This edition of Selma Lagerlöf’s Short Fiction was produced from various translations. “The Spirit of Fasting and Petter Nord,” “The Legend of the Bird’s Nest,” “The King’s Grave,” “The Outlaws,” “The...

I can see before me the little town, friendly as a home. It is so small that I know its every hole and corner, am friends with all the children and know the name of every one of its dogs. Who ever wal...

I can see before me the little town, friendly as a home. It is so small that I know its every hole and corner, am friends with all the children and know the name of every one of its dogs. Who ever wal...

The little town lay friendly and contented under its red hill. It was so embedded in green that the church tower only just stuck up out of it. Garden after garden crowded one another on narrow terrace...

I shall almost be compelled to leave reality, and turn to the world of saga and extravagance to be able to relate what now happened. If young Petter Nord had been Per, the Swineherd, with a gold crown...

Behind the town the mountain walls rise perpendicularly, but after one has climbed up them by steep stone steps and slippery pine paths, one finds that the mountain spreads out into a wide, undulating...

Hatto the hermit stood in the wilderness and prayed to God. A storm was raging, and his long beard and matted hair waved about him like weather-beaten tufts of grass on the summit of an old ruin. But ...

It was at the time of year when the heather is red. It grew over the sand-hills in thick clumps. From low treelike stems close-growing green branches raised their hardy evergreen leaves and unfading f...

A peasant who had murdered a monk took to the woods and was made an outlaw. He found there before him in the wilderness another outlaw, a fisherman from the outermost islands, who had been accused of ...

There was a man called Reor. He was from Fuglekarr in the parish of Svarteborg, and was considered the best shot in the county. He was baptized when King Olof rooted out the old belief, and was ever a...

The spring that Hellqvist’s great picture Valdemar Atterdag Levies a Contribution on Visby was exhibited at the Art League, I went in there one quiet morning not knowing that that work of art was ther...

It was Christmas night, a real Christmas night. The goblins raised the mountain roofs on lofty gold pillars and celebrated the midwinter festival. The brownies danced around the Christmas porridge in ...

On the outer edge of the fishing-village stood a little cottage on a low mound of white sea sand. It was not built in line with the even, neat, conventional houses that enclosed the wide green place w...

In one of the hundred houses of the fishing-village, where each is exactly like the other in size and shape, where all have just as many windows and as high chimneys, lived old Mattsson, the pilot. In...

The wooden shoes clattered in uneasy measure on the pavements. The street boys hurried by. They shouted, they whistled. The houses shook, and from the courts the echo rushed out like a chained dog fro...

One of those who had lived the life of a pensioner at Ekeby was little Ruster, who could transpose music and play the flute. He was of low origin and poor, without home and without relations. Hard tim...

There was once, nearly eighty years ago, a little boy who went out into the marketplace to spin his top. The little boy’s name was Reuben. He was not more than three years old, but he swung his little...

I think I can see them as they drive away. Quite distinctly I can see his stiff, silk hat with its broad, curving brim, such as they had in the forties, his light waistcoat and his stock. I also see h...

I think I can see them as they drive away. Quite distinctly I can see his stiff, silk hat with its broad, curving brim, such as they had in the forties, his light waistcoat and his stock. I also see h...

How has “it” come? That which she dares not call by name? “It” has come like the dew to the grass, like the color to the rose, like the sweetness to the berry, imperceptibly and gently without announc...

One evening thin, soft clouds are floating in the sky; one evening all is still and mild; one evening the air is filled with fine white down from the aspens and poplars. It is quite late, and no one i...

How very improperly “it” behaved the morning they were to leave! During the two days after the ball “it” had been rather something inspiring, something exciting; but now when Downie is to leave, when ...

I could wish that the people with whom I have spent my summer would let their glance fall on these lines. Now when the cold, dark nights have come, I should like to carry their thoughts back to that b...

It was a beautiful autumn day towards the end of the thirties. There was in Upsala at that time a high, yellow, two-storied house, which stood quite alone in a little meadow on the outskirts of the to...

It was a beautiful autumn day towards the end of the thirties. There was in Upsala at that time a high, yellow, two-storied house, which stood quite alone in a little meadow on the outskirts of the to...

Munkhyttan, the home of Gunnar Hede, was situated in a poor parish in the forests of Vesterdalarne. It was a large, thinly-populated parish, with which Nature had dealt very stingily. There were stony...

Raglanda was the name of a parish in the north of East Värmland, near the borders of Dalarne, where the Dean had a large house, but the pastor only a small and poor one. But poor as they were at the s...

It is quite certain the sun loves the open places outside the small village churches. Has no one ever noticed that one never sees so much sunshine as during the morning service outside a small, whitew...

Anna Stina was an old woman who lived in the depths of the forest. She gave a helping hand at the Parsonage now and then, and always managed opportunely to come down the hillside when they were baking...

Ingrid and Anna Stina were walking through the dark forest. They had been walking for four days, and had slept three nights in the Säter huts. Ingrid was weak and weary; her face was transparently pal...

Should a stranger who had heard about the old city of Kungahälla ever visit the site on the northern river where it once lay, he would assuredly be much surprised. He would ask himself whether churche...

Should a stranger who had heard about the old city of Kungahälla ever visit the site on the northern river where it once lay, he would assuredly be much surprised. He would ask himself whether churche...

Marcus Antonius Poppius was a Roman merchant of high standing. He traded with distant lands; and from the harbour at Ostia he sent well-equipped triremes to Spain, to Britain, and even to the north co...

Once upon a time there was an exceedingly beautiful spring. It was the very spring that the Swedish Queen Sigrid Storräde summoned the Norwegian King Olaf Trygveson to meet her at Kungahälla in order ...

In the midst of the low buildings forming the old Castle of the Kings at Upsala towered the Ladies’ Bower. It was built on poles, like a dovecote. The staircase leading up to it was as steep as a ladd...

In the midst of the low buildings forming the old Castle of the Kings at Upsala towered the Ladies’ Bower. It was built on poles, like a dovecote. The staircase leading up to it was as steep as a ladd...

In the rich city of Kungahälla, far away at the border, was the old castle of the kings. It was surrounded by green ramparts. Huge stones stood as sentinels outside the gates, and in the courtyard gre...

A sunny day late in the harvest, not a cloud in the sky; a day when one thinks the fair sun will give to the earth all the light she possesses! The fair sun is like a mother whose son is about to set ...

On the evening of All Saints’ Day the moon shone bright and clear. The King had gone the round of the castle, had looked into stables and barns to see that all was well; he had even been to the house ...

An old woman went up the mountain-path with short, tripping steps. She was little and thin. Her face was pale and wizened, but neither hard nor furrowed. She wore a long cloak and a quilled cap. She h...

During the reign of the Doge Gradenigos there lived in Venice an old fisherman, Cecco by name. He had been an unusually strong man, and was still very strong for his age, but lately he had given up wo...

At Santa Caterina’s house in Siena, on a day towards the end of April, in the week when her fête is being celebrated, people come to the old house in the Street of the Dyers, to the house with the pre...

The Bishop had summoned Father Verneau to appear before him. It was on account of a somewhat unpleasant matter. Father Verneau had been sent to preach in the manufacturing districts around Charleroi, ...

Once upon a time there was an old farmhouse. It was Christmas-eve, the sky was heavy with snow, and the north wind was biting. It was just that time in the afternoon when everybody was busy finishing ...

In olden times there stood by the roadside an old country-house called Halstanäs. It comprised a long row of red-painted houses, which were of low structure, and right behind them lay the forest. Clos...

Nowadays no one ever takes any notice of the little cross standing in the corner of Svartsjö Churchyard. People on their way to and from church go past it without giving it a glance. This is not so ve...

It is very possible that I am mistaken, but it seems to me that an astonishing number of people die this year. I have a feeling that I cannot go down the street without meeting a hearse. One cannot he...

When I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I have had a greater since. It was then my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every day on the corner sofa in her ...

It happened at the time when Augustus was Emperor in Rome and Herod was King in Jerusalem. It was then that a very great and holy night sank down over the earth. It was the darkest night that anyone h...

In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunken thistles and yellowed grass. It was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills, and the slightest breath of ...

Just outside the Bethlehem gate stood a Roman soldier, on guard. He was arrayed in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore a short sword, and held in his hand a long spear. He stood there all day...

Far away in one of the Eastern deserts many, many years ago grew a palm tree, which was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall. All who passed through the desert had to stop and gaze at it, for it ...

Once, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outside his father’s workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump of clay which the potter across the way had given him. He...

Once there was a poor family⁠—a man, his wife, and their little son⁠—who walked about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son was such a pretty child! He had hair which fell in long, even curls, and e...

During one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius’ reign, a poor vinedresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the Sabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute sol...

During one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius’ reign, a poor vinedresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the Sabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute sol...

This is how the old woman came to live in the vinedresser’s hut. And she conceived a great friendship for the young people. But for all that she never told them whence she had come, or who she was, an...

After this, the vinedresser and his wife never again spoke to the old woman about the Emperor. Between themselves they marveled that she, at her great age, had had the strength to renounce all the wea...

A week later, old Faustina wandered up the steep inclines on the Island of Capri. It was a warm day and the dread consciousness of old age and feebleness came over her as she labored up the winding ro...

A few weeks later, one of the Emperor’s slaves came to the lonely hut in the Sabine mountains. It drew on toward evening, and the vinedresser and his wife stood in the doorway and saw the sun set in t...

Old Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had not desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the Emperor should be entrusted to anyone but herself. She sai...

The Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a dream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city. She dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and loo...

When the young woman awoke, it was already full, clear day, and her female slaves stood and waited that they might help her dress. She was very silent while she dressed, but finally she asked the slav...

Old Faustina had returned to Capri and had sought out the Emperor. She told him her story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look at him. During her absence the illness had made frightful ravages, ...

It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not only made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well, at the same time giving them their names. There have been m...

It happened at the time when our Lord and Saint Peter were newly arrived in Paradise, after having wandered on earth and suffered hardships during many sorrowful years. One can imagine that the change...

A great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been made a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the son of an armorer, and had learned his father’s trade, but ...

A great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been made a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the son of an armorer, and had learned his father’s trade, but ...

The night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem had been captured, there was great rejoicing in the Crusaders’ camp, outside the city. In almost every tent they celebrated with drinking bouts, and noi...

The next morning at dawn Raniero mounted his horse. He was in full armor, but over it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak, so that the iron dress should not become overheated by exposure to the sun’s...

When Raniero broke away from the camp at Jerusalem, he intended to travel from Joppa to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he had been robbed of his money, and concluded to make the journey by l...

It was Eastertide when Raniero rode into Florence. He had scarcely come in through the city gate⁠—riding backwards, with his hood drawn down over his face and the burning candle in his hand⁠—when a be...

It took place in the court room of a rural district. At the head of the Judges’ table sits an old Judge⁠—a tall and massively built man, with a broad, rough-hewn visage. For several hours he has been ...

It took place in the court room of a rural district. At the head of the Judges’ table sits an old Judge⁠—a tall and massively built man, with a broad, rough-hewn visage. For several hours he has been ...

Let no one imagine that the girl who had passed through such a trying ordeal at the bar of justice thought that she had done anything praiseworthy! On the contrary, she considered herself disgraced be...

Helga from the marsh croft came to Närlunda, and there all went well. She was willing and teachable and grateful for every kind word said to her. She always felt herself to be the humblest of mortals ...

Gudmund thought that he had loved Hildur until the day when she exacted from him the promise that Helga should be sent away from Närlunda; at least up to that time there was no one whom he had esteeme...

It was decided that Gudmund and Hildur’s wedding should be celebrated at Älvåkra the day following Palm Sunday. On the Friday before, Gudmund drove to town to make some purchases for the homecoming ba...

Gudmund was hardly out of sight when Helga rushed down the mountain in another direction. She ran past the marsh without stopping and hurried over the wooded hills as fast as she could and down the ro...

King Gustaf the Third was travelling through Dalecarlia. He was pressed for time, and all the way he wanted to drive like lightning. Although they drove with such speed that the horses were extended l...

Father and the boys are seated one rainy October evening in a third-class railway coach on their way to Stockholm. The father is sitting by himself on one bench, and the boys sit close together direct...

Now I’m going to tell a pretty story. A good many years ago there was to be a very big wedding at Svartsjö parish in Värmland. First, there was to be a church ceremony and after that three days of fea...

No one in Ullerud could say anything of fiddler Lars Larsson but that he was both meek and modest in his later years. But he had not always been thus, it seems. In his youth he had been so overbearing...

Robber Mother, who lived in Robbers’ Cave up in Göinge forest, went down to the village one day on a begging tour. Robber Father, who was an outlawed man, did not dare to leave the forest, but had to ...

In the old and time-honored mosque, El Aksa, in Jerusalem, there is a long, winding path leading from the main entrance up to a very deep and wide window-niche. In this niche a very old and much worn ...

It happened at Rome in the early nineties. Leo XIII was just then at the height of his fame and greatness. All true Catholics rejoiced at his successes and triumphs, which in truth were sublime. And, ...

Once there was a story that wanted to be told and sent out in the world. This was very natural, inasmuch as it knew that it was already as good as finished. Many, through remarkable deeds and strange ...

A Swedish national dance of a very lively character. —⁠P. B. F. ↩ In Sweden, just before Easter, bunches of birch twigs with small feathers tied on the ends, are sold everywhere on the streets. The or...