The next second he and the leader-goose were on their way to his home.
It was not long before Akka alighted behind the stone hedge encircling
the little farm.
"Strange how natural everything looks around here!" the boy remarked,
quickly clambering to the top of the hedge, so that he could look about.
"It seems to me only yesterday that I first saw you come flying through
the air."
"I wonder if your father has a gun," said Akka suddenly.
"You may be sure he has," returned the boy. "It was just the gun that
kept me at home that Sunday morning when I should have been at church."
"Then I don't dare to stand here and wait for you," said Akka. "You had
better meet us at Smygahoek early to-morrow morning, so that you may stay
at home over night."
"Oh, don't go yet, Mother Akka!" begged the boy, jumping from the hedge.
He could not tell just why it was, but he felt as if something would
happen, either to the wild goose or to himself, to prevent their future
meeting.
"No doubt you see that I'm distressed because I cannot get back my
right form; but I want to say to you that I don't regret having gone
with you last spring," he added. "I would rather forfeit the chance of
ever being human again than to have missed that trip."
Akka breathed quickly before she answered.
"There's a little matter I should have mentioned to you before this, but
since you are not going back to your home for good, I thought there was
no hurry about it.
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