no longer live without me, and I thank you. And now everything is in
readiness for our wedding, and we will go straight to church." Nothing
will come of that, thought the youth, but he did not say a word. Then
the rat whistled, and at once every corner was alive with swarms of mice
and small rats, and six large rats came dragging along a frying-pan. Two
mice sat up behind as grooms, and two sprang up in front to drive the
coach. Several seated themselves within, and the rat with the bunch of
keys took her place in their midst. To the youth she said: "The road
is a little narrow here, so you will have to walk beside the coach,
sweetheart, until the road is broader. And then you may sit beside me in
the coach."
"How fine that will be!" thought the youth. "If I were only safely up
above once more, I would run away from the whole pack of them," thought
he, but he said nothing. He went along with the procession as well as he
could; at times he had to crawl, at others he had to stoop, for the way
was very narrow. But when it grew better, he walked in advance, and
looked about to see how he might most easily steal away and make off.
And then he suddenly heard a clear, beautiful voice behind him say: "Now
the road is good! Come, sweetheart, and get into the coach!"
The youth turned around quickly, and was so astonished that his nose and
ears nearly fell off. There stood a magnificent coach with six white
horses, and in the coach sat a maiden as fair and beautiful as the sun,
and about her were sitting others, as bright and kindly as the stars. It
was a princess and her playmates, who had all been enchanted together.
But now they were delivered, because he had come down to them, and had
never contradicted.
"Come along now!" said the princess. Then the youth got into the coach,
and drove to church with her. And when they drove away from the church,
the princess said: "Now we will first drive to my home, and then we will
send for your mother."
"That's all very fine," thought the youth--he said nothing, but he
thought it would be better, after all, to drive to his home, instead of
down into the hideous rat-hole. But suddenly they came to a beautiful
castle, and there they turned in, for there it was they were to live.
And at once a fine coach with six horses was sent for the youth's
mother, and when she came the wedding festivities began. They celebrated
for fourteen days, and perhaps they are celebrating yet. We must hurry,
and perhaps we may still get there in time, and can drink the groom's
health and dance with the bride!
NOTE
Told with much charm and wealth of detail is the story of "The
Youth Who Wanted to Win the Daughter of the Mother in the Corner"
(Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 77, p. 73). It is another tale of a
deliverance from enchantment, and the conditions are silence and
lack of contradiction on the part of the deliverer.
XXXV
THE CHRONICLE OF THE PANCAKE
Once upon a time there was a woman who had seven hungry children, and
she was baking pancakes for them. There was dough made with new milk,
and it lay in the pan, and was rising so plumply and comfortably, that
it was a pleasure to watch it. The children stood around it, and their
grandfather sat and looked on.
"Give me a little bit of pancake, mother, I'm so hungry!" said one of
the children.
"Dear mother!" said the second.
"Dear, sweet mother!" said the third.
"Dear, sweet, good mother!" said the fourth.
"Dear, best, sweet, good mother!" said the fifth.
"Dear, best, sweet, good, dearest mother!" said the sixth.
"Dear, best, sweet, good, dearest, sweetest mother!" said the seventh,
and so they all begged around the pancake, one more sweetly than the
other, for they were all so hungry and so well-behaved.
"Yes, children, wait until it turns around," said she--until I have
turned it around, she should have said--"then you shall all have a
pancake, a lovely best-milk pancake. Just see how fat and comfortable it
is lying there!"
[Illustration: "'HEY THERE!' THE WOMAN WAS AFTER IT WITH THE PAN IN
ONE HAND AND THE SPOON IN THE OTHER."
--_Page 275_]
When the pancake heard that it was frightened, turned itself around
suddenly, and wanted to get out of the pan; but it only fell on its
other side, and when this had baked a little, so that it took shape and
grew firmer, it leaped out on the floor, and rolled off like a wheel,
out of the door, and down the street.
Hey there! The woman was after it with the pan in one hand, and the
spoon in the other, as fast as she could, and after her came the
children, and last of all, their grandfather came hobbling along.
"Will you wait! Halt! Catch it! Hold it!" they all cried together, and
wanted to catch up with it and grab it on the run; but the pancake
rolled and rolled, and sure enough, it got so far ahead of them that
they could no longer see it, for it had nimbler legs than all of them.
After it had rolled a while it met a man.
"Good-day, pancake," said the man.
"Good-day, Man Tan," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast; but wait a little and let me
eat you!" said the man.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too,
you'll find, so I think I can leave you as well, Man Tan!" said the
pancake, and rolled and rolled until it met a hen.
"Good-day, pancake," said the hen.
"Good-day, Hen Glen," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast, wait a little and I will eat
you up!" said the hen.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers,
too, you'll find, and Man Tan, so I think I can leave you as well, Hen
Glen!" said the pancake, and rolled along the road like a wheel. Then it
met a rooster.
"Good-day, pancake," said the rooster.
"Good-day, Rooster Booster," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat
you up!" said the rooster.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too,
you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen, and so I think I can leave you as
well, Rooster Booster," said the pancake, and rolled and rolled as fast
as ever it could. And after it had rolled a long time it met a duck.
"Good-day, pancake," said the duck.
"Good-day, Duck Tuck," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat
you up!" said the duck.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too,
you'll find, and Man Tan, and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster, so I think I
can leave you as well," said the pancake, and rolled on as fast as ever
it could. After it had rolled a long, long time, it met a goose.
"Good-day, pancake," said the goose.
"Good-day, Goose Loose," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat
you up!" said the goose.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too,
you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster and Duck
Tuck, and I think I can leave you as well, Goose Loose," said the
pancake, and rolled away.
After it had again rolled for a long, long time, it met a gander.
"Good-day, pancake," said the gander.
"Good-day, Gander Meander," said the pancake.
"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat
you up!" said the gander.
"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too,
you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster and Duck Tuck
and Goose Loose, and I think I can leave you as well, Gander Meander,"
said the pancake, and began to roll as fast as ever it could.
After it had rolled a long, long time, it met a pig.
"Good-day, pancake," said the pig.
"Good-day, Pig Snig," said the pancake, and began to roll as fast as
ever it could.
"Now wait a little," said the pig. "You need not hurry so, for we can
keep each other company going through the forest and take our time, for
it is said to be haunted." The pancake thought that such was quite apt
to be the case, and so they started off; but after they had gone a while
they came to a brook.
The pig swam across on his own bacon, which was easy enough; but the
pancake could not get across.
"Sit down on my snout," said the pig, "and I will carry you over that
way." The pancake did so.
"Uff, uff!" said the pig, and swallowed the pancake in one mouthful.
"And now, since the pancake no further goes,
This little chronicle comes to a close."
NOTE
"The Chronicle of the Pancake" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 104,
p. 233. From Sell, Froen and Faaberg) is a merry, harmless,
nursery tale, belonging to the type of "The House That Jack
Built," in an accumulation of repeated sentences and
characteristic names.
XXXVI
SORIA-MORIA CASTLE
Once upon a time there was a couple who had an only son named Halvor.
While he was still but a little lad, he would do nothing at all; but
was always sitting at the hearth, digging in the ashes. His parents
apprenticed him here and apprenticed him there, to be taught something,
but Halvor never stayed. When he had been anywhere for a few days, he
ran away again, went back home, sat down at the hearth, and dug in the
ashes. But once a master mariner came along and asked whether Halvor
would not like to go with him, and sail the seas, and see foreign lands.
Indeed, Halvor would like to do so very much, and it did not take him
long to make up his mind.
How long they sailed the seas I do not know, but suddenly a powerful
storm arose, and when it had passed, and all had grown quiet once more,
they did not know where they were. They had been driven off their course
to a foreign shore, which none among them recognized.
And then, since not a breeze was stirring, they lay there, and Halvor
begged the master mariner for permission to go ashore, and look around,
for he would rather do that than lie down and sleep. "Do you think you
are fit to appear before people?" asked the master mariner. "The only
clothes you have are the rags in which you stand and walk!" Yet Halvor
insisted, and finally he was given permission. But he was to come back
when the wind blew up. Halvor went, and it was a fair land. No matter
where he came, there were great plains, with fields and pastures; but he
saw no people at all. The wind blew up again, but Halvor decided that
he had not yet seen enough, and wanted to go a little further, and see
whether there were no people to be found at all. After a time he came to
a great highway, which was so even one could have rolled an egg along it
with ease. Halvor went on along this highway, and as evening drew near,
he saw a great castle in the distance, that shone afar. Since he had
been wandering all day long, without much in the way of food, he had a
fine appetite; but the nearer he came to the castle, the more frightened
he grew.
In the castle there was a fire on the hearth, and Halvor went into the
kitchen, which was beautiful. The kitchenware was all of silver and
gold; but there were no human beings to be seen. After Halvor had waited
a while, and no one came out, he went and opened a door. There he saw a
princess sitting and spinning. "Alas, no!" cried she. "Has a Christian
soul really come here! But it would be best for you to go again, if you
do not want the troll to swallow you; for a troll with three heads lives
here."
"And though he had four, I should like to see him," said the youth. "And
I am not going away, for I have done no wrong. But you must give me
something to eat, for I am terribly hungry." When Halvor had eaten his
fill, the princess told him to try and see whether he could swing the
sword that hung on the wall. But he could not swing it, nor even raise
it. "Well," said the princess, "you must take a swallow from the bottle
that hangs beside it, for that is what the troll does when he wants to
use the sword." Halvor took the swallow, and then could swing the sword
at once as though it were nothing at all. Now, thought he, the troll
could just come along any time. And sure enough, he did come along,
roaring. Halvor placed himself behind the door. "Hu! it smells like
Christian blood here!" said the troll, and poked his head in through the
door. "Yes, you shall find out it is here and at once," cried Halvor,
and hewed off all his heads. The princess was filled with joy at her
deliverance, and danced and sang. But then she happened to think of her
sisters, and said: "If only my sisters could also be delivered!" "Where
are they?" asked Halvor. So she told him that one of them had been
carried off by a troll to a castle six miles further away, and the other
to a castle that lay nine miles away from the other.
"But now," said she, "you must first help me get this body out." Halvor
was very strong, so he quickly cleared everything out, cleaned up, and
put all in order. Then they ate, and the following morning he started
off at dawn. He did not rest for a moment, but wandered all day long.
When he spied the castle, he once more felt a little afraid; it was
even handsomer than the other one; but here, too, there was not a human
being to be seen. Then Halvor went into the kitchen, yet did not stop at
all, but stepped right into the next room. "No, it cannot be possible
that a Christian should venture here!" cried the princess. "I do not
know how long I have been here; but during all that time I have not seen
a single Christian soul. It would probably be best if you went away
quickly; for a troll with six heads lives here." "No, I am not going,"
said Halvor, "not even if he had six heads more." "He will seize you and
swallow you alive!" said the princess. But that made no difference,
Halvor would not go, and he did not fear the troll. But he would have to
eat and drink, for he was hungry and thirsty after his long tramp. He
had as much as he wanted; and then the princess wanted to send him away
again. "No," cried Halvor, "I am not going. I have done no wrong, and
need not fear any one."
"That will not worry the troll," said the princess. "He will seize you
without any questions asked. Yet, if you positively will not go, why,
try and see whether you can swing the sword that the troll uses in war."
He could not swing it; but then the princess told him to take a swallow
from the bottle that hung beside it, and when he had done so he could
swing the sword. Suddenly the troll came, and he was so large and so fat
that he had to move sideways in order to get through the door. When he
had thrust in his first head, he cried: "Huhu! I smell the blood of a
Christian!" And that very moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and
then all the rest. The princess was pleased beyond measure; but then she
happened to think of her sisters, and she wished that they also might be
delivered. Halvor thought this might be done, and wanted to start out at
once. But first he had to help the princess get the dead troll out of
the way and then, the following morning, he set out. It was a long way
to the castle, and he hurried and ran in order to get there in good
time. Toward evening he spied the castle, and it was much handsomer than
both the others. This time he felt hardly any fear at all; but went
through the kitchen and right on in. There sat a princess who was
extraordinarily beautiful. Like the others, she said that no Christian
soul had ever come to the castle since she had been there, and told him
to go away again, as otherwise the troll would swallow him alive, for he
had nine heads. "And though he had nine more, and nine on top of those,
I will not go," said Halvor, and stood by the stove. The princess
earnestly begged him to go, so that the troll would not devour him, but
Halvor said: "Let him come whenever he wishes!" Then she gave him the
troll sword, and told him to take a swallow from the bottle, so that he
could swing it.
Suddenly the troll came roaring along. He was even larger and more
powerful than both the others, and he also had to squeeze himself in at
the door sideways. "Hu! I smell the blood of a Christian!" That very
moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and then all of the others; but
the last clung to life most toughly, and it cost Halvor a good deal of
trouble to cut it off, though he found himself so very strong.
Now all the princesses met at the castle, and were happy as they never
had been before, in all their lives, and they fell in love with Halvor
and he with them, and he was to choose the one whom he loved best; but
it was the youngest who loved him the most of all. Yet Halvor acted
strangely, and grew quite silent and uncommunicative; so the princess
asked him what he was longing for, and whether he did not enjoy being
with them. Yes, he enjoyed it very much, for they had enough to live on,
and he was well enough off, but yet he was homesick, for his parents
were still living, and he would like to see them again. That could
easily be arranged, said the princess. "You shall go and return without
harm, if you will follow our advice." Indeed, and he would surely do
nothing against their wishes, said Halvor. Then they dressed him up
until he looked as handsome as a king's son, and put a ring on his
finger that made it possible for the one wearing it to wish himself
away, and back again. But he must not throw the ring away, and he must
not mention their names, said the princesses, otherwise its power would
be gone, all their joy would come to an end, and he would never see them
again.
"I wish I might be back at the house at home!" said Halvor, and his
wish was at once realized, and he was standing in front of his parents'
house before he knew it. It was dusk, and when the old folk saw such a
handsome, well-dressed stranger coming, it embarrassed them so that it
seemed as though their bowing and scraping would never end. Halvor now
asked them whether they could not give him a night's lodging. "No,
they really could not do so, for they were quite unprepared for it,"
said they, "and we are lacking one thing, and another, which such a
distinguished gentleman would wish to have. It would be best if the
gentleman went up to the castle, whose chimney he can see from here,
where the folk are well prepared." "No," said Halvor, "I'll not go there
until to-morrow morning. And now let me stay here overnight. I will be
content to sit by the hearth." The old folk could make no objection
to this, and so Halvor sat down by the hearth, and began to dig in
the ashes, as he used to when he was the lazybones at home. Then they
chatted about all sorts of matters, and told Halvor about one thing and
another, and finally he asked them whether they had no children. Yes,
they had a son; but did not know whither he had wandered, or even
whether he were still alive, or already dead.
"Could I not be this Halvor?" said Halvor.
"No, I am quite sure you could not," said the woman, starting up.
"Halvor was so slow and lazy, and never wanted to do anything, and
beside, he was so tattered that one rag got in the way of the other. He
could never have turned into so fine a looking gentleman as yourself."
After a time the woman had to go to the hearth, and rake the fire, and
as the firelight fell on Halvor, just as it used to when he dug in the
ashes, she recognized him.
"No, can it really be you, Halvor?" she cried, and then the two old folk
were happy beyond all power of words, and Halvor had to tell all that
had happened to him, while his mother was so pleased with him, that she
wanted to take him up to the castle at once, and show him to the girls
who had always been so proud, and had turned up their noses at her son.
So she went first and Halvor followed. When they came up, she told how
Halvor had come back, and that they ought to see how fine he looked,
just like a prince, said she. "We can imagine that," said the girls, and
tossed their heads. "He is probably the same ragged fellow that he used
to be." At that moment Halvor stepped in, and then the girls were so
embarrassed that they ran out of the house without their caps. And when
they came in again, they were so ashamed that they did not venture
to look at Halvor, whom they had always treated with such scorn and
contempt. "Well, you always acted as though you were so fine and
handsome that no one on earth could compare with you. But you ought
to see the oldest princess, whom I delivered," said Halvor. "Compared
to her you look like dairy-maids, and the middle princess is still
handsomer; while the youngest princess, who is my sweetheart, is more
beautiful than the sun and moon. Would to God she were here, so that you
might see her!" said Halvor.
No sooner had he finished speaking than there they stood; but then he
was very much upset, for now he remembered what they had told him.
At the castle they gave a great feast in honor of the princesses, and
made a great deal of them. But they would not stay. "We want to go to
your parents," they said to Halvor, "and then we want to go out and look
around." He went with them, and they came to a big sheet of water beyond
the court-yard. Close beside it was a fair green hill, and there the
princesses decided to sit and rest a while, "for it was so pleasant to
look out over the water," said they. They sat down, and after they had
rested a while, the youngest princess said: "Let me stroke your hair a
little, Halvor!" Halvor laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his
hair, and before very long Halvor fell asleep. Then she drew the ring
from his finger, and gave him another in place of it, and said: "All
hold on to me--I wish we were in Soria-Moria Castle!"
When Halvor woke up he saw very well that he had lost the princesses,
and began to weep and wail, and was so beside himself with despair that
no one could comfort him. And no matter how hard his parents begged him,
he would not stay at home, but bade them farewell, and said that he
would probably never see them again, for if he did not find his
princesses, then it would not be worth his while to go on living.
He still had three hundred dollars, and these he put in his pocket and
started out. After he had gone a while he met a man with a nice-looking
horse. He decided to buy it, and began to talk with the man. "It is
true I did not intend to sell the horse," said the man, "but perhaps we
can come to an understanding." Halvor asked him what he wanted for it.
"I did not pay much for it, nor is it worth very much: it is a good
saddle horse, but as a draft horse it does not amount to much. Yet it
could carry you and your knapsack without difficulty, if you were to
walk a bit from time to time," said the man. At last they agreed on the
price, and Halvor slung his knapsack across the horse, and from time to
time he walked, and then he rode again. Toward evening he came to a
green hill on which stood a large tree, beneath which he seated himself.
He turned the horse loose, yet did not lie down to sleep, but took out
his knapsack instead. When day came he wandered on again, for it seemed
to him as though there were no place in which he could rest. He walked
and rode all day long through a great forest, in which were many green
clearings, that shimmered cheerfully among the trees. He did not know
where he was, nor did he know whither he was going; but he allowed
himself no more time to rest than his horse needed to feed in one of the
green clearings, and himself to eat from his knapsack. He walked and
rode, on and on, and thought the forest would never end.
But on the evening of the following day he saw something gleaming among
the trees. "If the people there are still up, I could warm myself a
little, and get something to eat!" thought Halvor. When he got there it
was a wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old couple
sitting in it, as ancient and gray-headed as doves, and the woman had so
long a nose that she used it at the hearth for a poker. "Good evening!
Good evening!" said the old woman. "But what are you doing here? No
Christian soul has come this way for the past hundred years." Halvor
told her he was looking for Soria-Moria Castle, and asked whether she
knew the way to it. "No," was the woman's answer, "I do not know, but
here comes the moon, I will ask him. He ought to know, for he shines on
everything." And then, when the moon rose bright and clear above the
tree-tops, the woman went out. "You moon, you moon," she cried, "can you
tell me the way to Soria-Moria Castle?" "No," said the moon, "I cannot
do that, because when I was shining there, a cloud lay in my way."