He himself was as yet in a kind
of daze--sometimes thinking he was an elf, sometimes a human being. When
he saw a stone hedge alongside the road, he was afraid to go farther
until he had made sure that no wild animal or vulture lurked behind it.
Very soon he laughed to himself and rejoiced because he was big and
strong and did not have to be afraid of anything.
When he reached the coast he stationed himself, big as he was, at the
very edge of the strand, so that the wild geese could see him.
It was a busy day for the birds of passage. Bird calls sounded on the
air continuously. The boy smiled as he thought that no one but himself
understood what the birds were saying to one another. Presently wild
geese came flying; one big flock following another.
"Just so it's not my geese that are going away without bidding me
farewell," he thought. He wanted so much to tell them how everything had
turned out, and to show them that he was no longer an elf but a human
being.
There came a flock that flew faster and cackled louder than the others,
and something told him that this must be _the_ flock, but now he was not
quite so sure about it as he would have been the day before.
The flock slackened its flight and circled up and down along the coast.
The boy knew it was the right one, but he could not understand why the
geese did not come straight down to him.
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