The author of the work is the journey of Niels with wild geese. Selma Lagerlöf Nils' wonderful journey with wild geese. Fairy tale "The Wonderful Journey of Nils with Wild Geese" by S. Lagerlöf

So, Selma Lagerlöf created her famous fairy tale textbook about Nils Holgersson and the wild geese. But the story of the fairy tale did not end there. Moreover, in our culture there are at least three "Niels", and all of them are very different.

Although the first Russian translation of the tale was made by Lyudmila Khavkina back in 1908, it was not very successful, and did not win success among readers. Truly "Niels" became our own only in the Soviet era. At the same time, the attitude towards Lagerlöf herself in the USSR for some time was ambiguous. On the one hand, the writer was a conscious anti-fascist. Literally before her death, she managed to help the persecuted poetess Nelly Sachs to emigrate from Germany to Sweden. On the other hand, during the Soviet-Finnish war, Lagerlöf sympathized with the Finns and even donated her Nobel medal to help Finland.

However, this did not prevent Z. Zadunaiskaya and A. Lyubarskaya from releasing their own version of the fairy tale in 1940 under the title "Nils' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese." True, the translators treated the original very freely. The volume of the book was shrunk by 6 times - instead of 55 chapters, only 17 remained. The reduction was due to the rejection of most geographical descriptions and ethnographic details. Gone are many side legends and stories that Lagerlöf diligently strung on the main thread of the plot.

As a result, the spirit of the fairy tale itself has changed. Lyrics disappeared from it, the personal attitude of the writer to what was happening disappeared. The landscape, painted in watercolor, turned into vivid pictures. Only the central adventurous plot remained - and that one was fairly shortened and rewritten.

But such a "Niels" immediately gained immense popularity, and is still among our favorite children's books. The popularity of the retelling led to the fact that in 1955, at the Soyuzmultfilm studio, Vladimir Polkovnikov and Alexandra Snezhno-Blotskaya filmed the film The Enchanted Boy, thanks to which millions have already learned about Nils.

I still remember both the string of rats following Nils' pipe, and the heavy tread of the statue of the king, which terrifies me (I did not yet know about Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" and "The Stone Guest"). And of course, the exclamation immediately entered our lexicon: “You are still a strong old man, Rosenbom!”.

Needless to say, the plot of the cartoon was further shortened and changed (suffice it to recall the credits “And nothing special happened in Lapland either”). The animators also had free rein over the images of the characters. So, the artists gave the leader of the rats the features and habits of Hitler, and the statues of the king and Rosenbom acquired an outward resemblance to the actors who voiced them - Alexei Konovalov and Georgy Vitsin.

A full translation of the tale had to wait a long time. It came out only in 1982 through the efforts of a specialist in Scandinavian literature and a champion of adequate translations - Lydia Braude. Naturally, with comments. It turned out that in the original, the fairy tale about Niels is completely, completely different - not so dynamic and cheerful, resembling a tree with numerous branches and many tablets with unfamiliar names - the university town of Uppsala, the province of Skåne, the island of Gotland, the Botanical Garden of Carl Linnaeus, etc. We learn that the name of the goose is not Martin, but Morten, and the name of the leader goose - Kebnekaise - is the name of the highest mountain peak in Sweden.

Naturally, a complete translation is extremely important for understanding what Lagerlöf wanted to convey to the reader. But I'm afraid that, despite the additional number of interesting legends and adventures, our child is unlikely to master all this Swedish ethnography. Unlike Swedish children, she is not close to him and, accordingly, of little interest.

To better understand the differences between the versions of Nils, let's take a few scenes that are present in the original, and in the retelling, and in the cartoon.

tie

In the original, Niels' parents go to church, and the boy is forced to read a Sunday sermon. In the retelling of 1940, all religious attributes have disappeared - the parents go to the fair, and Niels teaches the usual lessons.
The brownie, who bewitched the boy, in the retelling becomes a more familiar gnome. If in the books he reduces Niels without permission, punishing him for greed, then in the cartoon Nils himself makes a mistake, declaring that he wants to become like a gnome. Of course, the boy meant magical abilities, but the dwarf granted his wish in his own way.

Expelling the rats

I think it's no secret to anyone that the expulsion of rats from Glimmingen Castle with the help of a magic pipe is a variation on the theme German legend about the Pied Piper of Gammeln, who rid the city of Gammeln of rats, and when they refused to pay him, he took all the Gammeln children out of the city.

Unlike the magic pipe, Glimmengheus Castle is not a fantasy. This unsightly gloomy building with thick walls at first belonged to the Danes, and then was recaptured by the Swedes - along with the entire province of Skåne, where Niels was from.

In the retelling and cartoon, the story with the pipe looks simple and clear: rats are evil, and the boy drowns them in the lake. In the original, there are two types of rats: black (old-timers of the castle) and gray (alien invaders). Therefore, in fact, Niels is on the side of some rats against the second. His goal is not to kill the gray rats, but to take them away from the castle so that the black rats have time to return and protect their haven.

two statues

The port city where Niels met the two statues came to life is called Karlskpuna (Swedish for "Karl's Crown"). It was founded by the great Swedish king Charles XI back in 1680 with the aim of founding a naval base here. It is clear that there is a statue of Karl in the city - it is she who is so thoughtlessly teased by Niels.

The second character - a wooden statue of the Old Man Rosenbum (Rosenbom) - is also not invented by the writer. She portrays an old boatswain and really stands at the Admiral's Church (the oldest wooden church in Sweden). A hole for coins is cut in Rosenbaum's hat, and the statue plays the role of a kind of begging mug. In the cartoon, the church is not mentioned, and the boatswain is standing at the tavern.

But the end of the story is very different in all three versions. In the original, the statues simply disappear with the first rays of the sun. In the retelling, the bronze king also disappeared, but before that he managed to smash the statue of Rosenbom with his cane in a rage (they decided to remind the Soviet children once again of the cruelty of the monarchs). However, in the cartoon, Rosenbaum was spared, and the king fled because he must return to his pedestal at exactly three o'clock.

denouement

No less diverse was the retelling of the story with the removal of the spell. In the original, Niels learns that he can be removed if someone else wants to become as small as him. However, he does not want to use this method - by deceiving people at their word, and the spell at the end of the book falls off on its own - as a reward for his good deeds.

In the retelling of 1940, Nils still casts a spell on the gosling, which does not want to become an adult (for some reason, the translators decided that leaving the goose small is not such a bad thing).

In the cartoon, everything is reduced to more traditional fairy tale motifs. The dwarf sets conditions for Niels - "when the castle saves the pipe, when the king takes off his hat." Well, the last condition actually turns out to be a test - can the boy sacrifice Martin's life for his own salvation? Niels makes the right moral choice, and it is for the sacrifice in the name of a friend that the dwarf frees him from the spell.

As you can see, each of the three Russian guises of Nils has its own advantages and disadvantages. Of course, children will love the cartoon and retelling for a long time to come. But the full translation will be of interest to older people - especially those who are interested in Sweden, its history and folklore. Perhaps, over time, one of the translators will dare to make another retelling, which will simplify the geographical component for our reader, but will not break the plot, leaving many interesting stories and preserve the lyrical spirit of the fairy tale of the great Swedish writer.

School of Life.ru

"The Wonderful Journey of Niels with the Wild Geese"(“Nils Holgersson's Wonderful Journey Through Sweden”, Swede. Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige) is a fairy tale written by Selma Lagerlöf.

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  Initially, the book was conceived as an exciting guide to the geography of Sweden in literary form for first grade students, 9-year-olds. In Sweden, since 1868, the "State Book for Reading" already existed, but, innovative for its time, by the end of the 19th century it had lost its relevance.

  One of the leaders of the General Union of Folk School Teachers, Alfred Dahlin, proposed the creation of a new book, on which educators and writers would work in collaboration. His choice fell on Selma Lagerlöf, already famous for her novel "Saga o Jöste Berling" And besides, she was a former teacher. Lagerlöf agreed to Dalin's proposal, but refused co-authors. She began work on the book in the summer of 1904.

  The writer believed that it was necessary to create several textbooks for schoolchildren different ages: the first class was supposed to receive a book on the geography of Sweden, the second - on native history, the third and fourth - descriptions of other countries of the world, discoveries and inventions, the social structure of the country. The Lagerlöf project was eventually implemented, and the first in a series of textbooks was "The Amazing Journey of Nils...". Then came out "The Swedes and Their Leaders" Werner von Heydenstam and "Pole to Pole" Sven Hedin.

  At the suggestion of Lagerlöf, Alfred Dalin, wishing to obtain as complete information as possible on the lifestyle and occupations of the population in different parts of the country, as well as ethnographic and folklore materials, compiled and sent out questionnaires for teachers of public schools in the summer of 1902.

  Lagerlöf was working on a novel at the time. "Jerusalem" and was going on a trip to Italy:

  ... I will think about the form of the book, which would most effectively help to put the wisdom about our country into these small heads. Perhaps the old legends will help us... And that's why I would like to start by reviewing the materials that you managed to get. (From a letter from Lagerlof to Dalin)

  Studying the collected material, the writer, by her own admission, realized how little she knew about the country:

  All sciences have stepped forward so unthinkably since I graduated from high school!

  To supplement her knowledge, she traveled to Blekinge, Småland, Norrland and the Falun mine. Returning to work on the book, Lagerlöf was looking for a plot that would help her create a coherent work of art from a huge amount of information. The solution was given to her:

  • books by Rudyard Kipling, where talking animals were the main characters;
  • story by August Strindberg "Journey of Lucky Feather";
  • fairy tale by Richard Gustafson "Unknown Paradise" about a boy from Skåne who flew across the country with birds.

  The first volume went out of print in Stockholm on November 24, 1906, the second - in December 1907. The work became the most read in Scandinavia. Having shown the country in the perception of a child and originally combining geography and a fairy tale in one work, Lagerlöf, as the poet Karl Snoylsky said, instilled "life and colors in the dry desert sand of a school lesson."

  Niels, out of habit, grabs Morten's neck and eventually flies away with him. After some time, he decides that traveling to Lapland is much more interesting than his former life, and therefore refuses when the brownie informs him that he will make him human again if Niels decides to return home at the moment. Later, he accidentally learns that the brownie will return him to his former appearance if Nils makes every effort to ensure that Morten returns home alive in the fall.

  History

  Initially, the book was a fascinating guide to the geography of Sweden in literary form for first-grade students, nine-year-olds. In Sweden, since 1868, the “State Book for Reading” already existed, but, innovative for its time, by the end of the 19th century it had lost its relevance. One of the leaders of the General Union of Folk School Teachers, Alfred Dahlin, proposed the creation of a new book, on which educators and writers would work in collaboration. His choice fell on Selma Lagerlöf, already famous for her novel The Saga of Jeste Berling, besides, she was a former teacher. She agreed to Dalin's proposal, but refused co-authors. Lagerlöf began work on the book in the summer of 1904. The writer believed that it was necessary to create several textbooks for schoolchildren of different ages: the first class was supposed to receive a book on the geography of Sweden, the second - on native history, the third and fourth - descriptions of other countries of the world, discoveries and inventions, the social structure of the country. The Lagerlöf project was eventually implemented, and the first in a series of textbooks was "The Amazing Journey of Niels ...". Reading books soon appeared, The Swedes and Their Leaders by Wernher von Heydenstam and From Pole to Pole by Sven Hedin.

  At the suggestion of Lagerlöf, Alfred Dalin, wishing to obtain as complete information as possible on the lifestyle and occupations of the population in different parts of the country, as well as ethnographic and folklore materials, compiled and sent out questionnaires for teachers of public schools in the summer of 1902.

  Lagerlöf was at that time working on the novel Jerusalem and was going on a trip to Italy:

  ... I will think about the form of the book, which would most effectively help to put the wisdom about our country into these small heads. Perhaps the old legends will help us... And that's why I would like to start by reviewing the materials that you managed to get. (From a letter from Lagerlof to Dalin)

  Studying the collected material, the writer, by her own admission, realized how little she knew about the country: “All sciences have stepped forward so unthinkably since I graduated from school!”. To supplement her knowledge, she traveled to Blekinge, Småland, Norrland to the Falun mine. Returning to work on the book, Lagerlöf was looking for a plot that would help her create a coherent work of art from a huge amount of information. The solution was suggested to her by Kipling's books, where talking animals were the main characters, as well as the story by August Strindberg "The Journey of Lucky Per" and the fairy tale by Richard Gustafson "The Unknown Paradise" about a boy from Skåne who flew through the country with birds.

  The first volume went out of print in Stockholm on November 24, 1906, the second - in December 1907. The work became the most read in Scandinavia.

  Having shown the country in the perception of a child, having originally combined geography and a fairy tale in one work, Lagerlöf, as the poet Karl Snoylsky said, instilled "life and colors in the dry desert sand of a school lesson."

  Plot

  The gnome turns the main character Nils Holgersson into a dwarf, and the boy makes an exciting journey on a goose from Sweden to Lapland and back. On his way to Lapland, he encounters a flock of wild geese flying along the Gulf of Bothnia, and with them looks into the remote regions of Scandinavia. As a result, Nils visits all the provinces of Sweden, gets into various adventures and learns a lot about the geography, history and culture of each province of his homeland.

  The protagonist of the fairy tale "Nils' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese" is a boy named Niels. He liked to play pranks and did not like to study. One day he caught a gnome. The dwarf got angry and made him as small as he was, after which he disappeared. Niels was afraid that he would remain small forever, and began to look everywhere for the gnome to ask him to disenchant him. The search brought him to the yard. With surprise, the boy realized that he understood the language of birds and animals. At this time, a flock of wild geese flew by. They began to tease domestic geese and invite them to Lapland with them.

  One of the domestic geese named Martin decided to fly with wild geese. Nils tried to hold him back, but forgot that he was much smaller than a goose and soon ended up in the air. All day they flew until Martin was completely exhausted. Once they even fell behind the pack, but managed to overtake it. Wild geese, at first learning that Niels was a man, wanted to drive him away, but it so happened that the boy saved one of them from the fox during the night and they did not drive him away.

  For many days, the geese flew to their goal, sometimes making stops. During one of the stops, Nils rescued the little squirrel Tirli, who had fallen out of the nest. The boy returned it to his mother. Finally, the flock reached the abandoned castle, where only different animals and birds had lived for a long time. From the inhabitants of the castle, travelers learned that the castle was besieged by rats. But Niels saved the situation. The leader of the goose flock gave him a magic pipe, and the boy, playing on it, lured all the rats into the water, where they drowned. Later, Nils learned that the owl brought the pipe from the same forest gnome whom he had offended. The dwarf was still very angry with the boy.

  The flight of the geese continued. Many adventures fell to the lot of Niels. He ran away from a bronze statue of a king in a port city, went under water and saved a family of bears from hunters. Already all the animals and birds knew about the boy who travels with the geese. And goose Martin on the road got a girlfriend named Martha.

  Finally the flock arrived in Lapland. The birds began to build their own nests and breed chicks, and Nils also decided to build a real home for himself. The whole flock of goose helped him, and the swallows that flew in covered the house with clay. All summer the flock lived in Lapland, and in the autumn they were going to fly back to the south. Niels missed his home and parents very much, but he did not want to return to his relatives, being a tiny little man. The leader of the pack managed to find out that Niels can regain his former appearance only if someone voluntarily agrees to become as tiny as he is.

  And so the flock went south. Young goslings flew along with the adult geese. On halts, all the animals that already knew about Niels the traveler fed him with what they could.

  When the flock flew past the house of Nils's parents, the boy decided to find out how they live. But he still didn't want to go back to their little ones. The boy learned that his parents remember him and grieve that he is not around. And then suddenly one of the goslings told Nils that he wanted to be small. Niels was delighted and cast a spell, after which he again became the same boy. Delighted parents recognized their son, who by some miracle suddenly found himself on the threshold of his home. Soon Niels went back to school. Now he studied only for one five.

  Takovo summary fairy tales.

  The main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fairy tale "Niels' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese" is that pranks and pranks are not in vain, and you can get punished for them, sometimes very severely. Niels was punished very severely by the dwarf and endured many hardships before he was able to rectify the situation.

  The fairy tale "Niels' Wonderful Journey with Wild Geese" teaches to be resourceful and courageous, to be able to protect your friends and comrades in dangerous moments. Nils during his journey managed to do many good deeds for birds and animals, and they repaid him with kindness for this.

  In the fairy tale, I liked the forest gnome. He is strict but fair. The dwarf punished Niels very severely, but the boy, as a result, realized a lot, his character changed for the better after the trials he went through and began to study well at school. The punishment benefited Niels, he became a good person.

  What proverbs are suitable for the fairy tale "Niels' wonderful journey with wild geese"?

  Looking at people, although you don’t grow, you stretch.
  The more you learn, the stronger you become.
  A man without a friend is like earth without water.

  History

  Initially, the book was a fascinating guide to the geography of Sweden in literary form for first-grade students, nine-year-olds. In Sweden, since 1868, the “State Book for Reading” already existed, but, innovative for its time, by the end of the 19th century it had lost its relevance. One of the leaders of the General Union of Folk School Teachers, Alfred Dahlin, proposed the creation of a new book, on which educators and writers would work in collaboration. His choice fell on Selma Lagerlöf, already famous for her novel The Saga of Jeste Berling, besides, she was a former teacher. She agreed to Dalin's proposal, but refused co-authors. Lagerlöf began work on the book in the summer of 1904. The writer believed that it was necessary to create several textbooks for schoolchildren of different ages: the first class was supposed to receive a book on the geography of Sweden, the second - on native history, the third and fourth - descriptions of other countries of the world, discoveries and inventions, the social structure of the country. The Lagerlöf project was eventually implemented, and the first in a series of textbooks was "The Amazing Journey of Niels ...". Reading books soon appeared, The Swedes and Their Leaders by Wernher von Heydenstam and From Pole to Pole by Sven Hedin.

  At the suggestion of Lagerlöf, Alfred Dalin, wishing to obtain as complete information as possible on the lifestyle and occupations of the population in different parts of the country, as well as ethnographic and folklore materials, compiled and sent out questionnaires for teachers of public schools in the summer of 1902.

  Lagerlöf was at that time working on the novel Jerusalem and was going on a trip to Italy:

  ... I will think about the form of the book, which would most effectively help to put the wisdom about our country into these small heads. Perhaps the old legends will help us... And that's why I would like to start by reviewing the materials that you managed to get. (From a letter from Lagerlof to Dalin)

  Studying the collected material, the writer, by her own admission, realized how little she knew about the country: “All sciences have stepped forward so unthinkably since I graduated from school!”. To supplement her knowledge, she traveled to Blekinge, Småland, Norrland to the Falun mine. Returning to work on the book, Lagerlöf was looking for a plot that would help her create a coherent work of art from a huge amount of information. The solution was suggested to her by Kipling's books, where talking animals were the main characters, as well as the story by August Strindberg "The Journey of Lucky Per" and the fairy tale by Richard Gustafson "The Unknown Paradise" about a boy from Skåne who flew through the country with birds.

  The first volume went out of print in Stockholm on November 24, 1906, the second - in December 1907. The work became the most read in Scandinavia.

  Having shown the country in the perception of a child, having originally combined geography and a fairy tale in one work, Lagerlöf, as the poet Karl Snoylsky said, instilled "life and colors in the dry desert sand of a school lesson."

  Plot

  The gnome turns the main character Nils Holgersson into a dwarf, and the boy makes an exciting journey on a goose from Sweden to Lapland and back. On his way to Lapland, he encounters a flock of wild geese flying along the Gulf of Bothnia, and with them looks into the remote regions of Scandinavia. As a result, Nils visits all the provinces of Sweden, gets into various adventures and learns a lot about the geography, history and culture of each province of his homeland.