When he had climbed to the top of the tower he found a party of tourists
there, so he quickly crawled into a dark corner and was soon sound
asleep.

When the boy awoke, he began to feel uneasy because the tourists
lingered so long in the tower telling stories. He thought they would
never go. Morten Goosey-Gander could not come for him while they were
there and he knew, of course, that the wild geese were in a hurry to
continue the journey. In the middle of a story he thought he heard
honking and the beating of wings, as if the geese were flying away, but
he did not dare to venture over to the balustrade to find out if it was
so.

At last, when the tourists were gone, and the boy could crawl from his
hiding place, he saw no wild geese, and no Morten Goosey-Gander came to
fetch him. He called, "Here am I, where are you?" as loud as he could,
but his travelling companions did not appear. Not for a second did he
think they had deserted him; but he feared that they had met with some
mishap and was wondering what he should do to find them, when Bataki,
the raven, lit beside him.

The boy never dreamed that he should greet Bataki with such a glad
welcome as he now gave him.

"Dear Bataki," he burst forth. "How fortunate that you are here! Maybe
you know what has become of Morten Goosey-Gander and the wild geese?"

"I've just come with a greeting from them," replied the raven. "Akka saw
a hunter prowling about on the mountain and therefore dared not stay to
wait for you, but has gone on ahead. Get up on my back and you shall
soon be with your friends."

The boy quickly seated himself on the raven's back and Bataki would soon
have caught up with the geese had he not been hindered by a fog. It was
as if the morning sun had awakened it to life. Little light veils of
mist rose suddenly from the lake, from fields, and from the forest. They
thickened and spread with marvellous rapidity, and soon the entire
ground was hidden from sight by white, rolling mists.

Bataki flew along above the fog in clear air and sparkling sunshine, but
the wild geese must have circled down among the damp clouds, for it was
impossible to sight them. The boy and the raven called and shrieked, but
got no response.

"Well, this is a stroke of ill luck!" said Bataki finally. "But we know
that they are travelling toward the south, and of course I'll find them
as soon as the mist clears."

The boy was distressed at the thought of being parted from