Black Horse

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

In short: As Nils flies with the geese, the fields of Skåne look like a piece of checked cloth.

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils · Travelling with the geese FAIRY TALE ATLAS · № 54 The Wonderful Adventures of Nils As Nils flies with the geese, the fields of Skåne look like a piece of checked cloth. Origin Sweden Atlas record 1906–1907 First appearance 1906–1907 SIGNATURE MOTIF Travelling with the geese Reach¹ 1/10 Suggested age² 8+ Member rating No votes yet 1 records · 1 countries or regions blackhorsestories.com

¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question

Origin and tradition

Sweden

In Lagerlöf’s first chapter, Nils grabs the domestic gander’s neck to stop him leaving. When the gander takes off, Nils goes with him. Looking down, he recognises that the green patches are fields of rye sown the previous autumn. His surprise gives readers a bird’s-eye introduction to farmland. The Atlas links to the Swedish text.

Dated records and sources

  1. 1906–1907 · Sweden
    Selma Lagerlöf · Nils Holgerssons underbara resa · First book edition

Country pages

Origin
Black Horse. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-nils/