The Huldrönig From Selö

One summer, some people were out fishing, as they usually did on Selö in the Reydarfjord. And it happened that when the dried fish was brought to land, that a large part of the priest’s fish von Holme stayed in the fish stall. The weather worsened to the extent that the fish could not be reached until autumn good sea weather again. Then they went out to get them and immediately began to carry the fish from the hut into the boat. The Boatmen said they would like to go to the other side of the island to see if anything had drifted ashore. One of them agreed to go, while the others caught the fish So he went, and the others carried the loot into the Boat. Suddenly the water rose so violently that they could only managed to drag the fish into the boat. They sailed everyone gathered and waited for a while for the absent man; but when he came, it was impossible to pull him into the boat because of the surf; they shouted to him that he must stay there now, but that they would the next day, if the weather was good enough for the sea. They probably thought that best to think of their own lives and headed for land; but he remained helpless.

There was a melting snow and a calm wind, and the man went therefore to the fisherman's hut, without knowing a way out, and there He stayed until evening. Then he began to despair and thought that it would be more natural for him to take his own life than to die of hunger there, and he ran out of the hut. There he discovered a friendly Star; but he believed that in this cloudy night there was no could be a star in the sky, and when he started to look more closely, it seemed he seemed to resemble a light in a window. He ran a small It took him a while until he came to a house that was so magnificent that it King's Hall. He heard someone say inside:

»Yes, girl, none other than the unfortunate man who today left behind on the island has come to the house; go out and get him, for I do not want him to die at my door."

At that very moment a young girl came to him and led him and told him to take off his snow clothes. Then she led him up a very high staircase into a very beautiful hall, which was decorated with gold and precious stones. There he saw many women, and one of them was the most beautiful of all. He greeted them with decency, and they returned his greeting. Then the beautiful maiden and led him into a small but pretty room, served him wine and food and then left again. It is did not tell him where he was assigned to sleep in the evening. The night passed, but the next morning the maiden came to him and said that she was not allowed to stay there for his pleasure, gave him but otherwise everything that could serve to pass the time.

So the winter passed until Christmas. On Christmas Eve the beautiful Virgin to him and said that if he believed that she would do him some good then he would have to grant her a request and not refuse, namely that if the next day a dance entertainment and her father would call her to watch the game to look at, not to be curious and look out the window; because she would bring him enough to entertain himself in here. He promised her that he would not be curious. On the first holiday In the morning she brought him wine and whatever else he could eat bid him farewell and went on her way.

But immediately afterwards he heard singing and string playing. Then he thought what great joy there must be, and that it certainly wouldn’t do any harm if he looked out for a moment; it Nobody needed to see it.

Then he climbed up to see the dance, and when he looking out, he saw a large crowd of people; some dancing, others performed all kinds of stringed instruments, and in the middle of the crowd he saw a royal man sitting, a crown on his head and a woman each side. He thought that this must be the Queen and the daughter of the King; but he recognized them. He no longer dared to look out and walked away from the window. The dance lasted until evening.

But when the virgin came in to him, she was against her She was silent out of habit, but she told him that he should keep his promise not to look out, although she had it so to ensure that her father didn't notice this time.

Now the New Year approached without anything happening.

On New Year's Eve, the Virgin came to him and said that she Start with her father next day to see the dance, and that he would have to keep his word better than he was too Christmas and should not be curious. Now, by all that was sacred to him, he would not look out this time She brought him wine and food and all kinds of Payment and went away.

But when morning came, he heard even more noise and joy outside than at Christmas. Then he said to himself that he would not because it would be the same as at Christmas, and A lot passed away from the day while he was calm. Curiosity torment – ​​to experience nothing of the great joy, - and he peeked out and saw that the dance is much more attractive than that last time, because many shining knights danced before the queen and the king. Then he hastily withdrew from the window, but saw that Nobody turned the eye to his window, and so it went to the evening. But when the virgin came to him in the evening, she was angry and blamed him that he would have deceived them again. This did not affect the relationship between them, because she was exactly as good as before.

Winter passed, and so it went to Easter on Easter holy evening the virgin came to him, spoke to him kindly and asked him to not to be curious the next day, even if he should hear that the joy would be great; If she had a male with her, it would cost her her life. On Easter morning she came to him and brought him everything he was only wished, said goodbye to him and then left him. The Amusement began again as before. But as the day went by, the loneliness bored him, and he went out of his room into the Next to it; Remember when he pounded out of there. and saw the same thing as on New Year's Day. Then he went into his room And stayed there until the virgin came in in the evening. against him and said that he had let her down today like the Previous time; would have got, but he would have been cooler against her when he was she had not expected that he would be so unfaithful to her, and he will probably be like that in other things later on too.

Spring was approaching, and on the last winter evening the Virgin to him and said that tomorrow was the first summer day and that then People came from the mainland to get him, which is why he the fisherman's hut, but she wanted to ask him one thing, if he wanted her to make life easier for him during the winter would have received; and that was that he should recognize the child now expect through him; for it would be their life, and if they Father could not state, then her father would kill her. she could call him the father, then he would not kill her, and she I ask him now for nothing more than that he should present himself to her in this He promised her that and said, it will never happen that he denies being the father of the child. It wouldn't cost him anything, as it wouldn't be any inconvenience for him.

He then said goodbye to her and thanked her for all of her benefits him during the winter, and early the next morning he opened up the way, and when he had gone a little piece, he wanted to go around the hall, but he saw nothing but rocky hills and Rocks on the southern part of the island; then he went to the fisherman's hut.

That day was mild weather and the sea was quiet, and when the day Some time had passed, he saw a boat coming from the land; when the Boat people had come to the island, he went towards them. When they saw him, they were afraid, because he was very fat and fat, and they therefore believed that it was his spirit; for they thought nothing other than that he would have died in the winter; and no one dared To address him much less to come to him. but the boatman went ashore and asked him if he had a living man or a spirit, or whether he is the same one who is in the Autumn would have stayed on the island. Man was like in the autumn when they left him there. The Others said that he could not understand how he could live so long without The islander said that the seaweed on Selö is not a worse food than the water groats on Holme. He did not want to tell them, but he got into the boat with them, and They rowed him back to Holme. to see him come back alive, and many questions were asked to him, how he could have lived the winter over, but nobody got more of Knowing him when he had learned from him on the island.

Late in the summer, one Sunday, the weather was fine and many people to church, and on this day the servant also wanted But when the priest and the whole congregation entered the church had come, a baby cradle stood next to the altar before they could and a gold-woven blanket was spread over the child, but no one was to be seen, only that a beautiful woman's hand resting on the edge of the cradle; everyone was amazed and saw but the pastor took the floor and said that this child wanted to be baptized, and that it would not be wrong that any someone in the church is related to him, and most likely belief he from his servant that he had left it on Selö in the spring but the servant denied knowing anything about it. Then the Pastor, he wanted to baptize the name of the servant, but which denied again and said that he had nothing to do with the matter. The priest replied that he could not have survived without human help on the island, but the servant said that he would never and forbade the priest to baptize it with his name.

Then the cradle was snatched away and disappeared in the same moment, and at the same time there was a loud crying that gradually emerged from the Church lost. The priest and the others left the church Then they heard the weeping and the sobbing in the direction of the lake, but the blanket lay on the floor of the church and was still used on Holme long after this time.

Everyone was amazed at what had happened, but the deepest shock was Pastor seized. The priest asked him how that was possible and then he told him all that he spent the winter with a king and his daughter and that he would regret for the rest of his life that he had Did not recognize the child.

From that day on, the servant was no longer the same, and with this The story of the Huldre King on Selö ends.