The Goblin and the Grocer facts for kids
"The Goblin at the Grocer's" (Danish: Nissen hos Spekhøkeren) is a famous fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published in 1852. The story is about a goblin, called a nisse in Danish, who has to choose between his love for poetry and his delicious Christmas porridge from a grocer.
The word spekhøkeren in the original Danish title doesn't just mean "grocer." It also suggests someone who cares only about money and material things, like a "Philistine." This grocer even uses pages from a valuable poetry book to wrap up things like cheese! Because of this, the story is sometimes called "The Goblin and the Huckster."
The tale "Nissen hos Spækhøkeren" was first shared on November 30, 1852. It was printed many times while Hans Christian Andersen was alive.
Many people have translated this story into English. For example, Andrew Lang included it as "The Goblin and the Grocer" in his book The Pink Fairy Book in 1897. Other translators, like R. P. Keigwin in the 1950s, also used "The Goblin at the Grocer's." Mrs. Paull translated it as "The Goblin and the Huckster" in 1867. There were even other titles like "The Brownie at the Butterman's" and "Nis at the Cheesemonger's."
Contents
What is "The Goblin at the Grocer's" About?
This section tells you the main events of the story.
The Grocer, the Student, and the Nisse
Once upon a time, a student lived in an attic room above a grocer's shop. On the first floor, the grocer lived with a special house goblin, known as a nisse. This nisse was very fond of the grocer. Why? Because every Christmas, the grocer gave him a big dish of porridge (Danish: fad grød) with a large lump of butter right in the middle!
A Book of Poems and a Joke
One day, the student came downstairs to buy some cheese and candles. He noticed that his cheese was wrapped in a page torn from a poetry book. The student was surprised and decided to buy the whole book instead of the cheese. He then joked that the grocer knew nothing about poetry.
The Goblin's Magical Plan
The nisse felt insulted by the student's joke. He used his magic to make everything in the grocer's room start talking. All the objects agreed that poetry was useless. The nisse then went to tell the student what everyone thought.
A Tree of Light and a Big Decision
When the nisse looked into the student's room, he saw something amazing. There was a beautiful, glowing "tree of light" that was the most splendid thing he had ever seen. The nisse kept going back to peek at this wonderful tree through a small hole. However, he couldn't stay there for long because the grocer always offered him tasty jam and butter.
Saving the Treasure
One day, there was a fire. The little red-capped nisse quickly ran to save something important. What did he grab? Not the grocer's food, but the poetry book! At that moment, he realized that the book was the greatest treasure in the house.
Still, the nisse decided to split his time. He would spend some time with the grocer and some with the student. Why? Because even though the student had the wonderful poetry, he didn't provide any Christmas porridge (Julegrød)!
Images for kids
-
Vilhelm Pedersen illustration
