Chapter 16 Eagle Gorgo

In the mountains of northern Lapland, there is an age-old eagle's nest built on a rock protruding from a steep mountain wall. The nest is built with branches layered on top of each other.The nest had been enlarged and strengthened over the years, and now it was two or three meters wide and almost as high as a Lapp tent. Below the cliffs of the Eagle's Nest is a large valley, where a flock of wild geese lives every summer.This canyon is an excellent shelter for wild geese.It is hidden deep in the mountains, and not many people know this place, not even the Lapps.In the middle of the canyon there is a small circular lake, where there is plenty of food for the young geese, and on the uneven banks of the lake, thickets of willows and dwarf birches grow, where the geese can find the most ideal nesting places.

Since ancient times, eagles have lived on the cliffs above, and geese have lived in the valleys below.Every year, the eagles always take away a few wild geese, but they can manage not to take away too many geese, lest the wild geese dare not live in the canyon.As for the geese, they also get a lot of benefits from the eagles.Eagles are robbers, but they keep other robbers from approaching this place. Two or three years before Nils Hogelson followed the wild geese around the country, Aka, the leading old goose from the Snowy Mountains, stood at the bottom of the valley one morning, looking up towards the Eagle's Nest.Eagles usually go out hunting shortly after sunrise.During those summers when Akka lived in the canyon, she waited for them to come out like this every morning, watching whether they would stay in the canyon to hunt or fly to other hunting grounds to hunt for prey.

She didn't have to wait long, and the two proud eagles would leave the cliff.They hovered in the air, and although they looked beautiful, they were terrifying.A-Ka breathed a sigh of relief when they flew towards the plains below. The lead goose is too old to lay eggs and nurse its young.She often flies from nest to nest in the summer, passing the time by teaching other geese about egg laying and chick rearing.In addition, she also acts as a guard for other geese, not only monitoring the actions of eagles, but also vigilant against such enemies as arctic foxes, forest owls and all other enemies that threaten the lives of wild geese and young geese.

At noon, A-Ka began to monitor the eagle's whereabouts again.She did so every day during those summers in the canyon.From the eagle's flight, Aka could also tell whether they had a good harvest when they went hunting. If there was a good harvest, she would feel at ease for the group of wild geese she led.But on this day, she did not see the eagle return. "Perhaps I am old and dull," she thought, after she had waited for them a while, "by which time the eagles must be back." In the afternoon, she looked up to the cliff again, hoping to see them on the protruding rocks where the eagles often siesta, and in the evening she hoped to see them in the alpine lake where they bathed, but still did not see them.She complained again that she was old and useless.She was so used to the hawks on the cliffs above her that it never occurred to her that they hadn't returned.

The next morning, A-Ka woke up early again to monitor the eagle.But even then she didn't see them.Instead, in the stillness of the morning, she heard a cry, angry and mournful, which seemed to come from the eagle's nest above. "Could something really happen to the eagle up there?" she thought.She spread her wings quickly and flew up, high enough to see down into the eagle's nest. She looked down condescendingly, and saw neither the male eagle nor the female eagle. There was only a fledgling eaglet lying there crying for food in the eagle's nest. A-Ka slowly lowered his altitude, and hesitantly flew towards the Eagle's Nest.It's a disgusting place, it's obvious at first glance, and a place where outright robbers live.White bones, bloody feathers and rotten hides were strewn about the nests and cliffs, the heads of rabbits, the beaks of birds, the feet of ptarmigans with hair.Even the young eagle lying in the middle of that mess is disgusting to look at, with its big mouth, its clumsy body covered with down, and its unfeathered wings, where the outline feathers are like thorns. upright.

Finally, Aka overcame her disgust and landed on the edge of the eagle's nest, but at the same time she looked around anxiously, always on guard against the two eagles returning home. "Great, someone is here at last," called the little eagle, "get me something to eat!" "Slow, slow, and don't worry!" A-Ka said, "Tell me first, where are your parents?" "Well, who knows! They went out yesterday morning, and all I had left was a lemming. I ate it all up, as you may imagine. It's a disgrace to my mother to starve me like that." A-Ka began to realize that those two eagles had really been beaten to death.She thought that if she let the young eagle starve to death, she could get rid of the robbers forever.But at the same time, she also felt that at this moment, she had the ability not to help an abandoned bird, and her conscience was a little bit unreasonable.

"What are you standing there looking at?" the young eagle said, "Didn't you hear me, do I want to eat?" A-Ka spread his wings and quickly flew towards the small lake in the canyon.After a while she flew back to the eagle's nest with a small salmon in her mouth. When she put the little fish in front of the young eagle, the young eagle was extremely annoyed. "Do you think I'd eat something like that?" he said, and pushed the fish aside and tried to peck Akka with his beak. "Go get me a ptarmigan or a lemming, you hear?" At this time, A-Ka stretched out his head and pecked the young eagle's neck fiercely. "I want to tell you," A-Ka said, "if you want me to get you food, then you have to eat what I get, and don't pick and choose. Your father and mother are dead, and you don't want to eat any more. I won’t get their help either. But if you must eat ptarmigans and lemmings, you can just lie here and starve to death, and I won’t stop you.”

A-Ka flew away immediately after speaking, and came back after a long time.The young eagle had already eaten the fish.When Akka put another fish in front of him, he swallowed it right away, though reluctantly. Akka undertook a heavy labor.The pair of eagles never appeared again, and she had to find the food for the young eagle alone.She gave him fish and frogs to eat, but the young eagle did not appear stunted because of eating this kind of food. On the contrary, he grew up big and strong, and soon forgot his parents—the pair of eagles, Thought Aka was his mother.And Aka loved him very much, as if he was his own child.She tries to give him a good upbringing and helps him overcome wildness and arrogance.

As the weeks passed, Aka began to sense that the time was approaching for her to shed her hair and lose her ability to fly.She will not be able to bring food to the chicks for a whole month, and the chicks will starve to death. "Gorgo," Akka said to him one day, "I can't give you fish to eat now. The solution is to see if you dare go down into the valley below, so that I can continue to find you fish." Eat. You now have two choices, either wait up there and starve to death, or jump into the canyon below, and of course the latter may cost you your life." Without saying a word, the young eagle walked to the edge of the nest, without even looking at how deep the canyon was, it spread its little wings and flew into the air. Using his wings, he flew safely and unharmed to the ground.

Gorgo spent the summer with the young geese in the valley below, and became their good companion.He treated himself like a wild goose, and tried to live their lives in their way.When Xiaoyan went to swim in the lake, he followed, and nearly drowned.He was ashamed that he could never learn to swim, and he often went to Akka to complain about himself. "Why can't I swim like the other geese?" he asked. "Because your claws grew too crooked and your toes were too big when you lay on the cliff above," said Akka, "but don't be sad about that! You'll be a good bird anyway."

Soon, the young eagle's wings have grown up and can withstand the weight of the body to fly in the air.But it was not until the autumn when Xiaoyan learned to fly that he remembered to use his wings to fly.Now, it's a moment of pride as he quickly becomes a champion in the sport.His partners can barely stay in the air for a while, but he can fly in the air almost all day long, practicing various flying skills.Up to this moment he had not known that he was not of the same kind as the geese, but he could not help noticing something that surprised him, and he kept asking Akka questions. "Why do ptarmigan and lemmings run away and hide as soon as my shadow falls on the hills?" he asked, "while they are not so afraid of the other young geese." "When you lay on the cliff, your wings were full," said Akka, "and it was your wings that frightened the poor little things. But don't be sad about it! Anyway, you will Be a good bird." The young eagle has mastered the flying skills very well, so it learns to catch fish and frogs to eat by itself.But soon he began to think about it again. "How do I live on fish and frogs?" he asked, "and the other geese are not like that." "The thing is, while you're lying on the cliff, I can't get you anything to eat but fish and frogs," said Akka, "but don't feel bad about it! Anyway, you'll be A good bird." In autumn, when the geese were about to migrate, Gorgo also followed the geese.He still sees himself as one of them.However, the sky was full of various birds that were going south, and when an eagle appeared among the geese led by Aka, it immediately caused a great commotion among them.The wild geese are always surrounded by flocks of curious birds, loudly expressing surprise.Akka asked them to keep quiet, but it was impossible to tie up so many sharp tongues. "Why do they call me an eagle?" Gorgo kept asking, growing angrier. "Can't they see that I am also a wild goose? I am not at all a bird of prey that devours my mates. How dare they call me an eagle?" What about such an annoying name?" One day, they flew to a farm where a flock of chickens were eating around a pile of garbage. "An eagle! An eagle!" cried the chickens, and ran about looking for a place to hide.But Gorgo, who had always heard that eagles were savages and outlaws, could no longer contain his anger when he heard the chickens call him eagle too.He clamped his wings, swished to the ground, and grabbed a hen in his claws. "I'm going to teach you a lesson, I, I'm not an eagle." He yelled angrily, pecking her with his beak. At the same time, he heard A-Ka calling him in the air, and he was obliged to fly back to the air from the ground.The wild goose flew towards him and began to punish him. "What have you been doing?" she growled, pecking at him at the same time. "Are you trying to catch that poor hen dead? You have no shame!" Ka reprimanded, at this time, the surrounding birds let out a burst of laughter and sarcasm.Hearing the sarcasm of those birds, Gorgo turned his head and stared at Aka fiercely, as if he wanted to attack her, but he immediately changed his mind and flapped his wings vigorously to fly to a higher sky.He flew so high that he could not even hear the cries of other birds.He hovered above as long as the geese could see him. Three days later, he returned to the wild geese. "I know who I am now," he said to Akka, "because I am an eagle, and I must live like one. But I think we can still be friends. You or one of you I am determined not to attack any wild goose." Akka had previously been extremely proud of her success in raising a hawk into a docile and harmless bird.But now when she heard that the eagle was going to live as he wanted, she couldn't bear it anymore. "Do you think I would like to be the friend of a bird of prey?" she said. "If you live as I teach you, you can stay among my wild geese as before!" Both are proud and stubborn, and neither will budge.As a result, Aka forbade Ying to appear around her, and she was so angry with him that no one dared to mention Ying's name in front of her again. From then on, Gorgo, like all thieves, wandered all over the country and walked alone.He is often depressed, and from time to time he misses the time when he regarded himself as a wild goose and played intimately with the happy wild goose.Among animals he is famous for his bravery.They used to say that he was not afraid of anyone but his foster mother, Aka.They also used to say that he never attacked a wild goose. One day, when Gorgo was caught by hunters and sold to Skansen, he had just turned three years old, and he hadn't considered the issue of getting married, starting a family and settling down.Before he got to Skansen, there were already a few hawks there, kept in a cage made of rebar and wire.The cage is outside, and it is very big. People moved in some trees and piled up a large stone pile, which made the eagle feel like living at home.Still, the Eagles don't like life there.They stand in the same place almost all day long, motionless.Their beautiful, black plumage became fluffy and dull.Their eyes stare hopelessly into the distance, yearning to go out into the free world. Gorgo was awake and active during his first week in the cage, but soon a feeling of lethargy began to take hold of him.Like other eagles, he stood motionless in the same place, his eyes staring straight into the distance, but he saw nothing, and he didn't know how he spent his days. One morning, when Gorgo was standing there dumbfounded as usual, he heard someone on the ground calling his name.He was so listless that he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids or glance at the ground. "Who is calling me?" he asked. "Why, Gorgo, you don't know me? I'm Thumbs who often flies around with the geese." "Is Akka locked up too?" Gorgo asked in a tone that sounded like he had just woken up after a long sleep and was trying to think. "No, Akka, the gander and the whole flock must be in northern Lapland by now," said the boy, "only I am imprisoned here." As the boy said this, he saw Gorgo look away again, and begin to gaze out at the sky as before. "Golden Eagle!" the boy shouted, "I have not forgotten that once you carried me back to the wild geese and you spared the gander's life. Tell me how I can help you!" Gorgo almost He didn't even lift his head. "Don't disturb me, Thumbs!" he said. "I'm standing here dreaming that I'm flying free high in the air. I don't want to wake up." "You must move your body and see what is going on around you," the boy persuaded, "or you will soon be as miserable as the other eagles." "I would rather be like them. They are intoxicated in dreams, and nothing can disturb them." Gorgo said. When night fell and all the hawks were fast asleep, there was a slight rasping sound from the wire mesh covering the top of their cages.The two insensitive eagles were indifferent to this, but Gorgo woke up. "Who's there? Who's walking on top?" he asked. "It's Thumb, Gorgo," replied the boy, "and I'll sit here and file the wire so you can fly away." The eagle looked up and in the bright night saw the boy sitting there filing the wire that was stretched tight at the top of the cage.He felt a glimmer of hope, but was soon discouraged. "I'm a big bird, Thumb," he said. "How many wires do you have to file before I can fly? You'd better not file and let me be quiet for a while." "You sleep in your sleep, don't mind my business!" The boy replied, "Even if I can't finish it tonight and tomorrow night, I will try to rescue you no matter what, or you are here will be destroyed." Gorgo fell asleep again, but when he woke up the next morning, he saw that many steel wires had been filed and broken.This day he was no longer as listless as the previous days. He spread his wings, jumped up and down on the branches, and stretched his stiff joints. One morning, just after dawn, Thumb woke up the eagle. "Gorgo, try it now!" he said. Eagle raised his head to have a look, and sure enough, he found that the boy had broken many steel wires, and there was a big hole in the wire mesh.Gorgo moved his wings a few times and flew towards the entrance of the cave, but failed several times and fell back to the bottom of the cage.In the end, he managed to fly out. He spread his vigorous wings and flew into the sky proudly.And that little thumb was sitting there, watching him go with a sad face, how he wished someone would come and rescue him too. The boy was already familiar with Skansen.He got to know all the animals there and made friends with many of them.He must admit that Skansen has a lot to see and learn, and he has no trouble killing time.But in his heart he longed every day to return to the side of Morton the gander and other traveling companions. "If I hadn't been bound by my promise," he thought, "I should have found a bird that would carry me to them." One might wonder why Clement Larson did not restore liberty to boys.But don't forget how dazed the little violinist was when he left Skansen.On the morning of his departure, he finally thought of using a blue bowl to deliver food to the little man, but unfortunately he couldn't find a blue bowl.Besides, all the people in Skansen, Lapps, Dalarna women, builders, gardeners, came to say goodbye to him, and he didn't have time for a blue bowl.Finally, when he was about to leave, he had no other choice but to ask an old Lapp man for help. "The thing is, there's a little man who lives in Skansen," said Clement, "and I bring him his food every morning. Can you do me a favor and take the money to , buy a blue bowl, put some porridge and milk in the bowl tomorrow morning, and put it under the steps of the Bunes farmhouse, okay?" The old Lapp man was baffled, but Clement had no time Explained to him further, as he had to get to the station at once. The Lapp old man did go to Yuergaudeng City to buy bowls, but he didn't see the blue bowl, so he just bought a white bowl.Every morning, he always carefully served the rice in that white bowl. In this way, the boy has not been freed from the promise.He also knew that Clement had gone, but he hadn't been promised to leave there. That night the boy wanted to be free more than ever, for it was now true spring and summer.He had already suffered from severe cold and bad weather during his journey.When he first arrived in Skansen, he had thought that it might not be a bad thing that he had to interrupt his trip, because if he went to Lapland in May, he would have to freeze to death.But now the weather has warmed up, and the grass is green; the birches and poplars have leaves that shine like satin; the cherry trees, and all the other fruit trees, are in full bloom; small fruit; the oaks are opening their leaves with great care; the peas, cabbages, and beans are already green in the Skansen vegetable patch. "It must be warm and beautiful in Lapland now," thought the boy. "I would like to ride on the back of Morton the gander on such a beautiful morning. If only I could ride on the back of Morton the gander on such a beautiful morning. How pleasant it would be to fly in the middle of the earth and admire the earth decorated with green grass and delicate flowers along the way!" While he was sitting there dreaming, the eagle flew straight down from the sky and landed beside the boy on the top of the cage. "I just wanted to try my wings to see if they could still fly," said Gorgo. "You probably don't think I'm going to keep you here to keep you in captivity? Come on, Get on my back, and I'll send you back to your traveling companions!" "No, it is impossible," said the boy, "I have promised to stay here until I am released." "What nonsense are you talking about," said Gorgo, "in the first place, they sent you here against your will, and in the second place, they forced you to promise to stay here! You should understand , There is no need to keep such a promise.” "Yes, I will keep my word, though I am compelled," said the boy. "Thank you for your kindness, but you cannot help me." "Can't I help you?" said Gorgo, "then just wait and see." In a second he took Nils Hogelsson in his big claws and disappeared into the sky. On the way to the north.