The Cat on the Dovrefell

The Cat on the Dovrefell

This happened in Norway, high in the mountains, where winter snow lies like a thick blanket and the wind knows how to sing between the rocky slopes.

On Christmas Eve, a traveler was crossing the Dovrefell. He was not alone. Beside him walked an enormous white bear—calm, shaggy, and so big that his footprints in the snow looked like little plates.

Toward evening, a blizzard began.

“We need to find a roof, my friend,” the traveler said to the bear.

Before long, they saw a light in the window of a little mountain cottage. A man named Halvor lived there.

The traveler knocked.

“Good evening! May we stay the night? It’s already quite dark outside.”

Halvor shook his head worriedly.

“On any other day, I’d gladly welcome you. But tonight is Christmas Eve. Every year on this very night, trolls come to my cottage. They make a racket, eat the holiday supper, move the furniture, and we have to leave our home until morning.”

The traveler peeked inside. Bowls of porridge, fish, bread, and sausages were already on the table. As usual, Halvor had left a meal for the trolls, hoping they would eat and leave sooner.

“If the only problem is the trolls, let us stay,” said the traveler. “I’ll sleep in the little room, and my companion can settle down by the stove.”

Halvor looked at the white bear.

“Well… if you’re not afraid, you may stay.”

Halvor and his family went to visit the neighbors.

The bear curled up by the warm stove. In the half-light, only his white back could be seen.

The traveler lay down to rest.

Some time passed.

Thump-thump-thump!

Bang-bang-bang!

The door flew open, and trolls came tumbling into the cottage.

There were tall and short ones, round and thin ones, with long noses, short noses, tails, and no tails. They laughed, argued, banged their spoons, and immediately began on the holiday supper.

“The porridge is mine!”

“And that sausage is mine!”

“Move over!”

“You move over!”

The smallest troll suddenly noticed a white mound beside the stove.

“Look!” he whispered. “Halvor has a new cat!”

“What a big cat,” said another.

“It must be very fluffy,” said a third.

The little troll took a piece of sausage on a long fork and crept closer.

“Here, kitty-kitty!” he sang. “Would you like some sausage?”

He lightly touched the bear’s nose with the fork.

The bear opened one eye.

The troll giggled and held the sausage closer.

Then the bear raised his enormous head and gave his most convincing:

“Grrrrrrr!”

The trolls froze.

The bear stood up on his paws.

“GRRRRR!”

“THE CAT’S AWAKE!” shrieked the little troll.

And then all chaos broke loose.

One troll dived under the table. Another jumped over a bench. A third put a bowl on his head. A fourth tried to open the window, although the door was wide open.

The bear only took a few steps toward them.

That was enough.

The trolls dashed out of the cottage and raced into the mountains so quickly that a cloud of snow rose behind them.

“No more cats!” their voices echoed far away in the forest.

The bear yawned, turned back toward the stove, and went to sleep again.

The next morning, Halvor carefully opened the door.

The cottage was quiet. The traveler was drinking a warm drink, the white bear was dozing by the stove, and the trolls were nowhere to be seen.

“Did they leave?” Halvor asked in amazement.

“They were in a great hurry,” the traveler smiled.

A year passed.

Christmas Eve was coming again. Halvor was chopping firewood in the forest when he suddenly heard a voice from behind the trees:

“Halvor! Halvor!”

He recognized one of the trolls.

“I’m here!” the man called back.

“Does that big white cat still live at your place?”

Halvor could hardly keep from laughing.

“Of course! And guess what? They say he has seven kittens now. Each one is growing to be as big as he is!”

The forest fell silent.

Then a distant cry rang out:

“Then we’ll never come there again!”

And the trolls kept their word.

From then on, Halvor celebrated Christmas in his own cottage, and the story of the wonderful “cat” on the Dovrefell was told for many, many years.

And if anyone asked how big that cat was, Halvor only shrugged.

“Big enough that even the trolls didn’t want to meet his kittens.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨