The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. Short summary

5 seconds

Crippled Philip rescues a wounded Snow Goose, who stays with him. During the war, the man rescues British soldiers. A bird accompanies him and flies away only when Philip dies.

1 minute

In an abandoned lighthouse, the crippled Philip lives solitary. He helps exhausted and wounded birds.

One day a girl, Frieda, comes to Philip and brings him a wounded bird, rare in these parts, the Snow Goose. Together with the child, the man nurses the bird. Having recovered, the Snow Goose flies away.

However, he returns and stays at the lighthouse. Frieda helps Philip take care of the birds.

A few years later, war with Germany begins. Philip rescues British soldiers on his boat. He is accompanied everywhere by the Snow Goose.

Philip saves everyone, but dies when he explodes on a mine. Frieda waits for him at the lighthouse, but when she sees the lonely Snow Goose, she realizes that the man is dead. The girl cries and the bird flies over the lighthouse and disappears into the sky.

Frida comes to the lighthouse every evening to feed the birds until it is blown up by the Nazis.