The story revolves around a young boy named Nils Holgersson who resides on a farm where he mistreats the animals. However, when he captures the goblin that inhabits his farm, it becomes one prank too many. Consequently, Nils is magically shrunken down to size. In retaliation, the farm animals seek revenge against him. Fearing for his life, Nils escapes on the back of a goose named Morten and teams up with a flock of wild geese. Together, they journey across Sweden in search of a solution to restore Nils' original size.