Cat Karma
The adventures of Nils begins with a not-so-wonderful introduction to karma. As a boy described by his own mother as wild, bad and prone to a certain cruelty to animals it should not be surprising that almost the minute he is transformed into a tiny little elf, the animals he so tortured would consider revenge. The boy was especially fond of grabbing the family cat by the tail. The feline never forgot:
“The cat opened his eyes a little, so that the green wickedness began to shine forth.”
Castle Glimminge
The author had a specific intention for the adventures on which Nils embarks: it was designed as a means of teaching Swedish geography to children. The flight aboard a goose by Nils gives him unlimited opportunity to observe the terrain below and one of the adventures takes place at a famous castle. In fact, it would be kind of hard to miss either from the sky or the land:
It is not more than four stories high; but it is so ponderous that an ordinary farmhouse, which stands on the same estate, looks like a little children’s playhouse in comparison.
Blekinge
Not all similes are so forthright in describing the sights below. In fact, at times, the author abandons the literal altogether to paint a portrait in metaphorical imagery. Such an example is the description of the province of Blekinge where:
“the land breaks itself up into points and islands and islets; and the sea divides itself into fiords and bays and sounds; and it is, perhaps, this which makes it look as if they must meet in happiness and harmony.”
Good Advice
In addition to describing individual aspects of Swedish geography, some general safety advice about dealing with the particulars of Scandinavian climate is also provided:
“It is a fact that ice is always treacherous and not to be trusted.”
The World as Seen From a Goose
The perspective of the world around him is changed for Nils as he rides on the back of the wild goose in flight and the author reveals these changes at one point through a metaphorical litany:
“everything appeared so strange and spook-like…heavens were no longer blue, but encased him like a globe of green glass. The sea was milk-white…the boy thought it was as if the earth had been transformed, and he was come to another world.”
