Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media. Welcome to Cool Zone Media book Club.
Speaker 1: That's always been our introduction, right Hi, Welcome Nicholsone Media
Speaker 1: book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and this is
Speaker 1: the book club where you don't have to do the
Speaker 1: reading because I do it for you. And it's been
Speaker 1: too long since I read you some folklore. It has
Speaker 1: been too long, and I spend way too much of
Speaker 1: my time researching history, so I spend a lot of
Speaker 1: my time thinking about conceptions of self and myth and
Speaker 1: things of people in the past. And when I have
Speaker 1: those feelings, I turn to folklore. So this week I'm
Speaker 1: going to read you a story called Soria Moria Castle,
Speaker 1: and it's from the Norse. It is a popular folk
Speaker 1: tale there, or at least the Internet tells me it's
Speaker 1: popular there. I have not spent enough time in Norway
Speaker 1: to know whether the average Norwegian person is like, ah, yes,
Speaker 1: totally sorry, a Moria castle, that's our shit. But the
Speaker 1: reason I picked this story it's not because it's popular
Speaker 1: in Norway. It's because I was looking at a different
Speaker 1: story that I'll probably read to you some other time.
Speaker 1: It's a very good story. When I ran across this story,
Speaker 1: translated by the same person, and specifically I ran across
Speaker 1: it because Maria is the name of the minds of
Speaker 1: Moria in Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien admitted that
Speaker 1: it is from this story. There's nothing about it, like,
Speaker 1: there's no actual connection besides the name. But that's enough
Speaker 1: for me. And this version of the story is from
Speaker 1: a book from one hundred plus years ago called Popular
Speaker 1: Tales from the Norse, a translation by George Webb Descent. Okay,
Speaker 1: the other reason that I'm reading it to you is
Speaker 1: that the first paragraph is just so I'm so into it.
Speaker 1: But nerd of virgens is totally new, says the person
Speaker 1: who's trying to destroy all health services in this country.
Speaker 1: But actually the nerd of virgens is as old as time. Okay,
Speaker 1: now I'm going to read you the story Sooria Maria Castle.
Speaker 1: Once on a time, there was a poor couple who
Speaker 1: had a son whose name was Halvor. Ever since he
Speaker 1: was a little boy, he would turn his hand to nothing,
Speaker 1: but just sat there and groped about in the ashes.
Speaker 1: His father and mother often put him out to learn
Speaker 1: this trade or that, but Halvor could stay nowhere, for
Speaker 1: when he had been there a day or two, he
Speaker 1: ran away from his master and never stopped till he
Speaker 1: was sitting again in the ingle, poking about in the cinders. Well.
Speaker 1: One day a skipper came and asked Halvor if he
Speaker 1: hadn't a mind to be with him and go to
Speaker 1: sea and see strange lands. Yes, Halvor would like that
Speaker 1: very much, so he wasn't long in getting himself ready.
Speaker 1: How long they sailed, I'm sure I can't tell, But
Speaker 1: the end of it was they fell into a great storm,
Speaker 1: and when it was blown over and it got still again,
Speaker 1: they couldn't tell where they were, for they had been
Speaker 1: driven away to a strange coast which none of them
Speaker 1: knew anything about. Well, as there was just no wind
Speaker 1: at all. They stayed lying wind bound there, and Halvor
Speaker 1: asked the skipper's leave to go on shore and look
Speaker 1: about him. He would sooner go, he said, than lie
Speaker 1: there and sleep. Do you think now you're fit to
Speaker 1: show yourself before folk, said the skipper, Why you've no
Speaker 1: clothes than those rags you stand in? But Halvar stuck
Speaker 1: to his own, and so at last he got leave.
Speaker 1: But he was to be sure and come back as
Speaker 1: soon as it ever began to blow. So off he
Speaker 1: went and found a lovely land. Wherever he came there
Speaker 1: were fine, large flat cornfields and rich meads, but he
Speaker 1: couldn't catch a glimpse of a living soul. Well, it
Speaker 1: began to blow, but Halvor thought he hadn't seen enough yet,
Speaker 1: and he wanted to walk a little farther, just to
Speaker 1: see if he couldn't meet any folk. So after a
Speaker 1: while he came to a broad high road, so smooth
Speaker 1: and even you might easily roll an egg along it.
Speaker 1: Halvor followed this, and when evening drew on, he saw
Speaker 1: a great castle ever so far off, from which the
Speaker 1: sunbeams shone. So as he had now walked the whole
Speaker 1: day and hadn't taken a bit to eat with him,
Speaker 1: he was as hungry as a hunter. But still the
Speaker 1: nearer he came to the castle, the more afraid he got.
Speaker 1: In the castle kitchen, a great fire was blazing, and
Speaker 1: Halvor went to it. But such a kitchen he had
Speaker 1: never seen in all his born days. It was so
Speaker 1: grand and fine. There were vessels of silver and vessels
Speaker 1: of gold, but still never a living soul. When Halivar
Speaker 1: had stood there a while and no one came out,
Speaker 1: he went and opened a door. And there inside said
Speaker 1: a princess who sat upon a spinning wheel. Nay, nay, now,
Speaker 1: she called out, dare Christian folk come hither? But now
Speaker 1: you'd best be off about your business if you don't
Speaker 1: want the troll to gobble you up. For here lives
Speaker 1: a troll with three heads, all one to me, said
Speaker 1: the lad. I'd be just as glad to hear he
Speaker 1: had four heads. Beside, I'd like to see what kind
Speaker 1: of fellow he is. As for going, I won't go
Speaker 1: at all. I've done no harm, But meet you must
Speaker 1: get me, for i am almost starved to death. When
Speaker 1: Halivar had eaten his fill, the princess told him to
Speaker 1: try if he could brandish the sword that hung against
Speaker 1: the wall. No, he couldn't brandish it. He couldn't even
Speaker 1: lift it up. Oh, said the princess. Now you must
Speaker 1: go and take a pull of that flask that hangs
Speaker 1: by its side. That's what the troll does every time
Speaker 1: he goes out to use the sword. And so Halvar
Speaker 1: took a pull, and in the twinkling of an eye
Speaker 1: he could brandish the sword like nothing. And now he
Speaker 1: thought at high time the troll came and lo. Just
Speaker 1: then up came the troll, puffing and blowing. Havor jumped
Speaker 1: behind the door. Hutetou, said the troll, as he put
Speaker 1: his head in the door, What a smell of christian
Speaker 1: man's blood, Aye, said Halvor. You'll soon know that to
Speaker 1: your cost. And with that he hewed off all his heads.
Speaker 1: Now the princess was so glad she was free. She
Speaker 1: both danced and sang. But then all at once she
Speaker 1: called her sisters to mind, And so she said, would
Speaker 1: my sisters were free too? Where are they asked Halvar. Well,
Speaker 1: she told him all about it. One was taken away
Speaker 1: by a troll to his castle, which lay fifty miles off,
Speaker 1: and the other by another troll to his castle, which
Speaker 1: was fifty miles further still. And do you know what
Speaker 1: lay between him, Halvar, and those other castles and his
Speaker 1: further adventure. Well nothing he couldn't skip past. It was
Speaker 1: a bunch of ads. And we're back. But now she said,
Speaker 1: you must first help me get this ugly carcass out
Speaker 1: of the house. Yes, Halvar was so strong he swept
Speaker 1: everything away and made it all clean and tidy in
Speaker 1: no time. So they had a good and happy time
Speaker 1: of it, and next morning he set off at peep
Speaker 1: of gray dawn. He could take no rest by the way,
Speaker 1: but ran and walked the whole day. When he first
Speaker 1: saw the castle, he got a little afraid. It was
Speaker 1: far grander than the first and there wasn't a living
Speaker 1: soul to be seen. But Halvor went into the kitchen
Speaker 1: and didn't stop there either, went straight on further into
Speaker 1: the house. Nay nay, called out the princess. Dare Christian
Speaker 1: folk come hither? I don't know. I'm sure how long
Speaker 1: it is since I came here, But in all that
Speaker 1: time I haven't seen a Christian man towre best. You
Speaker 1: saw how to get away as fast as you came,
Speaker 1: For here lives a troll who has six heads. I
Speaker 1: shan't go, said Halvar, if he had six heads. Besides,
Speaker 1: he'll take you up and swallow you down alive, said
Speaker 1: the princess. But it was no good. Halvor wouldn't go,
Speaker 1: and he wasn't at all afraid of the troll. But
Speaker 1: meat and drink he must have, for he was starved
Speaker 1: after his long journey. Well, he got as much of
Speaker 1: that as he wished, But then the princess wanted him
Speaker 1: to be off again. No, said Halvar, I won't go.
Speaker 1: I've done no harm and I have nothing to be
Speaker 1: afraid about. He won't stay to ask, that, said the princess,
Speaker 1: for he'll take you without law or leave. But as
Speaker 1: soon as you won't go, just try and see if
Speaker 1: you can brandish that sword yonder, which the troll wields
Speaker 1: in war. He couldn't brandish it, and then the princess
Speaker 1: said he must take a pull at the flask which
Speaker 1: hung by its side, and when he had done that
Speaker 1: he could brandish it. Just then back came the troll,
Speaker 1: and he was both stout and big, so that he
Speaker 1: had to go sideways to get through the door. When
Speaker 1: the troll got his first head in, he called out,
Speaker 1: hutu two, what a smell of christian man's blood. But
Speaker 1: that very moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and
Speaker 1: so on all the rest. As they popped in. The
Speaker 1: princess was overjoyed, but just then she came to think
Speaker 1: of her sisters and wished out loud they were free.
Speaker 1: Halvor thought that might easily be done and wanted to
Speaker 1: be off at once, but first he had to help
Speaker 1: the princess get the troll's carcass out of the way,
Speaker 1: and so he could only set out next morning. It
Speaker 1: was a long way to the castle, and he had
Speaker 1: to walk fast and run hard to reach it in time.
Speaker 1: But about nightfall he saw the castle, which was far
Speaker 1: finer and grander than either of the others. This time
Speaker 1: he wasn't the least afraid, but walked straight through the
Speaker 1: kitchen and into the castle. There sat a princess who
Speaker 1: was so pretty there was no end to her loveliness. She, too,
Speaker 1: like the others, told him there hadn't been Christian folk
Speaker 1: there ever since she came thither, and bade him go
Speaker 1: away again, else the troll would swallow him alive. And
Speaker 1: do you know, she said, he has nine heads? Aye? Aye,
Speaker 1: said Halvor. If he had nine other heads and nine
Speaker 1: other heads, still, I won't go away. And so he
Speaker 1: stood fast before the stove. The princess kept on begging
Speaker 1: him so prettily to go away lest the troll should
Speaker 1: gobble him up. But Halvor said, let him come as
Speaker 1: soon as he likes. So she gave him the troll's
Speaker 1: sword and bade him take a pull at the flask
Speaker 1: that he might be able to brandish and wield it.
Speaker 1: Just then back came the troll, puffing and blowing in,
Speaker 1: tearing along. He was far stouter and bigger than the
Speaker 1: other two, and he too had to go on one
Speaker 1: side to get through the door. He said, as the
Speaker 1: others had said, hututu, what a smell of christian man's blood.
Speaker 1: That very moment Halvar hewed off the first head, and
Speaker 1: then all the rest. But the last was toughest of
Speaker 1: them all, and it was the hardest bit of work
Speaker 1: Halvar had to do to get it hewn off, although
Speaker 1: he knew very well he had strength enough to do it.
Speaker 1: So all the princesses came together to that castle, which
Speaker 1: was called Soria Moria Castle, and they were glad and
Speaker 1: happy as they had never been in all their lives before.
Speaker 1: And they were all fond of Halvar, and Halvar of them,
Speaker 1: and he might choose the one he liked best for
Speaker 1: his bride. But the youngest was fondest of him of
Speaker 1: all the three. But there after a while Halvor went
Speaker 1: about and was so strange and dull and silent. Then
Speaker 1: the princesses asked him what he lacked, and if he
Speaker 1: didn't like to live with them any longer, Yes he did,
Speaker 1: for they had enough to spare, and he was well
Speaker 1: off in every way. But still, somehow or other, he
Speaker 1: did so long to go home, for his father and
Speaker 1: mother were alive, and them he had such a great
Speaker 1: wish to see. Well. They thought that that might be
Speaker 1: done easily enough. You shall go thither and then come
Speaker 1: back hither, safe and unscathed, if you will only follow
Speaker 1: our advice, said the princesses. Yes, he'd be sure to
Speaker 1: mind all they said. So they dressed him up till
Speaker 1: he was as grand as a king's son, and they
Speaker 1: set a ring on his finger. And that was such
Speaker 1: a ring he could wish himself thither and hither with it.
Speaker 1: But they told him to be sure not to take
Speaker 1: it off, and not to name their names, for there
Speaker 1: would be an end to all his bravery, and then
Speaker 1: he'd never see them more. If only I stood at home,
Speaker 1: I'd be glad, said Halvar, And it was done as
Speaker 1: he wished. Then stood Halvar at his father's cottage door.
Speaker 1: Before he knew a word about it. Now it was
Speaker 1: about dusk, get even, and so when they saw such
Speaker 1: a grand, stately lord walk in, the old couple got
Speaker 1: so afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then Halvor
Speaker 1: asked if he couldn't stay there and have lodging there
Speaker 1: that night. No, that he couldn't. We can't do it
Speaker 1: at all, they said, for we haven't this thing or
Speaker 1: that thing which such a lord as used to have
Speaker 1: to where best your lordship went up to the farm
Speaker 1: no long way off, for you can see the chimneys,
Speaker 1: and there they have lots of everything. Halvor wouldn't hear
Speaker 1: of it. He wanted to stop, but the old couple
Speaker 1: stuck to their own that he had better go to
Speaker 1: the farmers. There he could get both meat and drink.
Speaker 1: As for them, they hadn't even a chair to offer
Speaker 1: him to sit down on. No, said Halvor, I won't
Speaker 1: go up there till tomorrow early. But let me just
Speaker 1: stay here tonight. Worst comes to worse, I can sit
Speaker 1: in the chimney corner. Well, they couldn't say anything against that,
Speaker 1: So Halvor sat down by the ingle and began to
Speaker 1: poke about in the ashes, just as he used to
Speaker 1: do when he lay at the home in old days,
Speaker 1: and stretched his lazy bones. Well, they chattered and talked
Speaker 1: about many things, and they told Halvar about this thing
Speaker 1: and that, And so he asked them if they never
Speaker 1: had any children. Yes, yes, they once had a lad
Speaker 1: whose name was Halvar. But they didn't know whither he
Speaker 1: had wandered. They couldn't even tell whether he were dead
Speaker 1: or alive. Couldn't it be me, now, said Halvar. Let
Speaker 1: me see I could tell him, well enough, said the
Speaker 1: old wife, and rose up. Our Halvor was so lazy
Speaker 1: and dull, never did a thing, And besides he was
Speaker 1: so ragged that one tatter took hold of the next
Speaker 1: tatter on him. No, there never was the making of
Speaker 1: such a fine fellow in him as you are. Master.
Speaker 1: A little while after, the old wife went to the
Speaker 1: hearth to poke up the fire, And when the blaze
Speaker 1: fell on Halvar's face, just as when he was at
Speaker 1: home of old poking about in the ashes, she knew
Speaker 1: him at once. Ah, but it is you, after all, Halvar,
Speaker 1: she cried. And then there was such joy for the
Speaker 1: old couple there was no end to it. And he
Speaker 1: was forced to tell how he had fared, and the
Speaker 1: old dame was so fond and proud of him. Nothing
Speaker 1: would do but he must go up at once to
Speaker 1: the farmers and show himself to the lassies who had
Speaker 1: always looked down on him, And off she went first,
Speaker 1: and Halvar followed after. So when she got up there,
Speaker 1: she told them all how her Halvor had come home again,
Speaker 1: and now they should only see how grand he was,
Speaker 1: For said she, he looks like nothing but a king's son.
Speaker 1: All very fine, said the lassies, and tossed up their heads.
Speaker 1: We'll be bound. He's just the same beggarly ragged boy
Speaker 1: he always was. Just then in walked Halvar, and the
Speaker 1: lassies were also taken aback. They forgot their sarks in
Speaker 1: the ingle where they were sitting darning their clothes, and
Speaker 1: ran out in their smocks. Well, when they were got
Speaker 1: back again, they were so shamefaced they scarce dared look
Speaker 1: at Halvar, towards whom they had always been so proud
Speaker 1: and haughty. Aye Aye, said Halvar. You always thought yourself
Speaker 1: so pretty neat no one could ever come near you.
Speaker 1: But now you should just see the eldest princess I
Speaker 1: have set free. Against her, you look like just milk maids,
Speaker 1: and the midmost is prettier still. But the youngest, who
Speaker 1: is my sweetheart, she is fairer than both Sun and
Speaker 1: Moon would to heaven, she were only here, said Halvar,
Speaker 1: then you'd see what you would see. He had scarce
Speaker 1: uttered these words before there they stood. But then he
Speaker 1: felt so sorry. For now what they had said came
Speaker 1: into his mind. Up at the farm there was a
Speaker 1: great feast got ready for the princesses, and much was
Speaker 1: made of them. But they wouldn't stop there. No, we
Speaker 1: want to go down to your father and mother, they
Speaker 1: said to Halvar. And so we'll go out now and
Speaker 1: look about us. So we went down with them, and
Speaker 1: they came to a great lake just outside the farm.
Speaker 1: And what did they find there but goods and services.
Speaker 1: That's what was at the lake, just a bunch of stuff.
Speaker 1: And they listened to it all attentively, just like you're
Speaker 1: listening now to the ads and her back. So he
Speaker 1: went down with them, and they came to a great
Speaker 1: lake just outside the farm. Close by the water was
Speaker 1: such a lovely green bank. Here the princesses said they
Speaker 1: would like to sit and rest awhile. They thought it
Speaker 1: so sweet to sit down and look over the water.
Speaker 1: So they sat down there, and when they had sat awhile,
Speaker 1: the youngest princess said, I may as well comb your
Speaker 1: hair a little Halvar. Yes, Halvor laid his head on
Speaker 1: her lap, and so she combed his bonnie locks, and
Speaker 1: it wasn't long before Halvor fell asleep. Then she took
Speaker 1: the ring from his finger and put another in its stead,
Speaker 1: And so she said, now hold me all together, and
Speaker 1: now would we were all in Soria Moria Castle. So
Speaker 1: when Halvor woke up, he could very well tell that
Speaker 1: he had lost the princesses, and began to weep and wail,
Speaker 1: and he was so downcast they couldn't comfort him at all.
Speaker 1: In spite of all his father and mother had said,
Speaker 1: he wouldn't stop there, but took farewell of them and
Speaker 1: said he was safe not to see them again. For
Speaker 1: he couldn't find the princesses again. He thought it not
Speaker 1: worthwhile to live. Well. He still had three hundred dollars left,
Speaker 1: so he put them into his pocket and set out
Speaker 1: on his way. When he had walked a little he
Speaker 1: met a man with a tidy horse, and he wanted
Speaker 1: to buy it, and began to shaffer with the man. Ay,
Speaker 1: said the man, to tell the truth, I never thought
Speaker 1: of selling him, but if we could strike a bargain, perhaps,
Speaker 1: what do you want for him, asked Halvar, I didn't
Speaker 1: give much for him, nor is he worth much. He's
Speaker 1: a brave horse to ride, but he can't draw at all. Still,
Speaker 1: he's strong enough to carry your knapsack. And you two
Speaker 1: turn and turn about, said the man. At last they
Speaker 1: agreed on the price, and Halvor laid the knapsack on him.
Speaker 1: And so he walked a bit and rode a bit,
Speaker 1: turn and turn about. At night he came to a
Speaker 1: green plain where stood a great tree at the roots
Speaker 1: of which he sat down. There he let the horse loose,
Speaker 1: but he didn't lie down to sleep, but opened his
Speaker 1: knapsack and took a meal. At peep of day off
Speaker 1: he set again, for he could take no rest. So
Speaker 1: he rode and walked and walked, and rode the whole
Speaker 1: day through the wide wood and where there were so
Speaker 1: many green spots and glades that shone so bright and
Speaker 1: lovely between the trees. He didn't know at all where
Speaker 1: he was or whither he was going, but he gave
Speaker 1: himself no more time to rest than when his horse
Speaker 1: cropped a bit of grass, and he took a snack
Speaker 1: out of his knapsack. When they came to one of
Speaker 1: those green glades. So he went on walking and riding
Speaker 1: by turns, and as for the wood, there seemed to
Speaker 1: be no end of it. But at dusk the next
Speaker 1: day he saw a light gleaming away through the trees.
Speaker 1: Would there were folk here? Away? Thought Halver, that I
Speaker 1: might warm myself a bit and get a mo morsel
Speaker 1: to keep my body and soul together. When he got
Speaker 1: up to it, he saw the light came from a
Speaker 1: wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old,
Speaker 1: old couple. Inside. They were as gray headed as a
Speaker 1: pair of doves, and the old wife had such a nose.
Speaker 1: Why it was so long? She used it for a
Speaker 1: poker to stir the fire as she sat in the ingle.
Speaker 1: Good evening, said Halvar. Good evening, said the old wife.
Speaker 1: But what errand can you have coming in hither? She
Speaker 1: went on, for no Christian folk have been here these
Speaker 1: hundred years? And more Well, Halver told her all about
Speaker 1: himself and how he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle,
Speaker 1: and asked if she knew the way thither. No, said
Speaker 1: the old wife, that I don't, But see now here
Speaker 1: comes the moon. I'll ask her. She'll know all about it,
Speaker 1: for doesn't she shine on everything. So when the moon
Speaker 1: stood clear and bright over the treetops, the old wife
Speaker 1: went out, Thou moon, Thou moon, she screamed, canst thou
Speaker 1: tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle. No, said
Speaker 1: the moon that I can't. For the last time I
Speaker 1: shone there a cloud stood before me. Wait a bit still,
Speaker 1: said the old wife to Halvor. By and bye comes
Speaker 1: the west wind. He's sure to know it, for he
Speaker 1: puffs and blows round every corner. Nay, nay, said the
Speaker 1: old wife when she went out again. You don't mean
Speaker 1: to say you've got a horse too. Just turn the
Speaker 1: poor beastie loose in our tone, and don't let him
Speaker 1: stand there and starve to death at the door. Then
Speaker 1: she ran on, But you won't swap him away to me.
Speaker 1: We've got an old pair of boots here with which
Speaker 1: you can take twenty miles at each stride. Those you
Speaker 1: shall have for your horse, and so you'll get all
Speaker 1: the sooner the Soria Moria Castle. That Halvor was willing
Speaker 1: to do at once. And the old wife was so
Speaker 1: glad at the horse she was ready to dance and
Speaker 1: skip for joy. For now she said, I shall be
Speaker 1: able to ride to church, I too think of that.
Speaker 1: As for Halvor, he had rest and wanted to be
Speaker 1: off at once, but the old wife said there was
Speaker 1: no hurry. Lie down there on that bench with you
Speaker 1: and sleep a bit, for we've no bed to offer you,
Speaker 1: and i'll watch and wake you when the west wind comes.
Speaker 1: So after a while up came the west wind, roaring
Speaker 1: and howling along till the winds creaked and groaned again.
Speaker 1: Outran the old wife. Thou west Wind, Thou west wind,
Speaker 1: can'st thou tell me the way to Sooria Moria Castle.
Speaker 1: Here's one who wants to get thither. Yes, I know
Speaker 1: it very well, said the west wind. And now I'm
Speaker 1: off thither to dry clothes for the wedding that's to be.
Speaker 1: If he's swift a foot, he can go along with me.
Speaker 1: Out ran Halvar. You'll have to stretch your legs if
Speaker 1: you mean to keep up, said the west wind. So
Speaker 1: off he set over field and hedge and hill and fell,
Speaker 1: and Halvar had hard work to keep up, well, said
Speaker 1: the west wind. Now I've no time to stay with
Speaker 1: you any longer, for I've got to go away yonder
Speaker 1: and tear down a strip of spruce wood. First, before
Speaker 1: I go to the bleaching ground to dry the clothes.
Speaker 1: But if you go alongside the hill, you'll come to
Speaker 1: a lot of lassies standing washing clothes, and then you've
Speaker 1: not far to go to Soria Moria Castle. In a
Speaker 1: little while, Halvar came upon the lassies who stood washing,
Speaker 1: and they asked if he had seen anything of the
Speaker 1: west Wind, who was to come and dry the clothes
Speaker 1: for the wedding. Aye that I have said Halvar. He's
Speaker 1: only gone to tear down a strip of spruce wood.
Speaker 1: It'll not be long before he's here. And then he
Speaker 1: asked them away to Soria Moria Castle. So they put
Speaker 1: him into the right way, And when he got to
Speaker 1: the castle it was full of fulk and horses, so
Speaker 1: full it made one giddy to look at them. But
Speaker 1: Halvor was so ragged and torn from having followed the
Speaker 1: west Wind through bush and briar and bog, that he
Speaker 1: kept on one side and wouldn't show himself to the
Speaker 1: last day when the bridal feast was to be So
Speaker 1: when all as was then right and fitting were to
Speaker 1: drink the bride and bridegroom's health and wish them luck,
Speaker 1: And when the cupbearer was to drink to them again,
Speaker 1: both knights and squires. Last of all he came and
Speaker 1: turned to Halvar. He drank their health, but let the
Speaker 1: ring which the princesses had put upon his finger as
Speaker 1: he lay by the lake, fall into the grass, And
Speaker 1: he bade the cupbearer go and greet the bride and
Speaker 1: hand her the glass. Then up rose the princess from
Speaker 1: the board at once. Who is most worthy to have
Speaker 1: one of us? She said, he that has set us free,
Speaker 1: or he that here sits by me as bridegroom? Well,
Speaker 1: they all said there could be but one voice and
Speaker 1: will as to that. And when Halvar heard that, he
Speaker 1: wasn't long in throwing off his beggar's rags and arraying
Speaker 1: himself as bridegroom. Aye. Aye, here is the right one,
Speaker 1: after all, said the youngest princess, as soon as she
Speaker 1: saw him. And so she tossed the other one out
Speaker 1: the window and held her wedding with Halvar the end.
Speaker 1: He always end stories. I like that story so much
Speaker 1: because and I like this story so much because it
Speaker 1: obviously there's a lot of like just as really annoying
Speaker 1: tropes about like oh, I'm gonna go save the princess
Speaker 1: and whoever saves me gets to marry me or whatever. Right,
Speaker 1: But there's this undertone of like, okay, two things. One
Speaker 1: the fool's journey, right, and I think Sorria and Maria, like,
Speaker 1: I think that somehow relay how I don't have in
Speaker 1: front of me. I was looking up before him. But
Speaker 1: I didn't write a script. I just remembered some stuff.
Speaker 1: It probably comes from Greek for like foolishness, right, And
Speaker 1: you have the fool's journey. You have the idea of like,
Speaker 1: here's the wanderer who's just opened to the world and
Speaker 1: off to go discover things. And in this story, like
Speaker 1: I know I'm on on a limb here and I'm
Speaker 1: probably wrong, there's a story of like a transnarrative here.
Speaker 1: It reminds me a little bit of I saw the
Speaker 1: TV clow. There's this idea of, well, there's this other
Speaker 1: magical fantasy land and in that land, like it's not
Speaker 1: about like and then I'm totally gonna sleep with the princesses.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's gonna marry one, right, But he seems
Speaker 1: happiest when he's helping them clean up and when he's
Speaker 1: lying with his head in this princess's lap and having
Speaker 1: his hair brushed, and I just kind of have this
Speaker 1: like gay off to the big city kind of vibe
Speaker 1: to it. I don't know, and also the particular nerdivergence
Speaker 1: of like he's just described as all he wants to
Speaker 1: do is sit by the fire, and he doesn't want
Speaker 1: to work. He just wants to like poke around in
Speaker 1: the ashes. Like that's so specific and dramatic and interesting.
Speaker 1: So that's sorry, Maria Castle and I hope y'all are
Speaker 1: doing well. We'll be back next week with more book Club.
Speaker 1: Bye everyone. It Could Happen Here as a production of
Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media,
Speaker 1: visit our website cool zonemedia dot com, or check us
Speaker 1: out on the Iheard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. You can find sources for It
Speaker 1: Could Happen Here, updated monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.