
From the perspective of a grown narrator, the book opens with a tender recollection of childhood evenings spent on a corner sofa, listening to a beloved grandmother’s endless stream of stories. When the old woman passes, the narrator feels the sudden emptiness of that enchanted world and decides to gather the legends she once heard, especially the one about the birth of Jesus. The opening frames a quiet, reflective journey that mixes personal memory with the timeless wonder of holy tales.
The first legend unfolds on a cold Christmas night, when a desperate man wanders through darkness seeking coals to warm his newborn child. He encounters a lone shepherd, sleeping sheep, and three silent, fierce dogs that miraculously cannot harm him, creating a scene that feels both mythic and intimate. As the narrator’s curiosity grows, the story promises deeper meaning about faith, generosity, and the hidden miracles of the nativity.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (295K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Shaun Pinder, Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2014-02-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1858–1940
A pioneer of Swedish literature, this Nobel Prize winner wrote stories that blend folklore, moral depth, and a strong sense of place. She is still especially loved for The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, a classic that carries readers across Sweden through the eyes of a child and a wild goose.
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