The Boy and the Horse

The Boy and the Horse

Originally by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe

Retold by Navin

Once upon a time, there was a poor old widow with only one son. This son was hard- working, but other than that, he was quite an unremarkable chap. Once the boy turned sixteen, the widow told him that he should go out into the world and earn his own living, as she could not support him any longer. The boy started off and was walking through the forest when he came upon a strange old man at the side of the road. The old man asked him, “Where are you headed, laddie?” The boy replied that he was going out into the world to try and find a place to stay. “Well,” said the old man, “You can come and serve me, and I shall give you a lodge.”

The boy, not having anything better to do, went along with the old man. He lived in a wooden house with a large main room, and 4 side rooms, which were never opened. The boy’s only task was to give the old man company, and they got along well enough. He was usually bored, having nothing to do except walking around the main room over and over. One day, the old man left on an 8 day trip, and forbade the boy to enter the 4 side rooms, on pain of his life. Though the boy tried his best, after three or four days, his curiosity made him open the first room. There was nothing in it but an old bramble sweep, and the boy left it. When the old man returned and discovered that the boy had visited the room, he told the boy that he would kill him. The poor boy cried and begged so much, however, that the old man relented and just thrashed him. Three more times, the old man went on trips, and each time, the boy opened a new door, receiving a beating when the old man came home. The second room held a rock and a pitcher of water, and the third held a boiling pot of some gold liquid, and some ointment that would heal any wound. The fourth room held a horse, which was tied up just out of reach of some hay. Near its tail was a mound of red hot coals, which constantly scorched it and made it quite uncomfortable. The boy took pity on the animal and cut its rope, allowing it to reach the hay.

The horse was pleased and gratified, and told him that the old man was actually a troll planning to eat the boy up. It gave him several instructions, which the boy followed in a hurry. He first put on a coat of mail which he found in the main room, and collected the pitcher of water, rock, and bramble sweep. After this, he bathed in the pot of liquid, and when he emerged, he was handsome, strong, and brave. He mounted the horse which galloped away at a fast pace, but at that moment, the old man troll came home. He saw the boy escaping and called his entire pack of trolls, and they gave pursuit. As the trolls gained on them, the horse instructed the boy to throw the sweep of bramble sticks behind. When the boy did this, a huge forest grew on the spot, but the trolls cut through it and continued the chase. When the boy threw the rock, a mountain was erected, but the trolls mined under it. Finally, in confusion, the boy threw the water pitcher, and a round lake formed around the trolls, who now stood on an island. As all of us know, trolls just loathe water, and they have been trapped on that island forever. To this day, they roam around their tiny island, hands jammed in pockets and all of them in a terrible temper.

The boy by now had reached a kingdom that the horse guided him to. It told him to put on a wig made of moss to hide his handsome face and to ask for work in the castle. When he  needed the horse, it said, he only had to call for it. The boy thanked the horse for its help and found work in the kingdom as the king’s gardener’s assistant.

He worked hard but was constantly mocked by the other workers for how ridiculous he looked because of his moss wig. One day, the boy was very exhausted from working in the hot sun, and he removed his wig. As fate would have it, the princess saw his handsome and strong form from her window and became his admirer.

Meanwhile, the king of this kingdom was going to go to war against the neighboring kingdom, where an evil man ruled. All the men trooped off to war every morning, but the boy whom we are following was only given a sickly burro to ride. To get to battle, the men rode over a swamp, but the boy’s burro lacked the energy to move through it and remained stuck in it. The boy looked quite ridiculous, wearing a wig of moss and shouting, “Gee up, gee up!” to a burro that was quite incapable of doing such a thing. The rest of the men, including the king, mocked him and laughed, then went on their way to war. While they were fighting, the enemy kingdom slowly gained the upper hand. Finally, a gleaming knight swept onto the field and pushed back the enemy kingdom’s forces. Before anyone could make inquiries, he vanished into the woods.

Now, this knight was actually only the boy, who had removed his wig and called for the horse who was his friend. When the army trooped back to the kingdom for the night, they found the boy still vainly urging his burro in the swamp, as he had rushed back there after the fight. The king realized that the boy had a large gash in his leg, so he gave him a handkerchief to tie around it.The next day, the men were once again losing the battle, having left the boy behind with his burro in the swamp. Soon, the knight appeared once again, saving the day. He slew the enemy king, and the war was won. When the king rode up to thank the knight for his aid, he noticed his own kerchief on the man’s leg. The king realized in a flash that the handsome knight who had saved the kingdom was the ugly gardener boy! The soldiers all apologized to the boy for their mean-spirited actions and led him home. When they arrived, the princess was introduced to him, and in time, they became king and queen of the land, and all were peaceful and happy.

Now, one may ask, “What happened to the horse?” Well, the horse had now become very glum, and refused food. When the boy (now he is the king) asked it what he should do to cheer it up, it told him to cut off its head. The boy was aghast, as the horse was his dearest friend, and the reason for his good fortune, but at last the horse convinced him. He turned his face aside, raised his sword, and struck! To his amazement, a king in splendid clothes, about his age, stood before him. The king explained that he had once been a king of the neighboring kingdom. That kingdom had been good and prosperous, but an evil man (whom the boy slain) had overthrown the king and turned him over to a troll, who turned him into a horse and kept him prisoner. 

Now that all the evil was undone, both kingdoms became havens of peace and wealth for years to come, and the two kings visited each other as often as they could.

The End!