The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Summary

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Summary

The book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils" is a story written by Selma Lagerlof, and published in 1906. It is a two-volume story written for Swedish school children to make them aware of the geography of the country. The writer placed the information in the book very efficiently. The story is about a boy who flew over Sweden with a flock of geese and learned about culture while end up changing himself into a better person.

In the story, the protagonist character is Nil, who is the only child of his parents. He is lazy, nasty, stubborn, and disobedient. He was left alone at home while he refused to go to church. He then magically transferred into an Imp and granted to live with animals. From where he rides a goose to all over the country. He sees different people, cultures, and values. He associates with a stroke, an eagle, a raven, a moose. When the geese land on earth for food and rest, Nil learns values from different people. He learns there compassion, loyalty, kindness, courage, and self-sacrifice. He meets animals and realizes how cruel he had been on these animals on his farm. He forswears his older self and becomes a better person in himself.

In the story, there are two children, Osa and Mats, who change Nil socially. Those motherless children are searching for their father while they do not lose hope and goodwill. Seeing them, Nil promises to himself that he will become a person with values. In another incident, His guilt of not saving the city in return for a coin makes him cry, and there he learns a lesson of compassion. When he becomes nice for a week, the Gnome offers him to return to the human hood, which he denies first. When he returns to his family, he is not the same annoying, cruel child anymore.

To a certain extent, the writer affects child psychology while teaching them about geography. She shows them social values, too, for a better future. The character Nil Holgersson is now famous in Sweden.

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