A long time ago, when trolls walked the earth as if they were the masters here, there lived in Kvame a hunter named Peer Gynt. Peer Gynt wandered in the mountains all year round, because in those ancient times the mountains were covered with dense forests, and all kinds of animals lived in the forests.
And that's what happened to him one autumn.
The cattle from the forest pastures had long since been driven down into the valley. All the people left the mountains along with the herds. Peer Gynt walked a lot of steep paths, tracking down the bear, and night found him not far from an abandoned shepherd's hut in Hevring.
The darkness was such that he could not even see his own hand.
When Per approached the hut, his dogs, for no apparent reason, began to bark, as if they had smelled a bear. Peer Gynt listened. It was quiet all around. Not a sound, not a rustle.
At the very threshold of the hut, Per suddenly tripped over something large, slippery, and cold.
- Who is this? - asked Peer Gynt.
“It’s me, Crooked,” a voice answered from the darkness.
Peer Gynt understood little. But he felt uneasy. He wanted to approach the hut from the other side, but as soon as he took a step, he again stumbled upon something.
He bent down to the ground and began to rummage in the darkness with his hands to find out who was stopping him from entering the hut.
His hand touched something cold and slippery.
- Who is this? - Peer Gynt asked again.
“Yes, it’s all me, Crooked,” a voice came from the darkness.
Then Peer Gynt realized that it was a troll who lay down like a snake around the hut.
“Are you crooked or something else,” Peer Gynt said boldly, “but step aside and let me into the hut.”
The living ring moved, moved apart, and Peer Gynt, stepping over it, opened the door.
It was no brighter in the hut than in the yard. Peer Gynt groped his way, holding on to the wall, and suddenly again tripped over something cold, slippery, and wet.
- Who is this?! - Peer Gynt shouted.
“Still the same Crooked,” he heard in response.
“It’s not good to stay here,” thought Peer Gynt. “But I’ll straighten this Crooked one now. He’ll remember me.”
He took the gun off his shoulder and left the hut.
- So you're saying that you're Crooked?
“I am the eldest Crooked from Etne-dal,” the troll said proudly.
By his voice, Peer Gynt realized where the troll's head was, and without hesitation, he shot him in the forehead three times.
“Shoot again,” the troll wheezed. But Per knew very well that if he shot again, the bullet would return to him and pierce his own head.
“Three bullets are enough for you,” said Peer Gynt, and together with the dogs he dragged the dead monster away from the shepherd’s hut.
And thunder, howls, and squeals rolled across the mountains from all sides.
The next morning Peer Gynt went hunting again. While climbing the mountain, he saw a girl driving a herd of cows down.
“It’s strange that not all the cattle have been taken away yet,” thought Per.
He went to meet the girl, but she - right before his eyes - suddenly disappeared, the cows also disappeared, and instead of them Per saw a whole herd of bears.
“Have I really made a mistake?” thought Peer Gynt. “I mistook bears for cows. And I’ve never heard of bears walking in herds.”
He came even closer, and then the herd seemed to disappear into the ground, and right in front of Per, swaying from side to side, stood one bear - shaggy, huge, with a bared mouth.
At this time, a dull voice was heard from somewhere in the depths of the mountain:
- Look! Peer Gynt comes with his fire stick. Save the calf quickly! Otherwise it will be bad for him!
“It will be bad not for the calf, but for Peru, because he didn’t wash today,” answered the same dull voice from another mountain. And immediately everything around began to laugh, as if the mountains themselves were laughing at Per.
Wasting no time, Peer Gynt opened his flask of water, hastily washed his hands and fired. The bear fell, and the mountains again groaned, hummed, and rumbled.
When everything calmed down, Peer Gynt removed the skin and head from the bear, covered the carcass with stones, put the skin on his back and set off on his way back.
He walked, looking around vigilantly. After all, trolls can pretend to be anyone - an animal, a snake, or a human. That's why they are trolls!
Before reaching the hut a little, Peer Gynt saw an arctic fox on the road.
“Look at my lamb, how fat it is,” said someone’s voice from underground.
“Better look at Per,” answered another voice. “See, he raised the fire stick again?”
Indeed, Per had already raised his gun. A shot - and the dead Arctic fox stretched out on the ground...
The mountains began to rustle, rumble, and howl again.
And Peer Gynt skinned the arctic fox and moved on.
Soon he reached the shepherd's hut. He hung the heads of the bear and the arctic fox above the entrance, firmly closed the door behind him, lit a fire in the hearth and began to cook soup. But the smoke from the fire was such that tears flowed from Per’s eyes like a stream. He had to open a secret window - at the top, right under the ceiling of the hut.
And that's what happened. As soon as Per opened the window, the troll stuck his nose into it. And his nose was as long as a good hook.
- How do you like my nose? - asked the troll.
- How do you like my soup? - asked Per and threw the entire pot of stew on his nose.
The troll howled, groaned and jumped away from the window.
And in the mountains the stones rolled from the thunderous laughter.
- Troll with a scalded nose! Troll with a scalded nose!
Finally everything became quiet.
Peer Gynt had just begun to cook his dinner again, when suddenly water gushed through the chimney and the fire went out. “Now Peru will have to do no better than the three shepherdesses who remained in Valais,” said a voice behind the wall. And it became quiet again.
“That’s it! So, not everyone left Valais,” thought Per.
He got out of the hut, called the dogs and went to the northern slopes of the mountains, to where the Vale shepherds lived in a small hut.
The night was black as a coal miner's sack.
Peer Gynt arrived just in time. Four trolls were already at the very door of the hut. These fellows were called: Gust-Air Whirlwind, Val-Mountain Lord, Tiestel-Water Stream and Rolf-Fire Pillar.
Per raised his gun and fired without aiming. This time his bullet didn't hit anyone. But as soon as the shot was heard, the Gust-Air Whirlwind spun on the spot and rushed off as fast as he could. And the rest of the trolls retreated back.
Meanwhile, Per rushed into the hut.
The girls, although they were alive, were trembling from head to toe with fear. While Peer Gynt consoled and calmed them, the trolls also gained courage.
Rolf the Fire Pillar was completely inflamed with anger and was ready to turn the hut - along with everyone who was there - into ashes.
But Per's dogs did not sleep. They rushed at Tiestel-Water Stream and overturned it directly onto the Pillar of Fire. Both trolls hissed!
The Tiestel Water Stream crawled down the mountainside and finally fell into a deep gorge.
And Rolf the Fire Pillar, barely alive, escaped through the chimney and, falling on both legs, got away.
The last one left is the Val-Gorniy Lord.
- Watch out, Per! - he shouted, so loudly that the mountains shook and stone rain drummed on the hut.
“You better be careful,” Peer Gynt answered and killed the troll with three shots from his gun.
When all the trolls were finished, the shepherdesses began to ask Peer Gynt to take them home. They didn't want to stay in these places for an extra minute.
Per went down into the valley with them and brought them to the very village where they lived. There Peer Gynt said goodbye to the Wally shepherdesses. But he had to meet the trolls again.
Before the New Year, Peer Gynt heard that there was a manor in Dovre where trolls like to gather on New Year's Eve. Well, people, of course, have to stay away from such guests.
And so Peer Gynt decided to celebrate the New Year on this manor. He really wanted to teach the trolls a lesson again.
He smeared his face with soot, dressed himself in some torn rags, so that he himself could be mistaken for a troll, took with him a white tame bear, a whole pig skin, an awl, and some wood and set off.
He knocked on the house where the trolls had gotten into the habit of going and asked the owner for shelter.
“Where can we shelter you when the trolls are running us out of our homes?”
“And if you let me in, maybe I’ll survive the trolls from your house,” said Peer Gynt.
So they decided.
The owners left, and Peer Gynt remained in their house.
The bear lay down behind the stove, and Per began to sew a shoe from pigskin. No one had ever seen such a big shoe.
Per threaded a tarred rope through the holes so that the shoe could be tightened tightly, and also cut out a good belt from the leather.
At midnight the trolls appeared. Some began preparing New Year's dinner - frying frogs, lizards, spiders and other rubbish, others danced and tumbled. In short, everyone felt at home.
The trolls didn’t even pay attention to Per: he was a match for them - the same monster.
And suddenly one of the trolls saw the shoe. Now everyone wanted to try it on. Each one stuck his foot into it, and when all the trolls had one foot in the shoe, Per quickly tightened the rope. Then the bear crawled out from behind the stove.
“Would you like to try some meat, white pussy,” said one troll and, contrivingly, threw a frog from a hot frying pan straight into the bear’s mouth.
- Try, try their meat! - said Per and winked at the bear: take care of them!
And the bear himself knew what to do.
How he began to tear and slash the trolls! And Per doesn’t lag behind him - he beats the trolls with a leather belt as best he can. The trolls barely escaped the trap alive and ran away, cursing Per, his shoe, his white pussy.
Since then, the trolls have not even approached this house.
Many years later, shortly before the New Year, the owner went into the forest to stock up on firewood for the holiday. And suddenly he sees a troll coming towards him.
“What,” asks the troll, “is your white pussy still alive?” Maybe she wants us to treat her again?
“You’re welcome,” the owner replies, “just bring more treats.” My pussy gave birth to seven babies, so they are even stronger than the white pussy itself. Yes, and angrier in disposition...
The troll heard this and began to run.
- No, you won’t see us again! - shouts.
And that's right, no one else saw trolls here.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru