THE NORWEGIAN FAIRY
BOOK
I
PER GYNT
In the old days there lived in Kvam a marksman by the name of Per Gynt. He was continually in the mountains, where he shot bear and elk, for at that time there were more forests on the Fjäll, and all sorts of beasts dwelt in them. Once, late in the fall, when the cattle had long since been driven down from the mountain pastures, Per Gynt decided to go up on the Fjäll again. With the exception of three dairy-maids, all the herd-folk had already left the mountains. But when Per Gynt reached Hövringalm, where he intended to stay over-night in a herdsman’s hut, it already was so dark that he could not see his hand before his eyes. Then the dogs began to bark so violently that he felt quite uneasy. And suddenly his foot struck something, and when he took hold of it, it was cold, and large and slippery. Since he felt certain he had not left the path, he could not imagine what it might be; but he sensed that all was not in order.
“And who are you?” asked Per Gynt, for he noticed that it moved.
“O, I am the crooked one,” was the answer. And now Per Gynt knew as much as he had before. So he went along its length, “for sooner or later I will come to the end of it,” thought he.
As he went along he again struck against something, and when he felt it, it was again something cold, and large and slippery.
“And who are you?” asked Per Gynt.
“I am the crooked one,” was again the answer.
“Well, whether you be crooked or straight, you will have to let me pass,” said Per Gynt; for he noticed that he was going around in a circle, and that the crooked one had coiled himself about the herdsman’s cottage. At these words the crooked one moved a little to one side, so that Per Gynt could get into the cottage. When he entered he found it as dark inside as it was out; and he stumbled and felt his way along the walls; for he wanted to lay aside his firelock and his hunting-bag. But while he was feeling his way about, he once more noticed the something large, and cold and slippery.
“And who are you now?” cried Per Gynt.