In Stohseyri there lived a bond whose name was Thorbjorn. His wife's name was Thorgerd. Thorbjorn had a brother whose name was Thorstein, he was a day laborer for his brother, and lived at his house in the winter.
One day Thorbjörn said that he himself would have to look after his field, that until now it had been guarded very poorly, and at night he saw three kids in the pasture. He drove them away, and the other night he wanted to catch them and asked his brother to help him, but Thorstein replied that he should let them go in peace, since they would eat little grass anyway, and he would not need to ask for his help.
Then the bond got angry, ran with a whip to the kids and beat and whipped them so that they had to get out of the bond's field. On the third night, the bond went out to guard the field and saw the kids, as before. He returned to the house, woke up his wife and asked her to get up and help him catch the kids that were constantly grazing in his field. The woman stood up, they drove the kids into the house and then killed them.
Thorstein came up and asked who they had killed. Bond replied that they were baby goats. Thorstein said:
“Most likely, you will repent of this, because now your misfortunes will begin,” and then he walked away.
Nothing happened until Christmas. Thorstein celebrated Christmas as usual. On Christmas night he went outside and heard a terrible scream. He went to the master's stable and saw his brother Torbjorn there. Thorstein asked what had happened to him; he replied that a small man, all crooked and lame and calling himself Küvlung, jumped on him, knocked him down, whipped him almost all over and broke the back of his horse, which he loved more than anything in the world.
Thorstein asked his brother if Küvlung said anything when he finished this reprisal against him. Bond replied that he said that the first goat was now paid for.
“I suspected it would be so,” said Thorstein.
Thorstein picked up his brother, brought him home and treated him, so that within a month he was completely cured.
So the summer passed, and until Christmas nothing happened, Thorstein celebrated Christmas as before, at night he happened to leave the room, and he heard a loud cry. They say that his brother and his wife slept in the front room of the farm.
Thorstein hurried there and shouted:
- Is it you, brother Thorbjorn?
Thorbjörn said that this devil Küvlung stole his wife and flayed him.
- He didn't tell you anything? - asked Thorstein.
“He said,” replied Torbjorn, “that now the price has been paid for the two kids.”
Thorstein applied ointment to him, and, since he was a good doctor, he quickly recovered.
Having fully recovered, he asked his brother Thorstein to go with him to look for his wife. Thorstein said that he would go if he was the one to decide during the journey. Thorbjorn promised this.
They set off and climbed into some valley. They climbed into the valley, and after a while a very large hill appeared in front of them. Then Thorstein said to his brother:
“You go around this hill from the north, and I’ll go from the south.”
Thorbjorn said that he wanted to go from the south.
“Then it will not happen as I expected,” said Thorstein, “but do something, if you see your wife, speak to her and take her with you.”
So they parted; Thorbjörn walked from the south side of the hill and after a while he saw his wife sitting on a chair. But when Thorbjorn saw her, he was so afraid that he ran away without speaking to her, and did not stop until the very end of the hill, and there he met his brother.
Thorstein asked him about his journey. Thorbjörn asked him not to ask about it, as he was so scared that he could not talk to her.
Thorstein replied:
- I suspected it. Now let's go home.
They came home, went to bed and slept all night. In the morning Thorbjorn asked his brother to go with him again. Thorstein said that he would go if he decided; Thorbjorn promised this. They again came to the above-mentioned hill; then Thorstein wanted to go from the south side of the hill. Thorbjorn said that he himself would go from this side.
Thorstein said something bad would happen:
“And you will never get your wife.”
Thorbjorn said that his speech would be damned and hurried forward. After traveling a long way, longer than before, he saw his wife on the chair as before. Thorbjörn asked her to come with him and then ran away without waiting for her answer. He came to the end of the hill, found his brother there and told him how it all went. They went home, and the next morning Thorbjorn asked Thorstein to go with him. Thorstein said it was useless, but still went with him. They found no one and returned home.
Winter and summer passed without events, and then Christmas came. Thorstein celebrated Christmas as usual, and at night he heard loud laughter and joyful cries. Thorstein followed the sound and heard that it was in the front room; he called and asked if Thorbjorn was having so much fun.
Thorbjörn answered yes.
Thorstein said:
-What amuses you so much, brother?
Thorbjorn replied:
“It’s because of the blessed Küvlung: he gave me a tiny child whom I fell in love with.”
Thorstein asked him to allow him to look. Torbjorn showed him. Thorstein looked at the child and said:
“Cut off this brat’s head, for misfortune will befall you if you let him live.”
Thorbjörn asked him to leave if he did not want to be kicked out. Thorstein returned to the room and continued the fun until the morning.
Now let's talk about how the girl grew up until she was six years old. Then Thorbjörn's shepherd disappeared, and no one knew anything. This seemed strange to Thorbjörn, but still he paid little attention to it. The next Christmas the same thing happened, and he had no sheepdog left.
Then Thorbjorn asked his brother to look after his sheep. Thorstein promised him this. And when Christmas came, one day Thorstein saw a woman with a rough face who came up to him and said hello. Thorstein answered her and asked who she was.
She said her name was Moirhild:
“Or did you not recognize your brother Thorbjörn’s pupil?”
Thorstein replied:
- No, because you look like a real troll.
Moirhild asked if he would like to wrestle with her. Thorstein replied that he knew little about wrestling. Moirhild jumped towards him and grabbed him. Thorstein responded in kind; They fought for some time. In the end, they separated, unable to bring each other down. Thorstein still had Moirhild's apron, but she hurried home without him, not paying attention.
When Thorstein came home, he saw Moirhild there. He threw an apron at her, ordered her to look after her property herself, and then walked away. So the winter passed and nothing happened.
In the spring, Thorstein acquired land, started his own house and married a woman, but they do not say what her name was. It is said that Thorstein went fishing every day.
One day, when he went out to sea, such a strong storm came that all the boats capsized and all the people drowned, except Thorstein alone. He swam for a long time and eventually reached an island. He got out onto land, walked and found a large stone.
Thorstein walked around the stone. A dwarf came out of the stone and said:
“Moirhild failed to kill you.” Would you like to come into my house?
Thorstein thanked him and asked him to better help him get to the shore.
The dwarf pulled out a small boat from the stone and said:
“Here is a boat that will take you to the shore, but I warn you not to mumble along the way, because if you do, it will sink.”
Thorstein promised this and set off. The dwarf also gave him an axe. When it was already close to the shore, he began to hum a song under his breath, and at that very moment the boat sank, but Thorstein swam to the shore.
There were large rocks where he hit. He walked along the rocks and saw a very large gorge, and on the other side of the gorge there was a large cliff, and on this cliff sat a woman with a rough face. He immediately recognized this woman. It was the ogress Moirhild, who was gnawing on a human skull.
He crept onto the cliff and heard her say:
“Some people treat their husbands better than I do.”
Thorstein jumped towards her, hit her on the head with his ax so that it fell off, and then went home.
Now let's return to Stohseyri, where Torbjorn lived. When his brother Thorstein left him, they say that a certain priest, who is not named, wooed Moirhild, married her and settled in Stochseyri.
It is said that on the day that Thorstein killed Moirhild, the priest went out on some business, and when he returned home, Thorbjorn had disappeared, and no one knew anything about him again.
Moirhild asked her husband to follow her. She decided to visit her friends in the area. The priest did as his wife asked, and no more is told of them, except that Thorstein met Moirhild when he landed on the shore.
Now let's return to Thorstein. The next day he went down under the rocks, found Moirhild's body and buried him there. They say that since then ghosts often appear under these rocks. Having finished this matter, Thorstein returned home and took up his farm, and it is said that he moved to Stochseyri and lived there until he was old. End.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru