Nils Holgerssons underbara resa. English

by Selma Lagerlöf

into the forest. It was a beautifulmoonlight night in late summer; but in among the trees it was dark, andthe elk walked along slowly.

  "Perhaps we had better turn back," said Karr. "You, who have neverbefore tramped the wild forest, might easily break your legs." Grayskinmoved more rapidly and with more courage.

  Karr conducted the elk to a part of the forest where the pines grew sothickly that no wind could penetrate them.

  "It is here that your kind are in the habit of seeking shelter from coldand storm," said Karr. "Here they stand under the open skies all winter.But you will fare much better where you are going, for you will stand ina shed, with a roof over your head, like an ox."

  Grayskin made no comment, but stood quietly and drank in the strong,piney air.

  "Have you anything more to show me, or have I now seen the wholeforest?" he asked.

  Then Karr went with him to a big marsh, and showed him clods andquagmire.

  "Over this marsh the elk take flight when they are in peril," said Karr."I don't know how they manage it, but, large and heavy as they are, theycan walk here without sinking. Of course you couldn't hold yourself upon such dangerous ground, but then there is no occasion for you to doso, for you will never be hounded by hunters."

  Grayskin made no retort, but with a leap he was out on the marsh, andhappy when he felt how the clods rocked under him. He dashed across themarsh, and came back again to Karr, without having stepped into amudhole.

  "Have we seen the whole forest now?" he asked.

  "No, not yet," said Karr.

  He next conducted the elk to the skirt of the forest, where fine oaks,lindens, and aspens grew.

  "Here your kind eat leaves and bark, which they consider the choicestof food; but you will probably get better fare abroad."

  Grayskin was astonished when he saw the enormous leaf-trees spreadinglike a great canopy above him. He ate both oak leaves and aspen bark.

  "These taste deliciously bitter and good!" he remarked. "Better thanclover!"

  "Then wasn't it well that you should taste them once?" said the dog.

  Thereupon he took the elk down to a little forest lake. The water was assmooth as a mirror, and reflected the shores, which were veiled in thin,light mists. When Grayskin saw the lake he stood entranced.

  "What is this, Karr?" he asked.

  It was the first time that he had seen a lake.

  "It's a large body of water--a lake," said Karr. "Your people swimacross it from shore to shore. One could hardly expect you to befamiliar with this; but at least you should go in and take a swim!"

  Karr, himself, plunged into the water for a swim. Grayskin stayed backon the shore for some little time, but finally followed. He grewbreathless with delight as the cool water stole soothingly around hisbody. He wanted it over his back, too, so went farther out. Then he feltthat the water could hold him up, and began to swim. He swam all aroundKarr, ducking and snorting, perfectly at home in the water.

  When they were on shore again, the dog asked if they had not better gohome now.

  "It's a long time until morning," observed Grayskin, "so we can tramparound in the forest a little longer."

  They went again into the pine wood. Presently they came to an open gladeilluminated by the moonlight, where grass and flowers shimmered beneaththe dew. Some large animals were grazing on this forest meadow--an elkbull, several elk cows and a number of elk calves. When Grayskin caughtsight of them he stopped short. He hardly glanced at the cows or theyoung ones, but stared at the old bull, which had broad antlers withmany taglets, a high hump, and a long-haired fur piece hanging down fromhis throat.

  "What kind of an animal is that?" asked Grayskin in wonderment.

  "He is called Antler-Crown," said Karr, "and he is your kinsman. One ofthese days you, too, will have broad antlers, like those, and just sucha mane; and if you were to remain in the forest, very likely you, also,would have a herd to lead."

  "If he is my kinsman, I must go closer and have a look at him," saidGrayskin. "I never dreamed that an animal could be so stately!"

  Grayskin walked over to the elk, but almost immediately he came back toKarr, who had remained at the edge of the clearing.

  "You were not very well received, were you?" said Karr.

  "I told him that this was the first time I had run across any of mykinsmen, and asked if I might walk with them on their meadow. But theydrove me back, threatening me with their antlers."

  "You did right to retreat," said Karr. "A young elk bull with only ataglet crown must be careful about fighting with an old elk. Anotherwould have disgraced his name in the whole forest by retreating withoutresistance, but such things needn't worry you who are going to move to aforeign land."

  Karr had barely finished speaking when Grayskin turned and walked downto the meadow. The old elk came toward him, and instantly they began tofight. Their antlers met and clashed, and Grayskin was driven backwardover the whole meadow. Apparently he did not know how to make use of hisstrength; but when he came to the edge of the forest, he planted hisfeet on the ground, pushed hard with his antlers, and began to forceAntler-Crown back.

  Grayskin fought quietly, while Antler-Crown puffed and snorted. The oldelk, in his turn, was now being forced backward over the meadow.Suddenly a loud crash was heard! A taglet in the old elk's antlers hadsnapped. He tore himself loose, and dashed into the forest.

  Karr was still standing at the forest border when Grayskin came along.

  "Now that you have seen what there is in the forest," said Karr, "willyou come home with me?"

  "Yes, it's about time," observed the elk.

  Both were silent on the way home. Karr sighed several times, as if hewas disappointed about something; but Grayskin stepped along--his headin the air--and seemed delighted over the adventure. He walked aheadunhesitatingly until they came to the enclosure. There he paused. Helooked in at the narrow pen where he had lived up till now; saw thebeaten ground, the stale fodder, the little trough where he had drunkwater, and the dark shed in which he had slept.

  "The elk are one with the forest!" he cried. Then he threw back hishead, so that his neck rested against his back, and rushed wildly intothe woods.

  HELPLESS, THE WATER-SNAKE

  In a pine thicket in the heart of Liberty Forest, every year, in themonth of August, there appeared a few grayish-white moths of the kindwhich are called nun moths. They were small and few in number, andscarcely any one noticed them. When they had fluttered about in thedepth of the forest a couple of nights, they laid a few thousand eggs onthe branches of trees; and shortly afterward dropped lifeless to theground.

  When spring came, little prickly caterpillars crawled out from the eggsand began to eat the pine needles. They had good appetites, but theynever seemed to do the trees any serious harm, because they were hotlypursued by birds. It was seldom that more than a few hundredcaterpillars escaped the pursuers.

  The poor things that lived to be full grown crawled up on the branches,spun white webs around themselves, and sat for a couple of weeks asmotionless pupae. During this period, as a rule, more than half of themwere abducted. If a hundred nun moths came forth in August, winged andperfect, it was reckoned a good year for them.

  This sort of uncertain and obscure existence did the moths lead for manyyears in Liberty Forest. There were no insect folk in the whole countrythat were so scarce, and they would have remained quite harmless andpowerless had they not, most unexpectedly, received a helper.

  This fact has some connection with Grayskin's flight from thegame-keeper's paddock. Grayskin roamed the forest that he might becomemore familiar with the place. Late in the afternoon he happened tosqueeze through some thickets behind a clearing where the soil was muddyand slimy, and in the centre of it was a murky pool. This open space wasencircled by tall pines almost bare from age and miasmic air. Grayskinwas displeased with the place and would have left it at once had he notcaught sight of some bright green calla leaves which grew near the pool.

  As he bent his he
ad toward the calla stalks, he happened to disturb abig black snake, which lay sleeping under them. Grayskin had heard Karrspeak of the poisonous adders that were to be found in the forest. So,when the snake raised its head, shot out its tongue and hissed at him,he thought he had encountered an awfully dangerous reptile. He wasterrified and, raising his foot, he struck so hard with his hoof that hecrushed the snake's head. Then, away he ran in hot haste!

  As soon as Grayskin had gone, another snake, just as long and as blackas the first, came up from the pool. It crawled over to the dead one,and licked the poor, crushed-in head.

  "Can it be true that you are dead, old Harmless?" hissed the snake. "Wetwo have lived together so many years; we two have been so happy witheach other, and have fared so well here in the swamp, that we have livedto be