Erotic Folktales from Norway

Book excerpt: Once upon a time, in the 19th century, certain men began to travel the highways and byways of rural Norway, collecting the tales, legends, and fables that the local population had to tell them. Many of these tales were published almost at once, such as "The Three Billy-goats Gruff," and "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." Certain others tales, however, because of their plain treatment of the sexual side of human experience, were repressed. The manuscripts languished in the archives of the university for nearly a hundred years, before being brought into the light, and published in Norway. Here are tales of witches, trolls, giants, soothsayers, and princesses; as well as tales of sinners, sextons, parsons, beetles, fleas, and mice. Even Adam and Eve make an appearance. Some of them are hilarious, others astonishing, with the odd cringe-worthy tale thrown in for good measure. All of the tales reveal the society that brought them forth-from a certain perspective. This is the first time the collection has been translated into English.