Two Folktales in Norwegian and English
Have you ever wondered what Norwegian folktales sound like in Norwegian, as they were written in the late 1800s by Asbjørnson and Moe? Join us for this telling of the classic De Tre Bukene Bruse or The Three Billy Boats Gruff and Småguttene Som Traff Trollene i Hedalskogen or The Boys Who Met the Trolls in Hedall Woods, in both Norwegian and English. We also hear the well-known Scandinavian favorite (song), Pål Sine Høner, played by Seattles Winter Band. Be sure to stop by nordicontap.com to find illustrations that go with the stories and links to where you can read the stories yourself, sample Winter Band favorites, and order the sheet music for Ingela’s Waltz (our intro song).Help us make the programs you want to hear by completing our listener survey.
Links
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (literal translation is “The Three Billygoat Bruces”), translated by Simon Roy Hughes. There are many, many other versions in book, video, and online form, since this is such a classic.
De Tre Bukkene Bruse was put online by Global Skolen and offers a native speaker reading the story while you follow along in the written version in Norwegian. This is what the story is supposed to sound like, with somehow who knows the language. A fun way to begin learning to read and speak the language. See a digital copy of the original 1879 book, Norske folke- og huldre-eventyr, at the Norwegian National Library!
The Boys Who Met the Troll in Hedall Woods (English) is a nice translation by Simon Roy Hughes. There are other recordings and videos to be found online too.
Småguttene Som Traff Trolllene i Hedallskogen is on Project Runeberg, similiar to Project Gutenberg, where volunteers put writing in the public domain on the web. We support these efforts! There are other recordings and animated features for this folktale online too.
The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe, translated by Tiina Nunnally, is the definitive collection (a book) telling these tales in modern idiomatic English. Not only do you get 60 folktales (which were originally published across several decades), but the Forwards and Introductions by Asbjørnsen and Moe are included too. These sections show what drove these collectors to travel around Norway and how they viewed the stories as national treasures. A nice review of this collection was written by Ericka Michael (2019) in the Norwegian American News (you may be asked to subscribe – the paper and online versions are well worth it, IMO).
The Winter Band from Seattle website has recordings of their most common songs ready for listening on their website. Check the music, their videos, and their bio. Want to learn more about their amazing band leader? Check out our podcast on Ruthi Winter and her experience growing up as the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.
Pål sine høner, “Paul and his Hens”, can be read in Norwegian and English at Mama Lisa’s World of International Culture. A man sings all the verses with gusto, with piano accompaniment in this video (audio only) made for an “eldercare” audience. If you’d like an even more energetic version of this song, check out this video with a band, dancing, lots of kids and teenagers, and real chickens; it’s made by Sangfoni, a division of the Norwegian Broadcasting Service (NRK). Around 1:15′ there’s even a scene showing a man kicking a hat off a stick, as is traditional in the halling dance (Pål sine høner is a halling dance tune, after all).
If you love Scandinavian music as I do, from folk to pop, jazz, accordion, fiddle, and choral music, navigate to scandinavianhour.com and select the Listen Live Here button. This music variety show is broadcast online at 6am and 9am Pacific Time on Saturdays, and again at 6am Pacific on Sundays. Seth Tufteland spins the CDs in this cozy hour of favorites old and new.
Photos and Illustrations
“The trolls had only one eye between the three of them”, from “Eventyr” (1928). Drawn by Erik Werenskiold. From Wikimedia Commons. This is our very favorite folktale illustration. Notice the boy at lower right, and how tall the trolls are!
