To the great reunion held the year that Nils Holgersson travelled around with the wild geese, came Akka and her flock—­later than all the others.  And that was not to be wondered at, for Akka had to fly over the whole of Skane to get to Kullaberg.  Beside, as soon as she awoke, she had been obliged to go out and hunt for Thumbietot, who, for many hours, had gone and played to the gray rats, and lured them far away from Glimminge castle.  Mr. Owl had returned with the news that the black rats would be at home immediately after sunrise; and there was no longer any danger in letting the steeple-owl’s pipe be hushed, and to give the gray rats the liberty to go where they pleased.

But it was not Akka who discovered the boy where he walked with his long following, and quickly sank down over him and caught him with the bill and swung into the air with him, but it was Herr Ermenrich, the stork!  For Herr Ermenrich had also gone out to look for him; and after he had borne him up to the stork-nest, he begged his forgiveness for having treated him with disrespect the evening before.

This pleased the boy immensely, and the stork and he became good friends.  Akka, too, showed him that she felt very kindly toward him; she stroked her old head several times against his arms, and commended him because he had helped those who were in trouble.

But this one must say to the boy’s credit:  that he did not want to accept praise which he had not earned.  “No, mother Akka,” he said, “you mustn’t think that I lured the gray rats away to help the black ones.  I only wanted to show Herr Ermenrich that I was of some consequence.”

He had hardly said this before Akka turned to the stork and asked if he thought it was advisable to take Thumbietot along to Kullaberg.  “I mean, that we can rely on him as upon ourselves,” said she.  The stork at once advised, most enthusiastically, that Thumbietot be permitted to come along.  “Certainly you shall take Thumbietot along to Kullaberg, mother Akka,” said he.  “It is fortunate for us that we can repay him for all that he has endured this night for our sakes.  And since it still grieves me to think that I did not conduct myself in a becoming manner toward him the other evening, it is I who will carry him on my back—­all the way to the meeting place.”

There isn’t much that tastes better than to receive praise from those who are themselves wise and capable; and the boy had certainly never felt so happy as he did when the wild goose and the stork talked about him in this way.

Thus the boy made the trip to Kullaberg, riding stork-back.  Although he knew that this was a great honour, it caused him much anxiety, for Herr Ermenrich was a master flyer, and started off at a very different pace from the wild geese.  While Akka flew her straight way with even wing-strokes, the stork amused himself by performing a lot of flying tricks.  Now he lay still in an immeasurable height, and floated in