The Cat on the Dovrefell is a humorous Norwegian folktale about a travelling man whose unusual companion changes the Christmas celebrations of a household on the Dovrefell. While travelling with a great white bear, the man seeks shelter on Christmas Eve and meets Halvor, a householder who explains that his family cannot accommodate visitors because trolls traditionally arrive at their home every year.
The traveller is not discouraged by the warning. He offers to stay in the house with his bear, and Halvor eventually agrees. When the trolls arrive for their customary feast, one of them mistakes the enormous white bear for an ordinary household cat. The creature’s response turns their celebration into a frightening experience.
The story combines supernatural folklore with comedy. The trolls are accustomed to visiting Halvor’s home, but their encounter with the bear changes their attitude completely. The following Christmas Eve, one of the trolls returns to ask about the strange cat, only to receive an answer that makes the entire company abandon its visits.
A Traveller from Finnmark
Once upon a time, a man living in Finnmark captured a great white bear. He intended to take the animal to the King of Denmark, and he began the journey with the bear as his travelling companion.
His journey eventually brought him to the Dovrefell around Christmas Eve. As evening approached, he came upon a cottage where a man named Halvor lived.
The traveller approached the house and asked Halvor whether he could obtain accommodation for himself and his bear. He needed somewhere to spend the night before continuing his journey.
Halvor listened to the request but immediately explained that he could not provide accommodation. His refusal was not caused by hostility towards strangers or a lack of willingness to help. Instead, his household faced an unusual problem every Christmas Eve.
A company of trolls traditionally came down upon the house during the Christmas celebrations. Their visits were so troublesome that Halvor and his family were forced to leave their own home. They could not remain there, let alone offer a visitor a place to stay.
The traveller listened to Halvor’s explanation and considered the situation.
Halvor Explains the Christmas Eve Problem
Halvor made it clear that the trolls’ visits were a regular occurrence. Every Christmas Eve, the creatures came down to the house, leaving the family with no choice but to move out temporarily.
Their arrival was expected, and the household had developed a routine around it. The family could not enjoy the celebration in peace because the trolls took over the house whenever the festive evening arrived.
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This was the reason Halvor could not immediately accept the traveller’s request. He knew that the stranger might be frightened or placed in danger if he remained in the cottage when the trolls appeared.
However, the traveller did not consider the warning a sufficient reason to seek accommodation elsewhere.
He suggested that Halvor could lend him the house. His bear could sleep beneath the stove, while he himself would sleep in the side room.
The proposal was unusual because the traveller intended to remain in a house that its owners regularly abandoned out of fear of supernatural visitors. Nevertheless, he appeared confident that he and his animal could manage the situation.
He continued asking until Halvor finally agreed.
The Household Prepares for the Trolls
After granting the traveller permission to stay, Halvor and his family prepared to leave the cottage.
Before going, they arranged everything for the expected visitors. The tables were laid, and the food was prepared as though they were expecting an important Christmas gathering.
There was rice porridge, fish boiled in lye, sausages and other good things associated with a grand feast.
The household made sure that the food was ready before leaving. Their preparations showed that the trolls’ visits were not unexpected accidents. The family knew what happened every Christmas Eve and had established a way of dealing with it.
Once everything was arranged, Halvor and his family moved out of the house.
The traveller remained behind with his bear. The animal settled beneath the stove, while the man prepared to spend the night in the side room.
The cottage was now ready for the arrival of its unusual Christmas guests.
The Trolls Arrive for Their Feast
When everything was ready, the trolls came down to the cottage.
They were not all alike. Some were great, while others were small. Some had long tails, others had no tails at all, and a few possessed unusually long noses.
The company entered the house and began enjoying the food that had been prepared for them. They ate, drank and tasted the different dishes arranged on the tables.
The trolls behaved as though the cottage belonged to them. Their annual visits had become so familiar that they expected to find the household prepared for their arrival.
They moved around the room, enjoying the feast without knowing that something unusual was waiting beneath the stove.
The great white bear remained there, resting quietly.
The trolls had not recognised the danger in the room. Their attention was occupied by the food, and none of them appeared to understand that the animal beneath the stove was not an ordinary household creature.
The Troll Mistakes the Bear for a Cat
During the feast, one of the smaller trolls noticed the white bear lying beneath the stove.
The creature apparently mistook the animal for a cat. Without recognising its enormous size or strength, he decided to offer it something to eat.
He took a piece of sausage, placed it on a fork and approached the animal.
Holding the sausage towards the bear’s nose, the troll called out to it and asked whether Pussy would like some sausage.
The offer was made as though the troll were feeding a familiar household pet. He had no idea that the creature beneath the stove was a great white bear captured by a travelling man.
The bear responded immediately.
It rose from its resting place and let out a threatening growl. The sound and sudden movement revealed that the animal was far more dangerous than the troll had imagined.
The frightened troll had made a serious mistake.
The White Bear Drives Out the Trolls
As soon as the bear rose and growled, the entire situation changed.
The animal began chasing the trolls out of the house. It drove the whole company outside, sending both the great and the small trolls running.
Their Christmas feast was suddenly interrupted, and the creatures who had confidently entered the cottage were forced to flee.
The trolls had expected to enjoy another peaceful meal in the house, just as they had done during previous Christmas visits. Instead, they encountered an enormous white bear that refused to tolerate their presence.
The traveller’s unusual companion had accomplished what Halvor and his family had been unable to do. Without any deliberate plan to frighten the trolls, the bear had driven them away simply by reacting to the creature that approached it.
The house was finally free of the unwanted visitors.
The traveller and his bear had changed the household’s Christmas Eve experience, although the story does not describe what happened during the remainder of that night.
Halvor Returns to His Christmas Preparations
A year passed after the unusual encounter.
When the next Christmas Eve approached, Halvor was once again preparing for the holiday. On the afternoon before Christmas, he went into the wood to cut firewood.
He expected that the trolls might return, as they had done in previous years. The family had experienced their annual visits for a long time, and there was no certainty that the creatures had permanently abandoned the cottage.
While Halvor was working in the wood, he suddenly heard a voice calling his name.
The voice came from somewhere among the trees.
The caller repeated his name, and Halvor responded that he was there.
The voice belonged to one of the trolls that had been driven out of the cottage the previous Christmas Eve.
The troll had apparently not forgotten the frightening encounter with the strange animal beneath the stove.
The Troll Asks About the Big Cat
The troll called out to Halvor and asked whether he still had the big cat.
The question revealed that the creature had continued thinking about the white bear. However, it still referred to the animal as a cat rather than recognising it as a bear.
Halvor understood what the troll meant.
He answered that the animal was still at home, lying beneath the stove. He then added something that made the situation even more frightening for the troll.
According to Halvor, the big cat had now produced seven kittens. These kittens were far bigger and fiercer than their mother.
The response was deliberately alarming. Halvor knew that the troll had already been frightened by the original animal, so the suggestion that it had seven even larger and fiercer offspring was enough to discourage another visit.
He did not need to fight the troll or threaten it with a weapon. His answer was sufficient to make the creature reconsider approaching the household.
The Trolls Abandon Their Christmas Visits
The troll reacted with alarm when Halvor described the seven enormous kittens.
It immediately declared that the trolls would never come to visit him again.
The creature had already experienced the frightening power of the supposed cat. The thought of encountering seven animals even bigger and fiercer than the first was more than it could bear.
The troll kept its word.
From that time onwards, the trolls stopped coming to Halvor’s home to enjoy their Christmas brose.
The household was finally free from the annual disturbance that had forced the family to leave their home every Christmas Eve.
The story ends with the trolls keeping their promise. The great white bear had frightened them away during their first encounter, while Halvor’s clever response prevented them from returning the following year.
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Moral Lessons
The story demonstrates that unexpected circumstances can change a difficult situation. Halvor’s family had become accustomed to leaving their home whenever the trolls arrived, but the traveller’s bear interrupted their routine and drove the unwanted visitors away. The encounter shows how an unusual solution can sometimes overcome a problem that has continued for a long time.
It also highlights the value of courage and quick thinking. The traveller was willing to remain in the cottage despite Halvor’s warning, while Halvor later used a clever response to discourage the trolls from returning. Their actions show that confidence and thoughtful responses can help people deal with intimidating situations.
Knowledge Check
1. Where did the travelling man come from?
He came from Finnmark, where he had captured a great white bear.
2. Where was the traveller taking the white bear?
He was taking the bear to the King of Denmark.
3. Why did Halvor initially refuse to provide accommodation?
He explained that trolls came to his house every Christmas Eve, forcing his family to leave their home.
4. What did the trolls discover beneath the stove?
They discovered the great white bear resting beneath the stove, although one of the trolls mistook it for a cat.
5. How did the white bear drive the trolls away?
It rose, growled and chased the entire company of trolls out of the house.
6. What did Halvor tell the troll when it asked about the big cat the following year?
He said that the animal was at home and had produced seven kittens, each bigger and fiercer than their mother.
Source
This retelling is based on “The Cat on the Dovrefell,” collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe and translated by Sir George Webbe Dasent in Popular Tales from the Norse (1859), Chapter XII. The original text is available in Project Gutenberg, eBook 8933.
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