short written parable on the regenerative power of friendship and love, set against a backdrop of the horror of World War 2. It documents the growth of a friendship between Philip Rhayader, an artist living a solitary life in an abandoned lighthouse in the marshlands because of his disabilities, and a young local girl, Fritha. The snow goose, wounded by gunshot and many miles from home, is found by Fritha and, as the human friendship blossoms, can the bird be nursed back to flight? Will Fritha and Rhayander find love or is his sailboat lost at sea? Can Rhayander be among those hundreds he has saved?

This is the original version first published in 1940 in The Saturday Evening Post, later expanded into a longer version and published in book form in 1941.