Chapter 12 near the church

The boy woke up the next morning and got out from under the gander's wings. Standing on the ice, he couldn't help giggling.It turned out that there was a heavy snowfall at night, and it was still falling.In the sky, big snowflakes are flying and falling, as if countless goose feathers are circling and dancing in the wind.A few centimeters of snow had already accumulated on the surface of Silyan Lake, and the shore of the lake was completely white.The geese are covered with snow, looking like little snowballs. Aka, Yakexi, and Kakxi shook the snow on their bodies from time to time, but when they saw the heavy snow falling non-stop, they quickly hid their heads under their wings.They must be thinking that there is nothing more to do in such bad weather than sleep.As soon as the boys thought they were doing right, they went to sleep under the gander's wings.

A few more hours later, the boy was awakened by the church bells at Retwick Bay Church.It was already snowing and the weather was fine, but the north wind was blowing hard, and the lake was so cold that it was unbearably cold.To his great joy, the wild geese finally shook off the snow on their bodies and flew to the land to look for food. On that day, the church of Ratwick Bay held confirmations for boys and girls who had turned fifteen.The children who participated in the confirmation ceremony came to the church early and stood chatting outside the door in groups of twos and threes. They were all wearing new, crisp and beautiful clothes. "Dear Aunt Aka, please fly slowly," the boy called, "let me see these young people!" The lead goose felt that his request was reasonable, so he flew as low as possible, and flew around the church. three laps.I'm afraid it's hard to tell what those boys and girls look like up close.But the boy looked down from the sky and felt that he had never seen such a lovely group of young people. "Oh, I believe the princes and princesses in the king's palace are not as noble and elegant as they are." The boy said to himself admiringly.

It was snowing really hard.All the land in Retwick Bay was buried under the snow, and Aka couldn't find a place to live, so she flew towards Leksand without hesitation. Most of the people left in the village in Leksand are old men and old ladies, because like every spring, most of the young people went out to help work.When the geese flew over, there happened to be a long procession of old women walking towards the church along the beautiful avenue lined with birch trees.They walked on the snow-capped road among the white birch forests, and they were all white. They wore snow-white sheepskin jackets on their upper bodies and long white skirts on their lower bodies. They were covered with yellow-white or black-and-white clothes. Alternating aprons, white sunbonnets still tightly wrapped around their gray-haired heads.

"Dear Aunt Akka," the boy begged, "please fly slowly, and let me see these old people!" The leading goose felt that his request was human, so he flew down low and sat in the shade of the birch grove. Dao circled back and forth three times.It was hard to say what those old women looked like up close, but the boy felt that he had never seen such a gentle and dignified old woman. "Tsk tsk tsk, these old ladies all look like queen mothers. All their sons can be kings, and all their daughters can be queens!" the boy said to himself in admiration. But Leksand's situation is not necessarily better than that of Retwick Bay, and there is thick snow everywhere.A-Ka had no choice but to continue flying south to Gagnef.

On that day in Gargnaff, a funeral was held for a dead person before worship.The funeral procession arrived at the church much later, and the funeral took a long time, so when the geese flew there, some people hadn't entered the church, and a few women were still pacing up and down in the courtyard of the church Go to see your family's grave.They wore emerald green tight-fitting aprons, revealing two long scarlet sleeves, and tied colorful scarves around their heads. "Dear Aunt Akka, please fly slowly," the boy begged again, "I want to see these farmwives." The geese thought his request was very reasonable, so they flew down low and back and forth over the churchyard Circled three times.It was hard to tell what the farmwives looked like up close, but the boy, looking through the shadows of the trees over the cemetery, thought they all looked like bright, fragrant flowers. "Tsk tsk tsk, they are all so delicate and beautiful, as if they all grew up in the greenhouse of the king's royal garden." He thought.

But there was no place where the soil was exposed outside the snow in Gagnef, so the geese had no choice but to fly south to Floda. When the geese flew to Floda, the people there still stayed in the church, because there was a wedding after the service that day.The wedding guests were waiting at the door of the church.The bride stood there slim and graceful, with a small golden crown on the top of her curly hair, glittering jewelry on her head and neck, holding a large bouquet of beautiful flowers in her hand, on the floor-length wedding dress. Dragging a long ribbon.The groom was dressed in a royal-blue tunic, knee-length trousers, and a crimson beanie.The belts and trains of the bridesmaids' gowns were embroidered with roses and tulips.The bride and groom's parents and neighbors, all dressed in brightly colored local costumes, file into the church.

"Dear Aunt Aka, please fly slowly," the boy begged, "let me see this young newlyweds." The leading goose flew down again and circled three times over the slope in front of the church. .It's hard to say what the newlyweds looked like up close.But the boy looked down from the sky, and felt that the bride was pretty and charming, the groom was handsome and majestic, and the guests attending the wedding were all graceful and luxurious, which could not be seen in other places. "Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder if the king and queen walk around their palace so gracefully and elegantly," he admired in his heart.

In Floda, the wild geese finally found a field exposed to the snow, so they didn't have to fly far, and they started looking for food there.