Travel by goose

Chapter 12 To the South
A little boy rides on the back of a white gander, advancing high in the air. Thirty-one geese lined up neatly and flew south quickly, with countless wings flapping the air, crackling, crackling so loud that they could barely hear their own cries.The old geese flew in the air in the shape of a "herringbone" with the twenty young geese that grew up in the canyon this summer.

These young geese were flying long distances for the first time, and at first it was very difficult for them to fly fast. "Eika, Eika!" they cried pitifully.

"What's the matter?" Aika asked.

"Our wings are too tired to fly! Our wings are too tired to fly!" cried the little geese.

"The farther you fly, the more relaxed you feel." The leading goose replied, and she continued to fly forward without slowing down at all.It seemed that she was right, the geese never said they were tired after flying for several hours, but they had new requirements.

"Aika, Aika!" the wild geese wailed.

"What's the matter?" Aika asked.

"We are too hungry to fly, we are too hungry to fly!" the little geese cried.

"The geese must learn to eat the air and drink the strong wind." Aika continued to fly forward without stopping for a moment.

The little geese seem to have learned to live on air and wind, and they no longer complain about being hungry after flying for a while.The old geese would tell the young geese their names when they passed every mountain peak. After a while, the young geese became impatient.

"Ika, Ika!" they yelled irritably.

"What's the matter?" Aika asked.

"We can't hold any more names in our heads! We can't hold any more names in our heads!" cried the little geese.

"The more names you remember in your mind, the better your mind will be." Eka replied, she continued to call all kinds of strange names as before.

The little boy thought to himself, now is the time for the wild geese to fly south, because it has snowed heavily, and as far as the eye can see, the land is a vast expanse of white.During their last days in the canyon, the weather was harsh, with heavy rain, storms and clouds.The days were short, and the long nights and late mornings bored the little boy.

Now that the young geese's wings have finally grown, they can set off for the south.The little boy was very happy, singing and laughing while riding on the back of the goose.He was looking forward to going to the south, not only because it was dark and cold and lack of food, but also because he wanted to live a human life again.

For the first few weeks of his arrival, he had no intention of leaving.At that time, he felt that he had never been to such a beautiful place, and he had no other worries except to avoid being eaten by mosquitoes.Because the big white goose guarded Meiyu wholeheartedly and was inseparable from her, the little boy didn't have much contact with him.He had been with Ika and Gorgo, and had spent many happy hours.The two birds took the little boy on long-distance flights many times.The little boy once stood on the top of the snow-covered mountain, looked at the steep glaciers, inspected many inaccessible mountains, visited deep mountains and very hidden valleys, watched the cave where the she-wolf raised her wolf lamb, and he also had sex with reindeer. I have made friends, and I have sent greetings to the bear.

Now they fly south.The little boy waved his hat excitedly, greeting the first cedar grove he saw, the first pioneer house, the first goat, the first cat.

They kept encountering flocks of migratory birds that were larger than the spring flocks. "Where are you going? Wild geese! Where are you going?"

"We are going to foreign countries like you," replied the geese, "we are going to foreign countries."

"Your young geese are immature," cried some birds, "their wings are too delicate to fly over the sea."

When the wild geese saw a herd of deer, they flew low and shouted: "Thank you for the days we spent together this summer, thank you for the days we spent together this summer!"

"Bon voyage, welcome to come again next time!" Deer replied.

But when the bears saw the geese, they pointed to the geese and said to their children: "Look at those guys who are afraid of the cold, they dare not stay at home in winter."

The old geese shouted to the young geese: "Look at those lazy guys, they would rather sleep for half a year than spend a little effort to go south!"

Below in the fir groves the young grouse huddled, fluffed and shivering with cold.Seeing all the great flocks fly south with cheers and joyful calls, "When is our turn?" they asked the hen, "When is our turn?"

"You'd better stay with your parents honestly," replied the hen grouse, "you'd better stay with your parents honestly."

The wild geese flew over the mountains, over the plains, over the cities, and over the sea.

One day, the wild geese were sleeping on a small stone island.It was almost midnight, and when the moon was high, old Aika chased away the drowsiness and woke up Thumb. "What's the matter, Ika?" he said, getting up in a panic.

"It's nothing important," said Ika. "We're going to sea tonight. Would you like to go with us?"

The little boy knew that Aika would never have made such a move if there was nothing urgent about it.Without saying a word, he rode on Aika's back.They flew straight west, flew over a group of small and small islands off the shore, flew across a wide strip of water, and landed on a smallest stone island.There is a wide crack in the middle of the island, which is filled with white fine sand and some shells washed up by the sea.

When the little boy slid off Ika's back, he saw Gorgo the old vulture also standing on the stone island.

"You've done a good job with this, Gorgo," said Ika. "Have you been here long?"

"There is nothing to praise, maybe I did badly." Gorgo said, "I just did my best."

"I'm sure you've done a good job," said Aika, "but before you tell what happened on your trip, I want Thumb to help me find some things that are still buried on this stone island."

Aika turned to the little boy and said, "Many years ago, we were swept by a strong wind to these stone islands, and we stayed here for several days. We were so hungry that once we went to look for something to eat in the cracks on the stone islands. , we did not find a blade of grass, but only bags full of gold nuggets. This gold is of no use to us geese, but it is good to you. Now please see if the gold is still buried in the In the sand."

Following the instructions of the wild goose, the little boy found out the gold buried in the sand, and then buried it carefully in the sand.

When the little boy returned to the top of the stone, he was amazed to see that Eka led six wild geese to walk up to him solemnly.

"We have discussed that all the gold should belong to you, because you have helped us, and we should give you a reward." Aika said, "In this way, when you go home, your parents will think that this is your honor in a noble family." The money earned by being a cowherd."

"But I still want to be with you. I heard that the little fox fairy's condition for restoring me to my original form was to let the gander lie on the slaughtering stool. I don't want the gander to die. I would rather remain a human being and be with you all the time You travel," said the little boy.

"Then, we can listen to what Gorgo has to say." Eka said calmly.

"The thing is like this. I found the little fox fairy and talked to him face to face. Tell him that I was entrusted by Aika to ask him if I could give Nils a better condition.

"'I hope so!' said the little Fox Fairy, 'for I have heard that he is doing well in his travels, but I can't do anything about it.'

"I was on the spot, and if he wouldn't back down, I'd do whatever it takes to gouge out his eyes.

"'As you please,' said the little Fox Fairy, 'I will stand by my opinion. Please tell Niels that he should hurry home with his geese. His parents are in debt and have sold two Cows, and likely to leave their fields. The horse they borrowed money for, is lame and a waste.'

"In short, life is very difficult for the Niels family."

After listening to Diao's words, the little boy frowned tightly and clenched his fists tightly. "Little Fox Fairy is inhumane," said he, "and he has set such conditions that I cannot go home and help my parents. I will not sacrifice the life of my faithful friend gander for my own happiness. I think my parents will agree with me when they know about it.”

(End of this chapter)