Norwegian fairy tale from
Asbjørnsen and Moe's collections. The original
("Hanen og høna i nøtteskogen") was found on
Project Runeberg and is in the public domain. It has been translated by
me for
E2.
Note the similarity with the Grimm brothers' The Death of the Hen, which has a slightly different twist...
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The cock and the hen was walking in the nut forest to pick nuts.
Then the hen choked on a nut shell and lay there, flapping her wings. The
cock ran to get her water; he went to the well and said: "My dear well, give me
water; I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
The well answered: "I won't give you water before you give me leaves."
So the cock ran to the linden: "My dear linden, give me leaves; I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you leaves before you give me red bands of gold," answered the linden.
So the cock ran to virgin Mary: "My dear virgin Mary, give me red bands of gold; I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you red bands of gold before you give me shoes," answered virgin Mary.
So the cock ran to the cobbler: "My dear cobbler, give me shoes; I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you shoes before you give me brush," answered the cobbler.
So the cock ran to the sow: "My dear sow, give me brush; I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you brush before you give me grain," answered the sow.
So the cock ran to the thrasher: "My dear thrasher, give me grain; I give grain to the sow, the sow gives me brush, I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you grain before you give me lefse," answered the thrasher.
So the cock ran to the baker: "My dear baker, give me lefse; I give lefse to the thrasher, the thrasher gives me grain, I give grain to the sow, the sow gives me brush, I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you lefse before you give me firewood," answered the baker.
So the cock ran to the wood chopper: "My dear wood chopper, give me firewood; I give firewood to the baker, the baker gives me lefse, I give lefse to the thrasher, the thrasher gives me grain, I give grain to the sow, the sow gives me brush, I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you firewood before you give me an axe," said the wood chopper.
So the cock ran to the smith: "My dear smith, give me axe; I give axe to the wood chopper, the wood chopper gives me firewood, I give firewood to the baker, the baker gives me lefse, I give lefse to the thrasher, the thrasher gives me grain, I give grain to the sow, the sow gives me brush, I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
"I won't give you axe before you give me coal," said the smith.
So the cock ran to the coal maker: "My dear coal maker, give me coal; I give coal to the smith, the smith gives me axe, I give axe to the wood chopper, the wood chopper gives me firewood, I give firewood to the baker, the baker gives me lefse, I give lefse to the thrasher, the thrasher gives me grain, I give grain to the sow, the sow gives me brush, I give brush to the cobbler, the cobbler gives me shoes, I give shoes to virgin Mary, virgin Mary gives me red bands of gold, I give red bands of gold to the linden, the linden gives me leaves, I give leaves to the well, the well gives me water, I give water to my hen, who lies dying in the nut forest."
And the coal maker took pity on the cock and gave him coal. Then the smith got coal, the wood chopper got axe, the baker got firewood, the thrasher got lefse, the sow got grain, the cobbler got brush, virgin Mary got shoes, the linden got bands of gold, the well got leaves and the cock got water, and he gave it to his hen, who lay dying in the nut forest; and then she got well.
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More fairy tales here!