# Osa, the Goose Girl, and Little Mats explained — The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

> Chapter companion for The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf.

## What happens

This chapter recounts the tragic story of Osa and Little Mats, two children from Småland whose family was devastated by tuberculosis after taking in a sick vagabond woman. Their father, believing a gipsy curse caused the deaths, fled in despair. After their mother also dies, the children support themselves by tending geese and trading. After attending a lecture on tuberculosis, they realize the deaths were due to infection, not a curse. Determined to find their father and correct his mistaken belief, they set out on foot for Lapland. Along the way, they teach people about hygiene to combat the disease. The chapter ends with Little Mats injured at a mine in Malmberget, where Nils and Akka discover him.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humanity and Compassion

The family's kindness to the sick vagabond woman, despite their own poverty, and Osa and Mats' mission to correct their father's despair highlight compassion and selflessness.

### Redemption and Moral Education

The children seek to redeem their father's lost faith by educating him about the true cause of the deaths, and they themselves become teachers of hygiene and hope.

### Adventure and Exploration

Osa and Mats undertake a long journey on foot from Småland to Lapland, encountering various people and spreading their message, embodying a quest for truth and reunion.

## Character check-ins

### Osa

Osa is the older sister, responsible and serious. After losing her family to tuberculosis, she and her brother Mats travel to find their father and spread knowledge about hygiene.

### Little Mats

Little Mats is Osa's lively and talkative younger brother. He is injured by flying rocks at the Malmberget mine while searching for their father.

### Nils Holgersson

Nils, with Akka, discovers Little Mats unconscious at the mine in Lapland and runs to alert the miners.

### Akka

Akka takes Nils to Malmberget, where they find Little Mats injured. She is present as Nils goes for help.

## Key lines

> The lecturer said he could not say positively, but he believed that none of their dear ones would have been sick had they understood how to guard against the infection.

The lecturer explained that if they had known how to prevent infection, their family might have survived.

_This moment clarifies the scientific understanding of disease transmission, countering the superstition of a curse._

> They said rather: 'We will not content ourselves with merely raking the yard and sweeping the floors, we will use mop and brush, water and soap. We will keep clean inside and outside of the door and we ourselves will be clean in both mind and body. In this way we will conquer the sickness.'

The children advocated for thorough cleaning and personal hygiene as the means to defeat tuberculosis.

_This contrasts with the folkloric imagery of the plague children with rake and broom, replacing fatalism with proactive health measures._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_adventures_of_nils_se/chapters/osa-the-goose-girl-and-little-mats
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_adventures_of_nils_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_wonderful_adventures_of_nils_se/chapters