Status Updates From The Complete and Original N...

The next dozen pages or so are the copies of the forwards written by the original authors of each of the editions. After that, they wrote where these folktales came from, which I will do on my own time since I would need a map of Norway.

Finished the final story! Although, now I'm confused on who could be the "Old Man of the House" because I thought it was the same guy who made the wolf trap. But it says here that the man had not spared the "old man of the house" when he came to inspect the trap and killed all the animals there and only letting go the woman who fell in it.

I think that this was the nicest story out of the lot! It had such a good theme, too!

"'Whatever is honest would never sink.'" That's a very, very old idiom. And false too.

Whoever wrote this story probably had never been to Arabia lol. There's sand dunes, yes, but a mountain? And pine trees? Nope! Lol

So, she was a terrible mother from the beginning. Curse you sudden-but-inevitable betrayal!

Daughter of a king of Arabia? That's a new one! Whoever thought of this story had certainly been knowledgeable of the wider world. I guess Arabia is as far as they could think up.

I love that the lions were so tamed by the strength and ferocity of the boy, they followed him to the troll's home that he was staying in.

If the mother was so frightened, why would she agree to the troll's request that the two of them live together and to the troll's plot to kill her son?

The mother in the story of the Blue Ribbon is not the least bit surprised that her son is suddenly strong enough to carry her up a mountain ridge?

You know that magic duel in The Sword and the Stone between Merlin and Mad Madam Mim? Well, there's something like that in the story of Farmer Weather-Beard.

Really? You warn your father to not forget to take off the halter even if you got drunk? Does anyone honestly expect that to happen?

The usage of three objects to create three obstacles for the troll following them seems to be a common trope in some of these bigger, more adventurous stories.

2k and now 4k miles? You could get from Norway to Alaska or Canada with that many miles.

Interesting. In the next story, it mentions a place called "Finnmark." I guess that is the old name for Finland.

I don't get it. Why can't the sister hear what her brother is saying?

Okay, but where is the father in this other version of a Cinderella story?

So, the story ends with Ragged Cap turning into a beautiful princess before her fiancé and the kingdoms celebrating both her and her sister's weddings (Ragged Cap to a prince and her sister to the prince's father no less!). But what became of the young girl Ragged Cap's mother had taken in?

So, in this new story, the queen gave birth to two children despite already adopting and caring for one. And there's no mention of their previous child?

Little Per is definitely NOT someone you should inspire to be. He is a cautionary tale.

What?! Our main character knew he was going to be killed by his brother, and he just tricked his own mother to die in his place rather than deal with the problem!

It's hilarious how certain stories treat clergymen.

Butterball, the child troll killer. Also his mother is as dense as the rock in the story, allowing her son to be taken by the troll each time she lets it in.

So, Ash Lad essentially did a Cinderella story but as a knight in disguise.

Guess who's back? Back again? Ash Lad's back! Tell a friend! Ash Lad's back, Ash Lad's back, Ash Lad's back, Ash Lad's back.

And the sea is salty because of a magical mill. That's funny.

Why punish someone by cutting their ears off when they failed to accomplish their task?

Ash Lad has an additional name now: Esben.

"'A job well done is poorly rewarded...your own kind can be your worst enemy.'"
Both proverbs have truth to them.

Well, this story certainly had some twists and turns!