The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, Selma Lagerlöf [best sales books of all time .txt] 📗

was a hard fight, and that several times the fire came near penetrating farther.

But think! After a while the loud roar of the flames decreased, and the smoke cleared. By that time the leaf trees had lost all their foliage, the ground under them was charred, the faces of the men were blackened by smoke and dripping with sweat; but the forest fire was conquered. It had ceased to flame up. Soft white smoke crept along the ground, and from it peeped out a lot of black stumps. This was all there was left of the beautiful forest!

The boy scrambled up on a rock, so that he might see how the fire had been quenched. But now that the forest was saved, his peril began. The owl and the hawk simultaneously turned their eyes toward him. Just then he heard a familiar voice calling to him.

Gorgo, the golden eagle, came sweeping through the forest, and soon the boy was soaring among the clouds⁠—rescued from every peril.

Westbottom and Lapland The Five Scouts

Once, at Skansen, the boy had sat under the steps at Bollnäs cottage and had overheard Clement Larsson and the old Laplander talk about Norrland. Both agreed that it was the most beautiful part of Sweden. Clement thought that the southern part was the best, while the Laplander favoured the northern part.

As they argued, it became plain that Clement had never been farther north than Härnösand. The Laplander laughed at him for speaking with such assurance of places that he had never seen.

“I think I shall have to tell you a story, Clement, to give you some idea of Lapland, since you have not seen it,” volunteered the Laplander.

“It shall not be said of me that I refuse to listen to a story,” retorted Clement, and the old Laplander began:

“It once happened that the birds who lived down in Sweden, south of the great Samiland, thought that they were overcrowded there and suggested moving northward.

“They came together to consider the matter. The young and eager birds wished to start at once, but the older and wiser ones passed a resolution to send scouts to explore the new country.

“ ‘Let each of the five great bird families send out a scout,’ said the old and wise birds, ‘to learn if there is room for us all up there⁠—food and hiding places.’

“Five intelligent and capable birds were immediately appointed by the five great bird families.

“The forest birds selected a grouse, the field birds a lark, the sea birds a gull, the freshwater birds a loon, and the cliff birds a snow sparrow.

“When the five chosen ones were ready to start, the grouse, who was the largest and most commanding, said:

“ ‘There are great stretches of land ahead. If we travel together, it will be long before we cover all the territory that we must explore. If, on the other hand, we travel singly⁠—each one exploring his special portion of the country⁠—the whole business can be accomplished in a few days.’

“The other scouts thought the suggestion a good one, and agreed to act upon it.

“It was decided that the grouse should explore the midlands. The lark was to travel to the eastward, the sea gull still farther east, where the land bordered on the sea, while the loon should fly over the territory west of the midlands, and the snow sparrow to the extreme west.

“In accordance with this plan, the five birds flew over the whole Northland. Then they turned back and told the assembly of birds what they had discovered.

“The gull, who had travelled along the seacoast, spoke first.

“ ‘The North is a fine country,’ he said. ‘The sounds are full of fish, and there are points and islands without number. Most of these are uninhabited, and the birds will find plenty of room there. The humans do a little fishing and sailing in the sounds, but not enough to disturb the birds. If the sea birds follow my advice, they will move north immediately.’

“When the gull had finished, the lark, who had explored the land back from the coast, spoke:

“ ‘I don’t know what the gull means by his islands and points,’ said the lark. I have travelled only over great fields and flowery meadows. I have never before seen a country crossed by some large streams. Their shores are dotted with homesteads, and at the mouth of the rivers are cities; but for the most part the country is very desolate. If the field birds follow my advice, they will move north immediately.’

“After the lark came the grouse, who had flown over the midlands.

“ ‘I know neither what the lark means with his meadows nor the gull with his islands and points,’ said he. ‘I have seen only pine forests on this whole trip. There are also many rushing streams and great stretches of moss-grown swamp land; but all that is not river or swamp is forest. If the forest birds follow my advice, they will move north immediately.’

“After the grouse came the loon, who had explored the borderland to the west.

“I don’t know what the grouse means by his forests, nor do I know where the eyes of the lark and the gull could have been,’ remarked the loon. ‘There’s hardly any land up there⁠—only big lakes. Between beautiful shores glisten clear, blue mountain lakes, which pour into roaring waterfalls. If the freshwater birds follow my advice, they will move north immediately.’

“The last speaker was the snow sparrow, who had flown along the western boundary.

“ ‘I don’t know what the loon means by his lakes, nor do I know what countries the grouse, the lark, and the gull can have seen,’ he said. ‘I found one vast mountainous region up north. I didn’t run across any fields or any pine forests, but peak after peak and highlands. I have seen ice fields and snow and mountain brooks, with water as white as milk. No farmers nor cattle nor homesteads have I seen, but only Lapps and reindeer and