The Cat on the Dovrefjell (also known as The Cat on the Dovre-Mountain and The Trolls and the Pussycat) is a Norwegian

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

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collection ...

and

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the ''Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Peter ...

in ''

Norske Folkeeventyr ''Norwegian Folktales'' ( no, Norske folkeeventyr) is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as ''Asbjørnsen and Moe'', after the collectors. Asbjørnsen and Moe Asbjø ...

''. It is Aarne–Thompson type 1161, The Bear Trainer and His Cat.D. L. Ashliman
"The Bear Trainer and His Cat: folktales of Aarne-Thompson type 1161"
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Synopsis

A man was bringing a white bear to give to the king of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and he came to the mountain Dovre on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

and asked a man called Halvor for shelter for the night. Halvor told him that

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 came to every Christmas Eve and made such havoc that the household had to flee them. The man said he would stay with his bear anyway. The trolls came, eating the feast the people had left behind, and one began to bait the bear, calling it "Kitty". It rose and drove them all out of the house. The next year, a troll asked Halvor if he still had that cat. Halvor assured him that he did, and she had had seven kittens, bigger and fiercer than herself. The trolls never again came to his cottage for Christmas Eve.

Retellings

Jan Brett Jan Brett (born December 1, 1949) is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. Her colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures range from Scandinavia to Africa. Her titles include ''The Mitte ...

retold this story as ''Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve'', featuring a boy as the bear's owner and a girl as the one who welcomed him.

Kaja Foglio Kaja Foglio (born January 12, 1970) is a Seattle-based writer, artist, and publisher. Foglio co-won the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2009 for ''Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones'', a series which went ...

retold the story in comic form, where the bear's owner was a girl and the house owner was the girl's uncle.

References

External links

Comic adaptation by Kaja Foglio, at GirlGeniusOnline.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cat on the Dovrefjell Norwegian fairy tales Scandinavian folklore Animal tales ATU 1000-1199 Asbjørnsen and Moe

Synopsis

Retellings

See also

References

External links