Boots and the Troll
Encyclopedia
Boots and the Troll is a Norwegian fairy tale
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
and Jørgen Moe
in Norwegian Folktales.
, whom they said was fit for nothing but to sit and poke about in ashes. The youngest brought a kneading-trough, the only thing their parents had left behind, which his brothers had not bothered with. His brothers got places under the coachman and gardener at the royal castle, and he got one in the kitchen.
He did so much better than they did that they became envious and told the coachman that he had said he could get for the king seven silver ducks that belonged to a troll
, and which the king had long desired. The coachman told the king. When the king insisted that he do it, he demanded wheat and rye, rowed over the lake, in the kneading trough, to the troll's place, and lured the ducks into the trough using the grain.
Then his brothers told the coachman he had said he could steal the troll's bed-quilt, and the coachman again told the king. He demanded three days, and when he saw the bed-quilt being hung out to air, he stole it. This time, the king made him his body-servant.
His brothers told the coachman he had said he could steal the troll's golden harp that made everyone who heard it glad, and the coachman again told the king. He said he needed six days to think. Then he rowed over, with a nail, a birch-pin, and a taper-end, and let the troll see him. It seized him at once, and put him in a pen to fatten him. One day he stuck out the nail instead of his finger, then the birch-pin, and finally the taper-end, at which point they concluded he was fat enough.
The troll went off to ask guests to come, and his daughter went to slaughter the youth. He told her the knife wasn't sharp enough, sharpened it, and suggested testing it on one of her braids; when testing, he cut off her head and then he roasted half of her and boiled the other, as the troll had said he should be cooked. He sat in the corner dressed in her clothing, and the troll ate his daughter and asked if he didn't want any. The youth said he was too sad. The troll told him to get the harp, and where it was. The youth took it and set off in the kneading trough again. The troll shouted after him, and the youth told him he had eaten his own daughter. That made him burst, and the youth took all the troll's gold and silver, and with them won the princess's hand in marriage and half the kingdom. And then his brothers got killed by boulders when they went up a mountain.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Moe
right|thumb|Norske Folkeeventyr Asbjørnsen and Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe was a Norwegian bishop and author...
in Norwegian Folktales.
Synopsis
An old man died. His three sons set out to seek their fortune. The two older would have nothing to do with the youngest sonYoungest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
, whom they said was fit for nothing but to sit and poke about in ashes. The youngest brought a kneading-trough, the only thing their parents had left behind, which his brothers had not bothered with. His brothers got places under the coachman and gardener at the royal castle, and he got one in the kitchen.
He did so much better than they did that they became envious and told the coachman that he had said he could get for the king seven silver ducks that belonged to a troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
, and which the king had long desired. The coachman told the king. When the king insisted that he do it, he demanded wheat and rye, rowed over the lake, in the kneading trough, to the troll's place, and lured the ducks into the trough using the grain.
Then his brothers told the coachman he had said he could steal the troll's bed-quilt, and the coachman again told the king. He demanded three days, and when he saw the bed-quilt being hung out to air, he stole it. This time, the king made him his body-servant.
His brothers told the coachman he had said he could steal the troll's golden harp that made everyone who heard it glad, and the coachman again told the king. He said he needed six days to think. Then he rowed over, with a nail, a birch-pin, and a taper-end, and let the troll see him. It seized him at once, and put him in a pen to fatten him. One day he stuck out the nail instead of his finger, then the birch-pin, and finally the taper-end, at which point they concluded he was fat enough.
The troll went off to ask guests to come, and his daughter went to slaughter the youth. He told her the knife wasn't sharp enough, sharpened it, and suggested testing it on one of her braids; when testing, he cut off her head and then he roasted half of her and boiled the other, as the troll had said he should be cooked. He sat in the corner dressed in her clothing, and the troll ate his daughter and asked if he didn't want any. The youth said he was too sad. The troll told him to get the harp, and where it was. The youth took it and set off in the kneading trough again. The troll shouted after him, and the youth told him he had eaten his own daughter. That made him burst, and the youth took all the troll's gold and silver, and with them won the princess's hand in marriage and half the kingdom. And then his brothers got killed by boulders when they went up a mountain.
See also
- The Grateful BeastsThe Grateful BeastsThe Grateful Beasts is a Hungarian fairy tale collected by Hermann Kletke. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Three sons set out to seek their fortune...
- ThirteenthThirteenth (fairy tale)Thirteenth is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. It is Aarne-Thompson type 328, the boy steals the giant's treasures.-Synopsis:...
- CorvettoCorvettoCorvetto is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful, King Fortunatus's Golden Wig, and The...
- The Three AuntsThe Three AuntsThe Three Aunts is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.-Synopsis:A poor man made his living by shooting. He had lost his wife, and one day, his pretty daughter decided to go seek her fortune. She got a place with the queen, and...
- Jack and the BeanstalkJack and the BeanstalkJack and the Beanstalk is a folktale said by English historian Francis Palgrave to be an oral legend that arrived in England with the Vikings. The tale is closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant-killer. It is known under a number of versions...
- Esben and the WitchEsben and the WitchEsben and the Witch is a Danish fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Pink Fairy Book. A version of the tale also appears in A Book of Witches and A Choice of Magic, by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is Aarne-Thompson type 327B, the small boy defeats the ogre.-Synopsis:A farmer had twelve sons, and...
- The Gold-bearded ManThe Gold-bearded ManThe Gold-bearded Man is an Hungarian fairy tale collected in Ungarische Mahrchen. Andrew Lang included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Little Girl Sold with the PearsThe Little Girl Sold with the Pears"The Little Girl Sold with the Pears" is an Italian fairy tale collected by Italo Calvino in Italian Folktales, from Piedmont. Ruth Manning-Sanders included a variant, as "The Girl in the Basket", in A Book of Ogres and Trolls.-Plot summary:...