"Ole Lukøje" ( da, Ole Lukøje) is a literary
fairy tale by
Hans Christian Andersen based upon a folk tale telling of a mysterious mythic creature of the
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
who gently takes children to sleep and, depending on how good or bad they were, shows them various dreams.
Ole Lukøje's name is actually composed of two parts: ''Ole '' is a common
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
masculine name, and ''Lukøje'' a compound of the Danish words for 'close' and 'eye'. In the tale, he visits a boy called Hjalmar every night for a whole week and tells him stories. Ole Lukøje is later revealed to be a dream god, and in his final tale on Sunday he tells of his brother, likewise called Ole Lukøje but also
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, who closes the eyes of those he visits and takes them away with him.
Ole Lukøje on Death
See also
*
Wee Willie Winkie
"Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme whose titular figure has become popular as a personification of sleep. The poem was written by William Miller and titled "Willie Winkie", first published in '' Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fir ...
External links
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*
*
The entire folk tale in the old Danish original*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ole Lukoje
1841 short stories
Danish fairy tales
Fictional gods
Works by Hans Christian Andersen
Sandman