Nils Holgerssons underbara resa. English

by Selma Lagerlöf

anyone and everyone, but I do not wish to keep ita secret from an old comrade.

  "At Ulvasa, here in Oestergoetland," he continued (and one could tell bythe tone of his voice that he talked of something which he had heardfrom others, and knew by heart), "many, many years ago, there lived alady who had the gift of looking into the future, and telling peoplewhat was going to happen to them--just as certainly and accurately asthough it had already occurred. For this she became widely noted; and itis easy to understand that people would come to her, both from far andnear, to find out what they were going to pass through of good or evil.

  "One day, when Ulvasa-lady sat in her hall and spun, as was customary informer days, a poor peasant came into the room and seated himself on thebench near the door.

  "'I wonder what you are sitting and thinking about, dear lady,' said thepeasant after a little.

  "'I am sitting and thinking about high and holy things,' answered she.'Then it is not fitting, perhaps, that I ask you about something whichweighs on my heart,' said the peasant.

  "'It is probably nothing else that weighs on your heart than that youmay reap much grain on your field. But I am accustomed to receivecommunications from the Emperor about how it will go with his crown; andfrom the Pope, about how it will go with his keys.' 'Such things cannotbe easy to answer,' said the peasant. 'I have also heard that no oneseems to go from here without being dissatisfied with what he hasheard.'

  "When the peasant said this, he saw that Ulvasa-lady bit her lip, andmoved higher up on the bench. 'So this is what you have heard about me,'said she. 'Then you may as well tempt fortune by asking me about thething you wish to know; and you shall see if I can answer so that youwill be satisfied.'

  "After this the peasant did not hesitate to state his errand. He saidthat he had come to ask how it would go with Oestergoetland in the future.There was nothing which was so dear to him as his native province, andhe felt that he should be happy until his dying day if he could get asatisfactory reply to his query.

  "'Oh! is that all you wish to know,' said the wise lady; 'then I thinkthat you will be content. For here where I now sit, I can tell you thatit will be like this with Oestergoetland: it will always have something toboast of ahead of other provinces.'

  "'Yes, that was a good answer, dear lady,' said the peasant, 'and now Iwould be entirely at peace if I could only comprehend how such a thingshould be possible.'

  "'Why should it not be possible?' said Ulvasa-lady. 'Don't you know thatOestergoetland is already renowned? Or think you there is any place inSweden that can boast of owning, at the same time, two such cloisters asthe ones in Alvastra and Vreta, and such a beautiful cathedral as theone in Linkoeping?'

  "'That may be so,' said the peasant. 'But I'm an old man, and I knowthat people's minds are changeable. I fear that there will come a timewhen they won't want to give us any glory, either for Alvastra or Vretaor for the cathedral.'

  "'Herein you may be right,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but you need not doubtprophecy on that account. I shall now build up a new cloister onVadstena, and that will become the most celebrated in the North. Thitherboth the high and the lowly shall make pilgrimages, and all shall singthe praises of the province because it has such a holy place within itsconfines.'

  "The peasant replied that he was right glad to know this. But he alsoknew, of course, that everything was perishable; and he wondered muchwhat would give distinction to the province, if Vadstena Cloister shouldonce fall into disrepute.

  "'You are not easy to satisfy,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but surely I can seeso far ahead that I can tell you, before Vadstena Cloister shall havelost its splendour, there will be a castle erected close by, which willbe the most magnificent of its period. Kings and dukes will be gueststhere, and it shall be accounted an honour to the whole province, thatit owns such an ornament.'

  "'This I am also glad to hear,' said the peasant. 'But I'm an old man,and I know how it generally turns out with this world's glories. And ifthe castle goes to ruin, I wonder much what there will be that canattract the people's attention to this province.'

  "'It's not a little that you want to know,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but,certainly, I can look far enough into the future to see that there willbe life and movement in the forests around Finspang. I see how cabinsand smithies arise there, and I believe that the whole province shallbe renowned because iron will be moulded within its confines.'

  "The peasant didn't deny that he was delighted to hear this. 'But if itshould go so badly that even Finspang's foundry went down in importance,then it would hardly be possible that any new thing could arise of whichOestergoetland might boast.'

  "'You are not easy to please,' said Ulvasa-lady, 'but I can see so farinto the future that I mark how, along the lake-shores, greatmanors--large as castles--are built by gentlemen who have carried onwars in foreign lands. I believe that the manors will bring the provincejust as much honour as anything else that I have mentioned.'

  "'But if there comes a time when no one lauds the great manors?'insisted the peasant.

  "'You need not be uneasy at all events,' said Ulvasa-lady. I see howhealth-springs bubble on Medevi meadows, by Vaetter's shores. I believethat the wells at Medevi will bring the land as much praise as you candesire.'

  "'That is a mighty good thing to know,' said the peasant. 'But if therecomes a time when people will seek their health at other springs?'

  "'You must not give yourself any anxiety on that account,' answeredUlvasa-lady. I see how people dig and labour, from Motala to Mem. Theydig a canal right through the country, and then Oestergoetland's praise isagain on everyone's lips.'

  "But, nevertheless, the peasant looked distraught.

  "'I see that the rapids in Motala stream begin to draw wheels,' saidUlvasa-lady--and now two bright red spots came to her cheeks, for shebegan to be impatient--'I hear hammers resound in Motala, and loomsclatter in Norrkoeping.'

  "'Yes, that's good to know,' said the peasant, 'but everything isperishable, and I'm afraid that even this can be forgotten, and go intooblivion.'

  "When the peasant was not satisfied even now, there was an end to thelady's patience. 'You say that everything is perishable,' said she, 'butnow I shall still name something which will always be like itself; andthat is that such arrogant and pig-headed peasants as you will alwaysbe found in this province--until the end of time.'

  "Hardly had Ulvasa-lady said this before the peasant rose--happy andsatisfied--and thanked her for a good answer. Now, at last, he wassatisfied, he said.

  "'Verily, I understand now how you look at it,' then said Ulvasa-lady.

  "'Well, I look at it in this way, dear lady,' said the peasant, 'thateverything which kings and priests and noblemen and merchants build andaccomplish, can only endure for a few years. But when you tell me thatin Oestergoetland there will always be peasants who are honour-loving andpersevering, then I know also that it will be able to keep its ancientglory. For it is only those who go bent under the eternal labour withthe soil, who can hold this land in good repute and honour--from onetime to another.'"

  THE HOMESPUN CLOTH

  _Saturday, April twenty-third_.

  The boy rode forward--way up in the air. He had the great Oestergoetlandplain under him, and sat and counted the many white churches whichtowered above the small leafy groves around them. It wasn't long beforehe had counted fifty. After that he became confused and couldn't keeptrack of the counting.

  Nearly all the farms were built up with large, whitewashed two-storyhouses, which looked so imposing that the boy couldn't help admiringthem. "There can't be any peasants in this land," he said to himself,"since I do not see any peasant farms."

  Immediately all the wild geese shrieked: "Here the peasants live likegentlemen. Here the peasants live like gentlemen."

  On the plains the ice and snow had disappeared, and the spring work hadbegun. "What kind of long crabs are those that creep over the fields?"asked the boy after a bit. "Ploughs and oxen. Ploughs and oxen,"answered the wild geese.

&nbs
p; The oxen moved so slowly down on the fields, that one could scarcelyperceive they were in motion, and the geese shouted to them: "You won'tget there before next year. You won't get there before next year." Butthe oxen were equal to the occasion. They raised their muzzles in theair and bellowed: "We do more good in an hour than such as you do in awhole lifetime."

  In a few places the ploughs were drawn by horses. They went along withmuch