Ketil Von Silfrunarstad

In times long past, Silfrunarstad in the Skagefjord was home to a Farmer whose name is not known. This farmer had many sheep; but there was also a soil that was excellent for sheep farming He liked to leave his cattle up on the mountain at the Bessehütte grazing, but sometimes further away, and a long time passed time without anything strange happening, and he lived for years very quiet there.

Then it happened one Christmas Eve that the farmer’s herd passed Grimshöi on his way home, and he expected that she would come any moment. He always used to help the shepherd himself To help bring in the sheep, he therefore sent for to them, and quite a while later, when he assumed that they were now must have come home, he went out himself; the sheep but had not come, but were still in the same place see. but the shepherd was nowhere to be found, and the night passed, without coming home. The farmer therefore had to find someone else to keep watch over the sheep. They now looked for the Shepherds, but he was nowhere to be found. At the beginning, all sorts of There were speculations about his disappearance, but it happened that people gradually spoke less about it, as is always the case maintains when time has passed.

Now nothing happened until the next Christmas. But on Christmas Eve, when the cattle passed Grimshöi on their way home, it stopped there and went there in the same way as the year before. The farmer was very upset about this and all sorts of thoughts about the disappearance of his shepherds. all this began again, and it was found that it was not possible to things; only a few wanted to look after the farmer’s sheep, and it was It was very difficult for him to find people for his service.

In the spring, however, a young man entered his service, Ketil called; chest. In the autumn he took over the herding of the sheep and drove them to the Pasture, as it had happened before. It was Christmas. On the day On Christmas Eve the weather was fine and Ketil drove his sheep the meadow as usual. The farmer now intended to pay closer attention, when they came home and as soon as they could, how the shepherd was doing. When it started to get dark, the farmer went out of the house and looked at the sheep; could not see anything of them, he went back inside. After But after a short time he came out again, and there were the sheep Get to the Grimshöi. To see. no better to lose Ketil than the others. He also believed adamant that in the future no one would attempt to To guard sheep.

But it is said of Ketil that when the day was quite had passed, his sheep in a large scattered pasture drifted home along the rocky slope. When he got close to When he arrived at Grimshöi, he saw a superhumanly large figure a notch that is located at the bottom of the mountain, opposite the farm of Silfrunarstad, where there is a small Rocks torn off the rock, as it were, which opening "the gorge" is called. anxiously gathered around Ketil. He saw now that it was an incredibly She called Ketil and asked him for a sheep for the party. Ketil found the matter a little difficult, and he told her, that the sheep did not belong to him, he only had one sheep, which was a He showed her and said that she had a few days old; her that she could take them if she wanted. She did not need long time to catch them, tied them together by the horns and threw it over her shoulder. Then she drove towards Ketil, took him in her arms and returned the same way she had come. When she came out of the gorge, she went to the mountains Along and took big steps. useful, even though he was fidgeting and could hardly move. She continued her way until she reached the gap near the Bolstadbach, to a large waterfall that was down there in the mountain. This rocky cleft is almost impassable. There the Troll woman descended into her cave beneath the waterfall. She let Ketil Lot and threw her burden on the floor. Slaughter and prepare; Christmas feast for him and herself. She set a Kessel on the fire and in a hurry. She was very greedy and let Ketil eat with her. She told him that she The cause would be that the shepherds disappear from Silfrunarstad, and that they had been to them on Christmas Eve for the last two years in a row. and asked her to give her a sheep from to prepare her Christmas Eve dinner. But they would only have gave grumpy answers and scolded them, and therefore she would have taken her into treatment. But now he would have kindly Request fulfilled, and he would become a very happy man, as he but less than either of the other two would have had to give away. She told him that his landlord would die in Hornung; then he should take over the farm and settle on it next spring But Ketil said that he would not take over the farm because firstly the fields are large and difficult, and then he would have no money either. He also lacked a housekeeper and But she said that he had already got money in his hand would; for within a month she would die, and then he would inherit everything that was worth gold in their cave, and so it would he does not lack money to settle on Silfrunarstad. Therefore but when she wanted to ask him, she said that he would come in a month after her and lay her body in the waterfall there, if She said that the property of his landlord was in would be sold the following spring, he should buy it, what he needed and money to pay he should take from her cave He should hire the same servants who are now at Silfrunarstad serve, and then he should around the pastor's daughter on Havsteenstrand Ketil, however, thought that this was not a very fortunate advice, he was a poor, uneducated man. She asked him not to be afraid "And here is a belt," she said, "that you shall put around her the hips. It has the property that she grasps love for you, when she has it on, and then everything will be fine.« The belt was but also a rare treasure.

Ketil now wanted to go home, because he believed that his The master of the house would surely be upset about his absence. But the giantess said, that it didn't mean anything and asked him to wait until the next morning to stay, and he agreed. The next morning, she led him out of the waterfall, showed him how to get into the cave and let him try it himself, which was also good for him. She then bid him farewell and said that they both not see him more often; she wished him all the best and said that most things would turn out as he wished, and that this was the beginning of his happiness. They parted under great kindness; she went back to her cave, but he hurried so as hard as he could to reach his home.

There the farmer lay in bed, so close was Ketil’s disappearance to him gone. But when Ketil came, everyone was happy, especially the farmer, who immediately got out of bed and thought he had brought him out of hell He asked Ketil what his absence meant But Ketil did not want to talk much about that, and he said neither about the giantess nor about her cave. Then Ketil guarded the sheep as before.

After a month he went into the cave. There he found the Riesin dead. Ketil had lighter with, lit light and wore hers Leichnam out of the cave, and later he said that he never before Such a strength test would have been examined. and found great wealth in all kinds of precious things and gold. He had But for the time being everything is.

In Hornung the farmer became ill, and after half a month had been in bed, he died. but received an unwilling answer; because the owner considered it The greatest foolishness to lease him to him, but he also gave it no one else in lease. It was now spring, and the heirs sold most of the equipment on Silfrunarstad; Ketil bought A large part of it and paid for the allocation. Most of the origin of the head in the courtyard, and now fell it is easy for him to lease it.

In the spring he moved to Havsteenstad, where he first met the daughter of the priest; he gave her the belt and laid He put him about it. came to ask for her hand. She seemed to the man Pretty and hopeful, and now the belt the love in hers breast, she promised him her yes if her father accepted his consent to it. Then Ketil told the priest his request and asked him for his daughter. The priest replied very coldly and it was obvious that he found that Ketil was his daughter was not his equal, he who was only a farmer to a fault. But because Ketil had now become richer than was previously believed and Although he was otherwise a clever and particularly capable man, the Pastor finally persuaded to give his consent that she for this summer as a economist followed; they then agreed.

Ketil now moved home with the pastor's daughter and they were got along well in the summer. In the autumn her father came, and the At the end of the consultation, Ketil married the pastor’s daughter Giants, and in autumn her wedding was celebrated with great splendor. They loved each other very much and lived on Silfrunarstad until their high Age. Ketil was lucky in everything and became a very rich man, so that no one could remember that such a rich man had ever Silfrunarstad would have lived. the giantess's cave, as long as he got his home in order, and he followed her advice in every respect. This story heard from his own mouth when he had become an old man. For a long time She had later remained in people’s memory and had become Man continued to man.