She begged the wild geese to fly to her home before travelling
farther north, that she might let her family see that she was still
alive. It would be such a joy to them.
Akka frankly declared that she thought Dunfin's parents and brothers and
sisters had shown no great love for her when they abandoned her at
Oeland, but Dunfin would not admit that Akka was in the right. "What else
was there to do, when they saw that I could not fly?" she protested.
"Surely they couldn't remain at Oeland on my account!"
Dunfin began telling the wild geese all about her home in the
archipelago, to try to induce them to make the trip. Her family lived on
a rock island. Seen from a distance, there appeared to be nothing but
stone there; but when one came closer, there were to be found the
choicest goose tidbits in clefts and hollows, and one might search long
for better nesting places than those that were hidden in the mountain
crevices or among the osier bushes. But the best of all was the old
fisherman who lived there. Dunfin had heard that in his youth he had
been a great shot and had always lain in the offing and hunted birds.
But now, in his old age--since his wife had died and the children had
gone from home, so that he was alone in the hut--he had begun to care
for the birds on his island. He never fired a shot at them, nor would he
permit others to do so.
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