Then along came a violent gust
of wind, which tossed the geese before it, like balls, and the boy, who
was sitting comfortably, with no thought of peril, was lifted from the
goose's back and hurled into space.
Little and light as he was, he could not fall straight to the ground in
such a wind; so at first he was carried along with it, drifting down
slowly and spasmodically, as a leaf falls from a tree.
"Why, this isn't so bad!" thought the boy as he fell. "I'm tumbling as
easily as if I were only a scrap of paper. Morten Goosey-Gander will
doubtless hurry along and pick me up."
The first thing the boy did when he landed was to tear off his cap and
wave it, so that the big white gander should see where he was.
"Here am I, where are you? Here am I, where are you?" he called, and was
rather surprised that Morten Goosey-Gander was not already at his side.
But the big white gander was not to be seen, nor was the wild goose
flock outlined against the sky. It had entirely disappeared.
He thought this rather singular, but he was neither worried nor
frightened. Not for a second did it occur to him that folk like Akka and
Morten Goosey-Gander would abandon him. The unexpected gust of wind had
probably borne them along with it. As soon as they could manage to turn,
they would surely come back and fetch him.
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