The Wonderful Adventures of Nils facts for kids
Cover art by Mary Hamilton Frye (1936)
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| Author | Selma Lagerlöf |
|---|---|
| Original title | Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
| Genre | Novella Parable Social criticism Morality tale |
| Media type | |
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is a famous story from Sweden. It was written by Selma Lagerlöf, who was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. The book's original Swedish title means Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden.
This exciting story was first released in two parts, in 1906 and 1907. Later, it was published in English. The English versions were called The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1907) and Further Adventures of Nils (1911). Today, you can usually find both parts together under the title The Wonderful Adventures of Nils.
Selma Lagerlöf was a smart writer who supported changes to Swedish spelling. Her book was one of the first to use the new spelling rules. These rules were made official by the Swedish government in 1906.
Contents
Why Was the Book Written?
The idea for The Wonderful Adventures of Nils came from a special request. In 1902, the National Teachers Association asked Selma Lagerlöf to write a geography book for public schools. They wanted a fun way for students to learn about Sweden.
Selma Lagerlöf spent three years getting ready for this book. She studied nature, animals, and birds. She also looked for old Swedish stories and legends that had not been published before. She cleverly wove all these facts and tales into her amazing story.
Nils's Amazing Journey
The story is about a young boy named Nils Holgersson. At the beginning, Nils is not a very nice boy. He loves to eat, sleep, and cause trouble. He especially enjoys being mean to the animals on his family's farm.
One day, while his family is at church, Nils catches a tiny magical creature called a tomte in a net. The tomte offers Nils a large gold coin if he lets him go. But Nils refuses. Because of Nils's unkindness, the tomte shrinks him down to the size of a tomte! Now, Nils can talk to animals. The farm animals are very happy to see Nils so small, and they want revenge for all his mischief.
While Nils is tiny, some wild geese fly over the farm. Martin, the farm's white goose, tries to join them. Nils quickly grabs onto Martin's neck. Martin successfully flies off with the wild geese, taking Nils with him.
The wild geese are not happy to have a boy and a farm goose join their group. But Nils and Martin go on an exciting adventure across all the different provinces of Sweden. During their trip, they learn about Sweden's nature and resources. Nils also learns important lessons and becomes a better person. He needs to prove to the geese that he can be a helpful friend. Nils finds out that if he changes for the better, the tomte might turn him back to his normal size.
The book also tells many other small stories. Nils and the geese meet different people and animals whose lives are changed by their visit. For example, Nils meets a lonely man in Stockholm. This man becomes friends with an old gentleman who tells him about the city's history. Later, the man discovers his new friend was actually the King of Sweden in disguise!
Some people have pointed out that Nils and the geese don't stop in the province of Halland. They fly over it on their way back to Scania but don't explore it. However, some translated versions of the book have added a chapter about Halland. In most pictures, Nils wears a red cap, but in the original Swedish book, he is described as wearing a white cap.
Nils's Travels Across Sweden
This section lists some of the places Nils visits during his amazing journey. The chapters below follow the English translation by Velma Swanston Howard.
The First Part of the Adventures
Howard's first book has 21 chapters. The Swedish chapter titles are the same as in the original 1906 book.
| Chapter | Title | Places | Historical provinces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Boy ("Pojken") | Västra Vemmenhög, near Skurup | Scania |
| 2 | Akka from Kebnekaise ("Akka från Kebnekajse") | Vombsjön | Scania |
| 3 | The Wonderful Journey of Nils ("Vildfågelsliv") | Vittskövle Castle, Övedskloster Manor | Scania |
| 4 | Glimminge Castle ("Glimmingehus") | Glimmingehus | Scania |
| 5 | The Great Crane Dance on Kullaberg ("Den stora trandansen på Kullaberget") | Kullaberg | Scania |
| 6 | In Rainy Weather ("I regnväder") | Blekinge | |
| 7 | The Staircase with the Three Steps ("Trappan med de tre trappstegen") | Blekinge archipelago | Blekinge |
| 8 | By Ronneby River ("Vid Ronneby Å") | Ronneby | Blekinge |
| 9 | Karlskrona ("Karlskrona") | Karlskrona | Blekinge |
| 10 | The Trip to Öland ("Resa till Öland") | Kalmar Strait | between Öland and Småland |
| 11 | Öland's Southern Point ("Ölands södra udde") | Southern tip of Öland, Ottenby | Öland |
| 12 | The Big Butterfly ("Den stora fjärilen") | Öland, Stora Alvaret | Öland |
| 13 | Little Karl's Island ("Lilla Karlsö") | Lilla Karlsö | Gotland |
| 14 | Two Cities ("Två städer") | Vineta, Visby | Gotland |
| 15 | The Legend of Småland ("Sagan om Småland") | Tjust | Småland |
| 16 | The Crows ("Kråkorna") | Sunnerbo härad | Småland |
| 17 | The Old Peasant Woman ("Den gamla bondkvinnan") | Småland | |
| 18 | From Taberg to Huskvarna ("Från Taberg till Huskvarna") | Taberg, Jönköping, Huskvarna | Småland |
| 19 | The Big Bird Lake ("Den stora fågelsjön") | Tåkern, Omberg | Östergötland |
| 20 | Ulvåsa-Lady ("Spådomen") | Tåkern, Omberg, Vadstena Abbey, Motala, Finspång, Norrköping | Östergötland |
| 21 | Vadmalsvåden ("The Homespun Cloth") | Östergötland |
Further Adventures of Nils
Howard's second book has 22 chapters. The original Swedish second book (1907) had 34 chapters. Some chapters were shortened or removed in the English translation. For example, the province of Dalarna is not in the Howard translation, but it is visited in the original book.
| Chapter | Title | Places | Historical provinces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Story of Karr and Grayskin ("Karrs och Gråfälls saga") | Kolmården | Östergötland, Södermanland |
| 2 | The Wind Witch ("I Närke") | Örebro | Närke |
| 3 | The Breaking Up Of The Ice ("Islossningen") | Hjälmaren | Närke |
| 4 | Thumbietot and the Bears ("Järnverket") | Västmanland | |
| 5 | The Flood ("Översvämmningen") | Mälaren | Uppland |
| 6 | Dunfin ("Dunfin") | Mälaren, Stockholm archipelago | Uppland |
| 7 | Stockholm ("Stockholm") | Stockholm, Skansen | Uppland |
| 8 | Gorgo, the Eagle ("Gorgo, örnen") | ||
| 9 | On Over Gästrikland ("Fram över Gästrikland") | Gästrikland | |
| 10 | A Day in Hälsingland ("En dag i Hälsingland") | Delsbo | Hälsingland |
| 11 | In Medelpad ("I Medelpad") | Sundsvall, Alnön island | Medelpad |
| 12 | A Morning in Ångermanland ("En morgon i Ångermanland") | Ångermanland | |
| 13 | Westbottom and Lapland ("Västerbotten och Lappland") | Västerbotten, Lapland (Sweden) | |
| 14 | Osa, the Goose Girl, and Little Mats ("Åsa gåsapiga och lille MatsOsa, the Goose Girl, and Little Mats") | Malmberget | Lapland |
| 15 | With the Laplanders ("Hos lapparna") | Kiruna Municipality | Lapland, Sápmi |
| 16 | Homeward Bound ("Mot söder! Mot söder!") | Östersund | Jämtland |
| 17 | Legends from Härjedalen ("Sägner från Härjedalen") | Sonfjället National Park | Härjedalen |
| 18 | Vermland and Dalsland ("Värmland och Dalsland") | Klarälven, Fryken | Värmland, Dalsland |
| 19 | The Treasure on the Island ("Skatten på skäret") | Fjällbacka, Väderöarna | Bohuslän |
| 20 | The Journey to Vemmenhög ("Resa till Vemmenhög") | Falköping, Bosjökloster, Ringsjön | Halland, Scania |
| 21 | Home at Last ("Hos Holger Nilssons") | Scania | |
| 22 | The Parting with the Wild Geese ("Avsked från vildgässen") | Smygehuk | Scania |
Different Book Versions
Many different versions of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils have been printed over the years. Some popular ones include:
- The 1907 edition, illustrated by Harold Heartt Foley.
- A 1913 edition, translated by Velma Swanston Howard and illustrated by Mary Hamilton Frye.
- A 1950 edition, illustrated by H. Baumhauer.
Movies and TV Shows
The story of Nils Holgersson has been made into several movies and TV shows:
1955 Soviet Cartoon
A cartoon movie from the Soviet Union called The Enchanted Boy was released in 1955. It was made by Vladimir Polkovnikov and Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow.
1962 Swedish Live-Action Film
A Swedish live-action movie called Adventures of Nils Holgersson came out in 1962. It was filmed mostly from helicopters, which made the story simpler. Kenne Fant directed it.
1980 Japanese Anime Series
An anime TV show, Nirusu no Fushigi na Tabi, was shown in Japan from 1980 to 1981. It had fifty-two 25-minute episodes. This anime was also broadcast in many other countries, including Germany, France, and Canada.
The anime was the first big show from Studio Pierrot. It stayed quite true to the book. However, it added Nils's pet hamster and gave a bigger role to the fox, Smirre. In Germany, the anime episodes were also put together into one long movie in 1981.
2011 Swedish/German TV Series
In 2011, a live-action TV series was made by German broadcaster ARD. It starred Justus Kammerer as Nils and was directed by Dirk Regel. This version used real animals, puppets, and computer graphics for the geese and other animals.
2017 French 3D CGI Series
In 2017, French Studio 100 Animation released a new 3D computer-animated TV series. It has 52 episodes, each 13 minutes long.
Nils in Israeli Culture
In the 1960s, an Israeli children's magazine called "Etz'beoni" had a comic strip version of the story. It was loosely based on the original. In this version, the main character's name was Gil, and the story took place in the Israeli countryside.
More recently, in 2019, a sports newspaper in Israel used an image of Nils riding a goose. It was used to describe a football player who often moved between different clubs.
Nils in Swedish Culture
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils is very famous in Swedish culture. A picture of Nils Holgersson flying on the back of a goose over the plains of Scania was even on the back of the Swedish 20 krona banknote. This was true until new money was used in 2015.
Nils is also part of the logo for the digital map company Tele Atlas.
The beautiful sights Nils sees on his journey across Sweden are shown on a series of Christmas plates. These plates were made by Rörstrand Pottery from 1970 to 1999. They show Sweden's landscapes, buildings, industries, and wildlife.
Influence on Other Stories
The book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils has inspired other fantasy stories. For example, in Lev Grossman's fantasy novel The Magicians, students at a magic school take a big test. They are turned into wild geese and fly all the way from New York to Antarctica. This part of the story was clearly inspired by Nils's journey.
See also
In Spanish: El maravilloso viaje de Nils Holgersson para niños
