The Cat on the Dovrefjell (also known as
The Cat on the Dovre-Mountain and
The Trolls and the Pussycat) is a Norwegian
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 1161.
A man was bringing a white bear to give to the king of Denmark, and he came to the mountain Dovre on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
and asked a man called Halvor for shelter for the night. Halvor told him that
trollA troll is a member of a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology.Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-like...
s came every Christmas Eve and made such havoc that the household had to flee them.
Discussion
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The Cat on the Dovrefjell (also known as
The Cat on the Dovre-Mountain and
The Trolls and the Pussycat) is a Norwegian
fairy taleA fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe. It is Aarne-Thompson type 1161.
Synopsis
A man was bringing a white bear to give to the king of Denmark, and he came to the mountain Dovre on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
and asked a man called Halvor for shelter for the night. Halvor told him that
trollA troll is a member of a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology.Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England – to a devious, more human-like...
s came every Christmas Eve and made such havoc that the household had to flee them. The man said he would stay with his bear anyway.
The trolls came, eating the feast the people had left behind, and one began to bait the bear, calling it "Kitty". It rose up and drove them all out of the house.
The next year, a troll asked Halvor if he still had that cat. Halvor assured him that he did, and she had had seven kittens, bigger and fiercer than herself. The trolls never again came to his cottage for Christmas Eve.
Other uses
Jan BrettJan Brett is a best-selling American author/illustrator of children's books. Her books are known for colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures ranging from Scandinavia to Africa...
retold this story as
Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve, featuring a boy as the bear's owner and a girl as the one who welcomed him.
External links