The boy wanted to buy the big gray goose and the little white duck as birthday present for his mother. But he was short of one dollar, which he had to coax from his grandfather by saying that the goose was to be roasted for Grandpa's eighty-eighth birthday the next spring. After all, Grandpa would never have parted with a dollar for a useless pet goose. The big goose loved the boy's mother at once, and she loved him. But Grandpa was angry about the trick that had been played on him. He refused to take the dollar back and swore he'd eat the goose next spring. The boy and hismother hoped that the goose would prove himself useful in some way, so that Grandpa would chang his mind. Butfor a long time it was touch and go.
