It is now just thirty years since I first began to read the "Saga of
Grettir the Strong" in Icelandic. At that time I had only a Danish
grammar of Icelandic and an Icelandic-Danish dictionary, and I did not
know a word of Danish. So I had to learn Danish in order to learn
Icelandic.
It was laborious work making out the Saga, and every line when I began
took me some time to understand. Moreover, I had not much time at my
disposal, for then I was a master in a school.
Now, after I had worked a little way into the Saga, I became intensely
interested in it myself, and it struck me that my boys whom I taught
might like to hear about Grettir. So I tried every day to translate,
after school hours, a chapter, hardly ever more at first, and sometimes
not even as much as that. Then, when on half-holidays I proposed a walk
to some of my scholars, they were keen to hear the story of Grettir.
Well, Grettir went on for some months in this way, a fresh instalment of
the tale coming every half-holiday, and it was really wonderful how
interested and delighted the boys were with the story. Nor was I less
so; the labour of translation which was so great at first became rapidly
lighter, and I was as much interested in the adventures of the hero as
were the boys. The other day I met an old pupil of mine, and almost the
first thing he said to me was: "Oh! do you remember Grettir? Thirty
years ago! Fancy! I am a married man and have boys of my own, and I
have often tried to tell them the story which made such an impression on
me, but I cannot remember all the incidents nor their order. I do wish
you would write it as a story for boys. I should like to read it myself
again, and my boys would love it." "Very well," I said, "I will do so."
Now my boy readers must understand that I have told them the story in my
own words and in my own way. I went to Iceland in 1861, and went over
nearly every bit of the ground made famous by the adventures of Grettir.
Consequently, I am able to help out and illustrate the tale by what I
actually saw. In the original book there is a great deal more than I
have attempted to retell, but much has to do with the ancestors of
Grettir, and there are other incidents introduced of no great importance
and very confusing to the memory. So I have taken the leading points in
the story, and given them.