Lille Viggs äventyr på julafton

by Viktor Rydberg

On Christmas Eve, Vigg is invited to accompany the Christmas tomten on his rounds which include a stop at the Hall of the Mountain King.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, Classics

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1871

About the author

Abraham Viktor Rydberg (Jönköping, December 18, 1828 – Djursholm, September 21, 1895) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877-1895. "Primarily a classical idealist",[1] Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 was "generally regarded in the first rank of Swedish novelists."

Reviews

[John Hatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One cold, dark Christmas Eve, while waiting alone at home for the kindly old woman who had taken him in and cared for him, the little orphan boy Vigg was whisked away by the Christmas Elf and taken with him on his rounds of distributing gifts among the people, rich and poor, who lived nearby. On the trip he learned valuable lessons about humility and gratitude.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viktor Rydberg, whose 1881 poem about a tomten on a remote Swedish farm - tomtes (known as nisse in Norway and Denmark) are diminutive dwarf or gnome-like beings from Scandinavian mythology, said to look after farms and farm-dwellers - was the inspiration for Astrid Lindgren's beloved picture-book, The Tomten , was also the author of a short story featuring a tomten, first published in 1871, in the pages of a local newspaper. Lille Viggs äventyr på julafton (literally, "Little Vigg's Adventures on Christmas Eve"), is adapted here by Linda M. Jennings, from a translation done by Lone Thygesen and George Blecher, and sets out the story of a young orphan named Vigg, who anxiously awaits the return of his adoptive parent, Mother Gertrude, one Christmas Eve. Watching at the window, Vigg is surprised to see a small sleigh, pulled by tiny horses, pulling up before his cottage, and even more surprised to find himself confronted with the Christmas Tomten, who invites him to join in a magical journey as he (the tomten) dispenses holiday gifts to both worthy and unworthy. Eventually finding their way to the Hall of the Mountain King, Vigg and the Christmas Tomten are witness to a yearly ritual, in which the world's good and evil deeds are balanced against one another, with the fate of the beautiful princess hanging in the balance. Will Vigg's thoughtless ingratitude, when offered a useful (rather than playful) gift tip the scales the wrong way? Or will Mother Gertrude's many kindnesses even things out...?

A sweet holiday tale, once which draws upon traditional Swedish folk beliefs, The Christmas Tomten is an interesting mix, to my way of thinking, of old-fashioned morality, and progressive optimism. On the one hand, you have the climactic judgment scene, with its explicitly didactic purpose of inculcating gratitude in young people, for the blessings they do enjoy - I was reminded of the conclusion of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid , in which the heroine's eventual fate depends on children being good or bad - but on the other hand, you have the episode in which the Christmas Tomten convinces a runaway farm tomten to return to his post, despite the drunkenness of the father of the family, and the shrillness of its mother, holding out the hope that help (in the form of kindness and gifts) might change them for the better. The artwork, done by Harald Wiberg - whose other tomten-related titles include Astrid Lindgren's The Tomten and The Tomten and the Fox , as well as his own Christmas at the Tomten's Farm - is just lovely, as one would expect. I think that the scenes here are a little more colorful, than in some of Wiberg's other books, but that doesn't surprise, as so many of them are indoors, and feature a different kind of light, than the winter-night landscapes so common in the others. Recommended to all young tomten lovers, and to anyone who enjoys Wiberg's artwork!

[Malin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird language. Or maybe my 1800's Swedish is way worse than my English?
The story was a bit weird too, but with a sweet ending.

[Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lessons in Gratitude

Another Rydberg-Viberg collaboration this 3rd Tomten tale was freely adapted from a Swedish translation. Adopted by a kindly widow lady young Vigg awaits her return from Christmas shopping in a distant city. It is cold and lonely in the isolated cottage and Vigg worries that Mother Gertrud will never return. Then he hears curious little bells which announce the arrival of a most surprising visitor:
a friendly little troll who claims to be the Christmas Tomten. Vigg accepts his invitation to accompany him while he delivers gifts in a sleigh drawn by four tiny horses.

Vigg sees a variety of gifts for children and adults, but comes to envy those destined for a young prince. When he gripes that the Tomten doesn’t have a gift for Him, he is disappointed at the a lowly pair of hand made stockings. But it is in the Hall of the Mountain King (A Nordic legend of its own) that he learns the meaning of gratitude and the danger of Ingratitude. When he awakens back in his own cottage he wonders: was it all just a dream—a cautionary tale to be grateful for gifts—no matter how humble—which are made and given in love?

December 21, 2015

[Jenny (knasentjej) · Rating 3 out of 5]

En liten mysig berättelse om hur lille Vigg får träffa julvätten.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first spotted this book in our local library's online card catalog when I was searching for The Tomten to read for the April 2012 - Mystical/Magical Creatures reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads. I noted the Christmas theme and decided to wait until now to read this book.

This story is fairly similar to the first, with the Tomten being a benevolent, kind creature, rather than the mischievous one we see in Hedgie's Surprise. The story is fun to read aloud and with its message about gratitude, it certainly fits in well for the holidays. The illustrations have an old fashioned feel to them and complement the story nicely. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Patricia Lule Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOVELLRECENCENSION & NOVELLTIPS:
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Novellen Lille Viggs äventyr på julafton är novellen som består av hjärtvärmande kärlek & finna julgläjde & lyckan i det små vardagslivet.
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Vigge får följa med julvätten på utdelning av julklappar på julafton vilket är en läxa & att lära sig om hur olika det kan se ut vid varje gård & klasser i samhället.
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Novellen var mysig & med gamle svenska ord & en riktig magisk julsaga! Därför får novellen betyget fyra av fem & jag kan varmt rekommendera den för andra att läsa! 📚📚📚📚

[Evine Zetterström · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gud vad tråkig den är, jag ber om ursäkt men jag kunde inte ta mig egenom den som barn och även om jag lyckades nu, betyder det inte att jag är glad över det. Jag brukar inte ha något problem med gammel-svenska men just denna bok var verkligen inget att läsa högt. Dessutom är bilderna på tomtarna rätt läskiga om jag ska vara ärlig. Tror jag faktiskt hade konstiga drömmar om den som barn..

Inget jag vill ta i igen.

[Lori Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet Christmas tale, not a favorite here as it's a bit heavy on punishment for wrongs and shaming the child for ungratefulness (he gets socks from the tomten while the tomten gives more expensive gifts to the richer people, most of all the prince)

[Ulrika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sista luckan i Novellix julkalander bjöd på Ville Viggs äventyr på julafton. Han får åka runt med julvätten och prata med tomtormar och gårdstomtar, dela ut julklappar och lära sig ett och annat om livet.

[Lotta · Rating 3 out of 5]

En mysig liten berättelse om sociala orättvisor som samtidigt tar upp att man bör uppskatta det lilla man får för risken finns alltid att man blir helt utan. Den som gapar efter mycket... Jag hade gärna läst en version översatt till modern svenska dock, den var lite styltig att läsa.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful way to spend Christmas Day - reading through our family collection of Christmas books. Gift of 1984.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nä, denna var ingen höjdare.

[Alpha Cyber Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Väldigt mysig bok. Både språket och innehållet gav en mysig och varm julkänsla.

[Anna Granberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vackert språk, fina miljöbeskrivningar och fantasifullt, men kanske lite väl sedelärande med dagens mått mätt.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fin och mysig... Hade gärna fått vara lite längre!

[Elon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novellix julkalender 2019, lucka 13.

Fin resa i historia och mytologi.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theological debates, alcoholism, class tensions…this is WAY more complicated than the Astrid Lindgren books.

[Martina Bila]

Máme takú vianočnú tradíciu v našom teame, že každý rok nám pri sviečke kolega prečíta Tomteho od Viktora Rydberga.

Tento rok sme to asi robili naposledy 😢

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

En vacker liten jul berättelse om att vara nöjd med vad man har.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend sent me this book several years ago. I didn't enjoy the story as much as Astrid Lindgren's more simple translation. This one takes tomten away from the farm and into an adventure story. The illustrations are a little dark and strange. I haven't tried reading this to the nieces and nephews yet.

[Sula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as enjoyable as The Tomten, the text is not as soothing and flowing, and the illustrations are more harsh and are creepy at times.

[- fretnutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mom used to read this to me as youngster. She read and I felt the chill of the wind.creek of the barn doors, and the protection of the tomte.

[Neolou]

13 december

Full av julstämning, fantasi och magi, med ett tidlöst budskap om tacksamhet till de som älskar oss.