East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Once upon a time there was a poor tenant farmer who had many children and not much to give them, neither food nor clothes. They were all pretty, but the prettiest was the youngest daughter, who was so lovely that there was nothing wrong with her.

Then one Thursday evening, late in the autumn, it was bad weather outside and terribly dark, and it rained and blew so that the walls creaked. They all sat around the fireplace and had something to do. Suddenly there was a knock on the windowpane three times.

The man went out to see what was the matter, and when he came out, there stood a great big white bear. "Good evening, you!" said the white bear. "Good evening!" said the man. "Will you give me your youngest daughter? Then I will make you as rich as you are now poor," said the bear.

Yes, the man thought it was quite grand that he would become so rich, but he felt he had to talk to his daughter first. He went inside and said that there was a great white bear outside who promised to make them rich, if only he could have her.

She said no and was reluctant, and then the man went out again and agreed with the White Bear that it should come again the next Thursday evening to get an answer. In the meantime, they persuaded her and talked to her about all the riches they would get, and about how well she herself would fare.

Finally she resigned herself to it, washed and mended her rags, made herself as tidy as she could, and kept herself ready to travel. There wasn't much she had to bring either. The next Thursday evening the White Bear came to fetch her.

She climbed onto its back with her bundle, and off they went. After they had gone a long way, the white bear said, "Are you afraid?" No, she wasn't. "Well, just hold tight to my fur, then there's no danger," it said.

Now she rode far, far away, and then they came to a great mountain. There the white bear knocked, and a door opened, and they entered a castle where there were many lit rooms that shone with gold and silver, and there was a great hall with a set table, and it looked so splendid that you cannot believe how splendid it was.

Then the white bear gave her a silver bell. Whenever she wanted something, she just had to ring it, and she would get it. Yes, when she had eaten and evening drew near, she felt sleepy from the journey and thought she would like to go to bed.

So she rang the bell, and she had barely touched it when she entered a room where there stood a made-up bed, as lovely as anyone could lie in, with silk quilts and hangings and gold fringes, and everything there was of gold and silver.

But after she had gone to bed and put out the light, a person came and lay down beside her, and it was the white bear who threw off his fur at night. But she never got to see him, for he always came after she had put out the light, and before it was light in the morning, he was gone again.

Things went well for a while, but then she began to grow quiet and sad, for she was there all alone all day long, longing for her parents and siblings. When the white bear asked what was wrong with her, she said that it was so lonely there, she was so alone and longed for her parents and siblings, and that was why she went around grieving so.

"That can be arranged," said the white bear, "but you must promise me not to talk with your mother alone, only when the others are listening. For she will take your hand," he said, "and want to take you into a room and talk to you alone. But you must not do that, or you will make us both unhappy."

One Sunday, the white bear came and said that now they could go to her parents' house. Yes, they went. She sat on his back, and they traveled both far and long. At last they came to a large white farmhouse.

There her siblings were outside playing, and it was so beautiful that it was a joy to see. "That's where your parents live," said the white bear, "but don't forget what I've told you, or you'll make both me and you unhappy." No, goodness, she would certainly not forget that.

And when she had arrived, the white bear turned around and left again. There was such joy when she came in to her parents that there was no end to it. They felt they could never thank her enough for what she had done for them.

Now they had it so good and so good, and everyone asked her how she was doing where she was. She was doing well and had everything she could wish for, she said.

What she answered for the rest, I cannot say, but I don't think they got any clear idea of it. But then in the afternoon, after they had eaten dinner, it happened as the white bear had said: The mother wanted to speak with her alone in the chamber.

But she remembered what the white bear had said, and would not do it at all. "What we have to talk about," she said, "we can always talk about." But however it happened, her mother finally persuaded her, and then she had to tell how things were.

She then said that a person always came and lay down beside her when she had put out the light in the evening, and she never got to see him, because he was always gone before it was light in the morning.

She grieved over that, because she thought she would so much like to see him, and during the day she walked there alone, and it was so lonely. "Ugh! It may well be a troll you are lying with," said her mother, "but I will give you some advice so that you can see him.

You shall have a piece of candle from me that you can take with you in your bosom. Light it and look at him while he sleeps, but be careful not to drip tallow on him." So she took the candle and hid it in her bosom, and in the evening the white bear came and fetched her.

When they had gone a little way, the white bear asked if it hadn't happened as he had said. Yes, she could not deny that. "Well, if you have listened to your mother's advice, you have made us both unhappy, and then it's over between us," he said.

No, she certainly hadn't. When she had come home and gone to bed, it happened as usual: a man came and lay down next to her. But when it grew late in the night and she heard him sleep, she got up and struck a light, lit the candle and shone it on him.

And then she saw that he was the most beautiful prince one could imagine, and she loved him so much that she felt she couldn't live if she didn't kiss him right away.

She did that, but at the same moment she dropped three hot drops of tallow onto his shirt, so he woke up. "Oh, what have you done?" he said. "Now you have made both of us unhappy. If only you had held out for the year, I would have been saved, for I have a stepmother who has cast a spell on me, so I am a white bear by day and a human by night."

But now it's over between us. Now I must leave you for her. She lives in a castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and there lives a princess with a nose that is three ells long.

Her I shall have now.” She cried and carried on, but there was nothing to be done about it. He had to leave. Then she asked if she could not go with him. No, that was impossible. “Can you tell me the way, so that I may search for you.

"May I have permission to do that?" she said. Yes, she could, said he, but there was no way there. It lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and there she would never find her way. In the morning when she woke up, both the prince and the castle were gone.

She was lying on a small green patch in the middle of the dark, dense forest, and beside her lay the same bundle of rags she had brought from home. When she had rubbed the sleep from her eyes and cried herself tired, she set out on the road.

And she walked many, many days until she came to a large mountain. Outside it sat an old woman playing with a golden apple. She asked her if she knew the way to the prince who was with his stepmother in a castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and who was to marry a princess with a nose that was three ells long.

"Where do you know him from?" asked the old woman. "Perhaps it was you who should have had him?" Yes, that was it. "Is that so? It's you?" said the old woman. "Yes, I don't know anything more about him than that he lives in that castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and you'll get there late or never."

But you may borrow my horse, and on it you can ride to my grandmother. Perhaps she can tell you. And when you've arrived, just hit the horse under its left ear and tell it to go home again.

"And you can take this golden apple with you." Then she mounted the horse and rode on for a long, long time, and at last she came to a mountain where an old woman sat outside with a golden winding reel.

She asked her if she knew the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. She said, like the previous old woman, that she knew nothing about it, but it was surely east of the sun and west of the moon, "and there you shall come late or never."

But you may borrow my horse to ride to my nearest grandmom. Maybe she will know. And when you get there, you can just hit it under the left ear and tell it to go home again.” So she gave her the yarn-winder, for she might find a use for it, she said.

The girl mounted the horse and rode for a long time again, and at long last she came to a great mountain, where an old woman sat spinning on a golden spinning wheel.

She asked if she knew the way to that prince and where the castle was that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. Then the same thing happened. "Maybe it is you who is to have that prince?" said the old woman. Yes, that was supposed to be the case.

But she did not know the way any better than the other two. East of the sun and west of the moon it was, that she knew, "and there you will come late or never," she said. "But you may borrow my horse, and then I think you should ride to the East Wind and ask him."

Maybe he knows the way there and can blow you there. When you get there, just hit the horse under the ear, and it will go home again.” And then she gave her the golden spinning wheel. “Maybe you will have use for it,” said the old woman.

She rode for many days and for a long time before she got there, but at long last she arrived, and then she asked the East Wind if he could tell her the way to the prince who lived east of the sun and west of the moon.

Yes, she had heard talk of that prince, said the East Wind, and the castle too, but he did not know the way, for he had never blown that far. "But if you like, I will take you to my brother, the West Wind. Perhaps he knows it, for he is much stronger.

You can sit on my back, and I will carry you there." So she did, and off they went at a brisk pace. When they arrived, they went inside, and the East Wind said that the one he had brought with him was the girl who was to have the prince in the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

Now she traveled and was to search for him again, and he had followed her here and wanted to know if the West Wind knew where he was. "No, I have never blown that far," said the West Wind, "but if you want, I will take you to the South Wind, for he is much stronger than any of us, and he has roamed far and wide.

Perhaps he can tell you. You can sit on my back, and I will carry you there." Yes, she did so. They traveled to the South Wind and were not long on the way, I should think.

When they arrived, the West Wind asked if he could tell her the way to the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. She was the one who was to have that prince. "Oh, I see," said the South Wind, "so it's her?

Yes, I have roamed about quite a bit in my time," he said, "but as far as that I have never blown. But if you want, I will take you to my brother, the North Wind. He is the oldest and strongest of us all, and if he doesn't know where it is, you'll never find out in the world.

You can sit on my back, and I will carry you there.” So she sat on his back, and off he went, at a good pace. They did not take long on the road.

When they reached where the North Wind lived, he was so wild and wild that cold gusts blew from him far away. “What do you want?” he shouted from afar, so that it chilled them. “Oh, you shouldn’t be so harsh, either,” said the South Wind, “for it is me, and here is she who was supposed to have the prince who lives in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and now she wants to ask you if you have been there and can tell her the way, for she would like to find him again.”

“Yes, I certainly know where it is,” said the North Wind.

"I have blown an aspen leaf there once, but then I was so tired that I didn't have the strength to blow for many days after. But if you really want to go there, and you are not afraid to come with me, then I will take you on my back and try to blow you there." Yes, she wanted to and she had to get there if it was at all possible, and she was not afraid, no matter how badly it went.

"Well, you can stay here tonight," said the North Wind, "for we need the whole day, and more, to get there." Early the next morning, the North Wind woke her, puffed himself up, and made himself so big and strong that it was terrifying.

And then off they went, high up through the air, as if they were going to the end of the world in an instant. Down on the land there was such a storm that both forests and houses were blown down, and when they came out over the great sea, ships were wrecked by the hundreds.

Thus they sped away so far, so far that no one can believe how far they went, and always it went out over the sea, and the North Wind grew wearier and wearier, and so exhausted that he could hardly blow any longer, and he sank lower and lower, and at last he went so low that the wave-tops washed around her heels.

"Are you afraid?" said the North Wind. "No," she said, she was not. But then they were not far from land either, and the North Wind had just enough strength left to throw her up onto the shore under the windows of the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

But by then he was so tired and miserable that he had to rest for many days before he could return home. The next morning, she sat down to play with the golden apple outside the castle windows, and the first thing she saw was the nose-iron that was to fetch the prince.

"What will you take for that golden apple of yours?" she said, opening the window a little. "It is not for sale for gold or money," said the girl. "If it is not for sale for gold or money, what will you have for it? You can have whatever you want," said the princess.

"Yes, if I can go to the prince who is here and stay with him tonight, then you shall have it," said she who had come with the North Wind. Yes, she could do that. It was possible. The princess got the golden apple.

But when the girl came up to the prince's room in the evening, he was sleeping. She called to him and shook him, and now and then she cried, but she could not wake him, for they had given him a sleeping drink in the evening.

In the morning, when daylight came, the princess with the long nose came and chased her out again. During the day she sat outside the palace windows reeling yarn on the reel, and it went the same way.

The princess asked what she wanted for it, and she said it was not for sale for gold or money, but if she could be allowed to come up to the prince and stay with him at night, she could have it. But when she got up there, he was sleeping again.

And no matter how much she shouted and screamed and shook him, and no matter how much she cried, he slept on, so she could not wake him. And when the morning light came, the princess with the long nose came and chased her out again.

As the day wore on, the girl sat outside the palace windows spinning on the golden spinning wheel, and the princess with the long nose also wanted it. She opened the window and asked what she wanted for it.

The girl said the same as the previous two times, that it was not for sale for gold or money, but if she could come up to the prince who was there and stay with him at night, she would get it. Yes, she could certainly do that.

But there were some Christian people who were captured there, and they had been sitting in the chamber that was closest to the prince. They had heard that there had been a woman inside who had cried and called out to him for two nights in a row, and they told this to the prince.

In the evening, when the princess came with the sleeping draught, he pretended to drink but threw it behind him, for he could well understand that it was a sleeping potion. When the girl came in, the prince was awake, and then she had to tell how she had come there.

"Well, you came just in time," said the prince, "for tomorrow I was to be married. But I don't want that long-nosed bride, and you are the only one who can save me. I'll say that I want to see what my bride is good for, and ask her to wash the shirt with the three tallow stains.

She will agree to it, for she doesn't know that it is you who made them. But it takes Christian folk to do that, and not such trolls. And then I'll say that I will have no other bride than the one who can do it, and you can do that, I know." Then there was great joy and gladness between them that night.

But the next day, when the wedding was to take place, the prince said: "I want to see what my bride is good for first." "Yes, that could be so," said the stepmother. "I have a fine shirt that I want for a groom's shirt, but three tallow stains have come on it that I want washed off.

And I have promised that I will take no one but the one who is good enough to do that. If she can't do it, then she is not worth owning." "Yes, that was no matter," they thought, and they agreed to it.

And the one with the long nose began to wash as best she could, but the more she washed and rubbed, the bigger the stains became. "Oh, you can't wash," said the old troll woman, her mother. "Let me have it!" But she had no sooner taken the shirt than it became uglier than before, and the more she washed and rubbed, the bigger and blacker the stains became.

Then the other trolls were about to wash, but the longer they worked, the uglier and more frightful it became, and in the end the whole shirt looked as if it had been up the chimney. "Oh, none of you are any good," said the prince. "There's a beggar girl sitting outside the window here.

"I'm sure she is much better at washing than any of you. Come in, you girl!" he shouted. So she came in. "Can you wash this shirt clean?" he said.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, "I'll try." And no sooner had she taken the shirt and dipped it in the water than it was as white as new-fallen snow, and even whiter. "Yes, I want you," said the prince.

Then the old witch got so angry that she burst, and the princess with the long nose and the little trolls probably burst as well, for I haven't heard anything from them since. The prince and his bride then freed all the Christian folk who were imprisoned there, and they took with them as much gold and silver as they could carry, and moved far away from the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.