Children Stories - Tales Of The Trolls

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The Little Robber Girl
The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Tales Of The Trolls

from The Swedish Fairy Book

I

A peasant from Jursagard in the parish of Hanger had gone to the
forest the day before Christmas, and started out for home late in the
evening. He had just about reached the Klintaberg when he heard some
one call out: "Tell the malt-swine to come home, for her child has
fallen into the fire!" When the peasant reached home, there stood his
wife, who had been brewing the Yuletide ale, and she was complaining
that though she brewed and brewed, it did not have the right flavor.
Then he told her what had been shouted at him from the hill, and that
very moment a troll-witch, whom they had not noticed before, darted
down from the stove and made off in a great hurry. And when they
looked closer, they found that she had left behind a great kettle full
of the best malt, which she had gathered during the brewing. And that
was the reason the poor woman had not been able to give her brew the
right flavor. The kettle was large, made of ornamented metal, and was
long preserved in Hanger. It was at length sold at auction in 1838,
and melted down.

II

In former days, when a child came into the world, his mother was known
as a "heathen," until she could take him to church to be christened.
And it was not safe for her to leave the house unless she carried
steel about her in some shape or form. Now once there was one of these
"heathen" women in Norra Ryd, in the parish of Hanger, who prepared
lunch for the mowers, and went out and called them in to eat. Then one
of the mowers said to her: "I cannot come, for my sheaf is not yet
bound." "I will bind it for you," said the woman. The mowers went in
and ate, but saw no more of her. They went back into the field, and
were about to take up their work again, but still neither saw nor
heard her. They began to search, and hunted for a number of days; but
all in vain. Time passed, till it was late in the fall. One day the
weather was clear and sunny. To this very day there is a cotter's hut,
called Kusabo, that stands on a hill named Kusas, and the cotter who
lived there went to look for a horse. And there on the hillside he saw
the woman sitting who had disappeared, and she was sewing. It was not
far from Kusabo to Norra Ryd, so he recognized her at once. He said
"O, you poor thing, and here you sit!" "Yes," said she, "but you must
never mention it to Lars"--that was her husband--"for I shall never
return from this place. Even now I am only allowed to sit outside for
a little while."

III

Once upon a time a girl was hunting for berries on Kusabo mountain,
and was taken into the hill. But she wept, night and day, which
disgruntled the trolls, and they let her out again. But just as they
were letting her out, one of the trolls hit her such a blow on the
back that she was hump-backed for the rest of her life. She herself
used to tell how she had been kept in the hill.

NOTE

Primitive faith and superstition are reflected in these three
"Tales of the Trolls" (communicated from mss. belonging to Dr.
v. Sydow-Lund). The first is also current in Norway; the others
tell of women who have been bergtagen, "taken into the
mountain." It is not so long since that every humped back,
every weak mind, in short, every ill that had no visible
explanation, was ascribed to the troll folk.

Next: Charcoal Nils And The Troll-woman
Previous: Queen Crane

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