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.