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.
Pages:
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86