We are pleased to participate in the A to Z Blog Challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/). The Story Crossroads theme for this year is Finding Resilience & Strength through Traditional Tales.
Bag & Bottle (Boots)-
From Norway
You will always find troll stories. If a Norwegian story doesn’t have a troll…then it feels plain strange.
Trolls can come in all sizes. Some prefer to carry their heads. Others, like in this story, have many heads and attached to one or more necks. Some trolls can be the size of a person while others can loom above the trees. Trolls could group together like a family or, instead, be more hermit-like. As for this troll capturing a princess…that could be attempting to group together and still being hermit-like? Either way, thank goodness for Askeladden, the young man of the story.
Oh, and Askeladden? This is a recurring character in Norwegian stories. Some places nickname him “Boots.” He is similar to Jack in all those Jack tales of someone who could bumble about and still luck out in the end. “Boots” referenced being the youngest in the family, especially when you think of the head of a family to the toes.
50-word-or-less summary:
Askeladden (Boots) searched for Sora Moria Castle. Fox, Wolf, and Bear asked for food (bag). Askeladden gave happily. Lighter bag meant could jump boulders. Castle! Slipped past Dragon, Bird, to captured Princess. She said to drink from bottle to boost strength and wield the sword to kill the multi-headed Troll.
Finding the Story:
Book “Norwegian Troll Tales” with Story – here
Wikipedia listing for Soria Moria Castle – here
More about Askeladden (Boots) – here
Wikipedia listing for Askeladden (Boots) – here
Finding Resilience & Strength:
Being kind to the Fox, Bear, and Wolf made it possible for his load to be lighter and be more nimble and able to defeat that multi-headed troll. True, it is possible that those animals would have eaten him if he was not doing those random acts of kindness. Being quick to help saved his life…more than once. And kindness? You can still be facing the same troubles though your perception and attitude can make the difference to survive and thrive.
Here’s an article from Western Youth Services called “Build Resilience with Small Acts of Kindness” to explore mental health and strategies.
Please share thoughts in the comments. While you enjoy this blog, Story Crossroads has year-round offerings. See quick list of programs here.
As for our past A to Z Challenges…
While you enjoy this blog, Story Crossroads has been resilient and strong during these past years and looks forward to the next hybrid summit & festival on May 8-11, 2023. We would be honored for you to join us. Explore the schedule and register here: http://www.storycrossroads.org/Festival
Thanks to funding from National Endowment for the Arts; National Endowment for the Humanities; Western States Arts Federation; Utah Division of Arts and Museums/Utah Legislature; Utah Humanities; City of Murray; Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) of Salt Lake County; Salt Lake City Arts Council; Ashton Family Foundation; and people like yo
This is a classic 🙂 I also have troll stories coming up later this month 🙂
The Multicolored Diary