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Nils' Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige
In a nutshell: The gnome turns the main character Nils Holgersson into a dwarf, and the boy makes a fascinating journey on a goose from Sweden to Lapland and back. On his way to Lapland, he meets a flock of wild geese flying along the Gulf of Bothnia, and with them he looks into remote areas of Scandinavia. As a result, Nils visits all the provinces of Sweden, gets into various adventures and learns a lot about the geography, history and culture of each province of his homeland.
Fourteen-year-old Nils Holgersson lives in a small peasant yard in the very south of Sweden, bringing only trouble to his parents, because he is lazy and angry by nature. One day at the end of March, for another evil trick, a kind gnome who lived in Nils’s house turns him into a gnome. Martin the gander intends to join a caravan of wild geese that are about to fly to Lapland. Nils is going to prevent this, but nothing comes of it, because he is a baby himself: the gander simply puts him on his back. After Nils helped several animals in trouble, the leader of the flock, the old and wise goose Akki, decides that it is time for Nils to return home to his parents and that he can become human again. But Nils wants to continue traveling with the geese around Sweden rather than turn back. Now our hero continues to travel with the geese, and learns the nature of his country, its history, culture and cities. At the same time, he experiences many dangerous adventures, during which he has to make a moral choice.
In parallel, the story of the peasant girl Aza and her little brother Mats is described. They are friends of Nils, who often guarded the geese together. Suddenly their mother and all their brothers and sisters die. Many people think that this is the curse of one gypsy woman. Aza and Mats' father leaves his children out of poverty and becomes a miner in Malmberg, in northern Sweden. One day, Aza and Mats learn that their mother and brothers and sisters did not die from a gypsy curse, but as a result of tuberculosis. They go to their father to tell him about this. During the trip, they learn what tuberculosis is and how to fight it. Soon, Aza and Mats arrive in Malmberg, where Mats dies in an accident. Having buried her brother, Aza meets with her father: now they are together again!
In autumn, Nils returns from Lapland with wild geese. Before continuing his journey across the Baltic Sea to Pomerania, the gander Martin drops Nils off in the yard of his parents, who are already worried about the disappearance of their son. They catch the gander and already want to kill him, but Nils does not allow them to do this, because they have become true friends with Martin. At this moment he turns back into a human.
After reading the fairy tale, you will learn the amazing story of an enchanted boy, learn to understand the language of animals and birds, and experience a magical journey in which so many exciting adventures took place!
Chapter I. FOREST GNOME
In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let’s go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
Look, not a step out of the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
So that by the time we return he knows everything by heart. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Now she moved... Now she crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But it’s a gnome! - Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side and his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.
For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.
The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.
“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - No, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron was passed over it. This gnome hit me so hard! Of course, father and mother will not believe that the gnome visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to learn your lessons. No, no matter how you look at it, we must sit down to read the book again!”
Nils took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house moved apart, the ceiling went high, and the chair on which Nils always sat rose above him like an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Nils had to climb the twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Nils could not see a single letter at the top of the page. He lay down on his stomach on the book and crawled from line to line, from word to word. He was literally exhausted while reading one phrase.
What is this? So you won’t even get to the end of the page by tomorrow! - Nils exclaimed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the gnome who was caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, a vest and a plaid shirt with large buttons.
Hey you, what do you want here? - Nils shouted and shook his fist at the little man.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Nils put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also put his hands on his hips and also stuck his tongue out at Nils.
Nils stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, spun like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun like a top and waved his arms.
Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the dwarf had bewitched him and that the little man who looked at him from the mirror was himself, Nils Holgerson.
“Or maybe this is a dream after all?” - thought Nils.
He closed his eyes tightly, then - to wake up completely - he pinched himself as hard as he could and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he wasn't sleeping. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils got close to the mirror and buried his nose in it. Yes, it's him, Nils. Only now he was no bigger than a sparrow.
“We need to find the gnome,” Nils decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Nils slid down the leg of the chair onto the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the closet - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into a mouse hole, but the gnome was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the gnome could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should stand near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Vestmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. People wear them only on the street, but rent them at home.
But how will he, so small, cope now with his large, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was happy, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched his shoes, it means that he is not going to lift the spell from Nils!
No, no, we need to find the gnome as soon as possible! We must ask him, beg him! Never, never again will Nils hurt anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy...
Nils put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. It's good that it was slightly open. Would he be able to reach the latch and push it aside!
Near the porch, on an old oak board thrown from one edge of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Nils, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow throat. And - amazing thing! - Nils understood him perfectly.
Look at Nils! - the sparrow shouted. - Look at Nils!
Crow! - the rooster crowed cheerfully. - Let's throw him into the river!
And the chickens flapped their wings and clucked vyingly:
It serves him right! It serves him right! The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
Good! Well, that's good! What, are you afraid now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, gouged him with their beaks, pulled him by the arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a very bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately scattered and began to rummage in the ground, looking as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year’s grains.
And Nils was delighted with the cat as if it were his own.
“Dear cat,” he said, “you know all the nooks and crannies, all the holes, all the holes in our yard. Please tell me where I can find the gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat did not answer immediately. He sat down, wrapped his tail around his front paws and looked at the boy. It was a huge black cat, with a large white spot on its chest. His smooth fur glistened in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even retracted his claws and closed his yellow eyes with a tiny, tiny stripe in the middle.
Mrr, mrr! “Of course, I know where to find the gnome,” the cat spoke in a gentle voice. - But it’s still unknown whether I’ll tell you or not...
Kitty, cat, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes slightly. A green, angry light flashed within them, but the cat still purred affectionately.
Why should I help you? - he said. - Maybe because you put a wasp in my ear? Or because you set my fur on fire? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
And now I can pull your tail! - Nils shouted. And, forgetting that the cat was twenty times larger than himself, he stepped forward.
What happened to the cat? His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, and sharp claws emerged from his soft fluffy paws. It even seemed to Nils that some unprecedented wild animal had jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Nils did not back down. He took another step... Then the cat knocked Nils over with one jump and pinned him to the ground with his front paws.
Help, help! - Nils shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to help him out.
Nils realized that the end had come for him and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Nils from its paws and said:
Okay, that's enough for the first time. If your mother had not been such a good housewife and had not given me milk morning and evening, you would have had a bad time. For her sake I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, purring quietly, as befits a good house cat.
And Nils stood up, shook the dirt off his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed onto the ledge of the stone fence, sat down, dangling his tiny feet in tiny shoes, and thought.
What will happen next?! Father and mother will be back soon! How surprised they will be to see their son! The mother, of course, will cry, and the father may say: that’s what Nils needs! Then neighbors from all over the area will come and start looking at it and gasping... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? The boys will laugh at him!.. Oh, how unfortunate he is! How unfortunate! In the whole wide world, there is probably no more unhappy person than him!
His parents' poor house, pressed to the ground by a sloping roof, had never seemed so big and beautiful to him, and their cramped courtyard had never seemed so spacious.
Somewhere above Nils' head, wings began to rustle. Wild geese were flying from south to north. They flew high in the sky, stretched out in a regular triangle, but when they saw their relatives - domestic geese - they descended lower and shouted:
Fly with us! Fly with us! We're flying north to Lapland! To Lapland!
The domestic geese became agitated, cackled, and flapped their wings, as if they were trying to see if they could fly. But the old goose - she was the grandmother of a good half of the geese - ran around them and shouted:
You've gone crazy! You've gone crazy! Don't do anything stupid! You are not some tramps, you are respectable domestic geese!
And, raising her head, she screamed into the sky:
We feel good here too! We feel good here too! The wild geese descended even lower, as if looking for something in the yard, and suddenly - all at once - soared into the sky.
Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! - they shouted. - Are these geese? These are some pathetic chickens! Stay in your coop!
Even the eyes of the domestic geese turned red from anger and resentment. They had never heard such an insult before.
Only a young white goose, lifting its head up, quickly ran through the puddles.
Wait for me! Wait for me! - he shouted to the wild geese. - I'm flying with you! With you!
“But this is Martin, my mother’s best goose,” thought Nils. “Good luck, he’ll actually fly away!”
Stop, stop! - Nils shouted and rushed after Martin.
Nils barely caught up with him. He jumped up and, wrapping his arms around the long goose neck, hung on it with his whole body. But Martin didn’t even feel it, as if Nils wasn’t there. He flapped his wings vigorously - once, twice - and, without expecting it, he flew.
Before Nils realized what had happened, they were already high in the sky.
The main character of the fairy tale “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” is a boy named Nils. He liked to play pranks and did not like to study. One day he caught a gnome. The dwarf got angry and made him as small as he was, and then disappeared. Nils was afraid that he would remain small forever, and began to look everywhere for the gnome to ask him to disenchant him. His search led him to the yard. With surprise, the boy realized that he understood the language of birds and animals. At this time, a flock of wild geese flew past. They began to tease the domestic geese and invite them to come with them to Lapland.
One of the domestic geese, named Martin, decided to fly with the wild geese. Nils tried to hold him back, but forgot that he was much smaller than a goose and soon found himself in the air. They flew all day until Martin was completely exhausted. Once they even fell behind the pack, but managed to catch up with it. The wild geese, having first learned that Nils was a man, wanted to drive him away, but it so happened that during an overnight stay the boy saved one of them from a fox and they did not drive him away.
For many days the geese flew to their goal, making stops at times. During one of the stops, Nils saved the baby squirrel Tirli, who fell out of the nest. The boy returned it to his mother. Finally, the flock reached an abandoned castle, where only various animals and birds had lived for a long time. From the inhabitants of the castle, travelers learned that the castle was besieged by rats. But Nils saved the situation. The leader of the flock of geese gave him a magic pipe, and the boy, playing on it, lured all the rats into the water, where they drowned. Later, Nils learned that the eagle owl brought the pipe from the very forest gnome whom he had offended. The dwarf was still very angry with the boy.
The flight of the geese continued. Many adventures befell Nils. He ran away from a bronze statue of a king in a port city, went underwater and saved a family of bears from hunters. Already all the animals and birds knew about the boy who travels with the geese. And on the road, Martin the goose acquired a girlfriend named Martha.
Finally the flock arrived in Lapland. The birds began to build nests for themselves and hatch chicks, and Nils also decided to build himself a real house. The whole flock of geese helped him, and the swallows that arrived covered the house with clay. The flock lived all summer in Lapland, and in the fall they got ready to fly back to the south. Nils missed home and his parents very much, but he did not want to return to his family, being a tiny little man. The leader of the pack managed to find out that Nils can return to his previous appearance only if someone voluntarily agrees to become as tiny as him.
And so the flock went south. Together with the adult geese, young goslings also flew. At rest stops, all the animals that already knew about Nils the traveler fed him with whatever they could.
When the flock flew past the house of Nils' parents, the boy decided to find out how they lived. But he still did not want to return to them as children. The boy learned that his parents remember him and grieve that he is not around. And then suddenly one of the goslings told Nils that he wanted to be little. Nils was delighted and cast a spell, after which he became the same boy again. The delighted parents recognized their son, who by some miracle suddenly found himself on the threshold of his home. Soon Nils went back to school. Now he studied with only straight A's.
This is the summary of the tale.
The main idea of the fairy tale “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” is that pranks and pranks are not in vain, and for them you can get punishment, sometimes very severe. Nils was punished very severely by the dwarf and suffered many hardships before he was able to correct the situation.
The fairy tale “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” teaches you to be resourceful and courageous, to be able to protect your friends and comrades in dangerous moments. During his journey, Nils managed to do many good deeds for birds and animals, and they repaid him with kindness.
I liked the forest gnome in the fairy tale. He is strict but fair. The dwarf punished Nils very severely, but the boy, as a result, realized a lot, his character changed for the better after the trials he experienced and began to study well at school. The punishment did Nils good; he became a good person.
What proverbs fit the fairy tale “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese”?
Looking at people, although you don’t grow, you stretch.
The more you learn, the stronger you will become.
A man without a friend is like earth without water.
Audio tale “Nils’s Journey with the Wild Geese, S. Lagerlöf”; author: Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf; read by Evgeny Vesnik. Creative Media Label. Listen to the children audio tales And audiobooks mp3 in good quality online, for free and without registering on our website. Contents of the audio tale
In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let’s go quickly! – Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
- Look, not a single step from the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear you,” answered Nils, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
“So that he knows everything by heart by the time we return.” I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! – Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to pull the lock - did it click well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Now she moved... Now she crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On her head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But it’s a gnome! – Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pans were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side and his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
“Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
“Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into the corner...
1. Nils catches the gnome
2. Nils shrinks in size
3. Song of the Geese
5. The flock settles down for the night
6. Nils fights off a fox attack
7. Geese rescue Nils and take him with them
8. Threat of rat attack
9. Nils and the goose rid the castle of rats
10. Nils is invited to a festival of animals
11. Expulsion of the fox Smirre from the pack
12. Nils is kidnapped by crows
13. Nils opens the jug
14. Nils returns home
15. Nils' song
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A fairy tale by the famous Swedish writer, academician, Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf about how an evil dwarf turned a pugnacious, disobedient and lazy boy Nils Holgerson into a tiny man. Together with a flock of geese, Nils makes a wonderful journey through Sweden. But the most amazing thing in the fairy tale is not the journey, but the miraculous transformation of Nils into a friend of animals, into a kind and hardworking boy.
Selma Lagerlöf
Nils' Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese
Chapter I. FOREST GNOME
In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let’s go quickly!” thought Nils, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
Look, not a step out of the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
So that by the time we return he knows everything by heart. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so happily!” Nils sighed heavily. “But I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?
Who opened the chest?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Now she moved... Now she crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But this is a gnome!” Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
