Swedish Folktales: Blekinge

The Maiden in Swanform

In Mellby socken, there was a young son of a farmer who liked to hunt for sport, and one day he saw three swans fly in and land near the shore.

He came nearer and with surprise saw three maidens of blinding beauty, there on the grass, taking off their swan-guises and diving into the water. After they had merrily swam about for a while, they stepped back onto land and took upon themselves their swan-shapes, and having finished, flew away in the same direction they had come.

The hunter, however, had become enamoured in one of them, the youngest and fairest, so that neither day nor night could he tear his thoughts from the vision of her beauty.

His mother noticed that something was wrong with him, and that hunting, which had once been his favorite pastime, no longer had the power to make him happy. Finally, she asked why he was so gloomy. He told her of the marvelous vision he had seen, and that he would never again feel happiness if he could not have that beautiful maiden.

“Well, nothing could be easier!” his mother said. “At sundown next Thursday night, go to the place where you last saw her. When the three swans come, pay close attention to which of the swan-shapes belongs to your intended. Take it, and quickly hurry away from the shore.”

The young man did as his mother instructed. He went out to his hiding place and waited impatiently for the swans to arrive. Finally, the sun went down behind the trees. Then he heard the rush of wings in the air, and the three swans alighted on the shore.

As soon as they had taken off their swan-guises, they were transformed into the most beautiful maidens, and they ran over the white sand until the waves washed over them.

From his hiding place, the hunter took note where the woman of his desire had laid her swan shape and slowly crept up, took it, and hid himself in the woods.

Not long after, he heard how two of the swans flew away, but the third walked up to him. She fell on her knees and begged for her swan-shape back. Unmoved, the hunter threw his coat around her shoulders and carried her home to his farm.

A magnificent wedding was soon in the works, and the young couple actually seemed to get along well together.

On a Thursday evening, seven years later, the hunter recounted to his wife the story of how he had won her as his bride, and he showed her the white swan-guise. But she had hardly taken it in hand before she transformed into a swan and vanished out the open window.

The man stared in astonishment through the window after the woman who had fled, and before the year was over, he lay together with his sorrow and his longing in the grave.

The Knight of Elleholm

Many, many years ago, there was a knight who lived in Elleholm Castle.

One Christmas morning, he was on his way to the church in Mörrum. The way was long and he wished to arrive early, so he rode from home with his squire just after midnight. After they had traveled for a while he felt sleepy, so he told his servant to ride on ahead while he himself climbed off his horse and sat down to rest by a huge boulder, where he fell asleep.

When he had slept for a while, there came to him a very tall woman who invited him to follow her into the stone. She guided the knight through the boulder and up to her husband, the giant, and then she set the table with all manner of sumptuous dishes. But the knight, who knew what sort of creatures he was in the company of, declined to taste even the tiniest bit of food the giantess served.

Enraged over his refusal, she took up a knife and said to the knight, “Do you recognize this knife? It’s the same one you stabbed me in the thigh with, that one time when I was out after hay for my calves!” She turned to the giant and asked, “What do you think we should do to him?”

“Let him be!” he said. “We wouldn't be able to do anything to him anyway, for he calls upon the name of the great Lord too much!”

“Well,” said the giantess, “but so that you’ll remember me…”

She quickly reached out and broke a pinky finger off the knight’s hand. Then he found himself out in the open, and his squire, who had returned to look for his master, found him on the same spot he had left him – but without one of his little fingers: a warning for everyone to not sleep on the way to their Christmas morning service.