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.
But later in the day, when the boy tried to profit by this counsel, and
turned to Sirle Squirrel to ask for his protection, it was evident that
he did not care to help him. "You surely can't expect anything from me,
or the rest of the small animals!" said Sirle. "Don't you think we know
that you are Nils the goose boy, who tore down the swallow's nest last
year, crushed the starling's eggs, threw baby crows in the marl-ditch,
caught thrushes in snares, and put squirrels in cages? You just help
yourself as well as you can; and you may be thankful that we do not form
a league against you, and drive you back to your own kind!"
This was just the sort of answer the boy would not have let go
unpunished, in the days when he was Nils the goose boy. But now he was
only fearful lest the wild geese, too, had found out how wicked he could
be.
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