The forest troll

Forest trolls live in the deepest, most remote parts of the forests of Scandinavia. They are mysterious and silent creatures. Despite popular beliefs, they actually try to avoid human contact as far as possible. This makes them easy to overlook, for they are true masters of camouflage who blend seamlessly with the nature of their surroundings. However, they will show a rather frightening appearance should they encounter human intruders in their woods. Oftentimes they will first appear as an old fallen tree or a boulder covered with moss and bushes. So when you roam Scandinavian woods, exercise caution and always remember that everything may not be what it seems at first glance - you never know when a forest troll will deem you worthy of his appearance! In a Swedish fairy tale, some trolls even try to live among the human settlers in disguise. The troll crone disguises herself as a human washerwoman, trying to steal human clothes made of precious textiles such as velvet and silk, to later sell for money. A young human maiden, however, discovers and thwarts her scheme, and the troll crone and her son have to flee.

In the book Troldskab, Theodor Kittelsen writes the following story about the forest troll:

The woods, the wild monotony of the woods, have left their mark on us, we have become one with nature. We love it for what it is, with its melancholy power.

As children, we used to stare up into the rustling fir and pine trees, following their mighty trunks with our eyes and soul. We climbed about in the strong, twisted branches, until we reached the very tops - the swaying, rustling treetops, up there in the beautiful blue.

When the sun set, solitude and peace descended over the great woods, a dense silence. It was as if they dared not breathe, as if the woods were lying in quiet, silent expectation. Then our hearts would pound. We wanted more - we begged and pleaded for adventures, exciting wild adventures for us poor children. And the forest gave us an adventure.

Large but quiet, it approached stealthily, like the soft, soundless tread of a cat.

Everything that had been as immobile as stone began to move.

In the distance, a rock moved, inspiring awe and fear. It acquired eyes, started moving, walked in immobile silence straight toward us. And we rejoiced in our fear, we loved it!

It was the forest troll. His single eye revealed all the horror and fear, all the gold and glistening glamour our childish fantasy demanded.

We wanted to be terrified, and we wanted to stand up to him. Small though we were, we wanted to tease him, hack at his heels and steal his gold. But most of all, we wanted the shining eye from his forehead. Who would have believed that the ugly forest troll would possess such an eye?