I know what I have learned is a Danish

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

, collected by

Svend Grundtvig Svend Hersleb Grundtvig (9 September 1824, Copenhagen – 14 July 1883, Frederiksberg) was a Danish literary historian and ethnographer. He was one of the first systematic collectors of Danish traditional music, and he was especially interested ...

in ''Gamle Danske Minder i Folkemunde''.

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

included it in ''

The Pink Fairy Book ''The Langs' Fairy Books'' are a series of 25 collections of true and fictional stories for children published between 1889 and 1913 by Andrew Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. The best known books of the series are the 12 collections ...

''.

Synopsis

A man's three daughters were all married to

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

s. One day he visited the youngest. Her husband knocked pieces from his head, so they could make broth, and gave him a sack of gold. He remembered he had a cow about to calf and left the gold to get back quicker, but a thief stole the gold, and the man stubbornly said that he had learned something. He visited the second daughter, and instead of candles, her husband lit his fingers. He lost two bags of gold to a thief. He visited the oldest daughter, and her husband went fishing out in a dough trough. He asked his wife whether his eyes were green yet, and when they were, he jumped in and fished. The father lost three bags of gold this time. His wife was angry with him, but he tried to knock pieces from his head for broth and had to take his bed. Then he tried lighting his fingers for candles, and again had to take to bed.

Finally Finally may refer to: Albums * ''Finally'' (Namie Amuro album) (2017) * ''Finally'' (Blackstreet album) or its title song * ''Finally'' (Sean Ensign album) or its title song "It's My Life (Finally)" * ''Finally'' (Layzie Bone & A.K. album) ...

, he tried to fish, asking his wife whether his eyes were green; she claimed they were, he jumped in, and she rowed off and left him.

External links

''I know what I have learned''
Danish fairy tales