Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog tour. Show all posts

Monday, May 18, 2015

Fairy Tale Hidden Treasures Blog Hop (Guest Post by Tahlia Merrill): "The Wild Swans" by Hans Christian Andersen



Many of us in the fairy tale community have been participating in  Fairy Tale Fandom’s treasure hunt to share our favorite hidden story gems. These are tales that haven’t had famous movies or YA novels made out of them yet, and we think they deserve a spot in the limelight.

I was tagged by Zalka Csenge Virág at The Multicolored Diary.

The Blog Tour so far:
1) “The White Cat” dusted off byAdam Hoffman Fairy Tale Fandom
2) “The Valiant Blackbird” unearthed by Amy-Elize Brown Asleep in the Woods
3) “The True History of Little Golden Hood” illuminated by Kristin of Tales of Faerie
4) “The Heart’s Door” presented by Gypsy Thornton at Once Upon a Blog
5) “Davy & the Devil” or "The King of the Fishes" British tale (we think!) told by Megan Hicks of  Life, the Universe and Everything
6) "The Princess' Curse" a Hungarian folktale from Zalka Csenge Virág at The Multicolored Diary.

[By the way - if you have a blog and would like to get in on the action (it doesn't need to be a fairy tale blog or storytelling blog in particular -you just need to love obscure fairy tales) then please contact Adam Hoffman HERE for details and to see if you can be included in this round.]

My choice is by an author everyone will recognize--the famous Hans Christian Andersen--but this story has always lived in the shadow of its big sister, The Little Mermaid

I'm talking about The Wild Swans.

I first fell in love with this tale when I read it in a childhood picture books. As someone who grew up very sheltered and incurious about worldly things, I gravitated towards this heroine whose  innocence could shield her from curses.

In much the same way that Dickens’ David Copperfield can be seen as the less tragic flipside of Great Expectations, I feel like The Wild Swans is the mirror image of The Little Mermaid. Both heroines endure pain and muteness in pursuit of their goals, but  while Elisa’s story begins with sacrifice and ends in freedom, the Little Mermaid’s pursuit of freedom ends with her sacrificing everything. There’s something magnetic about the way Andersen tortures his characters. First, he gives them the strongest longings and desires, and then he traps them in uncontrollable dancing shoes, melts them in fireplaces, and lets cold and hunger claim them. It’s all so deliciously morbid, you have to keep reading and the scenes will stick with you for the rest of your life. The Wild Swan has a particularly creative form of character torture in it, but I’ll let you discover it for yourself. Oh, and keep an eye out for the vampires!

So without further ado, may I present to you…

Su Blackwell

The Wild Swans

(A shortened version of the Jean Hersholt’s translation found HERE.)

Far, far away where the swallows fly when we have winter, there lived a King who had eleven sons and one daughter, Elisa. The eleven brothers, Princes all, each went to school with a star at his breast and a sword at his side. They wrote with pencils of diamond upon golden slates, and could say their lesson by heart just as easily as they could read it from the book. You could tell at a glance how princely they were. Their sister, Elisa, sat on a little footstool of flawless glass. She had a picture book that had cost half a kingdom. Oh, the children had a very fine time, but it did not last forever.
Their father, who was King over the whole country, married a wicked Queen, who did not treat his poor children at all well. They found that out the very first day. There was feasting throughout the palace, and the children played at entertaining guests. But instead of letting them have all the cakes and baked apples that they used to get, their new step mother gave them only some sand in a teacup, and told them to make believe that it was a special treat.
Nika Goltz
The following week the Queen sent little Elisa to live in the country with some peasants. And before long she had made the King believe so many falsehoods about the poor Princes that he took no further interest in them.
"Fly out into the world and make your own living," the wicked Queen told them. "Fly away like big birds without a voice."
But she did not harm the Princes as much as she meant to, for they turned into eleven magnificent white swans. With a weird cry, they flew out of the palace window, across the park into the woods….
...Poor little Elisa stayed in the peasant hut, and played with a green leaf, for she had no other toy. She made a little hole in the leaf and looked through it at the sun. Through it she seemed to see her brothers' bright eyes, and whenever the warm sunlight touched her cheek it reminded her of all their kisses.
One day passed like all the others. When the wind stirred the hedge roses outside the hut, it whispered to them, could be prettier than you?" But the roses shook their heads and answered, "Elisa!" And on Sunday, when the old woman sat in the doorway reading the psalms, the wind fluttered through the pages and said to the book, "Who could be more saintly than you?" "Elisa," the book testified. What it and the roses said was perfectly true.
Nika Goltz
Elisa was to go back home when she became fifteen but, as soon as the Queen saw what a beautiful Princess she was, the Queen felt spiteful and full of hatred toward her. She would not have hesitated to turn her into a wild swan, like her brothers, but she did not dare to do it just yet, because the King wanted to see his daughter.
In the early morning, the Queen went to the bathing place, which was made of white marble, furnished with soft cushions and carpeted with the most splendid rugs. She took three toads, kissed them, and said to the first:
"Squat on Elisa's head, when she bathes, so that she will become as torpid as you are." To the second she said, "Squat on her forehead, so that she will become as ugly as you are, and her father won't recognize her." And to the third, she whispered, "Lie against her heart, so that she will be cursed and tormented by evil desires.
Thereupon the Queen dropped the three toads into the clear water, which at once turned a greenish color. She called Elisa, made her undress, and told her to enter the bath. When Elisa went down into the water, one toad fastened himself to her hair, another to her forehead, and the third against her heart. But she did not seem to be aware of them, and when she stood up three red poppies floated on the water. If the toads had not been poisonous, and had not been kissed by the witch, they would have been turned into red roses. But at least they had been turned into flowers, by the mere touch of her head and heart. She was too innocent and good for witchcraft to have power over her.
When the evil Queen realized this, she rubbed Elisa with walnut stain that turned her dark brown, smeared her beautiful face with a vile ointment, and tousled her lovely hair. No one could have recognized the beautiful Elisa, and when her father saw her he was shocked. He said that this could not be his daughter. No one knew her except the watchdog and the swallows, and they were humble creatures who had nothing to say....
...When Elisa saw her own face she was horrified to find it so brown and ugly. But as soon as she wet her slender hand, and rubbed her brow and her eyes, her fair skin showed again. Then she laid aside her clothes and plunged into the fresh water. In all the world there was no King's daughter as lovely as Elisa. When she had dressed herself and plaited her long hair, she went to the sparkling spring and drank from the hollow of her hand. She wandered deeper into the woods without knowing whither she went. She thought of her brothers, and she thought of the good Lord, who she knew would not forsake her. He lets the wild crab apples grow to feed the hungry, and he led her footsteps to a tree with its branches bent down by the weight of their fruit...
Yvonne Gilbert
...A few steps farther on she met an old woman who had a basket of berries and gave some of them to her. Elisa asked if she had seen eleven Princes riding through the forest.
"No," the old woman said. "But yesterday I saw eleven swans who wore golden crowns. They were swimming in the river not far from here."...
....Elisa told the old woman good-by, and followed the river down to where it flowed into the great open sea....
...Just at sunset, Elisa saw eleven white swans, with golden crowns on their heads, fly toward the shore. As they flew, one behind another, they looked like a white ribbon floating in the air. Elisa climbed up and hid behind a bush on the steep bank. The swans came down near her and flapped their magnificent white wings.
As soon as the sun went down beyond the sea, the swans threw off their feathers and there stood eleven handsome Princes. They were her brothers, and, although they were greatly altered, she knew in her heart that she could not be mistaken. She cried aloud, and rushed into their arms, calling them each by name. The Princes were so happy to see their little sister. And they knew her at once, for all that she had grown tall and lovely. They laughed, and they cried, and they soon realized how cruelly their stepmother had treated them all.
"We brothers," said the eldest, "are forced to fly about disguised as wild swans as long as the sun is in the heavens, but when it goes down we take back our human form. So at sunset we must always look about us for some firm foothold, because if ever we were flying among the clouds at sunset we would be dashed down to the earth.
Kelley McMorris
"We do not live on this coast. Beyond the sea there is another land as fair as this, but it lies far away and we must cross the vast ocean to reach it.”...
..."How shall I set you free?" their sister asked, and they talked on for most of the night, sparing only a few hours for sleep.
In the morning Elisa was awakened by the rustling of swans' wings overhead. Her brothers, once more enchanted, wheeled above her in great circles until they were out of sight. One of them, her youngest brother, stayed with her and rested his head on her breast while she stroked his wings. They spent the whole day together, and toward evening the others returned. As soon as the sun went down they resumed their own shape.
"Tomorrow," said one of her brothers, we must fly away, and we dare not return until a whole year has passed. But we cannot leave you like this. Have you courage enough to come with us? My arm is strong enough to carry you through the forest, so surely the wings of us all should be strong enough to bear you across the sea." "Yes, take me with you," said Elisa.
They spent the entire night making a net of pliant willow bark and tough rushes. They made it large and strong. Elisa lay down upon it and, when the sun rose and her brothers again became wild swans, they lifted the net in their bills and flew high up toward the clouds with their beloved sister, who still was fast asleep. As the sun shone straight into her face, one of the swans flew over her head so as to shade her with his wide wings.
Kelley McMorris (Indian Wild Swans)
They were far from the shore when she awoke. Elisa thought she must still be dreaming, so strange did it seem to be carried through the air, high over the sea. Beside her lay a branch full of beautiful ripe berries, and a bundle of sweet-tasting roots. Her youngest brother had gathered them and put them there for her. She gave him a grateful smile. She knew he must be the one who flew over her head to protect her eyes from the sun.
They were so high that the first ship they sighted looked like a gull floating on the water. A cloud rolled up behind them, as big as a mountain. Upon it Elisa saw gigantic shadows of herself and of the eleven swans. It was the most splendid picture she had ever seen, but as the sun rose higher the clouds grew small, and the shadow picture of their flight disappeared.
All day they flew like arrows whipping through the air, yet, because they had their sister to carry, they flew more slowly than on their former journeys. Night was drawing near, and a storm was rising. In terror, Elisa watched the sinking sun, for the lonely rock was nowhere in sight. It seemed to her that the swans beat their wings in the air more desperately. Alas it was because of her that they could not fly fast enough. So soon as the sun went down they would turn into men, and all of them would pitch down into the sea and drown. She prayed to God from the depths of her heart, but still no rock could be seen. Black clouds gathered and great gusts told of the storm to come. The threatening clouds came on as one tremendous wave that rolled down toward them like a mass of lead, and flash upon flash of lightning followed them. Then the sun touched the rim of the sea. Elisa's heart beat madly as the swans shot down so fast that she thought they were falling, but they checked their downward swoop. Half of the sun was below the sea when she first saw the little rock below them. It looked no larger than the head of a seal jutting out of the water. The sun sank very fast. Now it was no bigger than a star, but her foot touched solid ground. Then the sun went out like the last spark on a piece of burning paper. She saw her brothers stand about her, arm in arm, and there was only just room enough for all of them. The waves beat upon the rock and washed over them in a shower of spray. The heavens were lit by constant flashes, and bolt upon bolt of thunder crashed. But the sister and brothers clasped each other's hands and sang a psalm, which comforted them and gave them courage.
At dawn the air was clear and still. As soon as the sun came up, the swans flew off with Elisa and they left the rock behind. The waves still tossed, and from the height where they soared it looked as if the white flecks of foam against the dark green waves were millions of white swans swimming upon the waters.
When the sun rose higher, Elisa saw before her a mountainous land, half floating in the air. Its peaks were capped with sparkling ice, and in the middle rose a castle that was a mile long, with one bold colonnade perched upon another. Down below, palm trees swayed and brilliant flowers bloomed as big as mill wheels. She asked if this was the land for which they were bound, but the swans shook their heads. What she saw was the gorgeous and ever changing palace of Fata Morgana. No mortal being could venture to enter it... Long before sunset she was sitting on a mountainside, in front of a large cave carpeted over with green creepers so delicate that they looked like embroidery.
"We shall see what you'll dream of here tonight," her youngest brother said, as he showed her where she was to sleep.
"I only wish I could dream how to set you free," she said.
This thought so completely absorbed her, and she prayed so earnestly for the Lord to help her that even in her sleep she kept on praying. It seemed to her that she was flying aloft to the Fata Morgana palace of clouds. The fairy who came out to meet her was fair and shining, yet she closely resembled the old woman who gave her the berries in the forest and told her of the swans who wore golden crowns on their heads.
"Your brothers can be set free," she said, "but have you the courage and tenacity to do it? The sea water that changes the shape of rough stones is indeed softer than your delicate hands, but it cannot feel the pain that your fingers will feel. It has no heart, so it cannot suffer the anguish and heartache that you will have to endure. Do you see this stinging nettle in my hand? Many such nettles grow around the cave where you sleep. Only those and the ones that grow upon graves in the churchyards may be used - remember that! Those you must gather, although they will burn your hands to blisters. Crush the nettles with your feet and you will have flax, which you must spin and weave into eleven shirts of mail with long sleeves. Once you throw these over the eleven wild swans, the spell over them is broken. But keep this well in mind! From the moment you undertake this task until it is done, even though it lasts for years, you must not speak. The first word you say will strike your brothers' hearts like a deadly knife. Their lives are at the mercy of your tongue. Now, remember what I told you!"
She touched Elisa's hand with nettles that burned like fire and awakened her. It was broad daylight, and close at hand where she had been sleeping grew a nettle like those of which she had dreamed. She thanked God upon her knees, and left the cave to begin her task.
With her soft hands she took hold of the dreadful nettles that seared like fire. Great blisters rose on her hands and arms, but she endured it gladly in the hope that she could free her beloved brothers. She crushed each nettle with her bare feet, and spun the green flax.
Svend Otto Sørensen
When her brothers returned at sunset, it alarmed them that she did not speak. They feared this was some new spell cast by their wicked stepmother, but when they saw her hands they understood that she laboured to save them. The youngest one wept, and wherever his tears touched Elisa she felt no more pain, and the burning blisters healed.
She toiled throughout the night, for she could not rest until she had delivered her beloved brothers from the enchantment. Throughout the next day, while the swans were gone she sat all alone, but never had the time sped so quickly. One shirt was made, and she set to work on the second one.
Then she heard the blast of a hunting horn on the mountainside. It frightened her, for the sound came nearer until she could hear the hounds bark. Terror-stricken, she ran into the cave, bundled together the nettles she had gathered and woven, and sat down on this bundle.
Immediately a big dog came bounding from the thicket, followed by another, and still another, all barking loudly as they ran to and fro. In a very few minutes all the huntsmen stood in front of the cave. The most handsome of these was the King of the land, and he came up to Elisa. Never before had he seen a girl so beautiful. "My lovely child," he said, "how do you come to be here?"
Elisa shook her head, for she did not dare to speak. Her brothers' deliverance and their very lives depended upon it, and she hid her hands under her apron to keep the King from seeing how much she suffered.
"Come with me," he told her. "You cannot stay here. If you are as good as you are fair I shall clothe you in silk and velvet, set a golden crown upon your head, and give you my finest palace to live in." Then he lifted her up on his horse. When she wept and wrung her hands, the King told her, "My only wish is to make you happy. Some day you will thank me for doing this." Off through the mountains he spurred, holding her before him on his horse as his huntsmen galloped behind them.
At sundown, his splendid city with all its towers and domes lay before them. The King led her into his palace, where great fountains played in the high marble halls, and where both walls and ceilings were adorned with paintings. But she took no notice of any of these things. She could only weep and grieve. Indifferently, she let the women dress her in royal garments, weave strings of pearls in her hair, and draw soft gloves over her blistered fingers.
She was so dazzlingly beautiful in all this splendor that the whole court bowed even deeper than before. And the King chose her for his bride, although the archbishop shook his head and whispered that this lovely maid of the woods must be a witch, who had blinded their eyes and stolen the King's heart.
Kelley McMorris (Indian Wild Swans)
But the King would not listen to him. He commanded that music be played, the costliest dishes be served, and the prettiest girls dance for her. She was shown through sweet-scented gardens, and into magnificent halls, but nothing could make her lips smile or her eyes sparkle. Sorrow had set its seal upon them. At length the King opened the door to a little chamber adjoining her bedroom. It was covered with splendid green embroideries, and looked just like the cave in which he had found her. On the floor lay the bundle of flax she had spun from the nettles, and from the ceiling hung the shirt she had already finished. One of the huntsmen had brought these with him as curiosities.
"Here you may dream that you are back in your old home," the King told her. Here is the work that you were doing there, and surrounded by all your splendor here it may amuse you to think of those times."
When Elisa saw these things that were so precious to her, a smile trembled on her lips, and the blood rushed back to her cheeks. The hope that she could free her brothers returned to her, and she kissed the King's hand. He pressed her to his heart and commanded that all the church bells peal to announce their wedding. The beautiful mute girl from the forest was to be the country's Queen.
The archbishop whispered evil words in the King's ear, but they did not reach his heart. The wedding was to take place. The archbishop himself had to place the crown on her head. Out of spite, he forced the tight circlet so low on her forehead that it hurt her. But a heavier band encircled her heart, and; the sorrow she felt for her brothers kept her from feeling any hurt of the flesh. Her lips were mute, for one single word would mean death to her brothers, but her eyes shone with love for the kind and handsome King who did his best to please her. Every day she grew fonder and fonder of him in her heart. Oh, if only she could confide in him, and tell him what grieved her. But mute she must remain, and finish her task in silence. So at night she would steal away from his side into her little chamber which resembled the cave, and there she wove one shirt after another, but when she set to work on the seventh there was not enough flax left to finish it.
She knew that the nettles she must use grew in the churchyard, but she had to gather them herself. How could she go there?
Nika Goltz
"Oh, what is the pain in my fingers compared with the anguish I feel in my heart!" she thought. "I must take the risk, and the good Lord will not desert me."
As terrified as if she were doing some evil thing, she tiptoed down into the moonlit garden, through the long alleys and down the deserted streets to the churchyard. There she saw a group of vampires sitting in a circle on one of the large gravestones. These hideous ghouls took off their ragged clothes as they were about to bathe. With skinny fingers they clawed open the new graves. Greedily they snatched out the bodies and ate the flesh from them. Elisa had to pass close to them, and they fixed their vile eyes upon her, but she said a prayer, picked the stinging nettles, and carried them back to the palace.
Only one man saw her-the archbishop. He was awake while others slept. Now he had proof of what he had suspected. There was something wrong with the Queen. She was a witch, and that was how she had duped the King and all his people.
In the confessional, he told the King what he had seen and what he feared. As the bitter words spewed from his mouth, the images of the saints shook their heads, as much as to say, He lies. Elisa is innocent." The archbishop, however, had a different explanation for this. He said they were testifying against her, and shaking their heads at her wickedness.
Two big tears rolled down the King's cheeks as he went home with suspicion in his heart. That night he pretended to be asleep, but no restful sleep touched his eyes. He watched Elisa get out of bed. Every night he watched her get up and each time he followed her quietly and saw her disappear into her private little room...
...Meanwhile she had almost completed her task. Only one shirt was lacking, but again she ran out of flax. Not a single nettle was left. Once more, for the last time, she must go to the churchyard and pluck a few more handfuls. She thought with fear of the lonely walk and the ghastly vampires, but her will was as strong as her faith in God.
Anton Lomaev
She went upon her mission, but the King and his archbishop followed her. They saw her disappear through the iron gates of the churchyard, and when they came in after her they saw vampires sitting on a gravestone, just as Elisa had seen them.
The King turned away, for he thought Elisa was among them -Elisa whose head had rested against his heart that very evening.
"Let the people judge her," he said. And the people did judge her. They condemned her to die by fire.
She was led from her splendid royal halls to a dungeon, dark and damp, where the wind whistled in between the window bars. Instead of silks and velvets they gave her for a pillow the bundle of nettles she had gathered, and for her coverlet the harsh, burning shirts of mail she had woven. But they could have given her nothing that pleased her more.
She set to work again, and prayed. Outside, the boys in the street sang jeering songs about her, and not one soul came to comfort her with a kind word.
But toward evening she heard the rustle of a swan's wings close to her window. It was her youngest brother who had found her at last. She sobbed for joy. Though she knew that this night was all too apt to be her last, the task was almost done and her brothers were near her…
Michael Hague
...It was still in the early dawn, an hour before sunrise, when the eleven brothers reached the palace gates and demanded to see the King. This, they were told, was impossible. It was still night. The King was asleep and could not be disturbed. They begged and threatened so loudly that the guard turned out, and even the King came running to find what the trouble was. But at that instant the sun rose, and the eleven brothers vanished. Eleven swans were seen flying over the palace.
All the townsmen went flocking out through the town gates, for they wanted to see the witch burned. A decrepit old horse pulled the cart in which Elisa sat. They had dressed her in coarse sackcloth, and all her lovely long hair hung loose around her beautiful head. Her cheeks were deathly pale, and her lips moved in silent prayer as her fingers twisted the green flax. Even on her way to death she did not stop her still un-finished work. Ten shirts lay at her feet and she worked away on the eleventh. "See how the witch mumbles," the mob scoffed at her. "That's no psalm book in her hands. No, there she sits, nursing her filthy sorcery. Snatch it away from her, and tear it to bits!"
The crowd of people closed in to destroy all her work, but before they could reach her, eleven white swans flew down and made a ring around the cart with their flapping wings. The mob drew back in terror.
"It is a sign from Heaven. She must be innocent," many people whispered. But no one dared say it aloud.
Michael Hague
As the executioner seized her arm, she made haste to throw the eleven shirts over the swans, who instantly became eleven handsome Princes. But the youngest brother still had a swan's wing in place of one arm, where a sleeve was missing from his shirt. Elisa had not quite been able to finish it.
"Now," she cried, "I may speak! I am innocent."
All the people who saw what had happened bowed down to her as they would before a saint. But the strain, the anguish, and the suffering had been too much for her to bear, and she fell into her brothers' arms as if all life had gone out of her.
"She is innocent indeed!" said her eldest brother, and he told them all that had happened. And while he spoke, the scent of a million roses filled the air, for every piece of wood that they had piled up to burn her had taken root and grown branches. There stood a great high hedge, covered with red and fragrant roses. At the very top a single pure white flower shone like a star. The King plucked it and put it on Elisa's breast. And she awoke, with peace and happiness in her heart.
All the church bells began to ring of their own accord, and the air was filled with birds. Back to the palace went a bridal procession such as no King had ever enjoyed before.
THE END
PJ Lynch

That's it for this round of the Fairy Tale Hidden Treasures Blog Hop! Let's hope we can do it again soon, with perhaps some more participants to add to the fun. If you have questions about this or future blog hops - and especially if you'd like to participate - please contact Adam Hoffman at Fairy Tale Fandom HERE.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Fairy Tale Hidden Treasures Blog Hop: "The Heart's Door" - A Finnish Fairy Tale

The Fairy Tale Hidden Treasures Blog-Hop, is the brainchild of Adam Hoffman over at Fairy Tale Fandom. Always up for sharing obscure fairy tales we love, Once Upon A Blog immediately signed up to be part of the fun. We are supposed to share a favorite obscure fairy tale (that very likely will NOT end up on OUAT), tell you a little about it, give you an idea of the main story, let you know where it came from and why we love it so, then tag the next treasure hunter... 

For those keeping track, yes, I did switch places with Tales Of Faerie for 'reasons'... (you'll find out why at the end).

So far the revealed tales have been:

[By the way - if you have a blog and would like to get in on the action (it doesn't need to be a fairy tale blog or storytelling blog in particular -you just need to love obscure fairy tales) then please contact Adam Hoffman HERE for details and to see if you can be included in this round.]

On to my tale treasure!
When I heard about the 'hop, I immediately knew I wanted to share a Finnish fairy tale called The Heart's Door. I also knew it would be tricky. While I have three versions in my personal library, know one else seems to know anything about this one. It's not online ANYWHERE (and boy have I hunted!) and, just to make it extra tricky, one of the books I have was reprinted in 2009 so the copyright on that version of the tale (which is the closest to 'original' that we can find in both English and Finnish) is back in force and I'm not able to transcribe it for the web without express permission.

I personally discovered this fairy tale in Neil Philip's wonderful DK book, The Illustrated Book of Fairy Tales, back in the late '90's. It took me a very long time to realize he'd re-titled this tale from Severi and Vappu, which had been sitting in my Scandinavian Folk & Fairy Tales book (edited by Claire Booss) for years. (Titles with just list names, I tend to mentally file under "epics and sagas"  - in this case, that was a big mistake and I missed out on what came to be a favorite fairy tale of mine, for years!) When I finally did realize what I'd been sitting on (and read the much longer version) I agreed with Mr. Philip: The Heart's Door is a perfect title for this fairy tale and I will always think of it that way.

Why do I love it? I'm a sucker for fairy tales with transformations. They're my favorite kind of 'wonder' in tales but The Heart's Door does it a little differently. You may recall Heidi at SurLaLune mentioning the 2009 reprint of a book called Tales from a Finnish Tupa, some time ago (a tupa is a Finnish peasant hut, complete with the all-important fireside for storytelling). To highlight what is unique about Finnish fairy tales from other European ones, she included an excerpt from the Notes on Finnish Folklore in the back of the book and I will do the same:
The heart of Finnish folk lore is magic. As Lafcadio Hearnhas so well said:
“The magic is not like anything else known by that name in European literature. The magic is entirely the magic of words. These ancient people believed in the existence of words, by the utterance of which anything might be accomplished. Instead of buying wood and hiring carpenters, you might build a house by uttering certain magical words. If you had no horse, and wanted to travel rapidly, you would make a horse for yourself out of bits of bark and old sticks by uttering over them certain magical words. But this was not all. Beings of intellect, men and women, whole armies of men, in fact, might be created in a moment by the utterance of these magical words.”
The magical words in this story allow the main character to hide inside... things - things you wouldn't normally be able to hide inside (no barrels or wash-baskets etc). It's a special sort of hiding and a special sort of transformation and I love the idea of the way this character is hidden. Most hiding in tales is to stay safe or get away from danger by diversion of camouflage, but, again, this is different. This tale also has other things I like: it has a little mystery, has motifs in common with other tales that are used very differently, but most of all it's about choices and dealing with consequences.

Because there is no text online for you to read, I've done my best to retell the story in short form. I've expanded beyond the points included in the DK version and put the emphasis back on the use of words and word-magic, but it's still much shorter than either of the other printings I have as well. I left out a lot of descriptive detail and got right to the parts that I love the most. As with all storytellers, it has my 'print' and emphasis on it, but I believe that is a storyteller's prerogative. ;)

And I've done something else: because this is all about 'hidden treasures' and my tale is also about 'hidden treasures' I have hidden another treasure within this tale for you to find... 
[For you 'pop-culturalists', think Easter egg. I did NOT make it easy... but it's definitely there... ]
Photographer & artist unknown - any information appreciated so can properly credit
[Found on fototalisman.livejournal.com]
Now, without further ado, I present to you:
The Heart’s Door
A Finnish Fairy Tale
(also known as “Severi and Vappu”)
A retelling by Gypsy Thornton

Once there was a boy named Severi who announced one spring morning that it was high time he had adventures and seek his fortune.
“What are you seeking?” people asked.
”I do not know yet,” Severi replied, “But when I find it, I’ll know then,’ he said, and waved goodbye.

He walked over bright meadows and through dark woods, sailed over great seas and survived ocean storms. He climbed up a great black cliff and down a long stone stairway, until eventually, at what he thought must be the very heart of the earth itself, he found a golden door.

He lifted his hand to knock and it swung open for him, so he stepped through. Inside was a magical world of green hills with fragrant flowers and shiny plumed birds sang among lush trees, all laden with golden fruit. In the distance, turrets of a copper castle rose into the air, shining like red gold in the sunlight. Immediately Severi set out straight toward it. There he met a strange old man with glittering white hair and very young cheeks, who asked him who he was and where he was going.

“My name is Severi,” he replied, and told him of his journey so far. “And now I am here. I do not know yet where I am going to, but when I get there, I’ll know then.”

Ka!” said the white-haired man, “Since you’ve come such a long way, why don’t you stay here with me awhile? I live in the copper castle, just beyond.”

So Severi went with the old man to live in the copper castle. When he’d been given all the good food he could eat, the old man held up a heavy ring full of keys. “Here are the keys to the castle: twenty four keys for twenty four rooms. Feel free to go into any, except for the last. If you open that twenty-fourth door, you do so at your own risk. I am not to blame for whatever may happen.”

“I understand,” said Severi, accepting the keys, but already he was quite curious.

Before long the old man set out on a journey that would take him far away and the instant Severi was alone, he began to explore.

Each door held a room of wonders, the next even better than the last: one seemed on fire, it dazzled with so much copper, while the next glittered with so much gold it hurt his eyes. Another was all ebony, another, blue sapphire, yet with each door he grew sadder and sadder until he stopped in the middle of the twenty-third room, too sad, even, to touch anything.

“Now I have seen it all. My adventures are over and done. I might as well just go back to my tupa.” He sighed, lay down right where he was, and fell asleep.


When he awoke he found the key to the twenty-fourth door clasped in his hand.

“The old man said I could enter at my own risk, “ he thought, turning it over curiously. “I will open it and find out what happens,” and he bravely turned the key in the twenty-fourth lock, then pushed open the heavy door.

Inside, sitting on a very high throne, was the loveliest girl in all the world.
“Who are you?” asked Severi.
“My name is Vappu,” said the girl. “I’ve been waiting for you a very long time.” Severi held out his hand and she put hers in his then climbed down to him.

The golden days that followed were like a dream as the two lived together in the copper castle. For a whole month, they sat by the silver stream and feasted on golden fruit with not a care in the world. One day Vappu led Severi into a deep orchard. Cool winds caressed the trees and their faces and at the center blossomed the Tree of Life. They sat beneath it, ate its fruit and drank from the sparkling brook nearby. Completely content, Severi fell into a deep sleep under the Tree. When he awoke, Vappu was gone.

“Vappu!” he called. “Vappu! Vappu!” and his calling turned to cries and his cries turned to tears, for she was nowhere within and nowhere without.

When the old man returned home he found Severi in deep misery.
“Please help me find her”, Severi begged. “I cannot live without her.”

The old man chuckled. “That’s the way it always happens when you do what you should have left undone. I warned you about that twenty-fourth door,” he said.

“I am a grown man,” Severi replied. “I make my own choices. And you did not tell me I must not enter, only that to do so, would be my own risk. ”

“That is fair,” the old man said, gently. “But have your choices made you wiser?”

“My sorrow has made me older – but yes, wiser too. Please help me find my Vappu - that is all I ask.”

The old man muttered some words of magic and there stood Vappu, radiant as a sunbeam.

“Did you miss me Severi?” she asked.

“All my happiness disappeared with you!” Severi said to her. “Please, never leave me again.”

“I will promise,” said Vapu, “But on one condition: you must hide from me where I cannot find you. Then, and then only, will I always be with you. You have three chances.”

Severi did not understand what she meant, but the old man whispered a magic charm in his ear and promised he would help.

Severi did not want to hide but knew he must try if he wanted to win her, so the first day he snuck away over the hills and whispered his charm to a rabbit running by. It stopped, let him hide inside its thumping heart then ran on, even faster than before. But Vappu quickly tracked him down.
“You are not very good at hide-and-seek Severi,” she said. “Try again.”

The next day Severi stole away into the dark heart of the forest and whispered his charm to a bear ferociously guarding its den. It stopped, let him hide inside its warm heart then growled, more ferociously than ever before. But Vappu still, somehow, tracked him down.
“I have found you Severi! You cannot hide from me. You have one last try.”

Sadly, Severi walked back to the castle. He could not think how to hide from clever Vappu.

The next day, at a hint and a wink from the old man, Severi finally decided to hide in Vappu’s own heart. He drew close to her and softly whispered his charm:

“Three times I knock at your door, dear heart, 
Let me in, heart’s jewel, let me in!”
And he vanished right before Vappu’s eyes.

Try as she might, Vappu could not find him anywhere. 

When she had looked and looked and looked some more, Severi called to her:
“Can you not find me, Golden One?”
“I cannot - where are you?” asked Vappu.
“Here in your heart,” answered Severi.
“Who led you here?”

“You, Vappu. You led me here.”
“Then my heart is yours,” said Vappu.


Severi came out of his hiding place and she held him as close as he held her.
“And now,” said Severi, “I’ve found you.”
And they lived in peace, ever after, in their copper castle, beside the silver stream, beneath the golden trees.

…………………«§ The End §»…………………


Did you find the hidden treasure in the tale? 
If you like spelunking for information and digging for gems of knowledge, then you will like this: there's a hidden page I've linked to in which I have put 
an annotated version
(And if you looked but didn't find it yet - go back and check the text carefully. It's a teeny tiny link, hidden within the text of the tale - and yes - I checked - it's there and it's working.)
When I wasn't able to find an e-text of the original for you to read, and I wasn't able to reprint the original on the blog due to copyright reasons, (I have contacted the publishers - plural - to ask for special permission but these things take time to sort out. I am still pursuing permissions as of this posting, so no e-text yet), I decided to use the opportunity to give you more information about the tale than I should sensibly put in a blog post, and send you on a treasure hunt instead. Turns out, these things take a good amount of work to put together, (!) hence the place swap. (Thanks for being understanding Adam!)
In the annotated version, you can find out more about the original form of the story, learn more Finnish words, the original wording of key phrases, tidbits on Finnish culture and mythology, and uncover links between motifs to other fairy tales around the world - some of which you know very well! 

Happy hunting!

And next up in the Fairy Tale Hidden Treasures Blog Hop is: Megan Hicks at Life, the Universe and Everything! (Hey Megan: TAG - you're it!)

Credits for images within the tale: 
1. Secret Door by Georgina Gibson
2. Fantasy Castle Wallpaper - artist unknown
3. Antique keys - photographer unknown
4. Antique door knob - photographer unknown
5. The Golden Apple Tree and Nine Peahens by Arthur Rackham
6.  From "The Princess in the Underground Kingdom" by Pavel Tatarnikov
7. A Golden Dream by Thomas Cooper Gotch
8.  Searching by Amanda Clark
9.  Bearskin Falling by Ellen Li
10. The Lover's World by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale 
11. Detail of Brunnhilde and Siegfried...from Rhinegold and Valkyries series by Arthur Rackham from an opera Siegfried by Richard Wagner