The Wonderful Adventures of Nils · Chapter
Kidnapped by Crows explained
Nils is kidnapped by a band of crows while seeking food on a wooded point.
What happens
Nils is kidnapped by a band of crows while seeking food on a wooded point. He is carried across Småland and brought to a sandpit where the crow leader, Wind-Rush, demands he open an earthen crock. Nils resists, kills Wind-Rush in self-defense, then opens the crock and throws out silver coins to distract the crows. Fumle-Drumle, a crow with a white feather, helps him escape and promises to return him to the wild geese.
Themes in this chapter
Freedom vs. Confinement
Nils is forcibly taken from the wild geese and held captive by the crows, highlighting his loss of freedom and struggle to regain it.
Adventure and Exploration
Nils is carried across Småland, observing the landscape from above, and faces a new challenge with the crow band.
Characters to notice
- Nils Holgersson
Kidnapped by crows, he uses his wits to survive, killing the crow leader Wind-Rush and distracting the flock with silver coins.
- Morten Goosey-Gander
Left waiting on the shore after Nils goes into the grove; Nils worries about him while being carried away.
- Akka
Leads the wild geese in searching for Nils, calling out overhead, but is unable to locate him.
- Wind-Rush
The leader of the crow band; he is killed by Nils when he rushes at the boy's knife.
- Drumle
A crow with a white feather who carries Nils on his back and later helps him escape, revealing a different demeanor.
Key passages
“The wild geese were up at daybreak, so they should have time to get themselves a bite of food before starting out on the journey toward Östergötland.”
The wild geese rose early to eat before continuing their journey to Östergötland.
Sets the scene for the chapter's beginning.
“He was being carried southwest; this he understood because the sun’s disc was behind him.”
Nils realized he was being taken southwest, as the sun was at his back.
Nils uses the sun to determine direction.
“Wind-Rush is dead! The stranger has killed our chieftain, Wind-Rush!”
The crows cried out that their leader Wind-Rush had been killed by the boy.
Moment of crisis after Nils defends himself.