Heidi Herman's Blog, page 5

Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 9

They ran as fast as their little troll legs would carry them, arriving at the Monster Worm’s cave just before dawn.  Since they were half-ogre, the sun would not turn them to rock, but it was better not to be seen.  They crawled, then slunk, then tip-toed through the caves to find Spoon Licker.  They found him quickly and carried him out of the cave before the Monster Worm found them.
“Stufur,” Door slammer said, “go back and tell the others Gryla’s on a rampage looking for all of us.  Get them to meet at the place in Norway.”
“Alright, you take care of Spoon Licker and ask Skyr Gobbler to talk to the Hidden and see if they can find Door Sniffer.” Stufur replied.
So, Spoon Licker and Door Slammer headed for Norway, to their favorite troll R&R spot, while Skyr Gobbler went to find Door Sniffer’s trail, and Stufur headed back to the Yule Lad cave to collect his remaining eight brothers and flee the country.
Spoon Licker and Door Slammer caught two puffin and convinced them to fly to Tromsø, where human had wonderful spas built.  The area nearby was perfect for troll relaxing too.  There was a long history of Viking and Sámi settlements in the area and the Yule Lads had been there many times. 
Meanwhile, Stufur burst into the Yule Lad cave, desperate to warn his brothers about Gryla’s anger towards them. 
The cave was in shambles.  He stood in shock, looking around the terrible mess.   Was he too late?

Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 8

“Oh, troll up, brothers!” Door Slammer shouted his encouragement at his brothers.  “You are half-orgre trolls that have feared throughout Iceland for centuries.  You can do this!”
“Yeah,” Stufur chimed in, “Let’s give ‘em some TROLL TROUBLE!”
And so they did.  Sneaking and slinking, with a little hopping and one big leap, they worked their way toward the Monster Worm’s cavern.  They came to the Pass, home of Gryla, a hideous, evil, mean old crone.  She was ancient and had terrified Iceland for generations.  The Yule Lads knew her as Mother.   If they made it though there, the other end was home to an old trollwife who was still angry her sister had been driven crazy by church bells and died years before falling off a cliff. 
But first, Gryla.  Part troll and ogre, she was also a powerful Seið witch.  She used to be able to change her appearance whenever she wanted, but the Lads had stolen her magic spindle.  But that is another story for another time. 
They entered the pass running as fast as their troll legs would take them.  They heard a screech and a furious yowl.  It was mom, all right.  Rocks pelted them and the earth shook in a sudden quake.  Skyr Gobbler ducked as Door Slammer threw a spell over his head.
It landed with a thunderous roar then they heard a crash and the sound of water. 
“Whee!” Skyr Gobbler crowed, “I think you brought part of the glacier down on her!” 
“Yes!  She'll be trapped for a while.  Run while we still can - on to save Spoon Licker!’

Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 7

“It was NOT my fault!” Stufur cried.  “Door Sniffer said he smelled something wonderful… that huge nose of his was actually QUIVERING!”  Stufur shook his head, “He said it was sweetbread and cookies!  From the smell of it, a very large amount!  Tons! Heaps!  Masses!  A Plethora!” 

“What is a plethora?” asked Sausage Swiper, wrinkling his nose.
Stufur shrugged, “I don’t know, but it sounded like it might taste good”.
“How did that get Spoon Licker in trouble?” Door Slammer said, eyeing open the door to their treasure room, itching to slam it shut.
“Wha’ddya mean, ‘Not your fault?’” asked Sky Gobbler at the same time.
“Fine!” Stufur said, embarrassed, “I threw a spell-stone at Monster Worm without checking what it was.  It kind of blew up in the cave, and well, it might, um, maybe it melted part of the glacier and caused that flood.” 
The three trolls listening to the story stared at him in shock.
“So, the Loftur is holding Spoon Licker in one of the caves.  Only the Hidden Folk can get us in there and save Spoon Licker without running into ole’ Loftur the Monster Worm.” He explained quickly
“Quick then, let’s make a run for it before that drone comes back, to save time, we’ll go through the pass,” Door Slammer said firmly.
Skyr Gobbler’s eyes grew wide as saucers, “The PASS ??”
“Uh, uh, no way!  I love my brother but you’re talking crazy!” shouted Sausage Swiper.
“We have to use the pass, and you all know what we have to do to make it though!” hissed Door Slammer

Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 6

Whew! That was a close one! The human’s drone had unexpected flown over and very nearly got a full photo of all of them together! There was no troll magic that could un-do that evidence. They should learn from the pictures of the Monster Worm.

Because of those, Loftur could only come out at night or on very foggy days. But it served him right, keeping Spoon Licker like that!...
Skyr Gobbler shuddered as he thought about a life where he couldn’t run from place to place – it didn’t sound like any fun at all! Sky Gobbler looked across the cave they had ducked into to escape the drone’s camera. Door Slammer and Stufur leaned against the wall watching Pot Scraper as he cocked his head, listening for the drone to leave. 
 
“I need to talked to Sina,” Stufur announced as he started to pace around the small enclosure.
“Sina?!” Skyr Gobbler raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Why do you need to consult with the Hidden Folk?” demanded Door Slammer
“Well, um, ugh,” Stufur sighed heavily, “we must help Spoon Licker, we need to save him”
Door Slammer narrowed his eyes. “What did you two do?”
Stufur stopped pacing and spun to face Door Slammer, puffing up his chest preparing his defense. “It was Door Sniffer….we followed him and..and…I barely got out! Door Sniffer went East – I think he’s in Finland. But Spoon Licker is trapped! We must save him!”

The Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 5

Stufur arrived at the Yule Lad cave, gasping for breath from his run. 
Door Slammer saw his Stufur’s wild eyes and ran after him, knowing instantly this was an adventure he surely didn’t want to miss!   He stopped short and stared as Skyr Gobbler and Sausage Swiper headed toward him, returning to their home cave after their most recent escapade. 

Door Slammer did a double-take before he remembered they were in disguise!  They looked so silly trying to imitate how humans looked, but they had to in order to blend in at the Taste of Iceland Celebration in the United States.  Giddy, giggly and still stuffed from their trip to Seattle, they were all about joining in on another adventure.  They switched paths and caught up with Door Slammer.  “What is wrong with Stufur” they shouted as they rushed up.  “He looked like the Trollwife Gilitrutt was after him again!”  “Nay,” replied Door Slammer, “I think he may have riled up the Monster Worm again and had a hand in that flood from the glacier.”

A dark shadow suddenly appear from overhead.  It rushed over the ground, eating up the sunshine and quickly overtaking the trio.  Skyr Gobbler looked up and shouted, “Oh No!  The Monster Worm and Gilitrutt together would have been better than this!”  Stubby stared and his eyes grew big as saucers…..”Uh oh……RUN !!!”

Icelandic Folk Tales Book is Available!

My new book is now available on Amazon - this is a collection of twenty-seven traditional Icelandic Folk Tales, updated to appeal to today's readers.  I had such a great time assembling and rewriting these old stories and am so thrilled to make them available!  I cannot even name my favorite, I have enjoyed all of them in different ways but it would be fun to hear from readers to see if you have a favorite!

It was nice to be able to write about the Yule Lads mother, Gryla, after spending so much time with the Yule Lads and their escapades.  I also loved expanding the stories of the Guardians of Iceland, and the Hidden Folk.  They are such an ingrained part of the culture so I absolutely wanted to share those. 

One of the unknown ones, Drangey Consecrated, is such a fantastic tale of tolerance and acceptance I completely fell in love with the message.

The book is Available from Amazon Now.  Pick up a copy - share it with all the young readers in your family and enjoy the wonderful tales for yourself too!
Please tell me which is your favorite story!


The Guardians of Iceland                                                                    
Huldufólk – The Hidden Folk                                                         
The Changeling                                                                                          
Now I Should Laugh                                                                                  
The Field Hand                                                                                          
Gissur of Botnar                                                                                         
Grýla and Jólakötturinn, The Christmas Cat                           
Of Marbendill                                                                                                       
The Hired Hand and the Lake Dwellers                                
Drangey Consecrated                                                                                 
Bjarni Sveinsson & His Sister Salvor                                                 
The Sealskin                                                                                               
Hallgerður of Blafell                                                                                    
The Serpent of Lagarfljot                                                                 
The Story of Prince Hlini                                                                 
Deep Channels                                                                                                     
The Making of Drangey                                                                             
Trolls of the West Fjords                                                                 
The Ghost and the Cashbox                                                                       
Three Trolls of Vik                                                                                     
Grimsey Man and the Polar Bear                                                     
The Stone Boat                                                                                           
Tale of a Raven                                                                                          
Helga, An Icelandic Fairy Tale                                                         
Asmund & Signey                                                                                    
Gilitrutt                                                                                                               Habogi 



 Illustration from "Of Marbendill"                  

The Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 4

Stufur scrambled to back up, hearing Door Sniffer behind him.  They had fallen into the caves around Lake Lagarfljot.  There was no doubt the Monster Worm was fast approaching.  This was no ordinary little worm, this was a wingless dragon, a direct descendent of one of the Guardians of Iceland, and he was very powerful.  He was a fierce protector of good and the Yule Lads, being trolls, were not going to be welcomed!  Worse yet, they were half-troll, half-ogre, and the Monster Worm did not want them in his homecave.
Stufur crawled to Door Sniffer’s side.  To his great relief, Door Sniffer held tight to the Galdur Pokan, the Yule Lad bag of magic. Each had runes carved to identify the magic, but otherwise, they all looked a bit like rocks.
“Use it brother,” he hissed, trying to be a quiet as possible.
Door Sniffer was fumbling with the bag, but it was dark.  “Wait!  I don’t know what this is…” he whispered urgently to Stufur, who tried to grab the spell from his hand.
It was too late.  The Monster Worm was in the cave and his massive foot-talon has grabbed ahold of Spoon Licker’s ankle just as he tried to scuttle away!  The cave lit up with the red ember breath that escaped from the Monster Worm’s snout.  Stufur, terrified, threw the spell and the cave exploded in a shower of sparks and a rainbow of colors.
“Oh, no, not THAT one!” Door Sniffer cried and with a flying leap, jumped out of the opening they had fallen from and disappeared.
 

The Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 3

They ran through the night, with the green and purple ribbons of color from the northern lights racing above them.  The night had a strange glow but the Lads were used to it and didn’t even notice.  Door Sniffer stopped now and then, popping into a guesthouse or sneaking through the deserted kitchen of a local hotel.  He sniffed carefully at each table.  Nope, not the wonderful prize he was sniffing for.  But, at each stop, they swiped snacks from tables and shelves, knocking over cookie jars and canisters, spilling dishes and generally leaving a terrible mess behind.
Running and giggling, they stuffed their faces with goodies as they ran, not paying attention to their direction until a sudden rumbling shook the earth under their feet.  A huge crack opened up and the three went tumbling down.
“Get your foot off my face you oaf!” Stufur cried.
“You get your elbow out of my ear!” Spoon Licker yelled back.
Their shrill troll shrieks echoed, the sound bouncing off of the cave walls, making the ruckus they raised sound like ten times the trolls they were.
They all went silent when they heard they sound no one ever wanted to hear.  They knew exactly where they were and it wasn’t good.  The one sound that could make a troll’s scaly skin hairs stand on end - a rattle, followed by a slithering sound and a terrifying hisssss…..

The Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 2

 
In the troll cave, four Yule Lads grabbed at stuff that went skidding and flying around from the earthquake.  Suddenly, one troll with an abnormally large nose stopped and stared at the ceiling, his eyes glazed over and head cocked as if listening to a far-away melody of beautiful music.
It was Door Sniffer.  He turned his head this way and that, his huge nose quivering as he inhaled deeply.   Mmmmm – sweetbread and cookies!  His eyes grew wide.  From the smell of it, a very large amount!  Tons! Heaps!  Masses!  A Plethora!  He smacked his troll-lips and drooled in anticipation. 
His troll brothers knew that look on his face.  Pot Licker, Stufer and Spoon Licker were sure to follow where-ever that talented nose would lead.  
As everyone knew, the best treats were homemade and the process created great piles of dirty bowls, pots and pans, and spoons galore!  They had to reach them before some industrious person washed them!  The great gooey globs and sticky stuff scrubbed clean from spoons and washed down the drain!  Pot Licker, Spoon Licker and Stufer looked at each other in horror – they must find this wonderful kitchen!
“Uh, oh,” Door Sniffer said, “I smell something else.  Quick, grab the Galdur Pokan!”

The Yule Lads: Mayhem at the North Pole Part 1

 “I got troll trouble!”  Gully Gawk smirked as he heard the farmer’s loud grumble.  The man must have found the tipped-over and emptied milk buckets.  Even the ones Gully Gawk left upright were drained dry to the last drop.  He snickered as he jumped from hummock to lava rock, to where his brother Sheep Cote Clod hid.Sheep Cote Clod loved fresh sheep’s milk but his troll brother Gully Gawk preferred cow’s milk.  They loved to play tricks on the farmers whose herds they chased.  Coming down from the mountains they would slink across the fields and around the edge of the barn to drink all the milk.  They were quick and sly, and never caught.  It was even more fun to chase the heard and get a fresh mugful during the day while the herds were in the pasture.This day was just one of those.  As Gully Gawk started to jump over the last rock, the earth shook and rumbled.  The ground roll under them and Sheep Cote Clod fell backwards off his rock while Gully Gawk slipped and went face-first into the moss.  “GGGGRRRRR” they troll-growled in unison.  That troublesome Katla volcano shook the earth and now she threatened to blow!