The Wonderful Adventures of Nils 1732 Studios

Swedish · The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Ölands södra udde

Öland's Southern Tip

175 sentences · 15 notes

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  1. 1

    On the southernmost tip of Öland lies an old royal estate called Ottenby.

    Påonpå · prepositionpreposition marking delen
    denaen · determiner, common gender, singulardeterminer of delen
    sydligastesouthernmostsydlig · adjective, nominative, superlativemodifies delen
    delenpartdel · noun, nominative, common gender, singularoblique complement of ligger
    avofav · prepositionpreposition marking Öland
    ÖlandÖlandÖland · proper noun, nominativemodifies delen
    liggerliesligga · verb, present, indicative, activemain verb of the sentence
    enaen · determiner, common gender, singulardeterminer of kungsgård
    gammaloldgammal · adjective, nominative, common gender, singularmodifies kungsgård
    kungsgårdroyal estatekungsgård · noun, nominative, common gender, singularsubject of ligger
    somthatsom · pronounsubject of heter

    Three of this key's four examples ('som om far skulle...', 'för just som han stod...', 'som de är borta') are actually the conjunctive 'as'/'while' use, not the relative pronoun 'that/which' shown by 'länstolen, som blev köpt...'. The glosser's original senses list (that/who/which) omitted the dominant 'as' reading entirely.

    heteris calledheta · verb, present, indicative, activerelative clause on kungsgård
    OttenbyOttenbyOttenby · proper noun, nominativedirect object of heter

  2. It is a rather large property, stretching straight across the island from shore to shore, and it is remarkable because it has always been a haunt for great herds of animals.

  3. In the sixteen-hundreds, when the kings used to cross over to Öland to hunt, the whole estate was nothing but a great deer park.

  4. In the seventeen-hundreds there was a stud farm there, where noble purebred horses were raised, and a sheepfold, where several hundred sheep were kept.

  5. In our own day there are at Ottenby neither thoroughbred horses nor sheep.

  6. In their place there now live great troops of young horses, destined for our cavalry regiments.

  7. 2

    Surely there is no farm in the whole country that could be a better home for animals.

  8. Along the eastern coast lies the old sheepfold meadow, a quarter of a mile long, the largest meadow on all of Öland, where the animals can graze and play and tumble about as freely as in the wilderness.

  9. And there is the famous Ottenby grove with its hundred-year-old oaks, which give shade from the sun and shelter from the harsh Öland wind.

  10. And one must not forget the long Ottenby wall, which runs from shore to shore and separates Ottenby from the rest of the island, so that the animals can know how far the old royal estate extends and take care not to stray onto other ground, where they are not so well protected.

  11. 3

    But it is not enough that there are plenty of tame animals at Ottenby.

  12. One might almost believe that the wild ones too had a feeling that on an old crown estate both wild and tame ought to be able to count on favor and protection, and that this is why they venture there in such great numbers.

  13. Besides the fact that deer of the old stock still remain there, and that hares and shelducks and partridges love to live there, in spring and late summer it also serves as a resting place for many thousands of migratory birds.

  14. Above all it is on the marshy eastern shore below the sheepfold meadow that the migratory birds settle down to feed and rest.

  15. 4

    When the wild geese and Nils Holgersson had finally found their way to Öland, they, like all the others, came down on the shore below the sheepfold meadow.

  16. The fog lay thick over the island, just as it had before over the sea.

  17. But the boy was still astonished at all the birds he could make out on just the small stretch of shore he was able to see.

  18. 5

    It was a low sandy beach with stones and puddles and a great deal of washed-up seaweed.

  19. If the boy had been given the choice, he would surely never have thought of landing there, but the birds evidently considered it a real paradise.

  20. Ducks and gray geese walked about grazing on the meadow, while closer to the water sandpipers and other shorebirds ran to and fro.

  21. The loons lay out in the sea fishing, but the most life and movement was on the long seaweed banks off the coast.

  22. There the birds stood close together, picking up larvae, which must have existed in boundless quantity, for there was never any sign of complaint about a lack of food.

  23. 6

    Most of them were only traveling on and had landed just to rest, and as soon as the leader of a flock thought his companions had refreshed themselves enough, he would say: "If you're ready now, then let's be off."

  24. 7

    "No, wait, wait!"

  25. We're nowhere near full yet," said the followers.

  26. 8

    "You surely don't think I intend to let you eat so much that you can't move?" said the leader, and with a clap of his wings he set off.

  27. But it happened more than once that he had to turn back, because he could not persuade the others to follow along.

  28. 9

    Beyond the outermost seaweed banks lay a flock of swans.

  29. They did not bother going ashore, but rested by lying and rocking on the water.

  30. Now and then they dove down with their necks and brought up food from the sea bottom.

  31. When they had gotten hold of something really good, they let out loud cries that sounded like trumpet blasts.

  32. 10

    When the boy heard that there were swans on the shoal, he hurried out onto the seaweed banks.

  33. He had never seen a wild swan up close before.

  34. He had luck with him, so that he got right up close to them.

  35. 11

    The boy was not the only one who had heard the swans.

  36. Both wild geese and gray geese and ducks and loons swam out among the banks, laid themselves in a ring around the flock of swans, and stared at it.

  37. The swans puffed up their feathers, raised their wings like sails, and lifted their necks high in the air.

  38. Now and then one or another of them would swim over to a goose or a great loon or a diving duck and say a couple of words.

  39. And then it seemed as though the one addressed hardly dared to lift its bill to answer.

  40. 12

    But then there was a red-throated loon, a little black rascal, who could not stand all this solemnity.

  41. He dove all at once and vanished beneath the surface of the water.

  42. Right after, one of the swans let out a shriek and swam away so quickly that the water foamed.

  43. Then it stopped and once again began to look majestic.

  44. But soon another shrieked in the same way as the first, and then a third shrieked too.

  45. 13

    Now the little loon could no longer stay under the water, and he showed himself on the surface, small and black and mischievous.

  46. The swans rushed at him, but when they saw what a poor little wretch it was, they turned sharply away, as though they thought themselves too fine to quarrel with him.

  47. Then the little loon dove again and nipped them in the feet.

  48. It surely hurt, and the worst of it was that they could not maintain their dignity.

  49. All at once they took matters into their own hands.

  50. They began to thrash the air with their wings so that it thundered, sped along a long stretch as if running on the water, finally got air under their wings, and rose.

  51. 14

    When the swans were gone, they were greatly missed, and those who had earlier laughed at the little loon's prank now blamed him for his impudence.

  52. 15

    The boy walked back inland again.

  53. There he stood watching the sandpipers at play.

  54. They resembled tiny little cranes, having like them small bodies, tall legs, long necks, and light, floating movements, but they were not gray, only brown.

  55. They stood in a long row on the shore, where it was washed by the waves.

  56. As soon as a wave rushed in, the whole row ran backward.

  57. As soon as it was sucked back out, they followed after.

  58. And so they kept at it for hours.

  59. 16

    The handsomest of all the birds were the shelducks.

  60. They were surely kin to ordinary ducks, for like them they had a heavy, thickset body, a broad bill, and webbed feet, but they were far more splendidly arrayed.

  61. The plumage itself was white, around the neck they wore a broad yellow band, the wing patch gleamed in green, red, and black, the wingtips were black, and the head was blackish-green and shimmered like silk.

  62. 17

    As soon as a few of them showed themselves on the shore, the other birds said: "Look at those!

  63. They certainly know how to dress themselves up."

  64. — "If they weren't so fine, they wouldn't have to dig their nests down in the ground, but could lie out in the open like anyone else," said a brown mallard hen.

  65. — "They can try as hard as they like, but they can never make anything of themselves with a nose like that," said a gray goose.

  66. And this was really true.

  67. The shelducks had a large knob at the base of the bill, which spoiled their looks.

  68. 18

    Out beyond the shore, gulls and terns skimmed over the water, fishing.

  69. "What kind of fish are you catching?" asked a wild goose.

  70. — "It's stickleback.

  71. It's Öland stickleback.

  72. It's the best stickleback in the world," said a gull.

  73. "Won't you try some?"

  74. And he flew toward the goose with his mouth full of the little fish, wanting to give her some.

  75. "Ugh, no!

  76. Do you think I want to eat such nastiness?" said the wild goose.

  77. 19

    The next morning it was still just as foggy.

  78. The wild geese went about the meadow grazing, but the boy had gone down to the shore to gather mussels.

  79. There were plenty of them, and when he thought that the next day he might be somewhere he could get no food at all, he decided he would try to make himself a little pouch that he could fill up with mussels.

  80. He found old sedge grass in the meadow, which was tough and strong, and from it he began to weave himself a knapsack.

  81. This kept him busy for several hours, but he was also really pleased with it once it was finished.

  82. 20

    At midday all the wild geese came running and asked if he had seen the white gander.

  83. "No, he hasn't been with me," said the boy.

  84. — "We had him with us right up until just recently," said Akka, "but now we don't know anymore where he is."

  85. 21

    The boy jumped up and grew terribly afraid.

  86. He asked whether any fox or eagle had shown itself, or whether any human had been seen nearby.

  87. But no one had been able to notice anything dangerous.

  88. The gander had surely just gone astray in the fog.

  89. 22

    But it was just as great a misfortune for the boy, however the white one had gotten lost, and he set off at once to search for him.

  90. The fog protected him, so that he could run about unseen wherever he liked, but it also kept him from seeing.

  91. He ran southward along the coast all the way down to the lighthouse and the fog cannon on the island's outermost point.

  92. Everywhere it was the same swarm of birds, but no gander.

  93. He ventured up to the Ottenby manor, and he searched through every single one of the old hollow oaks in the Ottenby grove, but he did not find any trace of the gander.

  94. 23

    He searched until it began to grow dark.

  95. Then he had to make his way back to the eastern shore.

  96. He walked with heavy steps and was dreadfully gloomy in spirit.

  97. He did not know what would become of him if he could not find the gander.

  98. There was no one he could less afford to lose.

  99. 24

    But as he wandered across the sheepfold meadow, what should come toward him through the fog, big and white, but the gander?

  100. He was completely unharmed and very glad that he had finally been able to find his way back to the others.

  101. The fog had made him so dizzy, he said, that he had wandered around the big meadow the whole day.

  102. In his joy the boy threw his arms around the gander's neck and begged him to take care and not stray from the others.

  103. And this he promised faithfully he would never do again.

  104. No, never again.

  105. 25

    But the next morning, as the boy was down on the shore looking for mussels, the geese came running and asked if he had seen anything of the gander.

  106. 26

    No, he certainly had not.

  107. Well then, the gander was gone again.

  108. He had gone astray in the fog the same way as the day before.

  109. 27

    The boy ran off in great alarm and began to search.

  110. He found a spot where the Ottenby wall had crumbled so much that he could climb over it.

  111. Then he wandered about both down on the shore, which gradually widened and grew so large that there was room for fields and meadows and farmsteads, and up on the flat highland that occupied the middle of the island, where there were no buildings but windmills, and where the plant cover was so thin that the white limestone shone through beneath it.

  112. 28

    The gander, however, he could not find, and as evening drew near and the boy had to turn back to the shore, he could not help but believe his traveling companion was lost.

  113. He was so downcast that he did not know what to do with himself.

  114. 29

    He had already climbed back over the wall when he heard a stone tumble down close beside him.

  115. When he turned to see what it was, he thought he could make out something moving in a heap of stones that lay right up against the wall.

  116. He crept closer and then saw the white gander come laboriously climbing up the stone heap with several long root strands in his beak.

  117. The gander did not see the boy, and the boy did not call out to him, but thought it best first to find out why the gander kept disappearing like this again and again.

  118. 30

    He soon learned the reason too.

  119. Up in the stone heap lay a young gray goose, who cried out with joy when the gander arrived.

  120. The boy crept closer, so that he heard what they said, and then learned that the gray goose was injured in one wing, so that she could not fly, and that her flock had traveled on without her and left her alone.

  121. She had come close to dying of hunger when the white gander, the day before, had happened to hear her cries and sought her out.

  122. Ever since, he had kept on bringing food to her.

  123. The two of them had hoped she would recover before he left the island, but she still could neither fly nor walk.

  124. She was very grieved about this, but he comforted her by saying he would not be leaving for a long while yet.

  125. At last he bid her goodnight and promised he would come back the next day.

  126. 31

    The boy let the gander go, and as soon as he was gone, he in turn crept up into the stone heap.

  127. He was angry at having been fooled, and now he wanted to tell that gray goose that the gander was his own.

  128. He was to carry the boy up to Lapland, and there could be no question of his staying here for her sake.

  129. But now that he saw the young goose up close, he understood both why the gander had gone and carried food to her for two days, and why he had not wanted to speak of helping her.

  130. She had the loveliest little head, her plumage was like soft silk, and her eyes were gentle and pleading.

  131. 32

    When she caught sight of the boy, she wanted to run away.

  132. But her left wing was out of joint and dragged along the ground, hindering all her movements.

  133. 33

    "You mustn't be afraid of me," said the boy, and he did not look nearly as angry as he had intended to seem.

  134. "I am Thumbietot, Morten Gander's traveling companion," he went on.

  135. And then he just stood there, not knowing what he wanted to say.

  136. 34

    There can sometimes be something about animals that makes one wonder what sort of creatures they really are.

  137. One almost feels afraid that they might be transformed humans.

  138. There was something like that about the gray goose.

  139. As soon as Thumbietot said who he was, she lowered her neck and head most gracefully before him and said, in a voice so beautiful that the boy could not believe it was a goose speaking: "I am very glad that you have come here to help me.

  140. The white gander has told me that no one is as wise and as good as you."

  141. 35

    She said this with such dignity that the boy grew quite shy.

  142. "This surely cannot be just any bird," he thought.

  143. "It must be an enchanted princess."

  144. 36

    He felt a great urge to help her, and he slipped his small hands in under the feathers and felt along the wing bone.

  145. The bone was not broken, but there was something wrong with the joint.

  146. He got his finger down into an empty joint socket.

  147. "Now hold still!" he said, took a firm grip on the bone, and set it back where it belonged.

  148. He did it quite quickly and well for a first attempt at such a thing, but it must have hurt terribly, for the poor young goose let out a single shrill scream, and then sank down among the stones without giving any further sign of life.

  149. 37

    The boy was terribly frightened.

  150. He had wanted to help her, but now she was dead.

  151. He took a long leap down from the stone heap and ran off.

  152. It seemed to him as if he had killed a human being.

  153. 38

    The next morning it was clear and free of fog, and Akka said that now they would continue the journey.

  154. All the others were willing to go, but the white gander raised objections.

  155. The boy well understood that he did not want to leave the gray goose.

  156. But Akka would not listen to him, and set off regardless.

  157. 39

    The boy ran up onto the gander's back, and the white one followed the flock, though slowly and unwillingly.

  158. The boy was truly glad that they got to leave the island.

  159. He had pangs of conscience over the gray goose, and had not wanted to tell the gander how things had gone when he had tried to cure her.

  160. It would probably be best, he thought, if Morten Gander never found this out.

  161. At the same time he wondered that the white one had the heart to leave the gray goose behind.

  162. 40

    But suddenly the gander turned back.

  163. The thought of the young goose had become too much for him.

  164. Let the journey to Lapland go however it would.

  165. He could not go on with the others, knowing that she lay there alone and sick and would starve to death.

  166. 41

    With a few beats of his wings he was back at the stone heap.

  167. But then there was no young gray goose lying among the stones.

  168. "Dunfin!

  169. Dunfin!

  170. Where are you?" asked the gander.

  171. 42

    "The fox has surely gotten to her and taken her," thought the boy.

  172. But at that very moment he heard a lovely voice answer the gander: "I'm here, gander, I'm here!

  173. I've only taken myself a morning bath."

  174. And up out of the water came the little gray goose, sound and well, and she told them that Thumbietot had set her wing back in joint, and that she was completely well and ready to join the journey.

  175. 43

    The drops of water lay like scattered pearls on her silken-sheened feathers, and Thumbietot thought once again that she was a real little princess.

The particulars

The text
Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, Selma Lagerlöf. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils.
Translation
Public-domain Swedish (Lagerlöf, d. 1940; published 1906–07). English translation © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.
Words
Every word of the text, by letter.
Data
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Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.