WEBVTT - CZM Book Club: Soria Moria Castle 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:09.719 Cool Zone Media. Welcome to Cool Zone Media book Club. 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:14.440 That's always been our introduction, right Hi, Welcome Nicholsone Media 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:16.720 book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and this is 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:18.239 the book club where you don't have to do the 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:22.720 reading because I do it for you. And it's been 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.640 too long since I read you some folklore. It has 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:29.680 been too long, and I spend way too much of 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:31.960 my time researching history, so I spend a lot of 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:36.800 my time thinking about conceptions of self and myth and 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:41.760 things of people in the past. And when I have 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:48.880 those feelings, I turn to folklore. So this week I'm 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:52.519 going to read you a story called Soria Moria Castle, 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.600 and it's from the Norse. It is a popular folk 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.200 tale there, or at least the Internet tells me it's 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.640 popular there. I have not spent enough time in Norway 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:06.600 to know whether the average Norwegian person is like, ah, yes, 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:11.840 totally sorry, a Moria castle, that's our shit. But the 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:14.760 reason I picked this story it's not because it's popular 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.119 in Norway. It's because I was looking at a different 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.240 story that I'll probably read to you some other time. 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:24.560 It's a very good story. When I ran across this story, 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:29.240 translated by the same person, and specifically I ran across 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.840 it because Maria is the name of the minds of 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.520 Moria in Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien admitted that 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:41.200 it is from this story. There's nothing about it, like, 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.959 there's no actual connection besides the name. But that's enough 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.400 for me. And this version of the story is from 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:49.960 a book from one hundred plus years ago called Popular 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:54.480 Tales from the Norse, a translation by George Webb Descent. Okay, 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:56.040 the other reason that I'm reading it to you is 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:01.160 that the first paragraph is just so I'm so into it. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.160 But nerd of virgens is totally new, says the person 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.960 who's trying to destroy all health services in this country. 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.600 But actually the nerd of virgens is as old as time. Okay, 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:17.359 now I'm going to read you the story Sooria Maria Castle. 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.000 Once on a time, there was a poor couple who 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.800 had a son whose name was Halvor. Ever since he 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.480 was a little boy, he would turn his hand to nothing, 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:32.399 but just sat there and groped about in the ashes. 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.160 His father and mother often put him out to learn 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:39.440 this trade or that, but Halvor could stay nowhere, for 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.120 when he had been there a day or two, he 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:45.200 ran away from his master and never stopped till he 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:51.200 was sitting again in the ingle, poking about in the cinders. Well. 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.920 One day a skipper came and asked Halvor if he 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.040 hadn't a mind to be with him and go to 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:01.280 sea and see strange lands. Yes, Halvor would like that 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:05.000 very much, so he wasn't long in getting himself ready. 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.640 How long they sailed, I'm sure I can't tell, But 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:11.120 the end of it was they fell into a great storm, 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.120 and when it was blown over and it got still again, 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:16.960 they couldn't tell where they were, for they had been 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:20.080 driven away to a strange coast which none of them 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:24.280 knew anything about. Well, as there was just no wind 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:28.000 at all. They stayed lying wind bound there, and Halvor 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.440 asked the skipper's leave to go on shore and look 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.799 about him. He would sooner go, he said, than lie 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.840 there and sleep. Do you think now you're fit to 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:40.960 show yourself before folk, said the skipper, Why you've no 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:45.320 clothes than those rags you stand in? But Halvar stuck 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:47.520 to his own, and so at last he got leave. 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:49.640 But he was to be sure and come back as 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.760 soon as it ever began to blow. So off he 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.760 went and found a lovely land. Wherever he came there 0:03:56.760 --> 0:04:00.840 were fine, large flat cornfields and rich meads, but he 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.800 couldn't catch a glimpse of a living soul. Well, it 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.680 began to blow, but Halvor thought he hadn't seen enough yet, 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.320 and he wanted to walk a little farther, just to 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.360 see if he couldn't meet any folk. So after a 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.560 while he came to a broad high road, so smooth 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.560 and even you might easily roll an egg along it. 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.760 Halvor followed this, and when evening drew on, he saw 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.600 a great castle ever so far off, from which the 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.560 sunbeams shone. So as he had now walked the whole 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:34.400 day and hadn't taken a bit to eat with him, 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.680 he was as hungry as a hunter. But still the 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:42.560 nearer he came to the castle, the more afraid he got. 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.120 In the castle kitchen, a great fire was blazing, and 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.960 Halvor went to it. But such a kitchen he had 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.279 never seen in all his born days. It was so 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:56.000 grand and fine. There were vessels of silver and vessels 0:04:56.040 --> 0:05:00.520 of gold, but still never a living soul. When Halivar 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:02.720 had stood there a while and no one came out, 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:06.159 he went and opened a door. And there inside said 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:11.359 a princess who sat upon a spinning wheel. Nay, nay, now, 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.719 she called out, dare Christian folk come hither? But now 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:16.960 you'd best be off about your business if you don't 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:20.520 want the troll to gobble you up. For here lives 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:25.200 a troll with three heads, all one to me, said 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.640 the lad. I'd be just as glad to hear he 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.600 had four heads. Beside, I'd like to see what kind 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:33.760 of fellow he is. As for going, I won't go 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.800 at all. I've done no harm, But meet you must 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:40.760 get me, for i am almost starved to death. When 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.200 Halivar had eaten his fill, the princess told him to 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:46.560 try if he could brandish the sword that hung against 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:50.360 the wall. No, he couldn't brandish it. He couldn't even 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.520 lift it up. Oh, said the princess. Now you must 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:57.080 go and take a pull of that flask that hangs 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.800 by its side. That's what the troll does every time 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:03.239 he goes out to use the sword. And so Halvar 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:05.760 took a pull, and in the twinkling of an eye 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.960 he could brandish the sword like nothing. And now he 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:12.880 thought at high time the troll came and lo. Just 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:17.560 then up came the troll, puffing and blowing. Havor jumped 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:22.159 behind the door. Hutetou, said the troll, as he put 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:25.600 his head in the door, What a smell of christian 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:30.000 man's blood, Aye, said Halvor. You'll soon know that to 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:34.520 your cost. And with that he hewed off all his heads. 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:38.359 Now the princess was so glad she was free. She 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:41.279 both danced and sang. But then all at once she 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.560 called her sisters to mind, And so she said, would 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:48.960 my sisters were free too? Where are they asked Halvar. Well, 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:52.159 she told him all about it. One was taken away 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:55.360 by a troll to his castle, which lay fifty miles off, 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.520 and the other by another troll to his castle, which 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.560 was fifty miles further still. And do you know what 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:05.279 lay between him, Halvar, and those other castles and his 0:07:05.360 --> 0:07:10.160 further adventure. Well nothing he couldn't skip past. It was 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:27.560 a bunch of ads. And we're back. But now she said, 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.360 you must first help me get this ugly carcass out 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.280 of the house. Yes, Halvar was so strong he swept 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.040 everything away and made it all clean and tidy in 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.840 no time. So they had a good and happy time 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.360 of it, and next morning he set off at peep 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:46.040 of gray dawn. He could take no rest by the way, 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.360 but ran and walked the whole day. When he first 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:52.400 saw the castle, he got a little afraid. It was 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:55.440 far grander than the first and there wasn't a living 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.400 soul to be seen. But Halvor went into the kitchen 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:01.680 and didn't stop there either, went straight on further into 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:05.640 the house. Nay nay, called out the princess. Dare Christian 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.280 folk come hither? I don't know. I'm sure how long 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:10.160 it is since I came here, But in all that 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.480 time I haven't seen a Christian man towre best. You 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:15.960 saw how to get away as fast as you came, 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.840 For here lives a troll who has six heads. I 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:24.400 shan't go, said Halvar, if he had six heads. Besides, 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:28.560 he'll take you up and swallow you down alive, said 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.240 the princess. But it was no good. Halvor wouldn't go, 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:35.080 and he wasn't at all afraid of the troll. But 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.559 meat and drink he must have, for he was starved 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:40.760 after his long journey. Well, he got as much of 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.319 that as he wished, But then the princess wanted him 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.560 to be off again. No, said Halvar, I won't go. 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:48.600 I've done no harm and I have nothing to be 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:52.920 afraid about. He won't stay to ask, that, said the princess, 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:56.360 for he'll take you without law or leave. But as 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.680 soon as you won't go, just try and see if 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:02.480 you can brandish that sword yonder, which the troll wields 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:07.240 in war. He couldn't brandish it, and then the princess 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.240 said he must take a pull at the flask which 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.480 hung by its side, and when he had done that 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:16.160 he could brandish it. Just then back came the troll, 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:18.760 and he was both stout and big, so that he 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.439 had to go sideways to get through the door. When 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:23.640 the troll got his first head in, he called out, 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:28.920 hutu two, what a smell of christian man's blood. But 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:32.319 that very moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:35.400 so on all the rest. As they popped in. The 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.600 princess was overjoyed, but just then she came to think 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.400 of her sisters and wished out loud they were free. 0:09:42.200 --> 0:09:44.719 Halvor thought that might easily be done and wanted to 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.120 be off at once, but first he had to help 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.280 the princess get the troll's carcass out of the way, 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.680 and so he could only set out next morning. It 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:55.959 was a long way to the castle, and he had 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.439 to walk fast and run hard to reach it in time. 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:02.280 But about nightfall he saw the castle, which was far 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:06.040 finer and grander than either of the others. This time 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:09.160 he wasn't the least afraid, but walked straight through the 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.680 kitchen and into the castle. There sat a princess who 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:16.640 was so pretty there was no end to her loveliness. She, too, 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:19.839 like the others, told him there hadn't been Christian folk 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.599 there ever since she came thither, and bade him go 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:26.040 away again, else the troll would swallow him alive. And 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:31.959 do you know, she said, he has nine heads? Aye? Aye, 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.640 said Halvor. If he had nine other heads and nine 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.880 other heads, still, I won't go away. And so he 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:41.400 stood fast before the stove. The princess kept on begging 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.320 him so prettily to go away lest the troll should 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.600 gobble him up. But Halvor said, let him come as 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.240 soon as he likes. So she gave him the troll's 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:53.720 sword and bade him take a pull at the flask 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.840 that he might be able to brandish and wield it. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.880 Just then back came the troll, puffing and blowing in, 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.480 tearing along. He was far stouter and bigger than the 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:05.760 other two, and he too had to go on one 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.360 side to get through the door. He said, as the 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:13.520 others had said, hututu, what a smell of christian man's blood. 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:17.679 That very moment Halvar hewed off the first head, and 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.520 then all the rest. But the last was toughest of 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:22.640 them all, and it was the hardest bit of work 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.680 Halvar had to do to get it hewn off, although 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:27.840 he knew very well he had strength enough to do it. 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.480 So all the princesses came together to that castle, which 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:36.200 was called Soria Moria Castle, and they were glad and 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.079 happy as they had never been in all their lives before. 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.160 And they were all fond of Halvar, and Halvar of them, 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.560 and he might choose the one he liked best for 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:47.440 his bride. But the youngest was fondest of him of 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.839 all the three. But there after a while Halvor went 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:54.199 about and was so strange and dull and silent. Then 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:56.760 the princesses asked him what he lacked, and if he 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.520 didn't like to live with them any longer, Yes he did, 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.600 for they had enough to spare, and he was well 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.000 off in every way. But still, somehow or other, he 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:08.680 did so long to go home, for his father and 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:11.840 mother were alive, and them he had such a great 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.640 wish to see. Well. They thought that that might be 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.240 done easily enough. You shall go thither and then come 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:23.280 back hither, safe and unscathed, if you will only follow 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:27.320 our advice, said the princesses. Yes, he'd be sure to 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:30.000 mind all they said. So they dressed him up till 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.440 he was as grand as a king's son, and they 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.280 set a ring on his finger. And that was such 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.719 a ring he could wish himself thither and hither with it. 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.080 But they told him to be sure not to take 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:43.760 it off, and not to name their names, for there 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:46.880 would be an end to all his bravery, and then 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.880 he'd never see them more. If only I stood at home, 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.679 I'd be glad, said Halvar, And it was done as 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.320 he wished. Then stood Halvar at his father's cottage door. 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.959 Before he knew a word about it. Now it was 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.120 about dusk, get even, and so when they saw such 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:06.000 a grand, stately lord walk in, the old couple got 0:13:06.040 --> 0:13:09.480 so afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then Halvor 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.319 asked if he couldn't stay there and have lodging there 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:16.680 that night. No, that he couldn't. We can't do it 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.360 at all, they said, for we haven't this thing or 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.520 that thing which such a lord as used to have 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.160 to where best your lordship went up to the farm 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.199 no long way off, for you can see the chimneys, 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.480 and there they have lots of everything. Halvor wouldn't hear 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.280 of it. He wanted to stop, but the old couple 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.440 stuck to their own that he had better go to 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:38.520 the farmers. There he could get both meat and drink. 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:41.320 As for them, they hadn't even a chair to offer 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.400 him to sit down on. No, said Halvor, I won't 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.000 go up there till tomorrow early. But let me just 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.520 stay here tonight. Worst comes to worse, I can sit 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.960 in the chimney corner. Well, they couldn't say anything against that, 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:56.120 So Halvor sat down by the ingle and began to 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.760 poke about in the ashes, just as he used to 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:00.839 do when he lay at the home in old days, 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:04.959 and stretched his lazy bones. Well, they chattered and talked 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.480 about many things, and they told Halvar about this thing 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.000 and that, And so he asked them if they never 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:13.600 had any children. Yes, yes, they once had a lad 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.320 whose name was Halvar. But they didn't know whither he 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:19.120 had wandered. They couldn't even tell whether he were dead 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:24.280 or alive. Couldn't it be me, now, said Halvar. Let 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.240 me see I could tell him, well enough, said the 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:29.240 old wife, and rose up. Our Halvor was so lazy 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.920 and dull, never did a thing, And besides he was 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.760 so ragged that one tatter took hold of the next 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.200 tatter on him. No, there never was the making of 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:40.480 such a fine fellow in him as you are. Master. 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.120 A little while after, the old wife went to the 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.600 hearth to poke up the fire, And when the blaze 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:48.320 fell on Halvar's face, just as when he was at 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.480 home of old poking about in the ashes, she knew 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:55.320 him at once. Ah, but it is you, after all, Halvar, 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.080 she cried. And then there was such joy for the 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:00.320 old couple there was no end to it. And he 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.560 was forced to tell how he had fared, and the 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:05.480 old dame was so fond and proud of him. Nothing 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:07.440 would do but he must go up at once to 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.280 the farmers and show himself to the lassies who had 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.200 always looked down on him, And off she went first, 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:16.720 and Halvar followed after. So when she got up there, 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.600 she told them all how her Halvor had come home again, 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.480 and now they should only see how grand he was, 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:26.960 For said she, he looks like nothing but a king's son. 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.960 All very fine, said the lassies, and tossed up their heads. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.640 We'll be bound. He's just the same beggarly ragged boy 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:38.360 he always was. Just then in walked Halvar, and the 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.920 lassies were also taken aback. They forgot their sarks in 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:45.080 the ingle where they were sitting darning their clothes, and 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.280 ran out in their smocks. Well, when they were got 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.760 back again, they were so shamefaced they scarce dared look 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:54.880 at Halvar, towards whom they had always been so proud 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:59.480 and haughty. Aye Aye, said Halvar. You always thought yourself 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.000 so pretty neat no one could ever come near you. 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.120 But now you should just see the eldest princess I 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:09.160 have set free. Against her, you look like just milk maids, 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:12.240 and the midmost is prettier still. But the youngest, who 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:15.600 is my sweetheart, she is fairer than both Sun and 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:19.280 Moon would to heaven, she were only here, said Halvar, 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:23.840 then you'd see what you would see. He had scarce 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:27.400 uttered these words before there they stood. But then he 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.640 felt so sorry. For now what they had said came 0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:33.120 into his mind. Up at the farm there was a 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:36.080 great feast got ready for the princesses, and much was 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:39.760 made of them. But they wouldn't stop there. No, we 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:41.720 want to go down to your father and mother, they 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.360 said to Halvar. And so we'll go out now and 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:48.360 look about us. So we went down with them, and 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.920 they came to a great lake just outside the farm. 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:54.880 And what did they find there but goods and services. 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:57.200 That's what was at the lake, just a bunch of stuff. 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:00.960 And they listened to it all attentively, just like you're 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:17.879 listening now to the ads and her back. So he 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:19.680 went down with them, and they came to a great 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:22.760 lake just outside the farm. Close by the water was 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:26.080 such a lovely green bank. Here the princesses said they 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.480 would like to sit and rest awhile. They thought it 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.000 so sweet to sit down and look over the water. 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.560 So they sat down there, and when they had sat awhile, 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.080 the youngest princess said, I may as well comb your 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:42.199 hair a little Halvar. Yes, Halvor laid his head on 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.399 her lap, and so she combed his bonnie locks, and 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.840 it wasn't long before Halvor fell asleep. Then she took 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.320 the ring from his finger and put another in its stead, 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:55.080 And so she said, now hold me all together, and 0:17:55.160 --> 0:18:00.439 now would we were all in Soria Moria Castle. So 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:03.080 when Halvor woke up, he could very well tell that 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.560 he had lost the princesses, and began to weep and wail, 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.160 and he was so downcast they couldn't comfort him at all. 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:12.840 In spite of all his father and mother had said, 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.280 he wouldn't stop there, but took farewell of them and 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.639 said he was safe not to see them again. For 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.720 he couldn't find the princesses again. He thought it not 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:27.040 worthwhile to live. Well. He still had three hundred dollars left, 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:29.200 so he put them into his pocket and set out 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.439 on his way. When he had walked a little he 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.240 met a man with a tidy horse, and he wanted 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:36.440 to buy it, and began to shaffer with the man. Ay, 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:38.480 said the man, to tell the truth, I never thought 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.400 of selling him, but if we could strike a bargain, perhaps, 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:45.679 what do you want for him, asked Halvar, I didn't 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.880 give much for him, nor is he worth much. He's 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:51.199 a brave horse to ride, but he can't draw at all. Still, 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.560 he's strong enough to carry your knapsack. And you two 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.280 turn and turn about, said the man. At last they 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.240 agreed on the price, and Halvor laid the knapsack on him. 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.560 And so he walked a bit and rode a bit, 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.840 turn and turn about. At night he came to a 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:08.200 green plain where stood a great tree at the roots 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:11.520 of which he sat down. There he let the horse loose, 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:13.960 but he didn't lie down to sleep, but opened his 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:17.440 knapsack and took a meal. At peep of day off 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:20.919 he set again, for he could take no rest. So 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.160 he rode and walked and walked, and rode the whole 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:25.560 day through the wide wood and where there were so 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.439 many green spots and glades that shone so bright and 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:32.600 lovely between the trees. He didn't know at all where 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.000 he was or whither he was going, but he gave 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:37.320 himself no more time to rest than when his horse 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:39.639 cropped a bit of grass, and he took a snack 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:41.600 out of his knapsack. When they came to one of 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:45.080 those green glades. So he went on walking and riding 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:48.080 by turns, and as for the wood, there seemed to 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.800 be no end of it. But at dusk the next 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:53.440 day he saw a light gleaming away through the trees. 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:58.119 Would there were folk here? Away? Thought Halver, that I 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:00.399 might warm myself a bit and get a mo morsel 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:04.200 to keep my body and soul together. When he got 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:05.960 up to it, he saw the light came from a 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:08.760 wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old, 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.240 old couple. Inside. They were as gray headed as a 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.200 pair of doves, and the old wife had such a nose. 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:17.960 Why it was so long? She used it for a 0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:20.880 poker to stir the fire as she sat in the ingle. 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:25.760 Good evening, said Halvar. Good evening, said the old wife. 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:29.080 But what errand can you have coming in hither? She 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:32.000 went on, for no Christian folk have been here these 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:36.320 hundred years? And more Well, Halver told her all about 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:39.840 himself and how he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle, 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:43.360 and asked if she knew the way thither. No, said 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:46.040 the old wife, that I don't, But see now here 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:48.919 comes the moon. I'll ask her. She'll know all about it, 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:52.240 for doesn't she shine on everything. So when the moon 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:55.040 stood clear and bright over the treetops, the old wife 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:59.880 went out, Thou moon, Thou moon, she screamed, canst thou 0:20:59.880 --> 0:21:04.359 tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle. No, said 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:06.240 the moon that I can't. For the last time I 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:11.399 shone there a cloud stood before me. Wait a bit still, 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:14.399 said the old wife to Halvor. By and bye comes 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:17.040 the west wind. He's sure to know it, for he 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.240 puffs and blows round every corner. Nay, nay, said the 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:24.160 old wife when she went out again. You don't mean 0:21:24.200 --> 0:21:26.000 to say you've got a horse too. Just turn the 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:28.800 poor beastie loose in our tone, and don't let him 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.720 stand there and starve to death at the door. Then 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:34.720 she ran on, But you won't swap him away to me. 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:37.000 We've got an old pair of boots here with which 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:40.199 you can take twenty miles at each stride. Those you 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.160 shall have for your horse, and so you'll get all 0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:47.760 the sooner the Soria Moria Castle. That Halvor was willing 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:49.760 to do at once. And the old wife was so 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:51.919 glad at the horse she was ready to dance and 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:54.760 skip for joy. For now she said, I shall be 0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:57.520 able to ride to church, I too think of that. 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:01.000 As for Halvor, he had rest and wanted to be 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:03.040 off at once, but the old wife said there was 0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:05.840 no hurry. Lie down there on that bench with you 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:08.600 and sleep a bit, for we've no bed to offer you, 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:13.320 and i'll watch and wake you when the west wind comes. 0:22:14.040 --> 0:22:17.080 So after a while up came the west wind, roaring 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.080