The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

“The Wonderful Adventures of Nils” is a children’s novel written by the Swedish teacher and writer Ms. Selma Lagerlöf. She was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in literature.

The story begins with the main character in this book, Nils Holgersson. Nils Holgersson was a nice-looking and clever young boy, except that he was very naughty, disobedient, and a trouble maker. The saddest thing about him was that he enjoyed hurting animals. One day, his parents left him at home and asked him to finish his schoolwork. Nils fell asleep while he read. When he woke up he was surprised to find an elf in his room. He treated the elf so badly that the elf had to shrink him into the size of a butterfly. However, he found himself to have the ability to communicate with animals. He discovered that due to his mischievous behaviors, the animals on the farm disliked him. Only Martin, a gander goose befriended him. Since all of the farm animals were out for revenge, Nils and a little hamster jumped on Martin’s back and joined a flock of wild geese flying across Sweden.

After Nils saved one of the wild goose from a fox attack, the flock readily accepted him as their travel companion. This unusual journey allowed Nils to discover the world and learn valuable lessons from the animals. “If you have learned anything from us, Nils, you no longer think that the humans should dominate the whole earth to please themselves. Animals need space too so that we can all live together in peace. Animals also have a right to their own freedom, their own families and their own life.” Nils’s journey turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He gained his humanity after losing his human form and became friends with the animals.

“The Wonderful Adventuress of Nils” is a heartwarming tale that gently shows us the right way to live with our animal friends. Almost a century after its publication, Ms. Selma Lagerlöf’s tale of Nils is still relevent today, when eating and raising animals for food are causing global crises, such as climate change and global pandemics. It’s time for us to take the journey like the young boy Nils to re-discover our compassionate nature, be vegan, and be kind to all animals in order to save our humanity and the world.