He walked around amongst the birds' nests, and
when the mother birds were sitting he brought them food. Not one was
afraid of him. They all loved him.
Dunfin had been in his hut many times, and he had fed her with bread
crumbs. Because he was kind to the birds, they flocked to his island in
such great numbers that it was becoming overcrowded. If one happened to
arrive a little late in the spring, all the nesting places were
occupied. That was why Dunfin's family had been obliged to leave her.
Dunfin begged so hard that she finally had her way, although the wild
geese felt that they were losing time and really should be going
straight north. But a little trip like this to the cliff island would
not delay them more than a day.
So they started off one morning, after fortifying themselves with a good
breakfast, and flew eastward over Lake Maelar. The boy did not know for
certain where they were going; but he noticed that the farther east they
flew, the livelier it was on the lake and the more built up were the
shores.
Heavily freighted barges and sloops, boats and fishing smacks were on
their way east, and these were met and passed by many pretty white
steamers. Along the shores ran country roads and railway tracks--all in
the same direction. There was some place beyond in the east where all
wished to go to in the morning.
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