Wild Goose Chase
Nils Holgersson, the boy riding on the back of a goose, is a well-known symbol of Sweden. Selma Lagerlöf, the Swedish writer who wrote “The Wonderful Adventures of Nils”, was actually the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. I assume, though, that most of us don’t know Nils Holgersson from the original book, but from the 1980 Japanese Anime series, which was based on it.
The story of Nils Holgersson tells of a naughty Swedish boy who is transformed into a dwarf and finds himself flying with a band of wild geese. The adventures of the Swedish boy rushed back to me in an instant when I saw this photo. This piece of goose-shaped driftwood really fits into the rural atmosphere of Nils Holgersson. It is so beautiful it gives me goosebumps – pardon the pun.