be sure the walls are poor, but the fox does not walk through them as yet; and no one lives here except an old peasant woman, who isn’t at all likely to make a captive of anyone.  But who are you?” she continued, as she twisted in her stall to get a sight of the newcomers.  “I am Nils Holgersson from Vemminghoeg, who has been transformed into an elf,” replied the first of the incomers, “and I have with me a tame goose, whom I generally ride, and a gray goose.”  “Such rare guests have never before been within my four walls,” said the cow, “and you shall be welcome, although I would have preferred that it had been my mistress, come to give me my supper.”

The boy led the geese into the cowshed, which was rather large, and placed them in an empty manger, where they fell asleep instantly.  For himself, he made a little bed of straw and expected that he, too, should go to sleep at once.

But this was impossible, for the poor cow, who hadn’t had her supper, wasn’t still an instant.  She shook her flanks, moved around in the stall, and complained of how hungry she was.  The boy couldn’t get a wink of sleep, but lay there and lived over all the things that had happened to him during these last days.

He thought of Osa, the goose-girl, and little Mats, whom he had encountered so unexpectedly; and he fancied that the little cabin which he had set on fire must have been their old home in Smaland.  Now he recalled that he had heard them speak of just such a cabin, and of the big heather-heath which lay below it.  Now Osa and Mats had wandered back there to see their old home again, and then, when they had reached it, it was in flames.

It was indeed a great sorrow which he had brought upon them, and it hurt him very much.  If he ever again became a human being, he would try to compensate them for the damage and miscalculation.

Then his thoughts wandered to the crows.  And when he thought of Fumle-Drumle who had saved his life, and had met his own death so soon after he had been elected chieftain, he was so distressed that tears filled his eyes.  He had had a pretty rough time of it these last few days.  But, anyway, it was a rare stroke of luck that the goosey-gander and Dunfin had found him.  The goosey-gander had said that as soon as the geese discovered that Thumbietot had disappeared, they had asked all the small animals in the forest about him.  They soon learned that a flock of Smaland crows had carried him off.  But the crows were already out of sight, and whither they had directed their course no one had been able to say.  That they might find the boy as soon as possible, Akka had commanded the wild geese to start out—­two and two—­in different directions, to search for him.  But after a two days’ hunt, whether or not they had found him, they were to meet in northwestern Smaland on a high mountain-top, which resembled an abrupt, chopped-off tower, and was called Taberg.  After Akka had given them the best directions, and described carefully how they should find Taberg, they had separated.