Selma Lagerlöf

Nils' Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese

Chapter I. FOREST GNOME

In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.

And there was no trouble with him.

During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.

He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.

That's how it was.

One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.

“Let’s go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”

But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.

Look, not a step out of the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?

“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”

Study, son, study,” said the mother.

She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.

And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:

So that by the time we return he knows everything by heart. I'll check it myself.

Finally, father and mother left.

“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”

Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!

According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.

And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”

Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason, the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.

Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.

Nils raised his head and became wary.

The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...

And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!

The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.

Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?

Who opened the chest?

Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?

Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.

What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Here it moved... Now it crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...

Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings tied at the knees lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.

“But it’s a gnome! - Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”

Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.

Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?

Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.

While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.

It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...

Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!

Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.

One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.

His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side, his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.

Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.

Nils thought for a moment.

Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.

Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...

Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.

And Nils shook the net again.

But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.

For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.

The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.

“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - No, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron was passed over it. This gnome hit me so hard! Of course, father and mother will not believe that the gnome visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to learn your lessons. No, no matter how you look at it, we must sit down to read the book again!”

Nils took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house moved apart, the ceiling went high, and the chair on which Nils always sat rose above him like an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Nils had to climb the twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Nils could not see a single letter at the top of the page. He lay down on his stomach on the book and crawled from line to line, from word to word. He was literally exhausted while reading one phrase.

What is this? So you won’t even get to the end of the page by tomorrow! - Nils exclaimed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

And suddenly he saw that a tiny man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the gnome who was caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, a vest and a plaid shirt with large buttons.

Hey you, what do you want here? - Nils shouted and shook his fist at the little man.

The little man also shook his fist at Nils.

Nils put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also put his hands on his hips and also stuck his tongue out at Nils.

Nils stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.

Nils jumped, spun like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun like a top and waved his arms.

Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the dwarf had bewitched him and that the little man who looked at him from the mirror was himself, Nils Holgerson.

“Or maybe this is a dream after all?” - thought Nils.

He closed his eyes tightly, then - to wake up completely - he pinched himself as hard as he could and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he wasn't sleeping. And the hand he pinched really hurt.

Nils got close to the mirror and buried his nose in it. Yes, it's him, Nils. Only now he was no bigger than a sparrow.

“We need to find the gnome,” Nils decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”

Nils slid down the leg of the chair onto the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the closet - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into a mouse hole, but the gnome was nowhere to be found.

There was still hope - the gnome could hide in the yard.

Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should stand near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Vestmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. People wear them only on the street, but rent them at home.

But how will he, so small, cope now with his large, heavy shoes?

And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was happy, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to lift the spell from Nils!

No, no, we need to find the gnome as soon as possible! We must ask him, beg him! Never, never again will Nils hurt anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy...

Nils put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. It's good that it was slightly open. Would he be able to reach the latch and push it aside!

Near the porch, on an old oak board thrown from one edge of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Nils, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow throat. And - amazing thing! - Nils understood him perfectly.

Look at Nils! - the sparrow shouted. - Look at Nils!

Crow! - the rooster crowed cheerfully. - Let's throw him into the river!

And the chickens flapped their wings and clucked vyingly:

It serves him right! It serves him right! The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:

Good! Well, that's good! What, are you afraid now? Are you afraid?

And they pecked him, pinched him, gouged him with their beaks, pulled him by the arms and legs.

Poor Nils would have had a very bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately scattered and began to rummage in the ground, looking as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year’s grains.

And Nils was delighted with the cat as if it were his own.

“Dear cat,” he said, “you know all the nooks and crannies, all the holes, all the holes in our yard. Please tell me where I can find the gnome? He couldn't have gone far.

The cat did not answer immediately. He sat down, wrapped his tail around his front paws and looked at the boy. It was a huge black cat, with a large white spot on its chest. His smooth fur glistened in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even retracted his claws and closed his yellow eyes with a tiny, tiny stripe in the middle.

Mrr, mrr! “Of course, I know where to find the gnome,” the cat spoke in a gentle voice. - But it’s still unknown whether I’ll tell you or not...

Kitty, cat, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?

The cat opened his eyes slightly. A green, angry light flashed within them, but the cat still purred affectionately.

Why should I help you? - he said. - Maybe because you put a wasp in my ear? Or because you set my fur on fire? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?

And now I can pull your tail! - Nils shouted. And, forgetting that the cat was twenty times larger than himself, he stepped forward.

What happened to the cat? His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, and sharp claws emerged from his soft fluffy paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild animal that jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Nils did not back down. He took another step... Then the cat knocked Nils over with one jump and pinned him to the ground with his front paws.

Help, help! - Nils shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to help him out.

Nils realized that the end had come for him and closed his eyes in horror.

Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Nils from its paws and said:

Okay, that's enough for the first time. If your mother had not been such a good housewife and had not given me milk morning and evening, you would have had a bad time. For her sake I will let you live.

With these words, the cat turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, purring quietly, as befits a good house cat.

And Nils stood up, shook the dirt off his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed onto the ledge of the stone fence, sat down, dangling his tiny feet in tiny shoes, and thought.

What will be next?! Father and mother will be back soon! How surprised they will be to see their son! The mother, of course, will cry, and the father may say: that’s what Nils needs! Then neighbors from all over the area will come and start looking at it and gasping... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? The boys will laugh at him!.. Oh, how unfortunate he is! How unfortunate! In the whole wide world, there is probably no more unhappy person than him!

His parents' poor house, pressed to the ground by a sloping roof, had never seemed so big and beautiful to him, and their cramped courtyard had never seemed so spacious.

Somewhere above Nils' head, wings began to rustle. Wild geese were flying from south to north. They flew high in the sky, stretched out in a regular triangle, but when they saw their relatives - domestic geese - they descended lower and shouted:

Fly with us! Fly with us! We're flying north to Lapland! To Lapland!

The domestic geese became agitated, cackled, and flapped their wings, as if they were trying to see if they could fly. But the old goose - she was the grandmother of a good half of the geese - ran around them and shouted:

You've gone crazy! You've gone crazy! Don't do anything stupid! You are not some tramps, you are respectable domestic geese!

And, raising her head, she screamed into the sky:

We feel good here too! We feel good here too! The wild geese descended even lower, as if looking for something in the yard, and suddenly - all at once - soared into the sky.

Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! - they shouted. - Are these geese? These are some pathetic chickens! Stay in your coop!

Even the eyes of the domestic geese turned red from anger and resentment. They had never heard such an insult before.

Only a young white goose, lifting its head up, quickly ran through the puddles.

Wait for me! Wait for me! - he shouted to the wild geese. - I'm flying with you! With you!

“But this is Martin, my mother’s best goose,” thought Nils. “Good luck, he’ll actually fly away!”

Stop, stop! - Nils shouted and rushed after Martin.

Nils barely caught up with him. He jumped up and, wrapping his arms around the long goose neck, hung on it with his whole body. But Martin didn’t even feel it, as if Nils wasn’t there. He flapped his wings vigorously - once, twice - and, without expecting it, he flew.

Before Nils realized what had happened, they were already high in the sky.

Chapter II. RIDING A GOOSE

Nils himself didn’t know how he managed to get onto Martin’s back. Nils never thought that geese were so slippery. He grabbed the goose feathers with both hands, shrank all over, buried his head in his shoulders and even closed his eyes.

And the wind howled and roared around, as if it wanted to tear Nils away from Martin and throw him down.

Now I'll fall, now I'll fall! - Nils whispered.

But ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed, and he did not fall. Finally he gained courage and opened his eyes a little.

The gray wings of wild geese flashed to the right and left, clouds floated above Nils’s head, almost touching him, and far, far below the earth darkened.

It didn't look like earth at all. It seemed as if someone had spread a huge checkered scarf underneath them. There were so many cells here! Some cells

Black, others yellowish-gray, others light green.

Black cells are freshly plowed soil, green cells are autumn shoots that have overwintered under the snow, and yellowish-gray squares are last year's stubble, through which the peasant's plow has not yet passed.

Here the cells around the edges are dark, and in the middle they are green. These are gardens: the trees there are completely bare, but the lawns are already covered with the first grass.

But the brown cells with a yellow border are the forest: it has not yet had time to dress itself in greenery, and the young beeches at the edge are turning yellow with old dry leaves.

At first, Nils even had fun looking at this variety of colors. But the further the geese flew, the more anxious his soul became.

“Good luck, they will actually take me to Lapland!” - he thought.

Martin, Martin! - he shouted to the goose. - Turn home! Enough, let's attack!

But Martin didn't answer.

Then Nils spurred him with all his might with his wooden shoes.

Martin turned his head slightly and hissed:

Listen, you! Sit still, or I’ll throw you off... I had to sit still.

All day long the white goose Martin flew at a par with the whole flock, as if he had never been a domestic goose, as if all his life he had done nothing but fly.

“And where does he get such agility?” - Nils was surprised.

But by evening Martin began to give in. Now everyone would see that he flies for almost a day: sometimes he suddenly lags behind, sometimes he rushes ahead, sometimes he seems to fall into a hole, sometimes he seems to jump up.

And the wild geese saw it.

Akka Kebnekaise! Akka Kebnekaise! - they shouted.

What you want from me? - asked the goose, flying ahead of everyone.

White is behind!

He must know that flying fast is easier than flying slowly! - the goose shouted without even turning around.

Martin tried to flap his wings harder and more often, but his tired wings became heavy and pulled him down.

Akka! Akka Kebnekaise! - the geese screamed again.

What you need? - responded the old goose.

White can't fly that high!

He should know that flying high is easier than flying low! - Akka answered.

Poor Martin strained his last strength. But his wings were completely weakened and could barely support him.

Akka Kebnekaise! Akka! White is falling!

Those who cannot fly like us should stay at home! Tell that to the white man! - Akka shouted, without slowing down her flight.

“And it’s true, it would be better for us to stay at home,” Nils whispered and clung tighter to Martin’s neck.

Martin fell as if shot.

It was lucky that along the way they came across some skinny willow tree. Martin caught himself on the top of a tree and hung among the branches. That's how they hung. Martin's wings went limp, his neck dangled like a rag. He was breathing loudly, opening his beak wide, as if he wanted to grab more air.

Nils felt sorry for Martin. He even tried to console him.

“Dear Martin,” Nils said affectionately, “don’t be sad that they abandoned you. Well, judge for yourself where you can compete with them! Let's better go home!

Martin himself understood: he should return. But he so wanted to prove to the whole world that domestic geese are worth something!

And then there’s this nasty boy with his consolations! If he had not been sitting on his neck, Martin might have flown to Lapland.

With anger, Martin immediately gained more strength. He flapped his wings with such fury that he immediately rose almost to the very clouds and soon caught up with the flock.

Luckily for him, it began to get dark.

Black shadows lay on the ground. Fog began to creep in from the lake over which the wild geese were flying.

Akki Kebnekaise's flock came down for the night,

As soon as the geese touched the coastal strip of land, they immediately climbed into the water. The goose Martin and Nils remained on the shore.

As if from an ice slide, Nils slid down Martin's slippery back. Finally he is on earth! Nils straightened his numb arms and legs and looked around.

Winter here was receding slowly. The entire lake was still under ice, and only the water appeared at the shores - dark and shiny.

They approached the lake itself like a black wall tall spruce trees. Everywhere the snow had already melted, but here, near the gnarled, overgrown roots, the snow still lay in a dense thick layer, as if these mighty spruce trees were holding winter by force.

The sun was already completely hidden.

From the dark depths of the forest some crackling and rustling was heard.

Nils felt uneasy.

How far they have flown! Now, even if Martin wants to return, they still won’t find their way home... But still, Martin is great!.. But what’s wrong with him?

Martin! Martin! - Nils called.

Martin didn't answer. He lay as if dead, his wings spread on the ground and his neck stretched out. His eyes were covered with a cloudy film. Nils was scared.

Dear Martin,” he said, bending over the goose, “drink a sip of water!” You will see, you will immediately feel better.

But the goose didn't even move. Nils went cold with fear...

Will Martin really die? After all, Nils now did not have a single close soul except this goose.

Martin! Come on, Martin! - Nils bothered him. The goose didn't seem to hear him.

Then Nils grabbed Martin by the neck with both hands and dragged him to the water.

It was not an easy task. The goose was the best on their farm, and his mother fed him well. And Nils is now barely visible from the ground. And yet, he dragged Martin all the way to the lake and stuck his head straight into the cold water.

At first Martin lay motionless. But then he opened his eyes, took a sip or two, and with difficulty stood up on his paws. He stood for a minute, swaying from side to side, then climbed up to his neck into the lake and slowly swam between the ice floes. Every now and then he plunged his beak into the water, and then, throwing back his head, greedily swallowed algae.

“It’s good for him,” Nils thought with envy, “but I also haven’t eaten anything since the morning.”

At this time, Martin swam to the shore. Clutched in his beak was a small red-eyed crucian carp.

The goose put the fish in front of Nils and said:

We weren't friends at home. But you helped me in trouble, and I want to thank you.

Nils almost rushed to hug Martin. True, he had never tried raw fish before. What can you do, you have to get used to it! You won't get another dinner.

He rummaged in his pockets, looking for his penknife. The little knife, as always, lay on the right side, only it was no larger than a pin - however, it was just affordable.

Nils opened his knife and began to gut the fish.

Suddenly some noise and splashing was heard. Wild geese came ashore, shaking themselves off.

“Make sure you don’t let it slip that you’re a human,” Martin whispered to Nils and stepped forward, respectfully greeting the flock.

Now we could get a good look at the whole company. I must admit that they did not shine with beauty, these wild geese. And they didn’t show off their height, and they couldn’t show off their outfit. Everything is as if it were gray, as if covered with dust - if only someone had one white feather!

And how they walk! Jumping, skipping, stepping anywhere, without looking at their feet.

Martin even spread his wings in surprise. Is this how decent geese walk? You need to walk slowly, step on your entire paw, and hold your head high. And these ones hobble around like lame people.

An old, old goose walked ahead of everyone. Well, she was a beauty too! The neck is skinny, bones stick out from under the feathers, and the wings look like someone has chewed them off. But her yellow eyes sparkled like two burning coals. All the geese looked at her respectfully, not daring to speak until the goose was the first to say her word.

It was Akka Kebnekaise herself, the leader of the pack. She had already led the geese from south to north a hundred times and returned with them from north to south a hundred times. Akka Kebnekaise knew every bush, every island on the lake, every clearing in the forest. No one knew how to choose a place to spend the night better than Akka Kebnekaise; no one knew better than she how to hide from the cunning enemies who lay in wait for the geese on the way.

Akka looked at Martin for a long time from the tip of his beak to the tip of his tail and finally said:

Our flock cannot accept the first comers. Everyone you see in front of you belongs to the best goose families. And you don't even know how to fly properly. What kind of goose are you, what family and tribe are you?

“My story is not long,” Martin said sadly. - I was born last year in the town of Svanegolm, and in the fall I was sold to Holger Nilsson

To the neighboring village of Vestmenheg. That's where I lived until today.

How did you get the courage to fly with us? - asked Akka Kebnekaise.

“You called us pathetic chickens, and I decided to prove to you, wild geese, that we, domestic geese, are capable of something,” Martin answered.

What are you, domestic geese, capable of? - Akka Kebnekaise asked again. - We’ve already seen how you fly, but maybe you’re an excellent swimmer?

And I can’t boast about that,” Martin said sadly. “I only ever swam in the pond outside the village, but, to tell the truth, this pond is only a little larger than the largest puddle.”

Well, then you're a master of jumping, right?

Jump? No self-respecting domestic goose would allow itself to jump,” Martin said.

And suddenly he came to his senses. He remembered how wild geese bounce funny, and realized that he had said too much.

Now Martin was sure that Akka Kebnekaise would immediately drive him out of his pack.

But Akka Kebnekaise said:

I love that you speak so boldly. He who is brave will be a faithful comrade. Well, it’s never too late to learn what you don’t know how to do. If you want, stay with us.

Really want to! - Martin answered. Suddenly Akka Kebnekaise noticed Nils.

Who else is with you? I have never seen anyone like him.

Martin hesitated for a minute.

This is my friend... - he said uncertainly. Then Nils stepped forward and declared decisively:

My name is Nils Holgerson. My father, Holger Nilsson, is a peasant, and until today I was a man, but this morning...

He failed to finish. As soon as he said the word “man,” the geese backed away and, stretching out their necks, angrily hissed, cackled, and flapped their wings.

“There is no place for a man among wild geese,” said the old goose. - People were, are and will be our enemies. You must leave the pack immediately.

Now Martin could no longer stand it and intervened:

But you can’t even call him a human being! Look how small he is! I guarantee that he will not do you any harm. Let him stay at least one night.

Akka looked searchingly at Nils, then at Martin, and finally said:

Our grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers bequeathed to us never to trust a person, be he small or big. But if you vouch for him, then so be it - today let him stay with us. We spend the night on a large ice floe in the middle of the lake. And tomorrow morning he must leave us.

With these words she rose into the air. The whole flock flew after her.

Listen, Martin,” Nils asked timidly, “are you going to stay with them?”

Well, of course! - Martin said proudly. “It’s not every day that a domestic goose has the honor of flying in Akki Kebnekaise’s flock.

And what about me? - Nils asked again. “There’s no way I can get home alone.” Now I’ll get lost in the grass, let alone in this forest.

I don’t have time to take you home, you understand,” Martin said. - But here’s what I can offer you: we’ll fly with everyone else. Let's see what kind of Lapland this is, and then we'll return home. I’ll somehow persuade Akka, but if I don’t persuade her, I’ll deceive her. You are small now, it is not difficult to hide you. Well, enough talking! Gather some dry grass quickly. Yes, more!

When Nils picked up a whole armful of last year's grass, Martin carefully picked him up by the collar of his shirt and carried him onto a large ice floe. The wild geese were already sleeping, their heads tucked under their wings.

Lay out the grass,” Martin commanded, “otherwise, without any bedding, my paws will freeze to the ice.”

Although the litter turned out to be somewhat liquid (how much grass could Nils carry away!), it still somehow covered the ice.

Martin stood on top of her, grabbed Nils by the collar again and pushed him under his wing.

Good night! - Martin said and pressed the wing tighter so that Nils wouldn’t fall out.

Good night! - said Nils, burying his head in the soft and warm goose down.

Chapter III. NIGHT THIEF

When all the birds and animals were fast asleep, the fox Smirre came out of the forest.

Every night Smirre went out hunting, and it was bad for the one who carelessly fell asleep without having time to climb a tall tree or hide in a deep hole.

With soft, silent steps, the fox Smirre approached the lake. He had long tracked down a flock of wild geese and was licking his lips in advance, thinking about the delicious goose.

But a wide black strip of water separated Smirre from the wild geese. Smirre stood on the shore and clicked his teeth in anger.

And suddenly he noticed that the wind was slowly, slowly pushing the ice floe towards the shore.

“Yeah, the prey is mine after all!” - Smirre grinned and, sitting down on his hind legs, began to wait patiently.

He waited for an hour. I waited two hours... three...

The black strip of water between the shore and the ice floe became narrower and narrower.

The goose spirit reached the fox.

Smirre swallowed his saliva.

With a rustling sound and a slight ringing, the ice floe hit the shore...

Smirre contrived and jumped onto the ice.

He approached the flock so quietly, so carefully that not a single goose heard the approach of the enemy. But old Akka heard. Her sharp cry echoed over the lake, woke up the geese, and lifted the entire flock into the air.

And yet Smirre managed to grab one goose.

Martin also woke up from Akki Kebnekaise's scream. With a strong flap, he opened his wings and quickly flew up. And Nils flew down just as quickly.

He hit the ice and opened his eyes. Nils, half asleep, did not even understand where he was or what had happened to him. And suddenly he saw a fox running away with a goose in its teeth. Without thinking for a long time, Nils rushed after him.

The poor goose, caught in Smirra’s mouth, heard the clatter of wooden shoes and, arching his neck, looked back with timid hope.

“Oh, that’s who it is! - he thought sadly. - Well, that means I'm missing. How can someone like that deal with a fox!”

And Nils completely forgot that the fox, if he wanted, could crush him with one paw. He ran on the heels of the night thief and repeated to himself:

Just to catch up! Just to catch up! The fox jumped onto the shore - Nils followed him. The fox rushed towards the forest - Nils followed him - Let go of the goose now! Do you hear? - Nils shouted. “Otherwise I’ll give you such a hard time that you won’t be happy!”

Who's that squeaking there? - Smirre was surprised.

He was curious, like all foxes in the world, and so he stopped and turned his muzzle.

At first he didn't even see anyone.

Only when Nils ran closer did Smirre see his terrible enemy.

The fox felt so funny that he almost dropped his prey.

I'm telling you, give me my goose! - Nils shouted. Smirre put the goose on the ground, crushed it with his front paws and said:

Oh, is that your goose? All the better. You can watch me deal with him!

“This red-haired thief doesn’t seem to consider me a person!” - thought Nils and rushed forward.

With both hands he grabbed the fox's tail and pulled as hard as he could.

Out of surprise, Smirre released the goose. Just for a second. But even a second was enough. Without wasting any time, the goose rushed upward.

He would really like to help Nils. But what could he do? One of his wings was crushed, and Smirre managed to pull out the feathers from the other. Moreover, in the dark the goose could see almost nothing. Maybe Akka Kebnekaise will come up with something? We must quickly fly to the flock. You can't leave Nils in such trouble! And, heavily flapping its wings, the goose flew towards the lake. Nils and Smirre looked after him. One with joy, the other with anger.

Well! - the fox hissed. - If the goose left me, I won’t let you go. I'll swallow it in no time!

Well, we'll see! - said Nils and squeezed the fox’s tail even tighter.

And it’s true that catching Nils was not so easy. Smirre jumped to the right, and his tail swung to the left. Smirre jumped to the left, and his tail swung to the right. Smirre was spinning like a top, but his tail was spinning with him, and Nils was spinning with his tail.

At first, Nils even had fun from this mad dance. But soon his hands became numb and his eyes began to blur. Whole clouds of last year's leaves rose around Nils, he was hit by the roots of trees, his eyes were covered with earth. "No! It won't last long. We have to get away!” Nils unclenched his hands and released the fox's tail. And immediately, like a whirlwind, he was thrown far to the side and hit a thick pine tree. Without feeling pain, Nils began to climb the tree - higher, higher - and so on, without a break, almost to the very top.

But Smirre saw nothing - everything was spinning and flashing before his eyes, and he himself was spinning in place like a clockwork, scattering dry leaves with his tail.

Stop dancing! You can rest a little! - Nils shouted to him from above.

Smirre stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his tail in surprise.

There was no one on the tail.

You are not a fox, but a crow! Carr! Carr! Carr! - Nils shouted.

Smirre raised his head. Nils was sitting high on a tree and sticking his tongue out at him.

You won't leave me anyway! - said Smirre and sat down under a tree.

Nils hoped that the fox would eventually get hungry and go find another meal. And the fox hoped that Nils would sooner or later be overcome by drowsiness and fall to the ground.

So they sat all night: Nils - high in the tree, Smirre - below under the tree. It’s scary in the forest at night! In the thick darkness, everything around seemed to turn to stone. Nils himself was afraid to move. His legs and arms were numb, his eyes were closed. It seemed that the night would never end, that morning would never come again.

And yet the morning came. The sun slowly rose far, far behind the forest.

But before appearing above the ground, it sent whole sheaves of fiery sparkling rays so that they would dispel and disperse the darkness of the night.

The clouds in the dark sky, the night frost that covered the ground, the frozen branches of the trees - everything flared up, illuminated with light. The forest dwellers woke up. A red-breasted woodpecker tapped its beak on the bark. A squirrel with a nut in its paws jumped out of the hollow, sat down on a twig and began to eat breakfast. A starling flew by. Somewhere a finch sang.

Wake up! Come out of your holes, animals! Fly out of your nests, birds! “Now you have nothing to fear,” the sun told everyone.

Nils sighed with relief and straightened his numb arms and legs.

Suddenly the cry of wild geese came from the lake, and Nils from the top of the tree saw how the entire flock rose from the ice floe and flew over the forest.

He shouted to them and waved his arms, but the geese flew over Nils’ head and disappeared behind the tops of the pine trees. His only comrade, the white goose Martin, flew away with them.

Nils felt so unhappy and lonely that he almost cried.

He looked down. The fox Smirre was still sitting under the tree, raising his sharp muzzle and grinning sarcastically.

Hey, you! - Smirre shouted to him. - Apparently, your friends are not very worried about you! Better get off, buddy. I have prepared a nice place for my dear friend, warm and cozy! - And he stroked his belly with his paw.

But somewhere very close wings rustled. A gray goose was flying slowly and carefully among the dense branches.

As if not seeing the danger, he flew straight towards Smirra.

Smirre froze.

The goose flew so low that it seemed that its wings were about to touch the ground.

Like a released spring, Smirre jumped up. A little more and he would have grabbed the goose by the wing. But the goose dodged right under his nose and silently, like a shadow, rushed towards the lake.

Before Smirra had time to come to his senses, a second goose had already flown out of the thicket of the forest. He flew just as low and just as slowly.

Smirre got ready. “Well, this won’t go away!” The fox jumped. He was just a hair short of reaching the goose. The blow of his paw hit the air, and the goose, as if nothing had happened, disappeared behind the trees.

A minute later a third goose appeared. He flew at random, as if his wing had been broken.

In order not to miss again, Smirre let him get very close - now the goose would fly at him and touch him with its wings. A jump - and Smirre has already touched the goose. But the tog shied away, and the fox’s sharp claws only creaked along the smooth feathers.

Then a fourth goose flew out of the thicket, a fifth, a sixth... Smirre rushed from one to another. His eyes were red, his tongue hung to one side, his red shiny fur was matted in clumps. From anger and hunger he could no longer see anything; he threw himself at sunspots and even at his own shadow.

Smirre was middle-aged and a seasoned fox. More than once the dogs were hot on his heels, and more than once bullets whizzed past his ears. And yet Smirra had never had it as bad as she did that morning.

When the wild geese saw that Smirre was completely exhausted and, barely breathing, fell onto a pile of dry leaves, they stopped their game.

Now you will remember for a long time what it’s like to compete with Akki Kebnekaise’s pack! - they shouted goodbye and disappeared behind the forest thicket.

And at this time, the white goose Martin flew up to Nils. He carefully picked it up with his beak, took it off the branch and headed towards the lake.

There, on a large ice floe, the whole flock had already gathered. Seeing Nils, the wild geese cackled joyfully and flapped their wings. And old Akka Kebnekaise stepped forward and said:

You are the first person we have seen good from, and the pack allows you to stay with us.

Chapter IV. NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES

Nils had already been flying with the wild geese for five days. Now he was not afraid of falling, but sat calmly on Martin’s back, looking left and right.

There is no end to the blue sky, the air is light, cool, as if you are swimming in clean water. The clouds run at random after the flock: they will catch up with it, then they will fall behind, then they will huddle together, then they will scatter again, like lambs across a field.

And then suddenly the sky darkens, becomes covered with black clouds, and Nils thinks that these are not clouds, but some huge carts, loaded with sacks, barrels, cauldrons, approaching the flock from all sides. The carts collide with a roar.

Rain as large as peas falls from the bags, and downpour pours from barrels and cauldrons.

And then again, wherever you look, - open sky, blue, clean, transparent. And the earth below is all in full view.

The snow had already completely melted, and the peasants went out into the fields for spring work. Oxen, shaking their horns, drag heavy plows behind them.

Ha-ha-ha! - the geese shout from above. - Hurry up! And even the summer will pass before you reach the edge of the field.

The oxen do not remain in debt. They lift their heads and mutter:

S-slowly but surely! S-slowly but surely! Here is a ram running around a peasant's yard. He had just been shorn and released from the barn.

Ram, ram! - the geese shout. - I lost my fur coat!

But it’s easier to run, it’s easier to run! - the ram shouts back.

And here is the doghouse. A guard dog circles around her, rattling her chain.

Ha-ha-ha! - the winged travelers shout. - What a beautiful chain they put on you!

Tramps! - the dog barks after them. - Homeless tramps! That's who you are!

But the geese don’t even dignify her with an answer. The dog barks - the wind blows.

If there was no one to tease, the geese simply called to each other.

I'm here!

Are you here?

And it was more fun for them to fly. And Nils wasn’t bored either. But still, sometimes he wanted to live like a human being. It would be nice to sit in a real room, at a real table, warm up by a real stove. And it would be nice to sleep on the bed! When will this happen again? And will it ever happen! True, Martin took care of him and hid him under his wing every night so that Nils would not freeze. But it’s not so easy for a person to live under a bird’s wing!

And the worst thing was with food. Wild geese caught the best algae and some water spiders for Nils. Nils politely thanked the geese, but did not dare try such a treat.

It happened that Nils was lucky, and in the forest, under dry leaves, he found last year's nuts. He couldn't break them himself. He ran to Martin, put the nut in his beak, and Martin cracked the shell. At home, Nils chopped walnuts in the same way, only he put them not in the goose's beak, but in the door crack.

But there were very few nuts. To find at least one nut, Nils sometimes had to wander through the forest for almost an hour, making his way through last year’s tough grass, getting stuck in loose pine needles, tripping over twigs.

At every step danger awaited him.

One day he was suddenly attacked by ants. Whole hordes of huge bug-eyed ants surrounded him on all sides. They bit him, burned him with their poison, climbed on him, crawled up his collar and into his sleeves.

Nils shook himself off, fought them off with his arms and legs, but while he dealt with one enemy, ten new ones attacked him.

When he ran to the swamp where the flock had settled down for the night, the geese didn’t even recognize him right away - he was covered all over, from head to toe, with black ants.

Stop, don't move! - Martin shouted and began to quickly, quickly peck one ant after another.

For the whole night after this, Martin looked after Nils like a nanny.

From the ant bites, Nils' face, arms and legs became beet red and covered with huge blisters. My eyes were swollen, my body ached and burned, as if after a burn.

Martin collected a large pile of dry grass for Nils to use as a bedding, and then covered him from head to toe with wet, sticky leaves to ward off the heat.

As soon as the leaves dried, Martin carefully removed them with his beak, dipped them in swamp water and again applied them to the sore spots.

By morning, Nils felt better, he even managed to turn on his other side.

“I think I’m already healthy,” Nils said.

How healthy it is! - Martin grumbled. - You can’t tell where your nose is, where your eye is. Everything is swollen. You wouldn't believe it was you if you saw yourself! In one hour you became so fat, as if you had been fattened on pure barley for a year.

Groaning and groaning, Nils freed one hand from under the wet leaves and began to feel his face with swollen, stiff fingers.

And it’s true, the face looked like a tightly inflated ball. Nils had difficulty finding the tip of his nose, lost between his swollen cheeks.

Maybe you need to change the leaves more often? - he asked Martin timidly. - How do you think? A? Maybe then it will pass sooner?

Yes, much more often! - said Martin. - I already run back and forth all the time. And you had to climb into the anthill!

Did I know there was an anthill there? I did not know! I was looking for nuts.

“Okay, don’t turn around,” Martin said and slapped a large wet leaf on his face. - Lie quietly, and I’ll be right back.

And Martin left somewhere. Nils only heard the swamp water squelching and squelching under his paws. Then the smacking became quieter and finally died down completely.

A few minutes later, the swamp started smacking and churning again, at first barely audible, somewhere in the distance, and then louder, closer and closer.

But now there were already four paws splashing through the swamp.

“Who is he going with?” - thought Nils and turned his head, trying to throw off the lotion that covered his entire face.

Please don't turn around! - Martin’s stern voice rang out above him. - What a restless patient! You can’t be left alone for a minute!

“Come on, let me see what’s wrong with him,” said another goose voice, and someone lifted the sheet from Nils’ face.

Through the slits of his eyes, Nils saw Akka Kebnekaise.

She looked at Niels in surprise for a long time, then shook her head and said:

I never thought that such a disaster could happen from ants! They don’t touch geese, they know that the goose is not afraid of them...

“Before, I wasn’t afraid of them,” Nils was offended. - I wasn’t afraid of anyone before.

You shouldn’t be afraid of anyone now,” Akka said. - But there are many people to beware of. Be always ready. In the forest, beware of foxes and martens. On the lake shore, remember the otter. In the walnut grove, avoid the red falcon. At night, hide from the owl, during the day, do not catch the eye of the eagle and the hawk. If you are walking through thick grass, tread carefully and listen for a snake crawling nearby. If a magpie talks to you, do not trust it - the magpie will always deceive.

Well, then I’m going to disappear anyway,” said Nils. -Can you keep track of everyone at once? You will hide from one, and the other will just grab you.

Of course, you can’t cope with everyone alone,” Akka said. - But not only our enemies live in the forest and in the field, we also have friends. If an eagle appears in the sky, a squirrel will warn you. The hare will mutter that the fox is sneaking. A grasshopper will chirp that a snake is crawling.

Why were they all silent when I climbed into the ant heap? - Nils grumbled.

Well, you have to have your head on your shoulders,” Akka answered. - We will live here for three days. The swamp here is good, there is as much algae as you want, but we have a long way to go. So I decided - let the flock rest and feed itself. Martin will heal you in the meantime. At dawn on the fourth day we will fly further.

Akka nodded her head and leisurely splashed through the swamp.

These were difficult days for Martin. It was necessary to treat Nils and feed him. Having changed the lotion of wet leaves and adjusted the bedding, Martin ran into the nearby forest in search of nuts. Twice he returned empty-handed.

You just don’t know how to search! - Nils grumbled. - Rake the leaves thoroughly. The nuts always lie on the ground itself.

I know. But you won’t be left alone for a long time!.. And the forest is not so close. If you don’t have time to run, you have to go back immediately.

Why are you running on foot? You would fly.

But it's true! - Martin was delighted. - How come I didn’t guess it myself! That's what an old habit means!

On the third day, Martin arrived very quickly, and he looked very pleased. He sank down next to Nils and, without saying a word, opened his beak to its full width. And from there, one after another, six smooth, large nuts rolled out. Nils had never found such beautiful nuts before. Those that he picked up on the ground were always already rotten, blackened from dampness.

Where did you find these nuts?! - Nils exclaimed. - Exactly from the shop.

Well, at least not from the shop,” said Martin, “but something like that.”

He picked up the largest nut and crushed it with his beak. The shell crunched loudly, and a fresh golden kernel fell into Nils’ palm.

The squirrel Sirle gave me these nuts from her reserves,” Martin said proudly. - I met her in the forest. She sat on a pine tree in front of a hollow and cracked nuts for her cubs. And I was flying past. The squirrel was so surprised when he saw me that he even dropped the nut. “Here,” I think, “luck! That's lucky! " I noticed where the nut fell, and rather down. The squirrel is behind me. It jumps from branch to branch and deftly, as if flying through the air. I thought she felt sorry for the nut, squirrels are economical people. No, she was simply curious: who am I, where am I from, and why are my wings white? Well, we started talking. She even invited me to her place to see the baby squirrels. Although it was a little difficult for me to fly among the branches, it was awkward to refuse. I looked. And then she treated me to nuts and, as a farewell, gave me so many more - they barely fit in her beak. I couldn’t even thank her - I was afraid of losing the nuts.

“This is not good,” said Nils, stuffing a nut into his mouth. “I’ll have to thank her myself.”

The next morning Nils woke up just before dawn. Martin was still sleeping, having hidden his head under his wing, according to goose custom.

Nils lightly moved his legs, arms, and turned his head. Nothing, everything seems to be fine.

Then he carefully, so as not to wake Martin, crawled out from under the heap of leaves and ran to the swamp. He looked for a drier and stronger hummock, climbed onto it and, standing on all fours, looked into the still black water.

Couldn't have asked for a better mirror! His own face looked out at him from the shiny swamp slurry. And everything is in place, as it should be: the nose is like a nose, the cheeks are like cheeks, only the right ear is slightly larger than the left.

Nils stood up, brushed the moss off his knees and walked towards the forest. He decided to definitely find the squirrel Sirle.

Firstly, you need to thank her for the treat, and secondly, ask for more nuts - in reserve. And it would be nice to see the squirrels at the same time.

By the time Nils reached the edge of the forest, the sky had completely brightened.

“We must go quickly,” Nils hurried. “Otherwise Martin will wake up and come looking for me.”

But things didn’t turn out the way Nils thought. From the very beginning he was unlucky.

Martin said that the squirrel lives in a pine tree. And there are a lot of pine trees in the forest. Go ahead and guess which one she lives on!

“I’ll ask someone,” thought Nils, making his way through the forest.

He diligently walked around every stump so as not to fall into an ant ambush again, listened to every rustle and, just then, grabbed his knife, preparing to repel the snake’s attack.

He walked so carefully, looked back so often that he didn’t even notice how he came across a hedgehog. The hedgehog took him directly with hostility, putting out a hundred of his needles towards him. Nils backed away and, stepping back to a respectful distance, said politely:

I need to find out something from you. Can't you at least remove your thorns for a while?

I can not! - the hedgehog muttered and rolled past Nils like a dense, prickly ball.

Well! - said Nils. - There will be someone more accommodating.

And as soon as he took a few steps, real hail fell on him from somewhere above: pieces of dry bark, twigs, pine cones. One bump whizzed by his very nose, another hit the top of his head. Nils scratched his head, shook off the debris and looked up warily.

A sharp-nosed, long-tailed magpie was sitting on a broad-legged spruce tree right above his head, carefully knocking down a black cone with its beak. While Nils was looking at the magpie and figuring out how to talk to it, the magpie did its job, and the lump hit Nils on the forehead.

Wonderful! Wonderful! Right on target! Right on target! - the magpie chattered and flapped its wings noisily, jumping along the branch.

“In my opinion, you didn’t choose your target very well,” Nils said angrily, rubbing his forehead.

What's a bad goal? A very good goal. Well, wait here for a minute, I’ll try again from that thread. - And the magpie flew up to a higher branch.

By the way, what is your name? So that I know who I'm aiming at! - she shouted from above.

My name is Nils. But, really, you shouldn’t work. I already know that you will get there. Better tell me where Sirle the squirrel lives here. I really need it.

Squirrel Sirle? Do you need a Sirle squirrel? Oh, we're old friends! I will be happy to accompany you all the way to her pine tree. It is not far. Follow me. Where I go, you go too. Where I go, you go too. You will come straight to her.

With these words, she fluttered to the maple, from the maple to the spruce, then to the aspen, then again to the maple, then again to the spruce...

Nils rushed after her back and forth, not taking his eyes off the black, swiveling tail flashing among the branches. He stumbled and fell, jumped up again and again ran after the magpie's tail.

The forest became denser and darker, and the magpie kept jumping from branch to branch, from tree to tree.

And suddenly she flew into the air, circled over Nils and started babbling:

Ah, I completely forgot that the oriole called me to visit today! You understand that being late is impolite. You'll have to wait for me a little. In the meantime, all the best, all the best! It was very nice to meet you.

And the magpie flew away.

It took Nils an hour to get out of the forest. When he reached the edge of the forest, the sun was already high in the sky.

Tired and hungry, Nils sat down on a gnarled root.

“Martin will laugh at me when she finds out how the magpie fooled me... And what did I do to her? True, once I destroyed a magpie’s nest, but that was last year, and not here, but in Westmenheg. How should she know!

Nils sighed heavily and with annoyance began to pick at the ground with the toe of his shoe. Something crunched under his feet. What is this? Nils leaned over. There was a nutshell on the ground. Here's another one. And again, and again.

“Where are there so many nutshells here? - Nils was surprised. “Isn’t Sirle’s squirrel living on this very pine tree?”

Nils slowly walked around the tree, peering into the thick green branches. There was no one in sight. Then Nils shouted at the top of his voice:

Isn't this where Sirle the squirrel lives?

No one answered.

Nils put his palms to his mouth and shouted again:

Mrs. Sirle! Mrs. Sirle! Please answer if you are here!

He fell silent and listened. At first everything was still quiet, then a thin, muffled squeak came to him from above.

Please speak louder! - Nils shouted again.

And again all he heard was a plaintive squeak. But this time the squeak came from somewhere in the bushes, near the very roots of the pine tree.

Nils ran up to the bush and hid. No, I couldn’t hear anything - not a rustle, not a sound.

And someone squeaked overhead again, this time quite loudly.

“I’ll climb up and see what it is,” Nils decided and, clinging to the protrusions of the bark, began to climb the pine tree.

He climbed for a long time. At each branch he stopped to catch his breath and climbed up again.

And the higher he climbed, the louder and closer the alarming squeak sounded.

Finally Nils saw a large hollow.

Four little squirrels poked their heads out of the black hole, as if from a window.

They turned their sharp muzzles in all directions, pushed, climbed on top of each other, getting tangled with their long bare tails. And all the time, without stopping for a minute, they squealed in four mouths, with one voice.

Seeing Nils, the baby squirrels fell silent in surprise for a second, and then, as if having gained new strength, they squealed even more shrilly.

Tirle has fallen! Tirle is missing! We will fall too! We will be lost too! - the squirrels squealed.

Nils even covered his ears so as not to go deaf.

End of free trial.

Many people remember this tale by heart. early childhood. For many, “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” is the first book they read to their hearts’ content at night, curled up under a blanket with a flashlight. But you didn’t even know that you were reading a textbook.

Geographical tale

Indeed, in full version fairy tale, which Lagerlöf Selma wrote, Nils's Journey with the Wild Geese, is a textbook on the geography of Sweden. At the end of the nineteenth century, one of the leaders of the Swedish school system, Alfred Dahlin, offered Selma work on a project in which writers and teachers took part. The project involved the creation of a series of books that presented knowledge in an exciting way, and was soon implemented. Selma's book was published first and was intended for first grade students, who at that time entered school at the age of nine. Published in 1906, the work quickly became the most widely read in Scandinavia, and its author some time later received the Nobel Prize for her contribution to literature. Every Swedish child knows it thoroughly - one of the most popular children's books in the whole world. In Sweden there is even a small monument to Niels.

Translation or retelling?

In Russia, the book is known mainly from its free adaptation, written in 1940 by Zoya Zadunaiskaya and Alexandra Lyubarskaya. This is one of many cases characteristic of children's literature during the USSR, when foreign works, already written with a children's audience in mind, were additionally adapted by translators. A similar situation occurred with “Pinocchio”, “The Land of Oz” and other works known abroad. The translators cut 700 pages of the original text down to a little over a hundred, while still managing to add several episodes and characters of their own. The storyline was noticeably trimmed down, leaving only a number of entertaining episodes; Not a trace remained of geographical and local history information. Of course, this is overly specific knowledge that is not at all interesting to young children from a completely different country. But why it was necessary to change the ending of the fairy tale is completely unclear... It turned out almost summary. “Nils’s journey turned out to be greatly simplified. However, in the end the translators came up with an excellent, fascinating story, which should definitely be given to children starting from the age of five or six to read.

Other translations

There are other translations, much less well known - translators have been working on the story of Nils since 1906. Alexander Blok, a poet of the Silver Age, read one of these translations and was very pleased with the book. But the first translations were made from German language, which does not honor the translation process of the beginning of the century. A complete translation from Swedish was written only in 1975 by Ludmila Braude.

More about the book

Russian children, and adults too, are familiar with the book about a wonderful journey to Laplanidia almost exclusively from the retelling of Lyubarskaya and Transdanubia. It is this option that is studied (if studied at all) in schools and on the shelves of bookstores. This means that it is worth giving a brief summary of it here. “Nils's Journey with the Wild Geese” is a very fascinating read, and a summary is not worth it here.

The hooligan boy Nils Holgersson, originally from a small Swedish village, lived for himself, did not bother - he teased geese, threw stones at animals, destroyed birds' nests, and all his pranks went unpunished. But only for the time being - one day Nils made an unsuccessful joke on a funny little man, and he turned out to be a powerful forest gnome and decided to teach the boy a good lesson. The dwarf turned Nils into the same baby as himself, even a little smaller. And dark days began for the boy. He could not show himself to his family, he was frightened by every mouse rustle, the chickens pecked at him, and it was difficult to imagine a more terrible animal than a cat.

On the same day, a flock of wild geese, led by old Akka Kebnekaise, flew past the house where the unfortunate man was imprisoned. One of the lazy pets, Martin the goose, unable to bear the ridicule of the free birds, decided to prove to them that he was also capable of something. Taking off with difficulty, he followed the flock - with Nils on his back, because the boy could not let go of his best goose.

The flock did not want to accept fat poultry into its ranks, but little man she was even less happy. The geese were suspicious of Nils, but on the very first night he saved one of them from the fox Smirre, earning the respect of the flock and the hatred of the fox himself.

So Nils began his wonderful journey to Lapland, during which he accomplished many feats, helping new friends - animals and birds. The boy saved the inhabitants of the ancient castle from an invasion of rats (by the way, the episode with the pipe, a reference to the legend of the Pied Piper of Hammel, is a translation insert), helped a family of bears escape from the hunter, and returned a baby squirrel to its native nest. And all this time he repelled the continuous attacks of Smirre. The boy also met with people - he helped the writer Loser restore the manuscript, talked with animated statues, fought with the cook for Martin's life. And then, having flown to Lapland, he became an adoptive brother to many wild goslings.

And then he returned home. On the way, Nils learned how to remove the gnome's spell from himself, but to do this he had to make friends with nature and with himself. From a hooligan, Nils turned into a kind boy, always ready to help the weak, and also the best student - after all, on the journey he acquired a lot of geographical knowledge.

Film adaptations

“Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” has repeatedly delighted viewers with its appearance on screens. The earliest and most famous film adaptation of the fairy tale in Russia was the Soviet cartoon “The Enchanted Boy” of 1955. Few people did not see it in childhood, and everyone remembers its brief content. Nils' journey with the wild geese attracted the attention of filmmakers several more times. At least two cartoons were shot based on it - Swedish and Japanese, and a German television film.

Chapter I. FOREST GNOME

1

In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let’s go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
- Look, not a single step from the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
- So that he knows everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason, the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Here it moved... Now it crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But it’s a gnome! - Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side, his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
“Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
“Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.

2

For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.
The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.
“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - No, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron was passed over it. This gnome hit me so hard! Of course, father and mother will not believe that the gnome visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to learn your lessons. No, no matter how you look at it, we must sit down to read the book again!”
Nils took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house moved apart, the ceiling went high, and the chair on which Nils always sat rose above him like an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Nils had to climb the twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Nils could not see a single letter at the top of the page. He lay down on his stomach on the book and crawled from line to line, from word to word. He was literally exhausted while reading one phrase.
- What is this? So you won’t even get to the end of the page by tomorrow! - Nils exclaimed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the gnome who was caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, a vest and a plaid shirt with large buttons.
- Hey, what do you want here? - Nils shouted and shook his fist at the little man.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Nils put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also put his hands on his hips and also stuck his tongue out at Nils.
Nils stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, spun like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun like a top and waved his arms.
Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the dwarf had bewitched him and that the little man who looked at him from the mirror was himself, Nils Holgerson.
“Or maybe this is a dream after all?” - thought Nils.
He closed his eyes tightly, then - to wake up completely - he pinched himself as hard as he could and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he wasn't sleeping. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils got close to the mirror and buried his nose in it. Yes, it's him, Nils. Only now he was no bigger than a sparrow.
“We need to find the gnome,” Nils decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Nils slid down the leg of the chair onto the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the closet - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into a mouse hole, but the gnome was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the gnome could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should stand near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Vestmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. People wear them only on the street, but rent them at home.
But how will he, so small, cope now with his large, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was happy, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to lift the spell from Nils!
No, no, we need to find the gnome as soon as possible! We must ask him, beg him! Never, never again will Nils hurt anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy...
Nils put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. It's good that it was slightly open. Would he be able to reach the latch and push it aside!
Near the porch, on an old oak board thrown from one edge of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Nils, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow throat. And - amazing thing! - Nils understood him perfectly.
- Look at Nils! - the sparrow shouted. - Look at Nils!
- Cuckoo! - the rooster crowed cheerfully. - Let's throw him into the river!
And the chickens flapped their wings and clucked vyingly:
- It serves him right! It serves him right! The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
- Good! Well, that's good! What, are you afraid now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, gouged him with their beaks, pulled him by the arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a very bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately scattered and began to rummage in the ground, looking as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year’s grains.
And Nils was delighted with the cat as if it were his own.
“Dear cat,” he said, “you know all the nooks and crannies, all the holes, all the holes in our yard.” Please tell me where I can find the gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat did not answer immediately. He sat down, wrapped his tail around his front paws and looked at the boy. It was a huge black cat, with a large white spot on its chest. His smooth fur glistened in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even retracted his claws and closed his yellow eyes with a tiny, tiny stripe in the middle.
- Mrr, mrr! “Of course, I know where to find the gnome,” the cat spoke in a gentle voice. - But it’s still unknown whether I’ll tell you or not...
- Kitty, cat, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes slightly. A green, angry light flashed within them, but the cat still purred affectionately.
- Why should I help you? - he said. - Maybe because you put a wasp in my ear? Or because you set my fur on fire? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
- And now I can pull your tail! - Nils shouted. And, forgetting that the cat was twenty times larger than himself, he stepped forward.
What happened to the cat? His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, and sharp claws emerged from his soft fluffy paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild animal that jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Nils did not back down. He took another step... Then the cat knocked Nils over with one jump and pinned him to the ground with his front paws.
- Help, help! - Nils shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to help him out.
Nils realized that the end had come for him and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Nils from its paws and said:
- Okay, that's enough for the first time. If your mother had not been such a good housewife and had not given me milk morning and evening, you would have had a bad time. For her sake I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, purring quietly, as befits a good house cat.
And Nils stood up, shook the dirt off his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed onto the ledge of the stone fence, sat down, dangling his tiny feet in tiny shoes, and thought.
What will be next?! Father and mother will be back soon! How surprised they will be to see their son! The mother, of course, will cry, and the father may say: that’s what Nils needs! Then neighbors from all over the area will come and start looking at it and gasping... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? The boys will laugh at him!.. Oh, how unfortunate he is! How unfortunate! In the whole wide world, there is probably no more unhappy person than him!
His parents' poor house, pressed to the ground by a sloping roof, had never seemed so big and beautiful to him, and their cramped courtyard had never seemed so spacious.
Somewhere above Nils' head, wings began to rustle. Wild geese were flying from south to north. They flew high in the sky, stretched out in a regular triangle, but when they saw their relatives - domestic geese - they descended lower and shouted:
- Fly with us! Fly with us! We're flying north to Lapland! To Lapland!
The domestic geese became agitated, cackled, and flapped their wings, as if they were trying to see if they could fly. But the old goose - she was the grandmother of a good half of the geese - ran around them and shouted:
- You've gone crazy! You've gone crazy! Don't do anything stupid! You are not some tramps, you are respectable domestic geese!
And, raising her head, she screamed into the sky:
- We’re good here too! We feel good here too! The wild geese descended even lower, as if looking for something in the yard, and suddenly - all at once - soared into the sky.
- Ha-ha-ga! Ha-ha-ha! - they shouted. - Are these geese? These are some pathetic chickens! Stay in your coop!
Even the eyes of the domestic geese turned red from anger and resentment. They had never heard such an insult before.
Only a young white goose, lifting its head up, quickly ran through the puddles.
- Wait for me! Wait for me! - he shouted to the wild geese. - I'm flying with you! With you!
“But this is Martin, my mother’s best goose,” thought Nils. “Good luck, he’ll actually fly away!”
- Stop, stop! - Nils shouted and rushed after Martin.
Nils barely caught up with him. He jumped up and, wrapping his arms around the long goose neck, hung on it with his whole body. But Martin didn’t even feel it, as if Nils wasn’t there. He flapped his wings vigorously - once, twice - and, without expecting it, he flew.
Before Nils realized what had happened, they were already high in the sky.

Chapter II. RIDING A GOOSE

1

Nils himself didn’t know how he managed to get onto Martin’s back. Nils never thought that geese were so slippery. He grabbed the goose feathers with both hands, shrank all over, buried his head in his shoulders and even closed his eyes.
And the wind howled and roared around, as if it wanted to tear Nils away from Martin and throw him down.
- Now I’ll fall, now I’ll fall! - Nils whispered.
But ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed, and he did not fall. Finally he gained courage and opened his eyes a little.
The gray wings of wild geese flashed to the right and left, clouds floated above Nils’s head, almost touching him, and far, far below the earth darkened.
It didn't look like earth at all. It seemed as if someone had spread a huge checkered scarf underneath them. There were so many cells here! Some cells
- black, others yellowish-gray, others light green.
Black cells are freshly plowed soil, green cells are autumn shoots that have overwintered under the snow, and yellowish-gray squares are last year's stubble, through which the peasant's plow has not yet passed.
Here the cells around the edges are dark, and in the middle they are green. These are gardens: the trees there are completely bare, but the lawns are already covered with the first grass.
But the brown cells with a yellow border are the forest: it has not yet had time to dress itself in greenery, and the young beeches at the edge are turning yellow with old dry leaves.
At first, Nils even had fun looking at this variety of colors. But the further the geese flew, the more anxious his soul became.
“Good luck, they will actually take me to Lapland!” - he thought.
- Martin, Martin! - he shouted to the goose. - Turn home! Enough, let's attack!
But Martin didn't answer.
Then Nils spurred him with all his might with his wooden shoes.
Martin turned his head slightly and hissed:
- Listen, you! Sit still, or I’ll throw you off... I had to sit still.

2

All day long the white goose Martin flew at a par with the whole flock, as if he had never been a domestic goose, as if all his life he had done nothing but fly.
“And where does he get such agility?” - Nils was surprised.
But by evening Martin began to give in. Now everyone would see that he flies for almost a day: sometimes he suddenly lags behind, sometimes he rushes ahead, sometimes he seems to fall into a hole, sometimes he seems to jump up.
And the wild geese saw it.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka Kebnekaise! - they shouted.
- What you want from me? - asked the goose, flying ahead of everyone.
- White is behind!
- He should know that flying fast is easier than flying slowly! - the goose shouted without even turning around.
Martin tried to flap his wings harder and more often, but his tired wings became heavy and pulled him down.
- Akka! Akka Kebnekaise! - the geese screamed again.
- What you need? - responded the old goose.
- White can't fly that high!
- He should know that flying high is easier than flying low! - Akka answered.
Poor Martin strained his last strength. But his wings were completely weakened and could barely support him.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka! White is falling!
- Those who cannot fly like us should stay at home! Tell that to the white man! - Akka shouted, without slowing down her flight.
“And it’s true, it would be better for us to stay at home,” Nils whispered and clung tighter to Martin’s neck.
Martin fell as if shot.
It was lucky that along the way they came across some skinny willow tree. Martin caught himself on the top of a tree and hung among the branches. That's how they hung. Martin's wings went limp, his neck dangled like a rag. He was breathing loudly, opening his beak wide, as if he wanted to grab more air.
Nils felt sorry for Martin. He even tried to console him.
“Dear Martin,” Nils said affectionately, “don’t be sad that they abandoned you.” Well, judge for yourself where you can compete with them! Let's better go home!
Martin himself understood: he should return. But he so wanted to prove to the whole world that domestic geese are worth something!
And then there’s this nasty boy with his consolations! If he had not been sitting on his neck, Martin might have flown to Lapland.
With anger, Martin immediately gained more strength. He flapped his wings with such fury that he immediately rose almost to the very clouds and soon caught up with the flock.
Luckily for him, it began to get dark.
Black shadows lay on the ground. Fog began to creep in from the lake over which the wild geese were flying.
Akki Kebnekaise's flock came down for the night,

3

As soon as the geese touched the coastal strip of land, they immediately climbed into the water. The goose Martin and Nils remained on the shore.
As if from an ice slide, Nils slid down Martin's slippery back. Finally he is on earth! Nils straightened his numb arms and legs and looked around.
Winter here was receding slowly. The entire lake was still under ice, and only the water appeared at the shores - dark and shiny.
Tall spruce trees approached the lake itself like a black wall. Everywhere the snow had already melted, but here, near the gnarled, overgrown roots, the snow still lay in a dense thick layer, as if these mighty spruce trees were holding winter by force.
The sun was already completely hidden.
From the dark depths of the forest some crackling and rustling was heard.
Nils felt uneasy.
How far they have flown! Now, even if Martin wants to return, they still won’t find their way home... But still, Martin is great!.. But what’s wrong with him?
- Martin! Martin! - Nils called.
Martin didn't answer. He lay as if dead, his wings spread on the ground and his neck stretched out. His eyes were covered with a cloudy film. Nils was scared.
“Dear Martin,” he said, bending over the goose, “take a sip of water!” You will see, you will immediately feel better.
But the goose didn't even move. Nils went cold with fear...
Will Martin really die? After all, Nils now did not have a single close soul except this goose.
- Martin! Come on, Martin! - Nils bothered him. The goose didn't seem to hear him.
Then Nils grabbed Martin by the neck with both hands and dragged him to the water.
It was not an easy task. The goose was the best on their farm, and his mother fed him well. And Nils is now barely visible from the ground. And yet, he dragged Martin all the way to the lake and stuck his head straight into the cold water.
At first Martin lay motionless. But then he opened his eyes, took a sip or two, and with difficulty stood up on his paws. He stood for a minute, swaying from side to side, then climbed up to his neck into the lake and slowly swam between the ice floes. Every now and then he plunged his beak into the water, and then, throwing back his head, greedily swallowed algae.
“It’s good for him,” Nils thought with envy, “but I also haven’t eaten anything since the morning.”
At this time, Martin swam to the shore. Clutched in his beak was a small red-eyed crucian carp.
The goose put the fish in front of Nils and said:
- We weren’t friends at home. But you helped me in trouble, and I want to thank you.
Nils almost rushed to hug Martin. True, he had never tried raw fish before. What can you do, you have to get used to it! You won't get another dinner.
He rummaged in his pockets, looking for his penknife. The little knife, as always, lay on the right side, only it was no larger than a pin - however, it was just affordable.
Nils opened his knife and began to gut the fish.
Suddenly some noise and splashing was heard. Wild geese came ashore, shaking themselves off.
“Make sure you don’t let it slip that you’re a human,” Martin whispered to Nils and stepped forward, respectfully greeting the flock.
Now we could get a good look at the whole company. I must admit that they did not shine with beauty, these wild geese. And they didn’t show off their height, and they couldn’t show off their outfit. Everything is as if it were gray, as if covered with dust - if only someone had one white feather!
And how they walk! Jumping, skipping, stepping anywhere, without looking at their feet.
Martin even spread his wings in surprise. Is this how decent geese walk? You need to walk slowly, step on your entire paw, and hold your head high. And these ones hobble around like lame people.
An old, old goose walked ahead of everyone. Well, she was a beauty too! The neck is skinny, bones stick out from under the feathers, and the wings look like someone has chewed them off. But her yellow eyes sparkled like two burning coals. All the geese looked at her respectfully, not daring to speak until the goose was the first to say her word.
It was Akka Kebnekaise herself, the leader of the pack. She had already led the geese from south to north a hundred times and returned with them from north to south a hundred times. Akka Kebnekaise knew every bush, every island on the lake, every clearing in the forest. No one knew how to choose a place to spend the night better than Akka Kebnekaise; no one knew better than she how to hide from the cunning enemies who lay in wait for the geese on the way.
Akka looked at Martin for a long time from the tip of his beak to the tip of his tail and finally said:
- Our flock cannot accept the first comers. Everyone you see in front of you belongs to the best goose families. And you don't even know how to fly properly. What kind of goose are you, what family and tribe are you?
“My story is not long,” Martin said sadly. - I was born last year in the town of Svanegolm, and in the fall I was sold to Holger Nilsson
- to the neighboring village of Vestmenheg. That's where I lived until today.
- How did you get the courage to fly with us? - asked Akka Kebnekaise.
“You called us pathetic chickens, and I decided to prove to you, wild geese, that we, domestic geese, are capable of something,” Martin answered.
- What are you, domestic geese, capable of? - Akka Kebnekaise asked again. - We’ve already seen how you fly, but maybe you’re an excellent swimmer?
“And I can’t boast about that,” Martin said sadly. “I only ever swam in the pond outside the village, but, to tell the truth, this pond is only a little larger than the largest puddle.”
- Well, then you are a master of jumping, right?
- Jump? No self-respecting domestic goose would allow itself to jump,” Martin said.
Details Category: Author's and literary fairy tales Published 10/24/2016 18:41 Views: 3727

Selma Lagerlöf conceived her book “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” as an unusual textbook on the geography of Sweden for 9-year-old children. This manual had to be written in an entertaining literary form.

Selma Lagerlöf by this time was already a famous writer, famous for her novel “The Saga of Göst Berling”. In addition, she was a former teacher. She began work on the book in the summer of 1904.

Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940)

Selma Ottilie Lovisa Lagerlöf born in 1858 in the family estate of Morbakka in the family of a retired military man and a teacher. The future writer spent her childhood in the picturesque region of Sweden - Värmland. She described the Morbakka estate many times in her works, especially in the autobiographical books “Morbakka” (1922), “Memoirs of a Child” (1930), “Diary” (1932).
As a child, Selma became seriously ill and was paralyzed. Her grandmother and aunt were constantly with the girl and told her many fairy tales and legends. This is probably where Selma’s poetic talent and penchant for fantasy come from.
In 1867, Selma was treated in Stockholm, and thanks to the efforts of doctors, she began to walk. The first attempts at literary creativity date back to this time.
Later, the girl graduated from the Lyceum and the Higher Teachers' Seminary (1884). That same year she became a teacher at a girls' school in Landskrona in southern Sweden. By this time, her father had died, after which her beloved Morbakka was sold for debts, and hard times had come for Selma.
Literary creativity became the main occupation of Selma Lagerlöf: since 1895, she devoted herself entirely to writing.
The pinnacle of Selma Lagrelöf’s literary work was the fabulous book “The Wonderful Journey of Nils Holgersson through Sweden,” which brought her worldwide recognition.
The book tells children in a fascinating way about Sweden, its geography and history, legends and cultural traditions. The work includes folk tales and legends.
For example, Lagerlöf borrowed the scene of Nils ridding the castle of rats with the help of a magic pipe from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Pied Piper of Hamelin- a character from a medieval German legend. The legend of the rat catcher, which arose in the 13th century, is one of the varieties of stories about a mysterious musician who leads away bewitched people or livestock. Such legends were widespread in the Middle Ages.
Geographical and historical materials are presented to readers in a fabulous plot. Together with a flock of geese, led by the wise old goose Akkoy Kebnekaise, Martina Nils travels all over Sweden on the back of a goose.
This journey is interesting not only in itself, but also as an occasion for personal development. And here the translation of the book into Russian is important.

Book by Selma Lagerlöf in Russia

“Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” by S. Lagerlöf is one of the most beloved books by children in our country.
It was translated into Russian several times. The first translation was carried out by L. Khavkina in 1908-1909. But since the translation was made from German or for some other reasons, the book did not become popular among Russian readers and was soon forgotten. The 1910 translation suffered the same fate.
In 1940, translators Zoya Zadunaiskaya and Alexandra Lyubarskaya wrote S. Lagerlöf’s book in a free version for children, and it was in this form that the book became popular among Soviet readers. The storyline of the book was shortened, including the exclusion of religious moments (for example, Nils's parents in the original leave home for church, in this translation they go to the fair). Some historical and biological information has been simplified. And the result was not a textbook of Swedish geography, but simply a children's fairy tale. It was she who came to the hearts of Soviet readers.
Only in 1975 was a complete translation of the book from Swedish carried out by Lyudmila Braude, a translator and literary critic. Then in the 1980s. Faina Zlotarevskaya made her full translation.
Lagerlöf's book has received worldwide recognition. In 1907, the writer was elected honorary doctor of Uppsala University, and in 1914 she became a member of the Swedish Academy.
In 1909, Selma Lagerlöf received the Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to the high idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual penetration that distinguish all her works." She became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. This prize allowed Lagerlöf to buy out her native Morbakka, where she moved and where she lived for the rest of her life.

Fairytale story “The Wonderful Journey of Nils with the Wild Geese” by S. Lagerlöf

Monument to Niels in Karlskrona (Nils steps out of the pages of an open book)

History of creation

The writer believed that it was necessary to create several textbooks for schoolchildren different ages: on the geography of Sweden (grade 1), on native history (grade 2), descriptions of other countries of the world, discoveries and inventions (grades 3-4). This Lagerlöf project was eventually realized. But the first was Lagerlöf’s book. She studied the lifestyle and occupations of the population in different parts of the country, ethnographic and folklore materials collected by public school teachers. But even this material was not enough. To expand her knowledge, she traveled to Blekinge Historical Region in southern Sweden), Småland (historical region in southern Sweden), Norrland (historical region in northern Sweden) and the Falun Mine.

Skurugata Gorge in the forests of Småland
But from the huge amount of information, a complete work of art was needed. And she followed the path of Kipling and other writers, where talking animals were the main characters.
Selma Lagerlöf showed the country through the eyes of a child, combining geography and fairy tales in one work.

The plot of the work

Despite the fact that Lagerlöf’s task was to introduce children to geography, she successfully coped with another task - to show the way to re-educate the individual. Although it is difficult to say what is more important: the first or the second. In our opinion, the second is even more important.

“Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the gnome had bewitched him, and the little man in the mirror was himself, Nils.”
Nils offended the gnome, and he made the boy as small as the gnome himself. Nils wanted the gnome to cast a spell on him, went out into the yard in search of the gnome and saw that one of the domestic geese named Martin decided to fly with the wild geese. Nils tried to hold it, but forgot that it was much smaller than a goose, and soon found itself in the air. They flew all day until Martin was completely exhausted.

“So Nils flew away from home riding Martin the goose. At first Nils was even having fun, but the further the geese flew, the more anxious his soul became.”
During his journey, Nils encounters many situations that make him think not only about other people's misfortunes, but also about his own actions, share joy for the successes of others and be upset for his own mistakes - in short, the boy gains the ability to empathize, and this is a valuable gift. During his journey, Nils learned a lot and returned as a mature man. But before the trip, there was no sweetness with him: “In lessons, he counted crows and caught deuces, destroyed bird nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled a cat by the tail, as if the tail were rope from the door bell."
The main character Nils Holgersson is turned into a dwarf by a gnome, and the boy travels on a goose from Sweden to Lapland and back. As he becomes tiny, he begins to understand the language of animals.
Nils saved the gray goose, he brought the fallen baby Tirle to the squirrel Sirle, Nils Holgersson learned to blush for his actions, worry about his friends, he saw how animals pay good for good, how generous they are to him, although they know about many of his unsightly actions towards to them: the fox Smirre wanted to kidnap Martin, and Nils saved him. For this, a flock of wild geese allowed him to stay with them, and the boy continued his journey.
On the way to Lapland, he meets a flock of wild geese flying along the Gulf of Bothnia, and with them looks into remote areas of Scandinavia (the Gulf of Bothnia is a bay in the northern part of the Baltic Sea, located between the western coast of Finland, the eastern coast of Sweden, separated from the main part of the sea Åland Islands. It is the largest in area and the deepest of the bays of the Baltic Sea).

Gulf of Bothnia
As a result, Nils visits all the provinces of Sweden, gets into various adventures and learns a lot about the geography, history and culture of each province of his homeland.

On one of the days of the journey, Akki Kebnekaise's flock went to Glimmingen Castle. From the stork Ermenrich, the geese learned that the castle was in danger: rats had occupied it, displacing the former inhabitants. Nils, with the help of a magic pipe, carries the rats into the water and frees the castle from them.
Nils watches the celebration on Mount Kulaberg. On the day of the great gathering of birds and animals, Nils saw a lot of interesting things: on this day they made a truce with each other. Nils saw the games of hares, heard the singing of wood grouse, the fight of deer, and the dancing of cranes. He witnessed the punishment of the fox Smirra, who broke the law of the world by killing a sparrow.
The geese continue their journey north. The fox Smirre is chasing them. He offers Akka to leave the pack alone in exchange for Nils. But the geese do not give up the boy.
Nils also experiences other adventures: he is kidnapped by crows, he helps save their silver from Smirre, and the crows release him. As the flock flies over the sea, Nils meets the inhabitants of the underwater city.
Finally, the flock arrives in Lapland. Nils gets acquainted with the nature of Lapland and the way of life of the country's inhabitants. Watches Martin and Martha raise their offspring and teach them to fly.
But no matter how supportive the animals are to him, Nils still misses people and wants to become an ordinary person again. But only the old gnome, whom he offended and who bewitched him, can help him with this. And so he attacks the trail of the gnome...

Returning home with a flock of geese, Nils removes the spell from himself, passing it on to the gosling Uxie, who dreams of remaining small forever. Nils becomes the same boy again. He says goodbye to the pack and starts going to school. Now he only has good grades in his diary.

How does the tale “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” affect readers?

Here we present the opinions of children who have read this book.

“The main idea of ​​the fairy tale “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” is that pranks and mischief are not in vain, and for them you can get punishment, sometimes very severe. Nils was punished very severely by the dwarf and suffered many hardships before he was able to correct the situation."
“This fairy tale teaches you to be resourceful and courageous, to be able to protect your friends and comrades in dangerous moments. During his journey, Nils managed to do many good deeds for birds and animals, and they repaid him with kindness.”
“The forest gnome is strict but fair. He punished Nils very severely, but the boy realized a lot, his character changed in better side after the trials he went through, he began to study well.”

What did Nils learn during his trip?

He learned to understand nature, feel its beauty, enjoy the wind, sun, sea spray, hear the voices of the forest, the rustle of grass, the rustle of leaves. I learned the history of my country. I learned not to be afraid of anyone, but to beware. Learned to be friends.
Selma Lagerlöf wanted people to think about what real kindness is and real love; so that people take care of nature and learn from the experiences of other people.
You must love all life on Earth, go towards it with kindness, then they will repay you in kind.

Selma LAGERLEF

NILS'S WONDERFUL JOURNEY WITH THE WILD GEESE

FOREST GNOME

In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let's go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
- Look, not a single step from the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
- So that he knows everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds of the trees swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows, locked in the barn, sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Now she moved... Now she crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But it’s a gnome! - Nils guessed. - A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side, his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
“Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
“Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.

For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.
The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.
“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - Yes, no, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron was passed over it. This gnome hit me so hard! Of course, father and mother will not believe that the gnome visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to learn your lessons. No, no matter how you turn it, we must sit down to read the book again!”
Nils took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house moved apart, the ceiling went high, and the chair on which Nils always sat rose above him like an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Nils had to climb the twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Nils could not see a single letter at the top of the page. He lay down on his stomach on the book and crawled from line to line, from word to word. He was literally exhausted while reading one phrase.
- What is this? So you won’t even get to the end of the page by tomorrow! - Nils exclaimed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the gnome who was caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, a vest and a plaid shirt with large buttons.
- Hey, what do you want here? - Nils shouted and shook his fist at the little man.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Nils put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also put his hands on his hips and also stuck his tongue out at Nils.
Nils stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, spun like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun like a top and waved his arms.
Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the dwarf had bewitched him and that the little man who looked at him from the mirror was himself, Nils Holgerson.
“Or maybe this is a dream after all?” - thought Nils.
He closed his eyes tightly, then - to wake up completely - he pinched himself as hard as he could and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he wasn't sleeping. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils got close to the mirror and buried his nose in it. Yes, it's him, Nils. Only now he was no bigger than a sparrow.
“We need to find the gnome,” Nils decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Nils slid down the leg of the chair onto the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the closet - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into a mouse hole, but the gnome was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the gnome could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should stand near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Vestmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. People wear them only on the street, but rent them at home.
But how will he, so small, cope now with his large, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was happy, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to lift the spell from Nils!
No, no, we need to find the gnome as soon as possible! We must ask him, beg him! Never, never again will Nils hurt anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy...
Nils put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. It's good that it was slightly open. Would he be able to reach the latch and push it aside!
Near the porch, on an old oak board thrown from one edge of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Nils, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow throat. And - amazing thing! - Nils understood him perfectly.
- Look at Nils! - the sparrow shouted. - Look at Nils!
- Cuckoo! - the rooster crowed cheerfully. - Let's throw him into the river!
And the chickens flapped their wings and clucked vyingly:
- It serves him right! It serves him right! The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
- Good! Well, that's good! What, are you afraid now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, gouged him with their beaks, pulled him by the arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a very bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately scattered and began to rummage in the ground, looking as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year’s grains.
And Nils was delighted with the cat as if it were his own.
“Dear cat,” he said, “you know all the nooks and crannies, all the holes, all the holes in our yard.” Please tell me where I can find the gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat did not answer immediately. He sat down, wrapped his tail around his front paws and looked at the boy. It was a huge black cat, with a large white spot on its chest. His smooth fur glistened in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even retracted his claws and closed his yellow eyes with a tiny, tiny stripe in the middle.
- Mrr, mrr! “Of course, I know where to find the gnome,” the cat spoke in a gentle voice. - But it remains to be seen whether I will tell you or not...
- Kitty, cat, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes slightly. A green, angry light flashed within them, but the cat still purred affectionately.
- Why should I help you? - he said. - Maybe because you put a wasp in my ear? Or because you set my fur on fire? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
- And now I can pull your tail! - Nils shouted. And, forgetting that the cat was twenty times larger than himself, he stepped forward.
What happened to the cat? His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, and sharp claws emerged from his soft fluffy paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild animal that jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Nils did not back down. He took another step... Then the cat knocked Nils over with one jump and pinned him to the ground with his front paws.
- Help, help! - Nils shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to help him out.
Nils realized that the end had come for him and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Nils from its paws and said:
- Okay, that's enough for the first time. If your mother had not been such a good housewife and had not given me milk morning and evening, you would have had a bad time. For her sake I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, purring quietly, as befits a good house cat.
And Nils stood up, shook the dirt off his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed onto the ledge of the stone fence, sat down, dangling his tiny feet in tiny shoes, and thought.
What will be next?! Father and mother will be back soon! How surprised they will be to see their son! The mother, of course, will cry, and the father may say: that’s what Nils needs! Then neighbors from all over the area will come and start looking at it and gasping... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? The boys will laugh at him!.. Oh, how unfortunate he is! How unfortunate! In the whole wide world, there is probably no more unhappy person than him!