There was once a couple who had a son, and his name was Halvor. From the time he was a small boy he would never do anything, but just sat raking in the ashes. His parents sent him away to learn many different trades, but Halvor would not stick to anything, for when he had been away a few days, he run away from the trade, came home and sat down in the hearth and poked in the ashes as before.

Now it happened one day that a skipper came and asked Halvor if he would like to come with him and go to sea, and see foreign parts. Yes, Halvor would like that, and it took him but a short time goes get ready. How long they sailed, I haven't heard, but after a while a terrible storm struck the ship, and when it had abated and the sea was calm again, they didn't know where they were, they had been driven up along a coast unknown to them all.

As it was still that not even a feather was stirring. Halvor asked the Skipper if he might go ashore and look around, for he would rather walk than lie and sleep. "Do you think you can show yourself to people?" said the Skipper. "Why, you have no other clothes than the rags on your back," But Halvor insisted, and at last he was allowed to go; but he was to come back as soon as the wind came up. So Halvor went ashore, and it was a lovely land; everywhere he went there were great plains, with fields and meadows, but not a living soul did he see. Then the wind started blowing, but Halvor thought he had not seen enough yet, and he wanted to walk a little longer to see if he could fine some people. After a while, he came to a wide road, which was so level that one could have rolled an egg on it. On this road Halvor trudged along, and towards evening he saw a great castle in the distance, its windows ablaze with light. He had been walking the whole day, and he had not had much to eat, he was now quite hungry. But the closer he came to the castle, the more frightened he became. Inside the castle a fire was burning on the hearth, and Halvor went into the kitchen, which was finer than any kitchen he had ever seen before. The dishes there were of both gold and silver, but he did not see a living soul anywhere. After he had stood a while, and no one came, he went over and opened the door, and there sat a princess spinning. "Oh dear me!" she cried. "What Christian soul dares come in here?" You have better go again lest the Troll eat you up; for a Troll with three heads lives here!" "I don't mind if he has four more, I'd like to see that fellow," said the boy. And I won't leave, because I have done no wrong. But you must give me something to eat, because I am frightfully hungry". When Halvor had eaten his fill, the princess told him to try to swing the big sword that hung on the wall. But no, he couldn't swing it; he couldn't even lift it once. "Well," said the princess "then you must take a swallow from that bottle hanging beside it, for that is what the Trolls does when he is going out to use the sword." Halvor took a swallow, and right away he could swing the sword, as though it were nothing. Now, he thought, it didn't matter when the Troll appeared. All at once the Troll came bursting in; Halvor was behind the door. "Ugh! Ugh! I smell the smell of Christian blood! Said the Troll, and stuck his head inside the door. "Yes, and you'll soon know why," said Halvor and chopped off all the heads. The princess was so happy, now that she had been saved, that she danced and sang, nut then she came to think of her sisters, and so she said; "Oh, if only my sisters were saved too!" "Where are they?" asked Halvor. Well, she told him; One of them had been taken away by a Troll to a castle six leagues away, and the other was held by a Troll in a castle nine leagues beyond that one. "But first you must help me get rid of this body," she said. Well, Halvor was so strong; he had the place straightened up and clean in no time. Then he ate, and slept pleasantly and well, and the next morning he started off at dawn, but he knew no peace, and he run and walked the whole day. When he caught sight of a castle, he became a little frightened again, for it was much finer than the first. But there was not a person to be seen here either; so Halvor went right into the kitchen and he didn't stop there but went straight on. "Does any Christian dare come here?" cried the princess. "I don't know how long I have been here, but in all that time I have never seen a Christian soul. You must leave at once, for a Troll with six heads lives here!"

"I wouldn't go, said Halvor, "even if he had six more!" "He will take and gobble you alive," said the princess But that didn't matter. Halvor would not leave, for he was not afraid of the Troll. But he said he would like some food and drink, for he was hungry after the journey. So he got as much as he wanted, but once again the princess begged him to leave. "No" said Halvor. "I'm not going for I have done no wrong, and haven't anything to be afraid of." "He won't ask about that," said the princess, "for he will seize you without law or right. But since you won't go, try to swing the sword which the Troll uses to fight with." He could not swing the sword, but then the princess told him to take a drink from the bottle, which hung, beside it, and when he had done that he could swing it.

All at once the Troll came, and he was so huge and burly that he had to go sideways to get in through the door. When he had got his first head in, he shouted, "Ugh! Ugh! I smell the smell of Christian blood!" But right away Halvor chopped off the first head, and then all the others. The princess was so happy that she didn't know which leg to stand on, but then she remembered her sister, and said that she wished they could be saved too. Halvor thought it could he managed somehow, and he wanted to be on his way at once. But first he had to help the princess remove the body of the Troll, and the next morning he set out on the way. It was far to the castle, and he walked and ran to get there in time, but late in the evening he saw it in the distance, and it was even finer that the other two. This time he was not a bit frightened, but went through the kitchen and right in. There sat a princess who was lovelier than any he had even seen before. Like her sisters, she told him that there had not been a Christian soul in the place as long as she had been there, and she warned him to leave at once if he wanted to save his life. The Troll would eat him alive - he had nine heads, she said. "Even if he had nine more, in addition to those nine, and still nine more, I'm not going," said Halvor. The princess bade him so pitiably to go, but Halvor insisted on staying and said: Let him come whenever he wants to!" Then she gave him theTrolls sword, and told him to take a drink from the bottle so he could swing it. Just then the Troll came rushing in with a great din, and he was even bigger and bulkier than the other two, and he also had to crawl sideways to come through the door. "Ugh! Ugh! Here I smell the blood of a Christian man!" roared the Troll. At the same moment, Halvor cut off the first head, and then all the others; but the last one was the toughest of them all, and it was the hardest job Halvor had ever had getting that off, even though he felt strong enough.

Now all the princesses came together at the castle, and they were happier than they had ever been in all their lives; and they were fond of Halvor, and he was fond of them, and he could have the one he liked best. But of all three, the youngest was fondest of him.

As the day went on, Halvor began to be moody and restless, so the princesses asked what he was brooding over, and if he did not like to be with them. Yes, that he liked, for they had enough to live on, and he was well off in every way. But he was longing for his home, for his parents were still alive and he wanted to see them again. The princesses told him it could easily be arranged. "You may go, and you can come back here again, and no harm shall come to you either way if only you do as we now tell you." Halvor promised to do as they told him, so they dressed him like the finest prince, and put a ring on his finger of such a kind that with it he could wish himself both there and back again.
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But they warned him not to lose it and not to mention their names, for then it would be the end all their happiness, and he would never see them again. "If only I were home and home were here," said Halvor, and, just as he wished, it came true; he was standing outside his parents' cottage before he knew it. It was at twilight and when his parents saw this elegant stranger entering, they were quite bewildered, and started to bow and curtsy. Halvor asked if he could spend the night there. "Oh, that would be impossible," they said. "We have nothing to offer a fine fellow like you. But go to the big farmhouse, it's not far; you can see the chimney stack from here. There they have everything." Halvor did not want to do that; he would rather stay with them. But they insisted he go up to the farm, for there he could get both food and drink, while they had not even a chair to offer him. "No" said Halvor. "I won't go up there before early tomorrow morning. Let me stay here tonight. Then I can sit by the hearth." The old people could not refuse him that, so Halvor sat by the hearth and started raking in the ashes, just as he had done when he lived at home. They talked about many things, and finally Halvor asked if they had ever had any children. Yes, they had a son, and his name was Halvor, but they didn't know what had become of him, or whether he was alive or dead. "Couldn't it be me, then?" asked Halvor. "Oh to be sure!" said the old woman getting up. "Halvor was so lazy, he would never do anything, and his clothes were always in rags and tatters, so he could never have become a fine fellow like you, Sir."

After a while the old woman went over to the hearth to stir up the fire and as the glow from the embers shone on Halvor's face, she recognized him. "Well, God bless us! Are you really Halvor?" she cried, and the old parents were quite wild with joy, so happy were they. He had to tell them everything that had happened to him, and his mother was so fond of him that she wanted to take him up to the big farm house at once to show him off to the girls who had always been so proud and haughty.

She led the way, and Halvor went after her. When she got there, she told them that Halvor had returned home, and now they would see for themselves how fine he was. He looks like a prince, she said. "Oh, a likely story!" said the girls, tossing their heads. "He can't be anything but the ragamuffin he always was." At that moment Halvor came in and the girls were so flustered when they saw him that they left their kirtles by the hearth where they had been sitting and ran out in just their petticoats. When they came back again, they were all so ashamed that they hardly dared look at Halvor, with whom they had always been so grand and haughty before. «Well, you always thought you were so fine and beautiful that there was no one like you, but you should see the eldest princess I have freed," said Halvor. « Beside her you look like a shepherd girls. And the next eldest princess is still more beautiful; but the youngest, who is my sweetheart, is more beautiful than the sun and the moon. If only they were here so you could see them for yourself!"

Hardly had he said this, before they stood there. But now Halvor felt so badly, as he remembered what he had promised the princesses. At the farm they had a feast, and a great fuss was made over the princesses. But they would not stay there: "We want to go down to your parents, and look around for a while," they said to Halvor. So he went along. On their way they came to a large lake, and close by was a lovely green slope where the princesses wanted to sit and rest a bit, and look out over the water. When they had been sitting there for a while, the youngest princess said, "Let me comb your hair for a while, Halvor." Well, Halvor laid his head in her lap, and she started combing, and it wasn't long before Halvor was asleep.

Then she took her ring of his finger and replaced it with another one, and then she said to her sisters," Take my hand, as I am taking yours, and let us wish together that we were in Soria Moria Castle." When Halvor woke up, he realized, at once that he had lost the princesses, and he began to wait and lament, and was so disheartened that he could not be consoled. And for all his parents pleaded with him, he would not Stay at home, but bade them farewell, saying that he might never see them again, for if he didn't find the princesses again, life would not be worth living. He had hundred dalers left, so he put them in his pocket and set out on the way. When he had walked some distance, he met a man with a good horse; he wanted to buy it, so he started bargaining with the man. "To tell the truth, I hadn't thought of selling it," said the man, "but if we can agree on a price-". Halvor asked what he wanted for it. "I didn't pay much for it, not is it worth much, either. It's a good horse to ride on, but it's not much of a draught horse. It will always carry you and your bag. if you walk a while and ride a while." At last they agreed on the price, and Halvor put his knapsack on the horse and went on his way, sometimes riding and sometimes walking. At dusk he came to a green meadows, and there stood a great tree under which he sat down. He let the horse loose to graze, and took his knapsack off the horse. At daybreak he continued on his way, for he could not rest, and was eager to find the princesses. So he walked and rode the whole day, through a deep forest where there were many grassy clearings, which shone very prettily through the trees. He did not know where he was nor where he was going, but he took no more time to rest than was needed for the horse to get a little to eat when they came to one of the green spots, and he himself took out his knapsack. He walked and he rode, and thought the forest would never come to an end.

Towards the second evening Halvor saw a light shining through the trees. "If only someone were up. I could warm myself and get something to eat, " he thought. When he came to the light, he saw it was a miserable little hut, and through the window he saw an old man and an old woman inside. Their hair looked like gray moss, and the woman's nose was so long that she sat by the hearth and used it to rake the coals with.

"Good evening" said Halvor. "Good evening," answered the old woman. "But what is your errand here? Christian folk haven't been here for over a hundred years." Well, Halvor said that he was on his way to Soria Moria Castle, and asked if she could show him the right way. "No," said the old woman, "but soon the Moon will come up and I will ask him. He should know, for he shines on everything." When the Moon rose bright and clear over the treetops, the old woman went outside. "Oh Moon! Oh Moon!" she shrieked. "Can you tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle?" "No, I cannot," said the Moon, "For the time I shone there, a cloud was in the way." "But just wait a while longer," said the old woman to Halvor. "Soon the West Wind will come by here, and he might know, for he puffs and blows in every direction."" "Well, well, have you a horse, too?" asked the old woman when she came in again. "Don't let him stand here by the door and starve. Let the poor creature loose in the field to fill his belly instead! But wouldn't you like to swap it?" she said. "We have a pair of old boots here, in which you can cover a distance of fifteen miles with every step you take. And you can have the boots in exchange for your horse. Then you will be at Soria Moria Castle so much the sooner." Halvor was quite willing to swap the horse for the boots, and the old woman was so glad to get the horse that she was ready to dance with joy. "For now I can ride to church, I too," she said. But Halvor was still very restless, and wanted to leave the place at once, but the old woman said there was no hurry. "Lie down on the bench and sleep a little, for we have no bed for you," she said. "I shall keep an eye out for the West Wind when he comes." All of a sudden the West Wind came roaring so that the walls shook and groaned. The old woman ran outside. "West Wind! West Wind" Can you tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle? There is someone here who is going there." "Yes, I know the way very well, " said the West Wind.  I'm just going to dry some clothes for the wedding, which is going to take place there. If he is quick on his feet, he may come along with me." Halvor rushed out. "You will have to hurry, if you want to keep up with me," said the West Wind, and he sat off over hill and dale, and mountain and valley; and it was all Halvor could do to keep up "Well, I have no time to be with you any longer," said the West Wind, "For first I have to blow down a strip of fir trees, before I come to the bleaching place and dry the clothes. But if you will keep to the path running along the edge of the hill, you will come to some girls who are washing clothes, and then you are not far from Sorie Moria Castle." After a while Halvor came to the girls who were washing and they asked if he had seen anything of the West Wind. He was to come to dry clothes for the wedding. "Yes, said Halvor, "he is only over knocking down a strip of fir trees. He will be here soon." Then he asked them the way to Soria Moria Castle. They showed him the road, and when he reached the castle, the courtyard was so full of people and horses that it was swarming. But Halvor's clothes were now so torn and tattered from following the West Wind though bushes and shrubs, that he kept out of sight until dinner time on the day of the wedding.

When, as was the custom, the guests were to drink to the bride, and the master of ceremonies drank with them all, his turn came to drink with Halvor. Halvor drank the toast, then dropped into the glass the ring the princess had placed on his finger when he lay by the water, and bade the master of ceremonies take the glass to the bride and greet her from him. Then the princess got up from the table at once.

"Who deserve best to get one of us," she said. "The one who has freed us, or the groom beside me?"

There was only one answer to that, they all felt, and when Halvor heard it, he wasn't long in stepping out of his rags and getting spruced up as a bridegroom. "Yes, there is the right man!" cried the princess when she caught sight of him. Then she threw out the other one, and was wedded to Halvor.

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