Consideration was even given to the target text buyers, the parents, as also Nils Holgersson’s insolent behaviour and thoughts at the beginning of the journey were moderated. Several passages in which Nils is said to be afraid of the dark, were deleted. In the first German version, Nils Holgersson’s journey was not only made more appealing to the German readers, but also less frightening. Most likely, Vineta’s exact location was named explicitly to oblige the German reading public with a visit of Nils to their own country.Ĭlearly, taking into account the target text readers may lead to different kinds of changes. This change of scene, which in accordance with Göte Klingberg’s terminology could be called localization, illustrates how the intended reading public may influence the translation process, for localization reflects the wish “to pay regard to the understanding and interest of the intended readers” (Klingberg 1986: 14). Yet in the Swedish original neither Germany nor Pommern is explicitly mentioned Vineta might just as well appear on the Swedish side of the Baltic. To be sure, in the chapter concerned the mythical city Vineta, which is often linked to Pommern, rises up from the sea. Sir Ermenrich takes Nils Holgersson to a remote beach, but it is never said where the beach is situated. In the Swedish original, however, this is not the case. In the first German version of the book, i.e., the first edition of Pauline Klaiber’s translation (1907-1908 3 volumes), Nils Holgersson’s nightly excursion with the stork Ermenrich on Easter Saturday is said to end in Pommern, Northern Germany. The German words in the title are taken from the first German version of Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige ( Nils Holgersson’s wonderful journey throughout Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf, 1906-1907), the Swedish children’s book that tells the story of the fourteen-year-old Nils Holgersson, who, transformed into a gnome and accompanied by a domesticated goose, joins a flock of wild geese on their journey through Sweden.