Nils Holgerssons underbara resa. English

by Selma Lagerlöf

two whitesmoke-columns ascend.

  There was a sudden awakening, and an unrest among the birds. "Hunters!Hunters!" they cried. "Fly high! Fly away!"

  Then the boy saw, finally, that they were travelling all the while overthe sea-coast, and that they certainly were not in heaven. In a long rowlay small boats filled with hunters, who fired shot upon shot. Thenearest bird-flocks hadn't noticed them in time. They had flown too low.Several dark bodies sank down toward the sea; and for every one thatfell, there arose cries of anguish from the living.

  It was strange for one who had but lately believed himself in heaven, towake up suddenly to such fear and lamentation. Akka shot toward theheights as fast as she could, and the flock followed with the greatestpossible speed. The wild geese got safely out of the way, but the boycouldn't get over his amazement. "To think that anyone could wish toshoot upon such as Akka and Yksi and Kaksi and the goosey-gander and theothers! Human beings had no conception of what they did."

  So it bore on again, in the still air, and everything was as quiet asheretofore--with the exception that some of the tired birds called outevery now and then: "Are we not there soon? Are you sure we're on theright track?" Hereupon, those who flew in the centre answered: "We areflying straight to Oeland; straight to Oeland."

  The gray geese were tired out, and the loons flew around them. "Don't bein such a rush!" cried the ducks. "You'll eat up all the food before weget there." "Oh! there'll be enough for both you and us," answered theloons.

  Before they had gotten so far that they saw Oeland, there came a lightwind against them. It brought with it something that resembled immenseclouds of white smoke--just as if there was a big fire somewhere.

  When the birds saw the first white spiral haze, they became uneasy andincreased their speed. But that which resembled smoke blew thicker andthicker, and at last it enveloped them altogether. They smelled nosmoke; and the smoke was not dark and dry, but white and damp. Suddenlythe boy understood that it was nothing but a mist.

  When the mist became so thick that one couldn't see a goose-lengthahead, the birds began to carry on like real lunatics. All these, whobefore had travelled forward in such perfect order, began to play in themist. They flew hither and thither, to entice one another astray. "Becareful!" they cried. "You're only travelling round and round. Turnback, for pity's sake! You'll never get to Oeland in this way."

  They all knew perfectly well where the island was, but they did theirbest to lead each other astray. "Look at those wagtails!" rang out inthe mist. "They are going back toward the North Sea!" "Have a care, wildgeese!" shrieked someone from another direction. "If you continue likethis, you'll get clear up to Ruegen."

  There was, of course, no danger that the birds who were accustomed totravel here would permit themselves to be lured in a wrong direction.But the ones who had a hard time of it were the wild geese. The jestersobserved that they were uncertain as to the way, and did all they couldto confuse them.

  "Where do you intend to go, good people?" called a swan. He came rightup to Akka, and looked sympathetic and serious.

  "We shall travel to Oeland; but we have never been there before," saidAkka. She thought that this was a bird to be trusted.

  "It's too bad," said the swan. "They have lured you in the wrongdirection. You're on the road to Blekinge. Now come with me, and I'llput you right!"

  And so he flew off with them; and when he had taken them so far awayfrom the track that they heard no calls, he disappeared in the mist.

  They flew around for a while at random. They had barely succeeded infinding the birds again, when a duck approached them. "It's best thatyou lie down on the water until the mist clears," said the duck. "It isevident that you are not accustomed to look out for yourselves onjourneys."

  Those rogues succeeded in making Akka's head swim. As near as the boycould make out, the wild geese flew round and round for a long time.

  "Be careful! Can't you see that you are flying up and down?" shouted aloon as he rushed by. The boy positively clutched the goosey-ganderaround the neck. This was something which he had feared for a long time.

  No one can tell when they would have arrived, if they hadn't heard arolling and muffled sound in the distance.

  Then Akka craned her neck, snapped hard with her wings, and rushed on atfull speed. Now she had something to go by. The gray goose had told hernot to light on Oeland's southern point, because there was a cannonthere, which the people used to shoot the mist with. Now she knew theway, and now no one in the world should lead her astray again.

  OeLAND'S SOUTHERN POINT

  _April third to sixth_.

  On the most southerly part of Oeland lies a royal demesne, which iscalled Ottenby. It is a rather large estate which extends from shore toshore, straight across the island; and it is remarkable because it hasalways been a haunt for large bird-companies. In the seventeenthcentury, when the kings used to go over to Oeland to hunt, the entireestate was nothing but a deer park. In the eighteenth century there wasa stud there, where blooded race-horses were bred; and a sheep farm,where several hundred sheep were maintained. In our days you'll findneither blooded horses nor sheep at Ottenby. In place of them livegreat herds of young horses, which are to be used by the cavalry.

  In all the land there is certainly no place that could be a better abodefor animals. Along the extreme eastern shore lies the old sheep meadow,which is a mile and a half long, and the largest meadow in all Oeland,where animals can graze and play and run about, as free as if they werein a wilderness. And there you will find the celebrated Ottenby grovewith the hundred-year-old oaks, which give shade from the sun, andshelter from the severe Oeland winds. And we must not forget the longOttenby wall, which stretches from shore to shore, and separates Ottenbyfrom the rest of the island, so that the animals may know how far theold royal demesne extends, and be careful about getting in on otherground, where they are not so well protected.

  You'll find plenty of tame animals at Ottenby, but that isn't all. Onecould almost believe that the wild ones also felt that on an old crownproperty both the wild and the tame ones can count upon shelter andprotection--since they venture there in such great numbers.

  Besides, there are still a few stags of the old descent left; andburrow-ducks and partridges love to live there, and it offers a restingplace, in the spring and late summer, for thousands of migratory birds.Above all, it is the swampy eastern shore below the sheep meadow, wherethe migratory birds alight, to rest and feed.

  When the wild geese and Nils Holgersson had finally found their way toOeland, they came down, like all the rest, on the shore near the sheepmeadow. The mist lay thick over the island, just as it had over the sea.But still the boy was amazed at all the birds which he discerned, onlyon the little narrow stretch of shore which he could see.

  It was a low sand-shore with stones and pools, and a lot of cast-upsea-weed. If the boy had been permitted to choose, it isn't likely thathe would have thought of alighting there; but the birds probably lookedupon this as a veritable paradise. Ducks and geese walked about and fedon the meadow; nearer the water, ran snipe, and other coast-birds. Theloons lay in the sea and fished, but the life and movement was upon thelong sea-weed banks along the coast. There the birds stood side by sideclose together and picked grub-worms--which must have been found therein limitless quantities for it was very evident that there was never anycomplaint over a lack of food.

  The great majority were going to travel farther, and had only alightedto take a short rest; and as soon as the leader of a flock thought thathis comrades had recovered themselves sufficiently he said, "If you areready now, we may as well move on."

  "No, wait, wait! We haven't had anything like enough," said thefollowers.

  "You surely don't believe that I intend to let you eat so much that youwill not be able to move?" said the leader, and flapped his wings andstarted off. Along the outermost sea-weed banks lay a flock of swans.They didn't bother about going on land, but rested themselves by lyingand rocking on the water.
Now and then they dived down with their necksand brought up food from the sea-bottom. When they had gotten hold ofanything very good, they indulged in loud shouts that sounded liketrumpet calls.

  When the boy heard that there were swans on the shoals, he hurried outto the sea-weed banks. He had never before seen wild swans at closerange. He had luck on his side, so that he got close up to them.

  The boy was not the only one who had heard the swans. Both the wildgeese and the gray geese and the loons swam out between the banks, laidthemselves in a ring around the swans and stared at them. The swansruffled their feathers, raised their wings like sails, and lifted theirnecks high in the air. Occasionally one and another of them swam up to agoose, or a great loon, or a