The Story of the Three Dogs - Part Five

 

In the evening when the boy went back home his mother was very sad because she realised that her son had bartered away all her possessions.  But the son comforted his mother and told her that she would suffer no more.

The next day the boy went to the forest with his dogs and he returned with such a big hunt that since that time the old woman’s house was always full of food.

After making sure that there was sufficient food for his mother the boy decided to leave home to see what fortune had in store for him.

There in the forest the boy saw Old Greybeard again. “Where are you going?”

When the boy told the old man what he was about to do the old man smiled again. “Go straight and you will come to a king's castle and that is where your fortune will mend.”

The boy decided to follow the old man's advice and keep traveling straight.

On the way whenever the boy saw any hut he played his pipe and his dogs danced to the tune. Whenever they did this the boy and his dogs got food and shelter at that hut.

As the boy walked on he came to a large city. There were many people there who were on the way to the king’s castle.

The boy followed the group of people and soon came to know about the three princesses who were kidnapped by the mountain ogres.

The boy realised what old Greybeard had meant and the boy decided to try his luck. He called his dogs and went inside the king's castle.

Adapted from Swedish Fairy Tales

The Story of the Three Dogs - Part Four

When the lads' mother learnt that the lad had exchanged her grey hog for a dog, she became very angry. She gave blows to the boy and she did not stop. At first the boy asked his mother to stop, but the mother did not stop. Then the boy suddenly called his dog. “Hold on!”

The dog came running and caught the old woman and the dog kept its hold on her so firmly that she could not move and neither could the old woman hurt the lad anymore.

The old woman was forced to promise that she would not hurt her son.

The old man who had bartered the gray hog for the dog was called Old Greybeard. 

Old Grey beard came to the forest the next day too when the boy went there and this time, too Old Greybeard had another dog with him.

This time too the old man exchanged the dog for another grey hog. 

The second dog was called ‘Tear’ and according to the old man, the second dog was capable of ripping even the greediest ogre in any mountain.

The boy bartered the second hog for the dog and this time too, his mother was furious with this. However, this time, the mother did not hit the boy because she was afraid of the two big dogs that the boy had. 

However, this happened the next day too when Old Greybeard came with the third dog. 

The third dog's name was ‘List’ and the third dog had such a fine sense of hearing that the dog could know what was happening even a few miles away. So much so that the dog could even hear the sounds that the trees and the grass made when they grew.

Naturally, the boy got the third dog in exchange for his mother's third hog.

Adapted from Swedish Fairy Tales

The Story of the Three Dogs - Part Three

After the King had issued this proclamation, many young knights and champions started to search for the three princesses. In the king's own court, there were two foreign princes who also started to search for the princesses.

Meanwhile, far far away, a widow lived in the deep wild forests. The widow had a son. She also had three hogs. 

The son was strong, well built and he feared nothing. So during the day, the widow's son attended to the three hogs. The son took the hogs to the forest and there, while the hogs roamed all over the forest, the son made himself. a rustic pipe because he was interested in music. The son played beautiful tunes on the pipe all through the day.

One day when the young lad was in the forest, an old man with a big bushy bag beard that reached down to his waist, came towards the young lad. The old man had a great dog with him.

As soon as the young lad saw the dog, the boy wanted the dog for company.

It almost seemed like the old man could read the thoughts of the young boy. The old man nodded at the young man eagerly. “This is the very reason that I have come here. I wanted to exchange this dog for one of your hogs.”

The boy immediately agreed to the bargain.

Then the old man explained about the dog. “The name of this dog is ‘Hold In’. And whenever you ask him to hold on to something, the dog will stick to it, and never let it go, even if it were a huge giant.”

The boy felt that this was an excellent bargain and happily gave one of his hogs to the old man and took the dog back home with him.

Adapted from Swedish Fairy Tales

The Story of the Three Dogs - Part Two

A sudden war broke out and the king had to leave his palace to fight the war.

At this time, the three princesses looked out from the window into the garden, and they admired the flowers and the trees outside.

The three princesses wanted to go and play outside, with the little flowers. However, the guards would not allow them to go outside. The little princess asked the guards to just let them walk outside for a short while.

However, the guards were terrified of the king's temper and they did not consent to this initially.

But the princesses pleaded so much that at last the guards could not stop them and allowed them to have their own way.

The princesses happily ran out into the garden.

However, the enjoyment was short-lived because no sooner had the princesses stepped into open air a cloud came down and lifted all the three princesses and carried them away.

After that, everyone tried to find the princesses, but they could not be found.

The king came back after the war and he was angry and sad at what had happened.

But nothing could be done now. 

Therefore, the king proclaimed in his kingdom that whoever could save his daughters from the mountain ogres could have one of the princesses as his wife and the person could also have half the kingdom as dowry.

Adapted from Swedish Fairy Tales