The Cat on the Dovrefell
a Norwegian folk tale
by P. C. Asbjornsen and J. Moe adapted from the translation by G. W.
Dasent
Once upon a time there was a man in Norway who caught a great white
bear. He decided that he would give the bear to the King of Denmark.
Now, it so fell out that on his journey he came to that part of Norway
called the Dovrefell on Christmas Eve. Stopping at a cottage where a man
named Halvor lived, he asked if he and his bear could stay the night.
“Heaven help me if what I say isn’t true!” said Halvor. “We can’t let
anyone stay tonight. Every Christmas Eve such a pack of Trolls comes
down upon us that we are forced to flee. We haven’t so much as a roof
over our own heads, to say nothing of lending one to anyone else.”
“Oh?” said the man. “If that’s all it is, you can very well lend me your
house. My bear can lie under the stove and I can sleep in the side
room.”
Well, the man begged so hard that, at last, he was allowed to stay
there. All the people of the house soon left. But before they went,
everything was got ready for the Trolls. The tables were laid with rice
porridge, boiled fish, sausages, and all else that was good, just as for
any grand feast.
So, when everything was ready, down came the Trolls. Some were great,
and some were small. Some had long tails, and some had no tails at all.
And some had long, long noses. They ate and drank everything.
Then, one of the little Trolls caught sight of the white bear under the
stove. He took a piece of sausage and stuck it on a fork. Then he went
and poked the sausage up against the bear’s nose, screaming, “Pussy,
will you have some sausage?”
The white bear rose up, gave a terrible growl, and chased the whole pack
of Trolls, both great and small, out the door.
The next year, Halvor was out in the woods on the afternoon of Christmas
Eve. He was cutting wood before the holidays, for he thought the Trolls
would come again. While he was hard at work, he heard a voice in the
woods calling out:
“Halvor! Halvor!”
“Well,” said Halvor, “here I am.”
“Have you got your big cat with you still?”
“Yes, that I have,” said Halvor. “She’s lying at home under the stove.
And what’s more, she now has seven kittens, far bigger and fiercer than
she is herself.”
“Oh, then, we’ll never come to see you again,” cried out the Troll in
the woods. And he kept his word. Ever since that time, the Trolls have
never eaten their Christmas dinner with Halvor on the Dovrefell.
