So he pictured the whole scene to himself; what he should see, and all the adventures that he would be in on.  Yes, it would be something different from the wear and tear at home.  “If I could only go with the wild geese on their travels, I shouldn’t grieve because I’d been transformed,” thought the boy.

He wasn’t afraid of anything—­except being sent home; but not even on Wednesday did the geese say anything to him about going.  That day passed in the same way as Tuesday; and the boy grew more and more contented with the outdoor life.  He thought that he had the lovely Oevid Cloister park—­which was as large as a forest—­all to himself; and he wasn’t anxious to go back to the stuffy cabin and the little patch of ground there at home.

On Wednesday he believed that the wild geese thought of keeping him with them; but on Thursday he lost hope again.

Thursday began just like the other days; the geese fed on the broad meadows, and the boy hunted for food in the park.  After a while Akka came to him, and asked if he had found anything to eat.  No, he had not; and then she looked up a dry caraway herb, that had kept all its tiny seeds intact.

When the boy had eaten, Akka said that she thought he ran around in the park altogether too recklessly.  She wondered if he knew how many enemies he had to guard against—­he, who was so little.  No, he didn’t know anything at all about that.  Then Akka began to enumerate them for him.

Whenever he walked in the park, she said, that he must look out for the fox and the marten; when he came to the shores of the lake, he must think of the otters; as he sat on the stone wall, he must not forget the weasels, who could creep through the smallest holes; and if he wished to lie down and sleep on a pile of leaves, he must first find out if the adders were not sleeping their winter sleep in the same pile.  As soon as he came out in the open fields, he should keep an eye out for hawks and buzzards; for eagles and falcons that soared in the air.  In the bramble-bush he could be captured by the sparrow-hawks; magpies and crows were found everywhere and in these he mustn’t place any too much confidence.  As soon as it was dusk, he must keep his ears open and listen for the big owls, who flew along with such soundless wing-strokes that they could come right up to him before he was aware of their presence.

When the boy heard that there were so many who were after his life, he thought that it would be simply impossible for him to escape.  He was not particularly afraid to die, but he didn’t like the idea of being eaten up, so he asked Akka what he should do to protect himself from the carnivorous animals.

Akka answered at once that the boy should try to get on good terms with all the small animals in the woods and fields:  with the squirrel-folk, and the hare-family; with bullfinches and the titmice and woodpeckers and larks.  If he made friends with them, they could warn him against dangers, find hiding places for him, and protect him.