Chapter 25 back home

The day was foggy and cloudy.The wild geese ate their stomachs in the large farmland around Scrope Church, and then settled there.Aka walked up to the boy. "It looks like we're going to have a few days of fine, clear weather," she said. "I think we'll take advantage of that and fly across the Baltic tomorrow." "Uh...uh..." The boy was almost speechless, a choked sob blocked his throat.After all, he is still full of hope, wanting to get rid of the bewilderment of magic in Scone and become a real person again. "We are very close to Weymanhaug now," said A-Ka. "I figured that you might plan to go home. If you miss this opportunity, you will not be able to reunite with your relatives until a long time later." Let's meet!"

"Well, it's better not to go back and forget it." The boy said listlessly, but his tone showed that he was very happy that A-Ka had made such a thoughtful suggestion. "The gander stays with us, there will be no accidents," said Akka, "I think you should go back and visit and see how your family is doing. Even if you can't become a real man again." People, and maybe they can find a way to help them a little bit.” "Yes, you're right, Aunt Akka, I should have thought of that earlier," said the boy, impatient to go home and see. In a blink of an eye, the leading goose carried him and flew towards his home.It was not long before Akka landed behind the stone fence of the farmhouse of his father, sharecropper Jorge Nelson. "You say it's strange, everything here is exactly the same as before." The boy said, he hurriedly climbed up to the fence to look around, "I just feel that since I sat here this spring and saw you flying across the sky, Now, it seems that there is not even a day's work."

"I don't know if your father has a shotgun." A-Ka said suddenly. "Oh, he's got one," said the boy, "and that's why I'd rather stay home than go to church." "Since your family has shotguns, I dare not stand here and wait for you," said Akka. "It's best if you go to Cape Smighawk tomorrow morning. The name of the place means 'sneaking away'. You just go and find us there, so you can stay at home for the night." "No, Aunt A-Ka, don't leave in a hurry!" the boy cried out, and hurriedly climbed down from the fence.He himself didn't know what was going on, but he always felt vaguely ominous, as if he and Dayan would never see each other again after parting. "You can see very clearly that I am very distressed that I have not been able to return to my former self," said the boy, "but I will make it clear to you that I have no regrets about going roaming with you this spring. I'd rather never become a human again than never go on that trip." Akka breathed a sigh of relief, and then replied: "There is one thing I should have talked to you long ago. But You hadn't returned to your loved ones at that time, so there was no rush to talk sooner or later. Now is the time to talk, and it won't hurt to make things clear anyway."

"You know I always obey your will," said the boy. "If you have learned anything good from us, Thumbs, then you probably think that human beings shouldn't take the whole land for themselves." The leading goose said solemnly and solemnly, "Think about it." , you have such a large land, you can give up a few bare rocky islands, a few shallow lakes and wet swamps, as well as a few barren hills and some remote forests, and give them to us poor people. Birds and beasts that have nowhere to stand give us a place to live in safety. I have been chased and hunted by humans every moment of my life. If humans can have a conscience, understand that a bird like me needs to have It would be nice to have a safe place to live.”

"I should be very glad if I could be of any help to you," said the boy, "but I have never had such power among men." "Forget it, we stand here and talk endlessly, as if we will never see each other again," Aka said affectionately, "Anyway, we will meet again tomorrow. Now I But I’m going back to my own species.” She spread her wings and flew away, then flew back again, fondled her thumb several times with her beak from top to bottom, and then left quietly. It was broad daylight at that time, but no one moved around in the yard, and the boys could walk around in the yard without any scruples.He hurried into the cowshed, because he knew that the most reliable news could be obtained from the cows.The cowshed was deserted. There were three strong cows there in the spring, but now there was only one left.It was the cow named May Rose, and she stood there alone, thinking morosely of her mate, with her head downcast, barely touching the grass fodder in front of her.

"Hello, May Rose!" The boy ran into the cowshed without fear, "Hello, how are my parents? How are the cats, geese, and chickens? Hello, how are you?" Where did you get those two cows, Little Star and Golden Lily?" May Rose couldn't help being taken aback when she heard the boy's voice just now, it seemed that she was going to hit him with her horns.But now she was less irritable than she used to be, and she glanced at Nils Hogelsson before rushing at him.The boy was still as short as when he left the house, wearing the same clothes as before.But his temperament was very different.Nils Hogelsson, when he first ran away from home in the spring, walked with heavy, shuffling feet, spoke with a limp voice, and looked with large, dull eyes.But Nils Hogelson, who had traveled a long distance and returned home, walked lightly and vigorously, spoke sonorously, and had piercing eyes.Although he was still so small, there was an awe-inspiring power in his demeanor and expression.Although he himself was not happy, the people who saw him felt like spring breeze and were very happy.

"Moo, moo!" bellowed the May Rose, "everybody says you've changed and changed for the better, and I don't believe it. Oh! Welcome home, Niels Hogelson, welcome!" Come home! I'm so happy, I haven't been so happy in a long time!" "Well, thank you very much, May Rose," said the boy, who was not expecting such a warm welcome, and couldn't help but be overjoyed. "Now, tell me about Mom and Dad, how are they doing?" "Well, they've had bad luck and things have been going wrong since you went," Rose May told him, "the worst of which was the horse that cost so much, Standing there eating a summer's worth of fodder and not working. Your father wouldn't shoot him, but he couldn't sell him. That's the horse that killed Little Star and Golden Lily Get out of here."

In fact, what the boy really wanted to ask was another matter that had nothing to do with this, but he was ashamed to say it clearly, so he asked implicitly: It must be very uncomfortable, right?" "I don't think your mother would be so upset if she found out what happened to the disappearance of Morton the gander. Now she's probably complaining about her unworthy son running away from home, He even took the gander away with him." "Oh, so she thought I stole the gander!" said the boy in amazement. "Could she have thought otherwise?" "Mom and Dad probably thought I was wandering around all summer like a bum."

"They believe you're going to have a hard time," said Mayrose. "It's natural for people to be very sad when they lose someone dear to them, and that's how they are." The boy's heart became hot when he heard these words, and he hurried out of the cowshed.He came to the stables.The stables were cramped, but they were kept clean and tidy, as could be seen everywhere, and his father, Jorge Nelson, had done his best to make the new animal comfortable.In the stable stood a fat, strong, imposing tall horse, whose coat was shiny because of the way it was bred. "Hello," said the boy, "I just heard that there is a horse here that is very sick. It can't be you, because you look so energetic and strong?" The horse turned around. Come on, look the boy up and down for a while. "Are you the son of this family?" he said slowly. "I've heard many bad things about you. But you look very gentle and kind. If I didn't know in advance, I wouldn't have Believe it, the one who was turned into a little person by the elf is you."

"I know very well that I have a very bad reputation in this yard," said Nils Hogelson. "Even my mother thought I stole from the house and ran away, but that didn't matter." It doesn't matter, I won't be home long anyway. Before I go, I want to know what's wrong with you." "Bah, bah, it's a pity you don't stay," the horse sighed, "because I feel that we could have been good friends. There's really nothing wrong with me, it's just that there's something wrong with my hoof. There was a cut, the tip of a knife was severed or something hard. The thing was stuck deep and hidden tightly. Even the veterinarian couldn't find out the cause. But when I moved, it hurt so badly, it didn't matter at all. I can't walk. If you could tell your father Jorge Nelson about my trouble, I don't think he would have much trouble curing me. I'd be more than happy to do something useful. Work, it's a disgrace for me to stand here eating my stomach and doing nothing."

"So it's good that you're not really seriously ill!" said Nils Hogelsson. "Let me try and get that hard thing out of your hoof. I'll pick up your hoof, A few cuts with my knife probably won't hurt you, will you?" Niels Hogelson had just scratched the horse's hooves a few times when he heard someone talking in the yard.He opened the stable door a crack and looked out, only to see his father and mother walking into the yard from the outside and walking towards the main house.It was plain to see that care and grief had left marks on their faces, and they were much older than they had been before.My mother's face has added a few more wrinkles than before, and my father's temples are full of hair.While walking, Mom advised Dad that he should ask her brother-in-law to borrow some money. "No, I can't borrow any more money," said my father, as he passed the stable. "There's nothing worse than being in debt. Just sell the house." "It doesn't matter to me to sell the house," said the mother, with a long sigh. "I wouldn't have objected if it hadn't been for the boy. But he might come back some day, we thought He must be penniless and miserable when he comes out, and we won’t be living here anymore, where are we going to tell him to settle down?” "Yes, you have a point," said the father, after a moment's thought, "but we can ask the newcomer to treat him well, and tell him that we will always miss him when he comes home, no matter what he is like. , we will never say a harsh word to him, do you think this is okay?" "Well, as long as he can come back to me, I won't say a word except to ask him if he is hungry or cold when he is away from home." Mom and Dad stepped into the room while they were talking. As for what they said later, the boy didn't know.Now he heard that even though his parents thought he had gone astray, they still leaned against the door and waited for the prodigal son to return.His heart was full of joy and excitement, and he wished he could run to them right away. "But it will hurt them even more when they see me in this strange state," he thought. Just as he was standing there hesitating again and again, a carriage came rattling over and stopped at the gate.When the boy saw it, he was so surprised that he almost cried out, because none other than Osa, the goose girl, and his father, Ron Axelson, got out of the car.Osa and her dad walked toward the house holding hands.They looked dignified and did not speak, but there was a beautiful light of happiness in their eyes.When they were about to walk halfway through the yard, Osa, the goose-herding girl, grabbed her father and said to him, "Remember, father, don't tell them about the wooden shoe or the wild goose. , not to mention the little man who looks exactly like Niels Hogelson, because even if the little man is not him, he must have something to do with him." "Well, I'll leave it at that," said Axelsen. "I'll just tell them that you came all the way to find me, and were rescued several times by their sons along the way. Now I've found one in the north." There are so many properties in iron mines, so our father and daughter came here specially to greet them and see what we can do to repay this kindness." "Well said, Papa, I know you're a good talker," Osa said. "Just don't say what I just said." They went into the house, and the boy really wanted to follow in and hear what they were saying, but he didn't dare to go out of the stable.It wasn't long before Osa and her father came out, and their parents walked them all the way to the gate.Strange to say, Mom and Dad are all beaming and happy at this time, as if they have gained a new life. The guests gradually went away, and Mom and Dad stood at the door and looked far away. "Thank God, now I don't have to worry about it anymore. Listen, Niels has done so many good things." Mom said happily. "Maybe he didn't do as many good things as they say." Father said with a smile but thoughtfully. "Oh, look at what you said! The father and daughter came all the way here to tell us that Niels has done them a great favor, and they want to help us to repay the kindness. Is it not enough? I think you should accept their kindness." "No, I don't want to take other people's money, whether it is lent to me or given to me. I think the first thing to do now is to pay off all the debts owed. Then we will work hard and become rich. We Anyway, both of them are still in good health and able to work.” When the father said this, he was so happy that he broke out into a burst of laughter from the bottom of his heart. "I'm sure you'd be happy to sell this land that we've worked so hard and worked so hard to cultivate," Mom said teasingly. "You actually know why I am so happy and laughing," Dad said sternly, "I was overwhelmed by the fact that my child disappeared from home. I didn't have the strength or thought to work at all. But now, I know he still Alive, and have done a lot of good things, walked the right way. Then you just wait and see, I, Jorge Nelson, can do something famous." Mother turned and walked back into the house, but the boy had to huddle up in a corner as his father came toward the stable.Pa stepped into the stable, leaned over to the horse, and kicked up his hooves to see if he could find anything wrong. "What's going on here?" Dad asked in surprise, because he saw a line of small characters carved on the horse's hoof. "Pull the sharp iron out of the horse's hoof!" he repeated, and then carefully observed the movement around him in amazement.But after a while, he still stared at the horse's hoof seriously, and kept stroking it with his hands. "Well, I believe there's something in the hoof," he murmured to himself. Dad was busy pulling something out of the horse's hoof, while the boy huddled in a corner and said nothing.At this moment, there was movement in the yard again, and a group of new guests showed up uninvited.The thing turned out to be like this: as soon as Morton the gander came near his former residence, he could no longer restrain his desire. He wanted to let his beloved relatives and friends on the farm meet his wife and children, so he led the gray goose Deng Fen and a few little geese flew back in mighty style. When the gander arrived, there was no one in Jorge Nelson's yard.The male goose was happy to return to his hometown, so he landed on the ground carefree.He swaggered and led Dunfin around here and there, trying to show her how comfortable he had been as a house goose.After they circled the whole family, they found the cowshed door was open. "Come and see!" cried the gander, "you'll see how well I lived before. It's very different from how we sleep in the meadows and swamps now." The gander stood on the threshold and looked into the cowshed. "Well, there's no one in there," said he. "Come, Dunfin, and come and see the goose-nest! Don't be afraid! There's no danger at all!" So, the male goose walked in front, and Deng Fen and the six little geese followed into the goose nest to open their eyes and see how luxurious and comfortable the big white goose lived before traveling with the wild geese. "Oh, our domestic geese lived here earlier. Over there is my nest, and over there is the trough, which was always filled with oats and water earlier," said the gander happily, " Look, there's something to eat in the trough." He ran to the trough and began to eat oatmeal in big mouthfuls. But Gray Goose Dunfer became uneasy. "Let's get out of here quickly," she begged. "Okay, eat a few more bites and go." said the gander, at this moment, he suddenly screamed and ran towards the door, but it was too late.The door creaked shut.The mistress stood outside and bolted the door, and the whole family was caught in a trap. Dad pulled out an iron spur from the black horse's hoof, and was standing there proudly stroking the horse, while Mom ran into the stable excitedly. "Hey, come and see, I caught a nest," she said. "Don't be impatient, look here first," Dad replied slowly, "I didn't find the real problem with the horse's inability to work until now." "Oh, I'm sure we're in luck," said my mother excitedly. "Just think, the gander that was missing in the spring flew away with the geese! Now he's back, and he's brought back seven geese. They They all got into the goose nest, and I shut them all in at once." "That's a curious thing," said Jorge Nilsson, "you know, and it saves us from being suspicious that the kid left the house and took the gander away." "Yes, you're quite right," said Ma, "but I think we'll have to kill them all to-night. It's St. Martin's Day in two or three days, and we're going to kill 'em quickly." , before I had time to take it to the city and sell it.” "I thought it was a sin to kill the gander, because he was credited with attracting such a flock of geese home," said father Jorge Nelson disapprovingly. "Well, that's all right," mother agreed, but then added, "it would have been a way to let him live at any other time. But now we're all going to move out of here ourselves, and we can't keep geese anymore. " "Well, that's true." Dad said helplessly. "Then help me get them into the house!" Mother ordered. They both walked out.It was not long before the boy saw his father, with Morton the gander under one arm, and Dunfin the gray goose under the other, coming into the house after his mother.The gander screamed, "Thumb, come and save me!" Although the gander didn't know that Thumb was close at hand, he still shouted as usual when he was in danger. Nils Hogelson clearly heard the gander's desperate cry for help, but he leaned against the stable door and could not move.His hesitation in coming to the rescue was not because he knew that the gander would do him good by being tied to the butcher's stool—it didn't even occur to him at that moment—but because , if he was going to run out to rescue the gander, he would have to show himself in front of his parents, and he was very reluctant to do that. "Mom and Dad are upset about me," he thought, "why should I add to their grief?" But when they brought the gander into the house and shut the door, the boy could not hold his breath any longer.He shot across the courtyard like an arrow from a string, jumped on the live oak boards in front of the house door, and rushed into the porch.He took off his wooden shoes as a matter of course, and walked barefoot to the door.But he really didn't want to let his little man's strange appearance show his ugliness in front of his parents, so he couldn't raise his arm to knock on the door. "This is Morton the gander's life-threatening moment," he shuddered. "Hasn't he been your closest friend since the day you left the house?" he asked himself.All of a sudden, all the experiences of the gander and his life and death came to his mind.He thought of how the gander had sacrificed his life to save himself on a frozen lake, on a stormy sea, among ferocious beasts.His heart was filled with gratitude and love, and he finally overcame his doubts and fears, and desperately beat on the door with his fists. "Oh, who is so eager to come in?" Dad muttered and opened the door. "Mom, don't kill the gander!" the boy yelled loudly. At this moment, the gander and Gray Goose Dunfin, who were tied to the stool, let out a shriek in surprise. Don't worry, because they are still alive. There was another person in the room who screamed with joy and surprise, and that was his mother. "Oh, my boy, you are growing taller and more handsome!" she cried. The boy didn't go into the house, but still stood on the threshold, like an uninvited guest who didn't know what his master's face would look like. "Thank God, I want you back," said the mother through tears. "Come in! Come in!" "Welcome back." Dad was so choked up that he couldn't say any more words. The boy was still standing on the threshold awkwardly, hesitating and daring not to move.He was inexplicable, why his parents were so happy and excited to see him so small and strange.Mom came over, put her arms around his waist, and dragged him into the house.Only then did he realize that he had suddenly grown taller than before. "Dad, Mom, I've grown up, I've become a human again." The boy shouted overjoyed.