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The Giant’s Daughter a Scandanavian Tale
A
long time ago, giants and trolls dwelt in the high mountain forests above the northern fjords. They kept to themselves and had little to do with the people who lived in the valley below— except to scare the wits out of one of them now and then. Gina was different; she was quite curious about the humans living in the little houses down in the valley and along the shore. Of course she was still young, as giants go, and not fully grown. That would explain her foolishness, thought her father. “She has the curiosity of a bear cub,” grumbled her mother, “but it’s very unnatural to bother with humankind.” “Have nothing to do with people,” advised the elder giants “Small, stupid creatures! Frightened by a boulder thrown or a sheep carried off!” Nonetheless, on clear days young Gina would sit on a rock at the lower edge of the forest, watching the people below go about their daily work. It seemed to Gina that these people had a splendid time; the maidservants especially caught her attention, moving about from dairy to stream, laughing together as they worked. “The work is so easy, I could do it with one hand,” thought she. “And so many kinds of food just for the taking!” Gina, it must be admitted, was just a little greedy. She loved to eat. She was also quite stubborn. Once she had made up her mind to go down to the village below, no one could dissuade her. Her cousins, the mountain trolls, shrilled, “But they are our enemy! You will be killed, and it will serve you right.” “You foolish child,” cried her mother in alarm. “Mark my words, there will be trouble. No good will come of it.” “No good will come of it!” warned the uncles, the aunts, and all the rest of the giants. But they were all quite wrong. One day Gina, hop-skipping over the boulders, came down the mountain to the village. At the irst two houses where she stopped to ask for work, she had no luck at all.