The fox lowered his head to look for the goose's throat and wanted to bite it off, but then he thought, it's better to tease the little man first. "Go away, run back and cry to your master! I'm going to kill this wild goose now!" he said with a sneer. The boy saw clearly that the "dog" he was chasing had a very pointed nose and a hoarse and savage roar, so he was suddenly startled.But the fox belittled and teased him so much that he was so angry that he couldn't even care about being afraid.He gripped the fox's tail tightly and put his foot on the root of a beech tree.Just as the fox opened its mouth wide and bit down on the goose's throat, he yanked it violently with all his strength. Smir was not on guard, and was dragged back two or three steps by him. In this way, the wild goose took the time to get away, and she flapped her wings laboriously and soared into the air.One of her wings has been injured and can hardly be used anymore, and she can't see anything in this dark forest, as powerless as a blind man, so she can't help the boy, so she has to weave from the criss-cross branches. through the gap in the formed canopy and flew back to the lake. But Smeer rushed straight at the boy viciously. "If I can't get that one, I'm going to get this one," he growled, his annoyance evident in his voice. "Hmph, you can't even imagine it," said the boy.He was very happy to rescue the wild goose.He kept holding on to the fox's tail tightly, and when the fox turned his head to grab him, he grabbed the tail and dodged to the other side. It was almost like dancing in the forest, the beech leaves swirled down, and Smeer spun around and around, but his tail spun too, and the boy clung to it to dodge, and the fox Couldn't catch him. The boy began to be very happy that he had managed so well, and he laughed and teased the fox.But like all old hunters who are good at hunting, Smir has great stamina. After a long time, the boy can't help being afraid, worrying that if he continues like this, he will be caught by the fox sooner or later. Just then he caught sight of a young beech tree, as thin as a long pole, stretching straight up through the tangled branches of the forest to the sky.He suddenly let go of the fox's tail, and jumped up to the tree.But Smir was eager to catch him, and continued to follow his tail in circles for a long time. "Stop going around in circles," said the boy. Smeer felt that it would be too embarrassing if he couldn't subdue such a small person, so he lay down under the tree and waited for his chance. The boy sat astride a soft branch, feeling very uncomfortable.The young beech tree was not yet at the top and could not reach the tops and branches of the larger trees, so he could not climb another tree, and he dared not climb to the ground. He was so cold that he was almost frozen, he couldn't even hold the branches tightly, and he was terribly sleepy, but he didn't dare to sleep, for fear that he would fall if he fell asleep. Ah, how frighteningly bleak it was to sit in the woods at midnight, when he had never known the real meaning of the word night before.It was as if the whole world had become fossilized and would never come back to life. It was light at last, and though the cold of dawn was more unbearable than the night, the boy was glad that everything was as it was again. The sun is rising slowly, it is not yellow, but red.The boy felt that the sun seemed to have an angry face, and he couldn't understand why it was flushed with anger, probably because the night made the earth cold and desolate when the sun was not there! The sun shot out a thousand feet of light, wanting to see what bad things the night has done on the earth.Everything near and far blushed, as if they, too, were ashamed of what they, too, had done wrong with the night.The clouds in the sky, the satin-smooth beech trees, the intertwined tops of the trees, the hoarfrost on the beech leaves on the ground, all were dyed red under the blazing sun. The sun's rays expanded more and more, and continued to shoot all over the sky, and it was not long before the horror of the night was completely driven away.The scene where everything is as dead as a fossil no longer exists, the earth has regained its vigorous vitality, and the birds and animals are busy again.A red-necked black woodpecker was pecking at a tree trunk.A squirrel came out of its nest with a nut in its arms, and squatted on a branch to peel and bite the shell.A starling flew over here with a grass root in its mouth.A songbird twittered on a branch. Then the boy understood that the sun was saying to all these little creatures, "Wake up! Come out of your dens! Now I am here, and you need not worry any more!" There was the cry of wild geese on the lake, and they lined up to continue flying.After a while, fourteen wild geese flew over the forest.The boy shouted to them at the top of his throat, but they were too high to hear his faint cry.They probably thought he had been a snack to the fox, and they never even came looking for him once. The boy was so sad that he was about to cry, but at this moment the sun stood firmly in the sky, showing a big smiling face with golden light, which made the whole world more courageous: "Nils Hogelson, as long as I am here, you There’s no need to worry about anything.” There was little movement in the woods for as long as a goose had eaten his breakfast, but after early morning, at the beginning of the morning, a solitary goose flew under the thick branches of the woods.She frantically sought her way among the trunks and branches, flying very slowly.As soon as Smeer saw her, he left his place under the young beech tree, and crept after her.The geese did not avoid the fox, but flew close to him.Smeer jumped up and jumped at her, but unfortunately, the geese flew towards the lake. Not long after, another wild goose flew in. She flew exactly the same as the one that flew away before, but she flew slower and lower.She even flew right past Smeer, and as he sprang at her, he jumped higher up until his ears touched the soles of her feet.But she got away unharmed, and flew away towards the lake like a shadow without sound. After a while another goose came flying lower and slower, as if lost among the beech trunks, and Smeer leaped up, almost by a hair He caught her within a short distance, but it was a pity that the wild goose escaped after all. The wild goose had just flown away, and the fourth one followed.She flew limp and crooked, and Smeer found it easy to catch her.This time he was afraid of failure, so he decided not to touch her, let her go, so he didn't rush over.This wild goose flew on the same route as the others, and flew directly above Smir's head. She fell so low that Smir couldn't help but rushed towards her.Smeer jumped so high that the claws had touched her, and she dodged suddenly, saving her life. Before Smir could catch his breath, he saw three wild geese flying over in a single line.They flew exactly the same way as the previous ones.Smeer jumped high to catch them, but flew past them all without catching any. Then five wild geese flew over, and they flew more steadily than the previous ones. Although they seemed to want to tempt Smeer to jump up, he was not fooled and refused the temptation. After a long time, a lone wild goose flew over.This is the thirteenth one.It was a very old goose, and she had gray feathers all over her body, and she didn't even have any dark hairs.She seemed to have one wing that wasn't working very well, flying so crooked and wobbly that it almost touched the ground.Smeer sprang at her, and ran and jumped after her as far as the lake, but this time it was in vain. And the fourteenth came, and she was very pretty, for she was all white.When she flapped her huge wings, the dark forest seemed to be lit up.As soon as Smirr saw her, he threw all his strength into the air and jumped halfway up the tree trunk, but the white one flew away unharmed as did the others. At last there was a moment of silence under the beech trees, as if the whole flock of geese had flown past. Suddenly, Smeer remembered the prey he was waiting for, and looked up, and as expected, the little man had disappeared. But Smeer didn't have much time to think about him, for the first goose came back from the lake at this moment and was slugging under the canopy just as before.Despite one bad luck after another, Smeal is glad she's flown back.He ran up from behind and lunged at her.But he was too impatient, and he didn't have time to count his steps correctly, so he jumped sideways, brushed past her, and missed. 在这只大雁后面又飞来一只，接着是第三只、第四只、第五只，轮了一圈，最后飞来的还是那只灰白色的上了年纪的大雁和那只白色的大家伙。他们都飞得很慢很低。他们在狐狸斯密尔头顶上盘旋而过时就下降得更低，好像存心要让他抓到似的。斯密尔于是紧紧地追逐他们，一跳两三米高，结果他还是一只都没有捉到。 这是斯密尔有生以来心情最为懊丧的一天。这些大雁接连不断地从他头顶上飞过来又飞过去，飞过去又飞过来。那些在德国的田野和沼泽地里养得肥肥胖胖、圆圆滚滚的又大又漂亮的雁，整天在树林里穿梭来回，都离他那么近，他曾有好几次碰着了他们，可惜抓不着一只来解解腹中的饥饿。 冬天还没有完全过去，斯密尔还记得那些日日夜夜，那时他闲得发慌而四处游荡，却找不到一只猎物来果腹。候鸟早已远走高飞，老鼠已经在结了冰的地下躲藏起来，鸡也都被关在鸡笼里不再出来。但是，他在整个冬天忍饥挨饿的滋味都比不上像今天这么一次次的失望叫他更不能忍受。 斯密尔已经是一只并不年轻的狐狸了，他曾经遭受过许多次猎狗的追逐，听到过子弹嘶嘶地从耳旁飞过的呼啸声。他曾经无路可走，只好深藏在自己的洞穴里，而猎狗已经钻进了洞口的孔道，险些抓到他。不过，尽管斯密尔亲身经历过你死我活的追逐场面，可他的情绪却从来没有像现在这样沮丧过，因为他居然连一只大雁都逮不到手。 早上，在这场追逐开始的时候，狐狸斯密尔是那么魁梧健壮，大雁们看到他都分外惊讶。斯密尔很注重外表漂亮。他的毛皮色泽鲜红，亮光闪闪，胸口一大块是雪白的，鼻子是黑黑的，那条蓬松松的尾巴如同羽毛一样丰满。可是到了这天傍晚，斯密尔的毛却一绺一绺零乱地耷拉着，汗水流得浑身湿漉漉的，双眼失去了光芒，舌头长长地拖在嘴巴外面，嘴里呼哧呼哧地冒着白沫。 斯密尔已经疲惫不堪，他头晕眼花趴倒在地上，眼前无休无止地晃动着飞来飞去的大雁。连阳光照在地上的斑斓阴影他都要扑上去。还有一只过早从蛹里钻出来的可怜的飞蛾也遭到了他的追捕。 大雁们却继续不知疲倦地飞呀，飞呀。他们整整一天毫不间断地折磨斯密尔。他们眼看着斯密尔心烦意乱、焦躁不安和大发癫狂，但是丝毫不顾怜他。尽管他们明明知道他已经眼花缭乱得看不清他们，只是跟在他们的影子后面追赶，然而他们还是毫不留情地继续戏弄他。 直到后来斯密尔几乎浑身散了架，好像马上就要断气一样地瘫倒在一大堆干树叶子上的时候，他们才停止戏弄他。 “狐狸，现在你该明白了，谁要是敢惹大雪山来的阿卡，他会落得怎么个下场！”他们在他耳边呼喊了一会儿，这才饶了他。