Claire Booss

“The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 393-398.

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 15:50:43 +0000

“The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 393-398. Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/14/2024 - 09:50

Tale Summary

There was once a poor girl with a bad disposition named Ingé, who often got away with cruel things because she was pretty. At her mother’s request she was taken to the house of some rich people who treated her as their own child, which only increased her arrogance. One day her patroness encouraged her to see her parents again. She agreed, but only to show off her appearance in her hometown. She was ashamed of how poor her mother was and left. Some time later she was again encouraged to visit, and her patroness gave her a loaf of bread to give to her mother. On the way to the house, Ingé had to cross over some water, but was too arrogant to get her feet wet and so she put the loaf down to step on instead. When she did this, the ground swallowed her up and she was brought to the realm of the Mud Witch, where she was punished alongside many other sinners. She was stiff as a board, only able to move her eyes, with her foot still stuck in the loaf as flies climbed on her and the tears of her grieving mother dripped onto her from above. Because someone had seen her disappear into the earth, everyone above ground knew what she had done, and she became the subject of a children’s song warning against being cruel. She could hear everyone she knew, including her caretakers, talk about what a uniquely unpleasant individual she was and was very hurt by it. Time passed and she could hear an innocent child’s reaction to hearing Ingé’s story; it was the first time she had heard someone express pity towards her. Many years later, that young child was an elderly woman on her deathbed, and remembered how when she was younger she shed tears for Ingé, and prayed for her. When the old woman passed away, she was able to see how much the girl had suffered, and prayed and wept more for her in heaven. Ingé was granted mercy and her shape was transformed into a small bird. The bird was shy and hid itself in an old wall, unable to produce a sound, but marveled at the beauty of the world. During Christmas-time a nearby peasant placed corn outside for the birds, and on Christmas morning, the bird emerged from the hole in the wall to perform its first good deed on earth. Throughout the course of the cold, hard winter, the bird collected many crumbs and seeds to give to all of the other hungry birds. Finally, when the amount of morsels that were found and given equalled the weight of the loaf of bread that Ingé had trod on, the bird’s wings turned white and it flew into the sky, and it was never to be seen again.

Fairy Tale Title

The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 393-398

Full Citation of Tale

“The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 393-398.

Original Source of the Tale

From Denmark, written by Hans Christian Andersen

Tale Notes

Interestingly, the gender that Ingé is referred to as changes when she transforms into a bird, which becomes masculine. This tale also has strong Christian undertones.

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2024

Book Title

Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland

Book Author/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Illustrator(s)

Publisher

Avenel Books

Date Published

1984

Decade Published

1980-1989

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

A collection of folk literature from five countries, with illustrations by native artists.

Traditional

White

“The Swan Maiden.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 248-250.

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 03:12:47 +0000

“The Swan Maiden.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 248-250. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/13/2024 - 21:12

Claire Booss

Tale Summary

One day, a young hunter saw three swans fly by and settle down near him. He was astonished to find that the three swans removed their feathery attire, and revealed themselves to be dazzlingly beautiful maidens. He watched as they bathed, and then donned their feathery garb again, to become swans once more and fly away. The youngest and fairest caught the attention of the hunter, and he could think of nothing else. His mother noticed that something was wrong, and he related to her what he had seen, and that he was madly in love. She told him to go at sunset the next Thursday to where he had seen her last, and that he should grab her feathers as she bathed. He followed his mother’s instructions, and soon thereafter two of the swans flew away, but the third was left searching for her clothes. She discovered the young man, and fell to her knees, and prayed that he would return her swan attire. He refused and carried her home, and the two were married, and lived lovingly together. One Thursday seven years later, the hunter related the story of how he had sought and won his swan wife, and brought forth the feathers of her former days. As soon as she touched the feathers, she transformed once more into a swan and took flight. He longed for her and died a year later.

Fairy Tale Title

The Swan Maiden

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Common Tale Type

Tale Classification

Page Range of Tale

pp. 248-250

Full Citation of Tale

“The Swan Maiden.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 248-250.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland

Book Author/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Illustrator(s)

Publisher

Avenel Books

Date Published

1984

Decade Published

1980-1989

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

A collection of folk literature from five countries, with illustrations by native artists.

Traditional

White

“The Mouse Bride.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 541-547.

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 01:11:36 +0000

“The Mouse Bride.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 541-547. Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 03/10/2024 - 19:11

Claire Booss

Tale Summary

There was once a laborer named Pekka, who went to talk to an old Lapland woman to hear his fortune. She told him that he would have three sons, and when each was born he should plant a tree bearing the name of the child. When they were grown he would have each chop down his name tree, and wander in the direction that the tree fell until he met his bride. His firstborn son, named Onni, had a birch tree, his second born, named Aarne, had an oak tree, and his youngest, named Jukka, had a fir tree. When it came time for them to marry, Onni’s tree fell in the direction of a rich man’s house, Aarne’s tree pointed to a farmer’s house, and Jukka’s tree faced nothing but the forest. He walked and walked for three days until he found a tiny house in a clearing which was home to a little mouse. He told her his troubles and she insisted that he marry her. Jukka agreed because he thought he could not be any worse off than he was already, and walked home to announce that he had found a very fine wife. The next morning, Pekka announced that he wished to see bread baked by the brides so he could judge which was the best. Jukka visited his mouse bride and sadly relayed this to her. She rang a bell and a thousand mice appeared, and each brought a fine grain of wheat, which she ground and made into bread. This loaf was judged the best, as Onni’s bride had made rye and Aarne’s bride had made barley. Pekka next wanted to see how fine each bride could weave, and so Jukka asked the mouse to make a piece of cloth. She called on the thousand mice again, who all brought fine pieces of flax, which they all worked to make into thread which the mouse bride herself wove into cloth which she folded into a nutshell. When the cloth was unfolded in front of Pekka, he was impressed to see that the cloth was so fine that fifty yards had fit into the nutshell. He told all of his sons to fetch their brides so that he could judge the best, and so that the sons could all be married on Midsummer’s day. Jukka told this to his bride, distraught and embarrassed, but she told him not to worry as she beckoned five sleek gray mice to pull her in a chestnut burr carriage topped with a toadstool canopy. On the second day of the journey, they crossed a bridge and met a mean peasant boy who kicked the carriage into the water. The boy disappeared, but out of the water appeared five sleek gray horses drawing a glittering carriage, which held a lovely maiden.She explained that she was his mouse bride, and that she used to be a king’s daughter named Olga who was cursed by a jealous Lapland woman. She and all her servants became mice, and the spell could not be broken until one young man asked to marry her, and another tried to drown her. When they arrived, everyone was stunned by her beauty. They were married and returned back to the valley together, where the little house had been transformed into a castle, and they lived there together in happiness.

Fairy Tale Title

The Mouse Bride

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Common Tale Type

The Animal Bride

Tale Classification

ATU 402

Page Range of Tale

pp. 541-547

Full Citation of Tale

“The Mouse Bride.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 541-547.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland

Book Author/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Illustrator(s)

Publisher

Avenel Books

Date Published

1984

Decade Published

1980-1989

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

A collection of folk literature from five countries, with illustrations by native artists.

Traditional

White

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 63-71.

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 19:57:04 +0000

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 63-71. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/26/2023 - 13:57

Claire Booss

Tale Summary

Once upon a time there lived a poor tenant who had many children but no money to feed and clothe them. One Thursday evening, a white bear knocked on the door and asked for the man’s youngest daughter (who was the most lovely) in exchange for great riches. She initially declined, but was talked into the arrangement by her family, and so the following week she rode the white bear back to his home, which was a splendid castle. The white bear gave her a little silver bell to ring whenever she wanted something, and that evening she wished to go to sleep and was whisked away to her bedroom. After the light went out she heard the bear enter and settle down in an armchair next to her bed, where he shed his bear skin. He did this every night, but left before dawn, so that she never saw his human form. The girl began to miss her family, and so the bear promised to let her visit if she swore not to be alone with her mother. He dropped her off at their new grand farmhouse, where her mother convinced her to have a private conversation. The girl told her mother about how a man came into her room every night but left before dawn, and how she was very sad not to ever see him. Her mother exclaimed that he might be some monster, and to check she must take a candle to light while he is asleep. On the way home, the girl admitted to the bear that she had spoken with her mother, and he warned her not to follow the advice she was given. That night she crept over to the sleeping man and when she lit the candle she discovered that he was the loveliest prince ever seen. She fell in love instantly, but when she leaned in to kiss him, the candle dripped hot wax on the man and he awoke. He was furious and told her that he had been transformed into a white bear by his evil stepmother, and that if only his bride did not see him for a year he would have been set free. He now had to return to his stepmother’s castle to marry an ugly princess. She begged to follow him, but he told her that the castle layed east of the sun and west of the moon and she would never find her way. In the morning he and the castle were gone and the girl found herself in the middle of the forest. She walked for many days until reaching a mountain, where she met an old woman playing with a golden apple. She explained who she was and who she was looking for, and the old woman offered her the golden apple and a horse so that she may ride to her neighbor’s house for help. The girl rode a long time until she came to another old woman who also did not know where the castle was, but offered her a golden carding-comb and to borrow her horse to ride to her neighbor, who may know the answer. After some time riding, she came to a large mountain where an old woman was sitting at a golden spinning-wheel. She listened to the girl’s plight, gave her the golden spinning-wheel, and lent her another horse to ride and see the east wind. When she reached him, the wind told her that he had heard of the prince and the castle but had never blown as far to reach it, so offered to carry her to see his brother, the west wind. She got on his back and they soon reached the west wind, but he had never been so far, either, and so they went to the south wind, who had also never been there. She was taken to the north wind, who had been to the castle before and offered to take her there the next day. They left in the morning and the north wind blew as hard as he could, and was barely able to drop the girl off at the castle which lay east of the sun and west of the moon. The girl sat under the castle windows the next day and played with the golden apple, and was seen by the princess with the long nose whom her husband was to marry. She wanted the apple so badly that she agreed to give the girl whatever she wanted, and granted her permission to sit in the armchair next to the sleeping prince that night. When she came to the bedroom he was fast asleep, and no matter what she did the girl could not wake him. The next day she sat under the windows again, this time with her golden carding comb, and the princess again granted her the same wish as before in exchange for the comb. The same thing happened that night, and the girl could not wake her husband. She sat with her golden spinning-wheel the next day and the princess once more gave her permission to sit in the armchair by the prince that night. Some Christian people had been imprisoned in the room next to his and they told him about the weeping woman they had been hearing in his bedchamber, and so that night he only pretended to drink what was given to him by the princess, sure that she had been slipping him a sleeping draught. When the girl came to his room that night he was wide awake, and he told her that only she could save him from being married to the long-nosed princess. He said that he would challenge her to clean the shirt with the candle wax stains on it, knowing that she would be unable, because only a Christian could do it. He would declare that he would only take for a bride the woman who could wash the shirt, which would be the girl who had traveled so long to find him. The next day these things transpired exactly as he had told her, and when he pronounced that the girl should be his wife, all of the evil people in the castle burst from rage. The prince and his bride set free all who were imprisoned there, and moved far away together.

Fairy Tale Title

East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Common Tale Type

The Search for the Lost Husband, The Animal as Bridegroom

Tale Classification

ATU 425, ATU 425A

Page Range of Tale

pp. 63-71

Full Citation of Tale

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, edited by Claire Booss, New York: Avenel Books, 1984, pp. 63-71.

Original Source of the Tale

A Norwegian fairy tale, similar to the Greek Cupid and Psyche myth.

Tale Notes

This tale has an unusual deviation from most popular versions of the story, in that it directly invokes Christianity and the prosecution of Christians.

Research and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Scandinavian folk & fairy tales: tales from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland

Book Author/Editor(s)

Claire Booss

Illustrator(s)

Publisher

Avenel Books

Date Published

1984

Decade Published

1980-1989

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

A collection of folk literature from five countries, with illustrations by native artists.

Traditional

White