Let me tell you the secret of how I produced the most comprehensive edition of Asbjørnsen & Moe in any language -- including the original:
Begin by writing a bit
2: Write a bit more
3: GoTo 2.
I have thoroughly enjoyed every single moment I have spent on this project. It is as much a labour of love now towards the end as it was when I started, and I shall be sorry to see it finished.
(Can you tell I'm all but emerging from the dark tunnel of writing my Introductions?)
Seeing as the image of a princess riding on a white bear suits the folktales but not the legends, I made an ornament that better suits Norwegian legends: a wild reindeer ride.
(Ibsen has Peer Gynt boasting of the feat, bit the folklore puts someone else in the high seat.)
[#Asbjørnsen ] published an account of his travels [to Egypt as quartermaster on a corvette] in Ydale, which was published before Christmas that year [1852]. This turned out to be one of the most controversial publications of Asbjørnsen’s career. The figures in the narrative all recognised themselves, and little appreciated the faithful representation of their swearing and cursing. When Asbjørnsen ignored their public complaints, they went to the king, who was informed that the ship’s second in command had approved every caricature in the book. No further action was taken.
Five Norwegian White Bear Tales is an anthology of five Norwegian folktales that follow the story of Cupid and Psyche, but instead of the god of love, in all of these we meet an enchanted white bear.
A brief introduction puts the tales into a more international context.
And the illustrations are gorgeous.
.epub format that may be read on nearly any digital device.
I don't know if I told you, but I have uploaded one of Regine Normann's arctic legends to my website. "How Svartisen [the name of a glacier] Was Formed." A single illustration appears on the last page.
Hello! A Norwegian folktale (unpublished, of course) with central elements of bisexualism and polyamory.
One of the advantages of lots of small kingdoms all over the place is that the heroine can marry a king's daughter in one, and a king's son can subsequently marry the heroine in another. Thus the sweetheart is legally married to two people.
This folktale needs a lot of work before publication, as the record is the collector's account of not just the tale, but also the manner in which it was related, and his reaction to what he heard.
That feeling when you trawl church records to find Christening, confirmation, and wedding details, only to discover that someone has already done so, and summed up their finding in about five sentences.
That feeling is a good one, because I came to the same conclusions, meaning that I am not completely useless.
Ha!
(I also found a photo of the lady's gravestone, which the other author didn't have.)
The Bure Nisse
(Peter Christen Asbjørnsen in a letter to Andreas Faye, April 1835.)
It is said that there was a nisse on the farm of Bure in Ringerike some time ago, who did the people there a lot of good. Not only did he groom the horses and tend the fire and lights, etc., but he even took on the job of a driver. Here’s how things went. 1/7
Making ready Jørgen Moe's 47-page introduction to the Norwegian Folktales for proper editing at the hands of @wolfofthewisp.
Moe wrote his intro in 1850/51, years before Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson were even conceived of, and he treats all "searching for the beloved" tales as belonging together, no division based on sex. Instead, he divides the tales along geographical lines – those from Cupid & Psyche (south) contra those from Sigurd Favnesbane (north).
It's an interesting perspective that hasn't appeared in English (from that source) before.
There once was of days of yore and in ages and times long gone before, a merchant, who dwelt in the land of Bassorah and who owned two sons and wealth galore. But in due time Allah, the All-hearing the All-knowing, decreed that he should be admitted to the mercy of the Most High so he died, and his two sons laid out buried him and him, after which they divided his gardens and estates equally between them and of his portion each one opened a shop.
“Hasan of Bassorah.” Burton’s Nights (vol. VIII, p. 7. 1885)
There was once upon a time, a poor man who had three sons. When he died, the elder two should go out into the world to try their luck; but they would not, by any means, have the youngest with them. “You,” they said, “you are good for nothing but sitting there, holding fatwood candles, digging in the ashes, and blowing in the embers, you are!”
“The Golden Castle that Hung in the Air.” Norwegian Folktales (vol. II. 1871)