The Troll Wedding
One summer long ago, the people of Melbustad took their cattle to pasture in the hills. But they were only there a short time before the herd grew so restless that it became impossible to keep them in order. Several different maidens tried to restrain them, but to no avail, until someone got engaged and their engagement ceremony was recently held. Then, the herd suddenly became quiet and easy to handle. So the girl remained alone on the hill, with no other companion than a dog. One afternoon, as she was sitting in the hut, it seemed to her that her lover had come, sat down next to her and started talking about how they would get married immediately. But she sat still and did not answer because she noticed something strange about him. Gradually, more and more people came in; they began to put silverware on the table and dishes; the bridesmaids brought bridal crowns, jewellery and a beautiful bridal dress, which they then dressed for the bride. She placed a crown on her head, as was the custom of those times, and they put a ring on her hand.
And it seemed to her that she knew everyone there; they were the women of the village and girls of the same age as her. But the dog was well aware that there was something strange about this. He rushed down to Melbustad with great leaps, howling and barking most pitifully and giving no rest to the people until they had followed him. The boy about to marry the girl took a gun and climbed the hill, and as he approached, there were many saddled and haltered horses around the hut. He crept up to the house, looked through the hole in the wall and saw a whole group sitting together inside. It was clear that they were trolls, people from underground, and so he fired his gun through the roof. At that moment, the doors opened, and several coils of grey yarn, one larger than the other, shot out around his feet. When he walked in, the girl was sitting in her bridal outfit, only missing the ring on her little finger, so it was all over.
“God, what happened here?” He asked while looking around. All the silverware was still on the table, but all the delicious dishes had turned to moss, mould, frogs and the like.
“What does it all mean?” he says. “Are you sitting here in all your glory, like a bride?”
“How can you ask me?” the girl replied. “You sat here and talked about our wedding all afternoon!”
“No, I just got here,” he said. “Someone else must have taken my form!”
Then she gradually regained consciousness, but before long, she was quite herself, and she said that she firmly believed that it was her lover and all their friends and relations who were there. He took her straight back to the village, and in order not to fear such ghosts later, they held the wedding while she was still wearing the bridal costume of the underground folk. The crown and all the decorations were hung in Melbustad, and it is said that they remain there today.
-by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe-
