E6Huldrefjord
The Cormorants from Utrøst
NorskSkarvene fra Utrøst
When North Norwegian fishermen return home, it is not uncommon for them to find stalks of grain fastened to the tiller, or barley kernels in the bellies of their fish. Then people say they have sailed over Utrøst, or some other hidden land of the kind told of in the Northern lands. Such places reveal themselves only to pious or farseeing people who are in mortal danger at sea, appearing where otherwise no land is to be found. Here, the sun shines over greener pastures and richer fields than anywhere else in the North, and fortunate is the one who reaches, or even glimpses, one of these sunlit islands. Off Røst, at the southern tip of Lofoten, people tell of such a hidden land with green slopes and yellow barley fields; it is called Utrøst.
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The Cormorants from Utrøst
3 min
Once, on Værøy, close by Røst, there lived a poor fisherman named Isak. He owned nothing but a boat and a pair of goats, yet he was always content with things as the Lord had made them for him. One day, while Isak was out fishing a couple of miles offshore, darkness and thick fog came over him, and all at once a storm broke loose and forced him to steer out to sea.
Suddenly, he heard a terrible cry ahead. It proved to be only three great cormorants perched upon a driftwood log, and in a flash, he was past them. So it went on, far and long, and he grew so thirsty, so hungry, and so weary. All at once, the boat scraped against shore and struck. The sun broke through the fog and shone over a lovely land; the hills and crags were green all the way to their summits, fields and meadows sloped upward toward them, and he thought he caught the scent of blossoms and grass, sweeter than any he had ever known before.
“Thanks be to God, now I am saved; this is Utrøst,” said Isak to himself. In the distance, he spotted an earth hut and an old man sitting outside it.
“Welcome to Utrøst, Isak,” said the old fellow when Isak reached him and invited him inside.
Things were so splendid within that Isak was utterly dazzled. Never had he seen the like. The table was laid with the finest dishes: bowls of sour cream, redfish, venison roast, and liver stew with syrup and cheese beside it, whole heaps of Bergen pretzels, spirits and ale and mead, and everything that was good to eat and drink. Isak ate and drank all he could manage, and still his plate never emptied, and whatever he drank, the cup remained full.
They suddenly heard a shriek of cormorants outside; the old man then went outside. After a while, he returned with his three sons. They sat down to eat and drink with Isak, and soon enough, all had become friends. They decided to go fishing together.
Though there were plenty of fish in the sea on their first fishing voyage, Isak caught none, for he had brought his own fishing tackle and the fish at Utrøst kept slipping away. For their next spell at sea, the old man gave Isak a pair of hooks. With these, the fishing voyage went better.
Then he grew homesick, and when the time came for him to leave, the old man presented him with a new eight-oared boat, laden with flour, sailcloth, and other useful things. Isak gave his thanks and blessings. Should he need to return to Utrøst again, all he had to do was sail straight after the cormorant when it flies out to sea, the old man said. But when Isak had pushed off and turned to look about him, he could see Utrøst no longer; he saw nothing but the sea, wide and endless on every side.
From that time onward, Isak always had good fortune with him.