Tales from the Fjeld: A Second Series of Popular Tales
"Now, girls, it is my right to call for a tune. You know lots of stories, and can tell them better than I. So, Christine, do you tell The Death of Chanticleer; and you, Karin, The Greedy Cat. And mind you act them as well as tell them. They are nursery tales meant for children, and mind you tell them well."
I am bound to say that Christine, who was a very pretty girl, now no doubt the happy mother of children, told The Death of Chanticleer in a way which would have gained her in China the post of Own Story-teller to the Emperor's children. Without a blush, and without even the stereotyped "unaccustomed as I am to public story-telling," she began. "This is the story of —
THE DEATH OF CHANTICLEER"Once on a time there were a Cock and a Hen, who walked out into the field, and scratched, and scraped, and scrabbled. All at once, Chanticleer found a burr of hop, and Partlet found a barley-corn; and they said they would make malt and brew Yule ale.
"'Oh! I pluck barley, and I malt malt, and I brew ale, and the ale is good,' cackled dame Partlet.
"'Is the wort strong enough?' crew Chanticleer; and as he crowed he flew up on the edge of the cask, and tried to have a taste; but, just as he bent over to drink a drop, he took to flapping his wings, and so he fell head over heels into the cask, and was drowned.
"When dame Partlet saw that, she clean lost her wits, and flew up into the chimney-corner, and fell a-screaming and screeching out. 'Harm in the house! harm in the house!' she screeched out all in a breath, and there was no stopping her.
"'What ails you, dame Partlet, that you sit there sobbing and sighing?' said the Handquern.
"'Why not?' said dame Partlet; 'when goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the cask and drowned himself, and lies dead? That's why I sigh and sob.'
"'Well, if I can do naught else, I will grind and groan,' said the Handquern; and so it fell to grinding as fast as it could.
"When the Chair heard that, it said —
"'What ails you, Handquern, that you grind and groan so fast and oft?'
"'Why not, when goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the cask and drowned himself; and dame Partlet sits in the ingle, and sighs and sobs? That's why I grind and groan,' said the Handquern.
"'If I can do naught else, I will crack,' said the Chair; and, with that, he fell to creaking and cracking.
"When the Door heard that, it said, —
"'What's the matter? Why do you creak and crack so, Mr. Chair?'
"'Why not?' said the Chair; 'goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the cask and drowned himself; dame Partlet sits in the ingle, sighing and sobbing; and the Handquern grinds and groans. That's why I creak and crackle, and croak and crack.'
"'Well,' said the Door, 'if I can do naught else, I can rattle and bang, and whistle and slam;' and, with that, it began to open and shut, and bang and slam, it deaved one to hear, and all one's teeth chattered.
"All this the Stove heard, and it opened its mouth and called out —
"'Door! Door! why all this slamming and banging?'
"'Why not?' said the Door; 'when goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the cask and drowned himself; dame Partlet sits in the ingle, sighing and sobbing; the Handquern grinds and groans, and the Chair creaks and cracks. That's why I bang and slam.'
"'Well,' said the Stove, 'if I can do naught else, I can smoulder and smoke;' and so it fell a-smoking and steaming till the room was all in a cloud.
"The Axe saw this, as it stood outside, and peeped with its shaft through the window, —
"'What's all this smoke about, Mrs. Stove?' said the Axe, in a sharp voice.
"'Why not? said the Stove; 'when goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the cask and drowned himself; dame Partlet sits in the ingle, sighing and sobbing; the Handquern grinds and groans; the Chair creaks and cracks, and the Door bangs and slams. That's why I smoke and steam.'
"'Well, if I can do naught else, I can rive and rend,' said the Axe; and, with that, it fell to riving and rending all round about.
"This the Aspen stood by and saw.
"'Why do you rive and rend everything so, Mr. Axe?' said the Aspen.
"'Goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the ale-cask and drowned himself,' said the Axe; 'dame Partlet sits in the ingle, sighing and sobbing; the Handquern grinds and groans; the Chair creaks and cracks; the Door slams and bangs, and the Stove smokes and steams. That's why I rive and rend all about.'
"'Well, if I can do naught else,' said the Aspen, 'I can quiver and quake in all my leaves;' so it grew all of a quake.
"The Birds saw this, and twittered out, —
"'Why do you quiver and quake, Miss Aspen?'
"'Goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the ale-cask and drowned himself,' said the Aspen, with a trembling voice; 'dame Partlet sits in the ingle, sighing and sobbing; the Handquern grinds and groans; the Chair creaks and cracks; the Door slams and bangs; the Stove steams and smokes; and the Axe rives and rends. That's why I quiver and quake.'
"Well, if we can do naught else, we will pluck off all our feathers,' said the Birds; and, with that, they fell a-pilling and plucking themselves till the room was full of feathers.
"This the Master stood by and saw, and, when the feathers flew about like fun, he asked the Birds, —
"'Why do you pluck off all your feathers, you Birds?'
"'Oh! goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the ale-cask and drowned himself,' twittered out the Birds; 'dame Partlet sits sighing and sobbing in the ingle; the Handquern grinds and groans; the Chair creaks and cracks; the Door slams and bangs; the Stove smokes and steams; the Axe rives and rends, and the Aspen quivers and quakes. That's why we are pilling and plucking all our feathers off.'
"'Well, if I can do nothing else, I can tear the brooms asunder,' said the man; and, with that, he fell tearing and tossing the brooms till the birch-twigs flew about east and west.
"The goody stood cooking porridge for supper, and saw all this.
"'Why, man!' she called out; 'what are you tearing the brooms to bits for?'
"'Oh!' said the man, 'goodman Chanticleer has fallen into the ale-vat and drowned himself; dame Partlet sits sighing and sobbing in the ingle; the Handquern grinds and groans; the Chair cracks and creaks; the Door slams and bangs; the Stove smokes and steams; the Axe rives and rends; the Aspen quivers and quakes; the Birds are pilling and plucking all their feathers off, and that's why I am tearing the besoms to bits.'
"'So, so!' said the goody; 'then I'll dash the porridge over all the walls;' and she did it; for she took one spoonful after the other and dashed it against the walls, so that no one could see what they were made of for very porridge.
"That was how they drank the burial ale after goodman Chanticleer, who fell into the brewing-vat and was drowned; and, if you don't believe it, you may set off thither and have a taste both of the ale and the porridge."
When Christine ended, I did not tell them what I could now tell them, that this story of The Death of Chanticleer is mutatis mutandis, the very same story as one in Grimm's Tales, and another in the Scotch collection of Robert Chambers. But alas! I heard The Death of Chanticleer up on the Fjeld long before those Scotch Stories appeared in print, and so, as some of these stories say, I could tell them nothing about it.
Karin was not so good a story-teller as Christine, but she still told her story well. Besides, it was harder to tell, and required an effort of memory, like that needed in our This is the House that Jack built. The Greedy Cat has a wildness of its own, and is full of humour. Here it is —
THE GREEDY CAT"Once on a time there was a man who had a cat, and she was so awfully big, and such a beast to eat, he couldn't keep her any longer. So she was to go down to the river with a stone round her neck, but before she started she was to have a meal of meat. So the goody set before her a bowl of porridge and a little trough of fat. That she crammed into her, and ran off and jumped through the window. Outside stood the goodman by the barn door, threshing.
"'Good day, goodman,' said the cat.
"'Good day, pussy,' said the goodman; 'have you had any food to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge and a trough of fat – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she took the goodman and gobbled him up.
"When she had done that, she went into the byre, and there sat the goody milking.
"'Good day, goody,' said the cat.
"'Good day, pussy,' said the goody; 'are you here, and have you eaten up your food yet?'
"'Oh, I've eaten a little to-day, but I'm 'most fasting,' said pussy; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she took the goody and gobbled her up.
"'Good day, you cow at the manger,' said the cat to Daisy the cow.
"'Good day, pussy,' said the bell-cow; 'have you had any food to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'I've only had a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she took the cow and gobbled her up.
"Then off she set up into the home-field, and there stood a man picking up leaves.
"'Good day, you leaf-picker in the field,' said the cat.
"'Good day, pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?' said the leaf-picker.
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman and the goody, and Daisy the cow – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.' So she took the leaf-picker and gobbled him up.
"Then she came to a heap of stones, and there stood a stoat and peeped out.
"'Good day, Mr. Stoat of Stoneheap,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.' So she took the stoat and gobbled him up.
"When she had gone a bit farther, she came to a hazel-brake, and there sat a squirrel gathering nuts.
"'Good day, Sir Squirrel of the Brake,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.' So she took the squirrel and gobbled him up.
"When she had gone a little farther, she saw Reynard the Fox, who was prowling about by the woodside.
"'Good day, Reynard Slyboots,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.' So she took Reynard and gobbled him up.
"When she had gone a while farther she met Long Ears the Hare.
"'Good day, Mr. Hopper the Hare,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.' So she took the hare and gobbled him up.
"When she had gone a bit farther, she met a wolf.
"'Good day, you Greedy Greylegs,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox and the hare – and, now I think of it, I may as well take you too.' So she took and gobbled up Greylegs too.
"So she went on into the wood, and when she had gone far and farther than far, o'er hill and dale, she met a bear-cub.
"'Good day, you bare-breeched Bear,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy,' said the bear-cub; 'have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf – and, now I think of it, I may as well take you too,' and so she took the bear-cub and gobbled him up.
"When the cat had gone a bit farther, she met a she-bear, who was tearing away at a stump till the splinters flew, so angry was she at having lost her cub.
"'Good day, you Mrs. Bruin,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she took Mrs. Bruin and gobbled her up too.
"When the cat got still farther on, she met Baron Bruin himself.
"'Good day, you Baron Bruin,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy,' said Bruin; 'have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she took Bruin and ate him up too.
"So the cat went on and on, and farther than far, till she came to the abodes of men again, and there she met a bridal train on the road.
"'Good day, you bridal train on the king's highway,' said she.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear, and the he-bear – and, now I think of it, I'll take you too,' and so she rushed at them, and gobbled up both the bride and bridegroom, and the whole train, with the cook and the fiddler, and the horses, and all.
"When she had gone still farther, she came to a church, and there she met a funeral.
"'Good day, you funeral train,' said she.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom and the whole train – and, now, I don't mind if I take you too,' and so she fell on the funeral train and gobbled up both the body and the bearers.
"Now when the cat had got the body in her, she was taken up to the sky, and when she had gone a long, long way, she met the moon.
"'Good day, Mrs. Moon,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom and the whole train, and the funeral train – and, now I think of it, I don't mind if I take you too,' and so she seized hold of the moon, and gobbled her up, both new and full.
"So the cat went a long way still, and then she met the sun.
"'Good day, you Sun in heaven.'
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy,' said the sun; 'have you had anything to eat to-day?'
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting,' said the cat; 'it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear, and the he-bear, and the bride and bridegroom, and the whole train, and the funeral train, and the moon – and, now I think of it, I don't mind if I take you too,' and so she rushed at the sun in heaven and gobbled him up.
"So the cat went far and farther than far, till she came to a bridge, and on it she met a big Billygoat.
"'Good day, you Billygoat on Broad-bridge,' said the cat.
"'Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?' said the Billygoat.
"'Oh, I've had a little, but I'm 'most fasting; I've only had a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody in the byre, and Daisy the cow at the manger, and the leaf-picker in the home-field, and Mr. Stoat of Stoneheap, and Sir Squirrel of the Brake, and Reynard Slyboots, and Mr. Hopper the Hare, and Greedy Greylegs the Wolf, and Bare-breech the Bear-cub, and Mrs. Bruin, and Baron Bruin, and a Bridal train on the king's highway, and a Funeral at the church, and Lady Moon in the sky, and Lord Sun in heaven, and, now I think of it, I'll take you too.'
"'That we'll fight about," said the Billygoat, and butted at the cat till she fell right over the bridge into the river, and there she burst.
"So they all crept out one after the other, and went about their business, and were just as good as ever, all that the cat had gobbled up. The Goodman of the house, and the Goody in the byre, and Daisy the cow at the manger, and the Leaf-picker in the home-field, and Mr. Stoat of Stoneheap, and Sir Squirrel of the Brake, and Reynard Slyboots, and Mr. Hopper the Hare, and Greedy Greylegs the Wolf, and Bare-breech the Bear-cub, and Mrs. Bruin, and Baron Bruin, and the Bridal train on the highway, and the Funeral train at the church, and Lady Moon in the Sky, and Lord Sun in heaven."
PETER THE FORESTER AND GRUMBLEGIZZARD
When the girls had ended, we all laughed at the droll turn out of Sun, Moon, and Co. from the cat's maw; and I was just going to repay them with a Scotch story, when there came a great knock at the door.
Who could it be? said the girls. Father and mother would not come up from the dale in such weather. Who could it be? Perhaps one of the Hill folk. Perhaps a Huldra.
"Nonsense, lassies!" said Anders; "even if it were anything uncanny, we have guns enough here to fire a shot over a whole pack of them, and men enough to fire them too. Don't stand dawdling there, Karin, but open the door."
Karin did as she was bid, and drew back the wooden bolt.
"My!" she cried, "if it isn't Peter the Forester! Come in, Peter. Come in."
In strode Peter, a strapping fellow, long past youth, but still hale and hearty. His tight-fitting breeches and hose showed a well-knit frame; over his many-buttoned jacket he wore a loose cloak of russet woollen stuff, "Wadmel," as they call it in the north of Scotland, and "Vadmal," as they call it in Norway. A broad, flapping wide-awake covered his head, which on this occasion was tied down across the top, and under the chin by a red cotton kerchief. On his shoulder was his rifle.
"Why, Peter," said Anders, "what brought you out in such Deil's weather?"
"Well!" said Peter, "the owner of the sawmills down at the end of the dale on the other side of the Fjeld, sent me up here last night to see if I could mark down any reindeer for him; and so I came, though I told him 'twas no use. The poor, silly body fancies the deer are like a pack of barn-door fowls, that you can count morning and evening, as they go out and come home to roost. He little thinks that the deer seen to-day here, are to-morrow fifty miles off, or more; but as I wanted to cross the Fjeld, and look at the forest on the other side down in the dale, I said I would come and tell him if I saw any deer; and to make a long story short, I came, and thought to get here last night; but just on the edge of the Fjeld it grew dark as pitch, and so I crept into a reft in the rocks, and spent the night as I best could. Luckily I had fladbrod and gammelost, and a flask of brandy, else I should have fared badly. But here I am, drenched to the skin, and nigh starved. Let me have a pair of dry stockings, and a bowl of milk, and make myself comfortable. But God's peace! I did not see you had English lords here. Good day! Good day! After deer, too, no doubt. Did you see the deer yesterday?"
While Anders told him in a low voice who we were, in which story Edward's mishap was sure to find a place, Peter took off his shoes and stockings, and put on dry ones, and then draining off his bowl of milk, sate before the fire to enjoy his pipe.
But Anders was not going to let him off so lightly.
"You must often hear and see strange things in the woods, and on the Fjeld, Peter!"
"Aye! aye!" replied Peter, under a cloud of puffs, to this rather leading question. "Aye, aye, I have both heard and seen many things. Strange sounds and noises; sometimes for all the world like the sweetest music."
"And what made it?" I asked.
"What made it!" scornfully replied Peter, "why the Huldror – the fairies."
"The fairies! then you believe in the Good People?"
"Good or bad," said Peter, "and I think they are more often bad than good, by their leave be it spoken; for to tell the truth, they say this very Sæter was haunted in old days. Good or bad, why shouldn't I believe in them? Doesn't the Bible speak of evil spirits? and if I believe in the Bible I must believe in them."
I was too eager to get out of Peter what he knew about the Hill folk or Huldror or fairies, to stop to discuss his dictum as to the Bible, so I said,
"But do tell us what you saw yourself."
"Well!" said Peter, "once in August I was sitting on a knoll by the side of a path, with bushes on each side, so that I could look across the path down into a little hollow full of heath and ling. I was out calling birds, for I can call them by their notes, and just then I heard a grey hen call among the heather, and I called to her and thought, 'If I only set eyes on you, you shall have gobbled and cackled your last.' Then all at once I heard something come rustling behind me along the path, and I turned round and saw an old, old man; he was a strange looking chap altogether, but the strangest thing about him was that he had – at least so it seemed to me – three legs; and the third leg hung and dangled between the other two right down to the ground, and so he walked along the path. When I say 'walked,' it wasn't walking either, but a sliding, sloping motion, and so he went along, and I lost sight of him in one of the darkest hollows of the glen. Now if that were not a fairy I should like to know what it was?"
"Why an old gaberlunzie man, who helped himself along going down hill with his stick behind him," said I. "Come, come, Peter, you must know better stories than that. Tell us something that you have not seen, but only heard tell of. Can't you tell us 'Grumblegizzard?'" For that, you must know, was the name of a Norse tale that I had often heard of but never yet heard.
"Yes! yes," said Anders. "Peter knows it, I'll be bound."
"Well!" said Peter, "it's a queer story, but here it is. This is the story of
GRUMBLEGIZZARD"Once on a time there were five goodies, who were all reaping in a field; they were all childless, and all wished to have a bairn. All at once they set eyes on a strangely big goose-egg, almost as big as a man's head.
"'I saw it first,' said one.
"'I saw it just as soon as you,' screamed another.
"'Heaven help me, but I will have it,' swore the third; 'I was the first to see it.'