Old Hopgiant

: The Swedish Fairy Book

Once upon a time there were two neighbors: one of them rich and the

other poor. They owned a great meadow in common, which they were

supposed to mow together and then divide the hay.



But the rich neighbor wanted the meadow for himself alone, and told

the poor one that he would drive him out of house and home if he did

not come to an agreement with him that whichever one of them mowed the

largest stretch o the meadowland in a single day, should receive the

entire meadow.



Now the rich neighbor got together as many mowers as ever he could;

but the poor one could not hire a single man. At last he despaired

altogether and wept, because he did not know how he could manage to

get so much as a bit of hay for the cow.



Then it was that a large man stepped up to him and said: "Do not

grieve so. I can tell you what you ought to do. When the mowing

begins, just call out 'Old Hopgiant!' three times in succession, and

you'll not be at a loss, as you shall see for yourself." And with that

he disappeared.



Then the poor man's heart grew less heavy, and he gave over worrying.

So one fine day his rich neighbor came along with no fewer than twenty

farmhands, and they mowed down one swath after another. But the poor

neighbor did not even take the trouble to begin when he saw how the

others took hold, and that he himself would not be able to do anything

alone.



Then the big man occurred to him, and he called out: "Old Hopgiant!"

But no one came, and the mowers all laughed at him and mocked him,

thinking he had gone out of his mind. Then he called again: "Old

Hopgiant!" And, just as before, there was no hopgiant to be seen. And

the mowers could scarcely swing their scythes; for they were laughing

fit to split.



And then he cried for the third time: "Old Hopgiant!" And there

appeared a fellow of truly horrible size, with a scythe as large as a

ship's mast.



And now the merriment of the rich peasant's mowers came to an end. For

when the giant began to mow and fling about his scythe, they were

frightened at the strength he put into his work. And before they knew

it he had mown half the meadow.



Then the rich neighbor fell into a rage, rushed up and gave the giant

a good kick. But that did not help him, for his foot stuck to the

giant, while the latter no more felt the kick than if it had been a

flea-bite, and kept right on working.




HAWSER."]



Then the rich neighbor thought of a scheme to get free, and gave the

giant a kick with his other foot; but this foot also stuck fast, and

there he hung like a tick. Old Hopgiant mowed the whole meadow, and

then flew up into the air, and the rich man had to go along hanging to

him like a hawser. And thus the poor neighbor was left sole master of

the place.





NOTE



A genuine folk-tale figure is "Old Hopgiant." (Bondeson,

Svenska Folksagor, Stockholm, 1882, p. 41. From Dalsland) in

which a wonderful giant being comes to a poor peasant's

assistance, and rescues him from his oppressor.