Many people remember this fairy tale by heart from early childhood. "The wonderful journey of Nils with wild geese“For many, this is the first book that you read until you read it at night, curled up under the blanket with a flashlight. But you didn’t even know that you were reading a textbook.
Geographical tale
Indeed, in full version fairy tale, which Lagerlöf Selma wrote, Nils's Journey with the Wild Geese, is a textbook on the geography of Sweden. At the end of the nineteenth century, one of the leaders of the Swedish school system, Alfred Dahlin, offered Selma work on a project in which writers and teachers took part. The project involved the creation of a series of books that presented knowledge in an exciting way, and was soon implemented. Selma's book was published first and was intended for first grade students, who at that time entered school at the age of nine. Published in 1906, the work quickly became the most widely read in Scandinavia, and its author some time later received the Nobel Prize for her contribution to literature. Every Swedish child knows it thoroughly - one of the most popular children's books in the whole world. In Sweden there is even a small monument to Niels.
Translation or retelling?
In Russia, the book is known mainly from its free adaptation, written in 1940 by Zoya Zadunaiskaya and Alexandra Lyubarskaya. This is one of many cases characteristic of children's literature during the USSR, when foreign works, already written with a children's audience in mind, were additionally adapted by translators. A similar situation occurred with “Pinocchio”, “The Land of Oz” and other works known abroad. The translators cut 700 pages of the original text down to a little over a hundred, while still managing to add several episodes and characters of their own. Story line was noticeably cut down, leaving only a number of entertaining episodes; Not a trace remained of geographical and local history information. Of course, this is overly specific knowledge that is not at all interesting to young children from a completely different country. But why it was necessary to change the ending of the fairy tale is completely unclear... It turned out almost summary. “Nils’s journey turned out to be greatly simplified. However, in the end the translators came up with an excellent, fascinating story, which should definitely be given to children starting from the age of five or six to read.
Other translations
There are other translations, much less well known - translators have been working on the story of Nils since 1906. Alexander Blok, a poet of the Silver Age, read one of these translations and was very pleased with the book. But the first translations were made from German language, which does not honor the translation process of the beginning of the century. A complete translation from Swedish was written only in 1975 by Ludmila Braude.
More about the book
For Russian children, and adults too, a book about wonderful trip I am familiar with Laplanidia almost exclusively from the retelling of Lyubarskaya and Transdanubia. It is this option that is studied (if studied at all) in schools and on the shelves of bookstores. This means that it is worth giving a brief summary of it here. “Nils's Journey with the Wild Geese” is a very fascinating read, and a summary is not worth it here.
The hooligan boy Nils Holgersson, originally from a small Swedish village, lived for himself, did not bother - he teased geese, threw stones at animals, destroyed birds' nests, and all his pranks went unpunished. But only for the time being - one day Nils made an unsuccessful joke on a funny little man, and he turned out to be a powerful forest gnome and decided to teach the boy a good lesson. The dwarf turned Nils into the same baby as himself, even a little smaller. And dark days began for the boy. He could not show himself to his family, he was frightened by every mouse rustle, the chickens pecked at him, and it was difficult to imagine a more terrible animal than a cat.
On the same day, a flock of wild geese, led by old Akka Kebnekaise, flew past the house where the unfortunate man was imprisoned. One of the lazy pets, Martin the goose, unable to bear the ridicule of the free birds, decided to prove to them that he was also capable of something. Taking off with difficulty, he followed the flock - with Nils on his back, because the boy could not let go of his best goose.
The flock did not want to accept a fat one into its ranks poultry, but she was even less happy about the little man. The geese were suspicious of Nils, but on the very first night he saved one of them from the fox Smirre, earning the respect of the flock and the hatred of the fox himself.
So Nils began his wonderful journey to Lapland, during which he accomplished many feats, helping new friends - animals and birds. The boy saved the inhabitants of the ancient castle from an invasion of rats (by the way, the episode with the pipe, a reference to the legend of the Pied Piper of Hammel, is a translation insert), helped a family of bears escape from the hunter, and returned a baby squirrel to its native nest. And all this time he repelled the continuous attacks of Smirre. The boy also met with people - he helped the writer Loser restore the manuscript, talked with animated statues, fought with the cook for Martin's life. And then, having flown to Lapland, he became an adoptive brother to many wild goslings.
And then he returned home. On the way, Nils learned how to remove the gnome's spell from himself, but to do this he had to make friends with nature and with himself. From a hooligan, Nils turned into a kind boy, always ready to help the weak, and also the best student - after all, on the journey he acquired a lot of geographical knowledge.
Film adaptations
“Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” has repeatedly delighted viewers with its appearance on screens. The earliest and most famous film adaptation of the fairy tale in Russia was the Soviet cartoon “The Enchanted Boy” of 1955. Few people did not see it in childhood, and everyone remembers its brief content. Nils' journey with the wild geese attracted the attention of filmmakers several more times. At least two cartoons were shot based on it - Swedish and Japanese, and a German television film.
Details Category: Author's and literary fairy tales Published 10/24/2016 18:41 Views: 3388Selma Lagerlöf conceived her book “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” as an unusual textbook on the geography of Sweden for 9-year-old children. This manual had to be written in an entertaining literary form.
Selma Lagerlöf by this time was already a famous writer, famous for her novel “The Saga of Göst Berling”. In addition, she was a former teacher. She began work on the book in the summer of 1904.
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940)
Selma Ottilie Lovisa Lagerlöf born in 1858 in the family estate of Morbakka in the family of a retired military man and a teacher. The future writer spent her childhood in the picturesque region of Sweden - Värmland. She described the Morbakka estate many times in her works, especially in the autobiographical books “Morbakka” (1922), “Memoirs of a Child” (1930), “Diary” (1932).
As a child, Selma became seriously ill and was paralyzed. Her grandmother and aunt were constantly with the girl and told her many fairy tales and legends. This is probably where Selma’s poetic talent and penchant for fantasy come from.
In 1867, Selma was treated in Stockholm, and thanks to the efforts of doctors, she began to walk. The first attempts date back to this time literary creativity.
Later, the girl graduated from the Lyceum and the Higher Teachers' Seminary (1884). That same year she became a teacher at a girls' school in Landskrona in southern Sweden. By this time, her father had died, after which her beloved Morbakka was sold for debts, and hard times had come for Selma.
Literary creativity became the main occupation of Selma Lagerlöf: since 1895, she devoted herself entirely to writing.
The pinnacle of Selma Lagrelöf’s literary work was the fabulous book “The Wonderful Journey of Nils Holgersson through Sweden,” which brought her worldwide recognition.
The book tells children in a fascinating way about Sweden, its geography and history, legends and cultural traditions. The work includes folk tales and legends.
For example, Lagerlöf borrowed the scene of Nils ridding the castle of rats with the help of a magic pipe from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Pied Piper of Hamelin- a character from a medieval German legend. The legend of the rat catcher, which arose in the 13th century, is one of the varieties of stories about a mysterious musician who leads away bewitched people or livestock. Such legends were widespread in the Middle Ages.
Geographical and historical materials presented to readers in a fairy-tale plot. Together with a flock of geese, led by the wise old goose Akkoy Kebnekaise, Martina Nils travels across Sweden on the back of a goose.
This journey is interesting not only in itself, but also as an occasion for personal development. And here important has a translation of the book into Russian.
Book by Selma Lagerlöf in Russia
“Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” by S. Lagerlöf is one of the most beloved books by children in our country.
It was translated into Russian several times. The first translation was carried out by L. Khavkina in 1908-1909. But since the translation was made from German or for some other reasons, the book did not become popular among Russian readers and was soon forgotten. The 1910 translation suffered the same fate.
In 1940, translators Zoya Zadunaiskaya and Alexandra Lyubarskaya wrote S. Lagerlöf’s book in a free version for children, and it was in this form that the book became popular among Soviet readers. The storyline of the book was shortened, including the exclusion of religious moments (for example, Nils's parents in the original leave home for church, in this translation they go to the fair). Some historical and biological information has been simplified. And the result was not a textbook of Swedish geography, but simply a children's fairy tale. It was she who came to the hearts of Soviet readers.
Only in 1975 was a complete translation of the book made from Swedish Lyudmila Braude, translator and literary critic. Then in the 1980s. Faina Zlotarevskaya made her full translation.
Lagerlöf's book has received worldwide recognition. In 1907, the writer was elected honorary doctor of Uppsala University, and in 1914 she became a member of the Swedish Academy.
In 1909, Selma Lagerlöf received the Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to the high idealism, vivid imagination and spiritual penetration that distinguish all her works." She became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. This prize allowed Lagerlöf to buy out her native Morbakka, where she moved and where she lived for the rest of her life.
Fairytale story “The Wonderful Journey of Nils with the Wild Geese” by S. Lagerlöf
Monument to Niels in Karlskrona (Nils steps out of the pages of an open book)
History of creation
The writer believed that it was necessary to create several textbooks for schoolchildren of different ages: on the geography of Sweden (grade 1), on native history(2nd grade), descriptions of other countries of the world, discoveries and inventions (3-4th grade). This Lagerlöf project was eventually realized. But the first was Lagerlöf’s book. She studied the lifestyle and occupations of the population in different parts of the country, ethnographic and folklore materials collected by public school teachers. But even this material was not enough. To expand her knowledge, she traveled to Blekinge Historical Region in southern Sweden), Småland (historical region in southern Sweden), Norrland (historical region in northern Sweden) and the Falun Mine.
Skurugata Gorge in the forests of Småland
But from the huge amount of information it was necessary to piece of art. And she followed the path of Kipling and other writers, where talking animals were the main characters.
Selma Lagerlöf showed the country through the eyes of a child, combining geography and fairy tales in one work.
The plot of the work
Despite the fact that Lagerlöf’s task was to introduce children to geography, she successfully coped with another task - to show the way to re-educate the individual. Although it is difficult to say what is more important: the first or the second. In our opinion, the second is even more important.
“Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the gnome had bewitched him, and the little man in the mirror was himself, Nils.”
Nils offended the gnome, and he made the boy as small as the gnome himself. Nils wanted the gnome to cast a spell on him, went out into the yard in search of the gnome and saw that one of the domestic geese named Martin decided to fly with the wild geese. Nils tried to hold it, but forgot that it was much smaller than a goose, and soon found itself in the air. They flew all day until Martin was completely exhausted.
“So Nils flew away from home riding Martin the goose. At first Nils was even having fun, but the further the geese flew, the more anxious his soul became.”
During his journey, Nils encounters many situations that make him think not only about other people's misfortunes, but also about his own actions, share joy for the successes of others and be upset for his own mistakes - in short, the boy gains the ability to empathize, and this is a valuable gift. During his journey, Nils learned a lot and returned as a mature man. But before the trip, there was no sweetness with him: “In lessons, he counted crows and caught deuces, destroyed bird nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled a cat by the tail, as if the tail were rope from the door bell."
The main character Nils Holgersson is turned into a dwarf by a gnome, and the boy travels on a goose from Sweden to Lapland and back. As he becomes tiny, he begins to understand the language of animals.
Nils saved the gray goose, he brought the fallen baby Tirle to the squirrel Sirle, Nils Holgersson learned to blush for his actions, worry about his friends, he saw how animals pay good for good, how generous they are to him, although they know about many of his unsightly actions towards to them: the fox Smirre wanted to kidnap Martin, and Nils saved him. For this, a flock of wild geese allowed him to stay with them, and the boy continued his journey.
On 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 (the Gulf of Bothnia is a bay in the northern part Baltic Sea, located between the west coast of Finland, the east coast of Sweden, separated from the main part of the sea Åland Islands. It is the largest in area and the deepest of the bays of the Baltic Sea).
Gulf of Bothnia
As a result, Nils visits all the provinces of Sweden, gets into various adventures and learns a lot about the geography, history and culture of each province of his homeland.
On one of the days of the journey, Akki Kebnekaise's flock went to Glimmingen Castle. From the stork Ermenrich, the geese learned that the castle was in danger: rats had occupied it, displacing the former inhabitants. Nils, with the help of a magic pipe, carries the rats into the water and frees the castle from them.
Nils watches the celebration on Mount Kulaberg. On the day of the great gathering of birds and animals, Nils saw a lot of interesting things: on this day they made a truce with each other. Nils saw the games of hares, heard the singing of wood grouse, the fight of deer, and the dancing of cranes. He witnessed the punishment of the fox Smirra, who broke the law of the world by killing a sparrow.
The geese continue their journey north. The fox Smirre is chasing them. He offers Akka to leave the pack alone in exchange for Nils. But the geese do not give up the boy.
Nils also experiences other adventures: he is kidnapped by crows, he helps save their silver from Smirre, and the crows release him. As the flock flies over the sea, Nils meets the inhabitants of the underwater city.
Finally, the flock arrives in Lapland. Nils gets acquainted with the nature of Lapland and the way of life of the country's inhabitants. Watches Martin and Martha raise their offspring and teach them to fly.
But no matter how supportive the animals are to him, Nils still misses people and wants to become a an ordinary person. But only the old gnome, whom he offended and who bewitched him, can help him with this. And so he attacks the trail of the gnome...
Returning home with a flock of geese, Nils removes the spell from himself, passing it on to the gosling Uxie, who dreams of remaining small forever. Nils becomes the same boy again. He says goodbye to the pack and starts going to school. Now he only has good grades in his diary.
How does the tale “Nils's Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” affect readers?
Here we present the opinions of children who have read this book.
“The main idea of the fairy tale “Nils’s Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese” is that pranks and 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.”
“This fairy tale teaches you to be resourceful and courageous, to be able to protect your friends and comrades in dangerous moments. During his journey, Nils managed to do many good deeds for birds and animals, and they repaid him with kindness.”
“The forest gnome is strict but fair. He punished Nils very severely, but the boy realized a lot, his character changed in better side after the trials he went through, he began to study well.”
What did Nils learn during his trip?
He learned to understand nature, feel its beauty, enjoy the wind, sun, sea spray, hear the voices of the forest, the rustle of grass, the rustle of leaves. I learned the history of my country. I learned not to be afraid of anyone, but to beware. Learned to be friends.
Selma Lagerlöf wanted people to think about what real kindness and real love are; so that people take care of nature and learn from the experiences of other people.
You must love all life on Earth, go towards it with kindness, then they will repay you in kind.
Every nation has a poet, prose writer and playwright, in whose name a person of any nation can say: this is the pride of England... or Norway... or Italy...
For Sweden, this name is Selma Lagerlöf (1858 - 1940). The writer's fiftieth birthday (in 1908) turned into a national holiday in her homeland, and the centenary, by decision of the World Peace Council, was celebrated by people in many countries globe, where her works are read and loved. One of the novels of the wonderful Swedish writer - "The Saga of Yesta Berling" - has been translated into all European languages. The children's book "Nils Holgerson's Travels around Sweden" (1906 - 1907) became world famous, in which the poetic history of the country, the appearance of its cities and outskirts, the customs of the inhabitants, legends, and fairy-tale traditions of the sagas are revealed to young readers.
If you try to define the entire genre of Selma Lagerlöf’s work, it turns out that her novels and stories, plays, poems and fairy tales are all written in the form and traditions of the Scandinavian sagas.
This form arose a very, very long time ago. Back then, when people not only in cold Scandinavia, but, perhaps, in no other country in the world knew how to write. In Russia, tales about heroes and their amazing feats are called epics. And in snowy Norway and green Sweden, these legends are called sagas.
Rarely is a literary hero born who becomes not just a character in a story or fairy tale, but also the personification of an entire nation. The hero of Selma Lagerlöf's novel "The Saga of Yeste Berling" became exactly that in the eyes of readers around the world national hero Sweden, an expression of the people's spirit of freedom, dreams of the beauty and dignity of man. It is not for nothing that in 1909 the creator of this magnificent book was awarded the highest literary prize. In the jury's decision to award Selma Lagerlöf Nobel Prize it was said that it was given “for noble idealism and richness of imagination.” And in 1914, the writer was elected a member of the Swedish Academy.
Selma Lagerlöf’s “wealth of fantasy” is truly inexhaustible, and this creative fantasy manifests itself in amazing, bizarre, beautiful forms, events, and images. It would seem, where can miracles come from if little Nils Holgerson is the most ordinary “harmful” and lazy boy who doesn’t learn his lessons, drags a cat by the tail and, more than anything in the world, loves to tease geese, disobey adults and whine? However, it is his lot that falls to a great many adventures, magical transformations, dangers and even... exploits! Yes, yes, our Nils, who always pesters adults with complaints and has never done anything good to anyone, this same Nils will accomplish feats that are beyond the power of the most exemplary goodies and crammers! For many months our little hero, almost forgetting native language, acquires the wonderful gift of understanding the speech of animals and birds. He will rise above the ground and see his village, lakes and forests, and the whole huge country... During his travels, Nils will discover not only all of Scandinavia and “Lapland - goose country”, but also something else, perhaps the most important thing in life - what is friendship, what is help in trouble, what is love for those who are weaker than you and who really need your protection. And he, so small, with the help of his winged friends, will dare to enter into a dangerous battle with a cunning, strong enemy - the Fox Smirre himself! And no matter how the deceived Fox hisses, barks and jumps, the brave Nils will defeat him!
What happened to Nils? How did he get into the flock of geese? How did he manage to return to his parents again?
You will find out all this now. Artists and musicians have gathered to tell you about “Nils’s wonderful journey with the wild geese.” Put on a record of a fairy tale, and this amazing story will begin...
M. Babaeva
Selma LAGERLEF
NILS'S WONDERFUL JOURNEY WITH THE WILD GEESE
FOREST GNOME
In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let's go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
- Look, not a single step from the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
- So that he knows everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds of the trees swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window with important look chickens walked around, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “Let us out, 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 to play with amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side, his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
“Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you for this gold coin, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
“Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.
For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.
The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.
“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - Yes, no, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron was passed over it. This gnome hit me so hard! Of course, father and mother will not believe that the gnome visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to learn your lessons. No, no matter how you look at it, we must sit down to read the book again!”
Nils took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. Their walls small house moved apart, the ceiling went high up, and the chair on which Nils always sat rose above him like an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Nils had to climb the twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Nils could not see a single letter at the top of the page. He lay down on his stomach on the book and crawled from line to line, from word to word. He was literally exhausted while reading one phrase.
- What is this? So you won’t even get to the end of the page by tomorrow! - Nils exclaimed and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the gnome who was caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, a vest and a plaid shirt with large buttons.
- Hey, what do you want here? - Nils shouted and shook his fist at the little man.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Nils put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also put his hands on his hips and also stuck his tongue out at Nils.
Nils stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, spun like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun like a top and waved his arms.
Then Nils sat down on the book and cried bitterly. He realized that the dwarf had bewitched him and that the little man who looked at him from the mirror was himself, Nils Holgerson.
“Or maybe this is a dream after all?” - thought Nils.
He closed his eyes tightly, then - to wake up completely - he pinched himself as hard as he could and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he wasn't sleeping. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils got close to the mirror and buried his nose in it. Yes, it's him, Nils. Only now he was no bigger than a sparrow.
“We need to find the gnome,” Nils decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Nils slid down the leg of the chair onto the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the closet - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into a mouse hole, but the gnome was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the gnome could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should stand near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Vestmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. People wear them only on the street, but rent them at home.
But how will he, so small, cope now with his large, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was happy, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to lift the spell from Nils!
No, no, we need to find the gnome as soon as possible! We must ask him, beg him! Never, never again will Nils hurt anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy...
Nils put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. It's good that it was slightly open. Would he be able to reach the latch and push it aside!
Near the porch, on an old oak board thrown from one edge of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Nils, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow throat. And - amazing thing! - Nils understood him perfectly.
- Look at Nils! - the sparrow shouted. - Look at Nils!
- Cuckoo! - the rooster crowed cheerfully. - Let's throw him into the river!
And the chickens flapped their wings and clucked vyingly:
- It serves him right! It serves him right! The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
- Good! Well, that's good! What, are you afraid now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, gouged him with their beaks, pulled him by the arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a very bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately scattered and began to rummage in the ground, looking as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year’s grains.
And Nils was delighted with the cat as if it were his own.
“Dear cat,” he said, “you know all the nooks and crannies, all the holes, all the holes in our yard.” Please tell me where I can find the gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat did not answer immediately. He sat down, wrapped his tail around his front paws and looked at the boy. It was a huge black cat, with a large white spot on its chest. His smooth fur glistened in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even retracted his claws and closed his yellow eyes with a tiny, tiny stripe in the middle.
- Mrr, mrr! “Of course, I know where to find the gnome,” the cat spoke in a gentle voice. - But it remains to be seen whether I will tell you or not...
- Kitty, cat, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes slightly. A green, angry light flashed within them, but the cat still purred affectionately.
- Why should I help you? - he said. - Maybe because you put a wasp in my ear? Or because you set my fur on fire? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
- And now I can pull your tail! - Nils shouted. And, forgetting that the cat was twenty times larger than himself, he stepped forward.
What happened to the cat? His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, and sharp claws emerged from his soft fluffy paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild animal that jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Nils did not back down. He took another step... Then the cat knocked Nils over with one jump and pinned him to the ground with his front paws.
- Help, help! - Nils shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to help him out.
Nils realized that the end had come for him and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Nils from its paws and said:
- Okay, that's enough for the first time. If your mother had not been such a good housewife and had not given me milk morning and evening, you would have had a bad time. For her sake I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, purring quietly, as befits a good house cat.
And Nils stood up, shook the dirt off his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed onto the ledge of the stone fence, sat down, dangling his tiny feet in tiny shoes, and thought.
What will be next?! Father and mother will be back soon! How surprised they will be to see their son! The mother, of course, will cry, and the father may say: that’s what Nils needs! Then neighbors from all over the area will come and start looking at it and gasping... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? The boys will laugh at him!.. Oh, how unfortunate he is! How unfortunate! In the whole wide world, there is probably no more unhappy person than him!
Selma Lagerlöf
Nils' Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese
Chapter I. FOREST GNOME
In the small Swedish village of Vestmenheg, there once lived a boy named Nils. In appearance - a boy like a boy.
And there was no trouble with him.
During lessons, he counted crows and caught twos, destroyed birds' nests in the forest, teased geese in the yard, chased chickens, threw stones at cows, and pulled the cat by the tail, as if the tail was a rope from a doorbell.
He lived like this until he was twelve years old. And then an extraordinary incident happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday, father and mother gathered for a fair in a neighboring village. Nils couldn't wait for them to leave.
“Let’s go quickly! - Nils thought, looking at his father’s gun, which was hanging on the wall. “The boys will burst with envy when they see me with a gun.”
But his father seemed to guess his thoughts.
Look, not a step out of the house! - he said. - Open your textbook and come to your senses. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Nils answered, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday on lessons!”
Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took out a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and pulled up a chair.
And the father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
So that by the time we return he knows everything by heart. I'll check it myself.
Finally, father and mother left.
“It’s good for them, they walk so merrily! - Nils sighed heavily. “I definitely fell into a mousetrap with these lessons!”
Well, what can you do! Nils knew that his father was not to be trifled with. He sighed again and sat down at the table. True, he was looking not so much at the book as at the window. After all, it was much more interesting!
According to the calendar, it was still March, but here in the south of Sweden, spring had already managed to outdo winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. The buds on the trees have swelled. The beech forest straightened its branches, numb in the winter cold, and now stretched upward, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, chickens walked with an important air, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed spring and mooed loudly, as if asking: “You-let us out, you-let us out!”
Nils also wanted to sing, and scream, and splash in puddles, and fight with the neighboring boys. He turned away from the window in frustration and stared at the book. But he didn't read much. For some reason, the letters began to jump before his eyes, the lines either merged or scattered... Nils himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Nils would have slept all day if some rustling had not woken him up.
Nils raised his head and became wary.
The mirror that hung above the table reflected the entire room. There is no one in the room except Nils... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order...
And suddenly Nils almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewelry in the chest. There lay the outfits that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; starched caps as white as snow, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and she did not let Nils come close to it. And there’s nothing to even say about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There has never been such a case. And even today - Nils remembered this very well - his mother returned from the threshold twice to tug on the lock - did it latch well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Nils was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Nils held his breath and peered into the mirror without blinking.
What is that shadow there in the corner of the chest? Here it moved... Now it crawled along the edge... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Nils couldn't believe his eyes. There was a little man sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday calendar picture. On his head is a wide-brimmed hat, a black caftan is decorated with a lace collar and cuffs, stockings at the knees are tied with lush bows, and silver buckles glitter on red morocco shoes.
“But it’s a gnome! - Nils guessed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak human, bird, and animal. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground at least a hundred or a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, the flowers will bloom in the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in the summer.
Well, there’s nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm could such a tiny creature do?
Moreover, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing except a velvet sleeveless vest, embroidered with small freshwater pearls, that lay in the chest at the very top.
While the gnome was admiring the intricate ancient pattern, Nils was already wondering what kind of trick he could play with his amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And here's what else you can do...
Without turning his head, Nils looked around the room. In the mirror she was all there in front of him in full view. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots were lined up in strict order on the shelves... By the window there was a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - was a fly net. Just what you need!
Nils carefully slid to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One swing - and the gnome hid in the net like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to one side, his feet were entangled in the skirts of his caftan. He floundered at the bottom of the net and waved his arms helplessly. But as soon as he managed to rise a little, Nils shook the net, and the gnome fell down again.
Listen, Nils,” the dwarf finally begged, “let me go free!” I'll give you a gold coin for this, as big as the button on your shirt.
Nils thought for a moment.
Well, that’s probably not bad,” he said and stopped swinging the net.
Clinging to the sparse fabric, the gnome deftly climbed up. He had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net...
Then it occurred to Nils that he had sold himself short. In addition to the gold coin, he could demand that the dwarf teach his lessons for him. You never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you're sitting in a net, you can't argue.
And Nils shook the net again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap in the face that the net fell out of his hands, and he rolled head over heels into a corner.
For a minute Nils lay motionless, then, groaning and groaning, he stood up.
The gnome is already gone. The chest was closed, and the net hung in its place - next to his father's gun.
“I dreamed all this, or what? - thought Nils. - 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!”
