Chapter XXXIX - The Three Sisters Trapped in a Mountain

There was once an old widow who lived far from any inhabited spot, under a mountain ridge, with her three daughters. She was so poor that all she possessed was a hen, and this was as dear to her as the apple of her eye; she petted and fondled it from morning till night. But one day it so happened that the hen was missing. The woman looked everywhere about her room, but the hen was away, and remained away. “Thou must go out and search for our hen,” said the woman to her eldest daughter, “for have it back again we must, even if we have to get it out of the mountain.” So the daughter went in search of the hen. She went about in all directions, and searched and coaxed, yet no hen could she find; but all at once she heard a voice from a mountain-side saying:—

“The hen trips in the mountain!
The hen trips in the mountain!”

She went naturally to see whence it proceeded; but just as she came to the spot, she fell through a trap-door, far, far down into a vault under the earth. Here she walked through many rooms, every one more beautiful than the other; but in the last a great ugly Troll came to her, and asked her if she would be his wife. “No,” she answered, she would not on any account, she would go back again directly, and look after her hen which had wandered away. On hearing this, the Troll was so angry, that he seized her and wrung her head off, and then threw her head and body down into a cellar.

The mother in the meantime sat at home expecting and expecting, but no daughter came back. After waiting a long time, and neither hearing nor seeing anything more of her, she said to the second daughter, that she must go out and look after her sister and at the same time “coax back the hen.”

Now the second daughter went out, and it happened to her just as it had to her sister; she looked and looked about, and all at once, she also heard a voice from a mountain-side say:—

“The hen trips in the mountain!
The hen trips in the mountain!”

This she thought very strange, and she would go and see whence it proceeded, and so she fell also through the trap-door, deep, deep down into the vault. Here she went through all the rooms, and in the innermost the Troll came to her and asked her if she would be his wife. “No,” she would not on any account, she would go up again instantly and search for her hen, which had gone astray. Thereupon the Troll was so exasperated that, catching hold of her, he wrung her head off and threw both head and body into the cellar.

When the mother had waited a long time for the other daughter, and no daughter was to be seen or heard of, she said to the youngest: “Now thou must set out and seek after thy sisters. Bad enough it was that the hen strayed away, but worse will it be, if we cannot find thy sisters again, and the hen thou canst also coax back at the same time.” So the youngest was now to go out; she went in all directions, and looked and coaxed, but she neither saw the hen nor her sisters. After wandering about for some time, she came at length to the mountain-side and heard the same voice saying:—

“The hen trips in the mountain!
The hen trips in the mountain!”

This seemed to her extraordinary, but she would go and see whence it came, and so she also fell through the trap-door, deep, deep down into the vault. Here she went through many rooms, every one finer than the other; but she was not terrified, and gave herself time to look at this and at that, and then cast her eyes on the trap-door to the cellar; on looking down she immediately saw her two sisters, who lay there dead. Just as she had shut the trap-door again, the Troll came to her. “Wilt thou be my wife?” asked the Troll. “Yes, willingly,” said the girl, for she saw well enough how it had fared with her sisters. When the Troll heard this, he gave her splendid clothes, the most beautiful she could wish for, and everything she desired, so delighted was he that somebody would be his mate.

When she had been there some time, she was one day more sad and silent than usual; whereupon the Troll asked her what it was that grieved her. “Oh!” answered she, “it is because I cannot go home again to my mother, I am sure she both hungers and thirsts, and she has no one with her.” “Thou canst not be allowed to go to her,” said the Troll, “but put some food in a sack, and I will carry it to her.” For this she thanked him, and would do so, she said; but at the bottom of the sack she stuffed in a great deal of gold and silver, and then laid a little food on the top, telling the Troll the sack was ready, but that he must on no account look into it; and he promised that he would not. As soon as the Troll was gone, she watched him through a little hole there was in the door. When he had carried it some way, he said: “This sack is so heavy, I will see what is in it,” and was just about to untie the strings, when the girl cried out: “I see you, I see you.” “What sharp eyes thou hast got in thy head,” said the Troll, and durst not repeat the attempt. On reaching the place where the widow dwelt, he threw the sack in through the door of the room, saying: “There’s food for thee from thy daughter, she wants for nothing.”

When the young girl had been for some time in the mountain, it happened one day that a goat fell through the trap-door. “Who sent for thee, thou long-bearded beast!” said the Troll, and fell into a violent passion; so, seizing the goat, he wrung its head off, and threw it into the cellar. “Oh! why did you do that?” said the girl; “he might have been some amusement to me down here.” “Thou needst not put on such a fast-day face,” said the Troll, “I can soon put life into the goat again.” Saying this he took a flask, which hung against the wall, set the goat’s head on again, rubbed it with what was in the flask, and the animal was as sound as ever. “Ha, ha!” thought the girl, “that flask is worth something.” When she had been some time longer with the Troll, and he was one day gone out, she took the eldest of her sisters, set her head on, and rubbed her with what was in the flask, just as she had seen the Troll do with the goat, and her sister came instantly to life again. The girl then put her into a sack with a little food at the top; and as soon as the Troll came home, she said to him: “Dear friend, you must go again to my mother, and carry her a little food; I am sure she both hungers and thirsts, poor thing! and she is so lonely; but do not look into the sack.” He promised to take the sack, and also that he would not look into it. When he had gone some distance, he thought the sack very heavy, and going on a little further, he said: “This sack is so heavy, I must see what is in it; for of whatever her eyes may be made, I am sure she can’t see me now.” But just as he was going to untie the sack, the girl who was in it cried out: “I can see you, I can see you.” “What sharp eyes thou must have in thy head,” said the Troll; for he thought it was the girl in the mountain that spoke, and therefore did not dare to look again, but carried it as fast as he could to the mother; and when he came to the door, he threw it inside,, saying: “There is some food for thee from thy daughter, she wants for nothing.”

Some time after this the girl in the mountain performed a like operation on her second sister; she set her head on again, rubbed her with what was in the flask, and put her into a sack; but this time she put as much gold and silver into the sack as it would hold, and only a very little food on the top. “Dear friend,” said she to the Troll, “you must go home again to my mother with a little more food, but do not look into the sack.” The Troll was quite willing to please her, and promised he would not look into the sack. But when he had gone a good way, the sack was so insufferably heavy that he was obliged to sit down and rest awhile, being quite unable to carry it any further; so he thought he would untie the string and look into it; but the girl in the sack called out: “I can see you, I can see you!” “Then thou must have sharp eyes indeed, in thy head,” said the Troll quite frightened, and taking up the sack, made all the haste he could to the mother’s. When he came to the door of the room, he threw it in, saying: “There is some food from thy daughter for thee, she is in want of nothing.”

When the young girl had been some time longer in the mountain, the Troll having occasion one day to go out, she pretended to be ill and sick, and complained. “It is of no use that you come home before twelve o’clock,” said she to the Troll, “for I feel so sick and ill that I cannot get the dinner ready before that time;” so the Troll promised he would not come back.

When the Troll was gone she stuffed her clothes out with straw, and set the straw girl in the chimney-corner with a ladle in her hand, so that she looked exactly as if she were standing there herself. She then stole home clandestinely, and took with her a gamekeeper, whom she met, to be at home with her mother. When the clock struck twelve the Troll returned. “Give me something to eat,” said he to the straw girl; but she made him no answer.

“Give me something to eat, I say,” said the Troll again; “for I am hungry.” But still there was no answer.

“Give me something to eat,” screamed the Troll a third time; “I advise thee to do so, I say dost thou hear? -. otherwise I will try to wake thee.”

But the girl stood stock still, whereupon he became so furious, that he gave her a kick that made the straw fly about in all directions. On seeing that, he found there was something wrong, and began to look about, and at last went down into the cellar; but both the girl’s sisters were gone, and he was now at no loss to know how all this had happened.

“Ah! thou shalt pay dearly for this,” said he, taking the road to her mother’s house; but when he came to the door, the gamekeeper fired, and the Troll durst not venture in, for he believed that it thundered; so he turned about to go home with all possible speed, but just as he got to the trap-door, the sun rose, and the Troll burst.

There is plenty of gold and silver still in the mountains, if one only knew how to find the trap-door.