ry one who passes by, though a certain degree of
monumentality has been ascribed to me in all these years. But I pay no
attention to this ascription of greatness; I laugh at it. I give the
Market, where the people come and haggle over the price of potatoes and
apples, a certain degree of dignity. That is all. They see me as I stand
there, always upright, under the open sky; and despite my distinguished
position, they have all come to look upon me as a cousin. For a time
they gave me a nickname: they called me by your name. But they had no
right to do this; none at all, it seems to me. I have looked out for my
geese; no one can say a thing against me."

The Goose Man laughed a quiet, inoffensive laugh; and when Daniel turned
his face to the corner, the chair was empty, the strange guest had
vanished.

III

But he came back. And when Daniel's mind and body were both completely
broken down and he was obliged to remain in bed, his visits became
regular. He sat next to Benda, for Benda had taken to calling on Daniel
now every day and staying with him until late at night. But Daniel grew
quieter and quieter. Sometimes he would make no reply at all to Benda's
remarks or questions.

The Goose Man came in behind Dr. Dingolfinger and stood on tiptoes, as
curious as curious could be, and looked over his arm when he wrote out
his prescriptions. The Goose Man was a little fellow: he hardly reached
up to the doctor's hips.

He hopped around Agnes when she cooked the soup and expressed his
sympathy for her; she looked so pale. Though only thirteen years old,
there was the worried look of a mature woman in her face; she would cast
her eyes around the room as if trying to catch a glance of human love in
the eyes of another person; her looks were timid and stealthy. "Some one
should be caring for her too," said the Goose Man, shaking his head,
"some one should be making a good, warm soup for her."

Though it would be unfair to say that the Goose Man was offensively
concerned, he seemed to be interested in everything that was going on in
the house. When the officials of the fire department came to
cross-question Daniel about the fire, he became angry and gruff, and did
not wish to let them in. "Give the poor man some rest, some peace, after
all these years of suffering," he implored, "give him time to collect
himself and to meditate on what has taken place." And in fact the
members of the fire de