Wonderful journey of Niels with wild geese. School Encyclopedia. Preface Fairy tale geography, or Geographic fairy tale
1
In the small Swedish village of Westmenheg there once lived a boy named Nils. Looks like a boy like a boy.
And there was nothing wrong with him.
In class, he counted crows and caught deuces, ruined 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 was a rope from a door bell.
So he lived until the age of twelve. And then an extraordinary thing happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday my father and mother were going to a fair in a neighboring village. Niels couldn't wait for them to leave.
"Let's go soon! Niels thought, looking at his father's gun, which hung 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 take care of your mind. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Niels replied, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday afternoon on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and moved a chair.
And my father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
- To know everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, the father and mother left.
“They feel good, look how cheerfully they walk! Niels sighed heavily. “And 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 looked 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 outweighed winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. Buds swelled on the trees. The beech forest spread its branches, stiff in the winter cold, and now stretched upwards, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, with an important look, chickens walked around, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed the spring and mooed in all voices, as if asking: “Let us out, let us out!”
Niels also wanted to sing, and shout, and spank in the puddles, and fight with the neighbor boys. He turned away from the window in annoyance 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 ... Niels himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Niels would have slept all day if some rustle had not woken him up.
Niels raised his head and became alert.
The mirror that hung over the table reflected the entire room. There is no one but Nils in the room ... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order ...
And suddenly Niels almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewels in the chest. There were clothes that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; snow-white starched bonnets, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and Niels did not let anyone close to him.
And it’s not even worth talking about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There was no such case. Yes, and today - Nils remembered it very well - his mother returned twice from the threshold to pull the lock - did it click well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Niels was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Niels held his breath and, without blinking, peered into the mirror.
What is that shadow over there in the corner of the chest? So she stirred ... Here she crawled along the edge ... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Niels couldn't believe his eyes. A little man was sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday picture on the calendar. 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 magnificent bows, and silver buckles gleam on red morocco shoes.
"Yes, it's a gnome! Niels agreed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak both human, and bird-like, and animal-like. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground even a hundred, even a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, flowers will bloom on the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in summer.
Well, there is nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm can such a tiny creature do!
In addition, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing, except for a velvet sleeveless jacket embroidered with small river pearls that lay in a chest at the very top.
While the dwarf was admiring the intricate old pattern, Niels was already wondering what kind of trick to play with an amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And maybe one more thing...
Without turning his head, Niels looked around the room. In the mirror, she was all in front of him at a glance. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots lined up in strict order on the shelves ... By the window there is a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things ... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - a net for catching flies. Just what you need!
Niels carefully slipped to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One stroke - and the dwarf huddled in the net, like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to the side, his legs tangled 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 get up a little, Niels shaking the net, and the dwarf again fell down.
“Listen, Niels,” 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.
Niels 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, Now he had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net ...
Then it occurred to Niels that he had sold cheap. In addition to the gold coin, one could demand that the dwarf teach lessons for him. Yes, you never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you sit in a net, you won't argue.
And Niels shook the grid again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap that the net fell out of his hands, and he himself rolled head over heels into a corner.
2
For a minute Niels 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 Niels. - No, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron had been walked over it. This dwarf so warmed me! Of course, the father and mother will not believe that the dwarf visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to teach lessons. No, no matter how you turn it, you must again sit down at the book!
Niels took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house parted, the ceiling went high up, and the chair on which Nils always sat towered above him with an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Niels had to climb a twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Niels could not make out 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 just exhausted until he read one phrase.
– Yes, what is it? So after all, you won’t get to the end of the page by tomorrow! exclaimed Niels, and wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny little man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the dwarf who got caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, in a vest and in a plaid shirt with large buttons.
"Hey you, what do you want here?" Niels shouted and threatened the little man with his fist.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Niels put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also akimbo and also showed Nils his tongue.
Niels stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, twirled like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun around like a top and waved his arms.
Then Niels sat down on the book and wept 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.
“Maybe this is a dream after all?” thought Niels.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then—to wake himself completely—he pinched himself with all his strength, and after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he didn't sleep. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils crept up to the mirror itself and buried his nose in it. Yes, that's him, Nils. Only he was now no more than a sparrow.
“We need to find a dwarf,” Niels decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Niels slid down the leg of the chair to the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the cupboard - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into the mouse hole, but the dwarf was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the dwarf could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should be near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Westmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. They only walk down the street, and they rent houses.
But how will he, so small, manage now with his big, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was delighted, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to remove the spell from Nils!
No, no, we must quickly find the gnome! You have to beg, beg! Never, never again will Niels offend anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy ...
Niels put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. Good thing it was open. How could he reach out to the latch and push it back!
At the porch, on an old oak plank thrown from one side of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Niels, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow's throat. And - an amazing thing! Niels understood him perfectly.
Look at Niels! - shouted the sparrow. Look at Niels!
- Cuckoo! the rooster crowed merrily. “Let’s throw him into the river!”
And the hens flapped their wings and cackled with each other:
- It serves him right! It serves him right!
The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
- Good sh! Well, it's good! What, are you scared now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, pecked him with their beaks, pulled his arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a really bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately rushed in all directions and began to rummage in the ground as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year's grains.
And Niels 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 minks in our yard. Kindly tell me where can I find a gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat didn't answer right away. 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 patch on its chest. His smooth fur shone in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even drew in his claws and screwed up his yellow eyes with a narrow, narrow strip 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, kitty, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes a little. A green, evil light flashed in them, but the cat was still purring affectionately.
"Why should I help you?" - he said. “Maybe because you stuck a wasp in my ear?” Or because you burned my fur? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
“And I can still pull your tail!” Niels shouted. And, forgetting that the cat is twenty times bigger than himself, stepped forward.
What happened to the cat! His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, sharp claws protruded from his soft, furry paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild beast that had jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Niels did not back down. He took another step ... Then the cat knocked over Nils with one jump and pressed him to the ground with his front paws.
- Help, help! Niels shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to rescue him.
Nils realized that the end had come to him, and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Niels 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 in the morning and evening, you would have had a hard time. For her sake, I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and, as if nothing had happened, walked away, purring softly, as befits a good domestic cat.
And Niels got up, shook off the dirt from his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed up the ledge of the stone wall, 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! Mother, of course, will cry, and father, maybe, will say: that's what Niels needs! Then the neighbors from all over the neighborhood will come, they will begin to look at it and gasp ... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? Here the boys will laugh at him! .. Oh, how unfortunate he is! What an unfortunate one! In the whole wide world, probably, there is no person more unfortunate than he!
The poor house of his parents, pressed to the ground by a sloping roof, never seemed to him so big and beautiful, and their cramped courtyard so spacious.
Wings rustled somewhere above Nils's head. It was wild geese flying from south to north. They flew high in the sky, stretched out in a regular triangle, but, seeing 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 got excited, cackled, 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:
- Go crazy! Have gone crazy! Don't do stupid things! You are not some tramps, you are respectable domestic geese!
And, raising her head, she screamed into the sky:
- We are fine here! We are fine 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. - Is it geese? These are some pathetic chickens! Stay in your coop!
From anger and resentment, even the eyes of domestic geese turned red. They had never heard such an insult before.
Only a white young goose, with its head up, ran swiftly through the puddles.
- Wait for me! Wait for me! he shouted to the wild geese. - I'm flying with you! With you!
“Why, this is Martin, mother’s best goose,” thought Niels. “What good, he really will fly away!”
- Stop, stop! Niels shouted and rushed after Martin.
Nils barely caught up with him. He jumped up and, clasping his hands around the long goose neck, hung on it with his whole body. But Martin did not even feel it, as if Nils had not been there. He flapped his wings strongly - once, twice - and, without expecting it, he flew.
Before Niels realized what had happened, they were already high in the sky.
Chapter II. Goose riding
1
Niels himself did not know how he managed to get onto Martin's back. Niels never thought that geese were so slippery. With both hands he clutched at the goose feathers, huddled all over, buried his head in his shoulders, and even screwed up his eyes.
And all around the wind howled and hummed, as if it wanted to tear Niels away from Martin and throw him down.
- Now I'm going to fall, now I'm going to fall! whispered Niels.
But ten minutes, twenty minutes passed, and he did not fall. Finally, he regained his courage and opened his eyes a little.
To the right and left, the gray wings of wild geese flickered, above Nils's head, clouds almost touching him, floated, and far, far below, the earth darkened.
It didn't look like earth at all. It seemed as if someone had spread a huge checkered handkerchief under them. What kind of cells were not there! Some cells are black, others are yellowish-gray, others are light green.
Black cells are freshly plowed land, green cells are autumn shoots that overwintered under the snow, and yellowish-gray squares are last year's stubble, which the peasant's plow has not yet passed through.
Here the cells are dark at the edges, and green in the middle. These are gardens: the trees there are completely bare, but the lawns are already covered with the first grass.
But the brown cells with a yellow border are a forest: it has not yet had time to dress in greenery, and young beeches on the edge turn yellow with old dry leaves.
At first, Niels even had fun looking at this variety of colors. But the farther the geese flew, the more anxious he became in his soul.
“What good, they really will bring me to Lapland!” he thought.
Martin, Martin! he called to the goose. - Turn home! Enough, let's fly!
But Martin did not answer.
Then Niels spurred him with all his might with his wooden shoes.
Martin turned his head slightly and hissed:
- Listen, sh-ay, you! Sit quietly, otherwise I will throw you off ...
I had to sit still.
2
All day long the white goose Martin flew in line with the whole flock, as if he had never been a domestic goose, as if he had done nothing but fly all his life.
“And where does he get such agility from?” Niels wondered.
But by evening, Martin still began to give up. Now everyone would see that he flies for one day without a year: either he suddenly lags behind, then he breaks ahead, then he seems to fall into a hole, then he seems to jump up.
And the wild geese saw it.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka Kebnekaise! they shouted.
- What you want from me? - asked the goose, flying ahead of everyone.
- White is behind!
“He must know that flying fast is easier than flying slowly!” the goose yelled, without even turning around.
Martin tried to beat his wings harder and more often, but the tired wings became heavy and dragged him down.
- Akka! Akka Kebnekaise! the geese screamed again.
- What you need? said the old goose.
- White can't fly that high!
“He must know that flying high is easier than flying low!” Akka replied.
Poor Martin strained his last strength. But his wings were completely weakened and could hardly hold him.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka! White falls!
- Who can't fly like us, let him stay at home! Tell it to the white! Akka shouted, not slowing down the flight.
“And it’s true, it would be better for us to stay at home,” Niels whispered and grabbed Martin’s neck more tightly.
Martin fell like he was shot.
Fortunately, along the way they turned up some kind of skinny willow. Martin caught on the top of the tree and hung among the branches. So they hung. Martin's wings went limp, his neck dangled like a rag. He breathed loudly, opening his beak wide, as if he wanted to grab more air.
Niels felt sorry for Martin. He even tried to console him.
“Dear Martin,” said Nils affectionately, “don’t be sad that they abandoned you. Well, judge for yourself where you compete with them! Let's get back home!
Martin himself understood: it would be necessary to return. But he so wanted to prove to the whole world that domestic geese are worth something!
And then there's this nasty boy with his consolations! If he had not been sitting on his neck, Martin might have flown to Lapland.
With anger, Martin immediately gained strength. He flapped his wings with such fury that he immediately rose almost to the very clouds and soon overtook the flock.
Luckily for him, it started to get dark.
Black shadows lay on the ground. From the lake, over which the wild geese were flying, fog crept in.
A flock of Akki Kebnekaise descended for the night.
3
As soon as the geese touched the coastal strip of land, they immediately climbed into the water. The goose Martin and Nils remained on the shore.
As if from an ice slide, Niels slid off Martin's slippery back. Finally he is on the ground! Nils straightened his stiff arms and legs and looked around.
Winter here receded slowly. The whole lake was still covered with ice, and only the water came out near the shores - dark and shiny.
Tall firs approached the lake itself like a black wall. Everywhere the snow had already melted, but here, at the gnarled, overgrown roots, the snow still lay in a dense thick layer, as if these mighty fir trees by force kept winter near them.
The sun is already completely hidden.
Some crackling and rustling could be heard from the dark depths of the forest.
Nils felt uneasy.
How far have they flown! Now, even if Martin wants to return, they still won't find their way home... But still, Martin did a good job!.. But what's the matter with him?
- Martin! Martin! Niels called.
Martin didn't answer. He lay as if dead, spreading his wings on the ground and stretching out his neck. His eyes were covered with a cloudy film. Niels was scared.
“Dear Martin,” he said, leaning over the goose, “drink a sip of water!” You'll see, you'll feel better right away.
But the goose didn't even move. Niels went cold with fear...
Will Martin die? After all, Nils now did not have a single close soul, except for this goose.
- Martin! Come on, Martin! Niels urged him on. The goose didn't seem to hear him.
Then Niels grabbed Martin by the neck with both hands and dragged him to the water.
It wasn't easy. The goose was the best in their household, and his mother fed him well. And Niels is now barely visible from the ground. And yet he dragged Martin to the very lake and stuck his head right into the icy water.
At first, Martin lay motionless. But then he opened his eyes, took a sip once or twice, and with difficulty stood up on his paws. He stood for a minute, staggering from side to side, then climbed up to his very neck into the lake and slowly swam between the ice floes. Every now and then he plunged his beak into the water, and then, throwing his head back, greedily swallowed seaweed.
Chapter I
1
In the small Swedish village of Westmenheg there once lived a boy named Nils. Looks like a boy like a boy.
And there was nothing wrong with him.
In class, he counted crows and caught deuces, ruined 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 was a rope from a door bell.
So he lived until the age of twelve. And then an extraordinary thing happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday my father and mother were going to a fair in a neighboring village. Niels couldn't wait for them to leave.
"Let's go soon! Niels thought, looking at his father's gun, which hung 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 take care of your mind. Do you hear?
“I hear,” Niels replied, and thought to himself: “So I’ll start spending Sunday afternoon on lessons!”
“Study, son, study,” said the mother.
She even took a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and moved a chair.
And my father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
- To know everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, the father and mother left.
“They feel good, look how cheerfully they walk! Niels sighed heavily. “And 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 looked 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 outweighed winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. Buds swelled on the trees. The beech forest spread its branches, stiff in the winter cold, and now stretched upwards, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, with an important look, chickens walked around, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed the spring and mooed in all voices, as if asking: “Let us out, let us out!”
Niels also wanted to sing, and shout, and spank in the puddles, and fight with the neighbor boys. He turned away from the window in annoyance 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 ... Niels himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Niels would have slept all day if some rustle had not woken him up.
Niels raised his head and became alert.
The mirror that hung over the table reflected the entire room. There is no one but Nils in the room ... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order ...
And suddenly Niels almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewels in the chest. There were clothes that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; snow-white starched bonnets, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and Niels did not let anyone close to him. And it’s not even worth talking about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There was no such case. Yes, and today - Nils remembered it very well - his mother returned twice from the threshold to pull the lock - did it click well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Niels was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Niels held his breath and, without blinking, peered into the mirror.
What is that shadow over there in the corner of the chest? So she stirred ... Here she crawled along the edge ... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Niels couldn't believe his eyes. A little man was sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday picture on the calendar. 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 magnificent bows, and silver buckles gleam on red morocco shoes.
"Yes, it's a gnome! Niels agreed. “A real gnome!”
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak both human, and bird-like, and animal-like. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground even a hundred, even a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, flowers will bloom on the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in summer.
Well, there is nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm can such a tiny creature do!
In addition, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing, except for a velvet sleeveless jacket embroidered with small river pearls that lay in a chest at the very top.
While the dwarf was admiring the intricate old pattern, Niels was already wondering what kind of trick to play with an amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And maybe one more thing...
Without turning his head, Niels looked around the room. In the mirror, she was all in front of him at a glance. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots lined up in strict order on the shelves ... By the window there is a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things ... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - a net for catching flies. Just what you need!
Niels carefully slipped to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One stroke - and the dwarf huddled in the net, like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to the side, his legs tangled 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 get up a little, Niels shaking the net, and the dwarf again fell down.
“Listen, Niels,” 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.
Niels 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, Now he had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net ...
Then it occurred to Niels that he had sold cheap. In addition to the gold coin, one could demand that the dwarf teach lessons for him. Yes, you never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you sit in a net, you won't argue.
And Niels shook the grid again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap that the net fell out of his hands, and he himself rolled head over heels into a corner.
2
For a minute Niels 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 Niels. - No, my right cheek is burning, as if an iron had been walked over it. This dwarf so warmed me! Of course, the father and mother will not believe that the dwarf visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to teach lessons. No, no matter how you turn it, you must again sit down at the book!
Niels took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house parted, the ceiling went high up, and the chair on which Nils always sat towered above him with an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Niels had to climb a twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Niels could not make out 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 just exhausted until he read one phrase.
– Yes, what is it? So after all, you won’t get to the end of the page by tomorrow! exclaimed Niels, and wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny little man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the dwarf who got caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, in a vest and in a plaid shirt with large buttons.
"Hey you, what do you want here?" Niels shouted and threatened the little man with his fist.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Niels put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also akimbo and also showed Nils his tongue.
Niels stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, twirled like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun around like a top and waved his arms.
Then Niels sat down on the book and wept 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.
“Maybe this is a dream after all?” thought Niels.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, then—to wake himself completely—he pinched himself with all his strength, and after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he didn't sleep. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils crept up to the mirror itself and buried his nose in it. Yes, that's him, Nils. Only he was now no more than a sparrow.
“We need to find a dwarf,” Niels decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Niels slid down the leg of the chair to the floor and began to search all the corners. He crawled under the bench, under the cupboard - now it was not difficult for him - he even climbed into the mouse hole, but the dwarf was nowhere to be found.
There was still hope - the dwarf could hide in the yard.
Nils ran out into the hallway. Where are his shoes? They should be near the door. And Nils himself, and his father and mother, and all the peasants in Westmenheg, and in all the villages of Sweden, always leave their shoes at the doorstep. The shoes are wooden. They only walk down the street, and they rent houses.
But how will he, so small, manage now with his big, heavy shoes?
And then Nils saw a pair of tiny shoes in front of the door. At first he was delighted, and then he was afraid. If the dwarf even bewitched the shoes, it means that he is not going to remove the spell from Nils!
No, no, we must quickly find the gnome! You have to beg, beg! Never, never again will Niels offend anyone! He will become the most obedient, most exemplary boy ...
Niels put his feet into his shoes and slipped through the door. Good thing it was open. How could he reach out to the latch and push it back!
At the porch, on an old oak plank thrown from one side of the puddle to the other, a sparrow was jumping. As soon as the sparrow saw Niels, he jumped even faster and chirped at the top of his sparrow's throat. And - an amazing thing! Niels understood him perfectly.
Look at Niels! - shouted the sparrow. Look at Niels!
- Cuckoo! the rooster crowed merrily. “Let’s throw him into the river!”
And the hens flapped their wings and cackled with each other:
- It serves him right! It serves him right!
The geese surrounded Nils on all sides and, stretching their necks, hissed in his ear:
- Good sh! Well, it's good! What, are you scared now? Are you afraid?
And they pecked him, pinched him, pecked him with their beaks, pulled his arms and legs.
Poor Nils would have had a really bad time if a cat had not appeared in the yard at that time. Noticing the cat, the chickens, geese and ducks immediately rushed in all directions and began to rummage in the ground as if they were not interested in anything in the world except worms and last year's grains.
And Niels 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 minks in our yard. Kindly tell me where can I find a gnome? He couldn't have gone far.
The cat didn't answer right away. 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 patch on its chest. His smooth fur shone in the sun. The cat looked quite good-natured. He even drew in his claws and screwed up his yellow eyes with a narrow, narrow strip 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, kitty, golden mouth, you have to help me! Can't you see that the dwarf has bewitched me?
The cat opened his eyes a little. A green, evil light flashed in them, but the cat was still purring affectionately.
"Why should I help you?" - he said. “Maybe because you stuck a wasp in my ear?” Or because you burned my fur? Or because you pulled my tail every day? A?
“And I can still pull your tail!” Niels shouted. And, forgetting that the cat is twenty times bigger than himself, stepped forward.
What happened to the cat! His eyes sparkled, his back arched, his fur stood on end, sharp claws protruded from his soft, furry paws. It even seemed to Nils that it was some kind of unprecedented wild beast that had jumped out of the forest thicket. And yet Niels did not back down. He took another step ... Then the cat knocked over Nils with one jump and pressed him to the ground with his front paws.
- Help, help! Niels shouted with all his might. But his voice was now no louder than that of a mouse. And there was no one to rescue him.
Nils realized that the end had come to him, and closed his eyes in horror.
Suddenly the cat retracted its claws, released Niels 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 in the morning and evening, you would have had a hard time. For her sake, I will let you live.
With these words, the cat turned and, as if nothing had happened, walked away, purring softly, as befits a good domestic cat.
And Niels got up, shook off the dirt from his leather pants and trudged to the end of the yard. There he climbed up the ledge of the stone wall, 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! Mother, of course, will cry, and father, maybe, will say: that's what Niels needs! Then the neighbors from all over the neighborhood will come, they will begin to look at it and gasp ... What if someone steals it to show it to onlookers at the fair? Here the boys will laugh at him! .. Oh, how unfortunate he is! What an unfortunate one! In the whole wide world, probably, there is no person more unfortunate than he!
The poor house of his parents, pressed to the ground by a sloping roof, never seemed to him so big and beautiful, and their cramped courtyard so spacious.
Wings rustled somewhere above Nils's head. It was wild geese flying from south to north. They flew high in the sky, stretched out in a regular triangle, but, seeing 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 got excited, cackled, 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:
- Go crazy! Have gone crazy! Don't do stupid things! You are not some tramps, you are respectable domestic geese!
And, raising her head, she screamed into the sky:
- We are fine here! We are fine 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. - Is it geese? These are some pathetic chickens! Stay in your coop!
From anger and resentment, even the eyes of domestic geese turned red. They had never heard such an insult before.
Only a white young goose, with its head up, ran swiftly through the puddles.
- Wait for me! Wait for me! he shouted to the wild geese. - I'm flying with you! With you!
“Why, this is Martin, mother’s best goose,” thought Niels. “What good, he really will fly away!”
- Stop, stop! Niels shouted and rushed after Martin.
Nils barely caught up with him. He jumped up and, clasping his hands around the long goose neck, hung on it with his whole body. But Martin did not even feel it, as if Nils had not been there. He flapped his wings strongly - once, twice - and, without expecting it, he flew.
Before Niels realized what had happened, they were already high in the sky.
Chapter II. Goose riding
1
Niels himself did not know how he managed to get onto Martin's back. Niels never thought that geese were so slippery. With both hands he clutched at the goose feathers, huddled all over, buried his head in his shoulders, and even screwed up his eyes.
And all around the wind howled and hummed, as if it wanted to tear Niels away from Martin and throw him down.
- Now I'm going to fall, now I'm going to fall! whispered Niels.
But ten minutes, twenty minutes passed, and he did not fall. Finally, he regained his courage and opened his eyes a little.
To the right and left, the gray wings of wild geese flickered, above Nils's head, clouds almost touching him, floated, and far, far below, the earth darkened.
It didn't look like earth at all. It seemed as if someone had spread a huge checkered handkerchief under them. What kind of cells were not there! Some cells are black, others are yellowish-gray, others are light green.
Black cells are freshly plowed land, green cells are autumn shoots that overwintered under the snow, and yellowish-gray squares are last year's stubble, which the peasant's plow has not yet passed through.
Here the cells are dark at the edges, and green in the middle. These are gardens: the trees there are completely bare, but the lawns are already covered with the first grass.
But the brown cells with a yellow border are a forest: it has not yet had time to dress in greenery, and young beeches on the edge turn yellow with old dry leaves.
At first, Niels even had fun looking at this variety of colors. But the farther the geese flew, the more anxious he became in his soul.
“What good, they really will bring me to Lapland!” he thought.
Martin, Martin! he called to the goose. - Turn home! Enough, let's fly!
But Martin did not answer.
Then Niels spurred him with all his might with his wooden shoes.
Martin turned his head slightly and hissed:
- Listen, sh-ay, you! Sit quietly, otherwise I will throw you off ...
I had to sit still.
2
All day long the white goose Martin flew in line with the whole flock, as if he had never been a domestic goose, as if he had done nothing but fly all his life.
“And where does he get such agility from?” Niels wondered.
But by evening, Martin still began to give up. Now everyone would see that he flies for one day without a year: either he suddenly lags behind, then he breaks ahead, then he seems to fall into a hole, then he seems to jump up.
And the wild geese saw it.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka Kebnekaise! they shouted.
- What you want from me? - asked the goose, flying ahead of everyone.
- White is behind!
“He must know that flying fast is easier than flying slowly!” the goose yelled, without even turning around.
Martin tried to beat his wings harder and more often, but the tired wings became heavy and dragged him down.
- Akka! Akka Kebnekaise! the geese screamed again.
- What you need? said the old goose.
- White can't fly that high!
“He must know that flying high is easier than flying low!” Akka replied.
Poor Martin strained his last strength. But his wings were completely weakened and could hardly hold him.
- Akka Kebnekaise! Akka! White falls!
- Who can't fly like us, let him stay at home! Tell it to the white! Akka shouted, not slowing down the flight.
“And it’s true, it would be better for us to stay at home,” Niels whispered and grabbed Martin’s neck more tightly.
Martin fell like he was shot.
Fortunately, along the way they turned up some kind of skinny willow. Martin caught on the top of the tree and hung among the branches. So they hung. Martin's wings went limp, his neck dangled like a rag. He breathed loudly, opening his beak wide, as if he wanted to grab more air.
Niels felt sorry for Martin. He even tried to console him.
“Dear Martin,” said Nils affectionately, “don’t be sad that they abandoned you. Well, judge for yourself where you compete with them! Let's get back home!
Martin himself understood: it would be necessary to return. But he so wanted to prove to the whole world that domestic geese are worth something!
And then there's this nasty boy with his consolations! If he had not been sitting on his neck, Martin might have flown to Lapland.
With anger, Martin immediately gained strength. He flapped his wings with such fury that he immediately rose almost to the very clouds and soon overtook the flock.
Luckily for him, it started to get dark.
Black shadows lay on the ground. From the lake, over which the wild geese were flying, fog crept in.
A flock of Akki Kebnekaise descended for the night.
3
As soon as the geese touched the coastal strip of land, they immediately climbed into the water. The goose Martin and Nils remained on the shore.
As if from an ice slide, Niels slid off Martin's slippery back. Finally he is on the ground! Nils straightened his stiff arms and legs and looked around.
Winter here receded slowly. The whole lake was still covered with ice, and only the water came out near the shores - dark and shiny.
Tall firs approached the lake itself like a black wall. Everywhere the snow had already melted, but here, at the gnarled, overgrown roots, the snow still lay in a dense thick layer, as if these mighty fir trees by force kept winter near them.
The sun is already completely hidden.
Some crackling and rustling could be heard from the dark depths of the forest.
Nils felt uneasy.
How far have they flown! Now, even if Martin wants to return, they still won't find their way home... But still, Martin did a good job!.. But what's the matter with him?
- Martin! Martin! Niels called.
Martin didn't answer. He lay as if dead, spreading his wings on the ground and stretching out his neck. His eyes were covered with a cloudy film. Niels was scared.
“Dear Martin,” he said, leaning over the goose, “drink a sip of water!” You'll see, you'll feel better right away.
But the goose didn't even move. Niels went cold with fear...
Will Martin die? After all, Nils now did not have a single close soul, except for this goose.
- Martin! Come on, Martin! Niels urged him on. The goose didn't seem to hear him.
Then Niels grabbed Martin by the neck with both hands and dragged him to the water.
It wasn't easy. The goose was the best in their household, and his mother fed him well. And Niels is now barely visible from the ground. And yet he dragged Martin to the very lake and stuck his head right into the icy water.
At first, Martin lay motionless. But then he opened his eyes, took a sip once or twice, and with difficulty stood up on his paws. He stood for a minute, staggering from side to side, then climbed up to his very neck into the lake and slowly swam between the ice floes. Every now and then he plunged his beak into the water, and then, throwing his head back, greedily swallowed seaweed.
“He feels good,” Niels thought enviously, “but I haven’t eaten anything since morning either.”
At this time, Martin swam to the shore. He had a small red-eyed crucian in his beak.
The goose put the fish in front of Niels and said:
We weren't friends at home. But you helped me in trouble, and I want to thank you.
Nils almost rushed to hug Martin. True, he had never tasted raw fish before. What can you do, you have to get used to it! You won't get another dinner.
He dug in his pockets, looking for his folding knife. The knife, as always, lay on the right side, only it became no larger than a pin - however, it was just affordable.
Nils opened the knife and began to gut the fish.
Suddenly there was some noise and splashing. Wild geese came out on the shore, shaking themselves.
“Look, don’t let it slip that you’re human,” Martin whispered to Nils and stepped forward, respectfully greeting the pack.
Now it was possible to have a good look at the whole company. I must admit that they did not shine with beauty, these wild geese. And they didn’t come out tall, and they couldn’t boast of an outfit. They are all gray as if by choice, as if covered with dust - if only someone had one white feather!
And how they walk! Skipping, jumping, they step anywhere, without looking under their feet.
Martin spread his wings in surprise. Is that how decent geese walk? You need to walk slowly, step on your whole paw, keep your head high. And these hobble, as if lame.
In front of everyone was an old, old goose. Well, it was a beauty! The neck is skinny, the bones stick out from under the feathers, and the wings look like someone has bitten them. But her yellow eyes sparkled like two burning coals. All the geese looked at her respectfully, not daring to speak until the goose was the first to say her word.
It was Akka Kebnekaise herself, the leader of the pack. A hundred times already she led the geese from south to north, and a hundred times she returned with them from north to south. Akka Kebnekaise knew every bush, every island in the lake, every clearing in the forest. No one knew how to choose a place to spend the night better than Akka Kebnekaise; no one knew how better than she to hide from cunning enemies who lay in wait for the geese on the way.
Akka looked at Martin for a long time from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail and finally said:
“Our pack cannot take in the first comers. Everyone you see in front of you belongs to the best goose families. You don't even know how to fly properly. What kind of goose are you, what kind and tribe?
“My story is not long,” Martin said sadly. “I was born last year in the town of Swanegholm, and in the autumn I was sold to Holger Nilsson in the neighboring village of Westmenheg. I have lived there until today.
How did you get the courage to fly with us? Akka Kebnekaise asked.
“You called us pitiful chickens, and I decided to prove to you, wild geese, that we, domestic geese, are capable of something,” Martin answered.
- What are you, domestic geese, capable of? Akka Kebnekaise asked again. - We have already seen how you fly, but maybe you are an excellent swimmer?
“And I can’t boast of that,” Martin said sadly. “I have only ever swum in the pond outside the village, but to tell the truth, this pond is only a little bigger than the biggest puddle.
- Well, then you are, right, a master of jumping?
- Jump? No self-respecting domestic goose would allow himself to jump, said Martin.
And suddenly he caught on. He remembered how funny the wild geese jumped, and realized that he had said too much.
Now Martin was sure that Akka Kebnekaise would immediately drive him out of his pack.
But Akka Kebnekaise said:
“I like that you speak so boldly. Who dares, he will be a true comrade. Well, it's never too late to learn what you don't know how to do. If you want, stay with us.
- Really want to! Martin replied. Suddenly Akka Kebnekaise noticed Niels.
“Who else is with you?” I have never seen anyone like him.
Martin hesitated for a minute.
“This is my comrade…” he said uncertainly. Here Niels stepped forward and resolutely declared:
My name is Nils Holgerson. My father, Holger Nilsson, is a peasant, and until today I was a man, but this morning...
He failed to finish. As soon as he uttered the word "man", the geese backed away and, stretching their necks, hissed angrily, cackled, flapped their wings.
“A man has no place among the wild geese,” said the old goose. People were, are and will be our enemies. You must leave the pack immediately.
Now Martin could not stand it and intervened:
But you can't even call him a man! Look how small he is! I guarantee that he will do you no harm. Let him stay at least for one night.
Akka looked searchingly at Niels, then at Martin, and finally said:
- Our grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers bequeathed to us never to trust a person, whether he is small or big. But if you vouch for him, then so be it - today let him stay with us. We spend the night on a large ice floe in the middle of the lake. And tomorrow morning he must leave us.
With these words, she rose into the air. The whole flock followed her.
“Listen, Martin,” Niels asked timidly, “are you going to stay with them?”
- Well, of course! Martin said proudly. “It’s not every day that a domestic goose gets such an honor to fly in the flock of Akki Kebnekaise.
- And what about me? Niels asked again. “There’s no way I can get home alone. Now I'll get lost in the grass, not like in this forest.
“I don’t have time to take you home, you understand,” said Martin. - But here's what I can offer you: we fly with everyone. Let's see what kind of Lapland this is, and then we'll return home. I’ll persuade Akka somehow, but if I don’t persuade, I’ll deceive. You are small now, it is not difficult to hide you. Well, enough talking! Gather dry grass as soon as possible. Yes, more!
When Niels gathered a whole armful of last year's grass, Martin carefully grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and carried him to a large ice floe. The wild geese were already asleep, their heads tucked under their wings.
“Spread the grass,” Martin commanded, “otherwise I don’t have bedding, which is good, my paws will freeze to the ice.”
The litter, although it turned out to be watery (how much Niels could carry away the grass!), But still the ice somehow covered.
Martin stepped on her, grabbed Niels by the collar again and thrust him under his wing.
- Good night! - Martin said and pressed the wing tighter so that Niels would not fall out.
- Good night! Niels said, burying himself in the soft and warm goose down.
The sun has already set. Its last rays were extinguished at the edges of the clouds. Evening darkness was gathering over the land. Flock Akki Kebnekaise twilight overtook on the way.
The geese are tired. With the last of their strength, they flapped their wings. And the old Akka seemed to have forgotten about the rest and flew farther and farther.
Niels peered anxiously into the darkness.
“Did Akka decide to fly all night?”
The sea has already appeared. It was as dark as the sky. Only the crests of the waves, running over each other, gleamed with white foam. And among the waves, Nils made out some strange stone blocks, huge, black.
It was a whole island of stones.
Where are these stones from?
Who posted them here?
Nils remembered how his father told him about a terrible giant. This giant lived in the mountains high above the sea. He was old, and it was often difficult for him to go down steep slopes. Therefore, when he wanted to catch trout, he broke out whole rocks and threw them into the sea. The trout were so frightened that they jumped out of the water in whole flocks. And then the giant went down to the shore to pick up his catch.
Maybe these boulders that stick out of the waves, and sketched a giant.
But why do the fiery points sparkle in the gaps between the boulders? But what if these are the eyes of lurking animals? Surely! Hungry animals roam the island, looking for their prey. They must have noticed the geese and can't wait for the flock to descend on these stones.
So the giant stands on the highest place, raising his hands above his head. Isn't that the one who liked to eat trout? Maybe he is afraid among wild animals. Maybe he is calling the pack for help - that's why he raised his hands?
And from the bottom of the sea, some monsters climb onto the island. Some are thin, sharp-nosed, others are thick, broad-bodied. And they all huddled together, almost crushing each other.
“I wish I could fly past!” thought Niels.
And just at this time, Akka Kebnekaise led the flock down.
No need! No need! This is where we're all lost! Niels shouted.
But Akka did not seem to hear him. She led the pack straight to the stone island.
And suddenly, as if by the wave of a magic wand, everything around changed. Huge boulders have turned into ordinary houses. The eyes of the beasts became street lamps and illuminated windows. And the monsters that besieged the coast of the island were simply ships that stood at the pier.
Niels even laughed. How did he not immediately guess that there was a city below them. After all, this is Karlskrona! City of ships! Here ships rest after long voyages, here they are built, here they are repaired.
The geese landed right on the giant's shoulders with their arms raised. It was a town hall with two tall towers.
At another time, Akka Kebnekaise would never have stopped for the night right next to people. But that evening she had no choice - the geese barely kept on their wings.
However, the roof of the city hall turned out to be a very comfortable place to stay for the night. Along its edge was a wide and deep gutter. It could perfectly hide from prying eyes and drink the water that was preserved from the recent rain. One thing is bad - grass does not grow on city roofs and water beetles are not found.
And yet, the geese did not remain completely hungry. Between the tiles that covered the roof, several bread crusts were stuck - the remnant of a feast of either doves or sparrows. For real geese, this, of course, is not food, but, at worst, you can peck dry bread.
But Nils dined to glory.
Bread crusts, dried by wind and sun, seemed to him even tastier than the rich crackers for which his mother was famous throughout Westmenhög.
True, instead of sugar, they were thickly sprinkled with gray urban dust, but this is not a big deal.
Niels deftly scraped off the dust with his knife and, cutting the crust into small pieces, ate dry bread with pleasure.
While he was working on one crust, the geese had time to eat and drink and get ready for bed. They stretched out in a chain along the bottom of the gutter - tail to beak, beak to tail - then at once tucked their heads under their wings and fell asleep.
But Niels did not want to sleep. He climbed onto Martin's back and, leaning over the edge of the gutter, began to look down. After all, this was the first city he had seen so close since flying with a flock of geese.
The time was late. People have already gone to bed. Only now and then some belated passer-by ran hurriedly, and his steps echoed resoundingly in the quiet, motionless air. Nils followed each passerby with his eyes for a long time, until he disappeared somewhere around the corner.
“Now he will probably come home,” Niels thought sadly. “Happy! If only with one eye to see how people live! .. After all, you yourself won’t have to ... ”
Martin, and Martin, are you sleeping? Nils called his friend.
I'm sleeping, - said Martin. - And you sleep.
Martin, you wait to sleep. I have business for you.
What else?
Listen, Martin, - Niels whispered, - take me downstairs to the street. I'll take a little walk, and you'll get enough sleep and then fly for me. I really want to walk the streets. How do people walk.
Here's another! Only me and worries down and up to fly! And Martin resolutely put his head under the wing.
Martin, don't sleep! Listen to what I tell you. After all, if you were ever a person, you would also want to see real people.
Martin felt sorry for Nils. He stuck his head out from under the wing and said:
Okay, have it your way. Just remember my advice: look at people, but don’t show yourself in their eyes. And then there would be no trouble.
Don't worry! Not a single mouse will see me, ”Nils said cheerfully and even danced on Martin’s back with joy.
Quiet, quiet, you'll break all my feathers! Martin grumbled, spreading his weary wings.
A minute later, Niels was on the ground.
Don't go far! - Martin shouted to him and flew upstairs to fill up the rest of the night.
Selma Lagerlöf
Nils' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese
Chapter I. THE FOREST GNOME
In the small Swedish village of Westmenheg there once lived a boy named Nils. Looks like a boy like a boy.
And there was nothing wrong with him.
In class, 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 was a rope from a door bell.
So he lived until the age of twelve. And then an extraordinary thing happened to him.
That's how it was.
One Sunday my father and mother were going to a fair in a neighboring village. Niels couldn't wait for them to leave.
"Let's go soon! thought Niels, glancing at his father's gun, which hung 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 take care of your mind. Do you hear?
I hear, ”Nils answered, and thought to himself:“ So I will start spending Sunday afternoon on lessons!
Study, son, study, - said the mother.
She even took a textbook from the shelf herself, put it on the table and moved a chair.
And my father counted out ten pages and strictly ordered:
To know everything by heart by the time we return. I'll check it myself.
Finally, the father and mother left.
“They feel good, look how cheerfully they walk! Nils sighed heavily. “And 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 looked 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 outweighed winter. Water ran merrily in the ditches. Buds swelled on the trees. The beech forest spread its branches, stiff in the winter cold, and now stretched upwards, as if it wanted to reach the blue spring sky.
And right under the window, with an important look, chickens walked around, sparrows jumped and fought, geese splashed in muddy puddles. Even the cows locked in the barn sensed the spring and mooed in all voices, as if asking: “Let us out, let us out!”
Niels also wanted to sing, and shout, and spank in the puddles, and fight with the neighbor boys. He turned away from the window in annoyance 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 ... Niels himself did not notice how he fell asleep.
Who knows, maybe Niels would have slept all day if some rustle had not woken him up.
Niels raised his head and became alert.
The mirror that hung over the table reflected the entire room. There is no one but Nils in the room ... Everything seems to be in its place, everything is in order ...
And suddenly Niels almost screamed. Someone opened the lid of the chest!
The mother kept all her jewels in the chest. There were clothes that she wore in her youth - wide skirts made of homespun peasant cloth, bodices embroidered with colored beads; snow-white starched bonnets, silver buckles and chains.
Mother did not allow anyone to open the chest without her, and Niels did not let anyone close to him. And it’s not even worth talking about the fact that she could leave the house without locking the chest! There was no such case. Yes, even today - Nils remembered it very well - his mother returned twice from the threshold to pull the lock - did it click well?
Who opened the chest?
Maybe while Niels was sleeping, a thief got into the house and is now hiding somewhere here, behind the door or behind the closet?
Niels held his breath and, without blinking, peered into the mirror.
What is that shadow over there in the corner of the chest? So she stirred ... Here she crawled along the edge ... A mouse? No, it doesn't look like a mouse...
Niels couldn't believe his eyes. A little man was sitting on the edge of the chest. He seemed to have stepped out of a Sunday picture on the calendar. 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 magnificent bows, and silver buckles gleam on red morocco shoes.
"Yes, it's a gnome! Niels agreed. - A real gnome!
Mother often told Nils about gnomes. They live in the forest. They can speak both human, and bird-like, and animal-like. They know about all the treasures that were buried in the ground even a hundred, even a thousand years ago. If the gnomes want it, flowers will bloom on the snow in winter; if they want it, the rivers will freeze in summer.
Well, there is nothing to be afraid of the gnome. What harm can such a tiny creature do!
In addition, the dwarf did not pay any attention to Nils. He seemed to see nothing, except for a velvet sleeveless jacket embroidered with small river pearls that lay in a chest at the very top.
While the dwarf was admiring the intricate old pattern, Niels was already wondering what kind of trick to play with an amazing guest.
It would be nice to push it into the chest and then slam the lid. And maybe one more thing...
Without turning his head, Niels looked around the room. In the mirror, she was all in front of him at a glance. A coffee pot, a teapot, bowls, pots lined up in strict order on the shelves ... By the window there is a chest of drawers filled with all sorts of things ... But on the wall - next to my father's gun - a net for catching flies. Just what you need!
Niels carefully slipped to the floor and pulled the net off the nail.
One stroke - and the dwarf huddled in the net, like a caught dragonfly.
His wide-brimmed hat was knocked to the side, his legs tangled 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 get up a little, Niels shaking the net, and the dwarf again fell down.
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.
Niels 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, Now he had already grabbed the iron hoop, and his head appeared above the edge of the net ...
Then it occurred to Niels that he had sold cheap. In addition to the gold coin, one could demand that the dwarf teach lessons for him. Yes, you never know what else you can think of! The gnome will now agree to everything! When you sit in a net, you won't argue.
And Niels shook the grid again.
But then suddenly someone gave him such a slap that the net fell out of his hands, and he himself rolled head over heels into a corner.
For a minute Niels 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 Niels. - No, the right cheek is burning, as if it had been walked with an iron. This dwarf so warmed me! Of course, the father and mother will not believe that the dwarf visited us. They will say - all your inventions, so as not to teach lessons. No, no matter how you turn it, you must again sit down at the book!
Niels took two steps and stopped. Something happened to the room. The walls of their small house parted, the ceiling went high up, and the chair on which Nils always sat towered above him with an impregnable mountain. To climb it, Niels had to climb a twisted leg, like a gnarled oak trunk. The book was still on the table, but it was so huge that Niels could not make out 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 just exhausted until he read one phrase.
What is it? So after all, you won’t get to the end of the page by tomorrow! exclaimed Niels, and wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
And suddenly he saw that a tiny little man was looking at him from the mirror - exactly the same as the dwarf who got caught in his net. Only dressed differently: in leather pants, in a vest and in a plaid shirt with large buttons.
Hey you, what do you want here? Niels shouted and threatened the little man with his fist.
The little man also shook his fist at Nils.
Niels put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue. The little man also akimbo and also showed Nils his tongue.
Niels stamped his foot. And the little man stamped his foot.
Nils jumped, twirled like a top, waved his arms, but the little man did not lag behind him. He also jumped, also spun around like a top and waved his arms.
Then Niels sat down on the book and wept 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.
“Maybe this is a dream after all?” thought Niels.
He closed his eyes tightly, then, in order to wake up completely, he pinched himself with all his might and, after waiting a minute, opened his eyes again. No, he didn't sleep. And the hand he pinched really hurt.
Nils crept up to the mirror itself and buried his nose in it. Yes, that's him, Nils. Only he was now no more than a sparrow.
“We need to find a gnome,” Niels decided. “Maybe the dwarf was just joking?”
Selma Lagerlöf fairy tale "Niels' wonderful journey with wild geese"
The main characters of the fairy tale "Nils' wonderful journey with wild geese"
- Niels, a boy of 12 years old, at the beginning of the story is a mischievous and hooligan whom no one loved. In the end, he becomes responsive and kind. During the journey, he helps birds and animals, and everyone loves and praises him.
- Goose Martin, was home, but flew to Lapland, found a bride, returned home and started goslings
- Akka, the leader of the goose flock. Fair and strict, but kind and sympathetic. When he gets to know Nils better, he tries to help him in everything.
- Fox Smirre, cunning and cruel, envious, treacherous, vindictive, chained
- Captured gnome
- Niels is getting smaller
- Flying with Martin
- Fox Smirre
- Niels and the little squirrel
- Nils and rats
- Holiday
- exile fox
- Smirre chasing geese
- Crows and jug
- Smirre on a chain
- Bronze king and wooden boatswain
- Strange underwater city
- Nils in the den
- Nils saves the bears
- Slipper
- Martin in captivity
- Martin met Martha
- In Lapland
- Gorgo and the Mystery of the Owls
- The way back
- Lucky Man and Manuscript
- Home Sweet Home
- Gosling Yuksi
- Farewell to Akka
The shortest content of the fairy tale "Niels' wonderful journey with wild geese" for the reader's diary in 6 sentences
- Nils catches the gnome and becomes small, he flies away with Martin, the white goose
- Niels saves a goose from a fox and is accepted into the flock
- Niels helps a squirrel find a squirrel. drives away the rats, chains the fox and saves the bears.
- Niels ends up in Lapland, and the goose Martin finds a bride and gets goslings.
- Nils learns how to become human, but helps Lucky get the manuscript back.
- Niels returns home and casts a spell over the capricious gosling Yuksi, he becomes a boy and his parents are happy.
The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe fairy tale "The wonderful journey of Niels with wild geese"
Life is beautiful and amazing, like the world around us, but it is given for good deeds.
What does the fairy tale "Nils' wonderful journey with wild geese" teach?
This tale teaches to be kind and honest. It teaches you to sacrifice your interests for the sake of your friends, teaches you not to be afraid of enemies and find a way out in difficult situations. This fairy tale teaches us responsiveness, courage, disinterestedness. Teaches to love nature, teaches that every living being in the world has the right to happiness.
Review of the fairy tale "The Wonderful Journey of Niels with the Wild Geese"
This is a very beautiful and interesting fairy tale, in which the lot of the boy Niels has a lot of dangerous and exciting adventures. From a mischievous and bully, Nils becomes a kind and honest boy, always ready to help a friend. He grows up and understands that the world is beautiful, and a person must take care of it and protect it. I really enjoyed this story and I don't regret reading it at all.
Proverbs to the fairy tale "The wonderful journey of Niels with wild geese"
Life is given for good deeds.
Live for people, people will live for you.
Whoever has not met difficulties in life will not become a real person.
Summary, brief retelling of the fairy tale "Niels' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese" chapter by chapter
1. Forest gnome.
In a Swedish village there lived a boy named Nils, a big prankster and mischievous. When he was 12 years old, his father and mother went to the fair, and Niels was ordered to teach lessons.
Niels read a book for a while and fell asleep. And when I woke up I saw the open lid of the chest and a little dwarf. Niels caught the gnome in a net and he began to ask to be released, promising a gold coin. Niels decided that this was not enough, but suddenly he got a crack and dropped the net.
The room suddenly became very large, and he, Niels, became the size of a sparrow.
Niels goes out into the yard and the chickens begin to pinch him. The cat also refused to help him and nearly ate him.
At this time, wild geese flew past and called domestic geese with them to Lapland. Goose Martin was about to fly, Niels clung to him and ended up in the air.
2. Riding a goose.
Nils was afraid of falling off, but soon got used to flying on a goose. He began to ask Martin to turn home, but he threatened to throw Niels off.
Soon Martin began to get tired, but Akka, the leader of the swans, did not stop. Martin began to fall and caught on the willow. On it he rested and with renewed vigor flew after the wild geese. Martin caught up with the pack.
The geese landed near the lake, but Martin was too tired to reach the water. Niels reached him and Martin, having drunk, came to his senses. He brought a carp to Nils and thanked him for his help.
Akka questioned Martin and allowed him to fly with the wild geese, she liked the courage of the goose. But she demanded that Niels not be.
Martin decided to secretly carry Nils.
3. Night thief.
At night, the fox Smirre crept up to the geese and dragged one goose. Nils rushed after him and grabbed the fox by the tail. Smirre released the goose and wanted to recoup Niels. Niels climbed a tree and laughed at the fox from there. The geese began to tease the fox, and he, trying to catch them, was completely exhausted. Martin removed Niels from the tree and the geese flew on.
4. New friends and new enemies
Niels flew along with the geese. He had to eat nuts, and once he was attacked by ants. The ants bit Nils badly and he fell ill. Martin and Akka looked after him.
One day Martin brought nuts to Niels from Sirle's squirrel, Niels decided to go to the squirrel and thank her. Magpie wanted to show Nils the way, but led him into the thicket and flew away.
Nils finds a squirrel's nest and learns that one squirrel is missing. Nils finds the squirrel and returns it to Sirla. He is praised by forest birds.
5. Magic pipe
A flock of geese sits near a stream near Glimmengen Castle. The stork Ermenrich comes to visit the geese. The stork tells about the rats that attack the castle. Nils agrees to help and flies with the stork and Akka.
The rats surrounded the castle, but Nils played his pipe and led the rats into the water. The magic pipe, which all animals obey, was brought by an owl, to whom the forest gnome gave it.
Niels was known as a fearless rat slayer.
6. Holiday on the mountain Kulaberg
Niels is taken to the festival of birds and animals, which was not a single person. Birds flew in whole clouds. Among the animals was the fox Smirre, who wanted to catch the wild goose of their flock, but the sparrows warned the geese. Smirre killed a sparrow and all the animals and birds judged him. Smirre was expelled from the pack and the tip of his ear was bitten off.
Nils hears the conversation of owls and learns that there is a way to become a man.
7. Chase.
Geese fly north in the rain. The fox Smyrre follows the geese. Once he persuades the marten to attack the geese, but the geese fly away, and the marten says that the white goose threw a stone at her. Again Smirre catches up with the geese and persuades the otter, but the otter returns with a thorn in its paw.
Smirre demands to give him Niels, but Akka refuses, and the fox promises to pursue the pack to the end.
8. Crows from the robber mountain
Smirre meets old friends - ravens who cannot open the jar. Smirre says that there is silver in the jar and invites the ravens to kidnap Niels.
The crows steal Nils, but Nils manages to shout to the starlings that he was dragged away by the crows.
Niels opens a jar of coins to the crows and the chieftain of the raven Fumle-Drumle takes it to the village so that it does not get to Smirra.
Nils hides from the fox under the feet of the peasants, who kick the fox, mistaking it for a dog. then Niels hides in a doghouse. The dog knocks down Smirre and Nils puts a collar on the fox.
Geese fly in and laugh when they learn that Nils put the fox on a chain
9. Bronze and wooden.
The geese stopped for the night in the city. Nils wants to see people. Nils teases the bronze statue and she follows him. Niels runs away from the bronze man and sees a wooden man. Nils gives the wooden coin and he hides Niels in his hat.
Bronze reveals himself to be the king and tells the wooden boatswain to follow him. They go to the shipyard and salute the old ship by removing their hats. The bronze one sees Nils and, in a rage, smashes the wooden one.
Niels makes a monument to the wooden one and returns to the geese.
10. Underwater city
Geese flew over the sea. The geese wait out the storm on the waves and almost get caught by the seals.
Niels throws a coin into the sea, but it falls on the sand. Nils runs after the coin and ends up in the city. All the inhabitants of the city looked at the tower clock. Merchants drag Nils with a variety of goods and ask for only one coin. Nils remembers that the coin was left on the shore, runs to it and the city disappears.
Nils is found by geese. Akka tells the story of a city whose inhabitants were very greedy and sank all the ships so as not to show the way to their city. For this, the sea king became angry with them and flooded the city. Once a century, the city rises for an hour, and if any stranger enters the city and buys something, the curse will be lifted.
11. In the bear's lair
Nils fell off Martin and fell into the bear's lair. The bear cubs are playing with Niels and have completely tortured him. Then they go to bed and Niels falls asleep too. At night, a bear comes and wants to eat a man, but the she-bear stands up for Nils.
When the bears fall asleep, Nils runs away. He meets the hunters and learns that they are going to the lair. Nils returns and warns the bears. The bear takes his family away and, having learned that Nils is the one who travels with the geese, decides to help him. He calls the raven Fumle-Drumle, and he takes Nils to the wild geese.
12. Captured
Niels slipper falls and he and Martin go down after him. But the slipper is found by Oos and Mats, a boy and a girl. They decide to try on a slipper for their cat. Martin pulls out his slipper, but Mats catches Martin and calls him Marty.
The hostess sees that it is a strange goose and carries it into the house. Niels enters the house and cuts the ropes. Martin runs away, but the hostess grabs him. Niels pricked the hostess with a knife and she released Martin in amazement.
13. Goose country
Martin and Niels stop to rest and Nils meets the goose Martha. Martin and Nils offer Martha to fly with them. They catch up with the flock and end up in Lapland. Akka greets Nils, who tells about the bride for Martin.
More and more geese fly around, and Niels builds a house for himself with the help of swallows.
Martin and Marta have goslings
14. Adopted.
Eagle Gorgo flies to the geese. He says that Akka's friends are his friends. When the eagle flies away Akka tells his story.
When Gorgo was a chick he lost his parents and Akka fed him. Gorgo grew up with geese and considered himself a goose. But everyone around him was afraid and Akka told Gorgo the truth about his birth. Gorgo stayed in Lapland.
15. The secret of owls.
Akka shows Nils Lapland, and he, seeing the snow on the mountains, remembers about the troll who wanted to build a house on the top of the mountain and froze.
Niels sees plagues and locals.
Niels tells Akka about the conversation of owls and she promises to find out the secret of how Niels can become a man again.
After three Akka calls Nils and he sees an eagle next to the goose. It turns out that the eagle flew to the castle and made friends with the owls. The eagle tells Niels about how to become a man and forces him to learn the spell.
16. Lucky and unlucky
Geese say goodbye to Lapland and head south. Raven Fumle-Drumle tells Nils that he has found someone who wants to switch places with him. He brings Niels to the young man's house.
Two students lived in Uppsala - Lucky and Loser.
Loser brought Lucky his manuscript. the manuscript was so interesting that Lucky forgot about the exam, and when he jumped up, the wind carried away all the sheets. On the exam, Lucky received a deuce and did not know how to tell Lucky about the lost manuscript. Lucky agrees to trade places with Niels to be carried by birds.
Niels casts a spell, but stops. He, along with the raven, collects the manuscript and returns it to Lucky.
17. At home.
Niels returns home and sees his parents sadly wondering where their son is.
Nils says goodbye to Martin. But the little goose Yuksi does not want to fly and says that she dreams of being like Niels. Then Niels casts a spell and Yuksi becomes the size of a sparrow. And Niels becomes a boy again. Parents are happy.
Niels ceases to understand the geese, he goes to say goodbye to Akka. Akka hugs the boy and the geese fly away.
Nils began to go to school again and is now studying for five.
Signs of a fairy tale in the fairy tale "Nils' wonderful journey with wild geese"
- Magical creature - gnome
- Fabulous transformations - Niels becomes small, and then big again.
