# The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, The Journey to Vemmenhög

Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige · Selma Lagerlöf · The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/nils/ch53. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/nils/ch53.json.


En dag i början av november flögo vildgässen över Hallandsås in i Skåne.  
One day at the beginning of November the wild geese flew over Hallandsås into Skåne.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: Pre-1906-reform Swedish still marked verbs for a plural subject: «flögo» is the old plural preterite of «flög» ('flew'), used because «vildgässen» ('the wild geese') is plural. Modern Swedish would simply write «flög» for both singular and plural.
> A real Swedish ridge: «Hallandsås» is the wooded ridge that runs along the border between Halland and Skåne — the last high ground before the flat southern plains the geese are about to cross.
De hade under några veckor uppehållit sig på de vida slätterna omkring Falköping, och som flera andra stora vildgåsflockar också hade vistats där, hade de haft en glad tid med mycket samspråk mellan de gamla fåglarna och mycken tävlan i allt slags idrott mellan de unga.  
They had spent a few weeks lingering on the broad plains around Falköping, and since several other large flocks of wild geese had also been staying there, they had had a merry time, with much talk among the old birds and much competing in every kind of sport among the young ones.

Vad Nils Holgersson beträffar, så hade han inte varit glad åt det långa dröjsmålet i Västergötland.  
As for Nils Holgersson, he had not been happy about the long delay in Västergötland.
Han försökte att hålla modet uppe, men han hade svårt att förlika sig med sitt öde.  
He tried to keep his spirits up, but he found it hard to make peace with his fate.
> Reflexive «sig»: «förlika sig med» = 'to reconcile oneself to / make peace with'. The reflexive pronoun «sig» ('oneself') shows the action folds back onto the subject — Nils is the one being reconciled to his own fate.
»Om jag väl hade lämnat Skåne bakom mig och vore i utlandet,» tänkte han, »så visste jag, att jag inte hade något att hoppas på, och då skulle jag känna mig lugnare.»  
"If only I had left Skåne behind me and were abroad," he thought, "then I would know I had nothing to hope for, and then I would feel calmer."
> "Abroad" — from Skåne's point of view: «Utlandet» literally means 'the out-land', i.e. 'abroad, foreign countries'. Nils uses it here for anywhere past Skåne, the southernmost province — once he crosses it, home is truly behind him.

Så hade vildgässen äntligen brutit upp en morgon och flugit neråt Halland.  
So the wild geese had finally broken camp one morning and flown down toward Halland.
> A particle verb: «bryta upp» ('break' + 'up') means 'to break camp, set off'. Like English phrasal verbs, the particle «upp» changes the plain verb «bryta» ('to break') into a fixed idiom for departing.
Pojken hade till en början inte funnit något särdeles nöje i att titta på det landskapet.  
At first the boy had not found any particular pleasure in looking at that landscape.
Han tyckte, att det inte var något nytt att se där.  
He felt there was nothing new to see there.
> «tycka» — to hold an opinion: «tycka» means 'to think, feel, find' in the sense of a subjective opinion (contrast «tro», 'to believe/suppose', and «tänka», 'to think' as a mental process). «Han tyckte, att...» = 'he felt that...'.
I östra delen var det höglänt med stora ljunghedar, som påminde om Småland, och längre mot väster var det täckt med runda, kala bergkullar och sönderskuret av vikar ungefär på samma sätt som Bohuslän.  
In the eastern part it was hilly, with great heather moors that reminded him of Småland, and further west it was covered with round, bare hills and cut through with inlets, much the same way as Bohuslän.
> Heather moorland: «Ljunghed» (plural «ljunghedar») is a heath or moor overgrown with «ljung», common heather — the low, purple-flowering shrub typical of Sweden's poorer, sandy uplands.

Men när vildgässen fortsatte resan söderut längs det smala kustlandskapet, hade pojken suttit och hängt ut över gåshalsen och inte lyft ögonen från marken.  
But when the wild geese continued their journey southward along the narrow coastal country, the boy had sat leaning out over the goose's neck, never lifting his eyes from the ground.
Han såg hur kullarna glesnade och slätten bredde ut sig.  
He saw how the hills thinned out and the plain spread wide.
På samma gång märkte han, att kusten blev mindre söndertrasad.  
At the same time he noticed that the coast became less ragged.
Skärgården utanför den glesnade och försvann, och det vida, öppna havet kom ända fram till fastlandet.  
The skerries offshore thinned out and vanished, and the wide, open sea came right up to the mainland.
> Skerries: «Skärgård» (here in its definite form «skärgården») names the belt of small rocky islands that fringes much of Sweden's coast. Its thinning out signals to the boy that he is leaving the rocky west and north behind.

Och så upphörde skogen.  
And then the forest came to an end.
Det hade ju funnits många sköna slätter högre uppåt landet, men de hade alla legat inramade av träd.  
There had, of course, been many fine plains further up the country, but they had all lain framed by trees.
Skogen hade funnits överallt.  
The forest had been everywhere.
> Pluperfect with «finnas»: «hade funnits» is the pluperfect of the s-form verb «finnas» ('to exist, be found'): 'had existed'. Lagerlöf uses this past-of-the-past tense to set the scene as it used to be, before the plain the boy now sees.
Det var, som om landet egentligen tillhörde träden, och den odlade jorden hade legat som stora röjningar i skogen.  
It was as if the land really belonged to the trees, and the cultivated ground had lain like great clearings in the forest.
> Forest clearings: A «röjning» is a clearing hacked out of woodland for farming — from «röja», 'to clear'. The image casts farmland as a borrowed patch inside the forest's true domain.
Och på alla slätter hade det funnits gott om dungar och hagar, liksom för att det skulle synas, att skogen när som helst kunde återta landet.  
And on every plain there had been plenty of groves and pastures, as if to show that the forest could reclaim the land at any moment.

Men här var det annorlunda.  
But here it was different.
Här hade slättmarken tagit herraväldet.  
Here the flatland had taken the upper hand.
> Mastery, dominion: «Herravälde» ('lord-rule') means 'mastery, dominion, supremacy'. To say the plain «tagit herraväldet» is to say it has seized total command of the land — no forest left to contest it.
Den bredde ut sig ända bort till synranden.  
It spread out all the way to the horizon.
> The horizon: «Synranden» ('sight's edge') is a literary word for the horizon, from «syn» ('sight') + «rand» ('edge, rim'). It is more poetic than the everyday «horisonten».
Det fanns stora skogsplanteringar, men ingen vildskog.  
There were large forest plantations, but no wild forest.
Just detta, att landet låg så öppet med åker vid åker, gjorde, att det påminde pojken om Skåne.  
Just this — that the land lay so open, with field after field — was what made it remind the boy of Skåne.
Den nakna kusten med sandfält och tångvallar tyckte han sig också känna igen.  
The bare coast with its sand flats and ridges of seaweed, too, he felt he recognized.
Han blev både glad och ängslig, när han såg detta.  
He grew both glad and anxious when he saw this.
»Nu kan jag inte vara långt hemifrån,» tänkte han.  
"Now I can't be far from home," he thought.

Landskapet förändrade sig nog.  
The landscape did keep changing, it's true.
Åar kommo brusande ner från Västergötland och Småland och bröto slättens enformighet.  
Rivers came rushing down from Västergötland and Småland and broke the plain's monotony.
> Archaic plural verbs — register flag: «kommo» and «bröto» are the old plural preterites of «kom» ('came') and «bröt» ('broke'), triggered by the plural subject «åar» ('rivers'). Modern Swedish drops this agreement entirely and would use «kom» and «bröt» regardless of number.
Sjöar, mossar, ljunghedar och flygsandsfält lade sig i vägen för åkrarna, men dessa bredde ändå ut sig allt vidare, ända tills Hallandsås reste sig nere vid Skånegränsen med sina vackra klyftor och dalgångar.  
Lakes, bogs, heather moors, and drifting sand fields got in the way of the fields, but these still spread ever wider, all the way until Hallandsås rose down by the Skåne border with its beautiful ravines and valleys.
> Drift-sand fields: «Flygsand» is loose, wind-blown sand that shifts and 'flies' across open ground — a real hazard on Sweden's sandy heaths, here forming whole «fält» ('fields') of it.
— —  
— —

Det hade hänt flera gånger under resan, att unggässen hade frågat dem, som voro gamla i flocken: »Hur ser det ut i utlandet? Hur ser det ut i utlandet?»  
It had happened several times during the journey that the young geese had asked those who were old in the flock, "What does it look like abroad? What does it look like abroad?"
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «voro» is the old plural preterite of «var» ('were'), used because the subject «dem, som... i flocken» is plural (the old geese). Modern Swedish would use «var» for both singular and plural.

»Vänta, vänta! Det ska ni snart få veta,» hade då de svarat, som hade farit uppåt och neråt landet många gånger.  
"Wait, wait! You'll soon find that out," those who had traveled up and down the country many times had answered.

När unggässen hade sett Värmlands långa skogsåsar och de blanka sjöarna mellan dem eller Bohusläns klippvärld eller Västergötlands vackra småberg, hade de undrat och frågat: »Ser hela världen ut på det här sättet? Ser hela världen ut på det här sättet?»  
When the young geese had seen Värmland's long forest ridges and the shining lakes between them, or Bohuslän's world of cliffs, or Västergötland's lovely little hills, they had wondered and asked, "Does the whole world look like this? Does the whole world look like this?"
> A world of cliffs: «Klippvärld» ('cliff-world') is a compound Lagerlöf coins for Bohuslän's rugged, rock-cut coastline — one of the many landscapes the geese, and the reader, are shown across Sweden's provinces, or «landskap».

»Vänta, vänta! Ni ska snart få veta hur det ser ut i en god del av världen,» hade de gamla svarat.  
"Wait, wait! You'll soon find out what a good part of the world looks like," the old ones had answered.

När vildgässen hade rest över Hallandsås och kommit ett stycke framåt Skåne, ropade Akka: »Titta nu ner! Se er omkring! Så här ser det ut i utlandet.»  
When the wild geese had crossed Hallandsås and come some way into Skåne, Akka called out, "Look down now! Look around you! This is what it looks like abroad."
> Akka from Kebnekaise: Akka is the wise old lead goose of the wild-goose flock Nils travels with — named for Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain. Her word is law on the journey.

Just då foro de över Söderåsen.  
Just then they were flying over Söderåsen.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «foro» is the old plural preterite of «for» ('went, traveled'), agreeing with the plural subject «de» ('they', the geese). Modern Swedish uses «for» for singular and plural alike.
> A real ridge in Skåne: «Söderåsen» is a long, beech-forested ridge in central Skåne, still a national park today — the wooded highland the geese are about to fly across.
Hela den långa höjden var klädd med bokskogar, och i skogarna voro inbäddade sköna, tornprydda slott.  
The whole long height was clothed in beech forests, and embedded in the forests were beautiful, turreted castles.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «voro» is the old plural preterite of «var» ('were'), agreeing with the plural subject «sköna, tornprydda slott» ('beautiful, turreted castles').
Mellan träden betade rådjur, och på skogsängarna lekte harar.  
Between the trees roe deer grazed, and in the forest meadows hares played.
> V2 word order: Swedish keeps the finite verb in second position even when the sentence opens with something other than the subject: here the adverbial «mellan träden» ('between the trees') is fronted, so the verb «betade» ('grazed') comes next, and the subject «rådjur» ('roe deer') is pushed after it.
Jakthorn ljödo ur skogarna, hundarnas vassa skall hördes upp till den flygande skaran.  
Hunting horns sounded from the forests, and the dogs' sharp barking was heard all the way up to the flying flock.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «ljödo» is the old plural preterite of «ljöd» ('sounded'), agreeing with the plural subject «jakthorn» ('hunting horns').
Breda vägar slingrade mellan träden, och på dem kommo herrar och damer åkande i blänkande vagnar eller ridande på präktiga hästar.  
Broad roads wound between the trees, and along them came gentlemen and ladies riding in gleaming carriages or on splendid horses.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «kommo» is the old plural preterite of «kom» ('came'), agreeing with the plural subject «herrar och damer» ('gentlemen and ladies').
Ringsjön utbredde sig under höjden med det gamla Bosjökloster liggande på ett smalt näs.  
Ringsjön spread out below the height, with the old Bosjökloster lying on a narrow spit of land.
> A real medieval convent: «Bosjökloster» is a medieval convent-turned-manor on a peninsula in Ringsjön, one of Skåne's larger lakes — a real, still-standing landmark Lagerlöf places the geese directly over.
Skäralids klyfta skar genom åsen med en å i djupet och klippväggarna klädda med buskar och träd.  
Skäralid's ravine cut through the ridge, with a stream in its depths and its rock walls clothed in bushes and trees.
> A real gorge on Söderåsen: «Skäralid» is a dramatic, steep-sided gorge cut into Söderåsen — today part of the Söderåsen National Park, and one of the most striking real places in this stretch of the geese's flight.

»Ser det ut så här i utlandet? Ser det ut så här i utlandet?» frågade gässlingarna.  
"Does it look like this abroad? Does it look like this abroad?" the goslings asked.
> The goslings: «Gässling» is 'gosling', a young goose — from «gås» ('goose') plus the diminutive «-ling». Here it is the definite plural, «gässlingarna», 'the goslings'.
— »Så här ser det ut, där det finns skogklädda åsar,» skrek Akka, »men det är inte så ofta.  
"This is what it looks like where there are forest-clad ridges," Akka cried, "but that's not so often.
Vänta, ska ni få se hur det vanligen ser ut där!»  
Wait, and you shall see what it usually looks like there!"

Akka förde vildgässen vidare mot söder till den stora skånska slätten.  
Akka led the wild geese further south to the great Skåne plain.
Den låg där med breda åkrar, med betfält, där betplockarna gingo fram i långa rader, med låga, vitlimmade, kringbyggda gårdar, med otaliga små vita kyrkor, med fula, gråa sockerfabriker, med småstadslika köpingar omkring järnvägsstationerna.  
There it lay with broad fields, with beet fields where the beet-pickers moved along in long rows, with low, whitewashed farms built around courtyards, with countless small white churches, with ugly gray sugar factories, with small-town-like market towns around the railway stations.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «gingo» is the old plural preterite of «gick» ('went'), agreeing with the plural subject «betplockarna» ('the beet-pickers').
> Courtyard farms: «Kringbyggd» ('built-around') describes Skåne's traditional farm layout, where the farmhouse and outbuildings enclose a central courtyard on all sides — a distinctive regional building style.
Där lågo torvmossar med långa rader av torvhögar, stenkolsgruvor med svarta kolhögar, vägarna löpte fram mellan alléer av klippta pilar, järnvägarna korsade varandra och bildade ett tätt nät över slätten.  
There lay peat bogs with long rows of peat stacks, coal mines with black heaps of coal, and roads ran between avenues of pollarded willows, while railways crossed one another and formed a dense net over the plain.
> Peat bogs: A «torvmosse» is a peat bog worked for «torv» ('peat, turf'), once a common household fuel in Sweden — the «torvhögar» ('peat stacks') are the cut, drying blocks piled up beside it.
Små bokomkransade slättsjöar blänkte fram här och där, prydda med var sin präktiga herrgård.  
Small beech-ringed plain lakes gleamed here and there, each adorned with its own splendid manor house.

»Se nu ner! Titta väl efter!» ropade förargåsen.  
"Look down now! Look carefully!" cried the guide-goose.
> The lead goose: «Förargåsen» (from «förare», 'leader, guide', + «gås») is the goose flying at the point of the flock's wedge formation — the lead bird calling directions back to the others, a role Akka usually fills.
»Så här ser det ut i utlandet ifrån Östersjöns kust ända till de höga bergen, och längre än till dem har vi aldrig farit.»  
"This is what it looks like abroad, from the Baltic coast all the way to the high mountains, and further than that we have never flown."
> The Baltic Sea: «Östersjön» ('the East Sea') is Swedish for the Baltic Sea — the sea that borders Skåne's east coast, one edge of the world the goose describes.

När gässlingarna hade sett slätten, for förargåsen till Öresundskusten.  
When the goslings had seen the plain, the guide-goose flew on to the Öresund coast.
> The Öresund coast: «Öresund» is the strait separating Skåne from Denmark; «Öresundskusten» is its Swedish shore — the coastline Skåne faces toward the continent Nils fears crossing.
Sanka ängar sjönko sakta mot vattnet, och långa vallar av svartnad tång lågo uppvräkta på stränderna.  
Marshy meadows sank slowly toward the water, and long ridges of blackened seaweed lay heaped up on the shores.
På somliga ställen funnos höga strandvallar och på andra flygsandsfält, där sanden låg uppkastad i bankar och kullar.  
In some places there were high beach ridges, and in others drift-sand fields, where the sand lay tossed up into banks and hillocks.
> Archaic plural verb — register flag: «funnos» is the old plural preterite of «fanns» ('there was/were', from «finnas»), agreeing with the plural subject «höga strandvallar» ('high beach ridges').
Fiskelägena reste sig på stranden med en lång rad likabyggda och likastora små tegelhus, med en liten fyr ute på vågbrytaren och bruna nät hängande på torkplatsen.  
The fishing villages rose along the shore with a long row of identically built and identically sized little brick houses, with a small lighthouse out on the breakwater and brown nets hanging on the drying ground.
> Fishing villages: A «fiskeläge» is a small fishing village or settlement — from «fiske» ('fishing') + «läge» ('site, position'). Here in the definite plural, «fiskelägena», 'the fishing villages'.

»Se nu ner! Titta väl efter!» sade Akka.  
"Look down now! Look carefully!" said Akka.
»Så här ser det ut vid utlandets kuster.»  
"This is what it looks like along the coasts abroad."

Till sist for förargåsen också till ett par av städerna.  
Finally the guide-goose flew to a couple of the towns as well.
De lågo med massor av smala fabriksskorstenar, med djupa gator mellan höga, röksvärtade hus, med stora, vackra parker och promenader, med hamnar fulla av fartyg, med gamla fästningsverk och slott och med ålderdomliga kyrkor.  
They lay with masses of slender factory chimneys, with deep streets between tall, smoke-blackened houses, with large, beautiful parks and promenades, with harbors full of ships, with old fortifications and castles, and with ancient churches.

»Så här ser utlandets städer ut, fast de är mycket större,» sade förargåsen.  
"This is what the towns abroad look like, though they are much bigger," said the guide-goose.
»Men dessa kan väl växa, de som ni.»  
"But these can surely grow, the same as you."

Sedan Akka hade farit omkring på detta sätt, slog hon ner i en mosse i Vemmenhögs härad.  
After Akka had traveled around in this way, she came down in a bog in Vemmenhög district.
> Vemmenhög district: A «härad» is an old Swedish administrative district, older than the modern municipality. Vemmenhög härad, in southern Skåne, is Nils Holgersson's home district — the chapter's title names this journey's destination.
Och pojken kunde inte låta bli att tro, att hon den dagen hade rest fram över Skåne för att visa honom, att han hade ett land, som gott kunde mäta sig med vilket som helst ute i världen.  
And the boy couldn't help thinking that she had flown that day all across Skåne to show him that he had a country that could well hold its own against any other out in the world.
> "Couldn't help (doing)": «låta bli att» + infinitive means 'to refrain from (doing)'; negated with «inte», «kunde inte låta bli att tro» = 'couldn't help thinking' — literally 'could not manage to refrain from believing'.
Men det hade hon inte behövt.  
But she hadn't needed to.
Pojken tänkte inte på om landet var rikt eller fattigt.  
The boy did not think about whether the country was rich or poor.
Allt sedan han hade sett den första pilvallen och det första låga korsvirkeshuset, värkte hans hjärta av hemlängtan.  
Ever since he had seen the first row of willows and the first low half-timbered house, his heart had ached with homesickness.
> Half-timbered house: «Korsvirke» is timber-framing — the exposed crisscrossed wooden beams filled with brick or plaster typical of old Skåne farmhouses. Seeing one is what finally floods Nils with «hemlängtan», 'homesickness'.
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Source text: public domain (Selma Lagerlöf, d. 1940; first published 1906–1907). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review.