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The Moomins and the Great Flood,
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el enupi
Moomins are the answer.
Mylinda
They are small trolls. Their original Swedish name was Småtrollen, which was later called Moomins or Moomintrolls in translated copies.
Lilia
The Moomins are fictional characters which look is close to hippopotamus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin
Sarah
They are supposed to be trolls.
Arnstein
Jansson made up the word Swedish 'mumintroll' (literal translation: moomin trolls) as a descriptive. 'Mumin' is a neologism that didn't have any meaning beforehand, but which sounded soft to the author. So a Moomin is a soft troll - and when one looks at the shape of the characters, that is precisely what they come across as.
It is also important to note that since they are trolls they are beings of both magic and nature. Most associate the word 'troll' with ugly giants, but in Scandinavian folklore they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are nice and others not. The Moomins are the mostly nice sort - mostly, no one is perfect. According to folklore the main difference between a troll and a human is that the troll lives in harmony with nature, hiding in its crags, trees or soil, whereas humans have dedicated themselves to the doctrines of a deity, i.e. Christ. This is not to say that Jansson intended to make any kind of religious statement with their books, I am here referring to the folklore as it has been for centuries. But it is useful background information when trying to figure out what a Moomin is, or at least for me as I try to explain my interpretation of them: A Moomin is a being of nature, of harmony and kindness, and who by their nature rejects the very human modernity that likewise rejects their way of life. That is what it means to be a 'soft troll.'
It is also important to note that since they are trolls they are beings of both magic and nature. Most associate the word 'troll' with ugly giants, but in Scandinavian folklore they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are nice and others not. The Moomins are the mostly nice sort - mostly, no one is perfect. According to folklore the main difference between a troll and a human is that the troll lives in harmony with nature, hiding in its crags, trees or soil, whereas humans have dedicated themselves to the doctrines of a deity, i.e. Christ. This is not to say that Jansson intended to make any kind of religious statement with their books, I am here referring to the folklore as it has been for centuries. But it is useful background information when trying to figure out what a Moomin is, or at least for me as I try to explain my interpretation of them: A Moomin is a being of nature, of harmony and kindness, and who by their nature rejects the very human modernity that likewise rejects their way of life. That is what it means to be a 'soft troll.'
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