The geese, in their turn, found the eagles quite
useful. They were robbers, to be sure, but they kept other robbers away.
Two years before Nils Holgersson travelled with the wild geese the old
leader-goose, Akka from Kebnekaise, was standing at the foot of the
mountain slope looking toward the eagle's nest.
The eagles were in the habit of starting on their chase soon after
sunrise; during the summers that Akka had lived in the glen she had
watched every morning for their departure to find if they stopped in the
glen to hunt, or if they flew beyond it to other hunting grounds.
She did not have to wait long before the two eagles left the ledge on
the cliff. Stately and terror-striking they soared into the air. They
directed their course toward the plain, and Akka breathed a sigh of
relief.
The old leader-goose's days of nesting and rearing of young were over,
and during the summer she passed the time going from one goose range to
another, giving counsel regarding the brooding and care of the young.
Aside from this she kept an eye out not only for eagles but also for
mountain fox and owls and all other enemies who were a menace to the
wild geese and their young.
About noontime Akka began to watch for the eagles again. This she had
done every day during all the summers that she had lived in the glen.
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