Long ago, a poor farmer lived with his large family in a little cottage. There were so many children that he struggled to provide enough food and clothing for them all. Although every child had something lovely about them, his youngest daughter was the most beautiful. In their humble home, no one could have imagined that a mysterious visitor would soon bring an offer that would change the family’s life and draw the young girl into a strange encounter with a prince.
One bitter Thursday evening, as autumn gave way to colder weather, a fierce storm battered the cottage. Rain beat against the windows, the wind howled through the darkness, and the walls trembled. The family sat close to the fire when three sudden knocks sounded against the window.
The farmer went outside to investigate. Standing before him was an enormous white bear.
“Good evening,” the bear greeted him politely.
“Good evening to you,” the farmer replied, astonished.
The bear then made an extraordinary offer. If the farmer would give him his youngest daughter, he promised to make the entire family as rich as they were then poor.
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The farmer could hardly ignore such a promise. Wealth would mean food, comfortable clothing, and a better life for his children. Nevertheless, he went inside to consult his daughter before giving an answer.
The young woman refused immediately. She wanted nothing to do with a strange white bear, regardless of the riches he promised.
The farmer returned outside and asked the bear to come back the following Thursday for a final answer. In the days that followed, he repeatedly reminded his daughter of the poverty they endured and the comfortable life the bear’s offer might bring.
Eventually, she reconsidered. She washed and mended her worn clothes, gathered her few belongings into a small bundle, and prepared to leave.
When the following Thursday arrived, the white bear returned. The young woman climbed onto his back, holding tightly to her bundle, and they set off together.
After travelling for some distance, the bear asked whether she was frightened.
“No,” she answered.
“Then hold firmly to my shaggy coat,” he told her. “You will have nothing to fear.”
They travelled for a long time until they reached a steep hillside. The bear knocked against its face, and a door opened into a magnificent castle. Inside were splendid rooms illuminated with silver and gold, a table laden with food, and every luxury the young woman could have imagined.
The bear gave her a small silver bell. Whenever she wanted anything, she had only to ring it, and her wish would be granted.
After eating and drinking, she grew tired and rang the bell to request a bed. In an instant, she found herself in a beautiful chamber furnished with a bed dressed in white linen, silken pillows, rich curtains, and golden decorations.
She extinguished the light and settled down to sleep.
That night, a man came into the room and lay beside her. She could not see his face because he always arrived after she had put out the light and departed before daybreak. She did not know that the white bear became a man when night fell.
For a time, she lived comfortably in the enchanted castle. Yet, despite the wealth surrounding her, loneliness gradually settled over her. She spent her days wandering through the rooms with nobody to speak to, and she longed to see her parents, brothers, and sisters again.
When the bear eventually asked what troubled her, she confessed how deeply she missed her family.
“Perhaps there is a way to ease your sadness,” he said. “I will take you to visit them, but you must promise me something. Do not allow your mother to speak with you privately. She will try to lead you into a room alone, but you must refuse. If you disobey me, misfortune will come upon us both.”
The young woman promised to remember his warning.
A Visit That Changed Everything
One Sunday, the white bear came to take her home to visit her family.
They travelled until they reached a magnificent house, where her brothers and sisters were playing happily outside. The bear explained that her parents lived there now. The riches he had promised had transformed their circumstances, and the family no longer suffered from poverty.
Before leaving her at the door, he reminded her once again not to speak privately with her mother.
Inside, her family welcomed her with overwhelming joy. They thanked her for the good fortune that had come their way and asked countless questions about her new home.
She told them that she wanted for nothing, but she did not reveal everything about her strange life in the castle.
After the family had eaten, her mother tried to persuade her to go upstairs into a bedroom where they could talk alone. The young woman initially refused, remembering the bear’s warning. She insisted that whatever her mother wanted to discuss could wait.
Eventually, however, her mother persuaded her to reveal the truth.
The young woman explained that a man came to her bed every night after the light was extinguished, yet she had never seen his face. He always disappeared before morning. She admitted that she had grown curious about him and wished desperately to know who he was. The long, lonely days in the castle had only deepened her desire to see him.
Her mother was alarmed.
“Perhaps you have been sleeping beside a troll,” she said. “I will show you how to discover his identity.”
She gave her daughter a small piece of candle and instructed her to light it while the mysterious man was asleep. She warned her, however, not to let the melted wax fall upon him.
The young woman took the candle and hid it in her clothing.
When evening came, the white bear arrived to collect her. Along the way, he asked whether she had followed his instructions.
She assured him that she had not listened to her mother’s advice.
But when she returned to the castle that night, her curiosity overwhelmed her. Once the mysterious man had fallen asleep, she quietly rose from the bed, lit the candle, and turned towards him.
Before her lay the most handsome prince she had ever seen.
She was overcome with love. Unable to resist the desire to kiss him, she leaned towards him. As she did, three drops of hot candle wax fell upon his shirt.
The prince awoke at once.
“What have you done?” he cried. “If you had waited just one more year, the spell would have ended, and I would have been free. But now our happiness has been destroyed.”
He explained that his stepmother had bewitched him. By day, he was condemned to live as a white bear, while at night he could take human form. Had the young woman obeyed his warning, he would eventually have regained his freedom.
Now, however, he was compelled to leave her and go to a distant castle, where his stepmother lived. There he was destined to marry a princess with an extraordinarily long nose.
The young woman wept bitterly and begged him not to leave. When he insisted that he had no choice, she asked whether she might accompany him.
He refused. The castle lay in a place called East of the Sun and West of the Moon, so distant that no ordinary traveller could find the way.
“Then tell me how to reach you,” she pleaded. “I will search for you myself.”
He could offer her no useful directions. Nevertheless, she refused to surrender hope.
By morning, the prince and the enchanted castle had vanished. She found herself lying in a clearing deep within a gloomy forest, with only the bundle of worn clothes she had brought from her father’s cottage beside her.
After crying until she could weep no more, she rose and began her search.
The Three Old Women and Their Golden Gifts
The young woman travelled for many days until she reached a towering rocky cliff. Beneath it sat an old woman playing with a golden apple.
She asked the woman whether she knew the way to the castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon, where the prince was being held and was expected to marry the long-nosed princess.
The old woman was surprised that the traveller knew about the prince. She wondered whether this was the young woman who was truly meant to marry him.
When the young woman confirmed that she was, the old woman admitted that she could not show her the way. However, she lent her a horse to carry her to another old woman who might know more. She also gave her the golden apple, instructing her to send the horse home by striking it gently beneath the left ear when she reached her destination.
The young woman followed the directions and rode until she arrived at another rocky cliff. There, a second old woman sat with a golden carding comb.
Once again, she asked for directions to the distant castle. The second woman knew no more about its location than the first, but she lent the young woman another horse and gave her the golden comb. She directed her to a third old woman, who might be able to help.
After another long journey, the young woman reached a third rocky cliff. Beneath it sat an old woman working with a golden spinning wheel.
The traveller repeated her question and explained that she was searching for the prince who should have been her husband.
The third woman could not tell her the way either. However, she gave the young woman her golden spinning wheel and suggested that she seek help from the East Wind, who might know how to reach such a distant place.
She also lent her a horse and instructed her how to send it home once she arrived.
With the golden apple, the golden comb, and the golden spinning wheel in her possession, the young woman continued her journey.
The Four Winds
After many weary days, she reached the home of the East Wind.
She asked whether he knew the way to the castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon. He had heard of the prince and the distant castle, but he had never travelled far enough to know its exact location.
“I cannot take you there myself,” he explained, “but I will carry you to my brother, the West Wind. Perhaps he knows more.”
The young woman climbed onto the East Wind’s back, and he carried her swiftly to his brother.
The West Wind listened to her story. Although he had travelled widely, he had never reached the distant castle either. He suggested that they visit their brother, the South Wind, who was stronger and had travelled farther.
The South Wind listened to the young woman’s account and agreed to help. Yet even he had never blown to the place she sought.
“If anyone can tell you where it lies,” he said, “it will be our eldest brother, the North Wind. He is the strongest of us all.”
The South Wind carried her to the North Wind’s home.
The North Wind was fierce and unpleasant. Cold gusts rushed ahead of him as he demanded to know why they had come.
The South Wind explained the young woman’s plight and asked whether his brother knew the way to the enchanted castle.
The North Wind admitted that he knew where it was. Once, he had blown an aspen leaf to that distant place, but the journey had exhausted him so thoroughly that he could scarcely produce another breath for many days.
Still, he agreed to take the young woman there if she was brave enough to travel with him.
She accepted without hesitation.
The North Wind instructed her to spend the night at his house, explaining that they would need the entire following day for the journey.
At dawn, he rose and began to swell with air until he became an enormous, terrifying force. The young woman climbed onto his back, and together they shot high into the sky.
Below them, the North Wind’s fury battered forests and houses. Across the sea, ships struggled against the violent storm as they raced towards the farthest reaches of the world.
The journey seemed endless. The North Wind grew increasingly exhausted, his wings drooping as his strength failed. Eventually, he sank so low that the waves splashed against his heels.
Once more, he asked the young woman whether she was afraid.
She answered that she was not.
With the last of his strength, the North Wind carried her towards the shore and finally threw her safely onto the land beneath the windows of the castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon. He was so exhausted that he had to remain there for many days before he could return home.
At last, the young woman had reached the place she had searched for so desperately.
The Golden Gifts and the Sleeping Prince
The following morning, the young woman sat beneath the castle windows and began to play with her golden apple.
Before long, the long-nosed princess appeared at a window and asked what the young woman wanted in exchange for it.
“Gold and money cannot buy this apple,” the traveller replied.
“Then name your price,” said the princess.
The young woman asked for permission to spend a night with the prince.
The princess agreed and took the golden apple. The young woman was allowed into the prince’s chamber, but when she arrived, he was deeply asleep.
She called his name, shook him, wept, and begged him to awaken. Nothing worked. He remained unconscious throughout the night.
At daybreak, the long-nosed princess returned and drove her away.
The next day, the young woman sat beneath the windows with her golden carding comb. The princess wanted it just as eagerly as she had wanted the apple.
Once again, the young woman offered it in exchange for a night with the prince.
The bargain was accepted, but the same misfortune followed. The prince slept through the entire night, and the princess sent the young woman away at dawn.
On the third day, the young woman brought out her golden spinning wheel. The princess immediately desired it.
For the third time, the young woman asked to spend the night with the prince. The princess agreed, unaware that the repeated bargains were part of the traveller’s desperate attempt to reach him.
But this time, something changed.
Inside the castle were several Christian captives who had been carried away and imprisoned there. They had heard the young woman crying and pleading with the prince during the previous two nights. They told him what they had witnessed.
The prince began to suspect that the woman he loved had found her way to the castle.
That evening, when the princess brought him a sleeping drink, he pretended to swallow it but secretly poured it over his shoulder. He understood that the drink was intended to keep him unconscious.
When the young woman entered his chamber, she found him awake.
At last, they were reunited.
She told him how she had left the forest, sought help from the three old women, travelled with the four winds, and crossed the sea to reach him.
The prince listened with joy and relief. He explained that his wedding to the long-nosed princess was scheduled for the following day. Yet he had devised a way to escape the marriage and break the spell.
He had kept the shirt upon which the young woman had accidentally spilled the three drops of candle wax. He would announce that he would marry only the woman who could wash the shirt completely clean. The task would expose the true nature of his captors, for the prince knew that the trolls could not accomplish it.
The young woman understood the plan, and hope returned to her heart.
The Shirt That Revealed the Truth
The next morning, preparations began for the wedding. Before the ceremony, the prince announced that he wanted to test his bride’s abilities.
He produced the shirt marked with the three drops of candle wax and declared that he would marry only the woman who could wash it clean.
The long-nosed princess accepted the challenge. She scrubbed and rubbed the shirt with all her strength, but the stains grew larger and darker.
Her mother took over, convinced that she could succeed where her daughter had failed. Yet her efforts only made the shirt dirtier.
Other trolls tried in turn, but the more they washed, the blacker the shirt became. Before long, it was as dark as if it had been swept through a chimney.
The prince watched their failure and declared that none of them was fit to be his bride.
Then he noticed the young woman waiting outside the castle.
“Come inside!” he called.
When she entered, he handed her the shirt and asked whether she could clean it.
“I do not know,” she replied, “but I believe I can try.”
She dipped the shirt into the water. Almost immediately, the three stains disappeared, and the cloth became brilliantly white, whiter than freshly fallen snow.
The prince knew that he had found the woman he truly loved.
The old hag was overcome with such fury that she burst apart. The long-nosed princess and the other trolls met the same fate, and they were never heard of again.
The prince and his bride were finally free.
They released the Christian captives who had been imprisoned in the castle and gathered the silver and gold that surrounded them. Then they left the enchanted castle behind, travelling as far away from it as they could.
After all the hardship, fear, and sorrow, the young woman had found her prince again. Her long journey had brought their love through the darkness and back into the light.
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Moral
Love alone does not remove every obstacle, and even a well-intentioned mistake can have serious consequences. However, courage, perseverance, and determination can help a person face those consequences and continue towards what matters most.
The tale also reminds readers that a mistake need not define the rest of a person’s life. The young woman loses the prince through her disobedience, but she does not abandon him. She takes action, endures hardship, and ultimately helps secure their freedom.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did the white bear approach the poor farmer?
He offered to make the family wealthy if the farmer agreed to let his youngest daughter go with him.
2. What happened when the young woman lit the candle?
She discovered that the white bear was a handsome prince, but three drops of hot wax fell on his shirt and awakened him, bringing the spell’s premature consequences.
3. Why did the young woman visit the three old women?
She needed directions to the castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon, where the prince had been taken.
4. How did the four winds help her?
The East, West, and South Winds each guided her to the next, and the North Wind carried her across the sea to the distant castle.
5. Why did the prince pretend to drink the sleeping potion?
He wanted to remain awake so that he could speak to the young woman when she came to his chamber.
6. How was the prince finally freed?
The young woman successfully washed the three candle-wax stains from his shirt, proving that she was the woman who could overcome the trolls’ challenge.
7. Which tradition does the tale belong to?
It is a Norwegian folktale recorded in the collection Popular Tales from the Norse. The English version used here was translated by George Webbe Dasent from tales compiled by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.
Source
Adapted from Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, Popular Tales from the Norse, translated by George Webbe Dasent, “East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon,” first published in 1859. Project Gutenberg, eBook No. 8933.
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