Why the Sea Is Salt
Encyclopedia
Why the Sea Is Salt is a Norwegian fairy tale
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
and Jørgen Moe
in their Norske Folkeeventyr
. Andrew Lang
included it in The Blue Fairy Book (1889).
It is a late derivation of the Old Norse poem Grottasöngr
, found in Snorri Sturluson
's Skáldskaparmál
.
Georgios A. Megas collected a Greek variant The Mill in Folktales of Greece.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the Magic Mill. Other tales of this type include The Water Mother
and Sweet porridge
.
In the Norse variants, he meets an old man along the way. In some variants, the man begs from him, and he gives something; in all, the old man tells him that in Hell (or the hall), they will want to buy the food from him, but he must only sell it for the hand-mill behind the door, and come to him for directions to use it. It took a great deal of haggling, but the poor man succeeded, and the old man showed him how to use it.
In the Greek, he merely brought the lamb and told the devils that he would take whatever they would give him, and they gave him the mill.
He took it to his wife, and had it grind out everything they needed for Christmas, from lights to tablecloth to meat and ale. They ate well and on the third day, they had a great feast. His brother was astounded and when the poor man had drunk too much, or when the poor man's children innocently betrayed the secret, he showed his rich brother the hand-mill.
His brother finally persuaded him to sell it. In the Norse version, the poor brother didn't teach him how to handle it. He set to grind out herrings and broth, but it soon flooded his house. His brother wouldn't take it back until he paid him as much as he paid to have it. In the Greek, the brother set out to Constantinople by ship.
In the Norse, one day a skipper wanted to buy the hand-mill from him, and eventually persuaded him.
In all versions, the new owner took it to sea and set it to grind out salt. It ground out salt until it sank the boat, and then went on grinding in the sea, turning the sea salt.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Moe
right|thumb|Norske Folkeeventyr Asbjørnsen and Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe was a Norwegian bishop and author...
in their Norske Folkeeventyr
Norske Folkeeventyr
Norwegian Folktales 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:...
. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Blue Fairy Book (1889).
It is a late derivation of the Old Norse poem Grottasöngr
Grottasöngr
Grottasöngr or the Song of Grótti is an Old Norse poem, sometimes counted among the poems of the Poetic Edda as it appears in manuscripts that are later than the Codex Regius...
, found in Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
's Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál
The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...
.
Georgios A. Megas collected a Greek variant The Mill in Folktales of Greece.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the Magic Mill. Other tales of this type include The Water Mother
The Water Mother
The Water Mother is a Chinese fairy tale collected by Wolfram Eberhard in Folktales of China. It does not exist in early text, although the cult of the Water Mother existed from the time of the Sung dynasty.It is Aarne-Thompson type 565...
and Sweet porridge
Sweet Porridge
Sweet Porridge, often known in English under the title of The Magic Porridge Pot, is a folkloric German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm, as tale number 103 in Grimm's Fairy Tales, in the 19th century. It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the magic mill...
.
Synopsis
A poor man begged from his brother on Christmas Eve. The brother promised him, depending on the variant, ham or bacon or a lamb if he would do something. The poor brother promised; the rich one handed over the food and told him to go to Hell (in Lang's version, the Dead Men's Hall; in the Greek, the Devil's dam). Since he promised, he set out.In the Norse variants, he meets an old man along the way. In some variants, the man begs from him, and he gives something; in all, the old man tells him that in Hell (or the hall), they will want to buy the food from him, but he must only sell it for the hand-mill behind the door, and come to him for directions to use it. It took a great deal of haggling, but the poor man succeeded, and the old man showed him how to use it.
In the Greek, he merely brought the lamb and told the devils that he would take whatever they would give him, and they gave him the mill.
He took it to his wife, and had it grind out everything they needed for Christmas, from lights to tablecloth to meat and ale. They ate well and on the third day, they had a great feast. His brother was astounded and when the poor man had drunk too much, or when the poor man's children innocently betrayed the secret, he showed his rich brother the hand-mill.
His brother finally persuaded him to sell it. In the Norse version, the poor brother didn't teach him how to handle it. He set to grind out herrings and broth, but it soon flooded his house. His brother wouldn't take it back until he paid him as much as he paid to have it. In the Greek, the brother set out to Constantinople by ship.
In the Norse, one day a skipper wanted to buy the hand-mill from him, and eventually persuaded him.
In all versions, the new owner took it to sea and set it to grind out salt. It ground out salt until it sank the boat, and then went on grinding in the sea, turning the sea salt.
External links
- Why the Sea Is Salt, version by Gudrun Thorne-Thomsen