Short Fiction

Short Fiction

By Selma Lagerlöf.

Translated by Pauline Bancroft Flach, Jessie Brochner, and Velma Swanston Howard.

Table of Contents

1. Titlepage
2. Imprint
3. Foreword
4. Short Fiction
   1. The Spirit of Fasting and Petter Nord
      1. I
      2. II
      3. III
      4. IV
   2. The Legend of the Bird’s Nest
   3. The King’s Grave
   4. The Outlaws
   5. The Legend of Reor
   6. Valdemar Atterdag
   7. Mamsell Fredrika
   8. The Romance of a Fisherman’s Wife
   9. His Mother’s Portrait
   10. A Fallen King
   11. A Christmas Guest
   12. Uncle Reuben
   13. Downie
       1. I
       2. II
       3. III
       4. IV
   14. Among the Climbing Roses
   15. The Story of a Country House
       1. I
       2. II
       3. III
       4. IV
       5. V
       6. VI
   16. Queens at Kungahälla
       1. On the Site of the Great Kungahälla
       2. The Forest Queen
       3. Sigrid Storräde
       4. Astrid
          1. I
          2. II
          3. III
          4. IV
   17. Old Agnete
   18. The Fisherman’s Ring
   19. Santa Caterina of Siena
   20. The Empress’s Money-Chest
   21. The Peace of God
   22. A Story from Halstanäs
   23. The Inscription on the Grave
   24. The Brothers
   25. The Holy Night
   26. The Emperor’s Vision
   27. The Wise Men’s Well
   28. Bethlehem’s Children
   29. The Flight Into Egypt
   30. In Nazareth
   31. In the Temple
   32. Saint Veronica’s Kerchief
       1. I
       2. II
       3. III
       4. IV
       5. V
       6. VI
       7. VII
       8. VIII
       9. IX
   33. Robin Redbreast
   34. Our Lord and Saint Peter
   35. The Sacred Flame
       1. I
       2. II
       3. III
       4. IV
       5. V
   36. The Girl from the Marsh Croft
       1. I
       2. II
       3. III
       4. IV
       5. V
       6. VI
   37. The Silver Mine
   38. The Airship
   39. The Wedding March
   40. The Musician
   41. The Legend of the Christmas Rose
   42. A Story from Jerusalem
   43. Why the Pope Lived to Be So Old
   44. The Story of a Story
5. Endnotes
6. Colophon
7. Uncopyright

Imprint

This ebook is the product of many hours of hard work by volunteers for Standard Ebooks, and builds on the hard work of other literature lovers made possible by the public domain.

This particular ebook is based on a transcription produced for Project Gutenberg (Invisible Links, From a Swedish Homestead, Christ Legends and Other Stories and The Girl from the Marsh Croft) and on digital scans available at the Internet Archive (Invisible Links, From a Swedish Homestead, Christ Legends and Other Stories and The Girl from the Marsh Croft).

The writing and artwork within are believed to be in the U.S. public domain, and Standard Ebooks releases this ebook edition under the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. For full license information, see the Uncopyright at the end of this ebook.

Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces ebook editions of public domain literature using modern typography, technology, and editorial standards, and distributes them free of cost. You can download this and other ebooks carefully produced for true book lovers at standardebooks.org.

Foreword

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 Legend Of Reor,” “Valdemar Atterdag,” “Mamsell Fredrika,” “The Romance of a Fisherman’s Wife,” “His Mother’s Portrait,” “A Fallen King,” “A Christmas Guest,” “Uncle Reuben,” “Downie,” and “Among the Climbing Roses” were translated by Pauline Bancroft Flach and originally published in 1899. “The Story of a Country House,” “Queens at Kungahälla,” “Old Agnete,” “The Fisherman’s Ring,” “Santa Caterina of Siena,” “The Empress’s Money-Chest,” “The Peace of God,” “A Story from Halstanäs,” “The Inscription on the Grave,” and “The Brothers” were translated by Jessie Brochner and originally published in 1901. “The Holy Night,” “The Emperor’s Vision,” “The Wise Men’s Well,” “Bethlehem’s Children,” “The Flight Into Egypt,” “In Nazareth,” “In the Temple,” “Saint Veronica’s Kerchief,” “Robin Redbreast,” “Our Lord and Saint Peter,” and “The Sacred Flame” were translated by Velma Swanston Howard and originally published in 1908. “The Girl from the Marsh Croft,” “The Silver Mine,” “The Airship,” “The Wedding March,” “The Musician,” “The Legend of the Christmas Rose,” “A Story from Jerusalem,” “Why the Pope Lived to Be So Old” and “The Story of a Story” were also translated by Velma Swanston Howard and originally published in 1910.

Robin Whittleton

Malmö, Sweden, February 2021

Short Fiction

The Spirit of Fasting and Petter Nord

I

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 walked up the street knew to which window he must raise his eyes to see a lovely face behind the panes, and who ever strolled through the town park knew well whither he should turn his steps to meet the one he wished to meet.

One was as proud of the beautiful roses in the garden of a neighbor, as if they had grown in one’s own. If anything mean or vulgar was done, it was as great a shame as if it had happened in one’s own family; but at the smallest adventure, at a fire or a fight in the marketplace, one swelled with pride and said: “Only see what a community! Do such things ever happen anywhere else? What a wonderful town!”

In my beloved town nothing ever changes. If I ever come there again, I shall find the same houses and shops that I knew of old; the same holes in the pavements will cause my downfall; the same stiff hedges of lindens, the same clipped lilac bushes will captivate my fascinated gaze. Again shall I see the old Mayor who rules the whole town walking down the street with elephantine tread. What a feeling of security there is in knowing that you are walking there! And deaf old Halfvorson will still be digging in his garden, while his eyes, clear as water, stare and wander as