THE NORWEGIAN BOOK OF FAIRY TALES

Book excerpt: These 38 Norwegian folk and fairy tales of elemental mountain, forest and sea spirits, have been handed down through the generations by hinds and huntsmen, woodcutters and fisher-folk, who led hard and lonely lives amid primitive surroundings are, perhaps, among the most fascinating the Scandinavian countries have to offer. Not only are they meant to delight children, and this they do not fail to do. “Grown-ups” who also, who take pleasure in a good story, will enjoy this book as well. Here you will find stories which are well told. Readers will enjoy the original legend of “Peer Gynt” as it existed before Ibsen gave it more symbolic meaning. You will also find a glowingly, beautiful picture of an Avalon of the Northern seas described in “The Island of Udröst.” And what could be more human and moving than the tragic “The Player on the Jew’s-Harp,” or none more genuinely entertaining than “The King’s Hares”? The thrill and fascination of black magic and mystery run through such stories as “The Secret Church,” “The Comrade,” and “Lucky Andrew.” In “The Honest Four-Shilling Piece” we have the adventures of a Norse Dick Whittington. “Storm Magic” is one of the most thrilling sea tales, bar none, ever written, but every story included in the volume seems to bring with it the breath of the Norse mountains. One cannot but believe that “The Book of Norwegian Fairy Tales” has an appeal for one and all, since it is a book in which fairy-tales mirror and reflect human yearnings and aspirations, human loves, ambitions and disillusionments, in an imaginatively festooned world. It is the translator’s hope that those who may come to know this book will derive as much pleasure from its reading as it gave him to translate it into English. Table of Contents: Acknowledgements Preface Contents List Of Illustrations I Per Gynt II The Isle Of Udröst III The Three Lemons IV The Neighbor Underground V The Secret Church VI The Comrade VII Aspenclog VIII The Troll Wedding IX The Hat Of The Huldres X The Child Of Mary XI Storm Magic XII The Four-Shilling Piece XIII The Magic Apples XIV Self Did It XV The Master Girl XVI Anent The Giant Who Did Not Have His Heart About Him XVII The Three Princesses In Whiteland XVIII Trouble And Care XIX Kari Woodencoat XX Ola Storbaekkjen XXI The Cat Who Could Eat So Much XXII East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon XXIII Murmur Goose-Egg XXIV The Troll-Wife XXV The King’s Hares XXVI Helge-Hal In The Blue Hill XXVII The Lord Of The Hill And John Blessom XXVIII The Young Fellow And The Devil XXIX Farther South Than South, And Farther North Than North, And In The Great Hill Of Gold XXXX Lucky Andrew XXXI The Pastor And The Sexton XXXII The Skipper And Sir Urian XXXIII The Youth Who Was To Serve Three Years Without Pay XXXIV The Youth Who Wanted To Win The Daughter Of The Mother In The Corner XXXV The Chronicle Of The Pancake XXXVI Soria-Moria Castle XXXVII The Player On The Jew’s-Harp