Farewell to the Troll

“Smoerbukk,” by Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857-1914)

(one take on an old obscure folksong from Valdres, Norway)

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, she shrieked both day and night.
My mother-in-law was nasty as a troll.
So I sought a way out of my plight.
“Farewell to the troll” — ja, that was my goal.

“Kjerringen Ved Peisin,” by Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857-1914)

I filled a big oat-lefse with gunpowder and dynamite,
Then waited for that hot-mouthed troll to go and take a bite!

“The Pancake Baker,” ca 1625, by Adriaen Brouwer (1605-1638)

Suddenly I heard a loud explosion!
My mother-in-law flew higher than a crow!
The cook and all the maids ran screaming from the summer kitchen,
For down the stovepipe fell a grizzled braid and then a toe!

“Tunet Pa Kvalbein,” 1904, by Kitty Lange Kielland (1843-1914)

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artwork: 17th and 19th century paintings. Public domain info here.

Loose translation by Joyce Holt. (I was cracking up laughing as I finished deciphering the lyrics!)

illustration detail from “The Russian Fairy Book,” 1916, by Frank C. Papé (1878-1972) — illustration listed in this source as in public domain —

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