The Cat on the Dovrefjell facts for kids
The Cat on the Dovrefjell is a famous Norwegian fairy tale. It's also known as The Cat on the Dovre-Mountain or The Trolls and the Pussycat. This story was collected by two well-known Norwegian writers, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, in their book Norske Folkeeventyr. It's a type of story called "The Bear Trainer and His Cat."
What Happens in This Norwegian Tale?
Imagine a man traveling with a white bear. He was taking the bear to give to the king of Denmark. One Christmas Eve, he reached a mountain called Dovre. He asked a man named Halvor if he could stay the night at his house.
Halvor told him a problem: trolls always came to his house on Christmas Eve. They caused so much trouble that Halvor and his family had to leave! But the traveler said he would stay anyway, with his bear.
Later that night, the trolls arrived. They started eating all the food the family had left behind for their Christmas feast. One troll even started teasing the bear, calling it "Kitty." Suddenly, the bear stood up and chased all the trolls out of the house!
The next year, a troll came back and asked Halvor if he still had that "cat." Halvor quickly said yes, and even added that his "cat" had seven kittens, all bigger and much fiercer than their mother! After that, the trolls never bothered Halvor's cottage on Christmas Eve again.
Other Versions of the Tale
This fun story has been told in different ways by other authors.
- Jan Brett wrote a version called Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve. In her book, the bear's owner is a boy, and a girl welcomes him into her home.
- Kaja Foglio also retold the story as a comic. In her version, the bear's owner is a girl, and the house owner is her uncle.
