Chapter 7 Trip to Öland

The wild geese flew to a small island and landed in search of food.There they encountered several gray geese.The gray geese wondered how they should see these wild geese here, for friends of their kind do not usually fly to the sea and then north.They were very curious, chattering and asking questions.Aka told them in detail how the fox Smeal had chased them.An old but wise gray goose sighed and said after hearing Akka's narration: "Oh, it is a great misfortune for you that the fox was driven out of his homeland. He must have held a grudge in his heart. You will not stop chasing to Lapland. I think you should fly across the sea and fly to the island of Öland to stay for a few days, so that the fox Smir can't find you and will not come to chase you gone."

Aka felt that this was indeed a very good idea, so he decided to follow Gray Goose's suggestion.The gray geese also told them of the obvious signs along the way, so that they would not lose their way. On this day, the sea was very calm, there was no wind at all, and the weather was still very hot, like summer. This kind of weather was suitable for flying out to sea. After flying for a while, the wild geese found that the sea below them was getting wider and wider. There was no wave on the sea, and it was as calm as a mirror.The boy looked down, only to feel that the water and the sky were the same color, as if the sea water had disappeared into the sky, and the sky and clouds were all above his head and below him.It dazzled him and made him feel dizzy.He clings desperately to the goose's back, feeling even more nervous than flying on the goose's back for the first time.

The boy felt worse when the geese joined the flocks of birds. A large number of flocks of birds flocked to fly in the same direction along a route that seemed to have been established long ago.Among these flocks were mallards and gray geese, mallards and guillemots, loons and long-tailed ducks, mergansers and greyhounds, oystercatchers and pochards.The boy saw the reflection of a large group of birds in the water, and his dizziness became worse. He only felt that these birds were flying belly up. "Maybe, we are flying to heaven now." The boy thought.He was very excited when he thought of heaven, his head was not dizzy, he just felt happy and happy, because he was leaving the earth and flying to heaven.

At this moment, he suddenly heard several gunshots, and saw several thin white smoke columns rising from the ground.He heard the flock of birds yelling in terror: "Someone's shot! It's been shot from a boat! Go up! Go up!" Ah, it turns out that the flock of birds didn't rise to fly to heaven at all!There were many small boats full of gun shooters on the sea. The small boats were spread out one by one, and the shooters kept firing one shot after another.Many small dark-colored bodies fell into the sea, and the survivors uttered loud screams and wailings while trying to fly high into the sky as fast as possible.At last the wild geese flew out without any bad luck, but the boy couldn't calm down for a long time. He was puzzled and couldn't figure out why someone would kill such good birds as Aka, Yakexi and Kaxi !Humans simply don't know what they're doing to themselves...

The geese and other flocks continued to fly towards Öland.They kept flying forward, and they flew a long way, but they still didn't see Öland.At this time, a breeze blew towards them head-on, and with the wind blowing, puffs of white smoke also rushed towards them. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker. The white, wet smoke turned out to be a thick fog, and this thick fog later wrapped all the birds in it tightly. Soon, it was almost to the point where you couldn't see your fingers. The birds began to play games in the fog, flying back and forth, trying to lure each other astray.Although these flocks of birds are flying in circles and teasingly, they are still very familiar with how to fly to Öland Island, and they will not fly in the wrong direction.But the tricks of the birds made the wild geese suffer. They were not familiar with the way, and they were fooled into dizziness. This made Aka panic.

"How did you come here? Where are you going?" asked a swan flying towards Akka. "We're going to Öland, but we haven't been there before, don't know the way, don't know which direction to fly?" Akka replied. "That's too bad," said the Swan, "they've got you dazed and lost. Well, follow me, and I'll show you the way." He flew with the geese, and when he brought them far away from other birds, the swan suddenly disappeared, disappearing into the thick fog. The wild geese couldn't see any other birds, so they had to fly forward aimlessly.Later, a wild duck flew over.He called out to the wild geese: "Don't you notice that you are flying up and down and going around in circles?" The boy couldn't help but hugged the gander's neck tightly, which was what he had been worried about for a long time. Something to be afraid of.

Later, a heavy cannon sound like rolling thunder sounded in the distance. When A-Ka heard the sound of the cannon, her spirits lifted. She stretched her neck, flapped her wings vigorously, and rushed forward at full speed.Akka knew that there was a cannon on the southernmost headland of Öland, which was often used by humans to disperse the dense fog.Now that she had at last found the sign and knew the way, there was no one in the world who could fool her and get her lost. At the southernmost tip of Oland Island, there is an old royal manor, which is the most ideal place for wild animals to find shelter and shelter, and it is also a paradise for thousands of migratory birds to rest and feed.

When the geese and Nils Hogelsson finally found their way to Öland, thick fog still hung tightly over the island.The boy was amazed at the number of birds congregating on the little stretch of shore as far as he could see.All kinds of birds regard this place as a real paradise. They stay there, huddled together, looking for food and pecking at small insects. It is really fun and very happy. The next morning, the island was still covered with thick fog.The boy ran to the shore to pick up scallops.There are plenty of scallops here.He thought that there are a lot of scallops here, and he should pick up some more. It would be a good thing to prepare some food for future trips, so he found some resilient and strong scallops, and wove them into a small scallop. Backpack.Although he knits non-stop for hours, he is still very satisfied with his handiwork.

At noon, all the wild geese came running, and they shouted as they ran, "The white gander has disappeared in the thick fog! The white gander has disappeared in the thick fog!" The boy was so frightened that he He hurriedly asked: "Have you ever seen a fox or a falcon come? Have you seen any traces of humans or other dangers?" No, everyone said that they had not seen any signs of danger.Everyone guessed that the great white gander probably disappeared after getting lost in the thick fog. The boy decided to set off immediately to find the gander. "Morton! Morton! Where are you?" he cried.He searched, searched, and searched until the sky began to darken, but he still couldn't find it.He was very anxious, and his heart was full of frustration and disappointment.If he can't find the gander, what will happen to him in the future, and can he return to his original appearance?No one is more saddened and saddened by the disappearance of the gander than Nils.

But just as he was sadly about to walk back across the grass, he suddenly saw a large white mass appearing in the thick fog and flying towards him.If that's not a gander, what else could it be?The gander is back intact!The gander told him: "I wandered around today, and I searched for you for a whole day, but I couldn't find it." The boy was overjoyed, hooked his hands around the gander's neck and said to the gander, "You must promise me that you will never find me again." Leave me!" "I promise you that I will never leave you again!" replied the gander.

But next morning, when the boy ran to the beach to gather scallops, the gander flew away from him again, and the gander was gone again.The boy was very sad and depressed.He reckoned that the gander was probably lost in the fog again like the day before. The boy immediately set off to find it.He kept shouting the name of the gander, looking for the past along the beach.He walked along the beach, past the cultivated fields and pastures, and went to the flat highlands in the middle of the island to search.But the gander was still missing.Night came again, and the boy had to turn around and walk back.Exhausted with exhaustion, and so distressed in his heart, he could not but truly believe for this time that his traveling companion must be lost. He was just about to turn around and walk back, but he heard the sound of a stone falling nearby, and seemed to vaguely see something moving among the pile of broken stones.He tiptoed closer to see what happened, and it turned out that the white gander was struggling to climb up the pile of rocks with some long grass in its beak.The gander didn't see the boy, and the boy didn't call him out, because he thought that there must be a reason for the gander to disappear again and again, and he must figure it out. There was a little gray goose lying in the pile of rocks, and when the gander climbed up the pile of stones and appeared in front of the little gray goose, the little gray goose cried out with joy.The boy moved closer quietly so that he could see them more clearly and hear them more clearly.From what they said, the boy knew that the little gray goose had injured one of its wings and could not fly, and that her flock of geese had flown away now.If the white gander hadn't brought her food, she would have starved to death.The boy heard the white goose say many comforting words to the little gray goose, and at last the gander said, "Good night, little gray goose, I must not be away from the wild goose for too long, I must go back. Don't worry, I will certainly come here again to see you tomorrow. I am sure you will be well soon, and will be back to health soon." The boy let the gander go first and did not disturb him.After the gander was gone, he walked softly into the pile of rocks.He was a little angry, and he wanted to explain to Gray Goose that the gander belonged to him and was going to carry him to Lapland. "It's impossible for the gander to stay because of her, that's just nonsense," the boy said to himself.But when he took a closer look at the little gray goose, he realized why the gander was going to help her.She was a beautiful little gray goose, with a beautiful little head, clean feathers, and soft eyes with a twinkle in them. When the little gray goose saw the boy, she was very frightened and tried to run away. "You needn't be afraid of me," said the boy hastily, for he saw that the gray goose had dislocated its left wing and could not escape. "My name is Thumbs, and I am Morton the Gander's traveling companion," he went on. She is a very smart, cute and quick-witted little gray goose.As soon as Thumb said who he was, she nodded to him and said in a melodious voice, "I'm so glad you're here. I know from the gander that there's no one more Smarter and kinder." Hearing her gentle words, the boy thought of his attitude just now and felt very shy. He was very excited, and a desire to help her rose in his heart.He put his tiny hands under the feathers to feel the wing bones. Fortunately, the bones were not broken, but the joints were misplaced.He stretched out a finger to explore the dislocated joint socket, and while speaking, he firmly grasped the tube-shaped bone and pushed hard, pushing it back to its original position.No doubt it was the first time he'd done something like this, but he did it very well with his hands and feet, and his movements were very precise.But the poor little gray goose let out a piercing cry of pain, and then collapsed among the rocks as if dead. The boy was scared out of his wits.He had intended to help the little gray goose, but now she died unexpectedly.He jumped off the pile of rocks and ran back desperately.He felt that he had murdered a real man. The next day, the sky cleared and the fog had dissipated.Akka decided they should keep flying.The boy was very happy with this decision.Only the gander disapproved, but Aka ignored the gander and set off. The boy climbed on the gander's back, and the gander reluctantly followed the geese and set off.The boy was relieved to be able to leave the island. He felt very guilty about the little gray goose, and his conscience was condemned, but he didn't dare to make it clear to the gander that he wanted to cure the little gray goose. original intention.But at the same time, he was very suspicious that the white gander would really leave the little gray goose alone and fly away... They started flying forward.Suddenly the gander turned his head and flew back and forth, his concern for the little gray goose making him desperate. The gander flapped its wings a few times and came to the pile of rocks, but the little gray goose did not lie on the pile of rocks. "Dunfin the Gray Goose! Dunfer the Gray Goose! Where are you?" cried the gander anxiously. "Perhaps the fox came and carried her away," thought the boy.But just at that moment he heard a pleasant voice answering the gander: "Here I am, gander, here I am!" The little gray goose jumped up from the water, and she had recovered her health, and there was nothing wrong with her. there is none left.She told the gander that it was all about pulling her wings hard with her thumbs to reset the joints.Now she has recovered and is able to continue flying. Drops of water shone like pearls on her satin feathers.Thumb couldn't help thinking again that she was a real little princess. The boy is riding on the back of a goose, flying high in the sky, happily looking down at the scenery during the journey.His mood today was completely different from the sadness and disappointment he felt when he was looking for ganders everywhere on the island yesterday.They flew in the air for a long time, and a long island clearly appeared below them. They flew to the central plateau of the island, where there are many wind mills.They stopped to rest, and the boy was sitting by a windmill, and two shepherds, one very young and the other very old, came with their hounds and drove a great herd of sheep.They sat down on the steps of the mill, and the boy was hidden under the steps, out of sight of the two shepherds. The old shepherd sat there silently at first, and after a while he spoke to his companion beside him.The young shepherd took bread and cheese from his knapsack and began to eat.He didn't reply, but listened patiently to the old shepherd's speech. "Now let me tell you a story, Erik." The old shepherd said, "In ancient times there was a butterfly whose body was tens of kilometers long, and a pair of wings were really beautiful, wide and big, Like a lake. One day, the butterfly flew out of the land and into the sea. As soon as he flew, he flew to the Baltic Sea. Before he flew far, there was a storm, you know, Ellie Ke, the storm on the Baltic Sea was so fierce that it tore the wings to pieces in a moment, and all the pieces were swept away by the wind, and the butterfly fell into the sea pitifully." "Let me tell you, Eric," the old shepherd continued after a pause, "this butterfly fell into the sea, soaked in lime, and became as hard as a stone. Its body later became the Baltic Sea." A long, narrow rocky reef above. Don't you believe it?" He stopped talking and waited for the other party to answer.But the young shepherd nodded to him. "Go on, I'm listening!" he said. "Listen carefully, Erik, this island of Öland where you and I live turns out to be that butterfly. The whole island is shaped like a butterfly. On the north side of the island is a slender body with a round head and on the south It can be seen that it is the lower part of the body, first from thin to thick, then from thick to thin, and finally a pointed tail." He stopped talking again and looked at his partner, but the young shepherd just ate his food and just nodded for him to continue talking. "I just want to know: there are many people living on our island, there are farmers on the farm, there are fishermen who make a living by fishing out of the sea, there are also businessmen, or bathers and other tourists who come here every summer to bathe in the sea. And hunters, wait a minute, I wonder if any of them know that this island was once a butterfly, and it used to fly around with great wings." Hearing this, the boy suddenly realized that the long island that appeared under him just now was the body of a big butterfly!