d steered its course over the water.

As the nest came nearer, Jarro saw that a little human being--the
tiniest he had ever seen--sat in the nest and rowed it forward with a
pair of sticks. And this little human called to him: "Go as near the
water as you can, Jarro, and be ready to fly. You shall soon be freed."

A few seconds later the grebe-nest lay near land, but the little oarsman
did not leave it, but sat huddled up between branches and straw. Jarro
too held himself almost immovable. He was actually paralysed with fear
lest the rescuer should be discovered.

The next thing which occurred was that a flock of wild geese came along.
Then Jarro woke up to business, and warned them with loud shrieks; but
in spite of this they flew backward and forward over the shallows
several times. They held themselves so high that they were beyond
shooting distance; still the farm-hand let himself be tempted to fire a
couple of shots at them. These shots were hardly fired before the little
creature ran up on land, drew a tiny knife from its sheath, and, with a
couple of quick strokes, cut loose Jarro's halter. "Now fly away, Jarro,
before the man has time to load again!" cried he, while he himself ran
down to the grebe-nest and poled away from the shore.

The hunter had had his gaze fixed upon the geese, and hadn't observed
that Jarro had been freed; but Caesar had followed more carefully that
which happened; and just as Jarro raised his wings, he dashed forward
and grabbed him by the neck.

Jarro cried pitifully; and the boy who had freed him said quietly to
Caesar: "If you are just as honourable as you look, surely you cannot
wish to force a good bird to sit here and entice others into trouble."

When Caesar heard these words, he grinned viciously with his upper lip,
but the next second he dropped Jarro. "Fly, Jarro!" said he. "You are
certainly too good to be a decoy-duck. It wasn't for this that I wanted
to keep you here; but because it will be lonely in the cottage without
you."

THE LOWERING OF THE LAKE

_Wednesday, April twentieth_.

It was indeed very lonely in the cottage without Jarro. The dog and the
cat found the time long, when they didn't have him to wrangle over; and
the housewife missed the glad quacking which he had indulged in every
time she entered the house. But the one who longed most for Jarro, was
the little boy, Per Ola. He was but three years old, and the only child;
and in all his life he had neve