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THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES 
 OF NILS 
 
flJUC- 
 PSYCH. 
 lIBRAi^Y 
 
EDUe 
 LIBRARY 
 
 COPVKIOHT. I«07.-BV DOVBLBOAT. PaOB & COMPAirv 
 
 PuBLieuBD, Septemsek. igs? 
 
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 /JN ^EfjropiA^ i 
 

 PUBLISHERS' NOTE 
 
 "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils" was 
 written for use in schools as "supplementary 
 reading," with the special idea of introducing 
 such subjects as would be educative as well 
 as entertaining to the minds of children from 
 the ages of nine to eleven. The book has 
 been adopted in the public schools of Sweden, 
 but older people have found in it a book of 
 permanent value. 
 
 In so far as possible, the translator has 
 faithfully interpreted the author's local and 
 idiomatic expressions. 
 
 ivil3646: 
 
TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 This book, which is the latest work of 
 Sweden's greatest fiction writer, was pubHshed 
 in Stockholm, December, 1906. It became 
 immediately the most popular book of the 
 year in Scandinavia. 
 
 Four years ago the author received a com- 
 mission from the National Teachers' Associa- 
 tion to write a reader for the public schools. 
 
 She devoted three years to Nature study 
 and to familiarising herself with animal and 
 bird life. She sought out hitherto unpublished 
 folk-lore and legends of the different provinces. 
 These she has ingeniously woven into her 
 story. 
 
 The book has been translated into German 
 and Danish, and the book reviewers of Ger- 
 many and Denmark, as well as those of 
 Sweden, are unanimous in proclaiming this 
 Selma Lagerlof's best work. 
 
 One reviewer has said: "Since the days 
 
viu ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 of Hans Christian Andersen, we have had 
 nothing in Scandinavian juvenile literature 
 to compare with this remarkable book." 
 Another reviewer wrote: "Miss Lagerlof has 
 the keen insight into animal psychology of 
 a Rudyard Kipling." 
 
 Stockholm's Dagblad said among other 
 things: "The great author stands as it 
 were in the background. The prophetess 
 is forgotten for the voices that speak through 
 her. It is as though the book had sprung 
 direct from the soul of the Swedish nation." 
 
 Sydsvenska Daghladet writes: "The signifi- 
 cant thing about this book is: while one 
 follows with breathless interest the shift- 
 ing scenes and adventures, one learns many 
 things without being conscious of it. . . . 
 The author's imagination unfolds an almost 
 inexhaustible wealth in invention of new, 
 and ever-changing adventures, told in such a 
 convincing way that we almost believe them. 
 As amusement reading for the 
 young, this book is a decided acquisition. 
 The intimate blending of fiction and fact is 
 so subtle that one finds it hard to distinguish 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS ix 
 
 where one ends, and the other begins. It 
 is a classic. . . A masterwork." 
 
 From Gefle Posten: "The author is here — 
 as always, the great story-teller, the great- 
 est, perhaps, in Scandinavian literature since 
 the days of Hans Christian Andersen. To 
 children whose imaginations have been fos- 
 tered by Ashbjornsen, Andersen, and 'Thou- 
 sand-and-One Nights,' Nils Holgersson will 
 always be precious, as well as to those of us 
 who are older." 
 
 From Goteborg Posten: "Selma Lagerlof 
 has given us a good lift onward. She is the 
 one whom we, in these days, place first and 
 foremost. . . Among the other work which 
 she has done for us, and for our children, she 
 has re-created our geography for us. . . Up- 
 on imagination's road she has sought to open 
 the child-heart to an understanding of animals, 
 while she tactfully and playfully drops into 
 little knowledge-thirsty minds a comprehen- 
 sive understanding of the habits and char- 
 acteristics of different animals. She carries 
 us with her . . . and shapes for us — old 
 and young — a new childhood in tune with the 
 
X ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 thought of our time. What does she not 
 touch upon in this wonderful book? ... As 
 Mowgh, who had the key to all the languages 
 of the Jungle, once found his way to all 
 his little brother and sister-hearts in the 
 great civilised world, so shall the Thum- 
 bietot of Swedish fairyland lead many little 
 thirsting child-souls, not only on the high- 
 ways of adventure, but also upon the road 
 of seriousness and learning." 
 
 Another critic says: "Beyond all doubt, 
 'Nils Holgersson's Journey' is one of the most 
 noteworthy books ever published in our 
 language. I take it, that no other nation has 
 a book of this sort. One can make this or 
 that comment on one and another phase of 
 it, but the whole impresses one as so master- 
 ful, so great, and so Swedish, that one lays 
 the book down with a sense of gratitude for 
 the privilege of reading such a thing. There 
 is a deep undercurrent of Swedish earnestness 
 all through this tale of Nils Holgersson. It 
 belongs to us. It is a part of us." 
 
 Ny Ttd writes: "Selma Lagerlof's book 
 contains just as much information — no, twice 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS xi 
 
 as much — as the old readers. It acquaints 
 the children with Sweden's nature ; it interests 
 them in its bird world — both tame and wild; 
 in its domestic and forest animals, even in 
 its rats. It explains its vegetation, its soil, 
 its mountain-formations, its climatic con- 
 ditions. It gives you customs, superstitions 
 and the folk-lore in different sections of the 
 country. It takes in farming industry, man- 
 ors and factories; cities and peasant-cabins, 
 and even dog-kennels. It has a word for 
 everything; an interest in, and for, every- 
 thing. For, mark you, this book has not 
 been patched together by the dilettante, by 
 committees. . . It was written by a 
 highly gifted, warm-hearted seer, to whom 
 the child-nature has not been a murky pool 
 to fish in, but a clear, impressionable mirror. 
 The author has fulfilled her mission in 
 a wholly convincing manner. She has 
 had enough imagination and skill to 
 blend all the dry travel and nature ma- 
 terial into the harmonious beauty of fable. 
 She knew how to combine the useful with 
 the beautiful, as no pedant of the prac- 
 
xii ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 tical, or the aesthetic, has ever dreamed it. 
 She has converted the absorption of knowl- 
 edge into a child's game — a pleasure. Her 
 style throughout is the simplest, the most 
 facile for children to grasp. . . . Her 
 utterances are hearty without being bois- 
 terous; most playful and humorous with- 
 out being loquacious. Her work is a model 
 text-book; and just therefore, a finished 
 work of art." 
 
 "From Gotehorg Morgan Posten: "The fame 
 of her literary greatness goes forward without a 
 dissenting voice ; fills her own land, and travels 
 far and wide outside its borders. . . Just 
 as modestly as she points a moral, just so deli- 
 cately and unobtrusively does she give infor- 
 mation. Everything comes to you through the 
 adventures, or through the concrete images of 
 imagination's all-compelling form. . . . 
 No one who has retained a particle of his child 
 mind can escape the genuine witchery of the 
 poesy in 'Nils Holgersson.' " 
 
 A new history of literature, entitled " Frauen 
 der Gegenwart", by Dr. Theodore Klaiber, 
 mentions Miss Lagerlof as the foremost woman 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS xiii 
 
 writer of ottr time, and says that she is 
 receiving the same affectionate homage for 
 her art in other lands, that has been accorded 
 to her in Sweden. Dr. Klaiber does not see 
 in her merely **a dreaming poetess far 
 removed from the world." He finds her too 
 forceful and courageous for this. 
 
 " But she sees life with other eyes than do 
 our up-to-date people. All her world becomes 
 saga and legend. . . . More than all other 
 modem authors, she has that all-embracing 
 love for everything which never wanes and 
 never wearies." says Dr. Klaiber. 
 
 Torsten Fagelqvist, a well-known Swedish 
 writer, ends his review of the book with these 
 remarks: "Our guide is clear- visioned, 
 many-sided and maternal. She can speak 
 all languages: the language of animals, and 
 the language of flowers; but first and last, 
 childhood's language. And the best of all 
 is, that under her spell all are compelled to 
 become children." 
 
 Velma Swanston Howard. 
 
 Comments translated from Swedish and German. 
 
^^ 
 
 ^i^m 
 
 
 
 Translator's Introduction 
 
 The Boy . 
 
 Akka from Kebnekaise 
 
 The Wonderful Journey of Nils 
 
 Glimminge Castle 
 
 The Great Crane Dance on Kul 
 
 laberg 
 In Rainy Weather 
 The Stairway with the Three 
 
 Steps 
 By Ronneby River . 
 Karlskrona 
 The Trip to Oland . 
 Gland's Southern Point 
 The Big Butterfly . 
 Little Karl's Island . 
 Two Cities 
 
 The Legend of SmSland . 
 The Crows .... 
 The Old Peasant Woman . 
 From Taberg to Huskvama 
 The Big Bird-lake 
 Ulvasa-lady 
 The Homespun Cloth 
 Appendix .... 
 
THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES 
 OF NILS 
 
I 
 
 THE BOY 
 
 THE ELF 
 
 Sunday, March twentieth. 
 
 ONCE there was a boy. He was — ^let us 
 say — something hke fourteen years old ; 
 long and loose jointed and towheaded. He 
 wasn't good for much, that boy. His chief 
 delight was to eat and sleep; and after that 
 — ^he liked best to make mischief. 
 
 It was a Sunday morning and the boy's 
 parents were getting ready to go to church. 
 The boy sat on the edge of the table, in his 
 shirt sleeves, and thought how lucky it was 
 that both father and mother were going away, 
 and the coast would be clear for a couple of 
 hours. "Good! Now I can take down pop's 
 gun and fire off a shot, without anybody's 
 meddling interference," he said to himself. 
 
 But it was almost as if father shotild have 
 
4 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 guessed the boy's thoughts, for just as he 
 was on the threshold — ready to start — he 
 stopped short, and turned toward the boy: 
 " Since you won't come to church with 
 mother and me," he said, "the least you can 
 do, is to read the service at home. Will you 
 promise to do so?" "Yes," said the boy, 
 "that I can do easy enough." And he 
 thought, of course, that he wouldn't read 
 any more than he felt like reading. 
 
 The boy thought that never had he seen 
 his mother so persistent. In a second she 
 was over by the shelf near the fireplace, and 
 took down Luther's Commentary and laid it 
 on the table, in front of the window — opened 
 at the service for the day. She also opened 
 the New Testament, and placed it beside the 
 Commentary. Finally, she drew up the big 
 arm-chair, which was bought at the parish 
 •auction the year before, and which, as a rule, 
 no one but father was permitted to occupy. 
 
 The boy sat thinking that his mother was 
 giving herself altogether too much trouble 
 with this spread; for he had no intention of 
 reading more than a page or so. But now, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 5 
 
 for the second time, it was almost as if his 
 father were able to see right through him. 
 He walked up to the boy, and said in a severe 
 tone: "Now, remember, that you are to 
 read carefully! For when we come back, I 
 shall question you thoroughly; and if you 
 have skipped a single page, it will not go well 
 with you." 
 
 "The service is fourteen and a half pages 
 long," said his mother, just as if she wanted 
 to heap up the measure of his misfortune. 
 " You'll have to sit down and begin the read- 
 ing at once, if you expect to get through with 
 it." 
 
 With that they departed. And as the boy 
 stood in the doorway watching them, he 
 thought that he had been caught in a trap. 
 "There they go congratulating themselves, 
 I suppose, in the belief that they've hit upon 
 something so good that I'll be forced to sit 
 and hang over the sermon the whole time that 
 they are away," thought he. 
 
 But his father and mother were certainly 
 not congratulating themselves upon anything 
 of the sort; but, on the contrary, they were 
 
6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 very much distressed. They were poor far- 
 mers, and their place was not much bigger 
 than a garden-plot. When they first moved 
 there, the place couldn't feed more than one 
 pig and a pair of chickens; but they were 
 uncommonly industrious and capable folk — 
 and now they had both cows and geese. 
 Things had turned out very well for them; 
 and they would have gone to church that 
 beautiful morning — satisfied and happy — if 
 they hadn't had their son to think of. Father 
 complained that he was dull and lazy ; he had 
 not cared to learn anything at school, and 
 he was such an all-round good-for-nothing, 
 that he could barely be made to tend geese. 
 Mother did not deny that this was true; but 
 she was most distressed because he was wild 
 and bad; cruel to animals, and ill -willed 
 toward human beings. " May God soften 
 his hard heart, and give him a better dis- 
 position!" said the mother, "or else he will 
 be a misfortune, both to himself and to us." 
 The boy stood for a long time and pon- 
 dered whether he should read the service or 
 not. Finally, he came to the conclusion 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 7 
 
 that, this time, it was best to be obedient. 
 He seated himself in the easy chair, and began 
 to read. But when he had been rattling 
 away in an undertone for a little while, this 
 mumbling seemed to have a soothing effect 
 upon him — and he began to nod. 
 
 It was the most beautiful weather outside! 
 It was only the twentieth of March; but the 
 boy lived in West Vemminghog Township, 
 down in Southern Skane, where the spring 
 was already in full swing. It was not as yet 
 green, but it was fresh and budding. There 
 was water in all the trenches, and the colt's- 
 foot on the edge of the ditch, was in bloom. 
 All the weeds that grew in among the stones, 
 were brown and shiny. The beech-woods 
 in the distance, seemed to swell and grow 
 thicker with every second. The skies were 
 high — and a clear blue. The cottage door 
 stood ajar, and the lark's trill could be heard 
 in the room. The hens and geese pattered 
 about in the yard, and the cows, who felt 
 the spring air away in their stalls, lowed 
 their approval every now and then. 
 
 The boy read and nodded and fought 
 
8 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 against drowsiness. "No! I don't want to 
 fall asleep," thought he, "for then I'll not 
 get through with this thing the whole 
 forenoon. ' ' 
 
 But — somehow — he fell asleep. 
 
 He did not know whether he had slept a 
 short while, or a long while; but he was 
 awakened by hearing a slight noise back of him. 
 
 On the window-sill, facing the boy, stood 
 a small looking-glass; and almost the entire 
 cottage could be seen in this. As the boy 
 raised his head, he happened to look in the 
 glass; and then he saw that the cover to 
 his mother's chest had been opened. 
 
 His mother owned a great, heavy, iron- 
 bound oak chest, which she permitted no 
 one but herself to open. Here she treasured 
 all the things she had inherited from her 
 mother, and of these she was especially 
 careful. Here lay a couple of old-time peasant 
 dresses, of red homespun cloth, with short 
 bodice and plaited shirt, and a pearl-bedecked 
 breast pin. There were starched white-linen 
 head-dresses, and heavy silver ornaments 
 and chains. Folks don't care to go about 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 9 
 
 dressed like that in these days, and several 
 times his mother had thought of getting rid 
 of the old things; but somehow, she hadn't 
 had the heart to do it. 
 
 Now the boy saw distinctly — in the glass — 
 that the chest-lid was open. He could not 
 understand how this had happened, for his 
 mother had closed the chest before she went 
 away. She never would have left that pre- 
 cious chest open when he was at home, alone. 
 
 He became low-spirited and apprehensive. 
 He was afraid that a thief had sneaked his 
 way into the cottage. He didn't dare to 
 move ; but sat still and stared into the looking- 
 glass. 
 
 While he sat there and waited for the thief 
 to make his appearance, be began to wonder 
 what that dark shadow was which fell across 
 the edge of the chest. He looked and looked 
 — and did not want to believe his eyes. But 
 the thing, which at first seemed shadowy, 
 became more and more clear to him; and 
 soon he saw that it was something real. It 
 was no less a thing than an elf who sat there 
 — astride the edge of the chest! 
 
lo ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 To be sure, the boy had heard stories about 
 elves, but he had never dreamed that they 
 were such tiny creatures. He was no taller 
 than a hand's breadth — this one, who sat on 
 the edge of the chest. He had an old, 
 wrinkled and beardless face, and was dressed 
 in a black frock coat, knee-breeches and a 
 broad-brimmed black hat. He was very 
 trim and smart, with his white laces about 
 the throat and wrist-bands, his buckled shoes, 
 and the bows on his garters. He had taken 
 from the chest an embroidered piece, and sat 
 and looked at the old-fashioned handiwork 
 with such an air of veneration, that he did 
 not observe the boy had awakened. 
 
 The boy was somewhat surprised to see the 
 elf, but, on the other hand, he was not par- 
 ticularly frightened. It was impossible to 
 be afraid of one who was so little. And since 
 the elf was so absorbed in his own thoughts 
 that he neither saw nor heard, the boy thought 
 that it would be great fun to play a trick on 
 him ; to push him over into the chest and shut 
 the lid on him, or something of that kind. " 
 
 But the boy was not so courageous that he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS ii 
 
 dared to touch the elf with his hands, instead 
 he looked around the room for something to 
 poke him with. He let his gaze wander from 
 the sofa to the leaf- table; from the leaf- 
 table to the fireplace. He looked at the 
 kettles, then at the coffee-urn, which stood 
 on a shelf, near the fireplace; on the water 
 bucket near the door; and on the spoons 
 and knives and forks and saucers and plates, 
 which could be seen through the half -open 
 cupboard door. He looked at his father's 
 gun, which hung on the wall, beside the 
 portrait of the Danish royal family, and on 
 the geraniums and fuchsias, which blossomed 
 in the window. And last, he caught sight 
 of an old butterfly-snare that hung on the 
 window frame. He had hardly set eyes on 
 that butterfly-snare, before he reached over 
 and snatched it and jumped up and swung 
 it alongside the edge of the chest. He was 
 himself astonished at the luck he had. He 
 hardly knew how he had managed it — ^but 
 he had actually snared the elf. The poor 
 little chap lay, head downward, in the bottom 
 of the long snare, and could not free himself. 
 
12 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The first moment the boy hadn't the least 
 idea what he should do with his prize. He 
 was only particular to swing the snare back- 
 ward and for^vard, to prevent the elf from 
 getting a foothold and clambering up. 
 
 The elf began to speak, and begged, oh! 
 so pitifully, for his freedom. He had brought 
 them good luck — these many years — he said, 
 and deserved better treatment. Now, if the 
 boy would set him free, he would give him an 
 old coin, a silver spoon, and a gold penny, 
 as big as the case on his father's silver watch. 
 
 The boy didn't think that this was much 
 of an offer; but it so happened — that after 
 he had gotten the elf in his power, he was 
 afraid of him. He felt that he had entered 
 into an agreement with something weird and 
 uncanny; something which did not belong to 
 his world, and he was only too glad to get 
 rid of the horrid thing. 
 
 For this reason he agreed at once to the 
 bargain, and held the snare still, so the elf 
 could crawl out of it. But when the elf 
 was almost out of the snare, the boy happened 
 to think that he ought to have bargained for 
 
■ ADVENTURES OF NILS 13 
 
 large estates, and all sorts of good things. 
 He should at least have made this stipula- 
 tion: that the elf must conjure the sermon 
 into his head. "What a fool I was to let 
 him go!" thought he, and began to shake 
 the snare violently, so the elf would tumble 
 down again. 
 
 But the instant the boy did this, he 
 received such a stinging box on the ear, that 
 he thought his head would fly in pieces. He 
 was dashed — first against one wall, then 
 against the other; he sank to the floor, and 
 lay there — senseless. 
 
 When he awoke, he was alone in the cottage. 
 The chest-lid was down, and the butterfly- 
 snare hung in its usual place by the window. 
 If he had not felt how the right cheek burned, 
 from that box on the ear, he would have been 
 tempted to believe the whole thing had been 
 a dream. "At any rate, father and mother 
 will be sure to insist that it was nothing else," 
 thought he. "They are not likely to make 
 any allowances for that old sermon, on 
 account of the elf. It's best for me to get 
 at that reading again," thought he. 
 
14 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 But as he walked toward the table, he 
 noticed something remarkable. It couldn't 
 be possible that the cottage had grown. But 
 why was he obliged to take so many more 
 steps than usual to get to the table? And 
 what was the matter with the chair? It 
 looked no bigger than it did a while ago; but 
 now he had to step on the rung first, and then 
 clamber up in order to reach the seat. It was 
 the same thing with the table. He could 
 not look over the top without climbing to 
 the arm of the chair. 
 
 " What in all the world is this ? " said the boy. 
 " I believe the elf has bewitched both the arm- 
 chair and the table — and the whole cottage." 
 
 The Commentary lay on the table and, to 
 all appearances, it was not changed; but 
 there must have been something queer about 
 that too, for he could not manage to read a 
 single word of it, without actually standing 
 right in the book itself. 
 
 He read a couple of lines, and then he 
 chanced to look up. With that, his glance 
 fell on the looking-glass; and then he cried 
 aloud: '"Look! There's another one!" 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 15 
 
 For in the glass he saw plainly a little, 
 little creature who was dressed in a hood and 
 leather breeches. 
 
 " Why, that one is dressed exactly like me!" 
 said the boy, and clasped his hands in aston- 
 ishment. But then he saw that the thing in 
 the mirror did the same thing. Then he 
 began to pull his hair and pinch his arms and 
 swing round; and instantly he did the same 
 thing after him; he, who was seen in the 
 mirror. 
 
 The boy ran around the glass several 
 times, to see if there wasn't a little man hid- 
 den behind it, but he found no one there ; and 
 then he began to shake with terror. For now 
 he understood that the elf had bewitched 
 him, and that the creature whose image he 
 saw in the glass — ^was he, himself. 
 
 THE WILD GEESE 
 
 The boy simply could not make himself 
 believe that he had been transformed into 
 an elf. " It can't be anything but a dream 
 — a queer fancy," thought he. "If I wait 
 
i6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 few moments, I'll surely be turned back into 
 a human being again." 
 
 He placed himself before the glass and 
 closed his eyes. He opened them again after 
 a couple of minutes, and then expected to 
 find that it had all passed over — ^but it 
 hadn't. He was — and remained — just as 
 little. In other respects, he was the same as 
 before. The thin, straw-coloured hair; the 
 freckles across his nose; the patches on his 
 leather breeches and the dams on his stock- 
 ings, were all like themselves, with this excep- 
 tion — that they had become diminished. 
 
 No, it would do no good for him to stand 
 still and wait, of this he was certain. He 
 must try something else. And he thought 
 the wisest thing that he could do was to try 
 and find the elf, and make his peace with him. 
 
 And while he sought, he cried and prayed 
 and promised everything he could think of. 
 Nevermore would he break his word to any- 
 one; never again would he be naughty; and 
 never, never would he fall asleep again over 
 the sermon. If he might only be a 
 human being once more, he would be such a 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 17 
 
 good and helpful and obedient boy. But no 
 matter how much he promised — it did not 
 help him the least little bit. 
 
 Suddenly he remembered that he had heard 
 his mother say, all the tiny folk made their 
 home in the cowsheds; and, at once, he con- 
 cluded to go there, and see if he couldn't 
 find the elf. It was a lucky thing that the 
 cottage-door stood partly open, for he never 
 could have reached the bolt and opened it; 
 but now he slipped through without any 
 difficulty. 
 
 When he came out in the hallway, he looked 
 around for his wooden shoes ; for in the house, 
 to be sure, he had gone about in his stocking- 
 feet. He wondered how he should manage 
 with these big, clumsy wooden shoes; but 
 just then, he saw a pair of tiny shoes on the 
 doorstep. When he observed that the elf had 
 been so thoughtful that he had also bewitched 
 the wooden shoes, he was even more troubled. 
 It was evidently his intention that this afflic- 
 tion should last a long time. 
 
 On the wooden board-walk in front of the 
 cottage, hopped a gray sparrow. He had 
 
1 8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 hardly set eyes on the boy before he called 
 out: "Teeteel Teetee! Look at Nils goosey- 
 boy! Look at Thumb ietot! Look at Nils 
 Holgersson Thumbietot! " 
 
 Instantly, both the geese and the chickens 
 turned and stared at the boy; and then they 
 set up a fearful cackling. " Cock-el- i-coo," 
 crowed the rooster, "good enough for him! 
 Cock-el- i-coo, he has pulled my comb." " Ka, 
 ka, kada, serves him right!" cried the hens; 
 and with that they kept up a continuous 
 cackle. The geese got together in a tight 
 group, stuck their heads together and asked: 
 "Who can have done this? Who can have 
 done this?" 
 
 But the strangest thing of all was, that the 
 boy understood what they said. He was so 
 astonished, that he stood there as if rooted 
 to the doorstep, and listened. "It must be 
 because I am changed into an elf," said he. 
 * ' This is probably why I understand bird- talk. ' ' 
 
 He thought it was unbearable that the hens 
 would not stop saying that it served him 
 right. He threw a stone at them and shouted : 
 "Shut up, you pack!" 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 19 
 
 But it hadn't occurred to him before, that 
 he was no longer the sort of boy the hens 
 need fear. The whole henyard made a rush 
 for him, and formed a ring around him; then 
 they all cried at once: "Ka, ka, kada, served 
 you right! Ka, ka, kada, served you right!" 
 
 The boy tried to get away, but the chickens 
 ran after him and screamed, until he thought 
 he'd lose his hearing. It is more than likely 
 that he never could have gotten away from 
 them, if the house cat hadn't come along 
 just then. As soon as the chickens saw the 
 cat, they quieted down and pretended to 
 be thinking of nothing else than just to 
 scratch in the earth for worms. 
 
 Immediately the boy ran up to the cat. 
 " You dear pussy! " said he, " you must know 
 all the corners and hiding places about here? 
 You'll be a good little kitty and tell me where 
 I can find the elf." 
 
 The cat did not reply at once. He seated 
 himself, curled his tail into a graceful ring 
 around his paws — and stared at the boy. It 
 was a large black cat with one white spot on 
 his chest. His fur lay sleek and soft, and 
 
20 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 shone in the sunUght. The claws were drawn 
 in, and the eyes were a dull gray, with just 
 a little narrow dark streak down the centre. 
 The cat looked thoroughly good-natured and 
 inoffensive. 
 
 " I know well enough where the elf lives," 
 he said in a soft voice, "but that doesn't say 
 that I'm going to tell you about it." 
 
 " Dear pussy, you must tell me where the 
 elf lives!" said the boy. "Can't you see 
 how he has bewitched me?" 
 
 The cat opened his eyes a little, so that the 
 green wickedness began to shine forth. He 
 spun round and purred with satisfaction 
 before he replied. " Shall I perhaps help you 
 because you have so often grabbed me by the 
 tail? " he said at last. 
 
 Then the boy was furious and forgot 
 entirely how little and helpless he was now. 
 "Oh! I can pull your tail again, I can," said 
 he, and ran toward the cat. 
 
 The next instant the cat was so changed 
 that the boy could scarcely believe it was the 
 same animal. Every separate hair on his 
 body stood on end. The back was bent; the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 21 
 
 legs had become elongated; the claws scraped 
 the ground; the tail had grown thick and 
 short; the ears were laid back; the mouth 
 was frothy ; and the eyes were wide open and 
 glistened like sparks of red fire. 
 
 The boy didn't want to let himself be 
 scared by a cat, and he took a step forward. 
 Then the cat made one spring and landed 
 right on the boy; knocked him down and 
 stood over him — his forepaws on his chest, 
 and his jaws wide apart — over his throat. 
 
 The boy felt how the sharp claws sank 
 through his vest and shirt and into his skin; 
 and how the sharp eye-teeth tickled his throat. 
 He shrieked for help, as loudly as he could, 
 but no one came. He thought surely 
 that his last hour had come. Then he felt 
 that the cat drew in his claws and let go the 
 hold on his throat. 
 
 "There!" he said, "that will do now. I'll 
 let you go this time, for my mistress's sake. 
 I only wanted you to know which one of us 
 two has the power now." 
 
 With that the cat walked away — looking as 
 smooth and pious as he did when he first 
 
22 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 appeared on the scene. The boy was so 
 crestfallen that he didn't say a word, but 
 only hurried to the cowhouse to look for the 
 elf. 
 
 There were not more than three cows, all 
 told. But when the boy came in, there was 
 such a bellowing and such a kick-up, that one 
 might easily have believed that there were 
 at least thirty. 
 
 "Moo, moo, moo," bellowed Mayrose. "It 
 is well there is such a thing as justice in this 
 world." 
 
 "Moo, moo, moo," sang the three of them 
 in unison. He couldn't hear what they said, 
 for each one tried to out-bellow the others. 
 
 The boy wanted to ask after the elf, but he 
 couldn't make himself heard because the cows 
 were in full uproar. They carried on as they 
 used to do when he let a strange dog in on 
 them. They kicked with their hind legs, 
 shook their necks, stretched their heads, and 
 measured the distance with their horns. 
 
 "Come here, you!" said Mayrose, "And 
 you'll get a kick that you won't forget in a 
 hurry!" 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 23 
 
 "Come here," said Gold Lily, "and you 
 shall dance on my horns! " 
 
 " Come here, and you shall taste how it felt 
 when 3^ou threw your wooden shoes at me, 
 as you did last summer! " bawled Star. 
 
 "Come here, and you shall be repaid for 
 that wasp you let loose in my ear! " growled 
 Gold Lily. 
 
 Mayrose was the oldest and the wi-sest of 
 them, and she was the very maddest. " Come 
 here!" said she, "that I may pay you back 
 for the many times that you have jerked the 
 milk pail away from your mother; and for 
 all the snares you laid for her, when she came 
 carrying the milk pails; and for all the tears 
 which she has stood here and wept over 
 you!" 
 
 The boy wanted to tell them how he 
 regretted that he had been unkind to them; 
 and that never, never — from now on — should 
 he be anything but good, if they would only 
 tell him where the elf was. But the cows 
 didn't listen to him. They made such a 
 racket that he began to fear one of them 
 would succeed in breaking loose; and he 
 
24 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 thought that the best thing for him to do, 
 was to go quietly away from the cowhouse. 
 
 When he came out, he was thoroughly 
 disheartened. He could understand that no 
 one on the place wanted to help him find 
 the elf. And little good would it do him, 
 probably, if the elf were found 
 
 He crawled up on the broad hedge which 
 fenced in the farm, and which was overgrown 
 with briers and lichen. There he sat down 
 to think about how it would go with him, if 
 he never became a human being again. When 
 father and mother came home from church, 
 there would be a surprise for them. Yes, 
 a surprise — it would be all over the land ; and 
 people would come flocking from East Vem- 
 minghog, and from Torp, and from Skerup. 
 The whole Vemminghog township would come 
 to stare at him. Perhaps father and mother 
 would take him with them, and show him at 
 the market place in Kivik. 
 
 No, that was too horrible to think about. 
 He would rather that no human being should 
 ever see him again. 
 
 His unhappiness was simply frightful! No 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 25 
 
 one in all the world was so unhappy as he. 
 He was no lunger a human being — ^but a 
 freak. 
 
 Little by little he began to comprehend 
 what it meant — to be no longer human. He 
 was separated from everything now; he could 
 no longer play with other boys, he could 
 not take charge of the farm after his parents 
 were gone; and certainly no girl would think 
 of manying him. 
 
 He sat and looked at his home. It was a 
 little log house, which lay as if it had been 
 crushed down to earth, under the high, sloping 
 roof. The outhouses were also small; and 
 the patches of ground were so narrow that 
 a horse could barely turn around on them. 
 But little and poor though the place was, 
 it was much too good for him now. He 
 couldn't ask for any better place than a hole 
 under the stable floor. 
 
 It was wondrously beautiful weather! It 
 budded, and it rippled, and it murmured, and 
 it twittered — all around him. But he sat there 
 with such a heavy sorrow. He should never 
 be happy any more about anything. 
 
26 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Never had he seen the skies as blue as they 
 were to-day. Birds of passage came on their 
 travels. They came from foreign lands, and 
 had travelled over the East sea, by way of 
 Smygahuk, and were now on their way North. 
 They were of many different kinds; but he 
 was only familiar with the wild geese, who 
 came flying in two long rows, which met at 
 an angle. 
 
 Several flocks of wild geese had already 
 flown by. They flew very high, still he 
 could hear how they shrieked : "To the hills! 
 Now we're off to the hills! " 
 
 When the wild geese saw the tame geese, 
 who walked about the farm, they sank nearer 
 the earth, and called: "Come along! Come 
 along! We're off to the hills!" 
 
 The tame geese could not resist the tempta- 
 tion to raise their heads and listen, but they 
 answered very sensibly: "We're pretty well 
 off where we are. We're pretty well off 
 where we are." 
 
 It was, as we have said, an uncommonly 
 fine day, with an atmosphere that it .nust 
 have been a real delight to fly in, so light and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 27 
 
 bracing. And with each new wild geese- 
 flock that flew by, the tame geese became 
 more and more unruly. A couple of times 
 they flapped their wings, as if they had half 
 a mind to fly along. But then an old mother- 
 goose would always say to them: "Now 
 don't be silly. Those creatures will have to 
 suffer both hunger and cold." 
 
 There was a young gander whom the wild 
 geese had fired with a passion for adventure. 
 " If another flock comes this way, I'll follow 
 them," said he. 
 
 Then there came a new flock, who shrieked 
 like the others, and the young gander 
 answered: "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! 
 I'm coming." 
 
 He spread his wings and raised himself 
 into the air; but he was so unaccustomed to 
 flying, that he fell to the ground again. 
 
 At any rate, the wild geese must have heard 
 his call, for they turned and flew back slowly 
 to see if he was coming. 
 
 "Wait, wait!" he cried, and made another 
 attempt to fl}^ 
 
 All this the boy heard, where he lay on 
 
28 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the hedge. " It would be a great pity," 
 thought he, " if the big goosey-gander should 
 go away. It would be a big loss to father and 
 mother if he was gone when they came home 
 from church." 
 
 When he thought of this, once again he 
 entirely forgot that he was little and helpless. 
 He took one leap right down into the goose- 
 flock, and threw his arms around the neck 
 of the goosey-gander. "Oh, no! You don't 
 fly away this time, sir!" cried he. 
 
 But just about then, the gander was con- 
 sidering how he should go to work to raise 
 himself from the ground. He couldn't stop 
 to shake the boy off, hence he had to go 
 along with him — up in the air. 
 
 They bore on toward the heights so rap- 
 idly, that the boy fairly gasped. Before he 
 had time to think that he ought to let go his 
 hold around the gander's neck, he was so high 
 up that he would have been killed instantly, 
 if he had fallen to the ground. 
 
 The only thing that he could do to make 
 himself a little more comfortable, was to try 
 and get upon the gander's back. And there 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 29 
 
 he wriggled himself forthwith; but not with- 
 out considerable trouble. And it was not 
 an easy matter, either, to hold himself secure 
 on the slippery back, between two swaying 
 wings. He had to dig deep into feathers and 
 down with both hands, to keep from tumbling 
 to the ground. 
 
 THE BIG CHECKED CLOTH 
 
 The boy had grown so giddy that it was a 
 long while before he came to himself. The 
 winds howled and beat against him, and the 
 rustle of feathers and swaying of wings 
 sounded like a whole storm. Thirteen geese 
 flew around him, flapping their wings and 
 honking. They danced before his eyes and they 
 buzzed in his ears. He didn't know whether 
 they flew high or low, or in what direction 
 they were travelling. 
 
 After a bit, he regained just enough sense 
 to understand that he ought to find out where 
 the geese were taking him. But this was not 
 so easy, for he didn't know how he should 
 ever muster up courage enough to look down. 
 He was sure he'd faint if he attempted it. 
 
30 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The wild geese were not flying very high 
 because the new travelHng companion could 
 not breathe in the very thinnest air. For 
 his sake they also flew a little slower than 
 usual. 
 
 At last the boy just made himself cast one 
 glance down to earth. Then he thought that 
 a great big rug lay spread beneath him, 
 which was made up of an incredible number 
 of large and small checks. 
 
 "Where in all the world am I now?" he 
 wondered. 
 
 He saw nothing but check upon check. 
 Some were broad and ran crosswise, and some 
 were long and narrow — all over, there were 
 angles and corners. Nothing was round, 
 and nothing was crooked. 
 
 "What kind of a big, checked cloth is this 
 that I'm looking down on?" said the boy to 
 himself without expecting anyone to answer 
 him. 
 
 But instantly, the wild geese who flew 
 about him, called out : ' ' Fields and meadows. 
 Fields and meadows." 
 
 Then he understood that the big, checked 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 31 
 
 cloth he was travelling over was the flat 
 land of southern Sweden; and he began to 
 comprehend why it looked so checked and 
 multi-coloured. The bright green checks he 
 recognised first; they were rye fields that 
 had been sown in the fall, and had kept them- 
 selves green under the winter snows. The 
 yellowish-gray checks were stubble-fields — 
 the remains of the oat-crop which had grown 
 there the summer before. The brownish 
 ones were old clover meadows : and the black 
 ones, deserted grazing lands or ploughed-up 
 fallow pastures. The brown checks with 
 the yellow edges were, undoubtedly, beech- 
 tree forests; for in these you'll find the big 
 trees which grow in the heart of the forest 
 -naked in winter; while the little beech- 
 trees, which grow along the borders, keep 
 their dry, yellowed leaves way into the spring. 
 There were also dark checks with gray centres : 
 these were the large, built-up estates en- 
 circled by the small cottages with their blacken- 
 ing straw roofs, and their stone-divided land- 
 plots. And then there were checks green in 
 the middle with brown borders: these were 
 
 
 __r?*-^J;'#^~. 
 
32 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the orchards, where the grass-carpets were 
 already turning green, although the trees and 
 bushes around them were still in their nude, 
 brown bark. 
 
 The boy could not keep from laughing 
 when he saw how checked everything looked. 
 
 But when the wild geese heard him laugh, 
 they called out — kind o' reprovingly: "Fertile 
 and good land. Fertile and good land." 
 
 The boy had already become serious. 
 "To think that you can laugh; you, who 
 have met with the most terrible misfortune 
 that can possibly happen to a human being!" 
 thought he. And for a moment he was pretty 
 serious ; but it was n't long before he was 
 laughing again. 
 
 Now that he had grown somewhat c ccus- 
 tomed to the ride and the speed, so that he 
 could think of something besides holding 
 himself on the gander's back, he began to 
 notice how full the air was of birds flying 
 northward. And there was a shouting and 
 a calling [rom flock to flock. "So you came 
 over to-dcy?" shrieked some. " Yes," answered 
 the geese. "How do you think the spring's 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 33 
 
 getting on?" "Not a leaf on the trees and 
 ice-cold water in the lakes," came back the 
 answer. 
 
 When the geese flew over a place where 
 they saw any tame, half-naked fowl, they 
 shouted: "What's the name of this place? 
 What's the name of this place?" Then the 
 roosters cocked their heads and answered: 
 " Its name's Lillgarde this year — the same as 
 last year; the same as last year." 
 
 Most of the cottages were probably named 
 afcer their owners — ^which is the custom in 
 Sk^ne. But instead of saying this is "Per 
 Matssons," or "Ola Bossons," the roosters 
 hit upon the kind of names which, to their 
 way of thinking, were more appropriate. 
 Those who lived on small farms, and belonged 
 to poor cottagers, cried: "This place is 
 called Grainscarce. ' ' And those who belonged 
 to the poorest hut-dwellers screamed: "The 
 name of this place is Little-to-eat, Little-to- 
 eat, Little-to-eat." 
 
 The big, well-cared-for farms got high- 
 sounding names from the roosters — such as 
 Luckymeadow, Eggberga and Moneyville. 
 
34 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 But the roosters on the great landed estates 
 were too high and mighty to condescend to 
 anything Hke jesting. One of them crowed 
 and called out with such gusto that it sounded 
 as if he wanted to be heard clear up to the 
 sun: "This is Herr Dybeck's estate; the 
 same this year as last year; this year as last 
 year." 
 
 A little further on strutted one rooster who 
 crowed: "This is Swanholm, surely all the 
 world knows that!" 
 
 The boy observed that the geese did not 
 fly straight forward; but zigzagged hither 
 and thither over the whole South country, 
 just as though they were glad to be in SkS,ne 
 again and wanted to pay their respects to 
 every separate place. 
 
 They came to one place where there were 
 a number of big, clumsy-looking buildings 
 with great, tall chimneys, and all around 
 these were a lot of smaller houses. "This 
 is Jordberga Sugar Refinery," cried the 
 roosters. The boy shuddered as he sat there 
 on the goose's back. He ought to have 
 recognised this place, for it was not very far 
 from his home. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 35 
 
 Here he had worked the year before as a 
 watch boy; but, to be sure, nothing was 
 exactly Hke itself when one saw it like that — 
 from up above. 
 
 And think! Just think! Osa the goose 
 girl and little Mats, who were his comrades 
 last year! Indeed the boy would have been 
 glad to know if they still were anywhere about 
 here. Fancy what they would have said, 
 had they suspected that he was flying over 
 their heads! 
 
 Soon Jordberga was lost to sight, and they 
 travelled toward Svedala and Skaber Lake 
 and back again over Gorringe Cloister and 
 Hackeberga. The boy saw more of Skane 
 in this one day than he had ever seen before 
 — in all the years that he had lived. 
 
 Whenever the wild geese happened across 
 any tame geese, they had the best fun ! They 
 flew forward very slowly and called down: 
 "We're off to the hills. Are you coming 
 along? Are you coming along?" 
 
 But the tame geese answered: "It's still 
 winter in this country. You're out too soon. 
 Fly back! Fly back!" 
 
S6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The wild geese lowered themselves that 
 they might be heard a little better, and called : 
 "Come along! We'll teach you how to fly 
 and swim." 
 
 Then the tame geese got mad and wouldn't 
 answer them with a single honk. 
 
 The wild geese sank themselves still lower — 
 until they almost touched the groimd — then, 
 quick as lightning, they raised themselves, 
 just as if they'd been terribly frightened. 
 "Oh, oh, oh!" they exclaimed. "Those things 
 were not geese. They were only sheep, they 
 were only sheep." 
 
 The ones on the ground were beside them- 
 selves with rage and shrieked: "May you 
 be shot, the whole lot o' you! The whole 
 lot o' you!" 
 
 When the boy heard all this teasing he 
 laughed. Then he remembered how badly 
 things had gone with him, and he cried. 
 But the next second, he was laughing again. 
 
 Never before had he ridden so fast; and to 
 ride fast and recklessly — that he had always 
 liked. And, of course, he had never dreamed 
 that it could be as fresh and bracing as it 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 37 
 
 was, up in the air; or that there rose from 
 the earth such a fine scent of resin and soil. 
 Nor had he ever dreamed what it could be 
 like — to ride so high above the earth. It was 
 just like flying away from sorrow and trouble 
 and annoyances of every kind that could be 
 thought of. 
 
AKKA FROM KEBNEKAISE 
 
 EVENING 
 
 THE big tame goosey-gander that had 
 followed them up in the air, felt very 
 proud of being permitted to travel back and 
 forth over the south country with the wild 
 geese, and crack jokes with the tame birds. 
 But in spite of his keen delight, he began to 
 tire as the afternoon wore on. He tried to 
 take deeper breaths and quicker wing-strokes, 
 but even so he remained several goose-lengths 
 behind the others. 
 
 When the wild geese, who flew last, noticed 
 that the tame one couldn't keep up with 
 them, they began to call to the goose who 
 rode in the centre of the angle and led the 
 procession: "Akka from Kebnekaise! Akka 
 from Kebnekaise!" "What do you want of 
 me ? ' ' asked the leader. ' ' The white one will be 
 
 38 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 39 
 
 left behind; the white one will be left behind." 
 "Tell him it's easier to fly fast than slow!" 
 called the leader, and raced on as before. 
 
 The goosey-gander certainly tried to follow 
 the advice, and increase his speed; but then 
 he became so exhausted that he sank way 
 down to the drooping willows that bordered the 
 fields and meadows. 
 
 "Akka, Akka, Akka from Kebnekaise!" 
 cried those who flew last and saw what a hard 
 time he was having. "What do you want 
 now?" asked the leader — and she sounded 
 awfully angry. "The white one sinks to the 
 earth; the white one sinks to the earth." 
 "Tell him it's easier to fly high than low!" 
 shouted th'^ leader, and she didn't slow up 
 the least little bit, but raced on as before. 
 
 The goosey-gander tried also to follow this 
 advice; but when he wanted to raise him- 
 self, he became so winded that he almost 
 burst his breast. 
 
 "Akka, Akka!" again cried those who 
 flew last. "Can't you let me fly in peace?" 
 asked the leader, and she sounded even 
 madder than before. 
 
40 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "The white one is ready to collapse." 
 "Tell him that he who has not the strength 
 to fly with the flock, can go back home!" 
 cried the leader. She certainly had no idea 
 of decreasing her speed — ^but raced on as before. 
 
 "Oh! is that the way the wind blows," 
 thought the goosey-gander. He understood 
 at once that the wild geese had never intended 
 to take him along up to Lappland. They 
 had only lured him away from home in sport. 
 
 He felt thoroughly exasperated. To think 
 that his strength should fail him now, so 
 he wouldn't be able to show these tramps 
 that even a tame goose was good for some- 
 thing ! But the most provoking thing of all was 
 that he had fallen in with Akka from Kebne- 
 kaise. Tame goose that he was, he had heard 
 about a leader goose, named Akka, who was 
 more than a hundred years old. She had such 
 a big name that the best wild geese in the world 
 followed her. But no one had such a con- 
 tempt for tame geese as Akka and her flock, 
 and gladly would he have shown them that 
 he was their equal. 
 
 He flew slowly behind the rest, while he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 41 
 
 deliberated whether he should turn back or 
 continue. Finally, the little creature that 
 he carried on his back said: "Dear Morten 
 Goosey-gander, you know well enough that 
 it is simply impossible for you, who have 
 never flown, to go with the wild geese all the 
 way up to Lappland. Won't you turn back 
 before you kill yourself?" 
 
 But the farmer's lad was about the worst 
 thing the goosey-gander knew anything about, 
 and as soon as it had dawned on him that this 
 puny creature actually believed that he 
 couldn't make the trip, he decided to stick it 
 out. " If you say another word about this, 
 I'll drop you into the first ditch we ride over! " 
 said he, and at the same time his fury gave 
 him so much strength that he began to fly 
 almost as well as any of the others. 
 
 It isn't likely that he could have kept this 
 pace up very long, neither was it necessary; 
 for, just then, the sun sank quickly; and at 
 sunset the geese flew down, and before the 
 boy and the goosey-gander knew what had 
 happened, they stood on the shores of Vomb 
 Lake. 
 
42 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 They probably intend that we shall spend 
 th3 night here," thought the boy, and jumped 
 down from the goose's back. 
 
 He stood on a narrow beach by a fair-sized 
 lake. It was ugly to look upon, because it was 
 almost entirely covered with an ice-crust 
 that was blackened and uneven and full of 
 cracks and holes — as spring ice generally is. 
 
 The ice was already breaking up. It 
 was loose and floating and had a broad 
 belt of dark, shiny water all around it; but 
 there was still enough of it left to spread chill 
 and winter terror over the place. 
 
 On the other side of the lake there appeared 
 to be an open and light country, but where 
 the geese had lighted there was a thick pine- 
 growth. It looked as if the forest of firs and 
 pines had the power to bind the winter to 
 itself. E ver5rwhere else the ground was bare ; 
 but beneath the sharp pine-branches lay snow 
 that had been melting and freezing, melting 
 and freezing, until it was as hard as ice. 
 
 The boy thought he had struck an arctic 
 wilderness, and he was so miserable that he 
 wanted to scream. He was hungry too. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 43 
 
 He hadn't eaten a bite the whole day. But 
 where should he find any food? Nothing 
 eatable grew on either ground or tree in the 
 month of March. 
 
 Yes, where was he to find food, and who 
 would give him shelter, and who would fix 
 his bed, and who would protect him from the 
 wild beasts? 
 
 For now the sun was away and frost came 
 from the lake, and darkness sank down from 
 heaven, and terror stole forward on the 
 twilight's trail, and in the forest it began to 
 patter and rustle. 
 
 Now the good humour which the boy had 
 felt when he was up in the air, was gone, and 
 in his misery he looked around for his travel- 
 ling companions. He had no one but them 
 to cling to now. 
 
 Then he saw that the goosey-gander was 
 having even a worse time of it than he. He 
 was lying prostrate on the spot where he had 
 alighted ; and it looked as if he were ready to 
 die. His neck lay flat against the ground, his 
 eyes were closed, and his breathing sounded 
 like a feeble hissing. 
 
44 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "Dear Morten Goosey-Gander," said the 
 boy, "try to get a swallow of water! It 
 isn't two steps to the lake." 
 
 But the goosey-gander didn't stir. 
 
 The boy had certainly been cruel to all 
 animals, and to the goosey-gander in times 
 gone by; but now he felt that the goosey- 
 gander was the only comfort he had left, 
 and he was dreadfully afraid of losing him. 
 
 At once the boy began to push and drag 
 him, to get him into the water, but the goosey- 
 gander was big and heavy, and it was mighty 
 hard work for the boy; but at last he 
 succeeded. 
 
 The goosey-gander got in head first. For 
 an instant he lay motionless in the slime, but 
 soon he poked up his head, shook the water 
 from his eyes and sniffed. Then he swam, 
 proudly, between reeds and seaweed. 
 
 The wild geese were in the lake before him. 
 They had not looked around for either the 
 goosey-gander or for his rider, but had made 
 straight for the water. They had bathed 
 and primped, and now they lay and gulped 
 half-rotten pond-weed and water-clover. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 4g 
 
 The white goosey-gander had the good for- 
 tune to spy a perch. He grabbed it quickly, 
 swam ashore with it, and laid it down in front 
 of the boy. " Here's a thank you for helping 
 me into the water," said he. 
 
 It was the first time the boy had heard a 
 friendly word that day. He was so happy 
 that he wanted to throw his arms around the 
 goosey-gander's neck, but he refrained; and 
 he was also thankful for the gift. At first 
 he must have thought that it would be 
 impossible to eat raw fish, and then he had 
 a notion to try it. 
 
 He felt to see, if he still had his sheath-knife 
 with him; and, sure enough, there it hung — 
 on the back button of his trousers, although 
 it was so diminished that it was hardly as 
 long as a match. Well, at any rate, it served 
 to scale and cleanse fish with; and it wasn't 
 long before the perch was eaten. 
 
 When the boy had satisfied his hunger, he 
 felt a little ashamed because he had been able 
 to eat a raw thing. " It's evident that I'm 
 not a human being any longer, but a real 
 elf," thought he. 
 
46 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 While the boy ate, the goosey-gander stood 
 silently beside him. But when he had swal- 
 lowed the last bite, he said in a low voice : 
 "It's a fact that we have run across a stuck- 
 up goose folk who despise all tame birds." 
 
 " Yes, I've observed that," said the boy. 
 
 "What a triumph it would be for me if I 
 could follow them clear up to Lappland, and 
 show them that even a tame goose can do 
 things!" 
 
 "Y-e-e-s," said the boy, and drawled it 
 out because he didn't believe the goosey- 
 gander could ever do it; yet he didn't wish 
 to contradict him. " But I don't think I can 
 get along all alone on such a journey," said 
 the goosey-gander. "I'd like to ask if you 
 couldn't come along and help me ? " The boy, 
 of course, hadn't expected anything but to 
 return to his home as soon as possible, and 
 he was so surprised that he hardly knew what 
 he should reply. " I thought that we were 
 enemies, you and I," said he. But this 
 the goosey-gander seemed to have forgotten 
 entirely. He only remembered tliat the boy 
 had but just saved his life. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 47 
 
 ' I suppose I really ought to go home to 
 father and mother," said the boy. '*0h! I'll 
 get you back to them some time in the fall," 
 said the goosey-gander. " I shall not leave 
 you until I put you down on your own door- 
 step." 
 
 The boy thought it might be just as well 
 for him if he escaped showing himself before 
 his parents for a while. He was not dis- 
 inclined to favour the scheme, and was just 
 on the point of saying that he agreed to it — 
 when they heard a loud rumbling behind 
 them. It was the wild geese who had come 
 up from the lake — all at one time — and stood 
 shaking the water from their backs. After 
 that they arranged themselves in a long row 
 — ^with the leader-goose in the centre — and 
 came toward them. 
 
 As the white goosey-gander sized up the 
 wild geese, he felt ill at ease. He had 
 expected that they should be more like tame 
 geese, and that he should feel a closer kinship 
 with them. They were much smaller than 
 he, and none of them were white. ^^ They v^ere 
 all gray with a sprinkling of brown. He 
 
4« 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 was almost afraid of their eyes. They were 
 yellow, and shone as if a fire had been kindled 
 back of them. The goosey-gander had always 
 been taught that it was most fitting to move 
 slowly and with a rolling motion, but these 
 creatures did not walk — they half ran. He 
 grew most alarmed, however, when he looked 
 at their feet. These were large, and the soles 
 were torn and ragged-looking. It was evi- 
 dent that the wild geese never questioned 
 what they tramped upon. They took no 
 by-paths. They were very neat and well 
 cared for in other respects, but one could see by 
 their feet that they were poor wilderness-folk. 
 
 The goosey-gander only had time to whisper 
 to the boy: "Speak up quickly for yourself, 
 but don't tell them who you are!" — before 
 the geese were upon them. 
 
 When the wild geese had stopped in front 
 of them, they curtsied with their necks 
 many times, and the goosey-gander did like- 
 wise many more times. As soon as the 
 ceremonies were over, the leader-goose said: 
 " Now I presimie we shall hear what kind of 
 creatures you are." 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 49 
 
 "There isn't much to tell about me," said 
 the goosey-gander. "I was bom in Skanor 
 last spring. In the fall I was sold to Holger 
 Nilsson of West Vemminghog, and there I 
 have lived ever since." "You don't seem to 
 have any pedigree to boast of," said the leader- 
 goose. "What is it, then, that makes you 
 so high-minded that you wish to associate with 
 wild geese?" "It may be because I want to 
 show you wild geese that we tame ones may 
 also be good for something," said the goosey- 
 gander. "Yes, it would be well if you could 
 show us that," said the leader-goose, "We 
 have already observed how much you know 
 about flying; but you are more skilled, per- 
 haps, in other sports. Possibly you are 
 strong in a swimming match? " " No, I can't 
 boast that I am," said the goosey-gander. 
 It seemed to him that the leader-goose had 
 already made up her mind to send him home, 
 so he didn't much care how he answered. 
 " I never swam any farther than across a 
 marl-ditch," he continued. "Then I presume 
 you're a crack sprinter," said the goose. "I 
 have never seen a tame goose run, nor have 
 
50 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 I ever done it myself," said the goosey- 
 gander; and he made things appear much 
 worse than they really were. 
 
 The big white one was sure now that the 
 leader-goose would say that under no cir- 
 cumstances could they take him along. He 
 was very much astonished when she said: 
 "You answer questions courageousl}^ ; and 
 he who has courage can become a good travel- 
 ling companion, even if he is ignorant in the 
 beginning. What do you say to stopping 
 with us for a couple of days, until we can 
 see what you are good for?" "That suits 
 me!" said the goosey-gander — and he was 
 thoroughly happy. 
 
 Thereupon the leader-goose pointed with 
 her bill and said: "But who is that you 
 have with you? I've never seen anything 
 like him before." "That's my comrade," 
 said the goosey-gander. " He's been a goose- 
 tender all his life. He'll be useful all right to 
 take with us on the trip." "Yes, he may be 
 all right for a tame goose," answered the wild 
 one. "What do you call him?" "He has 
 several names," said the goosey-gander — 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 51 
 
 hesitatingly, not knowing what he should 
 hit upon in a hurry, for he didn't want to 
 reveal the fact that the boy had a human 
 name. "Oh! his name is Thumbietot," he 
 said at last. "Does he belong to the elf 
 family?" asked the leader-goose. "At what 
 time do you wild geese usually retire?" said 
 the goosey-gander quickly — trying to evade 
 that last question. "My eyes close of their 
 own accord about this time." 
 
 One could easily see that the goose who 
 talked with the gander was very old. Her 
 entire feather outfit was ice-gray, without any 
 dark streaks. The head was larger, the legs 
 coarser, and the feet were more worn than 
 any of the others. The feathers were stiff; 
 the shoulders knotty; the neck thin. All 
 this was due to age. It was only upon the 
 eyes that time had had no effect. They 
 shone brighter — as if they were younger — 
 than any of the others! 
 
 She turned, very haughtily, toward the 
 goosey-gander. "Understand, Mr. Tame-goose 
 that I am Akka from Kebnekaise! And 
 that the goose who flies nearest me — ^to the 
 
5a ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 right — is Iksi from Vassijaure, and the one 
 to the left, is Kaksi from Nuolja! Under- 
 stand, also, that the second right-hand goose 
 is Kolmi from Sarjektjakko, and the second, 
 left, is Nelja from Svappavaara; and behind 
 them fly Viisi from Oviksfjallen and Kuusi 
 from Sjangeli! And know that these, as 
 well as the six goslings who fly last — three to 
 the right, and three to the left — are all high 
 mountain geese of the finest breed! You 
 must not take us for land-lubbers who strike 
 up a chance acquaintance with any and every- 
 one! And you must not think that we per- 
 mit anyone to share our quarters, that will 
 not tell us who his ancestors were." 
 
 When Akka, the leader-goose, talked in 
 this way, the boy stepped briskly forward. 
 It had distressed him that the goosey-gander, 
 who had spoken up so glibly for himself, 
 should give such evasive answers when it 
 concerned him. "I don't care to make a 
 secret of who I am," said he. " My name is 
 Nils Holgersson. I'm a farmer's son, and, 
 until to-day, I have been a human being; 
 but this morning — " He got no further. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 53 
 
 As soon as he had said that he was human 
 the leader-goose staggered three steps back- 
 ward, and the rest of them even farther back. 
 They all extended their necks and hissed 
 angrily at him. 
 
 "I have suspected this ever since I first 
 saw you here on these shores," said Akka; 
 ** and now you can clear out of here at once. 
 We tolerate no human beings among us." 
 
 "It isn't possible," said the goosey-gander, 
 meditatively, "that you wild geese can be 
 afraid of anyone who is so tiny! By 
 to-morrow, of course, he'll turn back home. 
 You can surely let him stay with us over- 
 night. None of us can afford to let such a 
 poor little creature wander off by himself in 
 the night — among weasels and foxes!" 
 
 The wild goose came nearer. But it was 
 evident that it was hard for her to master 
 her fear. " I have been taught to fear every- 
 thing in human shape — be it big or little, " 
 said she. "But if you will answer for this 
 one, and swear that he will not harm us, he 
 can stay with us to-night. But I don't 
 believe our night quarters are suitable 
 
54 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 either for him or you, for we intend to roost 
 on the broken ice out here." 
 
 She thought, of course, that the goosey- 
 gander would be doubtful when he heard 
 this, but he never let on. "She is pretty 
 wise who knows how to choose such a safe 
 bed," said he. 
 
 " You will be answerable for his return to 
 his own to-morrow." 
 
 "Then I, too, will have to leave you," said 
 the goosey-gander. " I have sworn that I 
 would not forsake him." 
 
 "You are free to fly whither you will," 
 said the leader-goose. 
 
 With this, she raised her wings and flew 
 out over the ice and one after another the 
 wild geese followed her. 
 
 The boy was very sad to think that his trip 
 to Lappland would not come off, and, in the 
 bargain, he was afraid of the chilly night 
 quarters. "It will be worse and worse," said 
 he. "In the first place, we'll freeze to death 
 on the ice." 
 
 But the ganaer was in a good humour. 
 "There's no danger," said he. "Only make 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 55 
 
 haste, I beg of you, and gather together as 
 much grass and htter as you can well carry." 
 
 When the boy had his arms full of dried 
 grass, the goosey-gander grabbed him by the 
 shirt-band, lifted him, and flew out on the 
 ice, where the wild geese were already fast 
 asleep, with their bills tucked under their wings. 
 
 "Now spread out the grass on the ice, so 
 there'll be something to stand on, to keep 
 me from freezing fast. You help me and 
 I'll help you," said the goosey-gander. 
 
 This the boy did. And when he had 
 finished, the goosey-gander picked him up, 
 once again, by the shirt-band, and tucked 
 him under his wing. " I think you'll lie snug 
 and warm there," said the goosey-gander as 
 he covered him with his wing. 
 
 The boy was so imbedded in down that he 
 couldn't answer; and he was nice and 
 comfy. Oh, but he was tired! — And in 
 less than two winks he was fast asleep. 
 
 NIGHT 
 
 It IS a fact that ice is always treacherous 
 and not to be trusted. In the middle of the 
 night the loosened ice-cake on Vomb Lake 
 
56 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 moved about, until one comer of it touched 
 
 the shore. Now it happened that Mr. Smirre 
 Fox, who lived at this time in Ovid Cloister 
 Park — on the east side of the lake — caught 
 a glimpse of that one comer, while he was out 
 on his night chase. Smirre had seen the wild 
 geese early in the evening, and hadn't dared 
 to hope that he might get at one of them, 
 but now he walked right out on the ice. 
 
 When Smirre was very near to the geese, 
 his claws scraped the ice, and the geese awoke, 
 flapped their wings, and prepared for flight. 
 But Smirre was too quick for them. He 
 darted forward as though he'd been shot; 
 grabbed a goose by the wing, and ran toward 
 land again. 
 
 But this night the wild geese were not alone 
 on the ice, for they had a human being among 
 them — ^little as he was. The boy had awa- 
 kened when the goosey-gander spread his wings. 
 He had tumbled down on the ice and was 
 sitting there, dazed. He hadn't grasped the 
 whys and wherefores of all this confusion, until 
 he caught sight of a little long-legged dog 
 "who ran over the ice with a goose in his mouth. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 S7 
 
 In a minute the boy was after that dog, to 
 try and take the goose away from him. He 
 must have heard the goosey-gander call to 
 him: "Have a care, Thumb ietot! Have a 
 care!" But the boy thought that such a 
 little runt of a dog was nothing to be afraid 
 of and he rushed ahead. 
 
 The wild goose that Smirre Fox tugged 
 after him, heard the clatter as the boy's 
 wooden shoes beat against the ice, and she 
 could hardly believe her ears. "Does that 
 infant think he can take me away from the 
 fox?" she wondered. And in spite of her 
 misery, she began to cackle right merrily, deep 
 down in her windpipe. It was almost as if 
 she had laughed. 
 
 " The first thing he knows, he'll fall through 
 a crack in the ice," thought she. 
 
 But dark as the night was, the boy saw dis- 
 tinctly all the cracks and holes there were, 
 and took daring leaps over them. This was 
 because he had the elf's good eyesight now, 
 and could see in the dark. He saw both lake 
 and shore just as clearly as if it had been 
 daylight. 
 
S8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Smirre Fox left the ice where it touched the 
 shore. And just as he was working his way 
 up to the land-edge, the boy shouted to him: 
 "Drop that goose, you sneak!" Smirre didn't 
 know who was calling to him, and wasted no 
 time in looking around, but increased his 
 pace. 
 
 The fox made straight for the forest and the 
 boy followed him, with never a thought of the 
 danger he was running. On the contrary, he 
 thought all the while about the contemptuous 
 way in which he had been received by the 
 wild geese that evening; and he made up his 
 mind to let them see that a human being was 
 something higher than all else created. 
 
 He shouted, again and again, to that dog, 
 to make him drop his game. " What kind of 
 a dog are you, who can steal a whole goose and 
 not feel ashamed of yourself? Drop her at 
 once! or you'll see what a beating you'll get. 
 Drop her, I say, or I'll tell your master how 
 you behave! " 
 
 When Smirre Fox saw that he had been mis- 
 taken for a scary dog, he was so amused that 
 he came near dropping the goose. Smirre 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 59 
 
 was a great plunderer who wasn't satisfied 
 with only hunting rats and pigeons in the 
 fields, but he also ventured into the farm- 
 yards to steal chickens and geese. He knew 
 that he was feared throughout the district; 
 and anything as idiotic as this he had not 
 heard since he was a baby. 
 
 The boy ran so fast that the thick beech- 
 trees appeared to be running past him — ^back- 
 ward, but he caught up with Smirre. Finally, 
 he was so close to him that he got a hold on 
 bis tail. " Now I'll take the goose from you 
 anyway," cried he, and held on as hard as 
 ever he could, but he hadn't strength enough 
 to stop Smirre. The fox dragged him along 
 until the dry foliage whirled around him. 
 
 But now it began to dawn on Smirre how 
 harmless the thing was that pursued him. 
 He stopped short, put the goose on the ground, 
 and stood on her with his forepaws, so she 
 couldn't fly away. He was just about to bite 
 off her neck — ^but then he couldn't resist the 
 desire to tease the boy a little. " Htirry off 
 and complain to the master, for now I'm 
 going to bite the goose to death! " said he. 
 
6o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Certainly the one who was surprised when 
 he saw w^hat a pointed nose, and heard what 
 a hoarse and angry voice that dog which he 
 was pursuing had, — ^was the boy! But now 
 he was so enraged because the fox had made 
 fun of him, that he never thought of being 
 frightened. He took a firmer hold on the 
 tail, braced himself against a beech trunk; 
 and just as the fox opened his jaws over the 
 goose's throat, he pulled as hard as he could. 
 Smirre was so astonished that he let himself 
 be pulled backward a couple of steps — and 
 the wild goose got away. She fluttered 
 upward feebly and heavily. One wing was 
 so badly wounded that she could barely use 
 it. In addition to this, she could not see in 
 the night darkness of the forest but was as 
 helpless as the blind. Therefore she could 
 in no way help the boy ; so she groped her way 
 through the branches and flew down to the 
 lake again. 
 
 Then Smirre made a dash for the boy. " If 
 I don't get the one, I shall certainly have the 
 other," said he; and you could tell by his 
 voice how mad he was. "Oh, don't you 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 6i 
 
 believe it! " said the boy, who was in the best 
 of spirits because he had saved the goose. He 
 held himself fast by the fox-tail, and swung 
 with it — to one side — when the fox tried to 
 catch him. 
 
 There was such a dance in that forest that 
 the dry beech-leaves fairly flew! Smirre swung 
 round and round, but the tail swung too; 
 while the boy kept a tight grip on it, so the 
 fox couldn't grab him. 
 
 The boy was so gay after his success that, 
 in the beginning, he only laughed and made 
 fun of the fox. But Smirre was persevering 
 — as old hunters generally are — and the boy 
 began to fear that he should be captured in the 
 end. 
 
 Then he caught sight of a little, young 
 beech-tree that had shot up as slender as a 
 rod, that it might soon reach the free air 
 above the canopy of branches which the old 
 beeches spread over it. 
 
 Quick as a flash, he let go of the fox-tail 
 and climbed the beech tree. Smirre Fox was 
 so excited that he continued to dance around 
 after his tail for a long time. 
 
62 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 " Don't bother with the dance any longer! " 
 said the boy. 
 
 But Smirre couldn't endure the humilia- 
 tion of his failure to get the better of such a 
 little tot, so he lay down under the tree, that 
 he might keep a close watch on him. 
 
 The boy didn't have any too good a time 
 of it where he sat, astride a frail branch. 
 The young beech did not, as yet, reach the 
 high branch-canopy, so the boy couldn't get 
 over to another tree, and he didn't dare to 
 come down again. He was so cold and numb 
 that he almost lost his hold around the 
 branch; and he was dreadfully sleepy; but 
 he didn't dare fall asleep for fear of tumbling 
 down. 
 
 My! but it was dismal to sit in that way the 
 whole night through, out in the forest! He 
 never before understood the real meaning 
 of " night." It was just as if the whole world 
 had become petrified, and never could come 
 to life again. 
 
 Then it commenced to dawn. The boy 
 was glad that everything began to look like 
 itself once more; although the chill was 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 63 
 
 even sharper than it had been during the 
 night. 
 
 Finally, when the sun got up, it wasn't 
 yellow but red. The boy thought it looked 
 as though it were angry and he wondered 
 what it was angry about. Perhaps it was 
 because the night had made it so cold and 
 gloomy on earth, while the sun was away. 
 
 The sunbeams came down in great clusters, 
 to see what the night had been up to. It 
 could be seen how everything blushed — as if 
 they all had guilty consciences. The clouds 
 in the skies; the satiny beech-limbs; the 
 little intertwined branches of the forest- 
 canopy; the hoar-frost that covered the foli- 
 age on the ground — everything grew flushed 
 and red. More and more sunbeams came 
 bursting through space, and soon the night's 
 terrors were driven away, and such a mar- 
 vellous lot of living things came forward. 
 The black woodpecker, with the red neck, 
 began to hammer with its bill on the 
 branch. The squirrel glided from his nest 
 with a nut, and sat down on a branch 
 and began to shell it. The starling came 
 
64 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 flying with a worm, and the bulfinch sang 
 in the tree-top. 
 
 Then the boy understood that the sun had 
 said to all these tiny creatures: "Wake up 
 now, and come out of your nests! I'm here! 
 Now you need be afraid of nothing." 
 
 The wild-goose call was heard from the lake, 
 as they were preparing for flight; and soon 
 all fourteen geese came flying through the 
 forest. The boy tried to call to them, but 
 they flew so high that his voice couldn't 
 reach them. They probably believed the 
 fox had eaten him up; and they didn't 
 trouble themselves to look for him. 
 
 The boy came near crying with regret; but 
 the sun stood up there — orange-coloured and 
 happy — and put courage into the whole 
 world. " It isn't worth while, Nils Holgers- 
 son, for you to be troubled about anything, as 
 long as I'm here," said the sun. 
 
 GOOSE-PLAY 
 
 Monday, March twenty-first. 
 
 Everything remained unchanged in the 
 forest — about as long as it takes a goose to 
 eat her breakfast. But just as the morning 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 65 
 
 was verging on forenoon, a goose came flying, 
 all by herself, under the thick tree-canopy. 
 She groped her way, hesitatingly, between 
 the stems and branches, and flew very 
 slowly. As soon as Smirre Fox saw her, he 
 left his place under the beech tree, and sneaked 
 up toward her. The wild goose didn't avoid 
 the fox, but flewvery close to him. Smirre made 
 a high jump for her but he missed her; and 
 the goose went on her way down to the lake. 
 
 It was not long before another goose came 
 flying. She took the same route as the first 
 one; and flew still lower and slower. She, 
 too, flew close to Smirre Fox, and he made 
 such a high spring for her, that his ears 
 brushed her feet. But she, too, got away from 
 him unhurt, and went her way toward the 
 lake, silent as a shadow. 
 
 A little while passed and then there came 
 another wild goose. She flew still slower and 
 lower; and it seemed even more difficult for 
 her to find her way between the beech- 
 branches. Smirre made a powerful spring! 
 He was within a hair's breadth of catching her; 
 but that goose also managed to save herself. 
 
66 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Just after she had disappeared, came a 
 fourth. She flew so slowly, and so badly, 
 that Smirre Fox thought he could catch 
 her without much effort, but he was afraid of 
 failure now, and concluded to let her fly past — 
 unmolested. She took the same direction 
 the others had taken; and just as she was 
 come right above Smirre, she sank down so 
 far that he was tempted to jump for her. He 
 jumped so high that he touched her with his 
 tail. But she flung herself quickly to one 
 side and saved her life. 
 
 Before Smirre got through panting, three 
 more geese come flying in a row. They flew 
 just like the rest, and Smirre made high 
 springs for them all, but he did not succeed 
 in catching any one of them. 
 
 After that came five geese; but these flew 
 better than the others. And although it 
 seemed as if they wanted to lure Smirre to 
 jump, he withstood the temptation. After 
 quite a long time came one single goose. It 
 was the thirteenth. This one was so old that 
 she was gray all over, without a dark speck 
 anywhere on her body. She didn't appear to 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 67 
 
 use one wing very well, but flew so wretchedly 
 and crookedly, that she almost touched the 
 ground. Sniirre not only made a high leap for 
 her, but he pursued her, running and jumping 
 all the way down to the lake. But not even 
 this time did he get anything for his trouble. 
 
 When the fourteenth goose came along, 
 it looked very pretty because it was white. 
 And as its great wings swayed, it glistened 
 like a light, in the dark forest. When 
 Smirre Fox saw this one, he mustered all his 
 resources and jumped half-way up to the tree- 
 canopy. But the white one flew by unhurt 
 like the rest. 
 
 Now it was quiet for a moment under the 
 beeches. It looked as if the whole wild- 
 goose-flock had travelled past. 
 
 Suddenly Smirre remembered his prisoner 
 and raised his eyes toward the young beech- 
 tree. And just as he might have expected — 
 the boy had disappeared. 
 
 But Smirre didn't have much time to think 
 about him ; for now the first goose came back 
 again from the lake and flew slowly under the 
 canopy. In spite of all his iU luck, Smirre 
 
68 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 was glad that she came back, and darted 
 after her with a high leap. But he had been 
 in too much of a hurry, and hadn't taken the 
 time to calculate the distance, and he landed 
 at one side of the goose. Then there came 
 still another goose; then a third; a fourth; 
 a fifth; and so on, until the angle closed in 
 with the old ice-gray one, and the big white 
 one. They all flew low and slow. Just as 
 they swayed in the vicinity of Smirre Fox, 
 they sank down — kind of inviting-like — for 
 him to take them. Smirre ran after them and 
 made leaps a couple of fathoms high — but 
 he couldn't manage to get hold of a single 
 one of them. 
 
 It was the most awful day that Smirre Fox 
 had ever experienced. The wild geese kept 
 on travelling over his head. They came 
 and went — came and went. Great splendid 
 geese, who had eaten themselves fat on the 
 German heaths and grain fields, swayed all 
 day through the woods, and so close to him 
 that he touched them many times; yet he 
 was not permitted to appease his hunger with 
 a single one of them. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 69 
 
 - The winter was hardly gone yet, and Smirre 
 recalled nights and days when he had been 
 forced to tramp around in idleness, with not 
 so much as a hare to hunt, when the rats 
 hid themselves under the frozen earth; and 
 when the chickens were all shut up. But all 
 the winter's hunger had not been as hard to 
 endure as this day's miscalculations. 
 
 Smirre was no young fox. He had had the 
 dogs after him many a time, and had heard 
 the bullets whizz around his ears. He had 
 lain in hiding, down in the lair, while the 
 dachshunds crept into the crevices and all 
 but found him. But all the anguish that 
 Smirre Fox had been forced to suffer under this 
 hot chase, was not to be compared with what he 
 suffered every time that he missed one of the 
 wild geese. 
 
 In the morning, when the play began, 
 Smirre Fox had looked so stunning that the 
 geese were amazed when they saw him. 
 Smirre loved display. His coat was a bril- 
 liant red; his breast white; his nose black; 
 and his tail was as bushy as a plume. But 
 when the evening of this day was come, 
 
TO ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Smirre's coat hung in loose folds. He was 
 bathed in sweat ; his eyes were without lustre ; 
 his tongue hung far out from his gaping jaws; 
 and froth oozed from his mouth. 
 
 In the afternoon Smirre was so exhausted 
 that he grew delirious. He saw nothing 
 before his eyes but flying geese. He made 
 leaps for sun-spots which he saw on the 
 ground; and for a poor little butterfly that 
 had come out of his chrysalis too soon. 
 
 The wild geese flew and flew, unceasingly. 
 All day long they continued to torment 
 Smirre. They were not moved to pity because 
 Smirre was done up, fevered, and out of 
 his head. They continued without a let-up, 
 although they understood that he hardly saw 
 them, and that he jumped after their shadows. 
 
 When Smirre Fox sank down on a pile of 
 dry leaves, weak and powerless and almost 
 ready to give up the ghost, they stopped 
 teasing him. 
 
 "Now you know, Mr. Fox, what happens 
 to the one who dares to come near Akka of 
 Kebnekaise!" they shouted in his ear; and 
 with that they left him in peace. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE WONDERFUL JOURNEY 
 OF NILS 
 
 ON THE FARM 
 
 Thursday, March twenty-fourth. 
 
 JUST at that time ei thing happened in 
 Skane which created a good deal of 
 discussion and even got into the newspapers 
 but which many beheved to be a fable, 
 because they had not been able to explain it. 
 It was about like this: A lady squirrel had 
 been captured in the hazelbrush that grew 
 on the shores of Vomb Lake, and was carried 
 to a farmhouse close by. All the folks on 
 the farm — both young and old — ^were de- 
 lighted with the pretty creature with the 
 bushy tail, the wise, inquisitive eyes, and the 
 natty little feet. The}^ intended to amuse 
 themselves all summer by watching its nimble 
 movements; its ingenious way of shelling 
 
72 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 nuts; and its droll play. They immediately 
 put in order an old squirrel cage with a little 
 green house and a wire-cylinder wheel. The 
 little house, which had both doors and windows, 
 the lady squirrel was to use as a dining room 
 and bedroom. For this reason they placed 
 therein a bed of leaves, a bowl of milk and 
 some nuts. The cylinder wheel, on the other 
 hand, she was to use as a play-house, where 
 she could run and climb and swing round. 
 
 The people believed that they had arranged 
 things very comfortably for the lady squirrel, 
 and they were astonished because she didn't 
 seem to be contented; but, instead, she sat 
 there, downcast and moody, in a corner of 
 her room. Every now and again, she would 
 let out a shrill, agonised cry. She did not 
 touch the food; and not once did she swing 
 round on the wheel. "It's probably because 
 she's frightened," said the farmer folk. "To- 
 morrow, when she feels more at home, she 
 will both eat and play." 
 
 Meanwhile, the women folk on the farm 
 were making preparations for a feast; and 
 just on that day when the lady squirrel had 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 73 
 
 been captured, they were busy with an 
 elaborate bake. They had had bad luck with 
 something: either the dough wouldn't rise, 
 or else they had been dilatory, for they were 
 obliged to work long after dark. 
 
 Naturally there was a great deal of excite- 
 ment and bustle in the kitchen, and probably 
 no one there took time to think about the 
 squirrel, or to wonder how she was getting 
 on. But there was an old grandma in the 
 house who was too aged to take a hand in the 
 baking; this she herself understood, but just 
 the same she did not relish the idea of being 
 left out of the game. She felt rather 
 downhearted ; and for this reason she did not 
 go to bed but seated herself by the sitting- 
 room window and looked out. 
 
 They had opened the kitchen door on 
 account of the heat; and through it a clear 
 ray of light streamed out on the yard ; and it 
 became so well lighted out there that the 
 old woman could see all the cracks and holes 
 in the plastering on the wall opposite. She 
 also saw the squirrel cage which hung just 
 where the light fell clearest. And she noticed 
 
14 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 how the squirrel ran from her room to the 
 wheel, and from the wheel to her room, 
 all night long, without stopping an instant. 
 She thought it was a strange sort of unrest 
 that had come over the animal; but she 
 believed, of course, that the strong light kept 
 her awake. 
 
 Between the cow-house and the stable 
 there was a broad, handsome carriage-gate; 
 this too came within the light-radius. As 
 the night wore on, the old grandma saw a 
 tiny creature, no bigger than a hand's breadth, 
 cautiously steal his way through the gate. 
 He was dressed in leather breeches and 
 wooden shoes like any other working man. 
 The old grandma knew at once that it was 
 the elf, and she was not the least bit 
 frightened. She had always heard that the 
 elf kept himself somewhere about the place, 
 although she had never seen him before; 
 and an elf, to be sure, brought good luck 
 wherever he appeared. 
 
 As soon as the elf came into the stone- 
 paved yard, he ran right up to the squirrel- 
 cage. And since it hung so high that he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 7| 
 
 could not reach it, he went over to the store- 
 house after a rod ; placed it against the cage, 
 and swung himself up — in the same way 
 that a sailor climbs a rope. When he had 
 reached the cage, he shook the door of the 
 little green house as if he wanted to open it; 
 but the old grandma didn't move; for she 
 knew that the children had put a padlock 
 on the door, as they feared that the boys 
 on the neighbouring farms would try to steal 
 the squirrel. The old woman saw that 
 when the boy could not get the door open, 
 the lady squirrel came out to the wire wheel. 
 There they held a long conference together. 
 And when the boy had listened to all that the 
 imprisoned animal had to say to him, he slid 
 down the rod to the ground, and ran out 
 through the carriage-gate. 
 
 The old woman didn't expect to see any- 
 thing more of the elf that night, neverthe- 
 less, she remained at the window. After a 
 few moments had gone by, he returned. He 
 was in such a hurry that it seemed to her as 
 though his feet hardly touched the ground; 
 and he rushed right up to the squirrel cage. 
 
76 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The old woman, with her far-sighted eyes, 
 saw him distinctly; and she also saw that he 
 carried something in his hands; but what it 
 was she couldn't imagine. The thing he 
 carried in his left hand he laid down on the 
 pavement; but that which he held in his 
 right hand he took with him to the cage. 
 He kicked so hard with his wooden shoes on 
 the little window that the glass was broken. 
 He poked in the thing which he held in his 
 hand to the lady squirrel. Then he slid 
 down again, and took up that which he had 
 laid upon the ground, and climbed up to the 
 cage with that also. The next instant he 
 ran off again with such haste that the old 
 woman could hardly follow him with her eyes. 
 But now it was the old grandma who could 
 no longer sit still in the cottage; but who, 
 very slowly, w^ent out to the back yard and 
 stationed herself in the shadow of the pump 
 to await the elf's return. And there was 
 one other who had also seen him and had 
 become curious. This was the house cat. 
 He crept along slyly and stopped close to the 
 wall, just two steps away from the stream of 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 77 
 
 light. They both stood and waited, long and 
 patiently, on that chilly March night, and 
 the old woman was just beginning to think 
 about going in again, when she heard a clatter 
 on the pavement, and saw that the little mite 
 of an elf came trotting along once more, 
 carrying a burden in each hand, as he had 
 done before. That which he bore squealed 
 and squirmed. And now a light dawned on 
 the old grandma. She understood that the 
 elf had hurried down to the hazel-grove 
 and brought back the lady squirrel's babies; 
 and that he was carrying them to her so they 
 shouldn't starve to death. 
 
 The old grandma stood very still, so as not 
 to disturb them; and it did not look as if the 
 elf had noticed her. He was just going to 
 lay one of the babies on the ground so that he 
 could swing himself up to the cage with the 
 other one — when he saw the house cat's 
 green eyes glisten close beside him. He stood 
 there, bewildered, with a young one in each 
 hand. 
 
 He turned around and looked in all direc- 
 tions; then he became aware of the old 
 
f8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 grandma's presence. Then he did not hesi- 
 tate long; but walked forward, stretched his 
 arms as high as he could reach, for her to take 
 one of the baby squirrels. 
 
 The old grandma did not wish to prove 
 herself unworthy of the confidence, so she 
 bent down and took the baby squirrel, and 
 stood there and held it until the boy had 
 swung himself up to the cage with the other 
 one. Then he came back for the one he had 
 entrusted to her care. 
 
 The next morning, when the farm folk had 
 gathered together for breakfast, it was im- 
 possible for the old woman to refrain from 
 telling them of what she had seen the night 
 before. They all laughed at her, of course, 
 and said that she had been only dreaming. 
 There were no baby squirrels this early in the 
 year. 
 
 But she was sure of her ground, and begged 
 them to take a look into the squirrel cage 
 and this they did. And there lay on the bed 
 of leaves, four tiny half-naked, half-blind 
 baby squirrels, who were at least a couple of 
 days old. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 79 
 
 When the farmer himself saw the yoiing 
 ones, he said: " Be it as it may with this; but 
 one thing is certain, we, on this farm, have 
 behaved in such a manner that we are shamed 
 before both animals and human beings." 
 And, thereupon, he took the mother squirrel 
 and all her young ones from the cage, and 
 laid them in the old grandma's lap. "Go 
 thou out to the hazel-grove with them," said 
 he, "and let them have their freedom back 
 again!" 
 
 It was this event that was so much talked 
 about, and which even got into the news- 
 papers, but which the majority would not 
 credit because they were not able to explain 
 how anything like that could have happened. 
 
 VITTSKOVLE 
 
 Saturday, March twenty-sixth. 
 
 Two days later, another strange thing hap- 
 pened. A flock of wild geese came flying one 
 morning, and lit on a meadow down in East- 
 em Skdne not very far from Vittskovle 
 manor. In the flock were thirteen wild geese, 
 of the usual gray variety, and one white 
 
8o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 goosey-gander, who carried on his back a tiny 
 lad dressed in yellow leather breeches, green 
 vest, and a white woollen toboggan hood. 
 
 They were now very near the Eastern sea; 
 and on the meadow where the geese had 
 alighted the soil was sandy, as it usually is 
 on the sea-coast. It looked as if, formerly, 
 there had been flying - sand in this vicinity 
 which had to be held down; for in several 
 directions large, planted pine-woods could 
 be seen. 
 
 When the wild geese had been feeding a 
 while, several children came along, and 
 walked on the edge of the meadow. The 
 goose who was on guard at once raised her- 
 self into the air with noisy wing-strokes, so 
 the whole flock should hear that there was 
 danger on foot. All the wild geese flew 
 upward; but the white one trotted along on 
 the ground unconcerned. When he saw the 
 others fly he raised his head and called after 
 them: "You needn't fly away from these! 
 They are only a couple of children!" 
 
 The little creature who had been riding on 
 his back, sat down upon a knoll on the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 8i 
 
 outskirts of the wood and picked a pine-cone in 
 pieces, that he might get at the seeds. The 
 children were so close to him that he did not 
 dare to run across the meadow to the white 
 one. He concealed himself under a big, dry 
 thistle-leaf, and at the same time gave a 
 warning-cry. But the white one had evi- 
 dently made up his mind not to let himself 
 be scared. He walked along on the ground 
 all the while; and not once did he look to see 
 in what direction they were going. 
 
 Meanwhile, they turned from the path, 
 walked across the field, getting nearer and 
 nearer to the goosey-gander. When he finally 
 did look up, they were right upon him. He 
 was so dumfounded, and became so confused, 
 he forgot that he could fly, and tried to get 
 out of their reach by running. But the 
 children followed, chasing him into a ditch, 
 and there they caught him. The larger of the 
 two stuck him under his arm and carried him 
 off. 
 
 When the boy, who lay under the thistle- 
 leaf saw this, he sprang up as if he wanted to 
 take the goosey-gander away from them; 
 
82 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 then he must have remembered how little 
 and powerless he was, for he threw himself 
 on the knoll and beat upon the ground with 
 his clenched fists. 
 
 The goosey-gander cried with all his might 
 for help: " Thumb ietot, come and help me! 
 Oh, Thumbietot, come and help me!" The 
 boy began to laugh in the midst of his dis- 
 tress. "Oh, yes! I'm just the right one to 
 help anybody, I am!" said he. 
 
 An3rway he got up and followed the goosey- 
 gander. "I can't help him," said he, "but 
 I shall at least find out where they are taking 
 him." 
 
 The children had a good start; but the boy 
 had no difficulty in keeping them within 
 sight until they came to a hollow where a 
 brook gushed forth. But here he was obliged 
 to run alongside of it for some little time, 
 before he could find a place narrow enough 
 for him to jump over. 
 
 When he came up from the hollow the 
 children had disappeared. He could see their 
 footprints on a narrow path which led to the 
 woods, and these he continued to follow. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 83 
 
 Soon he came to a cross-road. Here the 
 children must have separated, for there were 
 footprints in two directions. The boy looked 
 now as if all hope had fled. Then he saw a 
 little white down on a heather-knoll, and he 
 understood that the goosey-gander had 
 dropped this by the wayside to let him know 
 in which direction he had been carried; and 
 therefore he continued his search. He fol- 
 lowed the children through the entire wood. 
 The goosey-gander he did not see; but where- 
 ever he was likely to miss his way, lay a little 
 white down to put him right. 
 
 The boy continued faithfully to follow the 
 bits of down. They led him out of the wood, 
 across a couple of meadows, up on a road, and 
 finally through the entrance of a broad alUe. 
 At the end of the allee there were gables and 
 towers of red tiling, decorated with bright 
 borders and other ornamentations that glit- 
 tered and shone. When the boy saw that 
 this was some great manor, he thought he 
 knew what had become of the goosey-gander. 
 "No doubt the children have carried the 
 goosey-gander to the manor and sold him 
 
84 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 there. By this time he's probably butch- 
 ered," he said to himself. But he did not 
 seem to be satisfied with anything less than 
 proof positive, and with renewed courage 
 he ran forward. He met no one in the allee — 
 and that was well, for such as he are generally 
 afraid of being seen by human beings. 
 
 The mansion which he came to was a 
 splendid, old-time structure with four great 
 wings which inclosed a courtyard. On the 
 east wing, there was a high arch leading into 
 the courtyard. This far the boy ran without 
 hesitation, but when he got there he stopped. 
 He dared not venture farther, but stood still 
 and pondered what he should do now. 
 
 There he stood, with his finger on his nose, 
 thinking, when he heard footsteps behind 
 him ; and as he turned around he saw a whole 
 company march up the allee. In haste he 
 stole behind a water-barrel which stood near 
 the arch, and hid himself. 
 
 Those who came up were some twenty 
 young men from a folk-high-school, out on a 
 pedestrian tour. They were accompanied 
 by one of the instructors. When they were 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 85 
 
 come as far as the arch, the teacher requested 
 them to wait there a moment, while he went 
 in and asked if they might see the old castle 
 of Vittskovle. 
 
 The newcomers were warni and tired; as 
 if they had been on a long tramp. One of 
 them was so thirsty that he went over to the 
 water-barrel and stooped down to drink. He 
 had a tin box such as botanists use hang- 
 ing about his neck. He evidently thought 
 that this was in his way, for he threw it down 
 on the ground. With this, the lid flew open, 
 and one could see that there were a few spring 
 flowers in it. 
 
 The botanist's box dropped just in front of 
 the boy; and he must have thought that here 
 was his opportunity to get into the castle and 
 find out what had become of the goosey- 
 gander. He smuggled himself quickly into 
 the box and concealed himself as well as he 
 could under the anemones and colts-foot. 
 
 He was hardly hidden before the young man 
 picked the box up, hung it around his neck, 
 and slammed down the cover. 
 
 Then the teacher came back, and said 
 
86 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 that they had been given permission to enter 
 the castle. At first he conducted them no 
 farther than the courtyard. There he stopped 
 and began to talk to them about this ancient 
 structure. 
 
 He called their attention to the first human 
 beings who had inhabited this country, and 
 who had been obliged to live in mountain- 
 grottoes and earth-caves; in the dens of wild 
 beasts, and in the brushwood ; and that a very 
 long period had elapsed before they learned 
 to build themselves huts from the trunks of 
 trees. And afterward how long had they 
 not been forced to labour and struggle, before 
 they had advanced from the log cabin, with 
 its single room, to the building of a castle 
 with a hundred rooms — ^like Vittskovle! 
 
 It was about three hundred and fifty years 
 ago that the rich and powerful built such 
 castles for themselves, he said. It was very 
 evident that Vittskovle had been erected at 
 a time when wars and robbers made it unsafe 
 in Sk^ne. All around the castle was a deep 
 trench filled with water ; and across this there 
 had been a bridge in bygone days that could 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 87 
 
 be noisted up. Over the gate- arch there is, 
 even to this day, a watch-tower; and all 
 along the sides of the castle ran sentry- 
 galleries, and in the corners stood towers with 
 walls a metre thick. Yet the castle had not 
 been erected in the most savage war times; 
 for Jens Brahe, who built it, had also studied 
 to make of it a beautiful and decorative 
 ornament. If they could see the big, solid 
 stone structure at Glimminge, which had been 
 built only a generation earlier, they would 
 readily see that Jens Holgersen Ulf stand, 
 the builder, hadn't figured upon anything 
 else — only to build big and strong and secure, 
 without bestowing a thought upon making 
 it beautiful and comfortable. If they visited 
 such castles as Marsvinsholm, Snogeholm and 
 Ovid's Cloister — which were erected a hun- 
 dred years or so later — they would find that 
 the times had become less warlike. The 
 gentlemen who built these places, had not 
 furnished them with fortifications; but had 
 only taken pains to provide themselves with 
 great, splendid dwelling houses. 
 
 The teacher talked at length — ^and in 
 
88 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 detail; and the boy who lay shut up in the 
 box was pretty impatient; but he must have 
 lain very still, for the owner of the box 
 hadn't the least suspicion that he was carrying 
 him along. 
 
 Finally the company went into the castle. 
 But if the boy had hoped for chance to crawl 
 out of that box, he was deceived; for the 
 student carried it upon him all the while, 
 and the boy was obliged to accompany him 
 through all the rooms. It was a tedious 
 tramp. The teacher stopped every other 
 minute to explain and instruct. 
 
 In one room he found an old fireplace, and 
 before this he stopped to talk about the 
 different kinds of fireplaces that had been 
 used in the course of time. The first indoors 
 fireplace had been a big, flat stone on the 
 floor of the hut, with an opening in the roof 
 which let in both wind and rain. The next 
 had been a big stone hearth with no opening 
 in the roof. This must have made the hut 
 very warm, but it also filled it with soot 
 and smoke. When Vittskovle was built, 
 the people had advanced far enough to open 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 89 
 
 the fireplace, which, at that time, had a wide 
 chimney for the smoke; but it also took 
 most of the warmth up in the air with it. 
 
 If that boy had ever in his life been cross 
 and impatient, he was given a good lesson 
 in patience that day. It must have been a 
 whole hour now that he had lain perfectly 
 still. 
 
 In the next room they came to, the teacher 
 stopped before an old-time bed with its high 
 canopy and rich curtains. Immediately he 
 began to talk about the beds and bed places 
 of olden days. 
 
 The teacher didn't hurry himself; but then 
 he did not know, of course, that a poor little 
 creature lay shut up in a botanist's box, and 
 only waited for him to get through. When 
 they came to a room with gilded leather hang- 
 ings, he talked to them about how the people 
 had dressed their walls and ceilings ever 
 since the beginning of time. And when he 
 came to an old family portrait, he told them 
 all about the different changes in dress. And 
 in ^ the banquet halls he described ancient 
 customs of celebrating weddings and funerals. 
 
go ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Thereupon, the teacher talked a little 
 about the excellent men and women who had 
 lived in the castle; about the old Brahes, 
 and the old Bamekows; of Christian Barne- 
 kow, who had given his horse to the king to 
 help him escape; of Margareta Ascheberg 
 who had been married to Kjell Bamekow 
 and who, when a widow, had managed the 
 estates and the whole district for fifty-three 
 years; of banker Hageman, a farmer's son 
 from Vittskovle, who had grown so rich that 
 he had bought the entire estate; about the 
 Stjernsvards, who had given the people of 
 Skane better ploughs, which enabled them to 
 discard the ridiculous old wooden ploughs 
 that three oxen were hardly able to drag. 
 During all this, the boy lay still. If he had 
 ever been mischievous and shut the cellar 
 door on his father or mother, he understood 
 now how they had felt; for it was hoiirs and 
 hours before that teacher got through. 
 
 At last the teacher went out into the court- 
 yard again. And there he discoursed upon 
 the tireless labour of mankind to procure for 
 themselves tools and weapons, clothes and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 91 
 
 houses and ornaments. He said that such 
 an old castle as Vittskovle was a mile-post on 
 time's highway. Here one could see how far 
 the people had advanced three hundred and 
 fifty years ago; and one could judge for one- 
 self whether things had gone forward or back- 
 ward since their time. 
 
 But this dissertation the boy escaped hear- 
 ing; for the student who carried him was 
 thirsty again, and stole into the kitchen to 
 ask for a drink of water. When the boy 
 was carried into the kitchen, he should have 
 tried to look around for the goosey-gander. 
 He had begun to move; and as he did this, he 
 happened to press too hard against the lid — 
 and it flew open. As botanists' box-lids are 
 always flying open, the student thought no 
 more about the matter but pressed it down 
 again. Then the cook asked him if he had 
 a snake in the box. 
 
 " No, I have only a few plants," the student 
 replied. " It was certainly something that 
 moved there," insisted the cook. The student 
 threw back the lid to show her that she was 
 mistaken. "See for vourself — if " 
 
92 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 But he got no further, for now the boy 
 dared not stay in the box any longer, but 
 with one bound he stood on the floor, and 
 out he rushed. The maids hardly had time 
 to see what it was that ran, but they hurried 
 after it, nevertheless. 
 
 The teacher still stood and talked when he 
 was interrupted by shrill cries. "Catch him, 
 catch him!" shrieked those who had come 
 from the kitchen; and all the young men 
 raced after the boy, who glided away faster 
 than a rat. They tried to intercept him at 
 the gate, but it was not so easy to get a hold 
 on such a little creature, so, luckily, he got 
 out in the open. 
 
 The boy did not dare to run down toward 
 the open allee, but turned in another direction. 
 He rushed through the garden into the back 
 yard. All the while the people raced after 
 him, shrieking and laughing. The poor little 
 thing ran as hard as ever he could to get out 
 of their way ; but still it looked as though the 
 people would catch up with him. 
 
 As he rushed past a labourer's cottage, he 
 heard a goose cackle, and saw a white down 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 93 
 
 lying on the doorstep. There, at last, was 
 the goosey-gander! He had been on the 
 wrong track before. He thought no more of 
 housemaids and men, who were hounding 
 him, but climbed up the steps — and into the 
 hallway. Farther he couldn't come, for the 
 door was locked. He heard how the goosey- 
 gander cried and moaned inside, but he 
 couldn't get the door open. The hunters that 
 were pursuing him came nearer and nearer, 
 and, in the room, the goosey-gander cried more 
 and more pitifully. In this direst of needs 
 the boy finally plucked up courage and 
 pounded on the door with all his might. 
 
 A child opened it, and the boy looked into 
 the room. In the middle of the floor sat a 
 woman who held the goosey-gander tight — 
 to clip his quill-feathers. It was her children 
 who had found him, and she didn't want to 
 do him any harm. It was her intention to 
 let him in among her own geese, had she 
 only succeeded in clipping his wings so he 
 couldn't fly away. But a worse fate could 
 hardly have happened to the goosey-gander, 
 and he shrieked and moaned with all his might. 
 
94 ADVENTURES OF /[NILS 
 
 < 
 
 t " • And a lucky thing it was that the woman 
 
 i . hadn't started the chpping sooner. Now 
 
 •* ' only two quills had fallen-sunder the shears 
 
 when the door was opened — and the boy 
 stood on the door-sill. But a creature like 
 that the woman had never seen before. She 
 couldn't believe anything else but that it 
 was Goa-nisse himself; and in her terror she 
 dropped the shears, clasped her hands — and 
 forgot to hold on to the goosey-gander. 
 
 As soon as he felt himself freed, he ran 
 toward the door. He didn't give himself time 
 to stop; but, as he ran past him, he grabbed 
 the boy by the neck-band and carried him 
 along with him. On the stoop he spread his 
 wings and flew up in the air ; at the same time 
 he made a graceful sweep with his neck and 
 seated the boy on his smooth, downy back. 
 
 And off they flew — while all Vittskovle 
 stood and stared after them. 
 
 IN OVID CLOISTER PARK 
 
 All that day, when the wild geese played 
 with the fox, the boy lay and slept in a 
 deserted squirrel nest. When he awoke, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 95 
 
 along toward evening, he felt very uneasy. 
 "Well, now I shall soon be sent home again! 
 Then I'll have to exhibit myself before father 
 and mother," thought he. But when he 
 looked up and saw the wild geese, who lay and 
 bathed in Vomb Lake — not one of them said 
 a word about his going. " They probably think 
 the white one is too tired to travel home with 
 me to-night," thought the boy. 
 
 The next morning the geese were awake 
 at daybreak, long before sunrise. Now the 
 boy felt sure that he'd have to go home; but, 
 curiously enough, both he and the white 
 goosey-gander were permitted to follow the 
 wild ones on their morning tour. The boy 
 couldn't comprehend the reason for the delay, 
 but he figured it out in this way, that the 
 wild geese did not care to send the goosey- 
 gander on such a long journey until they had 
 both eaten their fill. Come what might, he 
 was only glad for every moment that should 
 pass before he must face his parents. 
 
 The wild geese travelled over Ovid's Cloister 
 estate which was situated in a beautiful 
 park east of the lake, and looked very 
 
96 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 imposing with its great castle ; its well planned 
 court surrounded by low walls and pavilions; 
 its fine old-time garden with covered arbours, 
 streams and fountains; its wonderful trees, 
 trimmed bushes, and its evenly mown lawns 
 with their beds of beautiful spring flowers. 
 
 When the wild geese rode over the estate 
 in the early morning hour there was no human 
 being about. When they had carefully 
 assured themselves of this, they lowered them- 
 selves toward the dog kennel, and shouted: 
 " What kind of a little hut is this? What kind 
 of a little hut is this?" 
 
 Instantly the dog came out of his kennel — 
 furiously angry — and barked at the air. 
 
 "Do you call this a hut, you tramps! Can't 
 you see that this is a great stone castle? Can't 
 you see what fine terraces, and what a lot of 
 pretty walls and windows and great doors it 
 has, bow, wow, wow, wow? Don't you see 
 the grounds, can't you see the garden, can't 
 you see the conservatories, can't you see the 
 marble statues? You call this a hut, do you? 
 Do huts have parks with beech-groves and 
 hazel-bushes and trailing vines and oak trees 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 97 
 
 and firs and hunting-grounds filled with game, 
 wow, wow, wow? Do you call this a hut? 
 Have you seen huts with so many outhouses 
 around them that they look like a whole 
 village? You must know of a lot of huts that 
 have their own church and their own par- 
 sonage ; and that rule over the district and the 
 peasant homes and the neighbouring farms and 
 barracks, wow, wow, wow? Do you call this 
 a hut? To this hut belong the richest posses- 
 sions in Skane, you beggars! You can't see 
 a bit of land, from where you hang in the 
 clouds, that does not obey commands from 
 this hut, wow, wow, wow!" 
 
 All this the dog managed to cry out in one 
 breath; and the wild geese flew back and 
 forth over the estate, and listened to him 
 until he was winded. But then they cried: 
 "What are you so mad about? We didn't 
 ask about the castle; we only wanted to 
 know about your kennel, stupid!" 
 
 When the boy heard this joke, he laughed; 
 then a thought stole in on him which at once 
 made him serious. "Think how many of 
 these amusing things you would hear, if you 
 
98 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 could go with the wild geese through the 
 whole country, all the way up to Lappland!" 
 said he to himself. " And just now, when you 
 are in such a bad fix, a trip like that would be 
 the best thing you could hit upon." 
 
 The wild geese travelled to one of the wide 
 fields, east of the estate, to eat grass-roots, 
 and they kept this up for hours. In the 
 meantime, the boy wandered in the great 
 park which bordered the field. He hunted up 
 a beech-nut grove and began to look up at the 
 bushes, to see if a nut from last fall still hung 
 there. But again and again the thought of 
 the trip came over him, as he walked in the 
 park. He pictured to himself what a fine 
 time he would have if he went with the wild 
 geese. To freeze and starve: that he believed 
 he should have to do often enough; but as a 
 recompense, he would escape both work and 
 study. 
 
 As he walked there, the old gray leader- 
 goose came up to him, and asked if he had 
 found anything eatable. No, that he hadn't, 
 he replied, and then she tried to help him. 
 She couldn't find any nuts either, but she 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 99 
 
 discovered a couple of dried blossoms that 
 hung on a brier-bush. These the boy ate with 
 a good relish. But he wondered what mother 
 would say, if she knew that he had lived on 
 raw fish and old winter-dried blossoms. 
 
 When the wild geese had finally eaten them- 
 selves full, they bore off toward the lake 
 again, where they amused themselves with 
 games until almost dinner time. 
 
 The wild geese challenged the white goosey- 
 gander to take part in all kinds of sports. 
 They had swimming races, running races, and 
 flying races with him. The big tame one did 
 his level best to hold his own, but the clever 
 wild geese beat him every time. All the while, 
 the boy sat on the goosey-gander's back and 
 encouraged him, and had as much fun as the 
 rest. They laughed and screamed and 
 cackled, and it was remarkable that the 
 people on the estate didn't hear them. 
 
 When the wild geese were tired of play, they 
 flew out on the ice and rested for a couple of 
 hours. The afternoon they spent in pretty 
 much the same way as the forenoon. First, 
 a couple of hours feeding, then bathing and 
 
loo ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 play in the water near the ice-edge until sun- 
 set, when they immediately arranged them- 
 selves for sleep. 
 
 "This is just the life that suits me," thought 
 the boy when he crept in under the gander's 
 wing. "But to-morrow, I suppose I'll be 
 sent home." 
 
 Before he fell asleep, he lay and thotrght 
 that if he might go along with the wild geese, 
 he would escape all scoldings because he was 
 lazy. Then he could cut loose every day, and 
 his only worry would be to get something to 
 eat. But he needed so little nowadays; and 
 there would always be a way to get that. 
 
 So he pictured the whole scene to himself; 
 what he should see, and all the adventures 
 that he would be in on. Yes, it would be 
 something different from the wear and tear at 
 home. "If I could only go with the wild 
 geese on their travels, I shouldn't grieve be- 
 cause I'd been transformed," thought the boy. 
 
 He wasn't afraid of anything — except being 
 (^ent home; but not even on Wednesday did 
 the geese say anything to him about going. 
 That day passed in the same way as Tuesday ; 
 
ADVENTURES OF NIL8' ibi 
 
 and the boy grew more and more contented 
 with the outdoor Hfe. He thought that he 
 had the lovely Ovid Cloister park — ^which was 
 as large as a forest — all to himself; and he 
 wasn't anxious to go back to the stuffy cabin 
 and the little patch of ground there at home. 
 
 On Wednesday he believed that the wild 
 geese thought of keeping him with them; but 
 on Thursday he lost hope again, 
 
 Thursday began just like the other days; 
 the geese fed on the broad meadows, and the 
 boy hunted for food in the park. After a 
 while Akka came to him, and asked if he had 
 found anything to eat. No, he had not; and 
 then she looked up a dry caraway herb, that 
 had kept all its tiny seeds intact. 
 
 When the boy had eaten, Akka said that 
 she thought he ran around in the park alto- / 
 gether too recklessly. She wondered if he 
 knew how many enemies he had to guard 
 against — he, who was so little. No, he didn't \ 
 know anything at all about that. Then Akka 
 began to enumerate them for him. 
 
 Whenever he walked in the park, she said, 
 that he must look out for the fox and the 
 
I02 - ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 marten; when he came to the shores of the 
 lake, he must think of the otters ; as he sat on 
 the stone wall, he must not forget the 
 weasels, who could creep through the small- 
 est holes; and if he wished to lie down and 
 sleep on a pile of leaves, he must first find 
 out if the adders were not sleeping their 
 winter sleep in the same pile. As soon as he 
 came out in the open fields, he should keep an 
 eye out for hawks and buzzards; for eagles 
 and falcons that soared in the air. In the 
 bramble-bush he could be captured by the 
 sparrow-hawk ; magpies and crows were found 
 everywhere and in these he mustn't place 
 any too much confidence. As soon as it was 
 dusk, he must keep his ears open and listen 
 for the big owls, who flew along with such 
 soundless wing-strokes that they could come 
 right up to him before he was aware of their 
 presence. 
 
 When the boy heard that there were so 
 many who were after his life, he thought that 
 it would be simply impossible for him to escape. 
 He was not particularly afraid to die, but he 
 didn't like the idea of being eaten up, so he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 103 
 
 asked Akka what he should do to protect 
 himself from the carnivorous animals. 
 
 Akka answered at once that the boy should 
 try to get on good terms with all the small 
 animals in the woods and fields: with the 
 squirrel-folk, and the hare-family; with bul- 
 finches and titmice and woodpeckers and 
 larks. If he made friends with them, they 
 could warn him against dangers, find hiding 
 places for him, and protect him. 
 
 But, later in the day, when the boy tried 
 to profit by this counsel, and turned to Sirle 
 Squirrel to ask for his protection, it was evi- 
 dent that he did not care to help him. "You 
 surely can't expect an3rthing from me, or the 
 rest of the small animals ! ' ' said Sirle. ** Don't 
 you think we know that you are Nils the goose 
 boy, who tore down the swallow's nest last 
 year, crushed the starling's eggs, threw baby 
 crows in the marl-ditch, caught thrushes in 
 snares, and put squirrels in cages? You just 
 help yourself as well as you can ; and you may 
 be thankful that we do not form a league 
 against you, and drive you back to vour own 
 kind!" 
 
I04 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 This was just the sort of answer the boy 
 would not have let go unpunished, in the days 
 when he was Nils the goose boy. But now he 
 was only fearful lest the wild geese, too, had 
 found out how wicked he could be. He had 
 been so anxious for fear he wouldn't be permit- 
 ted to stay with the wild geese, that he hadn't 
 dared to get into the least little mischief since 
 he joined their company. It was true that 
 he didn't have the power to do much harm 
 now, but, little as he was, he could have 
 destroyed many birds' nests, and crushed many 
 eggs, if he'd been a mind to. Now he had 
 been good. He hadn't pulled a feather from 
 a goose- wing, or given anyone a rude answer; 
 and every morning when he called upon Akka 
 he had always removed his cap and bowed. 
 
 All day Thursday he thought it was surely 
 on account of his wickedness that the wild 
 geese did not care to take him along up to 
 Lappland. And in the evening, when he 
 heard that Sirle Squirrel's wife had been 
 stolen, and her children were starving to death, 
 he made up his mind to help them. And we 
 have already been told how well he succeeded. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 loS 
 
 When the boy came into the park on 1^'riday, 
 he heard the bulfinches sing in every bush, 
 of how Sirle Squirrel's wife had been carried 
 away from her children by cruel robbers, and 
 how Nils, the goose boy, had risked his life 
 among human beings, and taken the little 
 squirrel children to her. 
 
 **And who is so honoured in Ovid Cloister 
 park now, as Thumbietot!" sang the bulfinch; 
 "he, whom all feared when he was Nils the 
 goose boy? Sirle Squirrel will give him nuts; 
 the poor hares are going to play with him; 
 the small wild animals will carry him on their 
 backs, and fly away with him when Smirre 
 Fox approaches. The titmice are going to 
 warn him against the hawk, and the finches 
 and larks will sing of his valour." 
 
 The boy was absolutely certain that both 
 Akka and the wild geese had heard all this. 
 But still Friday passed and not one word did 
 they say about his remaining with them. 
 
 Until Saturday the wild geese fed in the fields 
 around Ovid, undisturbed by Smirre Fox. 
 
 But on Saturday morning, when they came 
 out in the meadows, he lay in wait for them, 
 
io6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 and chased them from one field to another, 
 and they were not allowed to eat in peace. 
 When Akka understood that he didn't intend 
 to leave them in peace, she came to a decision 
 quickly, raised herself into the air and flew 
 with her flock several miles away, over Pars' 
 plains and Linderodsosen's hills. They did 
 not stop before they had arrived in the dis- 
 trict of Vittskovle. 
 
 But at Vittskovle the goosey-gander was 
 stolen, and how it happened has already 
 been related. If the boy hadn't used all his 
 powers to help him, he would never again 
 have been found. 
 
 On Saturday evening, as the boy came 
 back to Vomb Lake with the goosey-gander, 
 he thought that he had done a good day's 
 work ; and he speculated a good deal on what 
 Akka and the wild geese would say to him. 
 The wild geese were not at all sparing in their 
 praises, but they did not say the word he was 
 longing to hear. 
 
 Then Sunday came again. A whole week 
 had gone by since the boy had been 
 bewitched, and he was still just as little. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 107 
 
 But he didn't appear to be giving himself 
 any extra worry on account of this thing. 
 On Sunday afternoon he sat huddled 
 together in a big, fluffy, osier-bush, down by 
 the lake, and blew on a reed-pipe. All 
 around him there sat as many finches and 
 bulfinches and starlings as the bush could 
 well hold — ^who sang songs which he tried to 
 teach himself to play. But the boy was not 
 at home in this art. He blew so false that the 
 feathers raised themselves on the little music- 
 masters and they shrieked and fluttered in 
 their despair. The boy laughed so heartily 
 at their excitement, that he dropped his pipe. 
 
 He began once again, and that went just 
 as badly. Then all the little birds wailed: 
 "To-day you play worse than usual, Thumb- 
 ietot ? " You don't take one true note ! Where 
 are your thoughts, Thumbietot?" 
 
 "They are elsewhere," said the boy — and 
 this was true. He sat there and pondered 
 how long he would be allowed to remain with 
 the wild geese; or if he should be sent home 
 perhaps to-day. 
 
 Finally the boy threw down his pipe and 
 
ic8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 jumped from the bush. He had seen Akka, 
 and all the wild geese, coming toward him 
 in a long row. They walked so uncommonly 
 slow and dignified-like, that the boy imme- 
 diately understood that now he should learn 
 what they intended to do with him. 
 
 When they stopped at last, Akka said: 
 ** You may well have reason to wonder at me, 
 Thumbietot, who have not said thanks to 
 you for saving me from Smirre Fox. But I 
 am one of those who would rather give thanks 
 by deeds than words. I have sent word to 
 the elf that bewitched you. At first he 
 didn't want to hear anything about curing 
 you; but I have sent message upon message 
 to him, and told him how well you have con- 
 ducted yourself among us. He greets you, 
 and says, that as soon as you turn back home, 
 you shall be human again." 
 
 But think of it ! Just as happy as the boy 
 had been when the wild geese began to speak, 
 just that miserable was he when they had 
 finished. He didn't say a word, but turned 
 away and wept. 
 
 " What in all the world is this? " said Akka. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS lof 
 
 "It looks as though you had expected more 
 of me than I have offered you." 
 
 But the boy was thinking of the care-free 
 days and the banter; and of adventure and 
 freedom and travel, high above the earth, 
 that he should miss, and he actually bawled 
 with grief. "I don't want to be human," 
 said he. "I want to go with you to Lappland. " 
 " I'll tell you something," said Akka. "That 
 elf is very touchy, and I'm afraid that if you 
 do not accept his offer now, it will be difficult 
 for you to coax him another time." 
 
 It was a strange thing about that boy — ^as 
 long as he had lived, he had never cared for 
 anyone. He had not cared for his father or 
 mother; not for the school teacher; not for 
 his schoolmates ; nor for the boys in the neigh- 
 bourhood. All that they had wished to have 
 him do — ^whether it had been work or play — 
 he had only thought tiresome. Therefore 
 there was no one whom he missed or longed for. 
 
 The only ones that he had come anywhere 
 near agreeing with, were Osa, the goose girl, 
 and little Mats — a couple of children who had 
 tended geese in the fields, like himself. But 
 
no 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 he didn't care particularly for them either. 
 No, far from it ! "I don't want to be human," 
 bawled the boy. "I want to go with you to 
 Lappland. That's why I've been good for a 
 whole week!" "I don't want to forbid you 
 to come along with us as far as you like," 
 said Akka, "but think first if you wouldn't 
 rather go home again. A day may come 
 when you will regret this." 
 
 "No," said the boy, "that's nothing to 
 regret. I have never been as well off as here 
 with you." 
 
 "Well then, let it be as you wish," said 
 Akka. 
 
 "Thanks!" said the boy, and he felt so 
 happy that he had to cry for very joy — ^just 
 as he had cried before from sorrow. 
 
IV 
 
 GLIMMINGE CASTLE 
 
 BLACK RATS AND GRAY RATS 
 
 IN SOUTH-EASTERN SKANE— not far 
 from the sea there is an old castle called 
 Glimminge. It is a big and substantial stone 
 house; and can be seen over the plain for 
 miles around. It is not more than four 
 stories high; but it is so ponderous that an 
 ordinary farmhouse, which stands on the 
 same estate, looks like a little children's 
 playhouse in comparison. 
 
 The big stone house has such thick ceilings 
 and partitions that there is scarcely room in 
 its interior for anything but the thick walls. 
 The stairs are narrow, the entrances small; 
 and the rooms few. That the walls might 
 retain their strength, there are only the fewest 
 number of windows in the upper stories, 
 and none at all are found in the lower ones. 
 
 Ill 
 
112 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 In the old war times, the people were just as 
 glad that they cotild shut themselves up in a 
 strong and massive house like this, as one is 
 nowadays to be able to creep into furs in a 
 snapping cold winter. But when the time 
 of peace came, they did not care to live in the 
 dark and cold stone halls of the old castle 
 any longer. They have long since deserted 
 the big Glimminge castle, and moved into 
 dwelling places where the light and air can 
 penetrate. 
 
 At the time when Nils Holgersson wan- 
 dered around with the wild geese, there were 
 no human beings in Glimminge castle; but 
 for all that, it was not without inhabitants. 
 Every summer there lived a stork couple in 
 a large nest on the roof. In a nest in the 
 attic lived a pair of gray owls; in the secret 
 passages hung bats; in the kitchen oven 
 lived an old cat ; and down in the cellar there 
 were hundreds of old black rats. 
 
 Rats are not held in very high esteem by 
 other animals ; but the black rats at Glimminge 
 castle were an exception. They were always 
 mentioned with respect, because they had 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS ii^ 
 
 shown great valour in battle with their ene- 
 mies; and much endurance under the great 
 misfortunes which had befallen their kind. 
 They nominally belonged to a rat-folk who, 
 at one time, had been very numerous and 
 powerful, but who were now dying out. 
 During a long period of time, the black rats 
 owned Skane and the whole country. They 
 were found in every cellar; in every attic; 
 in larders and cowhouses and barns; in 
 breweries and flour-mills; in churches and 
 castles; in every man-constructed building. 
 But now they were banished from all this — 
 and were almost exterminated. Only in one 
 and another old and secluded place could 
 one run across a few of them; and nowhere 
 were they to be found in such large numbers 
 as in Glimminge castle. 
 
 When an animal folk die out, it is generally 
 the human kind who are the cause of it; 
 but that was not the case in this instance. 
 The people had certainly struggled with the 
 black rats, but they had not been able to do 
 them any harm worth mentioning. Those 
 who had conquered them were an animal 
 
114 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 folk of their o^vn kind, who were called gray 
 rats. 
 
 These gray rats had not lived in the land 
 since time immemorial, like the black rats, 
 but descended from a couple of poor im- 
 migrants who landed in Malmo from a Libyan 
 sloop about a hundred years ago. They 
 were homeless, starved-out wretches who 
 stuck close to the harbour, swam among the 
 piles under the bridges, and ate refuse that 
 was thrown in the water. They never ven- 
 tured into the city, which was owned by 
 the black rats. 
 
 But gradually, as the gray rats increased 
 in number they grew bolder. At first they 
 moved over to some waste places and con- 
 demned old houses which the black rats had 
 abandoned. They hunted their food in gut- 
 ters and dirt heaps, and made the mosi of all 
 the rubbish that the black rats did not deign 
 to take care of. They were hardy, contented 
 and fearless ; and within a few years they had 
 become so powerful that they undertook to 
 drive the black rats out of Malmo. They 
 took from them attics, cellars and store- 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 115 
 
 rooms, starved them out or bit them to death 
 for they were not at all afraid of fighting. 
 
 When Malmo was captured, they marched 
 forward in small and large companies 
 to conquer the whole country. It is almost 
 impossible to comprehend why the black 
 rats did not muster themselves into a 
 great, united war-expedition to exterminate 
 the gray rats, while these were still few in 
 numbers. But the black rats were so cer- 
 tain of their power that they could not believe 
 it possible for them to lose it. They sat still 
 on their estates, and in the meantime the 
 gray rats took from them farm after farm, 
 city after city. They were starved out, 
 forced out, rooted out. In Skane they had 
 not been able to maintain themselves in a 
 single place except Glimminge castle. 
 
 The old castle had such secure walls and 
 such few rat passages led through these, that 
 the black rats had managed to protect them- 
 selves, and to prevent the gray rats from 
 crowding in. Night after night, year after 
 year, the struggle had continued between the 
 aggressors and the defenders; but the black 
 
n6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 rats had kept faithful watch, and had fought 
 with the utmost contempt for death, and, 
 thanks to the fine old house, they had always 
 conquered. 
 
 It will have to be acknowledged that as 
 long as the black rats were in power they 
 were as much shunned by all other living 
 creatures as the gray rats are in our day — 
 and for just cause; they had thrown them- 
 selves upon poor, fettered prisoners, and 
 tortured them; they had ravished the dead; 
 they had stolen the last turnip from the cellars 
 of the poor; bitten off the feet of sleeping 
 geese; robbed eggs and chicks from the hens; 
 and committed a thousand depredations. 
 But since they had come to grief, all this 
 seemed to have been forgotten; and no one 
 could help but marvel at the last of a race that 
 had held out so long against its enemies. 
 
 The gray rats that lived in the courtyard at 
 Glimmiinge and in the vicinity, kept up a 
 continuous warfare and tried to watch out 
 for every possible chance to capture the castle. 
 One would fancy that they should have 
 allowed the little company of black rats to 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 117 
 
 occupy Glimminge castle in peace, since they 
 themselves had acquired all the rest of the 
 country; but you may be sure this thought 
 never occurred to them. They were wont 
 to say that it was a point of honour with them 
 to conquer the black rats at some time or 
 other. But those who were acquainted with 
 the gray rats must have known that it was 
 because the human kind used Glimminge 
 castle as a grain storehouse that the gray ones 
 could not rest before they had taken possession 
 of the place. 
 
 THE STORK 
 
 Monday, March twenty-eighth. 
 
 Early one morning the wild geese who stood 
 and slept on the ice in Vomb Lake were awa- 
 kened by long calls from the air. "Trirop, 
 Trirop!" it sounded, "Trianut, the crane, 
 sends greetings to Akka, the wild goose, and 
 her flock. To-morrow will be the day of the 
 great crane dance on Kullaberg." 
 . Akka raised her head and answered at 
 once: "Greetings and thanks! Greetings and 
 thanks!" 
 
1x8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 With that, the cranes flew farther ; ana the 
 wild geese heard them for a long while — 
 where they travelled and called out over every 
 field, and every wooded hill: "Trianut sends 
 greetings. To-morrow will be the day of the 
 great crane dance on Kullaberg." 
 
 The wild geese were very happy over this 
 invitation. "You're in luck," they said to 
 the white goosey-gander, "to be permitted to 
 attend the great crane dance on Kullaberg!" 
 "Is it then so remarkable to see cranes 
 dance i*" asked the goosey-gander. " It is 
 something that you have never even dreamed 
 about!" replied the wild geese. 
 
 " Now we must think out what we shall do 
 with Thumb ietot to-morrow — ^so that no harm 
 can come to him, while we run over to Kulla- 
 berg," said Akka. "Thumb ietot shall not 
 be left alone!" said the goosey-gander. "If 
 the cranes won't let him see their dance, then 
 I'll stay with him." 
 
 " No human being has ever been permitted 
 to attend the Animals' Congress, at Kullaberg, " 
 said Akka, "and I shouldn't dare to take 
 Thumbietot along. But we'll discuss this 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 119 
 
 more at length later in the day. Now we 
 must first and foremost think about getting 
 something to eat." 
 
 With that Akka gave the signal to adjourn. 
 On this day she also sought her feeding-place 
 a good distance away, on Smirre Fox's account, 
 and she didn't alight until she came to the 
 swampy meadows a little south of Glim- 
 minge castle. 
 
 All that day the boy sat on the shores of a 
 little pond, and blew on reed-pipes. He was 
 out of sorts because he shouldn't see the crane 
 dance, and he just couldn't say a word, either 
 to the goosey-gander, or to any of the others. 
 
 It was pretty hard that Akka should still 
 doubt him. When a boy had given up being 
 human, just to travel around with a few wild 
 geese, they surely ought to understand that 
 he had no desire to betray them. Then, too, 
 they ought to understand that when he had 
 renounced so much to follow them, it was 
 their duty to let him see all the wonders they 
 could show him. 
 
 "I'll have to speak my mind right out to 
 them," thought he. But hour after hour 
 
I20 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 passed, still he hadn't come round to it. It 
 may sound remarkable — but the boy had 
 actually acquired a kind of respect for the 
 old leader-goose. He felt that it was not easy 
 to pit his will against hers. 
 
 On one side of the swampy meadow, where 
 the wild geese fed, there was a broad stone 
 hedge. Toward evening when the boy finally 
 raised his head, to speak to Akka, his glance 
 happened to rest on this hedge. He uttered a 
 little cry of surprise, and all the wild geese 
 instantly looked up, and stared in the same 
 direction. At first, both the geese and the 
 boy thought that all the round; gray stones 
 in the hedge had acquired legs, and were 
 starting on a run; but soon they saw that it 
 was a company of rats who ran over it. They 
 moved very rapidly, and ran forward, 
 tightly packed, line upon line, and were so 
 numerous that, for some time, they covered 
 the entire stone hedge. 
 
 The boy had been afraid of rats, even when 
 he was a big, strong human being. Then 
 what must his feelings be now, when he was 
 so tiny that two or three of them could 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 121 
 
 overpower him? One shudder after another 
 travelled down his spinal column as he stood 
 and stared at them. 
 
 But strangely enough, the wild geese seemed 
 to feel the same aversion toward the rats that 
 he did. They did not speak to them; and 
 when they were gone, they shook themselves 
 as if their feathers had been mud-bespattered. 
 
 "Such a lot of gray rats abroad!" said Iksi 
 from Vassijaure. "That's not a good omen." 
 
 The boy intended to take advantage of this 
 opportunity to say to Akka that he thought 
 she ought to let him go with them to Kulla- 
 berg, but he was prevented anew, for all of a 
 sudden a big bird came down in the midst of 
 the geese. 
 
 One could believe, when one looked at this 
 bird, that he had borrowed body, neck and 
 head from a little white goose. But in addi- 
 tion to this, he had procured for himself large 
 black wings, long red legs, and a thick bill, 
 which was too large for the little head, and 
 weighed it down imtil it gave him a sad and 
 worried look. 
 
 Akka at once straightened out the folds of 
 
122 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 her wings, and curtsied many times as she 
 approached the stork. She wasn't specially 
 surprised to see him in Sk^ne so early in the 
 spring, because she knew that the male storks 
 are in the habit of coming over in good season 
 to take a look at the nest, and see that it 
 hasn't been damaged during the winter, 
 before the female storks go to the trouble of 
 flying over the East sea. But she wondered 
 very much what it might signify that he 
 sought her out, since storks prefer to associate 
 with members of their own family. 
 
 " I can hardly believe that there is anything 
 wrong with your house, Herr Ermenrich," 
 said Akka. 
 
 It was apparent now that it is true what 
 they say: a stork can seldom open his bill 
 without complaining. But what made the 
 thing he said sound even more doleful was 
 that it was difficult for him to speak out. He 
 stood for a long time and only clattered with 
 his bill; afterward he spoke in a hoarse and 
 feeble voice. He complained about every- 
 thing: the nest — which was situated at the 
 very top of the roof- tree at Glimminge castle — 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 123 
 
 had been totally destroyed by winter storms; 
 and no food could he get any more in Sk&ne. 
 The people of Skdne were appropriating all 
 his possessions. They dug out his marshes 
 and laid waste his swamps. He intended to 
 move away from this country, and never 
 return to it again. 
 
 While the stork grumbled, Akka, the wild 
 goose who had neither home nor protection, 
 could not help thinking to herself: "If I had 
 things as comfortable as you have, Herr 
 Ermenrich, I should be above complaining. 
 You have remained a free and wild bird ; and 
 still you stand so well with human beings that 
 no one will fire a shot at you, or steal an egg 
 from your nest." But all this she kept to 
 herself. To the stork she only remarked, 
 that she couldn't believe he would be willing 
 to move from a house where storks had 
 resided ever since it was built. 
 
 Then the stork suddenly asked the geese if 
 they had seen the gray rats who were march- 
 ing toward Glimminge castle. When Akka re- 
 plied that she had seen the horrid creatures, 
 he began to tell her about the brave black 
 
124 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 rats who, for years, had defended the castle. 
 "But this night GHmminge castle will fall into 
 the gray rats' power," sighed the stork. 
 
 "And why just this night, Herr Ermen- 
 rich?" asked Akka. 
 
 " Well, because nearly all the black rats went 
 over to Kullaberg last night," said the stork, 
 "since they had counted on all the rest of the 
 animals also hurrying there. But you see 
 that the gray rats have stayed at home; and 
 now they are mustering to storm the castle 
 to-night, when it will be defended by only 
 a few old creatures who are too feeble to 
 go over to Kullaberg. They'll probably 
 accomplish their purpose. But I have lived 
 here in harmony with the black rats for so 
 many years, that it does not please me to 
 live in a place inhabited by their enemies." 
 
 Akka understood now that the stork had 
 become so enraged over the gray rats mode of 
 action, that he had sought her out as an excuse 
 to complain about them. But after the man- 
 ner of storks, he certainly had done nothing 
 to avert the disaster. "Have you sent word 
 to the black rats, Herr Ermenrich?" she 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 125 
 
 asked. "No," replied the stork, "that 
 wouldn't be of any use. Before they can get 
 back, the castle will be taken." "You 
 mustn't be so sure of that, Herr Ermenrich," 
 said Akka. " I know an old wild goose, I do, 
 who will gladly prevent outrages of this 
 kind." 
 
 When Akka said this, the stork raised his 
 head and stared at her. And it was not 
 surprising, for Akka had neither claws nor 
 bill that were fit for fighting; and, in the bar- 
 gain, she was a day bird, and as soon as it 
 grew dark she fell helplessly asleep, while 
 the rats did their fighting at night. 
 
 But Akka had evidently made up her mind 
 to help the black rats. She called Iksi from 
 Vassijaure, and ordered him to take the wild 
 geese over to Vomb Lake ; and when the geese 
 made excuses, she said authoritatively: "I 
 believe it will be best for us all that you obey 
 me. I inust fly over to the big stone house, 
 and if you follow me, the people on the place 
 will be sure to see us, and shoot us down. 
 The only one that I want to take with me on 
 this trip is Thumbietot. He can be of great 
 
126 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 service to me because he has good eyes, and 
 can keep awake at night." 
 
 The boy was in his most contrary mood 
 that day. And when he heard what Akka 
 said, he raised himself to his full height and 
 stepped forward, his hands behind him and 
 his nose in the air, and he intended to say 
 that he, most assuredly, did not wish to take 
 a hand in the fight with gray rats. She 
 might look around for assistance elsewhere. 
 
 But the instant the boy was seen, the stork 
 began to move. He had stood before, as 
 storks generally stand, with head bent down- 
 ward and the bill pressed against the neck. 
 But now a gurgle was heard deep down in his 
 windpipe; as though he would have laughed. 
 Quick as a flash, he lowered the bill, grabbed 
 the boy, and tossed him a couple of metres 
 in the air. This feat he performed seven 
 times, while the boy shrieked and the geese 
 shouted: "What are you trying to do, Herr 
 Ermenrich? That's not a frog. That's a 
 human being, Herr Ermenrich." 
 
 Finally the stork put the boy down 
 entirely unhurt. Thereupon he said to Akka: 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 127 
 
 "I'll fly back to Glimminge castle now, 
 mother Akka. All who live there were very 
 much worried when I left. You may be sure 
 they'll be very glad when I tell them that 
 Akka, the wild goose, and Thumb ietot, the 
 human elf, are on their way to rescue 
 them." With that the stork craned his 
 neck, raised his wings, and darted off like an 
 arrow when it leaves a well-drawn bow. 
 Akka understood that he was making fun of 
 her, but she didn't let it bother her. She 
 waited until the boy had found his wooden 
 shoes, which the stork had shaken off; then 
 she put him on her back and followed the 
 stork. On his own account, the boy made no 
 objection, and said not a word about not want- 
 ing to go along. He had become so furious 
 with the stork, that he actually sat and puffed. 
 That long, red-legged thing believed he was of 
 no account just because he was little; but he 
 would show him what kind of a man Nils 
 Holgersson from West Vemminghog was. 
 
 A couple of moments later Akka stood in 
 the storks' nest at Glimminge castle. It 
 was a fine, large nest. It had a wheel for 
 
128 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 foundation, and over this lay several grass- 
 mats, and some twigs. The nest was so old 
 that many shrubs and plants had taken 
 root up there ; and when the mother stork sat 
 on her eggs in the round hole in the middle 
 of the nest, she not only had the beautiful 
 outlook over a goodly portion of Skane to 
 enjoy, but she had also the wild brier-blos- 
 soms and house-leeks to look upon. 
 
 Both Akka and the boy saw immediately 
 that something was going on here, which turned 
 up and down — in the most regular order. On 
 the edge of the stork-nest sat two gray owls, an 
 old, gray-streaked cat, and a dozen old, 
 decrepit rats with protruding teeth and watery 
 eyes. They were not exactly the sort of animals 
 one usually finds living peaceably together. 
 
 Not one of them turned around to look at 
 Akka, or to bid her welcome. They thought 
 of nothing except to sit and stare at some 
 long, gray lines, which came into sight here 
 and there— on the winter-naked meadows 
 
 All the black rats were silent. One could 
 see that they were in deep despair, and prob- 
 ably knew that they could neither defend 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 129 
 
 their own lives — or the castle. The two owls 
 sat and rolled their big eyes, and twisted their 
 great, encircling eyebrows, and talked in 
 hollow, ghost-like voices, about the awful 
 cruelty of the gray rats, and that they would 
 have to move away from their nest, because 
 they had heard it said of them that they 
 spared neither eggs nor baby birds. The old 
 gray-streaked cat was positive that the gray 
 rats would bite him to death, since they were 
 coming into the castle in such great numbers, 
 and he scolded the black rats incessantly." How 
 could you be so idiotic as to let your best fight- 
 ers go away ? ' ' said he. " How could you trust 
 the gray rats ? It is absolutely unpardonable ! ' ' 
 The twelve black rats did not say a word. 
 But the stork, despite his misery, could not 
 refrain from teasing the cat. "Don't worry 
 so, Monsie house-cat!" said he. "Can't you 
 see that mother Akka and Thumbietot have 
 come to save the castle? You can be certain 
 that they'll succeed. Now I must stand up 
 to sleep — and I do so with the utmost calm. 
 To-morrow, when I awaken, there won't be 
 a single gray rat in Glimminge castle." 
 
I30 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The boy winked at Akka, and made a sign 
 — as the stork stood upon the very edge of the 
 nest, with one leg drawn up, to sleep — that he 
 wanted to push him down to the ground; but 
 Akka restrained him. She did not seem to 
 be the least bit angry. Instead, she said in a 
 confident tone of voice: " It would be pretty 
 poor business if one who is as old as I am could 
 not manage to get out of worse difficulties than 
 this. If only Mr. and Mrs. Owl, who can stay 
 awake all night, will fly off with a couple of 
 messages for me, I think that all will go well." 
 
 Both owls were willing. Then Akka bade 
 the gentleman owl that he should go and seek 
 the black rats who had gone off, and counsel 
 them to hurry home immediately. The lad}^ 
 owl he sent to Flammea, the steeple-owl, 
 who lived in Lund cathedral, with a commis- 
 sion which was so secret that Akka only dared 
 to confide it to her in a whisper. 
 
 THE RAT CHARMER 
 
 It was getting on toward midnight when 
 the gray rats after a diligent search suc- 
 ceeded in finding an open air-hole in the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 131 
 
 cellar. This was pretty high upon the wall; 
 but the rats got up on one another's shoulders, 
 and it wasn't long before the most daring 
 among them sat in the air-hole, ready to 
 force its way into Glimminge castle, outside 
 whose walls so many of its forebears had 
 fallen. 
 
 The gray rat sat still for a moment in the 
 hole, and waited for an attack from within. 
 The leader of the defenders was certainly 
 away, but she assumed that the black rats 
 who were still in the castle wouldn't sur- 
 render without a struggle. With thumping 
 heart she listened for the slightest sound, 
 but everything remained quiet. Then the 
 leader of the gray rats plucked up courage and 
 jumped down in the coal-black cellar. 
 
 One after another of the gray rats followed 
 the leader. They all kept very quiet; and 
 all expected to be ambushed by the black 
 rats. Not until so many of them had crowded 
 into the cellar that the floor couldn't hold any 
 more, did they venture farther. 
 
 Although they had never before been inside 
 the building, they had no difficulty in finding 
 
132 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 their way. They soon found the passages 
 in the walls which the black rats had used to 
 get to the upper floors. Before they began 
 to clamber up these narrow and steep steps, 
 they listened again with great attention. 
 They felt more frightened because the black 
 rats held themselves aloof in this way, than 
 if they had met them in open battle. They 
 could hardly believe their luck when they 
 reached the first story without any mishaps. 
 Immediately upon their entrance the gray 
 rats caught the scent of the grain, which was 
 stored in great bins on the floor. But it was 
 not as yet time for them to begin to enjoy 
 their conquest. They searched first, with the 
 utmost caution, through the sombre, empty 
 rooms. They ran up in the fireplace, which 
 stood on the floor in the old castle kitchen, 
 and they almost tumbled into the well, in the 
 inner room. Not one of the narrow peep- 
 holes did they leave uninspected, but they 
 found no black rats. When this floor was 
 wholly in their possession, they began, with 
 the same caution, to acquire the next. Then 
 they had to venture on a bold and dangerous 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 133 
 
 climb through the walls, while, with breath- 
 less anxiety, they awaited an assault from 
 the enemy. And although they were tempt- 
 ed by the most delicious odour from the 
 grain bins, they forced themselves most 
 systematically to inspect the old-time war- 
 riors' pillar-propped kitchen; their stone 
 table, and fireplace; the deep window-niches, 
 and the hole in the floor — which in olden 
 time had been opened to pour down boiling 
 pitch on the intruding enemy. 
 
 All this time the black rats were invisible. 
 The gray ones groped their way to the third 
 story, and into the lord of the castle's great 
 banquet hall — which stood there cold and 
 empty, like all the other rooms in the old 
 house. They even groped their way to the 
 upper story, which had but one big, barren 
 room. The only place they did not think 
 of exploring, was the big stork-nest on the 
 roof — ^where, just at this time, the lady 
 owl awakened Akka, and informed her that 
 Flammea, the steeple owl, had granted her 
 request, and had sent her the thing she 
 wished for. 
 
134 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Since the gray rats had so conscientiously 
 inspected the entire castle, they felt at ease. 
 They took it for granted that the black rats 
 had flown, and didn't intend to offer any 
 resistance; and, with light hearts, they ran 
 up into the grain bins. 
 
 But the gray rats had hardly swallowed 
 the first wheat-grains, before the sound of a 
 little shrill pipe was heard from the yard. 
 The gray rats raised their heads, listened 
 anxiously, ran a few steps as if they intended 
 to leave the bin, then they turned back and 
 began to eat once more. 
 
 Again the pipe sounded a sharp and 
 piercing note — and now something wonder- 
 ful happened. One rat, two rats — yes, a 
 whole lot of rats left the grain, jumped from 
 the bins and hurried down cellar by the short- 
 est cut, to get out of the house. Still 
 there were many gray rats left. These 
 thought of all the toil and trouble it had cost 
 them to win Glimminge castle, and they did 
 not want to leave it. But again they caught 
 the tones from the pipe, and had to follow 
 them. With wild excitement they rushed 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 135 
 
 up from the bins, slid down through the nar- 
 row holes in the walls, and tumbled over 
 each other in their eagerness to get out. 
 
 In the middle of the courtyard stood a tiny 
 creature, who blew upon a pipe. All round 
 him he had a whole circle of rats who listened 
 to him, astonished and fascinated; and every 
 moment brought more. Once he took the 
 pipe from his lips — only for a second — put his 
 thumb to his nose and wiggled his fingers 
 at the gray rats; and then it looked as if 
 they wanted to throw themselves on him and 
 bite him to death ; but as soon as he blew on 
 his pipe they were in his power. 
 
 When the tiny creature had played all the 
 gray rats out of Glimminge castle, he began 
 to wander slowly from the courtyard out on 
 the highway; and all the gray rats followed 
 him, because the tones from that pipe sounded 
 so sweet to their ears that they could not 
 resist them. 
 
 The tiny creature walked before them and 
 charmed them along with him, on the road 
 to Vallby. He led them into all sorts of 
 crooks and turns and bends — on through 
 
136 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 hedges and down into ditches — ^and vtrherever 
 he went they had to follow. He blew 
 continuously on his pipe, which appeared to 
 be made from an animal's horn, although the 
 horn was so small that, in our days, there 
 were no animals from whose foreheads it could 
 have been broken. No one knew, either, 
 who had made it. Flammea, the steeple- 
 owl, had found it in a niche, in Lund cathedral. 
 She had shown it to Bataki, the raven; and 
 they had both figured out that this was the 
 kind of horn that was used in former times 
 by those who wished to gain power over rats 
 and mice. But the raven was Akka's friend; 
 and it was from him she had learned that 
 Flammea owned a treasure like this. 
 
 And it was true that the rats could not 
 resist the pipe. The boy walked before them 
 and played as long as the starlight lasted — 
 and all the while they followed him. He 
 played at daybreak; he played at sunrise; 
 and the whole time the entire procession of 
 gray rats followed him, and were enticed 
 farther and farther away from the big grain 
 loft at Glimminge castle. 
 
THE GREAT CRANE DANCE ON 
 KULLABERG 
 
 Tuesday, March twenty-ninth, 
 
 ALTHOUGH there are many magnificent 
 buildings in Skdne, it must be acknowl- 
 edged that there's not one among them that 
 has such pretty walls as old Kullaberg. 
 
 KuUaberg is low and rather long. It is not 
 by any means a big or imposing mountain. 
 On its broad summit you'll find woods and 
 grain fields, and one and another heather- 
 heath. Here and there, round heather-knolls 
 and barren cliffs rise up. It is not especially 
 pretty up there. It looks a good deal like all 
 the other upland places in Skane. 
 
 He who walks along the path which runs 
 across the middle of the mountain, can't help 
 feeling a little disappointed. Then he hap- 
 pens, perhaps, to turn away from the path, 
 and wanders off toward the mountain's sides 
 
 137 
 
138 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 and looks down over the bluffs; and then, 
 all at once, he will discover so much that is 
 worth seeing, he hardly knows how he'll find 
 time to take in the whole of it. For it hap- 
 pens that Kullaberg does not stand on the 
 land, with plains and valleys around it, like 
 other mountains; but it has plunged into the 
 sea, as far out as it could get. Not even the 
 tiniest strip of land lies below the mountain 
 to protect it against the breakers; but these 
 reach all the way up to the mountain walls, 
 and can polish and mould them to suit 
 themselves. This is why the walls stand 
 there as richly ornamented as the sea and its 
 helpmeet, the wind, have been able to effect. 
 You'll find steep ravines that are deeply 
 chiselled in the mountain's sides; and black 
 crags that have become smooth and shiny 
 under the constant lashing of the winds. 
 There are solitary rock-columns that spring 
 right up out of the water, and dark grottoes 
 with narrow entrances. There are barren, 
 perpendicular precipices, and soft, leaf-clad 
 inclines. There are small points, and small 
 inlets, and small rolling stones that are 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 139 
 
 rattlingly washed up and down with every dash- 
 ing breaker. There are majestic cHff-arches 
 that project over the water. There are sharp 
 stones that are constantly sprayed by a 
 white foam; and others that mirror them- 
 selves in unchangeable dark-green still water. 
 There are giant troll-caverns shaped in the 
 rock, and great crevices that lure the wan- 
 derer to venture into the mountain's depths 
 — ^all the way to Kullman's Hollow. 
 
 And over and around all these cliffs and 
 rocks crawl entangled tendrils and weeds. 
 Trees grow there also, but the wind's power 
 is so great that trees have to transform them- 
 selves into clinging vines, that they may get 
 a firm hold on the steep precipices. The oaks 
 creep along on the ground, while their foliage 
 hangs over them like a low ceiling; and long- 
 limbed beeches stand in the ravines like great 
 leaf -tents. 
 
 These remarkable mountain walls, with 
 the blue sea beneath them, and the clear 
 penetrating air above them, is what makes 
 KuUaberg so dear to the people that great 
 crowds of them haunt the place every day 
 
I40 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 as long as the summer lasts. But it is more 
 difficult to tell what it is that makes it so 
 attractive to animals, that every year they 
 gather there for a big play-meeting. This is 
 a custom that has been observed since time 
 immemorial; and one should have been there 
 when the first sea-wave was dashed into foam 
 against the shore, to be able to explain why 
 just Kullaberg was chosen as a rendezvous, 
 in preference to all other places. 
 
 When the meeting is to take place, the 
 stags and roebucks and hares and foxes and 
 all the other four-footers make the journey 
 to Kullaberg the night before, so as not to be 
 observed by the human beings. Just before 
 sunrise they all march up to the playground, 
 which is a heather-heath on the left side of the 
 road, and not very far from the mountain's 
 most extreme point. The playground is 
 inclosed on all sides by round knolls, which 
 conceal it from any and all who do not happen 
 to come right upon it. And in the month of 
 March it is not at all likely that any pedes- 
 trians will stray off up there. All the strangers 
 who usually stroll around on the rocks, and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 141 
 
 clamber up the mountain's sides the fall 
 storms have driven away these many months 
 past. And the lighthouse keeper out there 
 on the point; the old fru on the mountain 
 farm, and the mountain peasant and his 
 house-folk go their accustomed ways, and do 
 not run about on the desolate heather-fields. 
 
 When the four-footers have arrived on the 
 playground, they take their places on the 
 round knolls. Each animal family keeps to 
 itself, although it is understood that, on a 
 day like this, universal peace reigns, and no 
 one need fear attack. On this day a little 
 hare might wander over to the foxes' hill, 
 without losing as much as one of his long ears. 
 But still the animals arrange themselves into 
 separate groups. This is an old custom. 
 
 After they have all taken their places, they 
 begin to look around for the birds. It 
 is always beautiful weather on this day. 
 The cranes are good weather prophets, and 
 would not call the animals together if they 
 expected rain. Although the air is clear, and 
 nothing obstructs the vision, the four-footers 
 see no birds. This is strange. The sun 
 
143 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 stands high in the heavens, and the birds 
 should already be on their way. 
 
 But what the animals, on the other hand, 
 observe, is one and another little dark cloud 
 that comes slowly forward over the plain. 
 And look! one of these clouds comes gradually 
 along the coast of Oresund, and up toward 
 Kullaberg. When the cloud has come just 
 over the playground it stops, and, simul- 
 taneously, the entire cloud begins to ring and 
 chirp, as if it was made of nothing but tone. 
 It rises and sinks, rises and sinks, but all the 
 while it rings and chirps. At last the whole 
 cloud falls down over a knoll — all at once — 
 and the next instant the knoll is entirely 
 covered with gray larks, pretty red-white-gray 
 bulfinches, speckled starlings and greenish- 
 yellow titmice. 
 
 Soon after that, another cloud comes over 
 the plain. This stops over every bit of land; 
 over peasant cottage and palace; over towns 
 and cities; over farms and railway stations; 
 over fishing hamlets and sugar refineries. 
 Every time it stops, it draws to itself a little 
 whirling column of gray dust-grains from the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 143 
 
 ground. In this way it grows and grows. 
 And at last, when it is all gathered up and 
 heads for Kullaberg it is no longer a cloud 
 but a whole mist, which is so big that it throws 
 a shadow on the ground all the way from 
 Hoganas to Molle. When it stops over the 
 playground it hides the sun; and for a long 
 while it had to rain gray sparrows on one of 
 the knolls, before those who had been flying 
 in the innermost part of the mist could again 
 catch a glimpse of the daylight. 
 
 But still the biggest of these bird-clouds is 
 the one which now appears. This has been 
 formed of birds who have travelled from every 
 direction to join it. It is dark bluish-gray, 
 and no sun-ray can penetrate it. It is full 
 of the ghastliest noises, the most frightful 
 shrieks, the grimmest laughter, and most 
 ill-luck-boding croaking! All on the play- 
 ground are glad when it finally resolves itself 
 into a storm of fluttering and croaking: of 
 crows and jackdaws and rooks and ravens. 
 
 Thereupon not only clouds are seen in the 
 heavens, but a variety of stripes and figures. 
 Then straight, dotted lines appear in the East 
 
144 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 and Northeast. These are forest-birds from 
 Goinge districts: black grouse and wood 
 grouse who come flying in long lines a 
 couple of metres apart. Swimming-birds 
 that live around Maklappen, just out of 
 Falsterbo, now come floating over Oresund in 
 many extraordinary figures : in triangular and 
 long curves; in sharp hooks and semicircles. 
 
 To the great reunion held the year that 
 Nils Holgersson travelled around with the 
 wild geese, came Akka and her flock — later 
 than, all the others. And that was not to be 
 wondered at, for Akka had to fly over the 
 whole of Skane to get to Kullaberg. Beside, 
 as soon as she awoke, she had been obliged to 
 go out and hunt for Thumb ietot, who, for 
 many hours, had gone and played to the gray 
 rats, and lured them far away from Glimminge 
 castle. Mr. Owl had returned with the news 
 that the black rats would be at home imme- 
 diately after sunrise ; and there was no longer 
 any danger in letting the steeple-owl's pipe 
 be hushed, and to give the gray rats the 
 liberty to go where they pleased. 
 
 But it was not Akka who discovered the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 145 
 
 boy where he walked with his long following, 
 and quickly sank down over him and caught 
 him with the bill and swung into the air with 
 him, but it was Herr Ermenrich, the stork! 
 For Herr Ermenrich had also gone out to look 
 for him ; and after he had borne him up to the 
 stork-nest, he begged his forgiveness for hav- 
 ing treated him with disrespect the evening 
 before. 
 
 This pleased the boy immensely, and the 
 stork and he became good friends. Akka, too, 
 showed him that she felt very kindly toward 
 him; she stroked her old head several times 
 against his arms, and commended him because 
 he had helped those who were in trouble. 
 
 But this one must say to the boy's credit: 
 that he did not want to accept praise which 
 he had not earned. "No, mother Akka," he 
 said, " you mustn't think that I lured the gray 
 rats away to help the black ones. I only 
 wanted to show Herr Ermenrich that I was 
 of some consequence." 
 
 He had hardly saidthis before Akka turned to 
 the stork and asked if he thought it was 
 advisable to take Thumbietot along to Kulla- 
 
146 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 berg. " I mean, that we can rely on him as 
 upon ourselves," said she. The stork at once 
 advised, most enthusiastically, that Thumb- 
 ietot be permitted to come along. "Cer- 
 tainly you shall take Thumbietot along to 
 Kullaberg, mother Akka," said he. "It is 
 fortunate for us that we can repay him for 
 all that he has endured this night for our sakes. 
 And since it still grieves me to think that I 
 did not conduct myself in a becoming manner 
 toward him the other evening, it is I who 
 will carry him on my back — all the way to the 
 meeting place." 
 
 There isn't much that tastes better than to 
 receive praise from those who are themselves 
 wise and capable; and the boy had certainly 
 never felt so happy as he did when the wild 
 goose and the stork talked about him in this 
 way. 
 
 Thus the boy made the trip to Kullaberg, 
 riding stork-back. Although he knew that 
 this was a great honour, it caused him much 
 anxiety, for Herr Ermenrich was a master 
 flyer, and started off at a very different pace 
 from the wild geese. While Akka flew her 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 147 
 
 straight way with even wing-strokes, the 
 stork amused himself by performing a lot of 
 flying tricks. Now he lay still in an 
 immeasurable height, and floated in the air 
 without moving his wings, now he flung him- 
 self downward with such sudden haste that it 
 seemed as though he would fall to the ground, 
 helpless as a stone; now he had lots of fun 
 flying all around Akka, in great and small 
 circles, like a whirlwind. The boy had never 
 been on a ride of this sort before; and al- 
 though he sat there all the while in terror, 
 he had to acknowledge to himself that he had 
 never before known what a good flight meant. 
 
 Only a single pause was made during the 
 journey, and that was at Vomb Lake when 
 Akka joined her travelling companions, and 
 called to them that the gray rats had been 
 vanquished. After that, the travellers flew 
 straight to Kullaberg. 
 
 There they descended to the knoll reserved 
 for the wild geese; and as the boy let his 
 glance wander from knoll to knoll, he saw on 
 one of them the many-pointed antlers of the 
 stags; and on another, the gray herons' neck- 
 
148 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 crests. One knoll was red with foxes, one 
 was gray with rats; one was covered with 
 black ravens who shrieked continually, one 
 with larks who simply couldn't keep still, but 
 kept on throwing themselves in the air and 
 singing for very joy. 
 
 Just as it has ever been the custom on 
 Kullaberg, it was the crows who began the 
 day's games and frolics with their flying- 
 dance. They divided themselves into two 
 flocks, that flew toward each other, met, 
 turned, and began all over again. This 
 dance had many repetitions, and appeared to 
 the spectators who were not familiar with the 
 dance as altogether too monotonous. The 
 crows were very proud of their dance, but all 
 the others were glad when it was over. It 
 appeared to the animals about as gloomy and 
 meaningless as the winter-storms' play with 
 the snow-flakes. It depressed them to watch 
 it, and they waited eagerly for something that 
 should give them a little pleasure. 
 
 They did not have to wait in vain, either; 
 for as soon as the crows had finished, the hares 
 came running. They dashed forward in a 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 149 
 
 long row, without any apparent order. In 
 some of the figures, one single hare came; in 
 others, they ran three and four abreast. They 
 had all raised themselves on two legs, and they 
 rushed forward with such rapidity that their 
 long ears swayed in all directions. As they 
 ran, they spun round, made high leaps and 
 beat their forepaws against their hind-paws 
 so that they rattled. Some performed a long 
 succession of somersaults, others doubled 
 themselves up snd rolled over like wheels; 
 one stood on one ^eg and swung round; one 
 walked upon his forepaws. There was no 
 regulation whatever, but there \^as much 
 that was droll in the hares' play; and the 
 many animals who stood and watched them 
 began to breathe faster. Now it was spring; 
 joy and rapture were advancing. Winter was 
 over; summer was coming. Soon it was 
 only play to live. 
 
 When the hares had romped themselves out, 
 it was the great forest birds' turn to perform. 
 Hundreds of wood-grouse in shining dark- 
 brown array, and with bright red eyebrows, 
 flung themselves up into a great oak that 
 
I50 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 stood in the centre of the playground. The 
 one who sat upon the topmost branch fluffed 
 up his feathers, lowered his wings, and lifted 
 his tail so that the white covert-feathers were 
 seen. Thereupon he stretched his neck and 
 sent forth a couple of deep notes from his 
 thick throat. "Tjack, tjack, tjack," it 
 sounded. More than this he could not utter. 
 It only gurgled a few times way down in the 
 throat. Then he closed his eyes and whis- 
 pered: "Sis, sis, sis. Hear how pretty! Sis, 
 sis, sis." At the same time he fell into such 
 an ecstasy that he no longer knew what was 
 going on around him. 
 
 While the first wood grouse was sissing, the 
 three nearest — under him — ^began to sing ; and 
 before they had finished their song, the ten 
 who sat lower down joined in; and thus it 
 continued from branch to branch, until the 
 entire hundred grouse sang and gurgled and 
 sissed. They all fell into the same ecstasy 
 during their song, and this affected the other 
 animals like a contagious transport. Lately 
 the blood had flowed lightly and agreeably; 
 now it began to grow heavy and hot. "Yes, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 151 
 
 this is surely spring," thought all the animal 
 folk. "Winter chill has vanished. The fires 
 of spring burn over the earth." 
 
 When the black grouse saw that the brown 
 grouse were having such success, they could 
 no longer keep quiet. As there was no tree 
 for them to light on, they rushed down on 
 the playground, where the heather stood so 
 high that only their beautifully turned tail- 
 feathers and their thick bills were visible — 
 and they began to sing; "Orr, orr, orr." 
 
 Just as the black grouse began to compete 
 with the brown grouse, something unprece- 
 dented happened. While all the animals 
 thought of nothing but the grouse-game, a 
 fox stole slowly over to the wild geese's knoll. 
 He glided very cautiously, and came way up 
 on the knoll before anyone noticed him. 
 Suddenly a goose caught sight of him ; and as 
 she could not believe that a fox had sneaked 
 in among the geese for any good purpose, she 
 began to cry : " Have a care, wild geese ! Have 
 a care !' ' The fox struck her across the throat — 
 mostly, perhaps, because he wanted to make 
 her keep quiet — but the wild geese had already 
 
152 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 heard the cry, and they all raised themselves 
 in the air. And when they had flown up, the 
 animals saw Smirre Fox standing on the wild 
 geese's knoll, with a dead goose in his mouth. 
 
 But because he had in this way broken 
 the play-day's peace, such a ptmishment was 
 meted out to Smirre Fox that, for the rest of 
 his days, he must regret he had not been 
 able to control his thirst for revenge, but had 
 attempted to approach Akka and her flock 
 in this manner. 
 
 He was immediately surrounded by a crowd 
 of foxes, and doomed in accordance with an 
 old custom, which demands that whosoever 
 disturbs the peace on the great play-day, must 
 go into exile. Not a fox wished to lighten 
 the sentence, since they all knew that the 
 instant they attempted anything of the sort, 
 they would be driven from the playground, 
 and would nevermore be permitted to enter 
 it. Banishment was pronounced upon Smirre 
 without opposition. He was forbidden to 
 remain in Sk&ne. He was banished from wife 
 and kindred; from hunting grounds, home, 
 resting places and retreats, which he had 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 153 
 
 hitherto owned; and he must tempt fortune 
 in foreign lands. So that all foxes in Sk^ne 
 should know that Smirre was outlawed in the 
 district, the oldest of the foxes bit off his right 
 earlap. As soon as this was done, all the 
 young foxes began to yowl from blood-thirst, 
 and threw themselves on Smirre. For him 
 there was no alternative except to take flight ; 
 and with all the young foxes in hot pursuit, 
 he rushed away from Kullaberg. 
 
 All this happened while black grouse and 
 brown grouse were going on with their games. 
 But these birds lose themselves so completely 
 in their song, that they neither hear nor see. 
 Nor had they permitted themselves to be 
 disturbed. 
 
 The forest birds' contest was barely over, 
 before the stags from Hackeberga came for- 
 ward to show their wrestling game. There 
 were several pairs of stags who fought at the 
 same time. They rushed at each other with 
 tremendous force, struck their antlers dash- 
 ingly together, so that their points were 
 entangled ; and tried to force each other back- 
 ward. The heather-heaths were torn up 
 
154 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 beneath their hoofs; the breath came hke 
 smoke from their nostrils ; out of their throats 
 strained hideous bellowings, and the froth 
 oozed down on their shoulders. 
 
 On the knolls round about there was 
 breathless silence while the skilled stag- 
 wrestlers clinched. In all the animals new 
 emotions were awakened. Each and all felt 
 courageous and strong; enlivened by return- 
 ing powers; bom again with the spring; 
 sprightly, and ready for all kinds of adven- 
 tures. They felt no enmity toward each 
 other, although, everywhere, wings were lifted, 
 neck-feathers raised and claws sharpened. If 
 the stags from Hackeberga had continued 
 another instant, a wild struggle would have 
 arisen on the knolls, for all had been gripped 
 with a burning desire to show that they too 
 were full of life because the winter's impotence 
 was over and strength surged through their 
 bodies. 
 
 But the stags stopped wrestling just at 
 the right moment, and instantly a whisper 
 went from knoll to knoll: "The cranes are 
 coming!" 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 155 
 
 And then came the gray, dusk-clad birds 
 with plumes in their wings, and red feather- 
 ornaments on their necks. The big birds with 
 their tall legs, their slender throats, their 
 small heads, came gliding down the knoll with 
 an abandon that was full of mystery. As they 
 glided forward they swung round — half flying, 
 half dancing. With wings gracefully lifted, 
 they moved with an inconceivable rapidity. 
 There was something marvellous and strange 
 about their dance. It was as though gray 
 shadows had played a game which the eye 
 could scarcely follow. It was as if they had 
 learned it from the mists that hover over 
 desolate morasses. There was witchcraft in it. 
 All those who had never before been on Kul- 
 laberg understood why the whole meeting took 
 its name from the cranes* dance. There was 
 wildness in it; but yet the feeling which it 
 awakened was a delicious longing. No one 
 thought any more about struggling. Instead, 
 both the winged and those who had no wings, 
 all wanted to raise themselves eternally, lift 
 themselves above the clouds, seek that 
 which was hidden beyond them, leave the 
 
156 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 oppresssive body that dragged them down to 
 earth and soar away toward the infinite. 
 
 Such longing after the unattainable, after 
 the hidden mysteries back of this life, the 
 animals felt only once a year ; and this was on 
 the day when they beheld the great crane 
 dance. 
 
VI 
 
 IN RAINY WEATHER 
 
 Wednesday, March thirtieth. 
 
 IT WAS the first rainy day of the trip. 
 As long as the wild geese had remained 
 in the vicinity of Vomb Lake, they had had 
 beautiful weather; but on the day when they 
 set out to travel farther north, it began to- 
 rain, and for several hours the boy had to sit 
 on the goose-back, soaking wet, and shivering 
 with the cold. 
 
 In the morning when they started, it had 
 been clear and mild. The wild geese had 
 flown high up in the air — evenly, and without 
 haste — with Akka at the head maintaining 
 strict discipline, and the rest in two oblique 
 lines back of her. They had not taken the 
 time to shout any witty sarcasms to the 
 animals on the ground; but, as it was simply 
 impossible for them to keep perfectly silent, 
 they sang out continually — in rhythm with 
 
 157 
 
iS8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the wing-strokes — their usual coaxing-call: 
 "Where are you? Here am I. Where are 
 you? Here am I." 
 
 They all took part in this persistent calling, 
 and only stopped, now and then, to show the 
 goosey-gander the landmarks they were travel- 
 ling over. The places on this route included 
 Linderodsosen's dry hills, Ovesholm's manor, 
 Christianstad's church steeple, Backaskog's 
 royal castle on the narrow^ isthmus between 
 Oppmann's lake and Ivos lake, and Ryss 
 mountain's steep precipice. 
 
 It had been a monotonous trip, and when 
 the rain-clouds made their appearance the 
 boy thought it was a real diversion. In the 
 old days, when he had only seen a rain-cloud 
 from below, he had imagined that they were 
 gray and disagreeable; but it was a very 
 different thing to be up amongst them. Now 
 he saw distinctly that the clouds were enor- 
 mous carts, which drove through the heavens 
 with sky-high loads. Some of them were 
 piled up with huge, gray sacks, some with 
 barrels; some were so large that they could 
 hold a whole lake; and a few were filled with 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 159 
 
 big utensils and bottles which were piled up 
 to an immense height. And when so many of 
 them had driven forward that they filled the 
 whole sky, it appeared as though someone 
 had given a signal, for all at once, water com- 
 menced to pour down over the earth, from 
 utensils, barrels, bottles and sacks. 
 
 Just as the first spring-showers pattered 
 against the ground, there arose such shouts of 
 joy from all the small birds in groves and 
 pastures, that the whole air rang with them 
 and the boy leaped high where he sat. " Now 
 we'll have rain. Rain gives us spring; spring 
 gives us flowers and green leaves ; green leaves 
 and flowers give us worms and insects ; worms 
 and insects give us food; and plentiful, and 
 good food is the best thing there is," sang the 
 birds. 
 
 The wild geese, too, were glad of the rain 
 which came to awaken the growing things from 
 their long sleep, and to drive holes in the 
 ice- roofs on the lakes. They were not able 
 to keep up that seriousness any longer, 
 but began to send merry calls over the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
i6o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 When they flew over the big potato patches, 
 which are so plentiful in the country around 
 Christianstad — and which still lay bare and 
 black — they screamed : " Wake up and be use- 
 ful ! Here comes something that will awaken 
 you. You have idled long enough now." 
 
 When they saw people who hurried to get 
 out of the rain, they reproved them saying: 
 "What are you in such a hurry about? Can't 
 you see that it's raining rye-loaves and 
 cookies?" 
 
 It was a big, thick mist that moved north- 
 ward briskly, and followed close upon the 
 geese. They seemed to think that they 
 dragged the mist along with them; and, just 
 now, when they saw great orchards beneath 
 them, they called out proudly: "Here we 
 come with anemones; here we come with 
 roses ; here we come with apple blossoms and 
 cherry buds; here we come with peas and 
 beans and turnips and cabbages. He who 
 wills can take them. He who wills can 
 take them." 
 
 Thus it had sounded while the first showers 
 fell, and when all were still glad of the rain. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS i6i 
 
 But when it continued to fall the whole after- 
 noon, the wild geese grew impatient, and cried 
 to the thirsty forests around Ivos lake: 
 " Haven't you got enough yet? Haven't you 
 got enough yet?" 
 
 The heavens were growing grayer and grayer 
 and the sun hid itself so well that one couldn't 
 imagine where it was. The rain fell faster 
 and faster, and beat harder and harder 
 against the wings, as it tried to find its way 
 between the oily outside feathers, into their 
 skins. The earth was hidden by fogs; lakes, 
 mountains, and woods floated together in an 
 indistinct maze, and the landmarks could not 
 be distinguished. The flight became slower 
 and slower ; the joyful cries were hushed ; and 
 the boy felt the cold more and more keenly. 
 
 But still he had kept up his courage as long 
 as he had ridden through the air. And in 
 the afternoon, when they had lighted under 
 a little stunted pine, in the middle of a large 
 morass, where all was wet, and all was cold; 
 where some knolls were covered with snow, 
 and others stood up naked in a puddle of half- 
 melted ice-water, even then, he had not felt 
 
i62 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 discouraged, but ran about in fine spirits, and 
 hunted for cranberries and frozen whortle- 
 berries. But then came evening, and dark- 
 ness sank down on them so close, that not 
 even such eyes as the boy's could see through 
 it; and all the wilderness became so strangely 
 grim and awful. The boy lay tucked in under 
 the goosey-gander's wing, but could not 
 sleep because he was cold and wet. He 
 heard such a lot of rustling and rattling and 
 stealthy steps and menacing voices, that he 
 was terror-stricken and didn't know where he 
 should go. He must go somewhere, where 
 there was light and heat, if he wasn't going 
 to be entirely scared to death. 
 
 " If I should venture where there are human 
 beings, just for this night?" thought the 
 boy. "Only so I could sit by a fire for a 
 moment, and get a little food. I could go 
 back to the wild geese before sunrise." 
 
 He crept from under the wing and slid 
 down to the ground. He didn't awaken 
 either the goosey-gander or any of the other 
 geese, but stole, silently and unobserved, 
 through the morass. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 163 
 
 He didn't know exactly where on earth 
 he was: if he was in Sk§,ne, in Sm§,land, or 
 in Blekinge. But just before he had gotten 
 down in the morass, he had caught a glimpse 
 of a large village, and thither he directed his 
 steps. It wasn't long, either, before he 
 discovered a road; and soon he was on the 
 village street, which was long, and had planted 
 trees on both sides, and was bordered with 
 garden after garden. 
 
 The boy had come to one of the big cathedral 
 towns, which are so common on the uplands, 
 but can hardly be seen at all down in the 
 plain. 
 
 The houses were of wood, and very 
 prettily constructed. Most of them had gables 
 and fronts, edged with carved mouldings, 
 and glass doors, with here and there a 
 coloured pane, opening on verandas. The 
 walls were painted in light oil-colours; the 
 doors and window-frames shone in blues and 
 greens, and even in reds. While the boy 
 walked about and viewed the houses, he could 
 hear, all the way out to the road, how 
 the people who sat in the warm cottages 
 
i64 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 chattered and laughed. The words he could 
 not distinguish, but he thought it was 
 just lovely to hear human voices. " I wonder 
 what they would say if I knocked and begged 
 to be let in," thought he. 
 
 This was, of course, what he had intended 
 to do all along, but now that he saw the 
 lighted windows, his fear of the darkness was 
 gone. Instead, he felt again that shyness 
 which always came over him now when he 
 was near human beings. 'Til take a look 
 around the town for a while longer," thought 
 he, "before I ask anyone to take me in." 
 
 On one house there was a balcony. And 
 just as the boy walked by, the doors were 
 thrown open, and a yellow light streamed 
 through the fine, sheer curtains. Then a 
 pretty young fru came out on the balcony 
 and leaned over the railing. "It's raining; 
 now we shall soon have spring," said she. 
 When the boy saw her he felt a strange 
 anxiety. It was as though he wanted to 
 weep. For the first time he was a bit uneasy 
 because he had shut himself out from the 
 human kind. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 165 
 
 Shortly after that he walked by a shop. 
 Outside the shop stood a red corn-drill. He 
 stopped and looked at it; and finally crawled 
 up to the driver's place, and seated himself. 
 When he had got there, he smacked with 
 his lips and pretended that he sat and drove. 
 He thought what fun it would be to be 
 permitted to drive such a pretty machine 
 over a grainfield. For a moment he for- 
 got what he was like now ; then he remem- 
 bered it, and jumped down quickly from the 
 machine. Then a greater unrest came over 
 him. After all, human beings were very 
 wonderful and clever. 
 
 He walked by the post-office, and then he 
 thought of all the neswpapers which came 
 every day, with news from all the four comers 
 of the earth. He saw the apothecary's shop 
 and the doctor's home, and he thought about 
 the power of human beings, which was so 
 great that they were able to battle with sick- 
 ness and death. He came to the church. 
 Then he thought how human beings had 
 built it, that they might hear about another 
 world than the one in which they lived; of 
 
 / 
 
1 66 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 God and the resurrection and eternal life. 
 And the longer he walked there, the better 
 he liked human beings. 
 
 It is so with children that they never think 
 any farther ahead than the length of their 
 noses. That which lies nearest them, they 
 want promptly, without caring what it may 
 cost them. Nils Holgersson had not under- 
 stood what he was losing when he chose to 
 remain an elf; but now he began to be 
 dreadfully afraid that, perhaps, he should 
 never again get back his right form. 
 
 How in all the world should he go to work 
 in order to become human? This he wanted, 
 oh! so much, to know. 
 
 He crawled up on a doorstep, and seated 
 himself in the pouring rain and meditated. 
 He sat there one whole hour — two whole 
 hours, and he thought so hard that his fore- 
 head lay in furrows; but he was none the 
 wiser. It seemed as though the thoughts 
 only rolled round and round in his head. 
 The longer he sat there, the more impossible 
 it seemed to him to find any solution. 
 
 "This thing is certainly much too difficult 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 167 
 
 for one who has learned as little as I have," 
 he thought at last. "It will probably wind 
 up by my having to go back among human 
 beings after all. I must ask the minister and 
 the doctor and the schoolmaster and others 
 who are learned, and may know a cure for 
 such things." 
 
 This he concluded that he would do at 
 once, and shook himself — for he was as wet 
 as a dog that has been in a water-pool. 
 
 Just about then he saw that a big owl 
 came flying along, and alighted on one of the 
 trees that bordered the village street. The 
 next instant a lady owl, who sat under the 
 cornice of the house, began to call out: 
 "Kivitt, Kivitt! Are you at home again, 
 Mr. Gray Owl? What kind of a time did you 
 have abroad?" 
 
 "Thank you, Lady Brown Owl. I had a 
 very comfortable time," said the gray owl. 
 "Has anything out of the ordinary happened 
 here at home during my absence?" 
 
 "Not here in Blekinge, Mr. Gray Owl; but 
 in Skane a marvellous thing has happened! 
 A boy has been transformed by an elf into a 
 
i68 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 goblin no bigger than a squirrel; and since 
 then he has gone to Lappland with a tame 
 goose." 
 
 "That's a remarkable bit of news, a 
 remarkable bit of news. Can he never be 
 himian again, Lady Brown Owl? Can he 
 never be human again?" 
 
 "That's a secret, Mr. Gray Owl; but you 
 shall hear it just the same. The elf has said 
 that if the boy watches over the goosey- 
 gander, so that he comes home safe and sound, 
 and " 
 
 "What more, Lady Brown Owl? What 
 more? What more?" 
 
 " Fly with me up to the church tower, Mr. 
 Gray Owl, and you shall hear the whole 
 story ! I fear there may be someone listening 
 down here in the street." With that, the 
 owls flew their way; but the boy fiimg his 
 cap in the air, and shouted: "If I only 
 watch over the goosey-gander, so that he 
 gets back safe and sound, then I shall 
 become a human being again, Hurrah! 
 Hurrah! Then I shall become a human 
 being again!" 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 169 
 
 He shouted "hurrah" until it was strange 
 that they did not hear him in the houses — 
 but they didn't, and he hurried back to the 
 wild geese, out in the wet morass, as fast 
 as his legs could carry him. 
 
VII 
 
 THE STAIRWAY WITH THE THREE 
 
 STEPS 
 
 Thursday, March thirty-first. 
 
 THE following day the wild geese in- 
 tended to travel northward through 
 Allbo district, in Sm§,land. They sent Iksi 
 and Kaksi to spy out the land. But when 
 they returned, they said that all the water 
 was frozen, and all the land was snow-covered. 
 "We may as well remain where we are," said 
 the wild geese. "We cannot travel over a 
 country where there is neither water nor food." 
 " If we remain where we are, we may have to 
 wait here until the next moon," said Akka. 
 " It is better to go eastward, through Blekinge, 
 and see if we can't get to Sm§,land by way of 
 More, which lies near the coast, and has an 
 early spring." 
 
 Thus the boy came to ride over Blekinge 
 
 the next day. Now, that it was light again, 
 
 Z70 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 171 
 
 he was in a merry mood once more, and could 
 not comprehend what had come over him the 
 night before. He certainly didn't want to 
 give up the journey and the outdoor life now. 
 
 There lay a thick fog over Blekinge. The 
 boy couldn't see how it looked out there. 
 "I wonder if it is a good, or a poor country 
 that I'm riding over," thought he, and tried 
 to search his memory for the things which he 
 had heard about the country at school. But 
 at the same time he knew well enough that 
 this was useless, as he had never been in the 
 habit of studying his lessons. 
 
 At once the boy saw the whole school before 
 him. The children sat by the little desks and 
 raised their hands; the teacher sat in the 
 lectern and looked displeased ; and he himself 
 stood before the map and should answer some 
 question about Blekinge, but he hadn't a 
 word to say. The schoolmaster's face grew 
 darker and darker for every second that 
 passed, and the boy thought the teacher was 
 more particular that they should know their 
 geography, than anything else. Now he 
 came down from the lectern, took the pointer 
 
172 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 from the boy, and sent him back to his seat. 
 "This won't end well," the boy thought then. 
 
 But the schoolmaster had gone over to a 
 window, and had stood there for a moment 
 and looked out, and then he had whistled to 
 himself once. Then he had gone up into the 
 lectern and said that he would tell them some- 
 thing about Blekinge. And that which he 
 then talked about had been so amusing that 
 the boy had listened. When he only stopped 
 and thought for a moment, he remembered 
 every word. 
 
 "Smaland is a tall house with spruce trees 
 on the roof," said the teacher, "and leading up 
 to it is a broad stairway with three big steps ; 
 and this stairway is called Blekinge. It is 
 a stairway that is well constructed. It 
 stretches forty-two miles along the frontage 
 of Smaland house, and anyone who wishes to 
 go all the way down to the East sea, by 
 way of the stairs, has twenty-four miles to 
 wander. 
 
 "A good long time must have elapsed since 
 the stairway was built. Both days and years 
 have gone by since the steps were hewn from 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 173 
 
 gray stones and laid down — evenly and 
 smoothly — ^for a convenient track between 
 Smaland and the East sea. 
 
 "Since the stairway is so old, one can, of 
 course, understand that it doesn't look just 
 the same now, as it did when it was new. I 
 don't know how much they troubled them- 
 selves about such matters at that time; but 
 big as it was, no broom could have kept it 
 clean. After a couple of years, moss and 
 lichen began to grow on it. In the autumn 
 dry leaves and dry grass blew down over it; 
 and in the spring it was piled up with falling 
 stones and gravel. And as all these things 
 were left there to mould, they finally gathered 
 so much soil on the steps that not only herbs 
 and grass, but even bushes and trees could 
 take root there. 
 
 "But, at the same time, a great disparity 
 has arisen between the three steps. The 
 topmost step, which lies nearest Smaland, 
 is mostly covered with poor soil and small 
 stones, and no trees except birches and bird- 
 cherry and spruce — ^which can stand the cold 
 on the heights, and are satisfied with little — 
 
174 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 can thrive up there. One understands best 
 how poor and dry it is there, when one sees 
 how small the field-plots are, that are ploughed 
 up from the forest lands ; and how many little 
 cabins the people build for themselves; and 
 how far it is between the churches. But on 
 the middle step there is better soil, and it 
 does not lie bound down under such severe 
 cold, either. This one can see at a glance, 
 since the trees are both higher and of finer 
 quality. There you'll find maple and oak and 
 linden and weeping-birch and hazel trees 
 growing, but no cone-trees to speak of. And 
 it is still more noticeable because of the 
 amount of cultivated land that you will find 
 there; and also because the people have built 
 themselves great and beautiful houses. On 
 the middle step, there are many churches, 
 with large towns around them; and in every 
 way it makes a better and finer appearance 
 than the top step. 
 
 " But the very lowest step is the best of all. 
 It is covered with good rich soil; and, where 
 it lies and bathes in the sea, it hasn't the 
 slightest feeling of the SmMand chill. Beeches 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 175 
 
 and chestnut and walnut trees thrive down 
 here; and they grow so big that they tower 
 above the church-roofs. Here He also the 
 largest grain-fields; but the people have not 
 only timber and farming to live upon, but 
 they are also occupied with fishing and trading 
 and seafaring. For this reason you will find 
 the most costly residences and the prettiest 
 churches here; and the parishes have devel- 
 oped into villages and cities. 
 
 " But this is not all that is said of the three 
 steps. For one must realise that when it 
 rains on the roof of the big Smaland house, or 
 when the snow melts up there, the water has 
 to go somewhere; and then, naturally, a lot 
 of it is spilled over the big stairway. In the 
 beginning it probably oozed over the whole 
 stairway, big as it was ; then cracks appeared 
 in it, and, gradually, the water has accustomed 
 itself to flow alongside of it, in well dug-out 
 grooves. And water is water, whatever one 
 does with it. It never has any rest. In one 
 place it cuts and files away, and in another 
 it adds to. Those grooves it has dug into 
 vales, and the walls of the vales it has decked 
 
176 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 with soil ; and bushes and trees and vines have 
 clung to them ever since — so thick, and in such 
 profusion, that they almost hide the stream of 
 water that winds its way down there in the 
 deep. But when the streams come to the 
 landings between the steps, they throw them- 
 selves headlong over them; this is why the 
 water comes with such a seething rush, that 
 it gathers strength with which to move mill- 
 wheels and machinery — ^these, too, have 
 sprung up by every waterfall. 
 
 " But this does not tell all that is said of the 
 land with the three steps. It must also be 
 told that up in the big house in Sm§.land 
 there lived once upon a time a giant, who had 
 grown very old. And it fatigued him in his 
 extreme age, to be forced to walk down that 
 long stairway in order to catch salmon from 
 the sea. To him it seemed much more suit- 
 able that the salmon should come up to him, 
 where he lived. 
 
 "Therefore, he went up on the roof of his 
 great house; and there he stood and threw 
 stones down into the East sea. He threw 
 them with such force that they flew over the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 177 
 
 whole of Blekinge and dropped into the sea. 
 And when the stones came down, the salmon 
 got so scared that they came up from the sea 
 and fled toward the Blekinge streams; ran 
 through the rapids ; flung themselves with high 
 leaps over the waterfalls, and stopped. 
 
 " How true this is, one can see by the num- 
 ber of islands and points that lie along the 
 coast of Blekinge, and which are nothing in 
 the world but the big stones that the giant 
 threw. 
 
 "One can also tell because the salmon 
 always go up in the Blekinge streams and 
 work their way up through rapids and still 
 water, all the way to Smaland. 
 
 "That giant is worthy of great thanks and 
 much honour from the Blekinge people; for 
 salmon in the streams, and stone-cutting on 
 the island — that means work which gives food 
 to many of them even to this day." 
 
VIII 
 
 BY RONNEBY RIVER 
 
 Friday, April first. 
 
 NEITHER the wild geese nor Smirre Fox 
 had believed that they should ever run 
 across each other after they had left Skine. 
 But now it turned out so that the wild geese 
 happened to take the route over Blekinge and 
 thither Smirre Fox had also gone. 
 
 So far he had kept himself in the northern 
 parts of the province ; and since he had not as 
 yet seen any manor parks, or hunting grounds 
 filled with game and dainty young deer, he 
 was more disgruntled than he could say. 
 
 One afternoon, when Smirre tramped around 
 in the desolate forest district of Mellanbygden, 
 not far from Ronneby River, he saw a 
 flock of wild geese fly through the air. 
 Instantly he observed that one of the geese 
 was white and then he knew, of course, 
 with whom he had to deal. 
 
 X78 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 179 
 
 Smirre began immediately to hunt the geese 
 — ^just as much for the pleasure of getting a 
 good square meal, as for the desire to be 
 avenged for all the humiliation that they had 
 heaped upon him. He saw that they fiew 
 eastward until they came to Ronneby River. 
 Then they changed their course, and followed 
 the river toward the south. He understood 
 that they intended to seek a sleeping-place 
 along the river-bank, and he thought that 
 he should be able to get hold of a pair of them 
 without much trouble. But when Smirre 
 finally discovered the place where the wild 
 geese had taken refuge, he observed they 
 had chosen such a well-protected spot, that he 
 couldn't get near them. 
 
 Ronneby River isn't any big or important 
 body of water ; nevertheless, it is just as much 
 talked of, for the sake of its pretty shores. 
 At several points it forces its way forward 
 between steep mountain-walls that stand 
 upright out of the water, and are entirely 
 overgrown with honeysuckle and bird-cherry, 
 mountain-ash and osier; and there isn't 
 much that can be more delightful than to 
 
i8o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 row out on the little dark river on a pleasant 
 summer day, and look upward on all the 
 soft green that fastens itself to the rugged 
 mountain-sides. 
 
 But now, when the wild geese and Smirre 
 came to the river, it was cold and blustery 
 spring-winter; all the trees were nude, and 
 there was probably no one who thought the 
 least little bit about whether the shore was 
 ugly or pretty. The wild geese thanked their 
 good fortune that they had found a sand- 
 strip large enough for them to stand upon, 
 on a steep mountain wall. In front of them 
 rushed the river, which was strong and 
 violent in the snow-melting time; behind 
 them they had an impassable mountain rock 
 wall, and overhanging branches screened 
 them. They couldn't have it better. 
 
 The geese were asleep instantly; but the 
 boy couldn't get a wink of sleep. As soon as 
 the sun had disappeared he was seized with a 
 fear of the darkness, and a wilderness-terror, 
 and he longed for human beings. Where 
 he lay — ^tucked in under the goose-wing — ^he 
 could see nothing, and only hear a little; and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS i8i 
 
 he thought if any harm came to the goosey- 
 gander, he couldn't save him. 
 
 Noises and rusthngs were heard from all 
 directions, and he grew so uneasy that he had 
 to creep from under the wing and seat himself 
 on the ground, beside the goose. 
 
 Long-sighted Smirre stood on the moun- 
 tain's summit and looked down upon the wild 
 geese. "You may as well give this pursuit 
 up first as last," he said to himself. "You 
 can't climb such a steep mountain; you can't 
 swim in such a wild torrent; and there isn't 
 the tiniest strip of land below the mountain 
 which leads to the sleeping-place. Those 
 geese are too wise for you. Don't ever bother 
 yourself again to hunt them!" 
 
 But Smirre, like all foxes, had found it hard 
 to give up an undertaking already begun, 
 and so he lay down on the extremest point of 
 the mountain edge, and did not take his eyes 
 off the wild geese. While he lay and 
 watched them, he thought of all the harm 
 they had done him. Yes, it was their fault 
 that he had been driven from Sk^ne, and had 
 been obliged to move to poverty-stricken 
 
i82 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Blekinge. He worked himself up to such a 
 pitch, as he lay there, that he wished the 
 wild geese were dead, even if he, himself 
 should not have the satisfaction of eating 
 them. 
 
 When Smirre's resentment had reached 
 this height, he heard rasping in a large pine 
 that grew close to him, and saw a squirrel 
 come down from the tree, hotly pursued by 
 a marten. Neither of them noticed Smirre; 
 and he sat quietly and watched the chase, 
 which went from tree to tree. He looked 
 at the squirrel, who moved among the branches 
 as lightly as though he'd been able to fly. He 
 looked at the marten, who was not as skilled 
 at climbing as the squirrel, but who still ran 
 up and along the branches just as securely 
 as if they had been even paths in the forest. 
 "If I could only climb half as well as either 
 of them," thought the fox, "those things down 
 there wouldn't sleep in peace very long!" 
 
 As soon as the squirrel had been captured, 
 and the chase was at an end, Smirre walked 
 over to the marten, but stopped two steps 
 away from him, to signify that he did not 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 183 
 
 wish to cheat him of his prey. He greeted the 
 marten in a very friendly manner, and wished 
 him good luck with his catch. Smirre chose 
 his words well — as foxes always do. The 
 marten, on the contrary, who, with his long 
 and slender body, his fine head, his soft skin, 
 and his light brown neck-piece, looked like 
 a little marvel of beauty — ^but in reality was 
 nothing but a crude forest dweller — hardly 
 answered him. "It surprises me," said 
 Smirre, "that such a fine hunter as you are 
 should be satisfied with chasing squirrels 
 when there is much better game within reach." 
 Here he paused; but when the marten only 
 grinned impudently at him, he continued: 
 "Can it be possible that you haven't seen the 
 wild geese that stand under the mountain 
 wall? or are you not a good enough climber 
 to get down to them?" 
 
 This time he had no need to wait for an 
 answer. The marten rushed up to him with 
 back bent, and every separate hair on end. 
 "Have you seen wild geese?" he hissed. 
 "Where are they? Tell me instantly, or 
 I'll bite your neck off!" "No! you must 
 
i84 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 remember that I'm twice your size — so be 
 a little polite. I ask nothing better than to 
 show you the wild geese." 
 
 The next instant the marten was on his 
 way down the steep; and while Smirre sat 
 and watched how he swung his snake-like 
 body from branch to branch, he thought: 
 "That pretty tree-hunter has the wickedest 
 heart in all the forest. I believe that the wild 
 geese will have me to thank for a bloody 
 awakening." 
 
 But just as Smirre was waiting to hear the 
 geese's death-rattle, he saw the marten tumble 
 from branch to branch — and plump into the 
 river so the water splashed high. Soon 
 thereafter, wings beat loudly and strongly and 
 all the geese went up in a hurried flight. 
 
 Smirre intended to hurry after the geese, 
 but he was so curious to know how they had 
 been saved, that he sat there until the marten 
 came clambering up. That poor thing was 
 soaked in mud, and stopped every now and 
 then to rub his head with his forepaws. 
 "Now wasn't that just what I thought — 
 that you were a booby, and would go and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 185 
 
 tumble into the river?" said Smirre, con- 
 temptuously. 
 
 " I haven't acted boobyishly. You don't 
 need to scold me," said the marten. "I sat 
 — all ready — on one of the lowest branches 
 and thought how I should manage to tear a 
 whole lot of geese to pieces, when a little 
 creature, no bigger than a squirrel, jumped 
 up and threw a stone at my head with such 
 force, that I fell into the water; and before I 
 had time to pick myself up " 
 
 The marten didn't have to say any more. 
 He had no audience. Smirre was already a 
 long way off in pursuit of the wild geese. 
 
 In the meantime Akka had flown south- 
 ward in search of a new sleeping-place. 
 There was still a little daylight; and, beside, 
 the half-moon stood high in the heavens, so 
 that she could see a little. Luckily, she was 
 well acquainted in these parts, because it had 
 happened more than once that she had been 
 wind-driven to Blekinge when she travelled 
 over the East sea in the spring. 
 
 She followed the river as long as she saw 
 it winding through the moon-lit landscape 
 
i86 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 like a black, shining snake. In this way she 
 came way down to Djupafors — ^where the 
 river first hides itself in an underground 
 channel — ^and then clear and transparent, 
 as though it were made of glass, rushes 
 down in a narrow cleft, and breaks into bits 
 against its bottom in glittering drops and 
 flying foam. Below the white falls lay a 
 few stones, between which the water rushed 
 away in a wild torrent cataract. Here 
 mother Akka alighted. This was another 
 good sleeping-place — especially this late in 
 the evening, when no human beings moved 
 about. At sunset the geese would hardly 
 have been able to camp there, for Djupafors 
 does not lie in any wilderness. On one side 
 of the falls is a paper factory; on the other — 
 which is steep, and tree-grown — is Djupadal's 
 park, where people are always strolling about 
 on the steep and slippery paths to enjoy 
 the wild stream's rushing movement down 
 in the ravine. 
 
 It was about the same here as at the for- 
 mer place; none of the travellers thought the 
 least little bit that they had come to a pretty 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 187 
 
 and well-known place. They thought rather 
 that it was ghastly and dangerous to stand 
 and sleep on slippery, wet stones, in the 
 middle of a rumbling waterfall. But they 
 had to be content, if only they were protected 
 from carnivorous animals. 
 
 The geese fell asleep instantly, while the boy 
 could find no rest in sleep, but sat beside 
 them that he might watch over the goosey- 
 gander. 
 
 After a while, Smirre came running along 
 the river-shore. He spied the geese imme- 
 diately where they stood out in the foam- 
 ing whirlpools, and understood that he 
 couldn't get at them here, either. Still he 
 couldn't make up his mind to abandon them, 
 but seated himself on the shore and looked 
 at them. He felt very much humbled, and 
 thought that his entire reputation as a 
 hunter was at stake. 
 
 All of a sudden, he saw an otter come creep- 
 ing up from the falls with a fish in his mouth. 
 Smirre approached him but stopped within 
 two steps of him, to show him that he didn't 
 wish to take his game from him. 
 
i88 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 " You're a remarkable one, who can content 
 yourself with catching a fish, while the stones 
 are covered with geese ! " said Smirre. He was 
 so eager, that he hadn't taken the time to 
 arrange his words as carefully as he was wont 
 to do. The otter didn't turn his head once 
 in the direction of the river. He was a vaga- 
 bond — ^like all otters — and had fished many 
 times by Vomb Lake, and probably knew 
 Smirre Fox. " I know very well how you act 
 when you want to coax away a salmon-trout, 
 Smirre," said he. 
 
 "Oh! is it you, Gripe?" said Smirre, and 
 was delighted ; for he knew that this partic- 
 ular otter was a quick and accomplished 
 swimmer. "I don't wonder that you do not 
 care to look at the wild geese, since you can't 
 manage to get out to them." But the otter, 
 who had swimming- webs between his toes, 
 and a stiff tail — which was as good as an oar — 
 and a skin that was water-proof, didn't wish 
 to have it said of him that there was a water- 
 fall that he wasn't able to manage. He turned 
 toward the stream ; and as soon as he caught 
 -^ight of the wild geese, he threw the fish away. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 189 
 
 and rushed down the steep shore and into 
 the river. 
 
 If it had been a little later in the spring, 
 so that the nightingales in Djupafors had 
 been at home, they would have sung for many 
 a day, of Gripe's struggle with the rapid. For 
 the otter was thrust back by the waves many 
 times, and carried down river; but he fought 
 his way steadily up again. He swam forward 
 in still water; he crawled over stones, and 
 gradually came nearer the wild geese. It was 
 a perilous trip, which might well have earned 
 the right to be sung by the nightingales. 
 
 Smirre followed the otter's course with his 
 eyes as well as he could. At last he saw that 
 the otter was in the act of climbing up to the 
 wild geese. But just then it shrieked shrill 
 and wild. The otter tumbled backward into 
 the water, and dashed away as if he had been 
 a blind kitten. An instant later, there was 
 a great crackling of geese's wings. They 
 raised themselves and flew away to find 
 another sleeping-place. 
 
 The otter soon came on land. He said 
 nothing, but commenced to lick one of his 
 
iQO ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 forepaws. When Smirre sneered at him 
 because he hadn't succeeded, he broke out : "It 
 was not the fault of my swimming-art, Smirre. 
 I had raced all the way over to the geese, and 
 was about to climb up to them, when a tiny 
 creature came running, and jabbed me in the 
 foot with some sharp iron. It hurt so, I lost 
 my footing, and then the current took me." 
 
 He didn't have to say any more. Smirre 
 was already far away on his way to the wild 
 geese. 
 
 Once again Akka and her flock had to take 
 a night fly. Fortunately, the moon had not 
 gone down; and with the aid of its light, she 
 succeeded in finding another of those sleeping- 
 places which she knew in that neighbourhood. 
 Again she followed the shining river toward 
 the south. Over Djupadal's manor, and over 
 Ronneby's dark roofs and white waterfalls 
 she swayed forward without alighting. But 
 a little south of the city and not far from the 
 sea, lies Ronneby health-spring, with its 
 bath house and spring house; with its big 
 hotel and summer cottages for the Spring's 
 guests. All these stand empty and desolate 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 191 
 
 in winter — which the birds know perfectly 
 well; and many are the bird-companies who 
 seek shelter on the deserted buildings' balus- 
 trades and balconies during hard storm-times. 
 
 Here the wild geese lit on a balcony, and, 
 as usual, they fell asleep at once. The boy, 
 on the contrary, could not sleep because he 
 hadn't cared to creep in under the goosey- 
 gander's wing. 
 
 The balcony faced south, so the boy had 
 an outlook over the sea. And since he could 
 not sleep, he sat there and saw how pretty it 
 looked when sea and land meet, here in 
 Blekinge. 
 
 You see that sea and land can meet in many 
 different ways. In many places the land 
 comes down toward the sea with flat, tufted 
 meadows, and the sea meets the land with 
 flying sand, which piles up in mounds and 
 drifts. It appears as though they both dis- 
 liked each other so much that they only 
 wished to show the poorest they possessed. 
 But it can also happen that, when the land 
 comes toward the sea, it raises a wall of hills 
 in front of it — as though the sea were 
 
192 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 something dangerous. When the land does 
 this, the sea comes up to it with fiery 
 wrath, and beats and roars and lashes against 
 the rocks, and looks as if it would tear the 
 land-hill to pieces. 
 
 But in Blekinge it is altogether different 
 when sea and land meet. There the land 
 breaks itself up into points and islands and 
 islets ; and the sea divides itself into fiords and 
 bays and sounds; and it is, perhaps, this 
 which makes it look as if they must meet in 
 happiness and harmony. 
 
 Think now first and foremost of the sea! 
 Far out it lies desolate and empty and big, 
 and has nothing else to do but to roll its gray 
 billows. When it comes toward the land, it 
 happens across the first obstacle. This it 
 immediately overpowers; tears away every- 
 thing green, and makes it as gray as itself. 
 Then it meets still another obstacle. With 
 this it does the same thing. And still another. 
 Yes, the same thing happens to this also. It 
 is stripped and plundered, as if it had fallen 
 into robbers' hands. Then the obstacles come 
 nearer and nearer together, and then the sea 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 193 
 
 must understand that the land sends toward 
 it her Httlest children, in order to move it to 
 pity. It also becomes more friendly the 
 farther in it comes; rolls its waves less high; 
 moderates its storms; lets the green things 
 stay in cracks and crevices; separates itself 
 into small sounds and inlets, and becomes at 
 last so harmless in the land, that little boats 
 dare venture out on it. It certainly cannot 
 recognise itself — so mild and friendly has it 
 grown. 
 
 And then think of the hillside! It lies 
 uniform, and looks the same almost every- 
 where. It consists of flat grain-fields, with one 
 and another birch-grove between them ; or else 
 of long stretches of forest ranges. It appears 
 as if it had thought about nothing but grain 
 and turnips and potatoes and spruce and pine. 
 Then comes a sea-fiord that cuts far into it. 
 It doesn't mind that, but borders it with birch 
 and alder, just as if it was an ordinary fresh- 
 water lake. Then still another wave comes 
 driving in. Nor does the hillside bother 
 itself about cringing to this, but it, too, gets the 
 same covering as the first one. Then the 
 
194 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 fiords begin to broaden and separate, they 
 break up fields and woods and then the hill- 
 side cannot help but notice them. " I believe 
 it is the sea itself that is coming," says the 
 hillside, and then it begins to adorn itself. 
 It wreathes itself with blossoms, travels up 
 and down in hills and throws islands into 
 the sea. It no longer cares about pines and 
 spruces, but casts them off like old every day 
 clothes, and parades later with big oaks and 
 lindens and chestnuts, and with blossoming 
 leafy bowers, and becomes as gorgeous as a 
 manor-park. And w^hen it meets the sea, it 
 is so changed that it doesn't know itself. All 
 this one cannot see very well until summer- 
 time; but, at any rate, the boy observed how 
 mild and friendly nature was; and he began 
 to feel calmer than he had been before, that 
 night. Then, suddenly, he heard a sharp 
 and ugly yowl from the bath-house park ; and 
 when he stood up he saw, in the white moon- 
 light, a fox standing on the pavement under 
 the balcony. For Smirre had followed the 
 wild geese once more. But when he had 
 found the place where they were quartered, he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 195 
 
 had understood that it was impossible to get 
 at them in any way; then he had not been 
 able to keep from yowling with chagrin. 
 
 When the fox yowled in this manner, old 
 Akka, the leader-goose was awakened. 
 Although she could see nothing, she thought 
 she recognised the voice. " Is it you who are out 
 to-night, Smirre ?" said she. " Yes, ' ' said Smirre, 
 "it is I; and I want to ask what you geese 
 think of the night that I have given you?" 
 
 " Do you mean to say that it is you who have 
 sent the marten and otter against us?" asked 
 Akka. "A good turn shouldn't be denied," 
 said Smirre. "You once plaved the goose- 
 game with me, now I have begun to play the 
 fox-game with you; and I'm not inclined to 
 let up on it so long as a single one of you still 
 lives even if I have to follow you the world 
 over ! " 
 
 "You, Smirre, ought at least to think 
 whether it is right for you, who are weaponed 
 with both teeth and claws, to hound us in this 
 way; we, who are without defence," said Akka. 
 
 Smirre thought that Akka sounded scared, 
 and he said quickly: "If you, Akka, will take 
 
196 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 that Thumbietot — ^who has so often opposed 
 me — and throw him down to me, I'll promise 
 to make peace with you. Then I'll never more 
 pursue you or any of yours." "I'm not 
 going to give you Thumbietot," said Akka. 
 "From the youngest of us to the oldest, we 
 would willingly give our lives for his sake!" 
 "Since you're so fond of him," said Smirre, 
 "I'll promise you that he shall be the first 
 among you that I will wreak vengeance upon." 
 Akka said no more, and after Smirre had 
 sent up a few more yowls, all was still. The 
 boy lay all the while awake. Now it was 
 Akka's words to the fox that prevented him 
 from sleeping. Never had he dreamed that 
 he should hear anything so great as that any- 
 one was willing to risk life for his sake. From 
 that moment, it could no longer be said of 
 Nils Holgersson that he did not care for 
 anyone. 
 
IX 
 
 KARLSKRONA 
 
 Saturday, April third. 
 
 IT WAS a moonlight evening in Karls- 
 krona — calm and beautiful. But earlier 
 in the day, there had been rain and 
 wind; and the people must have thought 
 that the bad weather still continued, for 
 hardly one of them had venttired out on 
 the streets. 
 
 While the city lay there so desolate, Akka, the 
 wild goose, and her flock, came nymg toward 
 it over Vemmon and Pantarholmen. They 
 were out in the late evening to seek a sleeping- 
 place on the islands. They couldn't remain 
 inland because they were disturbed by Smirre 
 Fox wherever they lighted. 
 
 When the boy rode along high up in the 
 
 air, and looked at the sea and the islands 
 
 which spread themselves before him, he 
 
 thought that everything appeared so strange 
 
 197 
 
iqS adventures of nils 
 
 and spook-like. The heavens were no longer 
 blue, but encased him like a globe of green glass. 
 The sea was milk-white, and as far as he could 
 see rolled small white waves tipped with 
 silver ripples. In the midst of all this white 
 lay numerous little islets, absolutely coal 
 black. Whether they were big or little, 
 whether they were as even as meadows, or 
 full of cliffs they looked just as black. Even 
 dwelling houses and churches and windmills, 
 which at other times are white or red, were 
 outlined in black against the green sky. The 
 boy thought it was as if the earth had been 
 transformed, and he was come to another world. 
 He thought that just for this one night he 
 wanted to be brave, and not afraid — ^when 
 he saw something that really frightened 
 him. It was a high cliff island, which 
 was covered with big, angular blocks; and 
 between the blocks shone specks of bright, 
 shining gold. He couldn't keep from think- 
 ing of Maglestone, by Trolle-Ljungby, which 
 the trolls sometimes raised upon high gold 
 pillars; and he wondered if this was some- 
 thing like that. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 199 
 
 But with the stones and the gold it might 
 have gone fairly well, if such a lot of horrid 
 things had not been lying all around the 
 island. It looked like whales and sharks and 
 other big sea-monsters. But the boy under- 
 stood that it was the sea- trolls, who had 
 gathered around the island and intended to 
 crawl up on it, to fight with the land-trolls 
 who lived there. And those on the land were 
 probably afraid, for he saw how a big giant 
 stood on the highest point of the island and 
 raised his arms — ^as if in despair over all the 
 misfortune that should come to him and 
 his island. 
 
 The boy was not a little terrified when he 
 noticed that Akka began to descend right 
 over that particular island! "No, for pity's 
 sake! We must not light there," said he. 
 
 But the geese continued to descend, and 
 soon the boy was astonished that he could 
 have seen things so awry. In the first place, 
 the big stone blocks were nothing but houses. 
 The whole island was a city; and the shining 
 gold specks were street lamps and lighted 
 window-panes. The giant, who stood highest 
 
200 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 up on the island, and raised his arms, was a 
 church with two cross-towers; all the sea- 
 trolls and monsters, which he thought he had 
 seen, were boats and ships of every descrip- 
 tion, that lay anchored all around the island. 
 On the side which lay toward the land were 
 mostly row-boats and sail-boats and small 
 coast steamers; but on the side that faced 
 the sea lay armour-clad battleships; some 
 were broad, with very thick, slanting smoke- 
 stacks; others were long and narrow, and so 
 constructed that they could glide through the 
 water like fishes. 
 
 Now what city might this be? That, the boy 
 could figure out because he saw all the battle- 
 ships. All his life he had loved ships, although 
 he had had nothing to do with any, except 
 the galleys which he had sailed in the road 
 ditches. He knew very well that this city — 
 where so many battleships lay — couldn't be 
 any place but Karlskrona. 
 
 The boy's grandfather had been an old 
 marine; and as long as he had lived, he had 
 talked of Karlskrona every day; of the great 
 warship dock, and of all the other things to be 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 20I 
 
 seen in that city. The boy felt perfectly at 
 home, and he was glad that he should see all 
 this of which he had heard so much. 
 
 But he only had a glimpse of the towers and 
 fortifications which barred the entrance to 
 the harbour, and the many buildings, and the 
 shipyard— before Akka came down on one 
 of the flat church- towers. 
 
 This was a pretty safe place for those who 
 wanted to get away from a fox, and the boy 
 began to wonder if he couldn't venture to 
 crawl in under the goosey-gander's wing for 
 this one night. Yes, that he might safely do. 
 It would do him good to get a little sleep. 
 He should try to see a little more of the dock 
 and the ships after it had grown light. 
 
 The boy himself thought it was strange that 
 he could keep still and wait until the next 
 morning to see the ships. He certainly had 
 not slept five minutes before he slipped out 
 from under the wing and slid down the 
 lightning-rod and the water-spout all the 
 way down to the ground. 
 
 Soon he stood on a big square which spread 
 itself in front of the church. It was covered 
 
202 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 with round stones, and was just as difficult 
 for him to travel over, as it is for big people to 
 walk on a tufted meadow. Those who are 
 accustomed to live in the open — or way out 
 in the country — always feel uneasy when 
 they come into a city, where the houses stand 
 straight and forbidding, and the streets are 
 open, so that everyone can see who goes there. 
 And it happened in the same way with the boy. 
 When he stood on the big Karlskrona square, 
 and looked at the German church, and town 
 hall, and the cathedral from which he had 
 just descended he couldn't do anything but 
 wish that he was back on the tower again with 
 the geese. 
 
 It was a lucky thing that the square was 
 entirely deserted. There wasn't a human 
 being about — unless he counted a statue that 
 stood on a high pedestal. The boy gazed long 
 at the statue, which represented a big, 
 brawny man in a three-cornered hat, long 
 waistcoat, knee-breeches and coarse shoes, 
 and wondered what kind of a one he was. He 
 held a long stick in his hand, and he looked as 
 if he would know how to make use of it, too — 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 203 
 
 for he had an awfully severe countenance, 
 with a big, hooked nose and an ugly mouth. 
 
 "What is that long-lipped thing doing 
 here?" said the boy at last. He had never 
 felt so small and insignificant as he did that 
 night. He tried to jolly himself up a bit by 
 saying something audacious. Then he thought 
 no more about the statue, but betook him- 
 self to a wide street which led down to the sea. 
 
 But the boy hadn't gone far before he heard 
 that someone was following him. Someone 
 was walking behind him, who stamped on the 
 stone pavement with heavy footsteps, and 
 pounded on the ground with a hard stick. 
 It sounded as if the bronze man up in the 
 square had gone out for a promenade. 
 
 The boy listened after the steps, while he 
 ran down the street, and he became more and 
 more convinced that it was the bronze man. 
 The ground trembled, and the houses shook. 
 It couldn't be anyone but he, who walked so 
 heavily, and the boy grew panic-stricken 
 when he thought of what he had just said to 
 him. He did not dare to turn his head to 
 find out if it really was he. 
 
204 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 " Perhaps he is only out walking for recrea- 
 tion," thought the boy. "Surely he can't 
 be offended with me for the words I spoke. 
 They were not at all badly meant." 
 
 Instead of going straight on, and trying to 
 get down to the dock, the boy turned into a 
 side street which led east. First and fore- 
 most, he wanted to get away from the one who 
 tramped after him. 
 
 But the next instant he heard that the 
 bronze man had switched off to the same 
 street; and then the boy was so scared that 
 he didn't know what he would do with him- 
 self. And how hard it was to find any hiding 
 places in a city where all the gates were closed ! 
 Then he saw on his right an old frame 
 church, which lay a short distance away from 
 the street in the centre of a large grove. 
 Not an instant did he pause to consider, but 
 rushed on toward the church. " If I can only 
 get there, then I'll surely be shielded from all 
 harm," thought he. 
 
 As he ran forward, he suddenly caught 
 sight of a man who stood on a gravel path 
 and beckoned to him. "There is certainly 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 205 
 
 someone who will help me!" thought the boy; 
 he became intensely happy, and hurried off in 
 that direction. He was actually so frightened 
 that the heart of him fairly thvimped in his 
 breast. 
 
 But when he came up to the man who 
 stood on the edge of the gravel path, upon a 
 low pedestal, he was absolutely thunder- 
 struck. "Surely, it can't have been that one 
 who beckoned to me!" thought he; for he 
 saw that the entire man was made of wood. 
 
 He stood there and stared at him. He 
 was a thick-set man on short legs, with a 
 broad, ruddy countenance, shiny, black hair 
 and full black beard. On his head he wore 
 a wooden hat; on his body, a brown wooden 
 coat ; around his waist, a black wooden belt ; 
 on his legs he had wide wooden knee-breeches 
 and wooden stockings; and on his feet black 
 wooden shoes. He was newly painted and 
 newly varnished, so that he glistened and 
 shone in the moonlight. This undoubtedly 
 had a good deal to do with giving him such a 
 good-natured appearance, that the boy at 
 once placed confidence in him. 
 
2o6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 In his left hand he held a wooden slate, and 
 there the boy read: 
 
 Most humbly I beg you, 
 Though voice I may lack: 
 
 Come drop a penny, do; 
 But lift my hat! 
 
 Oh ho! the man was only a poor-box. The 
 boy felt that he had been done. He had 
 expected that this should be something 
 really remarkable. And now he remembered 
 that grandpa had also spoken of the wooden 
 man, and said that all the children in Karls- 
 krona were so fond of him. And that must 
 have been true, for he, too, found it hard to 
 part with the wooden man. He had some- 
 thing so old-timy about him, that one could 
 well take him to be many hundred years old; 
 and at the same time, he looked so strong 
 and bold, and animated — ^just as one might 
 imagine that folks looked in olden times. 
 The boy had so much fun looking at the 
 wooden man, that he entirely forgot the 
 one from whom he was fleeing. But now 
 he heard him. He turned from the street and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 207 
 
 came into the churchyard. He followed him 
 here too! Where should the boy go? 
 
 Just then he saw the wooden man bend 
 down to him and stretch forth his big, broad 
 hand. It was impossible to believe anything 
 but good of him ; and with one jump, the boy 
 stood in his hand. The wooden man lifted 
 him to his hat — and stuck him under it. 
 
 The boy was just hidden, and the wooden 
 man had just gotten his arm in its right place 
 again, when the bronze man stopped in front 
 of him and banged the stick on the ground, 
 so that the wooden man shook on his pedestal. 
 Thereupon the bronze man said in a strong 
 and resonant voice : ' ' Who might this one be ? " 
 
 The wooden man's arm went up, so that it 
 creaked in the old woodwork, and he touched 
 his hat-brim as he replied; "Rosenbom, by 
 Your Majesty's leave. Once upon a time boat- 
 swain on the man-of-war, Dristigheten; after 
 completed service, sexton at the Admiral's 
 church — and, lately, carved in wood and 
 exhibited in the churchyard as a poor-box." 
 
 The boy gave a start when he heard that 
 the wooden man said "Your Majesty." For 
 
2o8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 now, when he thought about it, he knew that 
 the statue on the square represented the one 
 who had founded the city. It was probably 
 no less an one than Charles the Eleventh 
 himself, whom he had encountered. 
 
 "He gives a good account of himself," 
 said the bronze man. "Can he also tell me 
 if he has seen a little brat who runs around in 
 the city to-night? He's an impudent rascal, 
 if I get hold of him, I'll teach him manners!" 
 With that, he again pounded on the ground 
 with his stick, and looked fearfully angry. 
 
 " By Your Majesty's leave, I have seen him," 
 said the wooden man; and the boy was so 
 scared that he commenced to shake where 
 he sat under the hat and looked at the bronze 
 man through a crack in the wood. But he 
 calmed down when the wooden man continued : 
 " Your Majesty is on the wrong track. That 
 youngster certainly intended to run into the 
 shipyard, and conceal himself there." 
 
 "Does he say so, Rosenbom? Well then, 
 don't stand still on the pedestal any longer 
 but come with me and help me find him. 
 Four eyes are better than two, Rosenbom." 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 209 
 
 But the wooden man answered in a doleful 
 voice: "I would most humbly beg to be 
 permitted to stay where I am. I look well 
 and sleek because of the paint, but I'm old 
 and mouldy, and cannot stand moving about." 
 
 The bronze man was not one of those who 
 liked to be contradicted. "What sort of 
 notions are these? Come along, Rosenbom!" 
 Then he raised his stick and gave the other 
 one a resounding whack on the shoulder. 
 " Does Rosenbom not see that he holds 
 together?" 
 
 With that they broke off and walked 
 forward on the streets of Karlskrona — large 
 and mighty — until they came to a high gate, 
 which led to the shipyard. Just outside 
 and on guard walked one of the navy's jack- 
 tars, but the bronze man strutted past him 
 and kicked the gate open without the jack- 
 tar's pretending to notice it. 
 
 As soon as they had gotten into the ship- 
 yard, they saw before them a wide, expansive 
 harbour separated by pile-bridges. In the 
 different harbour basins, lay the warships, 
 which looked bigger, and more awe-inspiring 
 
2IO ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 close to, like this, than lately, when the boy 
 had seen them from up above. "Then it 
 wasn't so crazy after all, to imagine that they 
 were sea- trolls," thought he. 
 
 "Where does Rosenbom think it most 
 advisable for us to begin the search?" said 
 the bronze man. 
 
 "Such an one as he, could most easily con- 
 ceal himself in the hall of models," replied 
 the wooden man. 
 
 On a narrow land-strip which stretched to 
 the right from the gate, all along the har- 
 bour, lay ancient structures. The bronze 
 man walked over to a building with low walls, 
 small windows, and a conspicuous roof. He 
 pounded on the door with his stick until it 
 burst open ; and tramped up a pair of worn-out 
 steps. Soon they came into a large hall, 
 which was filled with tackled and full-rigged 
 little ships. The boy understood without 
 being told, that these were models for the 
 ships which had been built for the Swedish 
 navy. 
 
 There were ships of many different varieties. 
 There were old men-of-war, whose sides 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 211 
 
 bristled with cannon, and which had high 
 structures fore and aft, and their masts 
 weighed down with a network of sails and 
 ropes. There were small island-boats with 
 rowing-benches along the sides; there were 
 undecked cannon sloops and richly gilded 
 frigates, which were models of the ones the 
 kings had used on their travels. Finally, 
 there were also the heavy, broad armour- 
 plated ships with towers and cannon on 
 deck — such as are in use nowadays ; and nar- 
 row, shining torpedo boats which resembled 
 long, slender fishes. 
 
 When the boy was carried around among 
 all this, he was awed. *' Fancy that such 
 big, splendid ships have been built here in 
 Sweden ! " he thought to himself. 
 
 He had plenty of time to see all that was 
 to be seen in there; for when the bronze man 
 saw the models, he forgot everything else. 
 He examined them all, from the first to the 
 last, and asked about them. And Rosenbom, 
 the boatswain on the Dristigheten, told as 
 much as he knew of the ships' builders, and 
 of those who had manned them; and of the 
 
212 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 fates they had met. He told them about 
 Chapman and Puke and TroUe; of Hoagland 
 and Svensksund — all the way along until 
 1809 — after that he had not been there. 
 
 Both he and the bronze man had the most 
 to say about the fine old wooden ships. The 
 new battleships they didn't exactly appear 
 to understand. 
 
 " I can hear that Rosenbom doesn't know 
 anything about these new-fangled things," 
 said the bronze man. "Therefore, let us go 
 and look at something else; for this amuses 
 me, Rosenbom." 
 
 By this time he had entirely given up his 
 search for the boy, who felt calm and secure 
 where he sat in the wooden hat. 
 
 Thereupon both men wandered through 
 the big establishment : sail-making shops, 
 anchor smithy, machine and carpenter shops. 
 They saw the mast sheers and the docks,; 
 the large magazines, the arsenal, the rope- 
 bridge and the big discarded dock, which 
 had been blasted in the rock. They went out 
 upon the pile-bridges, where the naval vessels 
 lay moored, stepped on board and examined 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 213 
 
 them like two old sea-dogs ; wondered ; disap- 
 proved; approved; and became indignant. 
 
 The boy sat in safety under the wooden 
 hat, and heard all about how they had 
 laboured and struggled in this place, to equip 
 the navies which had gone out from here. 
 He heard how life and blood had been risked ; 
 how the last penny had been sacrificed to 
 build the warships; how skilled men had 
 strained all their powers, in order to perfect 
 these ships which had been their father- 
 land's safeguard. A couple of times the 
 tears came to the boy's eyes, as he heard all 
 this. 
 
 And the very last, they went into an open 
 court, where the galley models of old men-of- 
 war were grouped; and a more remarkable 
 sight the boy had never beheld; for these 
 models had inconceivably powerful and terror- 
 striking faces. They were big, fearless and 
 savage: filled with the same proud spirit 
 that had fitted out the great ships. They 
 were from another time than his. He thought 
 that he shrivelled up before them. 
 
 But when they came in here, the bronze 
 
214 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 man said to the wooden man: "Take off thy 
 hat, Rosenbom, for those that stand here! 
 They have all fought for the fatherland." 
 
 And Rosenbom — like the bronze man — 
 had forgotten why they had begun this 
 tramp. Without thinking, he lifted the 
 wooden hat from his head and shouted : 
 
 " I take off my hat to the one who chose 
 the harbour and founded the shipyard and 
 re-created the navy ; to the monarch who has 
 awakened all this into life!" 
 
 "Thanks, Rosenbom! That was well 
 spoken. Rosenbom is a fine man. But what 
 is this, Rosenbom?" 
 
 For there stood Nils Holgersson, right on 
 the top of Rosenbom 's bald pate. He wasn't 
 afraid any longer; but raised his white tobog- 
 gan hood, and shouted: "Hurrah for you, 
 Longlip ! ' ' 
 
 The bronze man struck the ground hard 
 with his stick; but the boy never learned 
 what he had intended to do for now the sun 
 ran up, and, at the same time, both the 
 bronze man and the wooden man vanished — 
 as if they had been made of mists. While he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 215 
 
 still stood and stared after them, the wild 
 geese flew up from the church tower, and 
 swayed back and forth over the city. In- 
 stantly they caught sight of Nils Holgersson ; 
 and then the big white one darted down 
 from the sky and fetched him. 
 
X 
 
 THE TRIP TO OLAND 
 
 Sunday, April third. 
 
 THE wild geese went out on a wooded 
 island to feed. There they happened 
 to run across a few gray geese, who were sur- 
 prised to see them — since they knew very 
 well that their kinsmen, the wild geese, 
 usually travel over the interior of the country. 
 They were curious and inquisitive, and 
 wouldn't be satisfied with less than that the 
 wild geese should tell them all about the per- 
 secution which they had to endure from Smirre 
 Fox. When they had finished, a gray goose, 
 who appeared to be as old and as wise as 
 Akka herself, said: "It was a great mis- 
 fortune for you that Smirre Fox was declared 
 an outlaw in his own land. He'll be sure to 
 keep his word, and follow you all the way up 
 to Lappland. If I were in your place, I 
 shouldn't travel north over Smaland, but 
 
 2l6 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 217 
 
 would take the outside route over Oland 
 instead, so that he'll be thrown off the track 
 entirely. To really mislead him, you must 
 remain for a couple of days on Gland's 
 southern point. There you'll find lots of 
 food and lots of company. I don't believe 
 you'll regret it, if you go over there." 
 
 It was certainly very sensible advice, and 
 the wild geese concluded to follow it. As 
 soon as they had eaten all they could hold, 
 they started on the trip to Oland. None of 
 them had ever been there before, but the 
 gray goose had given them excellent direc- 
 tions. They only had to travel direct south 
 until they came to a large bird-track, which 
 extended all along the Blekinge coast. All 
 the birds who had winter residences by the 
 West sea, and who now intended to travel to 
 Finland and Russia, flew forward there — 
 and, in passing, they were always in the habit 
 of stopping at Oland to rest. The wild 
 geese would have no trouble in finding guides. 
 
 That day it was perfectly still and warm 
 — like a summer's day — the best weather 
 in the world for a sea trip. The only grave 
 
3l8 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 thing about it was that it was not quite clear, 
 for the sky was gray and veiled. Here and 
 there were enormous mist-clouds which 
 hung way down to the sea's outer edge, and 
 obstructed the view. 
 
 When the travellers had gotten away 
 from the wooded island, the sea spread itself 
 so smooth and mirror-like, that the boy as 
 he looked down thought the water had 
 disappeared. There was no longer any earth 
 under him. He had nothing but mist and 
 sky around him. He grew very dizzy, and 
 held himself tight on the goose-back, more 
 frightened than when he sat there for the first 
 time. It seemed as though he couldn't 
 possibly hold on; he must fall in some 
 direction. 
 
 It was even worse when they reached the 
 big bird-track, of which the gray goose had 
 spoken. Actually, there came flock after 
 flock flying in exactly the same direction. 
 They seemed to follow a fixed route. There 
 were ducks and gray geese, surf -scoters and 
 guillemots, loons and pin-tail ducks and 
 mergansers and grebes and oyster-catchers 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 219 
 
 and sea-grouse. But now, when the boy 
 leaned forward, and looked in the direction 
 where the sea ought to lie, he saw the whole 
 bird procession reflected in the water. But 
 he was so dizzy that he didn't understand 
 how this had come about: he thought that 
 the whole bird procession flew with their 
 bellies upside down. Still he didn't wonder 
 at this so much, for he did not himself know 
 which was up, and which was down. 
 
 The birds were tired out and impatient to 
 get on. None of them shrieked or said a 
 funny thing, and this made everything seem 
 peculiarly unreal. 
 
 "Think, if we have travelled away from 
 the earth!" he said to himself. "Think, if 
 we are on our way up to heaven ! " 
 
 He saw nothing but mists and birds around 
 him, and began to look upon it as reasonable 
 that they were travelling heavenward. He 
 was glad, and wondered what he should see 
 up there. The dizziness passed all at once. 
 He was so exceedingly happy at the thought 
 that he was on his way to heaven and was 
 leaving this earth. 
 
220 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Just about then he heard a couple of loud 
 shots, and saw two white smoke-columns 
 ascend. 
 
 There was a sudden awakening, and an 
 unrest among the birds. "Hunters ! Hunters ! ' ' 
 they cried. "Fly high! Fly away!" 
 
 Then the boy saw, finally, that they were 
 travelling all the while over the sea-coast, 
 and that they certainly were not in heaven. 
 In a long row lay small boats filled with 
 hunters, who fired shot upon shot. The 
 nearest bird-flocks hadn't noticed them in 
 time. They had flown too low. Several 
 dark bodies sank down toward the sea; and 
 for everyone that fell, there arose cries of 
 anguish from the living. 
 
 It was strange for one who had but lately 
 believed himself in heaven, to wake up 
 suddenly to such fear and lamentation. Akka 
 shot toward the heights as fast as she could, 
 and the flock followed with the greatest pos- 
 sible speed. The wild geese got safely out 
 of the way, but the boy couldn't get over his 
 amazement. "To think that anyone could 
 wish to shoot upon such as Akka and Yksi 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 221 
 
 and Kaksi and the goosey-gander and the 
 others! Human beings had no conception 
 of what they did." 
 
 So it bore on again, in the still air, and every- 
 thing was as quiet as heretofore — with the 
 exception that some of the tired birds called 
 out every now and then: "Are we not there 
 soon ? Are you sure we're on the right track ? " 
 Hereupon, those who flew in the centre 
 answered: " We are flying straight to Oland; 
 straight to Oland." 
 
 The gray geese were tired out, and the 
 loons flew around them. "Don't be in such 
 a rush!" cried the ducks. "You'll eat up 
 all the food before we get there." "Oh! 
 there'll be enough for both you and us," 
 answered the loons. 
 
 Before they had gotten so far that they saw 
 Oland, there came a light wind against them. 
 It brought with it something that resembled 
 immense clouds of white smoke — just as if 
 there was a big fire somewhere. 
 
 When the birds saw the first white spiral 
 haze, they became uneasy and increased their 
 speed. But that which resembled smoke 
 
222 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 blew thicker and thicker, and at last it 
 enveloped them altogether. They smelled no 
 smoke; and the smoke was not dark and dry, 
 but white and damp. Suddenly the boy 
 understood that it was nothing but a mist. 
 
 When the mist became so thick that one 
 couldn't see a goose-length ahead, the birds 
 began to carry on like real lunatics. All these, 
 who before had travelled forward in such 
 perfect order, began to play in the mist. 
 They flew hither and thither, to entice one 
 another astray. "Be careful!" they cried. 
 "You're only travelling round and round. 
 Turn back, for pity's sake! You'll never 
 get to Oland in this way." 
 
 They all knew perfectly well where the 
 island was, but they did their best to lead 
 each other astray. "Look at those wag- 
 tails!" rang out in the mist. "They are 
 going back toward the North Sea!" "Have 
 a care, wild geese!" shrieked someone from 
 another direction. " If you continue like 
 this, you'll get clear up to Riigen." 
 
 There was, of course, no danger that the 
 birds who were accustomed to travel here, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 223 
 
 would permit themselves to be lured in a 
 wrong direction. But the ones who had a 
 hard time of it were the wild geese. The 
 jesters observed that they were uncertain as 
 to the way, and did all they could to confuse 
 them. 
 
 " Where do you intend to go, good people? " 
 called a swan. He came right up to Akka, 
 and looked sympathetic and serious. 
 
 "We shall travel to Oland; but we have 
 never been there befort,," said Akka. She 
 thought that this was a bird to be trusted. 
 
 "It's too bad," said the swan. "They 
 have lured you in the wrong direction. You're 
 on the road to Blekinge. Now come with 
 me, and I'll put you right!" 
 
 And so he flew off with them ; and when he 
 had taken them so far away from the track 
 that they heard no calls, he disappeared in 
 the mist. 
 
 They flew around for a while at random. 
 They had barely succeeded in finding the birds 
 again, when a duck approached them. " It's 
 best that you lie down on the water until the 
 mist clears," said the duck. "It is evident 
 
224 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 that you are not accustomed to look out for 
 yourselves on journeys." 
 
 Those rogues succeeded in making Akka's 
 head swim. As near as the boy could make 
 out, the wild geese flew round and round for 
 a long time. 
 
 "Be careful! Can't you see that you are 
 flying up and down?" shouted a loon as he 
 rushed by. The boy positively clutched the 
 goosey-gander around the neck. This was 
 something which he had feared for a long 
 time. 
 
 No one can tell when they would have 
 arrived, if they hadn't heard a rolling and 
 muffled sound in the distance. 
 
 Then Akka craned her neck, snapped hard 
 with her wings, and rushed on at full speed. 
 Now she had something to go by. The gray 
 goose had told her not to light on Oland's 
 southern point, because there was a cannon 
 there, which the people used to shoot the 
 mist with. Now she knew the way, and now 
 no one in the world should lead her astray 
 again. 
 
XI 
 
 GLAND'S SOUTHERN POINT 
 
 April third to sixth. 
 
 ON THE most southerly part of Oland 
 lies a royal demesne, which is called 
 Ottenby. It is a rather large estate which 
 extends from shore to shore, straight across 
 the island; and it is remarkable because it 
 has always been a haunt for large bird- 
 companies. In the Seventeenth Century, 
 when the kings used to go over to Oland to 
 hunt, the entire estate was nothing but a deer 
 park. In the Eighteenth Century there was 
 a stud there, where blooded race-horses were 
 bred; and a sheep farm, where several hun- 
 dred sheep were maintained. In our days 
 you'll find neither blooded horses nor sheep at 
 Ottenby. In place of them, live great herds 
 of young horses, which are to be used by the 
 cavalry. 
 
 In all the land there is certainly no place 
 
 225 
 
226 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 that could be a better abode for animals. 
 Along the extreme eastern shore lies the old 
 sheep meadow, which is a mile and a half long, 
 and the largest meadow in all Oland, where 
 animals can graze and play and run about, as 
 free as if they were in a wilderness. And 
 there you will find the celebrated Ottenby 
 grove with the hundred-year-old oaks, which 
 give shade from the sun, and shelter from the 
 severe Oland winds. And we must not forget 
 the long Ottenby wall, which stretches from 
 shore to shore, and separates Ottenby from 
 the rest of the island, so that the animals 
 may know how far the old royal demesne 
 extends, and be careful about getting in on 
 other ground, where they are not so well 
 protected. 
 
 You'll find plenty of tame animals at 
 Ottenby, but that isn't all. One could almost 
 believe that the wild ones also felt that on an 
 old crown property both the wild and the tame 
 ones can count upon shelter and protection — • 
 since they venture there in such great numbers. 
 
 Beside, there are still a few stags of the 
 old descent left; and burrow-ducks and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 227 
 
 partridges love to live there, and it offers a 
 resting place, in the spring and late summer, 
 for thousands of migratory birds. Above all, 
 it is the swampy eastern shore below the 
 sheep-meadow, where the migratory birds 
 alight, to rest and feed. 
 
 When the wild geese and Nils Holgersson 
 had finally found their way to Oland, they 
 came down, like all the rest, on the shore near 
 the sheep meadow. The mist lay thick over 
 the island, just as it had over the sea. But 
 still the boy was amazed at all the birds which 
 he discerned, only on the little narrow stretch 
 of shore which he could see. 
 
 It was a low sand-shore with stones and 
 pools, and a lot of cast-up sea- weed. If the 
 boy had been permitted to choose, it isn't 
 likely that he would have thought of alighting 
 there; but the birds probably looked upon 
 this as a veritable paradise. Ducks and geese 
 walked about and fed on the meadow; nearer 
 the water, ran snipe, and other coast-birds. 
 The loons lay in the sea and fished, but the 
 life and movement was upon the long sea- 
 weed banks along the coast. There the birds 
 
228 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 stood side by side close together and picked 
 grub-worms — which must have been found 
 there in Hmitless quantities for it was very 
 evident that there was never any complaint 
 over a lack of food. 
 
 The great majority were going to travel 
 farther, and had only alighted to take a short 
 rest; and as soon as the leader of a flock 
 thought that his comrades had recovered 
 themselves sufficiently he said, " If you are 
 ready now, we may as well move on." 
 
 "No, wait, wait! We haven't had anything 
 like enough," said the followers. 
 
 "You surely don't believe that I intend to 
 let you eat so much that you will not be able 
 to move?" said the leader, and flapped his 
 wings and started off. Along the outermost 
 sea- weed banks lay a flock of swans. They 
 didn't bother about going on land, but rested 
 themselves by lying and rocking on the water. 
 Now and then they dived down with their necks 
 and brought up food from the sea-bottom. 
 When they had gotten hold of anything very 
 good, they indulged in loud shouts that 
 sounded like trumpet calls. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 229 
 
 When the boy heard that there were swans 
 on the shoals, he hurried out to the sea- weed 
 banks. He had never before seen wild swans 
 at close range. He had luck on his side, so 
 that he got close up to them. 
 
 The boy was not the only one who had heard 
 the swans. Both the wild geese and the gray 
 geese and the loons swam out between the 
 banks, laid themselves in a ring around the 
 swans and stared at them. The swans ruf- 
 fled their feathers, raised their wings like sails, 
 and lifted their necks high in the air. Occa 
 sionally one and another of them swam up to 
 a goose, or a great loon, or a diving-duck, and 
 said a few words. And then it appeared as 
 though the one addressed hardly dared raise 
 his bill to reply. "^ 
 
 But then there was a little loon — a tiny 
 mischievous baggage — ^who couldn't stand all 
 this ceremony. He dived suddenly, and 
 disappeared under the water's edge. Soon 
 after that, one of the swans let out a scream, 
 and swam off so quickly that the water 
 foamed. Then he stopped and began to look 
 majestic once more. But soon, another one 
 
230 ADVENTURES OP NILS 
 
 shrieked in the same way as the first one, and 
 then a third. 
 
 The Httle loon wasn't able to stay under 
 water any longer, but appeared on the water's 
 edge, little and black and venomous. The 
 swans rushed toward him; but when they saw 
 what a poor little thing it was, they turned 
 abruptly — as if they considered themselves 
 too good to quarrel with him. Then the little 
 loon dived again, and pinched their feet. It 
 certainly must have hurt; and the worst of it 
 was, that they could not maintain their 
 dignity. At once they took a decided stand. 
 They began to beat the air with their wings 
 so that it thundered; came forward a bit — as 
 though they were running on the water — 
 finally, got wind under their wings, and raised 
 themselves. 
 
 When the swans were gone they were 
 greatly missed; and those who had lately 
 been amused by the little loon's antics scolded 
 him for his thoughtlessness. 
 
 The boy walked toward land again . There 
 he stationed himself to see how the pool- 
 snipe played. They resembled small storks; 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 231 
 
 like these, they had Httle bodies, long legs 
 and necks, and light, swaying movements; 
 only they were not gray, but brown. They 
 stood in a long row on the shore where it 
 was washed by waves. As soon as a wave 
 rolled in, the whole row ran backward; as 
 soon as it receded, they followed it. And 
 they kept this up for hours. 
 
 The showiest of all the birds were the 
 burrow-ducks. They were undoubtedly 
 related to the ordinary ducks; for, like these, 
 they too had a thick-set body, broad bill, and 
 webbed feet ; but they were much more elab- 
 orately gotten up. The feather dress, itself, 
 was white; around their necks they wore a 
 broad gold band; the wing-mirror shone in 
 green, red, and black; and the wing-edges were 
 black, and the head was dark green and 
 shimmered like satin. 
 
 As soon as any of these appeared on the 
 shore, the others said: "Now, just look at 
 those things! They know how to tog them- 
 selves out." "If they were not so con- 
 spicuous, they wouldn't have to dig their 
 nests in the earth, but could lay above ground. 
 
232 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 like anyone else," said a brown mallard-duck. 
 "They may try as much as they please, still 
 they'll never get anywhere with such noses," 
 said a gray goose. And this was actually 
 true. The burrow-ducks had a big knob on 
 the base of the bill, which spoiled their 
 appearance. 
 
 Close to the shore, sea-gulls and sea- 
 swallows moved forward on the water and 
 fished. "What kind of fish are you catch- 
 ing?" asked a wild goose. "It's a stickle- 
 back. It's Oland stickleback. It's the best 
 stickleback in the world," said a gull, 
 "Won't you taste of it?" And he flew up to 
 the goose, with his mouth full of the little 
 fishes, and wanted to give her some. "Ugh! 
 Do you think that I eat such filth?" said the 
 wild goose. 
 
 The next morning it was just as cloudy. 
 The wild geese walked about on the meadow 
 and fed; but the boy had gone to the sea- 
 shore to gather mussels. There were plenty 
 of them; and when he thought that the next 
 day, perhaps, they would be in some place 
 where they couldn't get any food at all, he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 233 
 
 concluded that he would try to make himself 
 a little bag, which he could fill with mussels. 
 He found an old sedge on the meadow, which 
 was strong and tough; and out of this he 
 began to braid a knapsack.. He worked at 
 this for several hours, but he was well satis- 
 fied with it when it was finished. 
 
 At dinner time all the wild geese came 
 running and asked him if he had seen any- 
 thing of the white goosey-gander. "No, he 
 has not been with me," said the boy. "We 
 had him with us all along until just lately," 
 said Akka, "but now we no longer know 
 where he's to be found." 
 
 The boy jumped up, and was terribly fright- 
 ened. He asked if any fox or eagle had put 
 in an appearance, or if any human being had 
 been seen in the neighbourhood. But no one 
 had noticed anything dangerous. The 
 goosey-gander had probably lost his way in 
 the mist. 
 
 But it was just as great a misfortune for the 
 boy, in whatever way the white one had been 
 lost, and he started off immediately to hunt 
 for him. The mist shielded him, so that he 
 
234 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 could run wherever he wished without being 
 seen, but it also prevented him from seeing. 
 He ran southward along the shore — all the 
 way down to the lighthouse and the mist 
 cannon on the island's extreme point. It 
 was the same bird confusion everywhere, 
 but no goosey-gander. He ventured over to 
 Ottenby estate, and he searched every one of 
 the old, hollow oaks in Ottenby grove, but 
 he saw no trace of the goosey-gander. 
 
 He searched until it began to grow dark. 
 Then he had to turn back again to the eastern 
 shore. He walked with heavy steps, and 
 was fearfully blue. He didn't know what 
 would become of him if he couldn't find the 
 goosey-gander. There was no one whom he 
 could spare less. 
 
 But when he wandered over the sheep 
 meadow, what was that big, white thing that 
 came toward him in the mist if it wasn't 
 the goosey-gander? He was all right, and 
 very glad that, at last, he had been able to 
 find his way back to the others. The mist 
 had made him so dizzy, he said, that he had 
 wandered around on the big meadow all day 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 235 
 
 long. The boy threw his arms around his neck, 
 for very joy, and begged him to take care of 
 himself, and not wander away from the others. 
 And he promised, positively, that he never 
 would do this again. No, never again. 
 
 But the next morning, when the boy went 
 down to the beach and hunted for mussels, 
 the geese came running and asked if he had 
 seen the goosey-gander. No, of course he 
 hadn't. "Well, then the goosey-gander was 
 lost again. He had gone astray in the mist, 
 just as he had done the day before." 
 
 The boy ran off in great terror and began 
 to search. He found one place where the 
 Ottenby wall was so tumble-down that he 
 could climb over it. Later, he went about, 
 first on the shore — which gradually widened 
 and became so large that there was room for 
 fields and meadows and farms — then up on 
 the flat highland, which lay in the middle of 
 the island, and where there were no buildings 
 except windmills, and where the turf was so 
 thin that the white cement shone under it. 
 
 Meanwhile, he could not find the goosey- 
 gander; and as it drew on toward evening, 
 
236 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 and the boy must return to the beach, he 
 couldn't beheve anything but that his 
 travelhng companion was lost. He was so 
 depressed, he did not know what to do 
 with himself. 
 
 He had just climbed over the wall again 
 when he heard a stone crash down close 
 beside him. As he turned to see what it was, 
 he thought that he could distinguish some- 
 thing that moved on a stone pile which lay 
 close to the wall. He stole nearer, and saw 
 the goosey-gander come trudging wearily 
 over the stone pile, with several long fibres in 
 his mouth. The goosey-gander didn't see 
 the boy, and the boy did not call to him, but 
 thought it advisable to find out first why the 
 goosey-gander time and again disappeared in 
 this manner. 
 
 And he soon learned the reason for it. Up 
 in the stone-pile lay a young gray goose, 
 who cried with joy when the goosey-gander 
 came. The boy crept near, so that he heard 
 what they said; then he found out that the 
 gray goose had been wounded in one wing, 
 so that she could not fly, and that her flock 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 237 
 
 had travelled away from her, and left her 
 alone. She had been near death's door with 
 hunger, when the white goosey-gander had 
 heard her call, the other day, and had 
 sought her out. Ever since, he had been 
 carrying food to her. They had both hoped 
 that she would be well before they left the 
 island, but, as yet, she could neither fly nor 
 walk. She was very much worried over this, 
 but he comforted her with the thought that 
 he shouldn't travel for a long time. At last 
 he bade her good-night, and promised to come 
 the next day. 
 
 The boy let the goosey-gander go; and as 
 soon as he was gone, he stole, in turn, up to 
 the stone heap. He was angry because he had 
 been deceived, and now he wanted to say to 
 that gray goose that the goosey-gander was 
 his property. He was going to take the 
 boy up to Lappland, and there would be 
 no talk of his staying here on her account. 
 But now, when he saw the young gray goose 
 close to, he understood, not only why the 
 goosey-gander had gone and carried food to 
 her for two days, but also why he had not 
 
238 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 wished to mention that he had helped her. 
 She had the prettiest Httle head ; her feather- 
 dress was Hke soft satin, and the eyes were 
 mild and pleading. 
 
 When she saw the boy, she wanted to run 
 away; but the left wing was out of joint and 
 dragged on the ground, so that it interfered 
 with her movements. 
 
 "You mustn't be afraid of me," said the 
 boy, and didn't look nearly so angry as he had 
 intended to appear. "I'm Thumbietot, Mor- 
 ten goosey-gander's comrade," he continued. 
 Then he stood there, and didn't know what 
 he wanted to say. 
 
 Occasionally one finds something among 
 animals which makes one wonder what sort of 
 creatures they really are. One is almost 
 afraid that they may be transformed human 
 beings. It was something like this with the 
 gray goose. As soon as Thumbietot said 
 who he was, she lowered her neck and head 
 very charmingly before him, and said in a 
 voice that was so pretty that he couldn't 
 believe it was a goose who spoke: "I am 
 very glad that you have come here to help 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 239 
 
 me. The white goosey-gander has told me 
 that no one is as wise and as good as you." 
 
 She said this with such dignity, that the 
 boy grew really embarrassed. "This surely 
 can't be any bird," thought he. "It is cer- 
 tainly some bewitched princess." 
 
 He was filled with a desire to help her, and 
 ran his hand under the feathers, and felt 
 along the wing-bone. The bone was not 
 broken, but there was something wrong with 
 the joint. He got his finger down into the 
 empty cavity. "Be careful, now!" he said; 
 and got a firm grip on the bone-pipe and fitted 
 it into the place where it ought to be. He did 
 it very quickly and well, considering it was the 
 first time that he had attempted anything of 
 the sort. But it must have hurt very much, for 
 the poor young goose uttered a single shrill 
 cry, and then sank down among the stones 
 without showing a sign of life. 
 
 The boy was terribly frightened. He had 
 only wished to help her, and now she was 
 dead. He made a big jump from the stone 
 pile, and ran away. He thought it was as 
 though he had murdered a human being. 
 
240 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The next morning it was clear and free 
 from mist, and Akka said that now they 
 should continue their travels. All the others 
 were willing to go, but the white goosey- 
 gander made excuses. The boy understood 
 well enough that he didn't care to leave the 
 gray goose. Akka did not listen to him, but 
 started off. 
 
 The boy jumped up on the goosey-gander's 
 back, and the white one followed the flock — 
 albeit slowly and unwillingly. The boy was 
 mighty glad that they could fly away from 
 the island. He was conscience-stricken on 
 account of the gray goose, and had not cared 
 to tell the goosey-gander how it had turned 
 out when he had tried to cure her. It would 
 probably be best if Morten goosey-gander 
 never found out about this, he thought, 
 though he wondered, at the same time, how 
 the white one had the heart to leave the gray 
 goose. 
 
 But suddenly the goosey-gander turned. 
 The thought of the young gray goose had 
 overpowered him. It could go as it would 
 with the Lappland trip: he couldn't go 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 241 
 
 with the others when he knew that she lay 
 alone and ill, and would starve to death. 
 
 With a few wing-strokes he was over by 
 the stone pile; but then, there lay no young 
 gray goose between the stones. "Dunfin! 
 Dunfin ! Where art thou ? ' ' called the goosey- 
 gander. 
 
 " The fox has probably been here and taken 
 her," thought the boy. But at that moment 
 he heard a pretty voice answer the goosey- 
 gander. "Here am I, goosey-gander; here 
 am I! I have only been taking a morning 
 bath." And up from the water came the 
 little gray goose — fresh and in good trim — 
 and told how Thumb ietot had pulled her 
 wing into place, and that she was entirely 
 well, and ready to follow them on the journey. 
 
 The drops of water lay like pearl-dew on her 
 shimmery satin-like feathers, and Thumbietot 
 thought once again that she was a real little 
 princess. 
 
XII 
 
 THE BIG BUTTERFLY 
 
 Wednesday, April sixth. 
 
 THE geese travelled alongside the coast of 
 the long island, which lay distinctly 
 visible under them. The boy felt happy 
 and light of heart during the trip. He was 
 just as pleased and well satisfied as he had 
 been glum and depressed the day before, 
 when he roamed around down on the island, 
 and hunted for the goosey-gander. 
 
 He saw now that the interior of the island 
 consisted of a barren high plain, with a wreath 
 of fertile land along the coast; and he began 
 to comprehend the meaning of something 
 which he had heard the other evening. 
 
 He had just seated himself to rest a bit 
 
 by one of the many windmills on the highland, 
 
 when a couple of shepherds came along with 
 
 the dogs beside them, and a large herd of sheep 
 
 in their train. The boy had not been afraid 
 
 243 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 243 
 
 because he was well concealed under the 
 windmill stairs. But as it turned out, the 
 shepherds came and seated themselves on the 
 same stairway, and then there was nothing 
 for him to do but to keep perfectly still. 
 
 One of the shepherds was young, and looked 
 about as folks do mostly; the other was an 
 old queer one. His body was large and 
 knotty, but the head was small, and the face 
 had sensitive and delicate features. It ap- 
 peared as though the body and head didn't 
 want to fit together at all. 
 
 One moment he sat silent and gazed into 
 the mist, with an unutterably weary expres- 
 sion. Then he began to talk to his com- 
 panion. Then the other one took out some 
 bread and cheese from his knapsack, to eat 
 his evening meal. He answered scarcely 
 anything, but listened very patiently, just as 
 if he were thinking : "I might as well give you 
 the pleasure of letting you chatter a while." 
 
 "Now I shall tell you something, Eric," 
 said the old shepherd. "I have figured out 
 that in former days, when both human beings 
 and animals were much larger than they are 
 
244 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 now, that the butterflies, too, must have been 
 uncommonly large. And once there was a 
 butterfly that was many miles long, and had 
 wings as wide as seas. Those wings were 
 blue, and shone like silver, and so gorgeous 
 that, when the butterfly was out flying, all 
 the other animals stood still and stared at it. 
 It had this drawback, however, that it was 
 too large. The wings had hard work to carry 
 it. But probably all would have gone very 
 well, if the butterfly had been wise enough to 
 remain on the hillside. But it wasn't; it ven- 
 tured out over the East sea. And it hadn't got- 
 ten very far before the storm came along and 
 began to tear at its wings. Well, it's easy to 
 understand, Eric, how things would go when 
 the East sea storm commenced to wrestle with 
 frail butterfly-wings. It wasn't long before 
 they were torn away and scattered ; and then, 
 of course, the poor butterfly fell into the sea. 
 At first it was tossed backward and forward 
 on the billows, and then it was stranded upon 
 a few cliff-foundations outside of Smaland. 
 And there it lay — as large and long as it was. 
 "Now I think, Eric, that if the butterfly 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 245 
 
 had dropped on land, it would soon have 
 rotted and fallen apart. But since it fell into 
 the sea, it was soaked through and through 
 with lime, and became as hard as a stone. 
 You know, of course, that we have found 
 stones on the shore which were nothing but 
 petrified worms. Now I believe that it went 
 the same way with the big butterfly-body. I 
 believe that it turned where it lay into a 
 long, narrow mountain out in the East sea. 
 Don't you?" 
 
 He paused for a reply, and the other one 
 nodded to him. "Go on, so I may hear what 
 you are driving at," said he. 
 
 "And mark you, Eric, "that this very 
 Oland, upon which you and I live, is nothing 
 else than the old butterfly-body. If one only 
 thinks about it, one can observe that the island 
 is a butterfly. Toward the north, the slender 
 fore-body and the round head can be seen, 
 and toward the south, one sees the back-body 
 — ^which first broadens out, and then narrows 
 to a sharp point." 
 
 Here he paused once more and looked at 
 his companion rather anxiously to see 
 
246 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 how he would take this assertion. But the 
 young man kept on eating with the utmost 
 cahii, and nodded to him to continue. 
 
 "As soon as the butterfly had been changed 
 into a Hmestone rock, many different kinds of 
 seeds of herbs and trees came travelhng with 
 the winds, and wanted to take root on it. It 
 was a long time before anything but sedge 
 could grow there. Then came sheep sorrel, 
 and the rock-rose and thorn-brush. But 
 even to-day there is not so much growth on 
 Alvaret, that the mountain is well covered, 
 but it shines through here and there. And 
 no one can think of ploughing and sowing up 
 here, where the earth-crust is so thin. But 
 if you will admit that Alvaret and the strong- 
 holds around it, are made of the butterfly- 
 body, then you may well have the right to 
 question where that land which lies beneath 
 the strongholds came from." 
 
 "Yes, it is just that," said he who was 
 eating. "That I should indeed like to know." 
 
 "Well, you must remember that Oland has 
 lain in the sea for a good many years, and in 
 the course of time all the things which tumble 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 247 
 
 around with the waves — sea-weed and sand 
 and clams — have gathered around it, and 
 remained lying there. And then, stone and 
 gravel have fallen down from both the eastern 
 and western strongholds. In this way the 
 island has acquired broad shores, where grain 
 and flowers and trees can grow. 
 
 "Up here, on the hard butterfly-back, only 
 sheep and cows and little horses go about. 
 Only lapwings and plover live here, and there 
 are no buildings except windmills and a few 
 stone huts, where we shepherds crawl in. But 
 down on the coast lie big villages and 
 churches and parishes and fishing hamlets 
 and a whole city." 
 
 He looked questioningly at the other one. 
 This one had finished his meal, and was tying 
 the food-sack together. " I wonder where 
 you will end with all this," said he. 
 
 "It is only this that I want to know," said 
 the shepherd, as he lowered his voice so that 
 he almost whispered the words, and looked 
 into the mist with his small eyes, which 
 appeared to be worn out from spying after all 
 that which does not exist. "Only this I 
 
248 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 want to know : if the peasants who hve on the 
 built-up farms beneath the strongholds, or the 
 fishermen who take the small herring from the 
 sea, or the merchants in Borgholm, or the 
 bathing guests who come here every summer, 
 or the tourists who wander around in Borg- 
 holm 's old castle ruin, or the sportsmen who 
 come here in the fall to hunt partridges, or 
 the painters who sit here on Alvaret and paint 
 the sheep and windmills — I should like to 
 know if any of them understand that this island 
 has been a butterfly which flew about with 
 great shimmer y wings." 
 
 "Ah!" said the young shepherd, suddenly. 
 " It should have occurred to some of them, as 
 they sat on the edge of the stronghold of an 
 evening, and heard the nightingales trill in 
 the groves below them, and looked over 
 Kalmar Sound, that this island could not have 
 come into existence in the same way as the 
 others." 
 
 " I want to ask," said the old one, " if no one 
 has had the desire to give wings to the wind- 
 mills — so large that they could reach to 
 heaven, so large that they could lift the whole 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 249 
 
 island out of the sea and let it fly like a 
 butterfly among butterflies." 
 
 " It may be possible that there is something 
 in what you say," said the young one; "for 
 on summer nights, when the heavens widen 
 and open over the island, I have sometimes 
 thought that it was as if it wanted to raise 
 itself from the sea, and fly away." 
 
 But when the old one had finally gotten 
 the young one to talk, he didn't listen to him 
 very much. " I would like to know," the old 
 one said in a low tone, " if anyone can explain 
 why one feels such a longing up here on 
 Alvaret. I have felt it every day of my life; 
 and I think it preys upon each and every one 
 who must go about here. I want to know if 
 no one else has understood that all this wist- 
 fulness is caused by the fact that the whole 
 island is a butterfly that longs for its wings." 
 
XIII 
 
 LITTLE KARL'S ISLAND 
 
 THE STORM 
 
 Friday, April eighth. 
 
 THE wild geese had spent the night on 
 Oland's northern point, and were now 
 on their way to the continent. A strong 
 south wind blew over Kalmar Sound, and 
 they had been thrown northward. Still they 
 worked their way toward land with good 
 speed. But when they were nearing the first 
 islands a powerful rumbling was heard, as if 
 a lot of strong- winged birds had come flying; 
 and the water under them, all at once, became 
 perfectly black. Akka drew in her wings so 
 suddenly that she almost stood still in the 
 air. Thereupon, she lowered herself to light 
 on the edge of the sea. But before the geese 
 had reached the water, the west storm caught 
 
 up with them. Already, it drove before it 
 
 250 
 
 ■■.n^.J^.J^ 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 251 
 
 fogs, salt scum and small birds; it also 
 snatched with it the wild geese, threw them 
 on end, and cast them toward the sea. 
 
 It was a rough storm. The wild geese tried 
 to turn back, time and again, but they couldn't 
 do it and were driven out toward the East 
 sea. The storm had already blown them past 
 Oland, and the sea lay before them — empty 
 and desolate. There was nothing for them 
 to do, but to keep out of the water. 
 
 When Akka observed that they were unable 
 to turn back she thought that it was needless 
 to let the storm drive them over the entire 
 East sea. Therefore she sank down to the 
 water. Now the sea was raging, and 
 increased in violence with every second. The 
 sea-green billows rolled forward, with seething 
 foam on their crests. Each one surged higher 
 than the other. It was as though they raced 
 with each other, to see which could foam the 
 wildest. But the wild geese were not afraid 
 of the swells. On the contrary, this seemed 
 to afford them much pleasure. They did not 
 strain themselves with swimming, but lay 
 and let themselves be washed up with the 
 
252 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 wave-crests, and down in the water-dales, 
 and had just as much fun as children in a 
 swing. Their only anxiety was that the 
 flock should be separated. The few land- 
 birds who drove by, up in the storm, cried 
 with envy: "There is no danger for you 
 who can swim." 
 
 But the wild geese were certainly not out of 
 all danger. In the first place, the rocking 
 made them helplessly sleepy. They wished 
 continually to turn their heads backward, 
 poke their bills under their wings, and go to 
 sleep. Nothing can be more dangerous than 
 to fall asleep in this way; and Akka called 
 out all the while: "Don't go to sleep, wild 
 geese! He that falls asleep will get away 
 from the flock. He that gets away from the 
 flock is lost." 
 
 Despite all attempts at resistance one 
 after another fell asleep; and Akka herself 
 came pretty near dozing off, when she sud- 
 denly saw something round and dark rise on 
 the top of a wave. "Seals! Seals! Seals!" 
 cried Akka in a high, shrill voice, and raised 
 herself up in the air with resounding wing- 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 253 
 
 strokes. It was just at the crucial moment. 
 Before the last wild goose had time to come 
 up from the water, the seals were so close to 
 her that they made a grab for her feet. 
 
 Then the wild geese were once more up in 
 the storm which drove them before it out to 
 sea. No rest did it allow either itself or the 
 wild geese; and no land did they see — only 
 desolate sea. 
 
 They lit on the water again, as soon as they 
 dared venture. But when they had rocked 
 upon the waves for a while, they became 
 sleepy again. And when they fell asleep, 
 the seals came swimming. If old Akka had 
 not been so wakeful, not one of them would 
 have escaped. 
 
 All day the storm raged; and it caused 
 fearful havoc among the crowds of little birds, 
 which at this time of year were migrating. 
 Some were driven from their course to foreign 
 lands, where they died of starvation; others 
 became so exhausted that they sank down in 
 the sea and were drowned. Many were 
 crushed against the cliff-walls, and many 
 became a prey for the seals. 
 
254 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The storm continued all day, and, at last, 
 Akka began to wonder if she and her flock 
 would perish. They were now dead tired, 
 and nowhere did they see any place 
 where they might rest. Toward evening she 
 no longer dared to lie down on the sea, 
 because now it filled up all of a sudden with 
 large ice-cakes, which struck against each 
 other, and she feared they should be crushed 
 between these. A couple of times the wild 
 geese tried to stand on the ice-crust; but 
 one time the wild storm swept them into the 
 water; another time, the merciless seals 
 came creeping up on the ice. 
 
 At sundown the wild geese were once more 
 up in the air. They flew on — fearful for the 
 night. The darkness seemed to come upon 
 them much too quickly this night — ^which 
 was so full of dangers. 
 
 It was terrible that they, as yet, saw no land. 
 How would it go with them if they were 
 forced to stay out on the sea all night ? They 
 would either be crushed between the ice-cakes 
 or devoured by seals or separated by the 
 storm. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 255 
 
 The heavens were cloud-bedecked, the moon 
 hid itself, and the darkness came quickly. 
 At the same time all nature was filled with a 
 horror which caused the most courageous 
 hearts to quail. Distressed bird-travellers' 
 cries had sounded over the sea all day long, 
 without anyone having paid the slightest 
 attention to them; but now, when one no 
 longer saw who it was that uttered them, 
 they seemed mournful and terrifying. Down 
 on the sea, the ice-drifts crashed against each 
 other with a loud rumbling noise. The seals 
 tuned up their wild hunting songs. It was 
 as though heaven and earth were about to 
 clash. 
 
 THE SHEEP 
 
 The boy sat for a moment and looked 
 down into the sea. Suddenly he thought 
 that it began to roar louder than ever. He 
 looked up. Right in front of him — only a 
 couple of metres away — stood a rugged and 
 bare mount a in- wall. At its base the waves 
 dashed into a foaming spray. The wild 
 geese flew straight toward the cliff, and the 
 
256 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 boy did not see how they could avoid being 
 dashed to pieces against it. Hardly had he 
 wondered that Akka hadn't seen the dan- 
 ger in time, when they were over by the 
 mountain. Then he also noticed that in 
 front of them was the half-round entrance 
 to a grotto. Into this the geese steered; 
 and the next moment they were safe. 
 
 The first thing the wild geese thought of — ■ 
 before they gave themselves time to rejoice 
 over their safety — was to see if all their com- 
 rades were also harboured. Yes, there were 
 Akka, Iksi, Kolmi, Nelja, Viisi, Knusi, all 
 the six goslings, the goosey-gander, Dunfin 
 and Thumbietot; but Kaksi from Nuolja, 
 the first left-hand goose, was missing — and no 
 one knew anything about her fate. 
 
 When the wild geese discovered that no 
 one but Kaksi had been separated from the 
 flock, they took the matter lightly. Kaksi 
 was old and wise. She knew all their byways 
 and their habits, and she, of course, would 
 know how to find her way back to them. 
 
 Then the wild geese began to look around in 
 the cave. Enough daylight came in through 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 257 
 
 the opening, so that they could see the 
 grotto was both deep and wide. They were 
 dehghted to think they had found such a 
 fine night harbour, when one of them caught 
 sight of some shining, green dots, which ght- 
 tered in a dark corner. "These are eyes!" 
 cried Akka. " There are big animals in here." 
 They rushed toward the opening, but Thumb- 
 ietot called to them: "There is nothing to 
 run away from! It's only a few sheep who 
 are lying alongside the grotto wall." 
 
 When the wild geese had accustomed them- 
 selves to the dim daylight in the grotto, they 
 saw the sheep very distinctly. The grown-up 
 ones might be about as many as there were 
 geese; but beside these there were a few 
 little lambs. An old ram with long, twisted 
 horns appeared to be the most lordly one of 
 the flock. The wild geese went up to him 
 with much bowing and scraping. "Well 
 met in the wilderness!" they greeted, but 
 the big ram lay still, and did not speak a 
 word of welcome. 
 
 Then the wild geese thought that the sheep 
 were displeased because they had taken 
 
258 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 shelter in their grotto. " It is perhaps not 
 permissible that we have come in here?" 
 said Akka. "But we cannot help it, for we 
 are wind-driven. We have wandered about 
 in the storm all day, and it would be very 
 good to be allowed to stop here to-night." 
 After that a long time passed before any of 
 the sheep answered with words; but, on the 
 other hand, it could be heard distinctly that 
 a pair of them heaved deep sighs. Akka 
 knew, to be sure, that sheep are always shy 
 and peculiar; but these seemed to have no 
 idea of how they should conduct themselves. 
 Finally an old ewe, who had a long and 
 pathetic face and a doleful voice, said: 
 "There isn't one among us that refuses to 
 let you stay ; but this is a house of mourning, 
 and we cannot receive guests as we did in 
 former days." "You needn't worry about 
 anything of that sort," said Akka. "If you 
 knew what we have endured this day, you 
 would surely understand that we are satisfied 
 if we only get a safe spot to sleep on." 
 
 When Akka said this, the old ewe raised 
 herself. "I believe that it would be better 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 259 
 
 for you to fly about in the worst storm than 
 to stop here. But, at least, you shall not go 
 from here before we have had the privilege 
 of offering you the best hospitality which 
 the house affords." 
 
 She conducted them to a hollow in the 
 ground, which was filled with water. Beside 
 it lay a pile of bait and husks and chaff; and 
 she bade them make the most of these. " We 
 have had a severe snow-winter this year, on 
 the island," said she. "The peasants who 
 own us came out to us with hay and oaten 
 straw, so we shouldn't starve to death. And 
 this trash is all there is left of the good cheer." 
 
 The geese rushed to the food instantly. 
 They thought that they had fared well, and 
 were in their best humour. They must have 
 observed, of course, that the sheep were 
 anxious; but they knew how easily scared 
 sheep generally are, and didn't believe there 
 was any actual danger on foot. As soon as 
 they had eaten, they intended to stand up to 
 sleep as usual. But then the big ram got 
 up, and walked over to them. The geese 
 thought that they had never seen a sheep 
 
26o ADVENTURES OF NILS " 
 
 with such big and coarse horns. In other 
 respects, also, he was noticeable. He had 
 a high, rolling forehead, intelligent eyes, and 
 a good bearing — as though he were a proud 
 and courageous animal. 
 
 "I cannot assume the responsibility of 
 letting you geese remain, without telling you 
 that it is unsafe here," said he. "We cannot 
 receive night guests just now." At last 
 Akka began to comprehend that this was 
 serious. "We shall go away, since you really 
 wish it," said she. "But won't you tell us 
 first, what it is that troubles you? Wp 
 know nothing about it. We do not even 
 know where we are." "This is Little Karl's 
 Island!" said the ram. "It lies outside of 
 Gottland, and only sheep and sea-birds live 
 here." "Perhaps you are wild sheep?" said 
 Akka. "We're not far removed from it," 
 replied the ram. "We have nothing to do 
 with human beings. It's an old agreement 
 between us and some peasants on a farm in 
 Gottland, that they shall supply us with 
 fodder in case we have snow-winter; and as 
 a recompense they are permitted to take 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 261 
 
 away those of us who become superfluous. 
 The island is small, so it cannot feed very 
 many of us. But otherwise we take care of 
 ourselves all the year round, and we do not 
 live in houses with doors and locks, but we 
 reside in grottoes like these." 
 
 "Do you stay out here in the winter as 
 well?" asked Akka, surprised. "We do," 
 answered the ram. "We have good fodder 
 up here on the mountain, all the year around." 
 " I think it sounds as if you might have it 
 better than other sheep," said Akka. "But 
 what is the misfortune that has befallen 
 you?" " It was bitter cold last winter. The 
 sea froze, and then three foxes came over here 
 on the ice, and here they have been ever 
 since. Otherwise, there are no dangerous 
 animals here on the island." "Oh, ho! do 
 foxes dare to attack such as you?" "Oh, 
 no! not during the day; then I can protect 
 myself and mine," said the ram, shaking his 
 horns. "But they sneak upon us at night 
 when we sleep in the grottoes. We try to 
 keep awake, but one must sleep some of the 
 time; and then they come upon us. They 
 
262 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 have already killed every sheep in the other 
 grottoes, and there were herds that were just 
 as large as mine." 
 
 " It isn't pleasant to tell that we are so 
 helpless," said the old ewe. "We cannot 
 help ourselves any better than if we were 
 tame sheep." "Do you think that they 
 will come here to-night ? " asked Akka. ** There 
 is nothing else in store for us," answered the 
 old ewe. "They were here last night, and 
 stole a lamb from us. They'll be sure to come 
 again, as long as there are any of us alive. 
 This is what they have done in the other 
 places." "But if they are allowed to keep 
 this up, you'll become entirely exterminated," 
 said Akka. "Oh! it won't be long before 
 it is all over with the sheep on Little Karl's 
 Island," said the ewe. 
 
 Akka stood there hesitatingly. It was not 
 pleasant, by any means, to venture out in 
 the storm again, and it wasn't good to 
 remain in a house where such guests were 
 expected. When she had pondered a while, 
 she turned to Thumbietot. " I wonder if 
 you will help us, as you have done so many 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 263 
 
 times before," said she. Yes, that he would 
 like to do, he replied. "It is a pity for you 
 not to get any sleep!" said the wild goose, 
 "but I wonder if you are able to keep awake 
 until the foxes come, and then to awaken us, 
 so we may fly away." The boy was so very 
 glad of this — for anything was better than to 
 go out in the storm again — so he promised 
 to keep awake. 
 
 The boy went down to the grotto opening, 
 crawled in behind a stone, that he might be 
 shielded from the storm, and sat down to 
 watch. 
 
 When the boy had been sitting there a 
 while, the storm seemed to abate. The sky 
 grew clear, and the moonlight began to play 
 on the waves. The boy stepped to the open- 
 ing to look out. The grotto was rather high 
 up on the mountain. A narrow path led to 
 it. It was probably here that he must await 
 the foxes. 
 
 As yet he saw no foxes; but, on the other 
 hand, there was something which, for the 
 moment, terrified him much more. On the 
 land-strip below the mountain stood some 
 
264 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 giants, or other stone- trolls — or perhaps they 
 were actual human beings. At first he 
 thought that he was dreaming, but now he 
 was positive that he had not fallen asleep. 
 He saw the big men so distinctly that it 
 couldn't be an illusion. Some of them stood 
 on the land-strip, and others right on the 
 mountain just as if they intended to climb 
 it. Some had big, thick heads; others had 
 no heads at all. Some were one-armed, 
 and some had humps both before and 
 behind. He had never seen anything so 
 extraordinary. 
 
 The boy stood and worked himself into a 
 state of panic because of those trolls, so that 
 he almost forgot to keep his eye peeled for 
 the foxes. But now he heard a claw scrape 
 against a stone. He saw three foxes coming 
 up the steep ; and as soon as he knew that he 
 had something real to deal with, he was calm 
 again, and not the least bit scared. It struck 
 him that it was a pity to awaken only the 
 geese, and to leave the sheep to their fate. 
 He thought he would like to arrange things 
 some other way. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 26| 
 
 He ran quickly to the other end of the grotto, 
 shook the big ram's horns until he awoke, and, 
 at the same time, swung himself upon his back. 
 "Get up, sheep, and we'll try to frighten the 
 foxes a bit!" said the boy. 
 
 He had tried to be as quiet as possible, 
 but the foxes must have heard some noise; 
 for when they came up to the mouth of the 
 grotto they stopped and deliberated. " It 
 was certainly someone in there that moved." 
 said one. "I wonder if they are awake." 
 "Oh, go ahead, you!" said another. "At 
 all events, they can't do anything to us." 
 
 When they came farther in, in the grotto, 
 they stopped and sniffed. "Who shall we 
 take to-night?" whispered the one who went 
 first. "To-night we will take the big ram," 
 said the last. "After that, we'll have easy 
 work with the rest." 
 
 The boy sat on the old ram's back and saw 
 how they vSneaked along. " Now butt straight 
 forward!" whispered the boy. The ram 
 butted, and the first fox was thrust — top over 
 tail — ^back to the opening. " Now butt to the 
 left!" said the boy, and turned the big ram's 
 
266 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 head in that direction. The ram measured 
 a terrific assault that caught the second fox 
 in the side. He rolled around several times 
 before he got to his feet again and made 
 his escape. The boy had wished that the 
 third one, too, might have gotten a bump, 
 but this one had already gone. 
 
 "Now I think that they've had enough for 
 to-night," said the boy. "I think so too," 
 said the big ram. " Now lie down on my back, 
 and creep into the wool! You deserve to 
 have it warm and comfortable, after all the 
 wind and storm that you have been out in." 
 
 hell's hole 
 
 The next day the big ram went around w4th 
 the boy on his back, and showed him the 
 island. It consisted of a single massive 
 mountain. It was like a large house with 
 oerpendicular walls and a flat roof. First 
 the ram walked up on the mountain-roof and 
 showed the boy the good grazing lands there ; 
 and he had to admit that the island seemed 
 to be especially created for sheep. There 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 267 
 
 wasn't much else than sheep-sorrel and such 
 little spicy growths as sheep are fond of 
 that grew on the mountain. 
 
 But indeed there was something beside 
 sheep fodder to look at, for one who had 
 gotten well up on the steep. To begin with, 
 the largest part of the sea — which now lay 
 blue and sunlit, and rolled forward in glitter- 
 ing swells — was visible. Only upon one and 
 another point, did the foam spray up. To 
 the east lay Gottland, with even and long- 
 stretched coast; and to the southwest lay 
 Great Karl's Island, which was built on the 
 same plan as the little island. When the 
 ram walked to the very edge of the moun- 
 tain roof, so the boy could look down the 
 mountain walls, he noticed that they were 
 simply filled with birds' nests; and in the 
 blue sea beneath him, lay surf-scoters and 
 eider-ducks and kittiwakes and guillemots 
 and razor-bills — so pretty and peaceful — 
 busying themselves with fishing for small 
 herring. 
 
 "This is really a favoured land," said the 
 boy. " You live in a pretty place, you sheep.'* 
 
 .^-Vt 
 
 /'. 
 
268 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "Oh, yes! it's pretty enough here," said the 
 big ram. It was as if he wished to add 
 something; but he did not, only sighed. 
 " If you go about here alone you must 
 look out for the crevices which run all around 
 the mountain," he continued after a little. 
 And this was a good warning, for there were 
 deep and broad crevices in several places. 
 The largest of them was called Hell's Hole. 
 That crevice was many fathoms deep and 
 nearly one fathom wide. " If anyone fell 
 down there, it would certainly be the last of 
 him," said the big ram. The boy thought it 
 sounded as if he had a special meaning in 
 what he said. 
 
 Then he conducted the boy down to the 
 narrow strip of shore. Now he could see 
 those giants which had frightened him the 
 night before, at close range. They were 
 nothing but tall rock-pillars. The big ram 
 called them "cliffs." The boy couldn't see 
 enough of them. He thought that if there 
 had ever been any trolls who had turned 
 into stone they ought to look just like that. 
 
 Although it was pretty down on the shore, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 269 
 
 the boy liked it still better on the mountain 
 height. It was ghastly down here ; for every- 
 where they came across dead sheep. It was 
 here that the foxes had held their orgies. 
 He saw skeletons whose flesh had been eaten, 
 and bodies that were half-eaten, and others 
 which they had scarcely tasted, but had 
 allowed to lie untouched. It was heart-rend- 
 ing to see how the wild beasts had thrown 
 themselves upon the sheep just for sport — 
 just to hunt them and tear them to death. 
 
 The big ram did not pause in front of the 
 dead, but walked by them in silence. But 
 the boy, meanwhile, could not help seeing all 
 the horror. 
 
 Then the big ram went up on the mountain 
 height again; but when he was there he 
 stopped and said: "If someone who is 
 capable and wise could see all the misery 
 which prevails here, he surely would not be 
 able to rest until these foxes had been pun- 
 ished." "The foxes must live, too," said the 
 boy. "Yes," said the big ram, "those who 
 do not tear in pieces more animals than they 
 need for their sustenance, they may as well 
 
270 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 live. But these are felons." "The peasants 
 who own the island ought to come here and 
 help you," insisted the boy. "They have 
 rowed over a number of times," replied the 
 ram, "but the foxes always hid themselves 
 in the grottoes and crevices, so they could not 
 get near them, to shoot them." " You surely 
 cannot mean, father, that a poor little creature 
 like me should be able to get at them, when 
 neither you nor the peasants have succeeded 
 in getting the better of them." "He that is 
 little and spry can put many things to rights," 
 said the big ram." 
 
 They talked no more about this, and the boy 
 went over and seated himself among the wild 
 geese who fed on the highland. Although 
 he had not cared to show his feelings before 
 the ram, he was very sad on the sheep's 
 account, and he would have been glad to 
 help them. " I can at least talk with Akka 
 and Morten goosey-gander about the matter," 
 thought he. "Perhaps they can help me with 
 a good suggestion." 
 
 A little later the white goosey-gander took 
 the boy on his back and went over the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 271 
 
 mountain plain, and in the direction of Hell's 
 Hole at that. 
 
 He wandered, care-free, on the open moun- 
 tain roof — apparently unconscious of how- 
 large and white he was. He didn't seek pro- 
 tection behind tufts, or any other protuber- 
 ances, but went straight ahead. It was 
 strange that he was not more careful, for it 
 was apparent that he had fared badly in 
 yesterday's storm. He limped on his right 
 leg, and the left wing hung and dragged as 
 if it might be broken. 
 
 He acted as if there were no danger, pecked 
 at a grass-blade here and another there, and 
 did not look about him in any direction. The 
 boy lay stretched out full length on the 
 goose-back, and looked up toward the blue 
 sky. He was so accustomed to riding now, 
 that he could both stand and lie down on the 
 goose-back. 
 
 When the goosey-gander and the boy were 
 so care-free, they did not observe, of course, 
 that the three foxes had come up on the 
 mountain plain. 
 
 And the foxes, who knew that it was well- 
 
272 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 nigh impossible to take the life of a goose on 
 an open plain, thought at first that they 
 wouldn't chase after the goosey-gander. But 
 as they had nothing else to do, they finally 
 sneaked down on one of the long passes, and 
 tried to steal up to him. They went about it 
 so cautiously that the goosey-gander couldn't 
 see a shadow of them. 
 
 They were not far off when the goosey- 
 gander made an attempt to raise himself 
 into the air. He spread his wings, but he did 
 not succeed in lifting himself. When the 
 foxes seemed to grasp the fact that he 
 couldn't fly, they hurried forward with greater 
 eagerness than before. They no longer con- 
 cealed themselves in the cleft, but came up 
 on the highland. They hurried as fast as 
 they could, behind tufts and hollows, and 
 came nearer and nearer the goosey-gander — 
 without his seeming to notice that he was 
 being hunted. At last the foxes were so near 
 that they could make the final leap. Simul- 
 taneously, all three threw themselves, with 
 one long jump at the goosey-gander. 
 
 But still at the last moment he must have 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 273 
 
 noticed something, for he ran out of the way, 
 so the foxes missed him. This, at any rate, 
 didn't mean very much, for the goosey-gander 
 only had a couple of metres headway, and, 
 in the bargain, he limped. Anyway, the poor 
 thing ran ahead as fast as he could. 
 
 The boy sat upon the goose-back — ^back- 
 ward — and shrieked and called to the foxes. 
 "You have eaten yourselves too fat on mut- 
 ton, foxes. You can't catch up with a goose 
 even." He teased them so that they became 
 crazed with rage and thought only of rushing 
 forward. 
 
 The white one ran right straight to the big 
 cleft. When he was there, he made one 
 stroke with his wings, and got over. Just 
 then the foxes were almost upon him. 
 
 The goosey-gander hurried on with the same 
 haste as before, even after he had gotten 
 across Hell's Hole. But he had hardly been 
 running two metres before the boy patted him 
 on the neck, and said: "Now you can stop, 
 goosey-gander. ' ' 
 
 At that instant they heard a number of 
 wild howls behind them, and a scraping of 
 
274 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 claws, and heavy falls. But of the foxes they 
 saw nothing more. 
 
 The next morning the lighthouse keeper on 
 Great Karl's Island found a bit of bark poked 
 under the entrance-door, and on it had been 
 cut, in slanting, angular letters: "The foxes 
 on the little island have fallen down into 
 Hell's Hole. Take care of them!" 
 
 And this the lighthouse keeper did, too. 
 
XIV 
 TWO CITIES 
 
 THE CITY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA 
 
 Saturday, April ninth. 
 
 IT WAS a calm and clear night. The wild 
 geese did not trouble themselves to seek 
 shelter in any of the grottoes, but stood and 
 slept up on the mountain top ; and the boy had 
 lain down in the short, dry grass beside the 
 geese. 
 
 It was bright moonlight that night; so 
 bright that it was difficult for the boy to go 
 to sleep. He lay there and thought about 
 just how long he had been away from home; 
 and he figured out that it was three weeks 
 since he had started on the trip. At the 
 same time he remembered that this was 
 Easter-eve. 
 
 "It is to-night that all the witches come 
 home from Blakulla," thought he, and laughed 
 
 27s 
 
2 76 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 to himself. For he was just a little afraid of 
 both the sea-nymph and the elf, but he didn't 
 believe in witches the least little bit. 
 
 If there had been any witches out that 
 night, he should have seen them, to be sure. 
 It was so light in the heavens that not the 
 tiniest black speck could move in the air 
 without his seeing it. 
 
 While the boy lay there with his nose in 
 the air and thought about this, his eye rested 
 on something lovely! The moon's disc was 
 whole and round, and rather high, and over 
 it a big bird came flying. He did not fly 
 past the moon, but he moved just as though 
 he might have flown out from it. The bird 
 looked black against the light background, 
 and the wings extended from one rim of the 
 disc to the other. He flew on, evenly, in the 
 same direction, and the boy thought that he 
 was painted on the moon's disc. The body 
 was small, the neck long and slender, the legs 
 hung down, long and thin. It couldn't be 
 anything but a stork. 
 
 A couple of seconds later Herr Ermenrich, 
 the stork, lit beside the boy. He bent down 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 277 
 
 and poked him with his bill to awaken 
 him. 
 
 Instantly the boy sat up. " I'm not asleep, 
 Herr Ermenrich," he said. "How does it 
 happen that you are out in the middle of the 
 night, and how is everything at Glimminge 
 castle ? Do you want to speak with mother 
 Akka?" 
 
 "It's too light to sleep to-night," answered 
 Herr Ermenrich. "Therefore I concluded 
 to travel over here to Karl's Island and hunt 
 you up, friend Thumb ie tot. I learned from 
 the seamew that you were spending the night 
 here. I have not as yet moved over to Glim- 
 minge castle, but am still living at Pommern." 
 
 The boy was simply overjoyed to think 
 that Herr Ermenrich had sought him out. 
 They chatted about all sorts of things, like 
 old friends. At last the stork asked the boy 
 if he wouldn't like to go out riding for a while 
 on this beautiful night. 
 
 Oh, yes! that the boy wanted to do, if the 
 stork wotild manage it so that he got back to 
 the wild geese before sunrise. This he prom- 
 ised, so off they went. 
 
278 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Again Herr Ermenrich flew straight toward 
 the moon. They rose and rose; the sea sank 
 deep down, but the flight went so Hght and 
 easy that it seemed almost as if the boy lay 
 still in the air. 
 
 When Herr Ermenrich began to descend, 
 the boy thought that the flight had lasted an 
 unreasonably short time. 
 
 They landed on a desolate bit of seashore, 
 which was covered with fine, even sand. 
 All along the coast ran a row of flying-sand 
 drifts, with h^me-grass on their tops. They 
 were not very high, but they prevented the 
 boy from seeing any of the island. 
 
 Herr Ermenrich stood on a sand-hill, drew 
 up one leg and bent his head backward, so he 
 could stick his bill under the wing. "You 
 can roam around on the shore for a while," 
 he said to Thumb ietot, "while I rest myself. 
 But don't go so far away but what you can 
 find your way back to me again ! ' ' 
 
 To start with, the boy intended to clitnb 
 a sand-hill and see how the land behind it 
 looked. But when he had walked a couple 
 of paces, he stubbed the toe of his wooden 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 279 
 
 shoe against something hard. He stooped 
 down, and saw that a small copper coin lay 
 on the sand, and was so worn with verdi- 
 gris that it was almost transparent. It was 
 so poor that he didn't even bother to pick 
 it up, but only kicked it out of the way. 
 
 But when he straightened himself up once 
 more he was perfectly astounded, for two 
 paces away from him stood a high, dark wall 
 with a big, turreted gate. 
 
 The moment before, when the boy bent 
 down, the sea lay there — shimmering and 
 smooth, while now it was hidden by a long 
 wall with towers and battlements. Di- 
 rectly in front of him, where before there 
 had been only a few sea-weed banks, the 
 big gate of the wall opened. 
 
 The Do}^ probably understood that it was 
 a .spectre-play of some sort; but this was 
 nothing to be afraid of, thought he. It wasn't 
 any dangerous trolls, or any other evil — such 
 as he always dreaded to encounter at night. 
 Both the wall and the gate were so beautifully 
 constructed that he only desired to see what 
 there might be back of them. " I must find 
 
28o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 out what this can be," thought he, and went 
 in through the gate. 
 
 In the deep archway there were guards, 
 dressed in brocaded and puffed suits, with 
 long-handled spears beside them, who sat 
 and threw dice. They thought only of the 
 game, and took no notice of the boy who 
 hurried past them quickly. 
 
 Just within the gate he found an open 
 space, paved with large, even stone blocks. 
 All around this were high and magnificent 
 buildings; and between these opened long, 
 narrow streets. On the square — facing the 
 gate — it fairly swarmed with human beings. 
 The men wore long, fur-trimmed capes over 
 satin suits ; plume-bedecked hats sat obliquely 
 on their heads; on their chests hung superb 
 chains. They were all so regally gotten up 
 that the whole lot of them might have been 
 kings. 
 
 The women went about in high head- 
 dresses and long robes with tight-fitting 
 sleeves. They, too, were beautifully dressed, 
 but their splendour was not to be compared 
 with that of the men. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 281 
 
 This was exactly like the old story-book 
 which mother took from the chest— only 
 once — and showed to him. The boy simply 
 couldn't believe his eyes. 
 
 But that which was even more wonderful to 
 look upon than either the men or the women, 
 was the city itself. Every house was built 
 in such a way that a gable faced the street. 
 And the gables were so highly ornamented, 
 that one could believe they wished to compete 
 with each other as to which one could show 
 the most beautiful decorations. 
 
 When one suddenly sees so much that is 
 new, he cannot manage to treasure it all in 
 his memory. But at least the boy could 
 recall that he had seen stairway gables on the 
 various landings, which bore images of the 
 Christ and his Apostles; gables, where there 
 were images in niche after niche all along 
 the wall; gables that were inlaid with multi- 
 coloured bits of glass, and gables that were 
 striped and checked with white and black 
 marble. As the boy admired all this, a sud- 
 den sense of haste came over him. "Any- 
 thing like this my eyes have never seen before. 
 
282 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Anything like this, they would never see 
 again," he said to himself. And he began to 
 run in toward the city — up one street, and 
 down another. 
 
 The streets were straight and narrow, 
 but not empty and gloomy, as they were in 
 the cities with which he was familiar. There 
 were people ever}- where. Old women sat 
 by their open doors and spun without a spin- 
 ning-wheel — only with the help of a shuttle. 
 The merchants' shops were like market-stalls 
 — opening on the street. All the hand- 
 workers did their work out of doors. In one 
 place they were boiling crude oil; in another 
 tanning hides; in a third there was a long 
 rope- walk. 
 
 If only the boy had had time enough he 
 could have learned how to make all sorts of 
 things. Here he saw how amiourers ham- 
 mered out thin breast-plates; how turners 
 tended their irons; how the shoemakers soled 
 soft, red shoes; how the gold- wire drawers 
 twisted gold thread, and how the weavers 
 inserted silver and gold into their weaving. 
 
 But the boy did not have the time to stay. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 283 
 
 He just rushed on, so that he could manage 
 to see as much as possible before it would all 
 vanish again. 
 
 The high wall ran all round the city and 
 shut it in, as a hedge shuts in a field. He 
 saw it at the end of every street — ^gable 
 ornamented and crenulated. On the top of 
 the wall walked warriors in shining armour; 
 and when he had run from one end of the city 
 to the other, he came to still another gate in 
 the wall. Outside of this lay the sea and 
 harbour. The boy saw olden-time ships, 
 with rowing -benches straight across, and high 
 structures fore and aft. Some lay and took 
 on cargo, others were just casting anchor. 
 Carriers and merchants hurried around each 
 other. All over, it was life and bustle. 
 
 But not even here did he seem to have the 
 time to linger. He rushed into the city 
 again; and now he came up to the big square. 
 There stood the cathedral with itvS three high 
 towers and deep vaulted arches filled with 
 images. The walls had been so highly deco- 
 rated by sculptors that there was not a stone 
 without its own special ornamentation. And 
 
284 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 what a magnificent display of gilded crosses 
 and gold-trimmed altars and priests in golden 
 vestments, shimmered through the open gate! 
 Directly opposite the church there was a 
 house with a notched roof and a single slen- 
 der, sky-high tower. That was probably 
 the courthouse. And between the court- 
 house and the cathedral, all around the 
 square, stood the beautiful gabled houses 
 with their multiplicity of adornments. 
 
 The boy had run himself both warm and 
 tired. He thought that now he had seen the 
 most remarkable things, and therefore he 
 began to walk more leisurely. The street 
 which he had turned into now was surely 
 the one where the inhabitants purchased 
 their fine clothing. He saw crowds of people 
 standing before the little stalls where the 
 merchants spread brocades, stiff satins, heavy 
 gold cloth, shimmery velvet, delica+e veiling, 
 and laces as sheer as a spider's web. 
 
 Before, when the boy ran so fast, no one 
 had paid any attention to him. The people 
 must have thought that it was only a little 
 gray rat that darted by them. But now, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 285 
 
 when he walked down the street, very slowly, 
 one of the salesmen caught sight of him, and 
 began to beckon to him. 
 
 At first the boy was uneasy and wanted to 
 hurry out of the way, but the salesman only 
 beckoned and smiled, and spread out on the 
 counter a lovely piece of satin damask as 
 if he wanted to tempt him. 
 
 The boy shook his head. "I will never be 
 so rich that I can buy even a metre of that 
 cloth," thought he. 
 
 But now they had caught sight of him in 
 every stall, all along the street. Wherever 
 he looked stood a salesman and beckoned 
 to him. They left their costly wares, and 
 thought only of him. He saw how they hur- 
 ried into the most hidden corner of the stall 
 to fetch the best that they had to sell, and 
 how their hands trembled with eagerness 
 and haste as they laid it upon the counter. 
 
 When the boy continued to go on, one of 
 the merchants jumped over the counter, 
 caught hold of him, and spread before him 
 silver cloth and woven tapestries, which shone 
 with brilliant colours. 
 
286 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The boy couldn't do anything but laugh at 
 him. The salesman certainly must under- 
 stand that a poor little creature like him 
 couldn't buy such things. He stood still 
 and held out his two empty hands, so they 
 would understand that he had nothing 
 and let him go in peace. 
 
 But the merchant raised a finger and nodded 
 and pushed the whole pile of beautiful things 
 over to him. 
 
 " Can he mean that he will sell all this for 
 a gold piece?" wondered the boy. 
 
 The merchant brought out a tiny worn 
 and poor coin — the smallest that one could 
 see — and showed it to him. And he was so 
 eager to sell that he increased his pile with 
 a pair of large, heavy, silver goblets. 
 
 Then the boy began to dig down in his 
 pockets. He knew, of course, that he didn't 
 possess a single coin, but he couldn't help 
 feeling for it. 
 
 All the other merchants stood still and 
 tried to see how the sale would come off, 
 and when they observed that the boy began 
 to search in his pockets, they flung themselves 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 287 
 
 over the counters, filled their hands full of 
 gold and silver ornaments, and offered them 
 to him. And they all showed him that what 
 they asked in payment was just one little 
 penny. 
 
 But the boy turned both vest and breeches 
 pockets inside out, so they should see that 
 he owned nothing. Then tears filled the eyes 
 of all these regal merchants, who were so 
 much richer than he. At last he was moved 
 because they looked so distressed, and he 
 pondered if he could not in some way help 
 them. And then he happened to think of 
 the rusty coin, which he had but lately seen 
 on the strand. 
 
 He started to run down the street, and luck 
 was with him so that he came to the self- 
 same gate which he had happened upon first. 
 He dashed through it, and commenced to 
 search for the little green copper penny 
 which lay on the strand a while ago. 
 
 He found it too, very promptly; but when 
 he had picked it up, and wanted to run back 
 to the city with it — ^he saw only the sea before 
 him. No city wall, no gate, no sentinels, 
 
288 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 no streets, no houses could now be seen — 
 only the sea. 
 
 The boy couldn't help that the tears came 
 to his eyes. He had believed in the beginning, 
 that that which he saw was nothing but an 
 hallucination, but this he had already for- 
 gotten. He only thought about how pretty 
 everything was. He felt a genuine, deep 
 sorrow because the city had vanished. 
 
 That moment Herr Ermenrich awoke, and 
 came up to him. But he didn't hear him, 
 and the stork had to poke the boy with his bill 
 to attract attention to himself. "I believe 
 that you stand here and sleep just as I do," 
 said Herr Ermenrich. 
 
 "Oh, Herr Ermenrich! "said the boy. "What 
 was that city which stood here just now?" 
 
 "Have you seen a city?" said the stork. 
 "You have slept and dreamt, as I say." 
 
 " No ! I have not dreamt," said Thumbietot, 
 and he told the stork all that he had 
 experienced. 
 
 Then Herr Ermenrich said : " For my part, 
 Thumbietot, I believe that you fell asleep 
 here on the strand and dreamed all this. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 289 
 
 But I will not conceal from you that Bataki, 
 the raven, who is the most learned of all 
 birds, once told me that in former times there 
 was a city on this shore, called Vineta. It 
 was so rich and so fortunate, that no city has 
 ever been more glorious; but its inhabitants, 
 unluckily, gave themselves up to arrogance 
 and love of display. As a punishment for 
 this, says Bataki, the city of Vineta was over- 
 taken by a flood, and sank into the sea. But 
 these inhabitants cannot die, neither is their 
 city destroyed. And one night in every 
 hundred years, it rises in all its splendour up 
 from the sea, and remains on the surface 
 just one hour." 
 
 "Yes, it must be so," said Thumbietot, 
 "for this I have seen." 
 
 "But when the hour is up, it sinks again 
 into the sea, if, during that time, no merchant 
 in Vineta has sold anything to a single living 
 creature. If you, Thumbietot, only had had 
 an ever so tiny coin, to pay the merchants, 
 Vineta might have remained up here on the 
 shore; and its people could have lived and 
 died like other human beings." 
 
290 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "Herr Ermenrich," said the boy, "now I 
 understand why you came and fetched me in 
 the middle of the night. It was because you 
 believed that I should be able to save the old 
 city. I am so sorry it didn't turn out as you 
 wished, Herr Ermenrich." 
 
 He covered his face with his hands and 
 wept. It wasn't easy to say which one looked 
 the more disconsolate — the boy, or Herr 
 Ermenrich. 
 
 THE LIVING CITY 
 
 Monday, April eleventh. 
 
 On the afternoon of Easter Monday, the 
 wild geese and Thumbietot were on the wing. 
 They travelled over Gottland. 
 
 The large island lay smooth and even 
 beneath them. The ground was checked 
 just as it was in Skane and there were 
 many churches and farms. But there was 
 this difference, however, that there were 
 more leafy meadows between the fields here, 
 and then the farms were not built up with 
 small houses. And there were no large manors 
 with ancient tower-ornamented castles. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 291 
 
 The wild geese had taken the route over 
 Gottland on account of Thumbietot. He 
 had been altogether unlike himself for two 
 days, and hadn't spoken a cheerful word. 
 This was because he had thought of nothing 
 but that city which had appeared to him in 
 such a strange way. He had never seen any- 
 thing so magnificent and royal, and he could 
 not be reconciled with himself for having 
 failed to save it. Usually he was not chicken- 
 hearted, but now he actually grieved for the 
 beautiful buildings and the stately people. 
 
 Both Akka and the goosey-gander tried 
 to convince Thumbietot that he had been the 
 victim of a dream, or an hallucination, but the 
 boy wouldn't listen to anything of that sort. 
 He was so positive that he had really seen 
 what he had seen, that no one could move 
 him from this conviction. He went about 
 so disconsolate that his travelling companions 
 became uneasy for him. 
 
 Just as the boy was the most depressed, 
 old Kaksi came back to the flock. She had 
 been blown toward Gottland, and had been 
 compelled to travel over the whole island 
 
292 ADVENTURES OF NILS. 
 
 before she had learned through some crows 
 that her comrades were on Little Karl's 
 Island. When Kaksi found out what was 
 wrong with Thumb ietot, she said impulsively: 
 . "If Thumbietot is grieving over an old 
 city, we'll soon be able to comfort him. Just 
 come along, and I'll take you to a place that 
 I saw yesterday! You will not need to be 
 distressed very long." 
 
 Thereupon the geese had taken farewell 
 of the sheep, and were on their way to the 
 place which Kaksi wished to show Thumbietot. 
 As blue as he was, he couldn't keep from look- 
 ing at the land over which he travelled, as 
 usual. 
 
 He thought it looked as though the whole 
 island had in the beginning been just such a 
 high, steep cliff as Karl's Island^though 
 much bigger of course. But afterward, it 
 had in some way been flattened out. Some- 
 one had taken a big rolling-pin and rolled 
 over it, as if it had been a lump of dough. 
 Not that the island had become altogether flat 
 and even, like a bread-cake, for it wasn't like 
 that. While they had travelled along the coast, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 293 
 
 he had seen white Hnie walls with grottoes and 
 crags, in several directions; but in most of 
 the places they were levelled, and sank 
 inconspicuously down toward the sea. 
 
 In Gottland they had a pleasant and peace- 
 ful holiday afternoon. It turned out to be 
 mild spring weather; the trees had large 
 buds; spring blossoms dressed the ground in 
 the leafy meadows; the poplars' long, thin 
 pendants swayed; and in the little gardens, 
 which one finds around every cottage, the 
 gooseberry bushes were green. 
 
 The warmth and the spring-budding had 
 tempted the people out into the gardens and 
 roads, and wherever a number of them were 
 gathered together they were playing. It was 
 not the children alone who played, but the 
 grown-ups also. They were throwing stones 
 at a given point, and they threw balls in the 
 air with such exact aim that they almost 
 touched the wild geese. It looked cheerful 
 and pleasant to see big folks at play ; and the 
 boy certainly would have enjoyed it, if he had 
 oeen able to forget his grief because he had 
 failed to save the city. 
 
294 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Anyway, he had to admit that this was a 
 lovely trip. There was so much singing and 
 sound in the air. Little children played 
 ring games, and sang as they played. The 
 Salvation Army was out. He saw a lot of 
 people dressed in black and red — sitting upon 
 a wooded hill, playing on guitars and brass 
 instruments. On one road came a great crowd 
 of people. They were Good Templars who had 
 been on a pleasure trip. He recognised them 
 by the big banners with the gold inscriptions 
 which waved above them. They sang song 
 after song as long as he could hear them. 
 
 After that the boy could never think of 
 Gottland without thinking of the games and 
 songs at the same time. 
 
 He had been sitting and looking down for 
 a long while; but now he happened to raise 
 his eyes. No one can describe his amazement. 
 Before he was aware of it, the wild geese had 
 left the interior of the island and gone west- 
 ward — toward the sea-coast. Now the wide, 
 blue sea lay before him. However, it was 
 not the sea that was remarkable, but a city 
 which appeared on the sea-shore. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 295 
 
 The boy came from the east, and the sun 
 had just begun to go down in the west. 
 When he came nearer the city, its walls and 
 towers and high, gabled houses and churches 
 stood there, perfectly black, against the light 
 evening sky. He couldn't see therefore what 
 it really looked like, and for a couple of 
 moments he believed that this city was just as 
 beautiful as the one he had seen on Easter 
 night. 
 
 When he got right up to it, he saw that it 
 was both like and unlike that city from the 
 bottom of the sea. There was the same 
 contrast between them, as there is between a 
 man whom one sees arrayed in purple and 
 jewels one day, and on another day one sees him 
 dressed in rags. 
 
 Yes, this city had probably, once upon a 
 time, been like the one which he sat and 
 thought about. This one, also, was enclosed 
 by a wall with towers and gates. But the 
 towers in this city, which had been allowed 
 to remain on land, were roofless, hollow and 
 empty. The gates were without doors; sen- 
 tinels and warriors had disappeared. All 
 
296 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the glittering splendour was gone. There was 
 nothing left but the naked, gray stone skeleton. 
 
 When the boy came farther into the city, 
 he saw that the larger part of it was made 
 up of small, low houses; but here and there 
 were still a few high gabled houses and 
 a few cathedrals, which were from the olden 
 time. The walls of the gabled houses were 
 whitewashed, and entirely without ornamenta- 
 tion; but because the boy had so lately seen 
 the buried city, he seemed to understand 
 how they had been decorated: some with 
 statues, and others with black and white 
 marble. And it was the same with the old 
 cathedrals; the majority of them were roof- 
 less with bare interiors. The window open- 
 ings were empty, the floors were grass-grown, 
 and ivy clambered along the walls. But 
 now he knew how they had looked at one 
 time ; that they had been covered with images 
 and paintings; that the chancel had had 
 trimmed altars and gilded crosses, and that 
 there priests had moved about, arrayed in 
 gold vestments. 
 
 The boy saw also the narrow streets, which 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 297 
 
 were almost deserted on holiday afternoons. 
 He knew, he did, what a stream of stately 
 people had once upon a time sauntered about 
 on them. He knew that they had been like large 
 workshops — filled with all sorts of workmen. 
 
 But that which Nils Holgersson did not see 
 was, that the city — even to-day — was both 
 beautiful and remarkable. He saw neither 
 the cheery cottages on the side streets, 
 with their black walls, and white bows and 
 red pelargoniums behind the shining window- 
 panes, nor the many pretty gardens and 
 avenues, nor the beauty in the weed-clad 
 ruins. His eyes were so filled with the pre- 
 ceding glory, that he could not see anything 
 good in the present. 
 
 The wild geese flew back and forth over the 
 city a couple of times, so that Thumbietot 
 might see everything. Finally they sank 
 down on the grass-grown floor of a cathedral 
 ruin to spend the night. 
 
 When they had arranged themselves for 
 sleep, Thumbietot was still awake and looked 
 up through the open arches, to the pale pink 
 evening sky. When he had been sitting there 
 
298 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 a while, he thought he didn't want to gr eve 
 any more because he couldn't save the 
 buried city. 
 
 No, that he didn't want to do, now that he 
 had !^een this one. If that city, which he 
 had seen, had not sunk into the sea again, 
 then it would perhaps become as dilapidated 
 as this one in a little while. Perhaps it could 
 not have withstood time and decay, but would 
 have stood there with roofless churches and 
 bare houses and desolate, empty streets — just 
 like this one. Then it was better that it should 
 remain in all its glory down in the deep. 
 
 " It was bCvSt that it happened as it hap- 
 pened," thought he. "If I had the power to 
 save the city, I don't believe that I should 
 care to do it." Then he no longer grieved 
 over that matter. 
 
 And there are probably many among the 
 young who think in the same way. But 
 when people are old, and have become 
 accustomed to being satisfied with little, then 
 they are more happy over the Visby that 
 exists, than over a magnifient Vineta at the 
 bottom of the sea. 
 
XV 
 
 THE LEGEND OF SMALAND 
 
 Tuesday, April twelfth. 
 
 THE wild geese had made a good trip over 
 the sea, and had hghted in Tjust 
 Township, in northern Smaland. That town- 
 ship didn't seem able to make up its mind 
 whether it wanted to be land or sea. Fiords 
 ran in everywhere, and cut the land up 
 into islands and peninsulas and points and 
 capes. The sea was so forceful that the 
 only things which could hold themselves 
 above it were hills and mountains. All the 
 lowlands were hidden away under the water 
 exterior. 
 
 It was evening when the wild geese came 
 in from the sea; and the land with the little 
 hills lay prettily between the shimmering 
 fiords. Here and there, on the islands, the boy 
 saw cabins and cottages; and the farther 
 
 inland he came, the bigger and better became 
 
 299 
 
300 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the dwelling houses. Finally, they grew 
 into large, white manors. Along the shores 
 there was generally a border of trees; and 
 within this lay field-plots, and on the tops of 
 the little hills there were trees again. He 
 could not help but think of Blekinge. Here 
 again was a place where land and sea met, 
 in such a pretty and peaceful sort of way, just 
 as if they tried to show each other the best 
 and loveliest which they possessed. 
 
 The wild geese alighted upon a limestone 
 island a good way in on Goose-fiord. With the 
 first glance at the shore they observed that 
 spring had made rapid strides while they had 
 been away on the islands. The big, fine 
 trees were not as yet leaf -clad, but the 
 ground under them was brocaded with white 
 anemones, gagea, and blue anemones. 
 
 When the wild geese saw the flower-carpet 
 they feared that they had lingered too long 
 in the southern part of the country. Akka 
 said instantly that there was no time in 
 which to hunt up any of the stopping places 
 in Smaland, By the next morning they 
 must travel northward, over Ostergotland. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 301 
 
 The boy should then see nothing of Smaland, 
 and this grieved him. He had heard more 
 about Smaland than he had about any other 
 province, and he had longed to see it with his 
 own eyes. 
 
 The summer before, when he had served 
 as goose-boy with a farmer in the neighbour- 
 hood of Jordberga, he had met a pair of 
 Smaland children, almost every day, who also 
 tended geese. These children had irritated 
 him terribly with their SmMand. 
 
 It wasn't fair to say that Osa, the goose- 
 girl, had annoyed him. She was much too 
 wise for that. But the one who could be 
 aggravating with a vengeance, was her brother, 
 little Mats. 
 
 "Have you heard. Nils Goose-boy, how it 
 went when Smdland and Skane were created?" 
 he would ask, and if Nils Holgersson said no, 
 he began immediately to relate the old joke- 
 legend. 
 
 "Well, it was at that time when our Lord 
 was creating the world. While he was doing 
 his best work, Saint Peter came walking by. 
 He stopped and looked on, and then he 
 
3<>2 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 asked if it was hard to do. 'Well, it isn't 
 exactly easy,' said our Lord. Saint Peter 
 stood there a little longer, and when he noticed 
 how easy it was to lay out one landscape 
 after another, he too wanted to try his hand 
 at it. 'Perhaps you need to rest yourself 
 a little,' said Saint Peter, 'I could attend to 
 the work in the meantime for you.' But 
 this our Lord did not wish. 'I do not know 
 if you are so much at home in this art that I 
 can trust you to take hold where I leave 
 off,' he answered. Then Saint Peter was 
 angry, and said that he believed he could 
 create just as fine countries as our Lord 
 himself. 
 
 "It happened that our Lord was just then 
 creating Smaland. It wasn't even half-ready 
 but it looked as though it would be an 
 indescribably pretty and fertile land. It was 
 difficult for our Lord to say no to Saint Peter, 
 and aside from this, he thought very likely 
 that a thing so well begun no one could spoil. 
 Therefore he said: 'If you like, we will 
 prove which one of us two understands this 
 sort of work the better. You, who are only 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 303 
 
 a novice, shall go on with this which I have 
 begun, and I will create a new land.' To this 
 Saint Peter agreed at once; and so they 
 went to work — each one in his place. 
 
 "Our Lord moved southward a bit, and 
 there he undertook to create Skane. It 
 wasn't long before he was through with it, 
 and soon he asked if Saint Peter had finished, 
 and would come and look at his work. T had 
 mine ready long ago,' said Saint Peter; and 
 from the sound of his voice it could be heard 
 how pleased he was with what he had 
 accomplished. 
 
 "When Saint Peter saw Skane, he had to 
 acknowledge that there was nothing but 
 good to be said of that land. It was a fertile 
 land and easy to cultivate, with wide plains 
 wherever one looked, and hardly a sign of 
 hills. It was evident that our Lord had really 
 contemplated making it such that people 
 should feel at home there. 'Yes, this is a 
 good country,' said Saint Peter, 'but I think 
 that mine is better.' 'Then we'll take a 
 look at it,' said our Lord. 
 
 "The land was already finished in the north 
 
304 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 and east when Saint Peter began the work, 
 but the southern and western parts, and the 
 whole interior, he had created all by himself. 
 Now when our Lord came up there, where 
 Saint Peter had been at work, he was so 
 horrified that he stopped short and exclaimed : 
 'What on earth have you been doing with 
 this land. Saint Peter?' 
 
 " Saint Peter, too, stood and looked around — 
 perfectly astonished. He had had the idea that 
 nothing could be so good for a land as a great 
 deal of warmth. Therefore he had gathered 
 together an enormous mass of stones and 
 mountains, and erected a highland, and this 
 he had done so that it should be near the sun, 
 and receive much help from the sun's heat. 
 Over the stone-heaps he had spread a thin 
 layer of soil, and then he had thought that 
 everything was well arranged. 
 
 " But while he was down in Skane, a couple 
 of heavy showers had come up, and more was 
 not needed to show what his work amounted 
 to. When our Lord came to inspect the 
 land, all the soil had been washed avvTiy, and 
 the naked mountain foundation shone forth 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 305 
 
 all over. Where it was about the best, 
 lay clay and heavy gravel over the rocks, but 
 it looked so poor that it was easy to under- 
 stand that hardly anything except, spruce 
 and juniper and moss and heather could 
 grow there. But what there was plenty of 
 was water. It had filled up all the clefts 
 in the mountain ; and lakes and rivers and 
 brooks; these one saw everywhere, to say 
 nothing of swamps and morasses, which 
 spread over large tracts. And the most 
 exasperating thing of all was, that while some 
 tracts had too much water, it was so scarce 
 in others, that whole fields lay like dry moors, 
 where sand and earth whirled up in clouds 
 with the least little breeze. 
 
 " 'What can have been your meaning in 
 creating such a land as this?' said our Lord. 
 Saint Peter made excuses, and declared he 
 had wished to build up a land so high that it 
 should have plenty of warmth from the sun. 
 'But then you will also get much of the night 
 chill,' said our Lord, 'for that too comes 
 from heaven. • I am very much afraid the 
 little that can grow here will freeze.' 
 
3o6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "This, to be sure, Saint Peter hadn't 
 thought about. 
 
 " 'Yes, here it will be a poor and frost- 
 bound land,' said our Lord, 'it can't be 
 helped.' 
 
 When little Mats had gotten this far in his 
 story, Osa, the goose-girl, protested: " I can- 
 not bear, little Mats, to hear you say that it is 
 so miserable in Smaland," said she. "You 
 forget entirely how much good soil there 
 is there. Only think of More district, by 
 Kalmar Sound! I wonder where 3'ou'll find 
 a richer grain region. There are fields upon 
 fields, just like here in Skane. The soil is 
 so good that I cannot imagine anything that 
 couldn't grow there." 
 
 " I can't help that," said little Mats. " I'm 
 only relating what others have said before." 
 
 "And I have heard many say that there is 
 not a more beautiful coast land than Tjust. 
 Think of the bays and islets, and the manors, 
 and the groves!" said Osa. "Yes, that's 
 true enough," little Mats admitted. "And 
 don't you remember," continued Osa, "the 
 school teacher said that such a lively and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 307 
 
 picturesque district as that bit of Smaland 
 which Hes south of Lake Vettern is not to be 
 found in all Sweden? Think of the beautiful 
 sea and the yellow coast-mountains, and of 
 Grenna and Jonkoping, with its match fac- 
 tory, and think of Huskvarna, and all the big 
 establishments there!" "Yes, that's true 
 enough," said little Mats once again. "And 
 think of Visingso, little Mats, with the ruins 
 and the oak forests and the legends! Think 
 of the valley through which Em&n flows, 
 with all the villages and flour-mills and saw- 
 mills, and the carpenter shops!" "Yes, that 
 is true enough," said little Mats, and looked 
 troubled. 
 
 All of a sudden he had looked up. "Now 
 we are pretty stupid," said he. "All this, 
 of course, lies in our Lord's Smaland, in that 
 part of the land which was already finished 
 when Saint Peter undertook the job. It's 
 only natural that it should be pretty and 
 fine there. But in Saint Peter's SmMand it 
 looks as it says in the legend. And it wasn't 
 surprising that our Lord was distressed when 
 he saw it," continued little Mats, as he took 
 
3o8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 up the thread of his story again. "Saint 
 Peter didn't lose his courage, at all events, 
 but tried to comfort our Lord. 'Don't be so 
 grieved over this!' said he. 'Only wait until 
 I have created people who can till the swamps 
 and break up fields from the stone hills.' 
 
 "That was the end of our Lord's patience — 
 and he said: 'No! you can go down to 
 Skane and make the Sk&ninge, but the 
 Sm^lander I will create myself.' And so our 
 Lord created the Sm§,lander, and made him 
 quick-witted and contented and happy and 
 thrifty and enterprising and capable, that he 
 might be able to get his livelihood in his poor 
 country." 
 
 Then little Mats was silent; and if Nils 
 Holgersson had also kept still, all would have 
 gone well; but he couldn't possibly refrain 
 from asking how Saint Peter had succeeded 
 in creating the Sk§,ninge. 
 * "Well, what do you think yourself?" said 
 little Mats, and looked so scornful that Nils 
 Holgersson threw himself upon him, to thrash 
 him. But Mats was only a little tot, and 
 Osa, the goose-girl, who was a year older 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 309 
 
 than he, ran forward histantly to help hhn. 
 Good-natured though she was, she sprang Hke 
 a Hon as soon as anyone touched her brother. 
 And Nils Holgersson did not care to fight a 
 girl, but turned his back, and didn't look at 
 those Sm&land children for the rest of the day. 
 
XVI 
 THE CROWS 
 
 THE EARTHEN CROCK 
 
 IN THE southwest corner of Smaland lies 
 a township called Sonnerbo. It is a 
 rather smooth and even country. And one 
 who sees it in winter, when it is covered 
 with snow, cannot imagine that there is any- 
 thing under the snow but garden-plots, rye- 
 fields and clover-meadows as is generally 
 the case in flat countries. But, in the begin- 
 ning of April when the snow finally melts 
 away in Sonnerbo, it is apparent that that 
 which lies hidden under it is only dry, sandy 
 heaths, bare rocks, and big, marshy swamps. 
 There are fields here and there, to be 
 sure, but they are so small that they are 
 scarcely worth mentioning; and one also 
 finds a few little red or gray farmhouses 
 
 hidden away in some beech-coppice — 
 
 310 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 311 
 
 almost as if they were afraid to show them- 
 selves. 
 
 Where Sonnerbo township touches the 
 boundaries of Halland, there is a sandy heath 
 which is so far-reaching that he who stands 
 upon one edge of it cannot look across to the 
 other. Nothing except heather grows on the 
 heath, and it wouldn't be easy either to coax 
 other growths to thrive there. To start with, 
 one would have to uproot the heather; for 
 it is thus with heather: although it has 
 only a little shrtmken root, small shrunken 
 branches, and dry, shrunken leaves it fancies 
 that it's a tree. Therefore it acts just like 
 real trees — spreads itself out in forest fashion 
 over wide areas ; holds together faithfully, and 
 causes all foreign growths that wish to crowd 
 in upon its territory to die out. 
 
 The only place on the heath where the 
 heather is not all-powerful, is a low, stony 
 ridge which passes over it. There you'll 
 find juniper bushes, mountain ash, and 
 a few large, fine oaks. At the time when Nils 
 Holgersson travelled around with the wild 
 geese, a little cabin stood there, with a bit of 
 
312 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 cleared ground around it. But the people 
 who had lived there at one time, had, for 
 some reason or other, moved away. The little 
 cabin was empty, and the ground lay unused. 
 
 When the tenants left the cabin they 
 closed the damper, fastened the window- 
 hooks, and locked the door. But no one had 
 thought of the broken window-pane which 
 was only stuffed with a rag. After the showers 
 of a couple of summers, the rag had moulded 
 and shrunk, and, finally, a crow had succeeded 
 in poking it out. 
 
 The ridge on the heather-heath was really 
 not as desolate as one might think, for it was 
 inhabited by a large crow-folk. Naturally, 
 the crows did not live there all the year 
 round. They moved to foreign lands in the 
 winter; in the autumn they travelled from one 
 grain-field to another all over Gotaland, 
 and picked grain; during the summer, they 
 spread themselves over the farms in Sonnerbo 
 township, and lived upon eggs and berries 
 and birdlings; but every spring, when nest- 
 ing time came, they came back to the heather- 
 heath. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 313 
 
 The one who had poked the rag from the 
 window, was a crow-cock named Garm White- 
 feather; but he was never called anything 
 but Fumle or Drumle, or out and out Fumle- 
 Dnunle, because he always acted awkwardly 
 and stupidly, and wasn't good for anything 
 except to make fun of. Fumle-Drumle 
 was bigger and stronger than any of the other 
 crows, but that didn't help him in the least; 
 he was — and remained — a butt for ridicule. 
 And it didn't profit him, either, that he came 
 from very good stock. If everything had 
 gone smoothly, he should have been leader 
 for the whole flock, because this honour had, 
 from time immemorial, belonged to the oldest 
 Whitefeather. But long before Fumle-Drumle 
 was born, the power had gone from his family, 
 and was now wielded by a cruel wild crow, 
 named Wind- Rush. 
 
 This transference of power was due to the 
 fact that the crows on crow-ridge desired to 
 change their manner of living. Possibly 
 there are many who think that everything in 
 the shape of crow lives in the same way ; but 
 this is not so. There are entire crow-folk 
 
314 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 who lead honourable lives — that is to say, 
 they only eat grain, worms, caterpillars, and 
 dead animals; and there are others who lead 
 a regular bandit's life, who throw them- 
 selves upon baby-hares and small birds, and 
 plunder every single bird's nest they set eyes 
 on. 
 
 The ancient Whitefeathers had been strict 
 and temperate; and as long as they had led 
 the flock, the crows had been compelled to 
 conduct themselves in such a way that other 
 birds could speak no ill of them. But the 
 crows were numerous, and poverty was great 
 among them. They didn't care to go the 
 whole length of living a strictly moral life, 
 so they rebelled against the Whitefeathers, 
 and gave the power to Wind-Rush, who was 
 the worst nest-plunderer and robber that 
 could be imagined — if his wife, Wind-Air, 
 wasn't worse still. Under their government 
 the crows had begun to lead such a life that 
 now they were more feared than pigeon- 
 hawks and leech-owls. 
 
 Naturally, Fumle-Drumle had nothing to 
 sav in the flock. The crows were all of the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 315 
 
 opinion that he did not in the least take after 
 his forefathers, and that he wouldn't suit as 
 a leader. No one would have mentioned him, 
 if he hadn't constantly committed fresh 
 blunders. A few, who were quite sensible, 
 sometimes said perhaps it was lucky for 
 Fumle-Drumle that he was such a bungling 
 idiot, otherwise Wind-Rush and Wind-Air 
 would hardly have allowed him — who was 
 of the old chieftain stock — to remain with 
 the flock. 
 
 Now, on the other hand, they were rather 
 friendly toward him, and willingly took him 
 along with them on their hunting expeditions. 
 There all could observe how much more skilful 
 and daring they were than he. 
 
 None of the crows knew that it was Fumle- 
 Drumle who had pecked the rag out of the 
 window; and had they known of this, they 
 would have been very much astonished. 
 Such a thing as daring to approach a human 
 being's dwelling, they had never believed of 
 him. He kept the thing to himself very 
 carefully; and he had his own good reasons 
 for it. Wind and Air always treated him 
 
3i6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 well in the daytime, and when the others were 
 around; but one very dark night, when the 
 comrades sat on the night branch, he was 
 attacked by a couple of crows and nearly 
 murdered. After that he moved every night, 
 after dark, from his usual sleeping quarters 
 into the empty cabin. 
 
 Now one afternoon, when the crows had 
 put their nests in order on crow-ridge, they 
 happened upon a remarkable find. Wind- 
 Rush, Fumle-Drumle, and a couple of others 
 had flown down into a big hollow in one cor- 
 ner of the heath. The hollow was nothing 
 but a gravel-pit, but the crows could not be 
 satisfied with such a simple explanation ; they 
 flew down in it continually, and turned every 
 single sand-grain to get at the reason why 
 human beings had digged it. While the 
 crows were pottering around down there, a 
 mass of gravel fell from one side. They 
 rushed up to it, and had the good fortune to 
 find amongst the fallen stones and stubble — • 
 a large earthen crock, which was locked with 
 a wooden clasp! Naturally they wanted to 
 know if there was anything in it, and they 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 317 
 
 tried both to peck holes in the crock, and to 
 bend up the clasp but they had no success. 
 
 They stood perfectly helpless and ex- 
 amined the crock, when they heard someone 
 say: "Shall I come down and assist you 
 crows?" They glanced up quickly. On the 
 edge of the hollow sat a fox and blinked 
 down at them. He was one of the prettiest 
 foxes — both in colour and form — that they 
 had ever seen. The only fault with him was 
 that he had lost an ear. 
 
 "If you desire to do us a service," said 
 Wind-Rush, "we shall not say nay." At 
 the same time, both he and the others flew 
 up from the hollow. Then the fox jumped 
 down in their place, bit at the jar, and pulled 
 at the lock — but he couldn't open it either. 
 
 "Can you make out what there is in it?" 
 said Wind-Rush. The fox rolled the jar 
 back and forth, and listened attentively. 
 " It must be silver money," said he. 
 
 This was more than the crows had expected. 
 "Do you think it can be silver?" said they, 
 and their eyes were ready to pop out of their 
 heads with greed; for remarkable as it may 
 
3i8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 sound, there is nothing in the world which 
 crows love as much as silver money. 
 
 "Hear how it rattles!" said the fox and 
 rolled the crock around once more. "Only 
 I can't imderstand how we shall get at it." 
 "That will surely be impossible," said the 
 crows. The fox stood and rubbed his head 
 against his left leg, and pondered. Now 
 perhaps he might succeed, with the help of 
 the crows, in becoming master of that little 
 imp who always eluded him. "Oh! I know 
 someone who could open the crock for you," 
 said the fox. "Then tell us! Tell us!" 
 cried the crows; and they were so excited 
 that they tumbled down into the pit. "That 
 I will do, if you'll first promise me that you 
 will agree to my terms," said he. 
 
 Then the fox told the crows about Thumb- 
 ietot, and said that if they could bring him 
 to the heath he would open the crock for 
 them. But in payment for this counsel, he 
 demanded that they should deliver Thumb- 
 ietot to him, as soon as he had gotten the 
 silver money for them. The crows had no 
 reason to spare Thumbietot, so agreed to the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 319 
 
 compact at once. It was easy enough to 
 agree to this; but it was harder to find out 
 where Thumbietot and the wild geese were 
 stopping. 
 
 Wind-Rush himself travelled away with 
 fifty crows, and said that he should soon 
 return. But one day after another passed 
 without the crows on crow-ridge seeing a 
 shadow of him. 
 
 KIDNAPPED BY CROWS 
 
 Wednesday, April thirteenth. 
 
 The wild geese were up at daybreak, so 
 they should have time to get themselves a 
 bite of food before starting out on the journey 
 toward Ostergotland. The island in Goose- 
 fiord, where they had slept, was small and 
 barren, but in the water all around it were 
 growths which they could eat their fill upon. 
 It was worse for the boy, however. He 
 couldn't manage to find anything eatable. 
 
 As he stood there hungry and drowsy, and 
 looked around in all directions, his glance 
 fell upon a pair of squirrels, who played 
 upon the wooded point, directly opposite 
 
320 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 the rock island. He wondered if the squirrels 
 still had any of their winter supplies left, and 
 asked the white goosey-gander to take him 
 over to the point, that he might beg them for 
 a couple of hazelnuts. 
 
 Instantly the white one swam across the 
 sound with him; but as luck would have it 
 the squirrels had so much fun chasing each 
 other from tree to tree, that they didn't 
 bother about listening to the boy. They 
 drew farther into the grove. He hurried 
 after them, and was soon out of the goosey- 
 gander's sight — who stayed behind and waited 
 on the shore. 
 
 The boy waded forward between some 
 white anemone-stems — ^which were so high 
 they reached to his chin — when he felt that 
 someone caught hold of him from behind, 
 and tried to lift him up. He turned round 
 and saw that a crow had grabbed him by 
 the shirt-band. He tried to break loose, but 
 before this was possible, another crow ran 
 up, gripped him by the stocking, and knocked 
 him over. 
 
 If Nils Holgersson had immediately cried 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 321 
 
 for help, the white goosey-gander certainly 
 would have been able to save him; but the 
 boy probably thought that he could protect 
 himself, unaided, against a couple of crows. 
 He kicked and struck out, but the crows 
 didn't let go their hold, and they soon suc- 
 ceeded in raising themselves into the air with 
 him. To make matters worse, they flew so 
 recklessly that his head struck against a 
 branch. He received a hard knock over the 
 head, it grew black before his eyes, and he 
 lost consciousness. 
 
 When he opened his eyes once more, he 
 found himself high above the ground. He 
 regained his senses slowly; at first he knew 
 neither where he was, nor what he saw. 
 When he glanced down, he saw that under him 
 was spread a tremendously big woolly car- 
 pet, which was woven in greens and reds, and 
 in large irregular patterns. The carpet was 
 very thick and fine, but he thought it was a 
 pity that it had been so badly used. It was 
 actually ragged; long tears ran through it; 
 in some places large pieces were torn away. 
 And the strangest of all was that it appeared 
 
322 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 to be spread over a mirror floor; for under 
 the holes and tears in the carpet shone bright 
 and gHttering glass. 
 
 The next thing the boy observed was that 
 the sun unrolled itself in the heavens. In- 
 stantly, the mirror-glass under the holes and 
 tears in the carpet began to shimmer in red 
 and gold. It looked very gorgeous, and the 
 boy was delighted with the pretty colour- 
 scheme, although he didn't exactly under- 
 stand what it was that he saw. But now the 
 crows descended, and he saw at once that 
 the big carpet under him was the earth, 
 which was dressed in green and brown cone- 
 trees and naked leaf -trees, and that the holes 
 and tears were shining fiords and little lakes. 
 
 He remembered that the first time he had 
 travelled up in the air, he had thought that 
 the earth in vSkane looked like a piece of 
 checked cloth. But this country which resem- 
 bled a torn carpet — ^what might this be? 
 
 He began to ask himself a lot of questions. 
 Why wasn't he sitting on the goosey-gander's 
 back? Why did a great swarm of crows fly 
 around him? And why was he being pulled 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 323 
 
 and knocked hither and thither so that he 
 was about to break in pieces? 
 
 Then, all at once, the whole thing dawned 
 on him. He had been kidnapped by a couple 
 of crows. The white goosey-gander was still 
 on the shore, waiting, and to-day the wild 
 geese were going to travel to Ostergotland. 
 He was being carried southwest; this he 
 understood because the sun's disc was behind 
 him. The big forest-carpet which lay be- 
 neath him was surely Smaland. 
 
 What will become of the goosey-gander 
 now, when I cannot look after him ? ' ' thought 
 the boy, and began to call to the crows to take 
 him back to the wild geese instantly. He 
 wasn't at all uneasy on his own account. He 
 believed that they were carrying him off 
 simply in a spirit of mischief. 
 
 The crows didn't pay the slightest attention 
 to his exhortations, but flew on as fast as they 
 could. After a bit, one of them flapped his 
 wings in a manner which meant: "Look out! 
 Danger!" Soon thereafter they came down in 
 a spruce forest, pushed their w^ay between 
 prickly branches to the ground, and put the 
 
324 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 boy down under a thick spruce, where he was 
 so well concealed that not even a falcon could 
 have sighted him. 
 
 Fifty crows surrounded him, with bills 
 pointed toward him to guard him. "Now 
 perhaps I may hear, crows, what your purpose 
 is in carrying me off," said he. But he was 
 hardly permitted to finish the sentence before 
 a big crow hissed at him: "Keep still! or 
 I'll bore your eyes out." 
 
 It was evident that the crow meant what 
 she said; and there was nothing for the boy 
 to do but obey. So he sat there and stared 
 at the crows, and the crows stared at him. 
 
 The longer he looked at them, the less he 
 liked them. It was dreadful how dusty and 
 unkempt their feather dresses were — as though 
 they knew neither baths nor oiling. Their 
 toes and claws were grimy with dried-in mud, 
 and the corners of their mouths were covered 
 with food drippings. These were very dif- 
 ferent birds from the wild geese — that he 
 observed. He thought they had a cruel, 
 sneaky, watchful, and bold appearance, just 
 like cut-throats and vagabonds. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 325 
 
 "It is certainly a real robber-band that 
 I've fallen in with," thought he. 
 
 Just then he heard the wild geese's call 
 above him. "Where are you? Here am I. 
 Where are you? Here am I." 
 
 He understood that Akka and the others 
 had gone out to search for him; but before 
 he could answer them the big crow who 
 appeared to be the leader of the band hissed in 
 his ear : "Think of your eyes ! " And there was 
 nothing else for him to do but to keep still. 
 
 The wild geese may not have known that 
 he was so near them, but had just happened, 
 incidentally, to travel over this forest. He 
 heard their call a couple of times more, then it 
 died away. "Well, now you'll have to get 
 along by yourself. Nils Holgersson," he said 
 to himself. "Now you must prove whether 
 you have learned anything during these weeks 
 in the open." 
 
 A moment later the crows gave the signal 
 to break up; and since it was still their 
 intention, apparently, to carry him along in 
 such a way that one held on to his shirt-band, 
 and one to a stocking, the boy said: " Is there 
 
326 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 not one among you so strong that he can carry 
 me on his back? You have already travelled 
 so badly with me that I feel as if I were in 
 pieces. Only let me ride! I'll not jump from 
 the crow's back, that I promise you." 
 
 "Oh! you needn't think that we care how 
 you have it," said the leader. But now the 
 largest of the crows — a dishevelled and 
 uncouth one, who had a white feather in his 
 wing — came forward and said: "It would 
 certainly be best for all of us, Wind-Rush, if 
 Thumbietot got there whole, rather than half, 
 and therefore, I shall carry him on my back." 
 " If you can do it, Fumle-Drumle, I have no 
 objection," said Wind-Rush. "But don't 
 lose him!" 
 
 With this, much was already gained, and 
 the boy actually felt pleased again. "There 
 is nothing to be gained by losing my grit 
 because I have been kidnapped by the crows,'' 
 thought he. "I'll surely be able to manage 
 those poor little things." 
 
 The crows continued to fly southwest, over 
 Smaland. It was a glorious morning — sunny 
 and calm; and the birds down on the earth 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 327 
 
 were singing their best love songs. In a high, 
 dark forest sat the thrush himself with droop- 
 ing wings and swelling throat, and struck up 
 tune after tune. "How pretty you are! 
 How prett}^ you are! How pretty you are!" 
 sang he. " No one is so pretty. No one is so 
 pretty. No one is so pretty." As soon as he 
 had finished this song, he began it all over 
 again. 
 
 But just then the boy rode over the forest ; 
 and when he had heard the song a couple of 
 times, and marked that the thrush knew no 
 other, he put both hands up to his mouth as a 
 speaking trumpet, and called down: "We've 
 heard all this before. We've heard all this 
 before." "Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? 
 Who makes fun of me? " asked the thrush, and 
 tried to catch a glimpse of the one who called. 
 "It is Kidnapped-by-Crows who makes fun 
 of your song," answered the boy. At that, 
 the crow-chief turned his head and said : "Be 
 careful of your eyes, Thumbietot!" But the 
 boy thought, "Oh! I don't care about that. 
 I want to show you that I'm not afraid 
 of you!" 
 
328 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Farther and farther inland they travelled; 
 and there were woods and lakes everywhere. 
 In a birch-grove sat the wood-dove on a naked 
 branch, and before him stood the lady-dove. 
 He blew up his feathers, cocked his head, 
 raised and lowered his body, until the breast- 
 feathers rattled against the branch. All the 
 while he cooed: "Thou, thou, thou art the 
 loveliest in all the forest. No one in the 
 forest is so lovely as thou, thou, thou!" 
 
 But up in the air the boy rode past, and 
 when he heard Mr. Dove he couldn't keep 
 still. "Don't you believe him! Don't you 
 believe him!" cried he. 
 
 "Who, who, who is it that lies about me?" 
 cooed Mr. Dove, and tried to get a sight of the 
 one who shrieked at him. "It is Caught-by- 
 Crows that lies about you," replied the boy. 
 Again Wind-Rush turned his head toward 
 the boy and commanded him to shut up, but 
 Fumle-Drumle, who was carrying him, said: 
 " Let him chatter, then all the little birds will 
 think that we crows have become quick- 
 witted and funny birds." "Oh! they're not 
 such fools, either," said Wind-Rush; but he 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 329 
 
 liked the idea just the same, for after that he 
 let the boy call out as much as he liked. 
 
 They flew mostly over forests and wood- 
 lands, but there were churches and parishes 
 and little cabins in the outskirts of the forest. 
 In one place they saw a pretty old manor. 
 It lay with the forest back of it, and the sea 
 in front of it; had red walls and a turreted 
 roof; great sycamores about the grounds, 
 and big, thick gooseberry-bushes in the 
 orchard. On the top of the weathercock sat 
 the starling, and sang so loud that every note 
 was heard by the wife, who sat on an egg in 
 the heart of a pear tree. "We have four 
 pretty little eggs," sang the starling. "We 
 have four pretty little round eggs. We have 
 the whole nest filled with fine eggs." 
 
 When the starling sang the song for the 
 thousandth time, the boy rode over the place. 
 He put his hands up to his mouth, as a 
 pipe, and called: "The magpie will get them. 
 The magpie will get them." 
 
 "Who is it that wants to frighten me?" 
 asked the starling, and flapped his wings 
 uneasily. "It is Captured-by-Crows that 
 
330 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 frightens you," said the boy. This time the 
 crow-chief didn't attempt to hush him up. 
 Instead, both he and his flock were having so 
 much fun that they cawed with satisfaction. 
 
 The farther inland they came, the larger 
 were the lakes, and the more plentiful were the 
 islands and points. And on a lake-shore 
 stood a drake and kowtowed before the duck. 
 "I'll be true to you all the days of my life. 
 I'll be true to you all the days of my life," 
 said the drake. " It won't last until the 
 summer's end," shrieked the boy. "Who 
 are you?" called the drake. "My name's 
 Stolen-by-Crows," shrieked the boy. ^ 
 
 At dinner time the crows lighted in a 
 food-grove. They walked about and pro- 
 cured food for themselves, but none of them 
 thought about giving the boy anything. 
 Then Fumle-Drumle came riding up to the 
 chief with a dog-rose branch, with a few dried 
 buds on it. "Here's something for you, 
 Wind-Rush," said he. "This is pretty food, 
 and suitable for you." Wind-Rush sniffed 
 contemptuously. " Do you think that I want 
 to eat old, dry buds?" said he. "And I who 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 331 
 
 thought that you would be pleased with 
 them ! " ' said Fumle-Drumle ; and threw away 
 the dog-rose branch as if in despair. But 
 it fell right in front of the boy, and he wasn't 
 slow about grabbing it and eating until he 
 was satisfied. 
 
 When the crows had eaten, they began to 
 chatter. "What are you thinking about, 
 Wind-Rush? You are so quiet to-day," said 
 one of them to the leader. " I'm thinking 
 that in this district there lived, once upon a 
 time, a hen, who was very fond of her mistress ; 
 and in order to really please her, she went 
 and laid a nest full of eggs, which she hid 
 under the store-house floor. The mistress 
 of the house wondered, of course, where the 
 hen was keeping herself such a long time. 
 She searched for her, but did not find her. 
 Can you guess, Longbill, who it was that 
 found her and the eggs?" 
 
 " I think I can guess it, Wind-Rush, but 
 when you have told about this, I will tell 
 you something like it. Do you remember 
 the big, black cat in Hinneryd's parish house? 
 She was dissatisfied because they always 
 
332 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 took the new-born kittens from her, and 
 drowned them. Just once did she succeed 
 in keeping them concealed, and that was when 
 she had laid them in a haystack, out doors. 
 She was jDretty well pleased with those young 
 kittens, but I believe that I got more pleasure 
 out of them than she did." 
 
 Now they became so excited that they all 
 talked at once. " What kind of an accomplish- 
 ment is that — to steal little kittens?" said 
 one. " I once chased a young hare who was 
 almost full-grown. That meant to follow 
 him from covert to covert." He got no 
 further before another took the words from 
 him. "It may be fun, perhaps, to annoy 
 hens and cats, but I find it still more 
 remarkable that a crow can worry a human 
 being. I once stole a silver spoon " 
 
 But now the boy thought he was too good 
 to sit and listen to such gabble. "Now 
 listen to me, you crows!" said he. "I think 
 you ought to be ashamed of yourselves to 
 talk about all your wickedness. I have 
 lived amongst wild geese for three weeks, 
 and of them I have never heard or seen any- 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS ^33 
 
 thing but good. You must have a bad chief, 
 since he permits you to rob and murder in 
 this way. You ought to begin to lead new 
 lives, for I can tell you that human beings 
 have grown so tired of your wickedness 
 they are trying with all their might to root 
 you out. And then there will soon be an 
 end of you." 
 
 When Wind-Rush and the crows heard this, 
 they were so furious that they intended to 
 throw themselves upon him and tear him in 
 pieces. But Fumle-Drumle laughed and 
 cawed, and stood in front of him. "Oh, no, 
 no ! " said he, and seemed absolutely terrified. 
 "What think you that Wind-Air will say if 
 you tear Thumbietot in pieces before he has 
 gotten that silver money for us? " "It has to 
 be you, Fumle-Drumle, that's afraid of women- 
 folk," said Rush. But, at any rate, both he 
 and the others left Thumbietot in peace. 
 
 Shortly after that the crows went further. 
 Until now the boy thought that Sm&land 
 wasn't such a poor country as he had heard. 
 Of course it was woody and full of mountain- 
 ridges, but alongside the islands and lakes 
 
334 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 lay cultivated grounds, and any real desola- 
 tion he hadn't come upon, But the farther 
 inland they came, the fewer were the villages 
 and cottages. Toward the last, he thought 
 that he was riding over a veritable wilderness 
 where he saw nothing but swamps and heaths 
 and juniper-hills. 
 
 The sun had gone down, but it was still 
 perfect daylight when the crows reached 
 the large heather-heath. Wind-Rush sent 
 a crow on ahead, to say that he had met with 
 success; and when it was known, Wind-Air, 
 with several hundred crows from Crow-Ridge, 
 flew to meet the arrivals. In the midst of the 
 deafening cawing which the crowds emitted, 
 Fumle-Drumle said to the boy: "You have 
 been so comical and so jolly during the trip 
 that I am really fond of you. Therefore I 
 want to give you some good advice. As soon 
 as we light, you'll be requested to do a bit of 
 work which may seem very eas}^ to you; but 
 beware of doing it!" 
 
 Soon thereafter Fumle-Drumle put Nils 
 Holgersson down in the bottom of a sand- 
 pit. The boy flung himself down, rolled 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 335 
 
 over, and lay there as though he was simply 
 done up with fatigue. Such a lot of crows 
 fluttered about him that the air rustled like 
 a wind-storm, but he didn't look up. 
 
 "Thumbietot," said Wind-Rush, "Get up 
 now ! You shall help us with a matter which 
 will be very easy for you." 
 
 The boy didn't move, but pretended to be 
 asleep. Then Wind-Rush took him by the 
 arm, and dragged him over the sand to an 
 earthen crock of old-time make, that was 
 standing in the pit. "Get up, Thumbietot," 
 said he, "and open this crock!" "Why 
 can't you let me sleep?" said the boy. " I'm 
 too tired to do anything to-night. Wait 
 until to-morrow!" 
 
 "Open the crock!" said Wind-Rush, shak- 
 ing him. "How shall a poor little child be 
 able to open such a crock? Why, it's quite 
 as large as I am myself." "Open it!" com- 
 manded Wind-Rush once more, "or it will be 
 a sorry thing for you." The boy got up, 
 tottered over to the crock, fumbled the clasp, 
 and let his arms fall. "I'm not usually so 
 weak," said he. "If you will only let me 
 
336 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 sleep until morning, I think that I'll be able 
 to manage with that clasp." 
 
 But Wind-Rush was impatient, and he 
 rushed forward and pinched the boy in the 
 leg. That sort of treatment the boy didn't 
 care to suffer from a crow. He jerked him- 
 self loose quickly, ran a couple of paces back- 
 ward, drew his knife from the sheath, and 
 held it extended in front of him. " You'd 
 better be careful!" he cried to Wind-Rush. 
 
 This one too was so enraged that he didn't 
 dodge the danger. He rushed at the boy, 
 just as though he'd been blind, and ran so 
 straight against the knife, that it entered 
 through his eye into the head. The boy 
 drew the knife back quickly, but Wind-Rush 
 only struck out with his wings, then he fell 
 down — dead. 
 
 "Wind-Rush is dead! The stranger has 
 killed our chieftain, Wind-Rush!" cried the 
 nearest crows, and then there was a terrible 
 uproar. Some wailed, others cried for ven- 
 geance. They all ran or fluttered up to the 
 boy, with Fumle-Drumle in the lead. But 
 he acted badly as usual. He only fluttered 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 337 
 
 and spread his wings over the boy, and pre- 
 vented the others from coming forward and 
 running their bills into him. 
 
 The boy thought that things looked very 
 bad for him now. He couldn't run away 
 from the crows, and there was no place where 
 he could hide. Then he happened to think 
 of the earthen crock. He took a firm hold 
 on the clasp, and pulled it off. Then he 
 hopped into the crock to hide in it. But the 
 crock was a poor hiding place, for it was nearly 
 filled to the brim with little, thin silver coins. 
 The boy couldn't get far enough down, so 
 he stooped and began to throw out the 
 coins. 
 
 Until now the crows had fluttered around 
 him in a thick swarm and pecked at him, 
 but when he threw out the coins they imme- 
 diately forgot their thirst for vengeance, and 
 hurried to gather the money. The boy threw 
 out handfuls of it, and all the crows — 
 yes, even Wind-Air herself — picked them up. 
 And everyone who succeeded in picking up a 
 coin ran off to the nest with the utmost 
 speed to conceal it. 
 
338 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 When the boy had thrown out all the silver 
 pennies from the crock he glanced up. Not 
 more than a single crow was left in the sandpit. 
 That was Fumle-Drumle,with the white feather 
 in his wing; he who had carried Thumbritot. 
 "You have rendered me a greater service 
 than you yourself understand," said the crow 
 — with a very different voice, and a different 
 intonation than the one he had used hereto- 
 fore — "and I want to save your life. Sit 
 down on my back, and I'll take you to a 
 hiding place where you can be secure for 
 to-night. To-morrow, I'll arrange it so that 
 you will get back to the wild geese." 
 
 THE CABIN 
 
 Thursday, April fourteenth. 
 
 The following morning when the boy awoke, 
 he lay in a bed. "When he saw that he was in 
 a house with four walls around him, and a 
 roof over him, he thought that he was at home. 
 " I wonder if mother will come soon with some 
 coffee," he muttered to himself where he lay 
 half-awake. Then he remembered that he 
 was in a deserted cabin on the crow-ridge, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 339 
 
 and that Fumle-Drumle with the white feather 
 had borne him there the night before. 
 
 The boy wavS sore all over after the journey 
 he had made the day before, and he thought 
 it was lovely to lie still while he waited for 
 Fumle-Drumle who had promised to come 
 and fetch him. 
 
 Curtains of checked cotton hung before the 
 bed, and he drew them aside to look out into 
 the cabin. It dawned upon him instantly 
 that he had never seen the mate to a cabin 
 like this. The walls consisted of nothing but 
 a couple of rows of logs ; then the roof began. 
 There was no interior ceiling, so he could look 
 clear up to the roof -tree. The cabin was so 
 small that it appeared to have been built 
 rather for such as he than for real people. 
 However, the fireplace and chimney were so 
 large, he thought that he had never seen larger. 
 The entrance door was in a gable-wall at the 
 side of the fireplace, and was so narrow that 
 it was more like a wicket than a door. In the 
 other gable-wall he saw a low and broad 
 window with many panes. There was scarcely 
 any movable furniture in the cabin. The 
 
340 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 bench on one side, and the table under the 
 window, were also stationary — also the big 
 bed wdiere he la3% and the many-coloured 
 cupboard. 
 
 The boy could not help wondering who 
 owned the cabin, and why it was deserted. 
 It certainly looked as though the people who 
 had lived there expected to return. The 
 coffee-urn and the gruel-pot stood on the 
 hearth, and there was same wood in the fire- 
 place; the oven-rake and baker's peel stood 
 in a corner; the spinning wheel was raised on 
 a bench; on the shelf over the window lay 
 oakum and flax, a couple of skeins of yarn, a 
 candle, and a bunch of matches. 
 
 Yes, it surelv looked as if those who had 
 lived there had intended to come back. There 
 were bed-clothes on the bed ; and on the walls 
 there still hrmg long strips of cloth, upon 
 which three riders named Kasper, Melchior, 
 and Baltasar were painted. The same horses 
 and riders were pictured many times. They 
 rode around the whole cabin, and continued 
 their ride even up toward the joists. 
 
 But in the roof the boy saw something 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 341 
 
 which brought him to his senses in a jiffy. 
 It was a couple of loaves of big bread-cakes 
 that hung there upon a spit. They looked 
 old and mouldy, but it was bread aTl the same. 
 He gave them a knock with the oven-rake 
 and one piece fell to the floor. He ate, and 
 stuffed his bag full. It was incredible how 
 good bread was, anyway. 
 
 He looked around the cabin once more, to 
 try and discover if there was anything else 
 which he might find useful to take along. " I 
 may as well take what I need, since no one 
 else cares about it," thought he. But most 
 of the things were too big and heavy. The 
 only things that he could carry might be a 
 few matches perhaps. 
 
 He clambered up on the table, and swung 
 with the help of the curtains up to the win- 
 dow-shelf. While he stood there and stuffed 
 the matches into his bag, the crow with the 
 white feather came in through the window. 
 "Well here I am at last," said Fumle-Drumle 
 as he lit on the table. " I couldn't get here any 
 sooner because we crows have electdd a new 
 chieftain in Wind-Rush's i3lace." "Whom 
 
342 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 have you chosen?" said the boy. "Well, we 
 have chosen one who will not permit robbery 
 and injustice. We have elected Garm White- 
 feather, lately called Fumle-Drunile," an- 
 swered he, drawing himself up until he looked 
 absolutely regal. "That was a good choice," 
 said the boy and congratulated him. "Ycu 
 may well wish me luck," said Garm; then he 
 told the boy about the time they had had 
 with Wind-Rush and Wind-Air. 
 
 During this recital the boy heard a voice 
 outside the window which he thought sounded 
 familiar. "Is he here?" — inquired the fox. 
 " Yes, he's hidden in there," answered a crow- 
 voice. "Be careful, Thumbietot!" cried 
 Garm. "Wind-Air stands without with that 
 fox who wants to eat you." More he didn't 
 have time to say, for Smirre dashed against 
 the window. The old, rotten window-frame 
 gave way, and the next second Smirre stood 
 upon the window-table. Garm Whitefeather, 
 who didn't have time to fly away, he killed 
 instantly. Thereupon he jumped down to 
 the floor, and looked around for the boy. 
 He tried to hide behind a big oakum-spiral, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 343 
 
 but Smirre had already spied him, and was 
 crouched for the final spring. The cabin was 
 so small, and so low, the boy understood that 
 the fox could reach him without the least 
 difficulty. But just at that moment the boy 
 was not without weapons of defence. He 
 struck a match quickly, touched the curtains, 
 and when they were in flames, he threw them 
 down upon Smirre Fox. When the fire envel- 
 oped the fox, he was seized with a mad terror. 
 He thought no more about the boy, but rushed 
 wildly out of the cabin. 
 
 But it looked as if the boy had escaped one 
 danger to throw himself into a greater one. 
 From the tuft of oakum which he had flung 
 at Smirre the fire had spread to the bed- 
 hangings. He jumped down and tried to 
 smother it, but it blazed too quickly now. 
 The cabin was soon filled with smoke, and 
 Smirre Fox, who had remained just outside 
 the window, began to grasp the state of affairs 
 within. "Well, Thumbietot," he called out, 
 " which do you choose now: to be broiled alive 
 in there, or to come out hereto me? Of course, 
 I should prefer to have the pleasure of eating 
 
344 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 you; but in whichever way death meets you 
 it will be dear to me." 
 
 The boy could not think but what the fox 
 was right, for the fire was making rapid head- 
 way. The whole bed was now in a blaze, and 
 smoke rose from the floor; and along the 
 painted wall-strips the fire crept from rider 
 to rider. The boy jumped up in the fireplace, 
 and tried to open the oven door, when he heard 
 a key which turned around slowly in the lock. 
 It must be human beings coming. And in 
 the dire extremity in which he found himself, he 
 was not afraid, but only glad. He was already 
 on the threshold when the door opened. He 
 saw a couple of children facing him ; but how 
 they looked when they saw the cabin in 
 flames, he took no time to find out; but 
 rushed past them into the open. 
 
 He didn't dare run far. He knew, of 
 course, that Smirre Fox lay in wait for 
 him, and he understood that he must 
 remain near the children. He turned round 
 to see what sort of folk they were, but he 
 hadn't looked at them a second before he 
 ran up to them and cried: "Oh, good- 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 345 
 
 dav, Osa goose-girl! Oh, good day, little 
 Mats!" 
 
 For when the boy saw those children he 
 forgot entirely where he was. Crows and 
 burning cabin and talking animals had van- 
 ished from his memory. He was walking on 
 a stubble-field, in West Vemminghog, tending 
 a goose-flock; and beside him, on the field, 
 walked those same SmMand children, with their 
 geese. As soon as he saw them, he ran up on 
 the stone-hedge and shouted: "Oh, good-day, 
 Osa goose-girl! Oh, good-day, little Mats!" 
 
 But when the children saw such a little crea- 
 ture coming up to them with outstretched 
 hands, they grabbed hold of each other, took a 
 couple of steps backward, and looked scared to 
 death. 
 
 When the boy noticed their terror he woke 
 up and remembered who he was. And then 
 it seemed to him that nothing worse could 
 happen him, than that those children should 
 see how he had been bewitched. Shame and 
 grief because he was no longer a human being, 
 overpowered him. He turned and fled. He 
 knew not whither. 
 
346 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 But a glad meeting awaited the boy when he 
 came down to the heath. For there, in the 
 heather, he spied something white, and 
 toward him came the white goosey-gander, 
 accompanied by Dunfin. When the white one 
 saw the boy running with such speed, he 
 thought that dreadful fiends were pursuing 
 him. He flung him in all haste upon his 
 back and flew off with him. 
 
XVII 
 THE OLD PEASANT WOMAN 
 
 Thursday, April fourteenth. 
 
 THREE tired wanderers were out in 
 the late evening in search of a night 
 harbour. They travelled over a poor and 
 desolate portion of northern Smaland. But 
 the sort of resting place which they wanted, 
 they should have been able to find; for they 
 were no weaklings who asked for soft beds or 
 comfortable rooms. "If one of these long 
 mountain-ridges had a peak so high and 
 steep that a fox couldn't in any way climb 
 up to it, then we should have a good sleeping- 
 place," said one of them. " If a single one of 
 the big swamps was thawed out, and was so 
 marshy and wet that a fox wouldn't dare 
 venture out on it, this, too, would be a right 
 good night harbour," said the second. "If 
 the ice on one of the large lakes we travel 
 past were loose, so that a fox could not come 
 
 347 
 
348 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 out on it, then we should have found just 
 what we are seeking," said the third. 
 
 The worst of it was that when the sun had 
 gone down, two of the travellers became so 
 sleepy that every second they were ready to 
 fall to the ground. The third one, who could 
 keep himself awake, grew more and more 
 uneasy as night approached. "Then it was 
 a misfortune that we came to a land where 
 lakes and swamps are frozen, so that a fox 
 can get around everywhere. In other places 
 the ice has melted away; but now we're well 
 up in the very coldest Sm§,land, where spring 
 has not as yet arrived. I don't know how I 
 shall ever manage to find a good sleep mg- 
 place! Unless I find some spot that is w^ell 
 protected, Smirre Fox will be upon us before 
 morning. " 
 
 He gazed in all directions, but he saw no 
 shelter where he could lodge. It was a dark 
 and chilly night, with wind and drizzle. It 
 grew more terrible and disagreeable around 
 him every second. 
 
 This may sound strange, perhaps, but the 
 travellers didn't seem to have the least desire 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 349 
 
 to ask for house-room on any farm. They 
 had already passed many parishes without 
 knocking at a single door. Little hillside 
 cabins on the outskirts of the forest, which 
 all poor wanderers are glad to run across, 
 they took no notice of either. One might 
 almost be tempted to say they deserved to 
 have a hard time of it, since they did not seek 
 help where it was to be had for the asking. 
 
 But finally, when it was so dark that there 
 was scarcely a glimmer of light left under the 
 skies and the two who needed sleep jour- 
 neyed on in a kind of half -sleep, they hap- 
 pened into a farmyard which was a long 
 way off from all neighbours. And not 
 only did it lie there desolate, but it ap- 
 peared to be uninhabited as well. No smoke 
 rose from the chimney ; no light shone through 
 the windows; no human being moved on the 
 place. When the one among the three who 
 could keep awake, saw the place, he thought : 
 " Now come what may, we must try to get 
 in here. Anything better we are not likely 
 to find." 
 
 Soon after that, all three stood in the house- 
 
3 so ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 yard. Two of them fell asleep the instant 
 they stood still, but the third looked about 
 him eagerly, to find where they could get 
 under cover. It was not a small farm. 
 Beside the dwelling house and stable and 
 smoke-house, there were long ranges with 
 granaries and storehouses and cattlesheds. 
 But it all looked awfully poor and dilapidated. 
 The houses had gray, moss-grown, leaning 
 walls, which seemed ready to topple over. 
 In the roofs were yawning holes, and the 
 doors hung aslant on broken hinges. It was 
 apparent that no one had taken the trouble 
 to drive a nail into a wall on this place for 
 a long time. 
 
 Meanwhile, he who was awake had figured 
 out which house was the cowshed. He 
 roused his travelling companions from their 
 sleep, and conducted them to the cowshed 
 door. Luckily, this was not fastened with 
 anything but a hook, which he could easily 
 push up with a rod. He heaved a sigh of 
 relief at the thought that they should soon 
 be in safety. But when the cowshed door 
 rvv^ung open with a sharp creaking, he heard 
 
ADVENTUREvS OF NILS 351 
 
 a cow begin to bellow. "Are you coming at 
 last, mistress?" said she. "I thought that 
 you didn't propose to give me any supper 
 to-night." 
 
 The one who was awake stopped in the 
 doorway, absolutely terrified when he dis- 
 covered that the cowshed was not empty. 
 But he soon saw that there was not more than 
 one cow, and three or four chickens ; and then 
 he took courage again. "We are three poor 
 travellers who want to come in somewhere, 
 where no fox can assail us, and no human 
 being capture us," said he. "We wonder 
 if this can be a good place for us." "I can- 
 not believe but what it is," answered the cow. 
 "To be sure the walls are poor, but the fox 
 does not walk through them as yet; and no 
 one lives here except an old peasant woman, 
 who isn't at all likely to make a captive of 
 anyone. But who are you?" she continued, 
 as she twisted in her stall to get a sight of 
 the newcomers. " I am Nils Holgersson from 
 Vemminghog, who has been transformed into 
 an elf," replied the first of the incomers, 
 "and I have with me a tame goose, whom I 
 
352 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 generally ride, and a gray goose." "Such 
 rare guests have never before been within my 
 four walls," said the cow, "and you shall be 
 welcome, although I would have preferred 
 that it had been my mistress, come to give 
 me my supper." 
 
 The boy led the geese into the cowshed, 
 which was rather large, and placed them in 
 an empty manger, where they fell asleep 
 instantly. For himself, he made a little bed 
 of straw and expected that he, too, should 
 go to sleep at once. 
 
 But this was impossible, for the poor cow, 
 who hadn't had her supper, wasn't still an 
 instant. She shook her flanks, moved around 
 in the stall, and complained of how hungry 
 she was. The boy couldn't get a wink of 
 sleep, but lay there and lived over all the 
 things that had happened to him during these 
 last days. 
 
 He thought of Osa, the goose-girl, and little 
 Mats, whom he had encountered so unex- 
 pectedly; and he fancied that the little 
 cabin which he had set on fire must have been 
 their old home in Smaland. Now he recalled 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 353 
 
 that he had heard them speak of just such a 
 cabin, and of the big heather-heath which 
 lay below it. Now they had wandered back 
 there to see their old home again, and then, 
 when they had reached it it was in flames. 
 
 It was indeed a great sorrow which he had 
 brought upon them, and it hurt him very 
 much. If he ever again became a human 
 being, he would try to compensate them for 
 the damage and miscalculation. 
 
 Then his thoughts wandered to the crows. 
 And when he thought of Fumle-Drumle who 
 had saved his life, and had met his own death 
 so soon after he had been elected chieftain, 
 he was so distressed that tears filled his eyes. 
 
 He had had a pretty rough time of it these 
 last few days. But, anyway, it was a rare 
 stroke of luck that the goosey-gander and 
 Dunfin had found him. 
 
 The goosey-gander had said that as soon 
 as the wild geese discovered that Thumbietot 
 had disappeared, they had asked all the small 
 animals in the forest about him. They soon 
 learned that a flock of Smaland crows had 
 carried him off. But the crows were already 
 
354 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 out of sight, and whither they had directed 
 their course no one had been able to say. 
 That they might find the boy as soon as pos- 
 sible, Akka had commanded the wild geese 
 to start out — two and two — in different 
 directions, to search for him. But after 
 a two days' hunt, whether or not they had 
 found him, they were to meet in northwestern 
 Smaland on a high mountain-top, which 
 resembled an abrupt, chopped-off tower, and 
 was called Taberg. After Akka had given 
 them the best directions, and described care- 
 fully how they should find Taberg, they had 
 separated. 
 
 The white goosey-gander had chosen Dunfin 
 as travelling companion, and they had flown 
 about hither and thither with the greatest 
 anxiety for Thumbietot. During this ramble 
 they had heard a thrush, who sat in a tree- top, 
 cry and wail that someone, who called him- 
 self Kidnapped-by-Crows, had made fun of 
 him. They had talked with the thrush, and 
 he had shown them in which direction that 
 Kidnapped-by-Crows had travelled. After- 
 ward, they had met a dove-cock, a starling, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 355 
 
 and a drake; they had all wailed about a 
 little culprit who had disturbed their song, 
 and who was named Caught-by-Crows, Cap- 
 tured-by-Crows, and Stolen-by-Crows. In 
 this way, they were enabled to trace Thumb- 
 ietot all the way to the heather-heath in 
 Sonnerbo township. 
 
 As soon as the goosey-gander and Dunfin 
 had found Thumbietot, they had started 
 toward the north, in order to reach Taberg. 
 But it had been a long road to travel, and the 
 darkness was upon them before they had 
 sighted the mountain top. "If we only get 
 there by to-morrow, surely all our troubles 
 will be over," thought the boy, and dug down 
 into the straw to have it warmer. All the 
 while the cow fussed and fumed in the stall. 
 Then, all of a sudden, she began to talk to 
 the boy. "Everything is wrong with me," 
 said the cow. " I am neither milked nor 
 tended. I have no night fodder in my manger, 
 and no bed has been made under me. My 
 mistress came here at dusk, to put things in 
 order for me, but she felt so ill, that she had 
 to go in soon again, and she has not returned." 
 
356 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 " It's distressing that I should be Httle and 
 powerless," said the boy. "I don't believe 
 that I am able to help you." "You can't 
 make me believe that you are powerless 
 because you are little," said the cow. "All 
 the elves that I've ever heard of, were so 
 strong that they could pull a whole load of hay, 
 and strike a cow dead with one fist." The 
 boy couldn't help laughing at the cow. " They 
 were a very different kind of elf from me." 
 said he. "But I'll loosen your halter and 
 open the door for you, so that you can go out 
 and drink in one of the pools on the place, and 
 then I'll try to climb up to the hayloft and 
 throw down some hay in your manger." 
 " Yes, that would be some help," said the cow. 
 
 The boy did as he had said; and when the 
 cow stood with a full manger in front of her, 
 he thought that at last he should get some 
 sleep. But he had hardly crept down in the 
 bed before she began, anew, to talk to him. 
 
 "You'll be clean put out with mc if I ask 
 you for one thing more," said the cow. " Oh, 
 no I won't, if it's only something that I'm 
 able to do," said the boy. "Then I will ask 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 357 
 
 you to go into the cabin, directly opposite, 
 and find out how my mistress is getting along. 
 I fear some misfortune has come to her. " " No ! 
 I can't do that," said the hoy. "I dare not 
 show myself before human beings." " Surely 
 you're not afraid of an old and sick woman," 
 said the cow. "But you do not need to go 
 into the cabin. Just stand outside the door 
 and peep in through the crack!" "Oh! if that 
 is all you ask of me, I'll do it of course," said 
 the boy. 
 
 With that he opened the cowshed door and 
 went out in the yard. It was a fearful night! 
 Neither moon nor stars shone; the wind blew 
 a gale, and the rain came down in torrents. 
 And the worst of all was that seven great 
 owls sat in a row on the eaves of the cabin. 
 It was awful just to hear them, where they 
 sat and grumbled at the weather; but it was 
 even worse to think what would happen to 
 him if one of them should set eyes on him. 
 That would be the last of him. 
 
 "Pity him who is little!" said the boy as 
 he ventured out in the yard. And he had a 
 right to say this, for he was blown down twice 
 
3S8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 before he got to the house: once the wind 
 swept him into a pool, which was so deep that 
 he came near drowning. But he got there 
 nevertheless. 
 
 He clambered up a pair of steps, scrambled 
 over a threshold, and came into the hallway. 
 The cabin door was closed, but down in one 
 comer a large piece had been cut away, that 
 the cat might go in and out. It was no diffi- 
 culty whatever for the boy to see how things 
 were in the cabin. 
 
 He had hardly cast a glance in there before 
 he staggered back and turned his head away. 
 An old, gray-haired woman lay stretched out 
 on the floor within. She neither moved nor 
 moaned; and her face shone strangely white. 
 It was as if an invisible moon had thrown a 
 feeble light over it. 
 
 The boy remembered that when his grand- 
 father had died, his face had also become so 
 strangely white-like. And he understood that 
 the old woman who lay on the cabin floor 
 must be dead. Death had probably come 
 to her so suddenly that she didn't even have 
 time to lie down on her bed. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 359 
 
 As he thought of being alone with the dead 
 in the middle of the dark night, he was terri- 
 bly afraid. He threw himself headlong down 
 the steps, and rushed back to the cowshed. 
 
 When he told the cow what he had seen in 
 the cabin, she stopped eating. "So my mis- 
 tress is dead," said she. "Then it will soon 
 be over for me as well." "There will always 
 be someone to look out for you," said the boy 
 comfortingly. "Ah! you don't know," said 
 the cow, "that I am already twice as old as 
 a cow usually is before she is laid upon the 
 slaughter-bench. But then I do not care to 
 live any longer, since she, in there, can come 
 no more to care for me." 
 
 She said nothing more for a while, but the 
 boy observed, no doubt, that she neither slept 
 nor ate. It was not long before she began to 
 speak again. " Is she lying on the bare floor ? " 
 she asked. "She is," said the boy. "She 
 had a habit of coming out to the cowshed," 
 she continued, "and talking about every- 
 thing that troubled her. I understood what 
 she said, although I could not answer her. 
 These last few days she talked of how afraid 
 
360 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 she was lest there would be no one with her 
 when she died. She was anxious for fear no 
 one should close her eyes and fold her hands 
 across her breast, after she was dead. Per- 
 haps you'll go in and do this?" The boy 
 hesitated. He remembered that when his 
 grandfather had died, mother had been very 
 careful about putting everything to rights. 
 He knew this was something which had to be 
 done. But, on the other hand, he felt that 
 he didn't dare go to the dead, in the ghastly 
 night. He didn't say no; neither did he take 
 a step toward the cowshed door. For a 
 couple of seconds the old cow was silent — ^just 
 as if she had expected an answer. But when 
 the boy said nothing, she did not repeat her 
 request. Instead, she began to talk with him 
 of her mistress. 
 
 There was much to tell, first and foremost, 
 about all the children which she had brought 
 up. They had been in the cowshed every 
 day, and in the summer they had taken the 
 cattle to pasture on the swamp and in the 
 grove? so the old cow knew all about them. 
 The\ had been splendid, all of them, and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 361 
 
 happy and industrious. A cow knew well 
 enough what her caretakers were good for. 
 
 There was also much to be said about the 
 farm. It had not always been as poor as it 
 was now. It was very large — ^although the 
 greater part of it consisted of swamps and 
 stony groves. There was not much room for 
 fields, but there was plenty of good fodder 
 ever3rwhere. At one time there had been a 
 cow for every stall in the cowshed; and the 
 oxshed, which was now empty, had at one 
 time been filled with oxen. And then there 
 was life and gayety, both in cabin and cow- 
 house. When the mistress opened the cow- 
 shed door she would hum and sing, and all 
 the cows lowed with gladness when they 
 heard her coming. 
 
 But the good man had died when the chil- 
 dren were so small that they could not be of 
 any assistance, and the mistress had to take 
 charge of the farm, and all the work and 
 responsibility. She had been as strong as a 
 man,' and had both ploughed and reaped. 
 In the evenings, when she came into the cow- 
 shed to milk, sometimes she was so tired that 
 
362 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 she wept. Then she dashed away her tears, 
 and was cheerful again. "It doesn't matter. 
 Good times are coming again for me too, if 
 only my children grow up. Yes, if they only 
 grow up." 
 
 But as soon as the children were grown, a 
 strange longing came over them. They didn't 
 want to stay at home, but went away to a 
 strange country. Their mother never got 
 any help from them. A couple of her chil- 
 dren were married before they went away, and 
 they had left their children behind, in the old 
 home. And now these children followed the 
 mistress in the cowshed, just as her own had 
 done. They tended the cows, and were fine, 
 good folk. And, in the evenings, when the 
 mistress was so tired out that she could fall 
 asleep in the middle of the milking, she would 
 rouse herself again to renewed courage by 
 thinking of them. "Good times are coming 
 for me, too," said she — and shook off sleep — 
 "when once they are grown." 
 
 But when these children grew up, they 
 went away to their parents in the strange 
 land. No one came back — no one stayed at 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 363 
 
 home — the old mistress was left alone on 
 the farm. 
 
 Probably she had never asked them to 
 remain with her, "Think you, Rodlinna, 
 that I would ask them to stay here with me, 
 when they can go out in the world and have 
 things comfortable?" she would say as she 
 stood in the stall with the old cow. " Here in 
 Smaland they have only poverty to look 
 forward to." 
 
 But when the last grandchild was gone, it 
 was all up with the mistress. All at once she 
 became bent and gray, and tottered as she 
 walked; as if she no longer had the strength 
 to move about. She stopped working. She 
 did not care to look after the farm, but let 
 everything go to rack and ruin. She didn't 
 repair the houses ; and she sold both the cows 
 and the oxen. The only one that she kept 
 was the old cow who now talked with Thumb- 
 ietot. Her she let live because all the 
 children had tended her. 
 
 She could have taken maids and farm-hands 
 into her service, who would have helped her 
 with the work, but she couldn't bear to see 
 
364 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 strangers around her, since her own had 
 deserted her. Perhaps she was better satis- 
 fied to let the farm go to ruin, since none of 
 her children were coming back to take it 
 after she was gone. She did not mind that 
 she herself became poor, because she didn't 
 value that which was only hers. But she 
 was troubled lest the children should find out 
 how hard she had it. "If only the children 
 do not hear of this! If only the children do 
 not hear of this!" she sighed as she tottered 
 through the cowhouse. 
 
 The children wrote constantly, and begged 
 her to come out to them; but this she did not 
 wish. She didn't want to see the land that 
 had taken them from her. She was angry 
 with it. "It's foolish of me, perhaps, that 
 I do not like that land which has been so 
 good for them," said she. "But I don't 
 want to see it." 
 
 She never thought of anything but the 
 children, and of this — ^that they must needs 
 have gone. When summer came, she led 
 the cow out to graze in the big swamp. All 
 day she would sit on the edge of the swamp, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 365 
 
 her hands in her lap; and on the way home 
 she would say: "You see, Rodlinna, if there 
 had been large, rich fields here, in place of 
 these barren swamps, then there would have 
 been no need for them to leave." 
 
 She could become ftirious with the swamp 
 which spread out so big, and did no good. 
 She could sit and talk about how it was the 
 swamp's fault that the children had left her. 
 
 This last evening she had been more 
 trembly and feeble than ever before. She 
 could not even do the milking. She had 
 leaned against the manger and talked about 
 two strangers who had been to see her, and 
 had asked if they might buy the swamp. 
 They wanted to drain it, and sow and raise 
 grain on it. This had made her both anxious 
 and glad. "Do you hear, Rodlinna," she 
 had said, "Do you hear they said that grain 
 can grow on the swamp? Now I shall write 
 to the children to come home. Now they'll 
 not have to stay away any longer; for now 
 they can get their bread here at home." 
 It was this that she had gone into the cabin 
 to do 
 
366 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 The boy heard no more of what the old 
 cow said. He had opened the cowhouse door 
 and gone across the yard, and in to the 
 dead whom he had but lately been so afraid 
 of. 
 
 It was not so poor in the cabin as he had 
 expected. It was well supplied with the sort 
 of things one generally finds among those 
 who have relatives in America. In a corner 
 there was an American rocking chair; on the 
 table before the window lay a brocaded plush 
 cover ; there was a pretty spread on the bed ; 
 on the walls, in carved-wood frames, hung 
 the photographs of the children and grand- 
 children who had gone away; on the bureau 
 stood high vases and a couple of candle- 
 sticks, with thick, spiral candles in them. 
 
 The boy searched for a matchbox and 
 lighted these candles, not because he needed 
 more light than he already had ; but because 
 he thought that this was one way to honour 
 the dead. 
 
 Then he went up to her, closed her eyes, 
 folded her hands across her breast, and stroked 
 back the thin gray hair from her face. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 367 
 
 He thought no more about being afraid of 
 her. He was so deeply grieved because she 
 had been forced to live out her old age in 
 loneliness and longing. He, at least, would 
 watch over her dead body this night. 
 
 He hunted up the psalm book, and seated 
 himself to read a couple of psalms in an under- 
 tone. But in the middle of the reading he 
 paused — ^because he had begun to think 
 about his mother and father. 
 
 Think, that parents can long so for their 
 children ! This he had never known. Think, 
 that life can be as though it was over for them 
 when the children are away! Think, if those 
 at home longed for him in the same way that 
 this old peasant woman had longed! 
 
 This thought made him happy, but he 
 dared not believe in it. He had not been 
 such an one that anybody could long for him. 
 
 But what he had not been, perhaps he 
 could become. 
 
 Round about him he saw the portraits of 
 those who were away. They were big, strong 
 men and women with earnest faces. There 
 were brides in long veils, and gentlemen in 
 
368 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 fine clothes; and there were children with 
 waved hair and pretty white dresses. And 
 he thought that they all stared blindly into 
 vacancy — and did not want to see. 
 
 "Poor you!" said the boy to the portraits. 
 "Your mother is dead. You cannot make 
 reparation now, because you went away from 
 her. But my mother is living!" 
 
 Here he paused, and nodded and smiled 
 to himself. "My mother is living," said he. 
 "Both father and mother are living." 
 
XVIII 
 FROM TABERG TO HUSKVARNA 
 
 Friday, April fifteenth. 
 
 THE boy sat awake nearly all night, 
 but toward morning he fell asleep and 
 then he dreamed of his father and mother. He 
 could hardly recognise them. They had 
 both grown gray, and had old and wrinkled 
 faces. He asked how this had come about, 
 and they answered that they had aged so 
 because they had longed for him. He was 
 both touched and astonished, for he had never 
 believed but what they were glad to be rid 
 of him. 
 
 When the boy awoke the morning was 
 come, with fine, clear weather. First, he 
 himself ate a bit of bread which he found in 
 the cabin; then he gave morning feed to 
 both geese and cow, and opened the cow- 
 house door so that the cow could go over to 
 the nearest farm. When the cow came along 
 
 369 
 
370 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 all by herself the neighbours would no doubt 
 understand that something was wrong with 
 her mistress. They would hurry over to the 
 desolate farm to see how the old woman was 
 getting along, and then they would find her 
 dead body and bury it. 
 
 The boy and the geese had barely raised 
 themselves into the air, when they caught a 
 glimpse of a high mountain, with almost 
 perpendicular walls, and an abrupt, broken- 
 off top; and they understood that this must 
 be Taberg. On the summit stood Akka, with 
 Yksi and Kaksi, Kolmi and Nelja, Viisi and 
 Knusi, and all six goslings and waited for 
 them. There was a rejoicing, and a cackling, 
 and a fluttering, and a calling which no one 
 can describe, when they saw that the goosey- 
 gander and Dunlin had succeeded in finding 
 Thumbietot. 
 
 The woods grew pretty high up on Taberg 's 
 sides, but her highest peak was barren; and 
 from there one could look far out in all 
 directions. If one gazed toward the east, 
 or south, or west, then there was hardly any- 
 thing to be seen but a poor highland with 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 371 
 
 dark spruce-trees, brown morasses, ice-clad 
 lakes, and bluish mountain-ridges. The boy 
 couldn't keep from thinking it was true that 
 the one who had created this hadn't taken 
 very great pains with his work, but had 
 thrown it together in a hurry. But if one 
 glanced to the north, it was altogether dif- 
 ferent. Here it looked as if it had been 
 worked out with the utmost care and affection. 
 In this direction one saw only beautiful moun- 
 tains, soft valleys, and winding rivers, all the 
 way to the big Lake Vettern, which lay ice- 
 free and transparently clear, and shone as if it 
 wasn't filled with water but with blue light. 
 It was Vettern that made it so pretty to 
 look toward the north, because it looked as 
 though a blue stream had risen up from the 
 lake, and spread itself over land also. Groves 
 and hills and roofs, and the spires of Jonkop- 
 ing City — which shimmered along Vettern 's 
 shores — ^lay enveloped in pale blue which 
 caressed the eye. If there were countries in 
 heaven, they, too, must be blue like this, thought 
 the boy, and imagined that he had gotten a 
 faint idea of how it must look in Paradise. 
 
372 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Later in the day, when the geese continued 
 their journey, they flew up toward the 
 blue valley. They were in holiday humour; 
 shrieked and made such a racket that 
 no one who had ears could help hearing 
 them. 
 
 This happened to be the first really fine 
 spring day they had had in this section. 
 Until now, the spring had done its work under 
 rain and bluster; and now, when it had all 
 of a sudden become fine weather, the people 
 were filled with such a longing after summer 
 warmth and green woods that they could 
 hardly perform their tasks. And when the 
 wild geese rode by, high above the ground, 
 cheerful and free, there wasn't one who did 
 not drop what he had in hand, and glance 
 at them. 
 
 The first ones who saw the wild geese that 
 day were miners on Taberg, who were digging 
 ore at the mouth of the mine. When they 
 heard them cackle, they paused in their 
 drilling for ore, and one of them called to the 
 birds: "Where are you going? Where are 
 you going?" The geese didn't understand 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 373 
 
 what he said, but the boy leaned forward 
 over the goose-back, and answered for them: 
 "Where there is neither pick nor hammer." 
 When the miners heard the words, they 
 thought it was their own longing that made 
 the goose-cackle sound like human speech. 
 "Take us along with you! Take us along 
 with you!" they cried. "Not this year." 
 shrieked the boy. "Not this year." 
 
 The wild geese followed Taber River down 
 toward Monk Lake, and all the while they 
 made the same racket. Here, on the narrow 
 land-strip between Monk and Vettem lakes, 
 lay Jonkoping with its great factories. The 
 wild geese rode first over Monks jo paper mills. 
 The noon rest hour was just over, and the big 
 workmen were streaming down to the mill- 
 gate. When they heard the wild geese, they 
 stopped a moment to listen to them. " Where 
 are you going? Where are you going?" 
 called the workmen. The wild geese under- 
 stood nothing of what they said, but the boy 
 answered for them: "There, where there 
 are neither machines nor steam-boxes. ' ' When 
 the workmen heard the answer, they believed 
 
374 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 it was their own longing that made the goose- 
 cackle sound like human speech. "Take 
 us along with you!" "Not this year," 
 answered the boy. "Not this year." 
 
 Next, the geese rode over the well-known 
 match factory, which lies on the shores of 
 Vettern — large as a fortress — and lifts its 
 high chimneys toward the sky. Not a soul 
 moved out in the yards; but in a large hall 
 young working-women sat and filled match- 
 boxes. They had opened a window on 
 account of the beautiful weather, and through 
 it came the wild geese's call. The one who 
 sat nearest the window, leaned out with a 
 match-box in her hand, and cried: "Where 
 are you going? Where are you going?" 
 " To that land where there is no need of either 
 light or matches," said the boy. The girl 
 thought that what she had heard, was only 
 goose-cackle; but since she thought she 
 had distinguished a couple of words, she called 
 out in answer: "Take me along with you!" 
 "Not this year, replied the boy. "Not this 
 year." 
 
 East of the factories rises Jonkoping, on the 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 375 
 
 most glorious spot that any city can occupy. 
 The narrow Vettern has high, steep sand- 
 shores, both on the eastern and western sides ; 
 but straight south, the sand-walls are broken 
 down, just as if to make room for a large 
 gate, through which one reaches the lake. 
 And in the middle of the gate — ^with moun- 
 tains to the left, and mountains to the right; 
 with Monk Lake behind it, and Vettern in 
 front of it — lies Jonkoping. 
 
 The wild geese travelled forward over the 
 long, narrow city, and behaved themselves 
 \iere just as they had done in the country. 
 But in the city there was no one who answered 
 them. It was not to be expected that city 
 folks should stop out in the streets, and call 
 to the wild geese. 
 
 The trip extended further along Vettern 's 
 shores; and after a little they came to Sanna 
 Sanitarium. Some of the patients had gone 
 out on the veranda to enjoy the spring air, 
 and in this way they heard the goose-cackle. 
 "Where are you going?" asked one of them 
 with such a feeble voice that he was scarcely 
 heard. "To that land where there is neither 
 
376 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 sorrow nor sickness," answered the boy. 
 "Take us along with you!" said the sick 
 ones. "Not this year," answered the boy. 
 "Not this year." 
 
 When they had travelled still farther on, 
 they came to Huskvama. It lay in a valley. 
 The mountains around it were steep and 
 beautifully formed. A river rushed along 
 the heights in long and narrow falls. Big 
 workshops and factories lay below the moun- 
 tain walls; and scattered over the valley- 
 bottom were the workingmen's homes, 
 encircled by little gardens; and in the centre 
 of the valley lay the schoolhouse. Just as 
 the wild geese came along, a bell rang, and a 
 crowd of school children marched out in line. 
 They were so numerous that the whole school- 
 yard was filled with them. "Where are you 
 going? Where are you going? " the children 
 shouted when they heard the wild geese. 
 "Where there are neither books nor lessons 
 to be found," answered the boy. "Take 
 us along!" shrieked the children. "Not this 
 year, but next," cried the boy. "Not this 
 year, but next." 
 
XIX 
 
 THE BIG BIRD-LAKE 
 
 JARRO, THE WILD DUCK 
 
 ON THE eastern shore of Vettern lies 
 Mount Omberg; east of Omberg lies 
 Dagmosse ; east of Dagmosse lies Lake Takern. 
 Around the whole of Takern spreads the big, 
 even Ostergota plain. 
 
 Takern is a pretty large lake and in olden 
 times it must have been still larger. But then 
 the people thought it covered entirely too 
 much of the fertile plain, so they attempted 
 to drain the water from it, that they might 
 sow and reap on the lake-bottom. But they 
 did not succeed in laying waste the entire 
 lake — ^which had evidently been their inten- 
 tion — ^therefore it still hides a lot of land. 
 Since the draining the lake has become 
 so shallow that hardly at any point is it 
 more than a couple of metres deep. The 
 
 377 
 
378 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 shores have become marshy and muddy; 
 and out in the lake, httle mud-islets stick up 
 above the water's surface. 
 
 Now, there is one who loves to stand with 
 his feet in the water, if he can just keep his 
 body and head in the air, and that is the 
 reed. And it cannot find a better place 
 to grow upon, than the long, shallow 
 Takern shores, and around the little mud- 
 islets. It thrives so well that it grows 
 taller than a man's height, and so thick that 
 it is almost impossible to push a boat through 
 it. It forms a broad green enclosure around 
 the whole lake, so that it is only accessible 
 in a few places where the people have taken 
 away the reeds. 
 
 But if the reeds shut the people out, they 
 give, in return, shelter and protection to many 
 other things. In the reeds there are a lot of 
 little dams and canals with green, still water, 
 where duckweed and pond weed run to seed; 
 and where gnat-eggs and blackfish and worms 
 are hatched out in uncountable masses. And 
 all along the shores of these little dams and 
 canals, there are many well-concealed places, 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 379 
 
 where seabirds hatch their eggs, and bring 
 up their young without being disturbed, 
 either by enemies or food worries. 
 
 An incredible number of birds Hve in the 
 Takern reeds; and more and more gather 
 there every year, as it becomes known what 
 a splendid abode it is. The first who settled 
 there were the wild ducks; and they still 
 live there by thousands. But they no longer 
 own the entire lake, for they have been 
 obliged to share it with swans, grebes, coots, 
 loons, fen-ducks, and a lot of others. 
 
 Takern is certainly the largest and choicest 
 bird lake in the whole country; and the birds 
 may count themselves lucky as long as they 
 own such a retreat. But it is uncertain just 
 how long they will be in control of reeds and 
 mud-banks, for human beings cannot forget 
 that the lake extends over a considerable 
 portion of good and fertile soil; and every 
 now and then the proposition to drain it 
 comes up among them. And if these prop- 
 ositions were carried out, the many thou- 
 sands of water-birds would be forced to 
 move from this quarter. 
 
38o ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 At the time when Nils Holgersson travelled 
 around with the wild geese, there lived at 
 Takern a wild duck named Jarro. He was 
 a young bird, who had only lived one summer, 
 one fall, and a winter; now, it was his first 
 spring. He had just returned from South 
 Africa, and had reached Takern in such good 
 season that the ice was still on the lake. 
 
 One evening, when he and the other young 
 wild ducks played at racing backward and 
 forward over the lake, a hunter fired a couple 
 of shots at them, and Jarro was wounded in 
 the breast. He thought he should die; but 
 in order that the one who had shot him 
 shouldn't get him into his power, he continued 
 to fly as long as he possibly could. He 
 didn't think whither he was directing his 
 course, but only struggled to get far away. 
 When his strength failed him, so that he 
 could not fly any farther, he was no longer on 
 the lake. He had flown a bit inland, and 
 now he sank down before the entrance to one 
 of the big farms which lie along the shores of 
 Takern. 
 
 A moment later a young farm-hand 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 381 
 
 happened along. He saw Jarro, and came 
 and lifted him up. But Jarro, who asked for 
 nothing but to be let die in peace, gathered 
 his last powers and nipped the farm-hand in 
 the finger, so he should let go of him. 
 
 Jarro didn't succeed in freeing himself. 
 The encounter had this good in it at any rate: 
 the farm-hand noticed that the bird was 
 alive. He carried him very gently into the 
 cottage, and showed him to the mistress of 
 the house — a young woman with a kindly 
 face. At once she took Jarro from the farm- 
 hand, stroked him on the back and wiped 
 away the blood which trickled down through 
 the neck-feathers. She looked him over very 
 carefully; and when she saw how pretty he 
 was, with his dark-green, shining head, his 
 white neck-band, his brownish-red back, and 
 his blue wing-mirror, she must have thought 
 that it was a pity for him to die. She promptly 
 put a basket in order, and tucked the bird 
 1 nto it. 
 
 All the while Jarro fluttered and struggled 
 to get loose; but when he understood that 
 the people didn't intend to kill him, he 
 
382 ADVENTURES OF NILS ^ 
 
 settled down In the basket with a sense of 
 pleasure. Now it was evident how exhausted 
 he was from pain and loss of blood. The 
 mistress carried the basket across the floor 
 to place it in the comer by the fireplace; but 
 before she put it down Jarro was already 
 fast asleep. 
 
 In a little while Jarro was awakened by 
 someone who nudged him gently. When he 
 opened his eyes he experienced such an awful 
 shock that he almost lost his senses. Now 
 he was lost! for there stood the one who was 
 more dangerous than either human beings or 
 birds of prey. It was no less a thing than 
 Caesar himself — the long-haired dog — ^who 
 nosed around him inquisitively. 
 
 How pitifully scared had he not been last 
 summer, when he was still a little yellow- 
 down duckling, every time it had sounded 
 over the reed-stems: "Cassar is coming! 
 Caesar is coming!" When he had seen the 
 brown and white spotted dog with the teeth- 
 filled jowls come wading through the reeds, he 
 had believed that he beheld death itself. ^ He 
 had always hoped that he would never have 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 383 
 
 to live through that moment when he should 
 meet Caesar face to face. 
 
 But, to his sorrow, he must have fallen down 
 in the very yard where Caesar lived, for there 
 he stood right over him. "Who are you?" 
 he growled. "How did you get into the 
 house? Don't you belong down among the 
 reed banks?" 
 
 It was with great difficulty that he gained 
 the courage to answer. "Don't be angry 
 with me, Caesar, because I came into the 
 house!" said he. "It isn't my fault. I have 
 been woimded by a gunshot. It was the 
 people themselves who laid me in this basket." 
 
 "Oho! so it's the folks themselves that 
 have placed you here," said Cassar. "Then 
 it is surely their intention to cure you; 
 although, for my part, I think it would be 
 wiser for them to eat you up, since you are in 
 their power. But, at any rate, you are 
 tabooed in the house. You needn't look so 
 scared. Now, we're not down on Takern." 
 
 With that Caesar laid himself to sleep in front 
 of the blazing log-fire. As soon as Jarre 
 understood that this terrible danger was past, 
 
384 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 extreme lassitude came over him, and he fell 
 asleep anew. 
 
 The next time Jarro awoke, he saw that a 
 dish with grain and water stood before him. 
 He was still quite ill, but he felt hungry 
 nevertheless, and began to eat. When the 
 mistress saw that he ate, she came up and 
 petted him, and looked pleased. After that, 
 Jarro fell asleep again. For several days he 
 did nothing but eat and sleep. 
 
 One morning Jarro felt so well that he 
 stepped from the basket and wandered along 
 the floor. But he hadn't gone very far before 
 he keeled over, and lay there. Then came 
 Caesar, opened his big jaws and grabbed him. 
 Jarro believed, of course, that the dog was 
 going to bite him to death; but Csesar carried 
 him back to the basket without harming him. 
 Because of this, Jarro acquired such a con- 
 fidence in the dog Caesar, that on his next 
 walk in the cottage, he went over to the dog 
 and lay down beside him. Thereafter Cassar 
 and he became good friends, and every day, 
 for several hours, Jarro lay and slept between 
 Caesar's paws. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 385 
 
 But an even greater affection than he felt 
 for Caesar, did Jarro feel toward his mistress. 
 Of her he had not the least fear; but rubbed 
 his head against her hand when she came and 
 fed him. Whenever she went out of the 
 cottage he sighed with regret; and when she 
 came back he cried welcome to her in his own 
 language. 
 
 Jarro forgot entirely how afraid he had been 
 of both dogs and humans in other days. He 
 thought now that they were gentle and kind, 
 and he loved them. He wished that he were 
 well, so he could fly down to Takern and 
 tell the wild ducks that their enemies were 
 not dangerous, and that they need not fear 
 them. 
 
 He had observed that the human beings, 
 as well as Caesar, had calm eyes, which it did 
 one good to look into. The only one in the 
 cottage whose glance he did not care to meet, 
 was Clawina, the house cat. She did him no 
 harm, either, but he couldn't place any con- 
 fidence in her. Then, too, she quarrelled 
 with him constantl3% because he loved human 
 beings. " You think they protect you because 
 
386 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 they are fond of you," said Clawina. "You 
 just wait until you are fat enough! Then 
 they'll wring the neck off you. I know them, 
 I do." 
 
 Jarro, like all birds, had a tender and 
 affectionate heart; and he was unutterably 
 distressed when he heard this. He couldn't 
 imagine that his mistress would wish to wring 
 the neck off him, nor could he believe any 
 such thing of her son, the little boy who sat 
 for hours beside his basket, and babbled and 
 chattered. He seemed to think that both of 
 them had the same love for him that he had 
 for them. 
 
 One day. when Jarro and Caesar lay on the 
 usual spot before the fire, Clawina sat on the 
 hearth and began to tease the wild duck. 
 
 " I wonder, Jarro, what you wild ducks will 
 do next year, when Takern is drained and 
 turned into grain fields?" said Clawina. 
 "What's that you say, Clawina?" cried Jarro, 
 and jimiped up — scared through and through. 
 "I always forget, Jarro, that you do not 
 understand human speech, like Csesar and 
 myself," answered the cat. "Or else you 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 387 
 
 surely would have heard how the men, who 
 were here in the cottage yesterday, said that 
 all the water was going to be drained from 
 Takern, and that next year the lake-bottom 
 would be as dry as a house-floor. And now 
 I wonder where you wild ducks will go." 
 When Jarro heard this talk he was so furious 
 that he hissed like a snake. "You are just 
 as mean as a common coot!" he screamed at 
 Clawina. "You only want to incite me 
 against human beings. I don't believe they 
 want to do anything of the sort. They must 
 know that Takern is the wild ducks' property. 
 Why should they make so many birds home- 
 less and unhappy? You have certainly hit 
 upon all this to scare me. I hope that you 
 may be torn in pieces by Gorgo, the eagle! 
 I hope that my mistress will chop off your 
 whiskers!" 
 
 But Jarro couldn't shut Clawina up with 
 this outburst. "So you think I'm lying," 
 said she. "Ask Caesar, then! He was also in 
 the house last night. Caesar never lies." 
 
 "Caesar," said Jarro, "you understand 
 human speech much better than Clawina. 
 
388 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Say that she hasn't heard aright! Think 
 how it would be if the people drained Takem, 
 and changed the lake-bottom into fields! 
 Then there would be no more pond-weed or 
 duck-food for the grown wild ducks, and no 
 blackfish or wonns or gnat-eggs for the duck- 
 lings. Then the reed-banks would disappear 
 — where now the ducklings conceal them- 
 selves until they are able to fly. All ducks 
 would be compelled to move away from here 
 and seek another home. But where shall they 
 find a retreat like Takern? Cassar, say that 
 Clawina has not heard aright!" 
 
 It was extraordinary to watch Caesar's 
 behaviour during this conversation. He had 
 been wide-awake the whole time before, but 
 now, when Jarro turned to him, he panted, 
 laid his long nose on his forepaws, and was 
 sound asleep within the wink of an eyelid. 
 
 The cat looked down at Caesar with a know- 
 ing smile. " I believe that Csesar doesn't care 
 to answer you," she said to Jarro. "It is 
 with him as with all dogs; they will never 
 acknowledge that humans can do any wrong. 
 But you can rely upon my word, at any rate. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 389 
 
 I shall tell you why they wish to drain the 
 lake just now. As long as you wild ducks 
 still had the power on Takern, they did not 
 wish to drain it, for, at least, they got some 
 good out of you; but now, grebes and coots 
 and other birds who are no good as food, have 
 infested nearly all the reed-banks, and the 
 people don't think they need let the lake 
 remain on their account." 
 
 Jarro didn't trouble himself to answer 
 Clawina, but raised his head, and shouted in 
 Caesar's ear: "Caesar! You know that on 
 Takern there are still so many ducks left th; it 
 they fill the air like clouds. Say it isn't true 
 that human beings intend to make all of these 
 homeless!" 
 
 Then Caesar sprang up with such a sudden 
 outburst at Clawina that she had to save 
 herself by jumping up on a shelf. "I'll teach 
 you to keep quiet when I want to sleep," 
 bawled Ccesar. "Of course I know that there 
 is some talk about draining the lake this year. 
 But there's been talk of this many times 
 before without anything coming of it. And 
 that draining business is a matter in which I 
 
390 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 take no stock whatever. For how would it 
 go with the game if Takern were laid waste. 
 You're a donkey to gloat over a thing like that. 
 What will you and I have to amuse ourselves 
 with, when there are no more birds on 
 Takern?" 
 
 THE DECOY-DUCK 
 
 Sunday, April seventeenth. 
 
 A COUPLE of days later Jarro was so well 
 that he could fly all about the house. Then 
 he was petted a good deal by the mistress, and 
 the little boy ran out in the yard and plucked 
 the first grass-blades for him which had 
 sprung up. When the mistress caressed him, 
 Jarro thought that, although he was now so 
 strong that he could fly down to Takern at 
 any time, he shouldn't care to be separated 
 from the human beings. He had no objection 
 to remaining with them all his life. 
 
 But early one morning the mistress placed 
 a halter, or noose, over Jarro, which prevented 
 him from using his wings, and then she turned 
 him over to the farm-hand who had found 
 him in the yard. The farm-hand poked him 
 
 1 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 391 
 
 under his arm, and went down to Takern 
 with him. 
 
 The ice had melted away while Jarro had 
 been ill. The old, dry fall leaves still stood 
 along the shores and islets, but all the water- 
 growths had begun to take root down in the 
 deep ; and the green stems had already reached 
 the surface. And now nearly all the migra- 
 tory birds were at home. The curlews' 
 hooked bills peeped out from the reeds. The 
 grebes glided about with new feather-collars 
 around the neck; and the jack-snipes were 
 gathering straws for their nests. 
 
 The farm-hand got into a scow, laid Jarro 
 in the bottom of the boat, and began to pole 
 himself out on the lake. Jarro, who had now 
 accustomed himself to expect only good of 
 human beings, said to Caesar, who was also in 
 the party, that he was very grateful toward 
 the farm-hand for taking him out on the lake. 
 But there was no need to keep him so closely 
 guarded, for he did not intend to fly away. 
 To this Caesar made no reply. He was very 
 close-mouthed that morning. 
 
 The only thing which struck Jarro as being 
 
392 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 a bit peculiar was that the farm-hand had 
 taken his gun along. He couldn't believe 
 that any of the good folk in the cottage would 
 want to shoot birds. And, beside, Caesar 
 had told him that the people didn't hunt at 
 this time of the year. "It is a prohibited 
 time," he had said, "although this doesn't 
 concern me, of course." 
 
 The farm-hand went over to one of the 
 little reed-enclosed mud-islets. There he 
 stepped from the boat, gathered some old 
 reeds into a pile, and lay down behind it. 
 Jarro was permitted to wander around on 
 the ground, with the halter over his wings, 
 and tethered to the boat, with a long string. 
 
 Suddenly Jarro caught sight of some young 
 ducks and drakes, in whose company he had 
 formerly raced backward and forward over the 
 lake. They were a long way off, but Jarro 
 called them to him with a couple of loud 
 shouts. They responded, and a large and 
 beautiful flock approached. Before they got 
 there, Jarro began to tell them about his 
 marvellous rescue, and of the kindness of 
 human beings. Just then, two shots sounded 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 393 
 
 behind him. Three ducks sank down in the 
 reeds — hfeless — and Caesar bounced out and 
 captured them. 
 
 Then Jarro understood. The human beings 
 had only saved him that they might use him 
 as a decoy-duck. And they had also suc- 
 ceeded. Three ducks had died on his account. 
 He thought he should die of shame. He 
 thought that even his friend Caesar looked 
 contemptuously at him ; and when they came 
 home to the cottage, he didn't dare lie down 
 and sleep beside the dog. 
 
 The next morning Jarro was again taken 
 out on the shallows. This time, too, he saw 
 some ducks. But when he observed that 
 they flew toward him, he called to them: 
 "Away! Away! Be careful! Fly in another 
 direction ! There's a hunter hidden behind the 
 reed-pile. I'm only a decoy-bird!" And he 
 actually succeeded in preventing them from 
 coming within shooting distance. 
 
 Jarro had scarcely had time to taste of a 
 grass-blade, so busy was he in keeping watch. 
 He called out his warning as soon as a bird 
 drew nigh. He even warned the grebes, 
 
394 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 although he detested them because they 
 crowded the ducks out of their best hiding- 
 places. But he did not wish that any bird 
 should meet with misfortune on his account. 
 And, thanks to Jarro's vigilance, the farm- 
 hand had to go home without firing off a single 
 shot. 
 
 Despite this fact, Caesar looked less dis- 
 pleased than on the previous day; and when 
 evening came he took Jarro in his mouth, 
 carried him over to the fireplace, and let him 
 sleep between his forepaws. 
 
 Nevertheless Jarro was no longer contented 
 in the cottage, but was grievously unhappy. 
 His heart suffered at the thought that humans 
 never had loved him. When the mistress, 
 or the little boy, came forward to caress him, 
 he stuck his bill under his wing and pretended 
 that he slept. 
 
 For several days Jarro continued his dis- 
 tressful watch-service; and already he was 
 known all over Takern. Then it happened 
 one morning, while he called as usual: "Have 
 a care, birds! Don't come near me! I'm only 
 a decoy-duck," that a grebe-nest came floating 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 395 
 
 toward the shallows where he was tied. 
 This was nothing especially remarkable. It 
 was a nest from the year before; and since 
 grebe-nests are built in such a way that they 
 can move on water like boats, it often happens 
 that they drift out toward the lake. Still 
 Jarro stood there and stared at the nest, 
 because it came so straight toward the islet 
 that it looked as though someone had steered 
 its course over the water. 
 
 As the nest came nearer, Jarro saw that a 
 little human being — the tiniest he had ever 
 seen — sat in the nest and rowed it forward 
 with a pair of sticks. And this little human 
 called to him: "Go as near the water as you 
 can, Jarro, and be ready to fly. You shall 
 soon be freed." 
 
 A few seconds later the grebe-nest lay near 
 land, but the little oarsman did not leave it, 
 but sat huddled up between branches and 
 straw. Jarro too held himself almost immov- 
 able. He was actually paralysed with fear 
 lest the rescuer should be discovered. 
 
 The next thing which occurred was that a 
 flock of wild geese came along. Then Jarro 
 
396 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 woke up to business, and warned them with 
 loud shrieks; but in spite of this they flew 
 backward and fonvard over the shallows 
 several times. They held themselves so high 
 that they were beyond shooting distance ; still 
 the farm-hand let himself be tempted to fire a 
 couple of shots at them. These shots were 
 hardly fired before the little creature ran up 
 on land, drew a tiny knife from its sheath, and, 
 with a couple of quick strokes, cut loose 
 Jarro's halter. "Now fly away, Jarro, before 
 the man has time to load again!" cried he, 
 while he himself ran down to the grebe-nest 
 and poled away from the shore. 
 
 The hunter had had his gaze fixed upon the 
 geese, and hadn't observed that Jarro had 
 been freed ; but Caesar had followed more care- 
 fully that which happened ; and just as Jarro 
 raised his wings, he dashed forward and grabbed 
 him by the neck. 
 
 Jarro cried pitifully; and the boy who had 
 freed him said quietly to Caesar: "If you are 
 just as honourable as you look, surely you 
 cannot wish to force a good bird to sit here and 
 entice others into trouble." 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 397 
 
 When Cassar heard these words, he grinned 
 viciously with his upper Hp, but the next 
 second he dropped Jarro. " Fly, Jarro ! " said 
 he. "You are certainly too good to be a 
 decoy-duck. It wasn't for this that I wanted 
 to keep you here ; but because it will be lonely 
 in the cottage without you." 
 
 THE LOWERING OF THE LAKE 
 
 Wednesday, April twentieth. 
 
 It was indeed very lonely in the cottage with- 
 out Jarro. The dog and the cat found the 
 time long, when they didn't have him to 
 wrangle over; and the housewife missed the 
 glad quacking which he had indulged in every 
 time she entered the house. But the one who 
 longed most for Jarro, was the little boy, 
 Per Ola. He was but three years old, and 
 the only child ; and in all his life he had never 
 had a playmate like Jarro. When he heard 
 that Jarro had gone back to Takern and the 
 wild ducks, he couldn't be satisfied with this, 
 but thought constantly of how he should get 
 him back again. 
 
 Per Ola had talked a good deal with Jarro 
 
398 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 while he lay still in his basket, and he 
 was certain that the duck understood him. 
 He begged his mother to take him down to 
 the lake that he might find Jarro, and per- 
 suade him to come back to them. Mother 
 wouldn't listen to this ; but the little one didn't 
 give up his plan on that account. 
 
 The day after Jarro had disappeared, Per 
 Ola was running about in the yard. He 
 played by himself as usual, but Caesar lay 
 on the stoop; and when mother let the boy 
 out, she said : " Take care of Per Ola, Caesar ! " 
 
 Now if all had been as usual, Cassar would 
 also have obeyed the command, and the boy 
 would have been so well guarded that he 
 couldn't have run the least risk. But Caesar 
 was not like himself these days. He knew 
 that the farmers who lived along Takern 
 had held frequent conferences about the lower- 
 ing of the lake; and that they had almost 
 settled the matter. The ducks must leave, 
 and Caesar should nevermore behold a glo- 
 rious chase. He was so preoccupied with 
 thoughts of this misfortune, that he did not 
 remember to watch over Per Ola. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 399 
 
 And the little one had scarcely been alone 
 in the yard a minute, before he realised that 
 now the right moment was come to go down 
 to Takern and talk with Jarro. He opened 
 a gate, and wandered down toward the lake 
 on the narrow path which ran along the banks. 
 As long as he could be seen from the house, 
 he walked slowly ; but afterward he increased 
 his pace. He was very much afraid that 
 mother, or someone else, should call to him 
 that he couldn't go. He didn't wish to do 
 anything naughty, only to persuade Jarro to 
 come home; but he felt that those at home 
 would not have approved of the undertaking. 
 
 When Per Ola came down to the lake- 
 shore, he called Jarro several times. There- 
 upon he stood for a long time and waited, 
 but no Jarro appeared. He saw several birds 
 that resembled the wild duck, but they flew 
 by without noticing him, and he could under- 
 stand that none among them was the right 
 one. 
 
 When Jarro didn't come to him, the little 
 boy thought that it would be easier to find 
 him if he went out on the lake. There were 
 
400 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 several good craft lying along the shore, but 
 they were tied. The one that lay loose, and 
 at liberty, was an old leaky scow which was 
 so unfit that no one thought of using it. 
 But Per Ola scrambled up in it without 
 caring that the whole bottom was filled with 
 water. He had not strength enough to use 
 the oars, but instead, he seated himself to 
 swing and rock in the scow. Certainly no 
 grown person would have succeeded in mov- 
 ing a scow out on Takern in that manner; 
 but when the tide is high — and ill-luck to the 
 fore — ^little children have a marvellous faculty 
 for getting out to sea. Per Ola was soon 
 riding around on Takern, and calling for 
 Jarro. 
 
 When the old scow was rocked like this 
 — out to sea — its cracks opened wider and 
 wider, and the water actually streamed into 
 it. Per Ola didn't pay the slightest attention 
 to this. He sat upon the little bench in front 
 and called to every bird he saw, and won- 
 dered why Jarro didn't appear. < 
 
 At last Jarro caught sight of Per Ola. He 
 heard that someone called him by the name 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 401 
 
 which he had borne among human beings, 
 and he understood that the boy had gone out 
 on Takem to search for him. Jarro was 
 unspeakably happy to find that one of the 
 humans really loved him. He shot down 
 toward Per Ola, like an arrow, seated himself 
 beside him, and let him caress him. They 
 were both very happy to see each other again, 
 But suddenly Jarro noticed the condition of 
 the scow. It was half-filled with water, and 
 was almost ready to sink. Jarro tried to 
 tell Per Ola that he, who could neither fly 
 nor swim, must try to get upon land; but 
 Per Ola didn't understand him. Then Jarro 
 did not wait an instant, but hurried away to 
 get help. 
 
 Jarro came back in a little while, and 
 carried on his back a tiny thing, who was 
 much smaller than Per Ola himself. If he 
 hadn't been able to talk and move, the boy 
 would have believed that it was a doll. 
 Instantly, the little one ordered Per Ola 
 to pick up a long, slender pole that lay in 
 the bottom of the scow, and try to pole it 
 toward one of the reed-islands. Per Ola 
 
402 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 obeyed him, and he and the tiny creature, 
 together, steered the scow. "With a couple 
 of strokes they were on a Httle reed-encircled 
 island, and now Per Ola was told that he 
 must step on land. And just the very moment 
 that Per Ola set foot on land, the scow was 
 filled with water, and sank to the bottom. 
 
 When Per Ola saw this he was sure that 
 father and mother would be very angry with 
 him. He would have started in to cry if 
 he hadn't found something else to think 
 about soon; namely, a flock of big, gray 
 birds, who lighted on the island. The little 
 midget took him up to them, and told 
 him their names, and what they said. And 
 this was so funny that Per Ola forgot every- 
 thing else. 
 
 Meanwhile the folks on the farm had dis- 
 covered that the boy had disappeared, and 
 had started to search for him. They searched 
 the outhouses, looked in the well, and hunted 
 through the cellar. Then they went out into 
 the highways and by-paths; wandered to the 
 neighbouring farm to find out if he had 
 strayed over there, and searched for him also 
 
DVENTURES OF NILS 403 
 
 down by Takem. But no matter how much 
 they sought they did not find him. 
 
 Caesar, the dog, understood very well that 
 the farmer-folk were looking for Per Ola, but 
 he did nothing to lead them on the right 
 track; instead, he lay still as though the 
 matter didn't concern him. 
 
 Later in the day. Per Ola's footprints were 
 discovered down by the boat-landing. And 
 then came the thought that the old, leaky 
 scow was no longer on the strand. Then one 
 began to understand how the whole affair 
 had come about. 
 
 The farmer and his helpers immediately 
 took out the boats and went in search of the 
 boy. They rowed around on Takern until 
 way late in the evening, without seeing the 
 least shadow of him. They couldn't help 
 believing that the old scow had gone down, 
 and that the little one lay dead on the lake- 
 bottom. 
 
 In the evening. Per Ola's mother hunted 
 around on the strand. Everyone else was 
 convinced that the boy was drowned, but 
 she could not bring herself to believe this. 
 
404 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 She searched all the while. She searched 
 between reeds and bulrushes; tramped and 
 tramped on the muddy shore, never thinking 
 of how deep her foot sank, and how wet she 
 had become. She was unspeakably desperate. 
 Her heart ached in her breast. She did not 
 weep, but wrung her hands and called for 
 her child in loud piercing tones. 
 
 Round about her she heard swans' and 
 ducks' and curlews' shrieks. She thought 
 that they followed her, and moaned and 
 wailed — ^they too. "Surely, they, too, must 
 be in trouble, since they moan so,'.' thought 
 she. Then she remembered : these were only 
 birds that she heard complain. They surely 
 had no worries. 
 
 It was strange that they did not quiet 
 down after sunset. But she heard all these 
 uncountable bird-throngs, which lived along 
 Takern, send forth cry upon cry. Several of 
 them followed her wherever she went; others 
 came rustling past on light wings. All the air 
 was filled with moans and lamentations. - 
 
 But the anguish which she herself was 
 suffering, opened her heart. She thought 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 405 
 
 that she was not as far removed from all other 
 living creatures as people usually think. 
 She understood much better than ever 
 before, how birds fared. They had their 
 constant worries for home and children; 
 they, as she. There was surely not such a 
 great difference between them and her as 
 she had heretofore believed. 
 
 Then she happened to think that it was as 
 good as settled that these thousands of 
 swans and ducks and loons would lose their 
 homes here by Takern. " It will be very 
 hard for them," she thought. "Where shall 
 they bring up their children now?" 
 
 She stood still and mused on this. It 
 appeared to be an excellent and agreeable 
 accomplishment to change a lake into fields 
 and meadows, but let it be some other lake 
 than Takern; some other lake, which was 
 not the home of so many thousand creatures. 
 
 She remembered how on the following 
 day the proposition to lower the lake 
 was to be decided, and she wondered if this 
 was why her little son had been lost — just 
 to-day. 
 
4o6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Was it God's meaning that sorrow should 
 come and open her heart — just to-day — 
 before it was too late to avert the cruel act? 
 
 She walked rapidly up to the house, and 
 began to talk with her husband about this. 
 She spoke of the lake, and of the birds, and 
 said that she believed it was God's judgment 
 on them both. And she soon found that 
 he was of the same opinion. 
 
 They already owned a large place, but if 
 the lake-draining was carried into effect, such 
 a goodly portion of the lake-bottom would 
 fall to their share that their property would 
 be nearly doubled. For this reason they 
 had been more eager for the undertaking than 
 any of the other shore owners. The others 
 had been worried about expenses, and anxious 
 lest the draining should not prove any more 
 successful this time than it was the last. 
 Per Ola's father knew in his heart that it 
 was he who had influenced them to under- 
 take the work. He had exercised all his 
 eloquence, so that he might leave to his son 
 a farm as large again as his father had left 
 to him. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 407 
 
 He stood and pondered if God's hand was 
 back of the fact that Takern had taken his 
 son from him on the day before he was to 
 draw up the contract to lay it waste. The 
 wife didn't have to say many words to him, 
 before he answered: "It may be that God 
 does not want us to interfere with His order. 
 I'll talk with the others about this to-morrow, 
 and I think we'll conclude that all may 
 remain as it is." 
 
 While the farmer-folk were talking this 
 over, Caesar lay before the fire. He raised 
 his head and listened very attentively. When 
 he thought that he was sure of the outcome, 
 he walked up to the mistress, took her by 
 the skirt, and led her to the door. "But 
 Caesar!" said she, and wanted to break 
 loose. "Do you know where Per Ola is?" 
 she exclaimed. Caesar barked joyfully, and 
 threw himself against the door. She opened 
 it, and Caesar dashed down toward Takern. 
 The mistress was so positive he knew where 
 Per Ola was, that she rushed after him. 
 And no sooner had they reached the shore 
 than they heard a child's cry out on the lake. 
 
4o8 
 
 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 Per Ola had had the best day of his life, in 
 company with Thumbietot and the birds; 
 but now he had begun to cry because he 
 was hungry and afraid of the darkness. And 
 he was glad when father and mother and 
 Caesar came for him. 
 
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XX 
 
 ULVASA-LADY 
 
 THE PROPHECY 
 
 Friday, April twenty-second. 
 
 ONE night when the boy lay and slept 
 on an island in Takern, he was awa- 
 kened by oar-strokes. He had hardly gotten 
 his eyes open before there fell such a dazzling 
 light on them that he began to blink. 
 
 At first he couldn't make out what it was 
 that shone so brightly out here on the lake; 
 but he soon saw that a scow with a big burn- 
 ing torch stuck up on a spike, aft, lay near 
 the edge of the reeds. The red flame from 
 the torch was clearly reflected in the night- 
 dark lake; and the brilliant light must have 
 lured the fish, for round about the flame 
 in the deep a mass of dark specks were seen, 
 that moved continually, and changed places. 
 
 There were two old men in the scow. 
 409 
 
4IO ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 One sat at the oars, and the other stood on 
 a bench in the stern and held in his hand a 
 short spear which was coarsely barbed. 
 The one who rowed was apparently a poor 
 fisherman. He was small, dried-up and 
 weather-beaten, and wore a thin, threadbare 
 coat. One could see that he was so used to 
 being out in all sorts of weather that he 
 didn't mind the cold. The other was well 
 fed and well dressed, and looked like a pros- 
 perous and self-complacent farmer. 
 
 "Now, stop!" said the farmer, when they 
 were opposite the island where the boy lay. 
 At the same time he plunged the spear into 
 the water. When he drew it out again, a 
 long, fine eel came with it. 
 
 "Look at that!" said he as he released 
 the eel from the spear. "That was one who 
 was worth while. Now I think we have 
 so many that we can turn back." 
 
 His comrade did not lift the oars, but sat 
 and looked around. "It is lovely out here 
 on the lake to-night," said he. And so it 
 was. It was absolutely still, so that the 
 entire water-surface lay in undisturbed rest 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 411 
 
 with the exception of the streak where the 
 boat had gone forward. This lay Hke a 
 path of gold, and shimmered in the firelight. 
 The sky was clear and dark blue and thickly 
 studded with stars. The shores were hidden 
 by the reed islands except toward the west. 
 There Mount Omberg loomed up high and 
 dark, much more impressive than usual, 
 and cut away a big, three-cornered piece of 
 the vaulted heavens. 
 
 The other one turned his head to get the 
 light out of his eyes, and looked about him. 
 "Yes, it is lovely here in Ostergylln," said he. 
 "Still the best thing about the province is 
 not its beauty." "Then what is it that's 
 best?" asked the oarsman. "That it has 
 always been a respected and honoured prov- 
 ince." "That may be true enough." "And 
 then this, that one knows it will always con- 
 tinue to be so." " But how in the world can 
 one know this ? ' ' said the one who sat at the 
 oars. 
 
 The farmer straightened up where he 
 stood and braced himself with the spear. 
 "There is an old story which has been handed 
 
412 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 down from father to son in my family; and 
 in it one learns what will happen to Oster- 
 gotland." "Then you may as well tell it 
 to me," said the oarsman. "We do not tell 
 it to anyone and everyone, but I do not wish 
 to keep it a secret from an old comrade. 
 
 "At Ulvasa, here in Ostergotland," he 
 continued (and one could tell by the tone of 
 his voice that he talked of something which 
 he had heard from others, and knew by heart) , 
 "many, many years ago, there lived a lady 
 who had the gift of looking into the future, 
 and telling people what was going to happen 
 to them — just as certainly and accurately 
 as though it had already occurred. For 
 this she became widely noted; and it is easy 
 to understand that people would come to her, 
 both from far and near, to find out what 
 they were going to pass through of good or 
 evil. 
 
 "One day, when Ulv&sa-lady sat In her hall 
 and spun, as was customary in former days, 
 a poor peasant came into the room and 
 seated himself on the bench near the door. 
 
 " 'I wonder what you are sitting and 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 413 
 
 thinking about, dear lady,' said the peasant 
 after a little. 
 
 " 'I am sitting and thinking about high 
 and holy things,' answered she. 'Then it 
 is not fitting, perhaps, that I ask you about 
 something which weighs on my heart,' said 
 the peasant. 
 
 " Tt is probably nothing else that weighs 
 on your heart than that you may reap much 
 grain on your field. But I am accustomed 
 to receive communications from the Emperor 
 about how it will go with his crown; and 
 from the Pope, about how it will go with 
 his keys.' 'Such things cannot be easy to 
 answer,' said the peasant. 'I have also heard 
 that no one seems to go from here without 
 being dissatisfied with what he has heard.' 
 
 "When the peasant said this, he saw that 
 Ulv^sa-lady bit her lip, and moved higher 
 up on the bench. 'So this is what you have 
 heard about me,' said she. 'Then you may 
 as well tempt fortune by asking me about 
 the thing you wish to know; and you shall 
 see if I can answer so that you will be satisfied.' 
 
 After this the peasant did not hesitate to 
 
414 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 state his errand. He said that he had come 
 to ask how it would go with Ostergotland in 
 the future. There was nothing which was 
 so dear to him as his native province, and he 
 felt that he should be happy until his dying 
 day if he could get a satisfactory reply to 
 his query. 
 
 " 'Oh! is that all you wish to know,' said 
 the wise lady; 'then I think that you will be 
 content. For here where I now sit, I can tell 
 you that it will be like this with Ostergotland : 
 it will always have something to boast of 
 ahead of other provinces.' 
 
 " 'Yes, that was a good answer, dear lady,' 
 said the peasant, 'and now I would be 
 entirely at peace if I could only comprehend 
 how such a thing should be possible.' 
 
 "'Why should it not be possible?' said 
 Ulvasa-lady. 'Don't you know that Oster- 
 gotland is already renowned? Or think you 
 there is any place in Sweden that can boast 
 of owning, at the same time, two such cloisters 
 as the ones in Alvastra and Vreta, and such 
 a beautiful cathedral as the one in Linkoping?' 
 
 " 'That may be so,' said the peasant. 'But 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 415 
 
 I'm an old man, and I know that people's 
 minds are changeable. I fear that there will 
 come a time when they won't want to give 
 us any glory, either for Alvastra or Vreta 
 or for the cathedral.' 
 
 "'Herein you may be right,' said Ulvdsa- 
 lady, 'but you need not doubt prophecy on 
 that account. I shall now build up a new 
 cloister on Vadstena, and that will become 
 the most celebrated in the North. Thither 
 both the high and the lowly shall make pil- 
 grimages, and all shall sing the praises of the 
 province because it has such a holy place 
 within its confines.' 
 
 "The peasant replied that he was right 
 glad to know this. But he also knew, of 
 course, that everything was perishable; and 
 he wondered much what would give distinc- 
 tion to the province, if Vadstena Cloister 
 should once fall into disrepute. 
 
 " 'You are not easy to satisfy,' said Ulvdsa- 
 lady, 'but surely I can see so far ahead that 
 I can tell you, before Vadstena Cloister shall 
 have lost its splendour, there will be a castle 
 erected close by, which will be the most 
 
4i6 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 magnificent of its period. Kings and dukes 
 will be guests there, and it shall be accounted 
 an honour to the whole province, that it owns 
 such an ornament." 
 
 " 'This I am also glad to hear,' said the peas- 
 ant. 'But I'm an old man, and I know how 
 it generally turns out with this world's glories. 
 And if the castle goes to ruin, I wonder much 
 what there will be that can attract the people's 
 attention to this province.' 
 
 " 'It's not a little that you want to know,' 
 said Ulvasa-lady, 'but, certainly, I can look 
 far enough into the future to see that there 
 will be life and movement in the forests around 
 Finspang. I see how cabins and smithies 
 arise there, and I believe that the whole 
 province shall be renowned because iron will 
 be moulded within its confines.' 
 
 "The peasant didn't deny that he was 
 delighted to hear this. 'But if it should go 
 so badly that even Finspang 's foundry went 
 down in importance, then it would hardly 
 be possible that any new thing could arise 
 of which Ostergotland might boast.' 
 
 •' 'You are not easy to please,' said Ulv^sa- 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 417 
 
 lady, 'but I can see so far into the future that 
 I mark how, along the lake-shores, great 
 manors — large as castles — are built by gentle- 
 men who have carried on wars in foreign lands. 
 I believe that the manors will bring the prov- 
 ince just as much honour as anything else 
 that I have mentioned.' 
 
 " 'But if there comes a time when no one 
 lauds the great manors? ' insisted the peasant. 
 
 " 'You need not be uneasy at all events,' 
 said Ulvasa-lady. 'I see how health-springs 
 bubble on Medevi meadows, by Vatter's shores. 
 I believe that the wells at Medevi will bring 
 the land as much praise as you can desire.' 
 
 " 'That is a mighty good thing to know,' said 
 the peasant. 'But if there comes a time when 
 people will seek their health at other springs ? ' 
 
 " 'You must not give yourself any anxiety 
 on that account,' answered Ulvasa-lady. 
 'I see how people dig and labour, from 
 Motala to Mem. They dig a canal right 
 through the country, and then Ostergotland's 
 praise is again on everyone's lips.' 
 
 "But, nevertheless, the peasant looked 
 distraught. 
 
4i8 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 "*I see that the rapids in Motala stream 
 begin to draw wheels,' said Ulvasa-lady — 
 and now two bright red spots came to her 
 cheeks, for she began to be impatient — *I 
 hear hammers resound in Motala, and looms 
 clatter in Norrkoping.' 
 
 "'Yes, that's good to know,' said the 
 peasant, 'but everything: is perishable, and 
 I'm afraid that even this can be forgotten, 
 and go into oblivion.' 
 
 "When the peasant was not satisfied even 
 now, there was an end to the lady's patience. 
 'You say that everything is perishable,' said 
 she, 'but now I shall still name something 
 which will always be like itself; and that is 
 that such arrogant and pig-headed peasants 
 as you will always be found in this province 
 — ^until the end of time.' 
 
 "Hardly had Ulvasa-lady said this before 
 the peasant rose — happy and satisfied — and 
 thanked her for a good answer. Now, at 
 last, he was satisfied, he said. 
 
 " 'Verily, I understand now how you look 
 at it,' then said Ulvasa-lady. 
 
 " 'Well, I look at it in this way, dear lady,' 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 419 
 
 said the peasant, 'that everything which kings 
 and priests and noblemen and merchants 
 build and accomplish, can only endure for a 
 few years. But when you tell me that in 
 Ostergotland there will always be peasants 
 who are honour-loving and persevering, then 
 I know also that it will be able to keep its 
 ancient glory. For it is only those who go 
 bent under the eternal labour with the soil,' 
 who can hold this land in good repute and 
 honour — ^from one time to another.' " 
 
XXI 
 
 THE HOMESPUN CLOTH 
 
 Saturday, April twenty-third. 
 
 THE boy rode forward — way up in the air. 
 He had the great Ostergotland plain 
 under him, and sat and counted the many 
 white churches which towered above the small 
 leafy groves around them. It wasn't long 
 before he had counted fifty. After that he 
 became confused and couldn't keep track of 
 the counting. 
 
 Nearly all the farms were built up with 
 large, whitewashed two-story houses, which 
 looked so imposing that the boy couldn't 
 help admiring them. "There can't be any 
 peasants in this land," he said to himself, 
 "since I do not see any peasant farms." 
 
 Immediately all the wild geese shrieked: 
 " Here the peasants live like gentlemen. Here 
 the peasants live like gentlemen." 
 
 On the plains the ice and snow ad 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 421 
 
 disappeared, and the spring work had begun. 
 "What kind of long crabs are those that 
 creep over the fields?" asked the boy after a 
 bit. " Ploughs and oxen. Ploughs and oxen," 
 answered the wild geese. 
 
 The oxen moved so slowly down on the 
 fields, that one could scarcely perceive 
 they were in motion, and the geese shouted 
 to them: "You won't get there before next 
 year. You won't get there before next year." 
 But the oxen were equal to the occasion. 
 They raised their muzzles in the air and 
 bellowed; " We do more good in an hour than 
 such as you do in a whole lifetime." 
 
 In a few places the ploughs were drawn by 
 horses. They went along with much more 
 eagerness and haste than the oxen; but the 
 geese couldn't keep from teasing these either. 
 "Ar'n't you ashamed to be doing ox-duty?" 
 cried the wild geese. "Ar'n't you ashamed 
 yourselves to be doing lazy man's duty?" 
 the horses neighed back at them. 
 
 But while horses and oxen were at work 
 in the fields, the stable ram walked about 
 in the barnyard. He was newly clipped and 
 
422 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 touchy, knocked over the small boys, chased 
 the shepherd dog into his kennel, and then 
 strutted about as though he alone were lord of 
 the whole place. " Rammie, rammie, what 
 have you done with your wool?" asked the 
 wild geese, who rode by up in the air. "That 
 I have sent to Drag's woollen mills in Norr- 
 koping," replied the ram with a long, drawn- 
 out bleat. "Rammie, rammie, what have 
 you done with your horns?" asked the geese. 
 But any horns the rammie had never pos- 
 sessed, to his sorrow, and one couldn't offer 
 him a greater insult than to ask after them. 
 He ran around a long time, and butted at the 
 air, so furious was he. 
 
 On the country road came a man who 
 drove a flock of Sk^ne pigs that were not more 
 than a few weeks old, and were going to be 
 sold up country. They trotted along bravely, 
 as little as they were, and kept close together 
 — ^as if they sought protection. "Niiff, nuff, 
 nuff, we came away too soon from father and 
 mother. Nuff, nuff, nuff, how will it '-p with 
 us poor children?" said the little pigs. The 
 wild geese didn't have the heart to tease such 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 423 
 
 poor little creatures. "It will be better for 
 you than you can ever believe," they cried as 
 they flew past them. 
 
 The wild geese were never so merry as 
 when they flew over a flat country. Then 
 they did not hurry themselves, but flew from 
 farm to farm, and joked with the tame 
 animals. 
 
 As the boy rode over the plain, he happened 
 to think of a legend which he had heard a long 
 time ago. He didn't remember it exactly, 
 but it was something about a petticoat — 
 half of which was made of gold-woven velvet, 
 and half of gray homespun cloth. But the 
 one who owned the petticoat adorned the 
 homespun cloth with such a lot of pearls and 
 precious stones that it looked richer and more 
 gorgeous than the gold-cloth. 
 
 He remembered this about the homespun 
 cloth, as he looked down on Ostergotland, 
 because it was made up of a large plain, which 
 lay wedged in between two mountainous 
 forest- tracts — one to the north, the other to 
 the south. The two forest-heights lay there, 
 a lovely blue, and shimmered in the morning 
 
424 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 light, as if they were decked with golden veils; 
 and the plain, which simply spread out one 
 winter-naked field after another, was, in and 
 of itself, prettier to look upon than gray 
 homespun. 
 
 But the people must have been contented 
 on the plain, because it was generous and kind, 
 and they had tried to decorate it in the best 
 way possible. High up — ^where the boy rode 
 by — ^he thought that cities and farms, 
 churches and factories, castles and railway 
 stations were scattered over it, like large and 
 small trinkets. It shone on the roofs, and the 
 window-panes glittered like jewels. Yellow 
 country roads, shining railway-tracks and 
 blue canals ran along between the districts, 
 like embroidered loops. Linkoping lay 
 around its cathedral like a pearl-setting around 
 a precious stone; and the gardens in the 
 country were like little brooches and buttons. 
 There was not much regulation in the pattern, 
 but it was a display of grandeur which one 
 could never tire of looking at. 
 
 The geese had left Oberg district, and 
 travelled toward the east along Gota Canal. 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 425 
 
 This was also getting itself ready for the sum- 
 mer. Workmen laid canal-banks, and tarred 
 the huge lock-gates. They were working 
 everywhere to receive spring fittingly, even 
 in the cities. There, masons and painters 
 stood on scaffoldings and made fine the 
 exteriors of the houses while maids were 
 cleaning the windows. Down at the harbour, 
 sailboats and steamers were being washed and 
 dressed up. 
 
 At Norrkoping the wild geese left the plain, 
 and flew up toward Kolmarden. For a time 
 they had followed an old, hilly country road, 
 which wound around cliffs, and ran forward 
 under wild mountain-walls — when the boy 
 suddenly let out a shriek. He had been 
 sitting and swinging his foot back and forth, 
 and one of his wooden shoes had slipped off. 
 
 "Goosey-gander, goosey-gander, I have 
 dropped my shoe!" cried the boy. The 
 goosey-gander turned about and sank toward 
 the ground; then the boy saw that two chil- 
 dren, who were walking along the road, had 
 picked up his shoe. "Goosey-gander, goosey- 
 gander," screamed the boy excitedly, "fly 
 
426 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 upward again! It is too late. I cannot get 
 my shoe back again." 
 
 Down on the road stood Osa, the goose- 
 girl, and her brother, little Mats, looking 
 at a tiny wooden shoe that had fallen from 
 the skies. 
 
 Osa, the goose-girl, stood silent a long 
 while, and pondered over the find. At last 
 she said, slowly and thoughtfully: "Do you 
 remember, little Mats, that when we went 
 past Ovid Cloister, we heard that the folks in 
 a farmyard had seen an elf who was dressed 
 in leather breeches, and had wooden shoes on 
 his feet, like any other working man? And 
 do you recollect when we came to Vittskovle, 
 a girl told us that she had seen a Goa-Nisse 
 with wooden shoes, who flew away on the 
 back of a goose ? And when we ourselves came 
 home to our cabin, little Mats, we saw a goblin 
 who was dressed in the same way, and who 
 also straddled the back of a goose — and flew 
 away. Maybe it was the same one who 
 rode along on his goose up here in the air and 
 dropped his wooden shoe." 
 
 " Yes, it must have been," said little Mats. 
 
"A tiny wooden shoe that had fallen 
 from the skies" 
 
I 
 
ADVENTURES OF NILS 427 
 
 They turned the wooden shoe about and 
 examined it carefully — for it isn't every day 
 that one happens across a Goa-Nisse's wooden 
 shoe on the highway. 
 
 "Wait, wait, little Mats!" said Osa, the 
 goose-girl. "There is something written on 
 one side of it." 
 
 "Why, so there is! but they are such tiny 
 letters." 
 
 "Let me see! It says — it says: 'Nils Hol- 
 gersson from W. Vemminghog.' That's the 
 most wonderful thing I've ever heard!" said 
 little Mats. 
 
 END OF BOOK I 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TABLE OF PRONUNCIATION 
 
 The final e is sounded in Skdne, Sirle, 
 Gripe, etc. 
 
 The a in Skane and Smaland is pronounced 
 hke in ore. 
 
 / is Hke the EngHsh y. Nuolja, Oviks- 
 fjallen, Sjangeli, Jarro, etc., should sound as 
 if they were spelled like this: Nuolya, Oviks- 
 fyellen, Syang[one syllablejelee, Yarro, etc. 
 
 g, when followed by e, i, y, a, b, is also like 
 y. Example, Gota is pronounced Yota. 
 
 When g is followed by a, o, u, or a, it is hard, 
 as in go. 
 
 k in Norrkoping, Linkoping, Kivik (pro- 
 nounced Cheeveek), etc., is like ch in cheer. 
 
 k is hard when it precedes a, o, u , or a. 
 Example, Kaksi, Kolmi, etc. 
 
 a is pronounced like d in fare. Example, 
 Pars. 
 
 There is no sound in the English language 
 429 
 
430 ADVENTURES OF NILS 
 
 which corresponds to the Swedish o. It is 
 Hke the French eu in jeu. 
 
 Gripe is pronounced Greep-e. 
 
 In Sirle, the first syllable has the same 
 sound as sir, in sirup. 
 
 The names which Miss Lagerlof has given 
 to the animals are descriptive. 
 
 Smirre Fox, is cunning fox. 
 
 Sirle Squirrel, is graceful, or nimble squirrel. 
 
 Gripe Otter, means grabbing or clutching 
 otter. 
 
 Mons is a pet name applied to cats ; like our 
 tommy and pussy. Monsie house-cat is equiv- 
 alent to Tommy house-cat. 
 
 Marten gaskarl (Morten Goosie-gander) is a 
 pet name for a tame gander, just as we use 
 Dickie-bird for a pet bird. 
 
 Fru is the Swedish for Mrs. This title is 
 usually applied to gentlewomen only. The 
 author has used this meaning of "fru." 
 
 A Goa-Nisse is an elf -king, and corresponds 
 to the English Puck or Robin Goodfellow. 
 Velma Swanston Howard. 
 
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