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Updated: June 24, 2025
He was bathed in sweat; his eyes were without lustre; his tongue hung far out from his gaping jaws; and froth oozed from his mouth. In the afternoon Smirre was so exhausted that he grew delirious. He saw nothing before his eyes but flying geese. He made leaps for sun-spots which he saw on the ground; and for a poor little butterfly that had come out of his chrysalis too soon.
None had thought of asking a stranger to help them, and the swans had no idea that Smirre Fox had sent for the wild geese! There were several hundred swans resting on the water. They had placed themselves according to rank and station.
A pair of frowzy cubs, as uncertain on their feet and as woolly as puppies, came tumbling along. "What have you got, Mamma Bear? May we see, oh, may we see?" shrieked the cubs excitedly. "Oho! so I've fallen in with bears," thought the boy to himself. "Now Smirre Fox won't have to trouble himself further to chase after me!" The mother bear pushed the boy along to the cubs.
This was because he had the elf's good eyesight now, and could see in the dark. He saw both lake and shore just as clearly as if it had been daylight. Smirre Fox left the ice where it touched the shore. And just as he was working his way up to the land-edge, the boy shouted: "Drop that goose, you sneak!"
He jumped so high that he touched her with his tail. But she flung herself quickly to one side and saved her life. Before Smirre got through panting, three more geese came flying in a row. They flew just like the rest, and Smirre made high springs for them all, but he did not succeed in catching any one of them. After that came five geese; but these flew better than the others.
"It surprises me," said Smirre, "that such a fine hunter as you are should be satisfied with chasing squirrels when there is much better game within reach." Here he paused; but when the marten only grinned impudently at him, he continued: "Can it be possible that you haven't seen the wild geese that stand under the mountain wall? or are you not a good enough climber to get down to them?"
For the otter was thrust back by the waves many times, and carried down river; but he fought his way steadily up again. He swam forward in still water; he crawled over stones, and gradually came nearer the wild geese. It was a perilous trip, which might well have earned the right to be sung by the nightingales. Smirre followed the otter's course with his eyes as well as he could.
Gripe is pronounced Greep-e. In Sirle, the first syllable has the same sound as sir, in sirup. The names which Miss Lagerlöf has given to the animals are descriptive. Smirre Fox, is cunning fox. Sirle Squirrel, is graceful, or nimble squirrel. Gripe Otter, means grabbing or clutching otter. Mons is a pet name applied to cats; like our tommy or pussy.
Neither the wild geese nor Smirre Fox had believed that they should ever run across each other after they had left Skåne. But now it turned out so that the wild geese happened to take the route over Blekinge and thither Smirre Fox had also gone.
When they had finished, a gray goose, who appeared to be as old and as wise as Akka herself, said: "It was a great misfortune for you that Smirre Fox was declared an outlaw in his own land. He'll be sure to keep his word, and follow you all the way up to Lapland.
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