The Troll whose Heart
Lay Somewhere Else
Once upon a time, there was a king with seven sons, and he held them so dear that he never bear let them be away all at the same time that one must always remain with them. When they grow up, tall six of them wanted to go on a journey to go wooing, but the king wanted his youngest son to remain with him, as the others could also bring a wife for him. So then, the king gave each of his sons the most splendid clothes, many hundreds of daler to bring with them. After they have visited so many king’s estate and seen the princesses, they finaly came to a king who had six daughters, more beautiful than they have evern see, and so they each wooed the one they had chosen. Soon they were on the way home; but they had forgotten that they should bring back a princess for Askeladden who had stayed home, so taken were they with their sweethearts.
When they had traveled a good distance on their way home, they came upon a steep wall of mountain where a troll lived. Out came the troll, took hold of them and turned them all into stones, both the princes and the princesses.
The king waited and waited for his six sons, but he waited in vain and nobody came. He paced and grieved and lamented, such that he never could be happy again. “If I did not have you,” he told Askeladden, “I wouldn’t want to live anymore, so grief-stricken am I that I have lost your brothers.”
“But I have now thught of asking your permission to go on a journey and find them,” said Askeladden.
“No, that I cannot allow,” said his father, “you too would be lost to me.”
But Askeladden very much wanted to go and he begged and pleaded that the king had to let him go. Now the king no longer had anything to give him but an old nag, as his six sons had gotten all the other horses that he owned. But Askeladden did not care about having only an old horse and he mounted the scruffy nag. “Goodbye, Father!” he called, “I will come back home and maybe I shall have with me my brothers too,” and with that, he rode away.
When he had ridden a while, he came upon a crow that lay on the road, flapping its wings but could not rise, as it was starving.
“Oh, dear friend! Give me a little food, and I shall help you in your direst need,” said the crow.
“I do not have muh food, and you do not look like you can give me such a big help,” said the king’s son, “but you shall have some, as I can see that you have very great need for it.” And so he gave the crow something from the food sack that he had brought with him.
Then he rode on again but he came upon a creek where a big salmon had landed on the dry bank and could not get into the water again.
“Oh, dear friend! Help me into into water again,” said the salmon to the king’s son, “I shall help you in your direst need.”
“The help you will give me can’t be so big,” said the king’s son, “but it is dreadful that you should remain lying there and starve,” and so he pushed the fish into the water-
He had travelled a long long way, when saw a wolf that was so hungry that it lay prone, dragging itself on the road.
“Dear friend! Let me have your horse,” said the wolf, “I am so hungry that my guts are growling, as I have not had a meal for two years.”
“No,” said Askeladden, “then I cannot continue my journey. First I came upon a crow who wanted my food, then I came upon a salmon who wanted help to get back into the water, and now you want my horse. That I cannot afford, for then I shall have nothing to ride on.”
“Yes, friend, you must help me,” said the wolf, “then you can ride on me, and I shall help you in your direst need, “said the worlf.
“Alright then, the help you can give me cannot be so big, but you can take my horse, since you are in such terrible need, “ said the king’s son.
When the wolf had eaten up the horse, Askelladen put the bit into the wolf’s mouth and fastened the saddle on its back. But the wolf has become so strong after its big meal that it carried the king’s son on his back as if he did not weigh anything. And they rode faster than he had ever ridden before.
“When we have travelled a little farther, I shall show you the troll’s farm, “said the wolf. In a little while they were there. “Look, here is the troll’s farm,” said the wolf; “there you see all your six brothers that the troll had turned to stone, and there you see also the six brides they had wooed; and over there is the door to the troll’s home where you should go in.”
“No, I do not dare,” said the king’s son, “he will kill me.”
“Oh, no he won’t,” answered the wolf, “when you come in, you will meet a king’s daughter; she will tell you how you shall put an end to the troll. Just make sure that you do as she says!”
Askeladden went in although he was so very afraid. When he came in, the troll was away but in the sleeping chamber sat the king’s daughter, as the wolf had said, and she was the loveliest maiden he had ever seen.
“Oh, god help you, how did you get in here?” said the king’s daughter when she saw him. This will be the death of you because nobody can kill the troll who lives here, as he does not have his heart in his breast.”
“Yes, but since I am here, I might as well try,” said Askeladden. “And I will also free my brothers who are now stones standing outside, and I will do my best to save them,” he said.
“Since you insist on staying, then let us find a way to do that,” said the king’s daughter. “You should creep under bed there, and you must listen well when I talk with him. But lie there and be very quiet.”
No sooner had he crept under the bed when the troll came in.
“Hu!” It smells of the flesh of a Christian man here!” said the troll.
“Yes, there came a magpie flying with a man’s leg in its beak and dropped it down the chimney,” said the princess, “I hurried to throw it out, but the smell won’t go away no matter how quickly I threw it away.”
And the troll did not speak more of it.
When evening came, they went to bed and when they had lain for a while, the king daughter said, “There is something I would really want to ask you if only I dare.”
“What is it, then” asked the troll.“It is where your heart is since it is not inside your chest,” said the princess.
”Oh, that is nothing you need to worry about, as it lies under the stone step just outside the door.”
“Oh, ho, that is something we could very well find out,” thought Askeladden who lay under the bed
Early the next morning, the troll got up and went to the forest. Hardly had he gone when Askeladden and the king’s daughter looked for the troll’s heart under the doorstep. They found nothing no matter how they searched and probed. “This time had had tricked us,” said the princess, “but we shall try one more time.” So she gathered the nicest flowers she could find and strew them all over the doorstep – they lay as she had strewn them, and when the time came when the troll was expected, Askeladden crept under the bed again.
No sooner was Askeladden well under the bed, when the troll came back. “Huttetu! It smells of flesh of a Christian in here!”
“Yes, there came a magpie flying with a man’s leg in its beak and dropped it down the chimney, “said the king’s daughter, “I hurried to take it out, but still there is the smell.” So the troll was silent and did not speak of it anymore. But after a moment, he asked who had strewn the flowers around the doorstep.
“Oh, that was me,” said the king’s daughter.
“What shall you do with those?” asked the troll.
“Oh, I am so fond of you that I must do it, now that I know your heart lies beneath the doorstep,” said the princess.
“Very well; but my heart is not there, you know,” said the troll.
“When they have lain down for the night, the king's daughter again asked where his heart is, because she cared so much for him that she truly wishes to know where his heart is.
“Oh, it is inside that cupboard on the wall,” aid the troll.
“Oh, that we shall try to find out,” thought Askeladden and the king’s daughter.
The next morning the troll was up early and went to the forest again. As soon as he had left, Askeladden and the king’s daughter was at the cupboard and looked for the troll’s heart. But it was not anywhere inside even though they searched very carefully. “Yes, yes, we were tricked once again,” said the king’s daughter. She hung flowers and vine leaves shaped into a crown all around the cupboard, and towards evening, Askeladden crept under the door again.
Then came the troll. “Huttetu! It smells of a Christian man’s flesh in here!” said the troll.
“Yes, just a little while ago, a magpie flew in with a man’s leg in its beak and dropped it down the chimney,” said the king’s daughter. “I hurried to throw it away but still the smell remains.”
When the troll heard what she said, he did not speak about it again but after a little while, he saw the flowers and crowns of leaves hanging around the cupboard, and he asked who had done it.
“That was me. I am now so very fond of you that I must do it, knowing that your heart lies inside,” said the king’s daughter.
“Oh, you are a fool,” sid the troll, “my heart is not in there; it was never there!”
“But it was strange to know that it was there, anyway,” said the princess.
Then the troll couldn’t help himself any longer and said, “Far, far away to the sea is an island there there is a church and inside the church is a well. In that well swims a duck and inside that duck is an egg. Inside that egg is where my heart is.
Early the next morning, it was not yet dawn when the troll got up and went to the forest again. “Yes, now I too shall leave,” said Askeladden, “if only I could find the way!” He said “goodbye, for now” to the king’s daughter, and when he was outside to the troll’s farm, the wolf was there waiting for him. He told the wolf everything that has happened and said he would now leave to find the well in the church, if he only knew the way. So the wolf told Askeladden to ride on his back, as he could very easily find the way, and they were off like the wind, over fields and hills, over mountains and valleys.
When they have ridden for many many days, they reached the sea at last. It looked like the king’s son could not cross over to the other side, but the wolf told him not to be afraid, and the wolf swam to the island with Askeladden on his back. And so they came to the church; but the key to the church door was hung in the very high turret, and the king’s son must first know how to get that key down. “You should call for the crow,” said the wolf; and that was what the king’s son did. The crow came at one and flew to get the key, and that was how the prince was able to come into the church. When he came to the well, there was the duck swimming to and fro, just as the troll had said. He stood calling to the duck and at last he got it to come to him. Just as he caught the duck in his arms, out fell the egg but it dropped into the well, and Askeladden didn’t know he could get that egg up. “Now, you must call for he salmon,” said the wolf, and that he did. At once came the salmon and fetched the egg. “Now you must squeeze it, and as soon as Askeladden did so, the troll shrieked.
”Squeeze it once more,” said the wolf, and as Askeladden did so, the shriek came again but more terrible than the first, pleading nicely and earnestly, saying that he would do everything that the king’s son wanted if he would only stop gripping his heart.
“Tell him that if he shall return your brothers and their brides back to life, he shall save his life,” said the wolf. Askelladen did so.
The troll was eager and willing to do so; he returned the king’s six sons and their bries back to life.
“Now, squeeze the egg real hard,” said the wof. Askeladden squeezed the egg and it broke into bits and pieces, and so was the troll crushed in the same way.
When he had gotten rid of the troll, Askeladden rode back to the troll’s garden, once more riding on the wolf’s back. There stood his six brothers alive, with their brides. And that was how Askeladden went in to the forest to seek his bride, and they all went home together. And so the old king was overjoyed that all his seven sons came back, each with his own bride. “But the loveliest of all the princesses is the bride of Askeladden,” said the king, “and so he shall sit highest at the table with his bride.”
And so everyone from far and wide were invited to the banque tand if they have not finished feasting, they would still be feasting now.
