Christian blood here!" said he, and grew very angry. "But where are the
two others?" said he. "They have not yet come home," said the maidens.
"Indeed they have come," said the troll, "but they are probably looking
for the Christian who has crept in here!" At that moment, the young
fellow sprang from behind the door, and struck one head after another
with his bamboo cane. But he had no more than reached the eighth than it
seemed to him that the troll was getting the upper hand, and he ran out
of the door. The troll was so furious that he came near bursting. He
seized all the maidens and killed them, and then out he flew after the
young fellow. The latter had hidden behind a big rock, and when the
troll came darting up, showering sparks in his rage, he struck at his
ninth head, too, and the troll fell on his back, dead. Then the young
fellow ran in again, took his fiddle and played, and all the maidens
came back to life. Now they wanted to go home; but did not know how to
find the long road back. "I know what we must do," said the young
fellow, "I will take you on my back, one by one, and then the journey
will not be long for us." And this he did. He carried home all the gold
and silver he found in the hill, and then celebrated his wedding with
the middle one of the maidens, and if they have not died, they are
living this very day.
NOTE
"Farther South Than South, and Farther North Than North, and in
the Great Hill of Gold" (Janson, No. 12, p. 39) begins with the
story of three maidens in feather dress who have to keep their
human form if robbed of their feathers. The legend of Wieland and
Smith introduces three similar maidens in swan's plumage, one of
whom he wins for himself; yet when she finds her swan dress again
after long years, yearning overpowers her, and she flies away. Our
fairy-tale is kindlier, and allows the young fellow to gain his
dove princess after strenuous adventures.
XXX
LUCKY ANDREW
There was once a rich peasant who had two sons, named John Nicholas and
Lucky Andrew. The oldest was one of those fellows of whom one never can
quite make head or tail. He was a most unpleasant customer to deal with,
and he was more grasping and greedy than the folk of the Northland are,
as a rule, though it is only too rare to find them unblessed with
these attractive qualities. The other, Lucky Andrew, was wild and high
spirited, but always good natured, and no matter how badly off he might
be, he would always insist that he had been born under a lucky star.
When the eagle, in order to defend his nest, belabored his head and face
till the blood ran, he would still maintain that he was born under a
lucky star, if only he managed to bring home a single eaglet. Did his
boat capsize, which occasionally happened, and did they discover him
hanging to it, quite overcome with the water, cold and exertion, and
asked him how he felt, he would reply: "O, quite well. I have been
saved. I surely am in luck!"
When their father died, both of them were of age, and not long after
they both had to go out to the sand-banks to fetch some fishing-nets,
which had been left there since the summer fishing. It was late in
the fall, after the time when most fishermen are busy with the summer
fishing. Andrew had his gun along, which he carried with him wherever he
went. John Nicholas did not say much while they were underway; but he
thought all the harder. They were not ready to set out for home again
until near evening.
"Hark, Lucky Andrew, do you know there will be a storm to-night?" said
John Nicholas, and looked out across the sea. "I think it would be best
if we stayed here until morning!"
"There'll be no storm," said Andrew. "The Seven Sisters have not put on
their fog-caps, so you may be quite at rest."
But his brother complained of being weary, and at length they decided to
remain there for the night. When Andrew awoke he found himself alone;
and he saw neither brother nor boat, until he came to the highest point
of the island. Then he discovered him far out, darting for land like a
sea-gull. Andrew did not understand the whole affair. There were still
provisions there, as well as a dish of curd, his gun and various other
things. So Andrew wasted but little time in thought. "He will come back
this evening," said he. "Only a fool loses heart so long as he can eat."
But in the evening there was no brother to be seen, and Andrew waited
day by day, and week by week; until at last, he realized that his
brother had marooned him on this barren island in order to be able to
keep their inheritance for himself, and not have to divide it. And
such was the case, for when John Nicholas came in sight of land on his
homeward trip, he had capsized the boat, and declared that Lucky Andrew
had been drowned.
But the latter did not lose heart. He gathered drift-wood along the
strand, shot sea-birds, and looked for mussels and roots. He built
himself a raft of drift-timber, and fished with a pole that had also
been left behind. One day, while he was at work, he happened to notice a
depression or hollow in the sand, as though made by the keel of a large
Northland schooner, and he could plainly trace the braidings of the
hawsers from the strand up to the top of the island. Then he thought to
himself that he was in no danger, for he saw there was truth in the
report he had often heard, that the meer-folk made the island their
abode, and did much business with their ships.
"God be praised for good company! That was just what I needed. Yes, it
is true, as I have always said, that I was born under a lucky star,"
thought Andrew to himself; perhaps he said so too, for occasionally he
really had to talk a little. So he lived through the fall. Once he saw a
boat, and hung a rag on a pole and waved with it; but that very moment
the sail dropped, and the crew took to the oars and rowed away at top
speed, for they thought the meer-trolls were making signs and waving.
On Christmas Eve Andrew heard fiddles and music far out at sea; and when
he came out, he saw a glow of light that came from a great Northland
schooner, which was gliding toward the land--yet such a ship he had
never yet seen. It has a main-sail of uncommon size, which looked to him
to be of silk, and the most delicate tackling, as thin as though woven
of steel wire, and everything else was in proportion, as fine and
handsome as any Northlander might wish to have. The whole schooner was
filled with little people dressed in blue, but the girl who stood at the
helm was adorned like a bride, and looked as splendid as a queen, for
she wore a crown and costly garments. Yet any one could see that she was
a human being, for she was tall, and handsomer than the meer-folk. In
fact, Lucky Andrew thought that she was handsomer than any girl he ever
had seen. The schooner headed for the land where Andrew stood; but with
his usual presence of mind, he hurried to the fisherman's hut, pulled
down his gun from the wall, and crept up into the large loft and hid
himself, so that he could see all that passed in the hut. He soon
noticed that the whole room was alive with people. They filled it
completely and more, and still more of them came in. Then the walls
began to crack, and the little hut spread out at all corners, and grew
so splendid and magnificent that the wealthiest merchant could not have
had its equal; it was almost like being in a royal castle. Tables were
covered with the most exquisite silver and gold. When they had eaten
they began to dance. Under cover of the noise, Andrew crept to the
look-out at the side of the roof, and climbed down. Then he ran to the
schooner, threw his flint-stone over it, and in order to make certain,
cut a cross into it with his sharp-cutting knife. When he came back
again, the dance was in full swing. The tables were dancing and the
benches and chairs--everything else in the room was dancing, too. The
only one who did not dance was the bride; she only sat there and looked
on, and when the bridegroom came to fetch her, she sent him away. For
the moment there was no thought of stopping. The fiddler knew neither
rest nor repose, and did not pass his cap, but played merrily on with
his left hand, and beat time with his foot, until he was dripping with
sweat, and the fiddle was hidden by the dust and smoke. When Andrew
noticed that his own feet began to twitch where he was standing, he
thought to himself: "Now I had better shoot away, or else he will play
me right off the ground!" So he turned his gun, thrust it through the
window, and shot it off over the bride's head; but upside down,
otherwise the bullet would have hit him. The moment the shot crashed,
all the troll-folk tumbled out of the door together; but when they saw
that the schooner was banned on the shore, they wailed and crept into a
hole in the hill. But all the gold and silver dishes were left behind,
and the bride, too, was still sitting there. She told Lucky Andrew that
she had been carried into the hill when she was only a small child.
Once, when her mother had gone to the pen to attend to the milking, she
had taken her along; but when she had to go home for a moment, she left
the child sitting under a juniper-bush, and told her that she might eat
the berries if she only repeated three times:
"I eat juniper-berries blue,
Wherein Jesu's cross I view.
I eat whortle-berries red,
Since 'twas for my sake He bled!"
But after her mother had gone, she found so many berries that she forgot
to say her verse, and so she was enchanted and taken into the hill. And
there no harm had been done her, save that she had lost the top joint of
the little finger of her left hand, and the goblins had been kind to
her; yet it had always seemed to her as though something were not as it
should be, she felt as though something weighed upon her, and she had
suffered greatly from the advances of the dwarf who had been chosen for
her husband. When Andrew learned who her mother and her people were, he
saw that they were related to him, and they became very good friends. So
Andrew could truly say he had been born under a lucky star. Then they
sailed home, and took along the schooner, and all the gold and silver,
and all the treasure which had been left in the hut, and then Andrew was
far wealthier than his brother.
But the latter, who suspected where all this wealth had come from, did
not wish to be any poorer than Andrew. He knew that trolls and goblins
walk mainly on Christmas Eve, and for that reason he sailed out to the
sand banks at that time. And on Christmas Eve he did see a light or
fire, but it seemed to be like will-o'-the-wisps fluttering about. When
he came nearer he heard splashes, horrible howls, and cold, piercing
cries, and there was a smell of slime and sea-weed, as at ebb-tide.
Terrified, he ran up into the hut, from whence he could see the trolls
on the shore. They were short and thick like hay-ricks, completely
covered with fur, with kirtles of skins, fishing boots, and enormous
fist-gloves. In place of head and hair they had bundles of sea-weed.
When they crawled up from the strand there was a gleam behind them like
that of rotting wood, and when they shook themselves they showered
sparks about them. When they drew nearer, John Nicholas crawled up into
the loft as his brother had done. The goblins dragged a great stone into
the hut, and began to beat their gloves dry against it, and meanwhile
they screamed so that John Nicholas's blood turned to ice in his
hiding-place. Then one of them sneezed into the ashes on the hearth
in order to make the fire burn again; while the others carried in
heather-grass and drift-wood, as coarse and heavy as lead. The smoke and
the heat nearly killed the eavesdropper in the loft, and in order to
catch his breath and get some fresh air, he tried to crawl out of the
look-out in the roof; yet he was of much heavier build than his brother,
stuck fast and could move neither in nor out. Then he grew frightened
and began to scream; but the goblins screamed much louder, and roared
and howled, and thumped and clamored inside and outside the hut. But
when the cock crowed they disappeared, and John Nicholas freed himself,
too. Yet when he returned home from his trip, he had lost his reason,
and after that the same cold, sinister screams which are the mark of the
troll in the Northland, might often be heard sounding from store-rooms
and lofts where he happened to be. Before his death, however, his reason
returned, and he was buried in consecrated ground, as they say. But
after that time no human foot ever trod the sand-banks again. They sank,
and the meer-folk, it is believed, went to the Lekang Islands. Andrew's
luck held good; no ship made more successful trips than his own; but
whenever he came to the Lekang Islands he lay becalmed--the goblins went
aboard or ashore with their goods--but after a time he had fair winds,
whether he happened to want to go to Bergen, or sail home. He had many
children, and all of them were bright and vigorous, yet every one of
them lacked the upper joint of the little finger of his left hand.
NOTE
"Lucky Andrew" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 286. From
Heligoland) is one of a type which is a favorite character in the
fairy-tale, care-free, brave and always happy, though he dwells in
awful loneliness in the midst of the sea, and comes across the
most sinister goblins.
XXXI
THE PASTOR AND THE SEXTON
Once upon a time there was a pastor who was such a boor that when any
one was driving toward him along the highway, he would shout to them,
while still some distance off: "Get out of the way! Get out of the
pastor's way!" One day, while he was doing this, along came the king.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" shouted the pastor. But the
king drove as he had a mind to, and he drove so fast that this time it
was the pastor who had to get out of the way, and when the king passed
him, he called out: "See that you come to me at the castle to-morrow,
and if you cannot answer three questions I put to you, then you will
have to take off your pastor's gown as a punishment for your arrogance!"
This sounded different from what the pastor was used to hearing. Shout
and bluster, and completely forget himself in his arrogance, that he
knew how to do; but returning a plain answer to a plain question was not
his strong point. So he went to the sexton, who was supposed to have
more in his upper story than the pastor. He told him he did not venture
to go to the castle, because "a fool can ask more than ten wise men can
answer," said he, and he induced the sexton to go in his stead.
The sexton set forth, and came to the castle dressed in the pastor's
gown and ruff. The king received him out in the entrance with crown and
scepter, and was so splendidly dressed that he fairly gleamed and shone.
"Well, are you here?" Yes, indeed, there he was. "First tell me," said
the king, "the distance from East to West." "It is one day's journey,"
said the sexton.
"And how is that?" asked the king. "Well, the sun rises in the East and
goes down in the West, and manages to do so nicely in the course of a
single day," said the sexton.
"Good," said the king, "but now tell me how much I am worth, just as I
stand."
"Well, if our Lord Christ himself was valued at thirty pieces of silver,
then I can hardly value you at more than twenty-nine," said the sexton.
"Well and good," said the king, "but since you are so wondrous wise,
tell me what I am thinking now."
"Ah, my lord king, you are probably thinking that this is the pastor who
is standing before you, but there you are greatly mistaken, for I am the
sexton."
"Then drive straight home, and be the pastor, and the pastor shall be
the sexton," said the king, and that is what happened, too.
NOTE
The droll tale of "The Pastor and the Sexton" is widely known and
emphasizes in humorous guise the value of politeness and
consideration, as well as a ready wit. (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E.,
p. 126, No. 86. From Valsers.)
XXXII
THE SKIPPER AND SIR URIAN
Once upon a time there was a master mariner who had the most unheard of
good fortune in all that he undertook; none had such splendid cargoes,
and none earned so much money as he did, for everything seemed to come
to him. And it is quite certain that there were none who could risk
taking the trips he did, for wherever he sailed he had fair winds, yes,
it was even said that when he turned around his cap, the wind turned
with it, to suit his wish.
Thus he sailed for many years with cargoes of lumber, and even went as
far as China, and earned money like hay. But once he sailed the North
Sea with all sails set, as though he had stolen ship and cargo. But the
one who was after him sailed even more swiftly. And that was Sir Urian,
the devil! With him the master mariner, as you may imagine, had made
a bargain, and that very day and hour the contract expired, and the
mariner had to be prepared, from moment to moment, to see him arrive to
fetch him.
So he came up on deck, out of the cabin, and took a look at the weather.
Then he called the ship's carpenter and several others, and told them to
go down at once into the ship's hold, and bore two holes in the ship's
bottom. Then they were to take the pumps from out their frames, and set
them closely over the holes, so that the water would rise quite high in
the pipes.
The men were surprised, and thought his orders passing strange, yet they
did as he told them. They bored the holes, and set up the pumps closely
over them, so that not even a drop of water could get at the cargo; yet
the North Sea stood seven feet high in the pumps.
No more had they cast overboard their chips and litter than Sir Urian
came along in a squall, and grabbed the master mariner by the collar.
"Wait, old boy, the matter is not so terribly urgent!" said he, and
began to defend himself, and pry loose the claws that held him with an
awl. "Did you not bind yourself in your contract always to keep my ship
tight and dry?" said the master mariner. "You are a nice article! Just
take a look at the pumps! The water stands seven feet high in the pipes!
Pump, devil, pump my ship dry, then you may take me to have and to hold
as long as ever you wish!"
The devil was fool enough, and allowed himself to be hoaxed. He worked
and sweat, and the perspiration ran down his cheeks in such streams that
one might have run a mill with them, but he merely kept on pumping out
of the North Sea into the North Sea. At last he had enough of it, and
when he could pump no longer, he flew home to his grandmother to rest.
He let the master mariner stay master mariner as long as he might
choose, and if he has not died he is still sailing the seas at his own
sweet will, and letting the wind blow according to how he turns his cap.
NOTE
In the story of "The Skipper and Sir Urian" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E.,
p. 33, No. 69. From the vicinity of Drontheim) we once more have
the devil, "Old Eric," as the Norwegians call him, playing the
part of the dupe, this time as the victim of a cunning old
sea-dog.
XXXIII
THE YOUTH WHO WAS TO SERVE THREE YEARS WITHOUT PAY
Once upon a time there was a poor man, who had only one son; but one who
was so lazy and clumsy that he did not want to do a stroke of work. "If
I am not to feed this bean-pole for the rest of my life, I'll have to
send him far away, where not a soul knows him," thought the father.
"Once he is knocking about in the world, he will not be so likely to
come home again." So he took his son and led him about in the world, far
and wide, and tried to get him taken on as a serving man; but no one
would have him. Finally, after wandering a long time, they came to a
rich man, of whom it was said that he turned every shilling around seven
times before he could make up his mind to part with it. He was willing
to take the youth for a servant, and he was to work three years without
pay. But at the end of the three years, his master was to go into town,
two days in succession, and buy the first thing he saw, and on the third
morning the youth himself was to go to town and also buy the first thing
he met. And all this he was to receive in lieu of his wage.
So the youth served out his three years, and did better than they had
expected him to do. He was by no means a model serving-man; but then
his master was none of the best, either, for he let him go all that time
in the same clothes he had worn when he entered his service, until,
finally, one patch elbowed the other.
Now when his master was to go to do his buying, he set out as early as
possible in the morning. "Costly wares are only to be seen by day," said
he, "they are not drifting about the street so early. It will probably
cost me enough as it is, for what I find is a matter of purest chance."
The first thing he saw on the street was an old woman, who was carrying
a covered basket. "Good-day, granny," said the man. "And good-day to
you, daddy," said the old woman.
"What have you in your basket?" asked the man. "Would you like to know?"
said the woman. "Yes," said the man, "for I have to buy the first thing
that comes my way." "Well, if you want to know, buy it!" said the old
woman. "What does it cost?" asked the man. She must have four shillings
for it, declared the woman. This did not seem such a tremendous price to
him, he would let it go at that, said he, and raised the cover. And
there lay a pup in the basket. When the man got home from his journey to
town, there stood the youth full of impatience and curiosity, wondering
what his wage for the first year might be. "Are you back already,
master?" asked the youth. "Yes, indeed," said his master. "And what have
you bought?" asked the youth. "What I have bought is nothing so very
rare," said the man. "I don't even know whether I ought to show it to
you; but I bought the first thing to be had, and that was a pup," said
he. "And I thank you most kindly for it," said the youth. "I have always
been fond of dogs."
The following morning it was no better. The man set out as early as
possible, and had not as yet reached town before he met the old woman
with the basket. "Good-day, granny," said the man. "And good-day to you,
daddy," said the old woman. "What have you in your basket to-day?" asked
the man. "If you want to know, then buy it!" was again the answer. "What
does it cost?" asked the man. She wanted four shillings for it, she had
only the one price. The man said he would buy it, for he thought that
this time he would make a better purchase. He raised the cover, and this
time a kitten lay in the basket. When he reached home, there stood the
youth, waiting to see what he was to get in lieu of his second year's
wages. "Are you back again, master!" said he. "Yes, indeed," said the
master. "What did you buy to-day?" asked the youth. "Alas, nothing
better than I did yesterday," said the man, "but I did as we agreed, and
bought the first thing I came across, and that was this kitten." "You
could not have hit on anything better," said the youth, "for all my life
long I have been fond of cats as well as of dogs." "I do not fare so
badly this way," thought the man, "but when he sets out for himself,
then the matter will probably turn out differently."
So the third morning the youth set out for himself, and when he entered
town, he came across the same old woman with her basket on her arm.
"Good morning, granny," said he. "And good morning to you, my boy," said
the old woman. "What have you in your basket?" asked the youth. "If you
want to know, then buy it!" answered the old woman. "Do you want to sell
it?" asked the youth. Yes, indeed, and it would cost four shillings,
said the old woman. That is a bargain, thought the youth, and wanted to
take it, for he had to buy the first thing that came his way. "Well, you
can take the whole blessed lot," said the old woman, "the basket and all
that's in it. But do not look into it before you get home, do you hear!"
No, indeed, he would be sure not to look in the basket, said he. But on
the way, he kept wondering as to what might be in the basket, and
willy-nilly--he could not keep from raising the cover a little, and
looking through the crack. But that very minute a little lizard popped
out of the crack, and ran across the road so quickly that it fairly
hummed--and aside from the lizard there was nothing in the basket.
"Stop, wait a minute, and don't run away! I just bought you," said the
youth. "Stab me in the neck! Stab me in the neck!" cried the lizard. The
youth did not have to be told twice. He ran after the lizard and stabbed
it in the neck just as it was slipping into a hole in a wall. And that
very moment it turned into a man, as handsome and splendid as the
handsomest prince, and a prince he was, if truth be told.