e, also, who
sat in the inn, drinking and gambling, entirely forgetful of the dumb
creatures which they should have protected.

The boy and the wild geese had come to a little wooded island in Hjaelmar
Lake that evening. The island was separated from the main land by a
narrow and shallow stream, and at low tide one could pass over it
dry-shod.

It rained just as hard on the island as it did everywhere else. The boy
could not sleep for the water that kept dripping down on him. Finally he
got up and began to walk. He fancied that he felt the rain less when he
moved about.

He had hardly circled the island, when he heard a splashing in the
stream. Presently he saw a solitary horse tramping among the trees.
Never in all his life had he seen such a wreck of a horse! He was
broken-winded and stiff-kneed and so thin that every rib could be seen
under the hide. He bore neither harness nor saddle--only an old bridle,
from which dangled a half-rotted rope-end. Obviously he had had no
difficulty in breaking loose.

The horse walked straight toward the spot where the wild geese were
sleeping. The boy was afraid that he would step on them.

"Where are you going? Feel your ground!" shouted the boy.

"Oh, there you are!" exclaimed the horse. "I've walked miles to meet
you!"

"Have you heard of me?" asked the boy, astonished.

"I've got ears, even if I am old! There are many who talk of you
nowadays."

As he spoke, the horse bent his head that he might see better, and the
boy noticed that he had a small head, beautiful eyes, and a soft,
sensitive nose.

"He must have been a good horse at the start, though he has come to
grief in his old age," he thought.

"I wish you would come with me and help me with something," pleaded the
horse.

The boy thought it would be embarrassing to accompany a creature who
looked so wretched, and excused himself on account of the bad weather.

"You'll be no worse off on my back than you are lying here," said the
horse. "But perhaps you don't dare to go with an old tramp of a horse
like me."

"Certainly I dare!" said the boy.

"Then wake the geese, so that we can arrange with them where they shall
come for you to-morrow," said the horse.

The boy was soon seated on the animal's back. The old nag trotted along
better than he had thought possible. It was a long ride in the rain and
darkness before they halted near a large inn, where everything looked
terribly uninviting! The wheel tracks