In this direst of needs the boy finally plucked up
courage and pounded on the door with all his might.
A child opened it, and the boy looked into the room. In the middle of
the floor sat a woman who held the goosey-gander tight to clip his
quill-feathers. It was her children who had found him, and she didn't
want to do him any harm. It was her intention to let him in among her
own geese, had she only succeeded in clipping his wings so he couldn't
fly away. But a worse fate could hardly have happened to the
goosey-gander, and he shrieked and moaned with all his might.
And a lucky thing it was that the woman hadn't started the clipping
sooner. Now only two quills had fallen under the shears' when the door
was opened--and the boy stood on the door-sill. But a creature like
that the woman had never seen before. She couldn't believe anything else
but that it was Goa-Nisse himself; and in her terror she dropped the
shears, clasped her hands--and forgot to hold on to the goosey-gander.
As soon as he felt himself freed, he ran toward the door. He didn't give
himself time to stop; but, as he ran past him, he grabbed the boy by the
neck-band and carried him along with him. On the stoop he spread his
wings and flew up in the air; at the same time he made a graceful sweep
with his neck and seated the boy on his smooth, downy back.
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