The Genre of Trolls - Doria

3) Tsjittargrå
He va’ ejngang e pa’folk, som lävd’ lyklit o aldri’ gräla’. To int’ fänin lykkast få dem ti’ perr’
o stríd’, so ji’ ’an ti’ Tsjittargrå o sá’: om hun sku’ få he di pa’foltsji’ ti’ gräl’, so sku’ ’un få e
pa’ pjeksor. Tsjittargrå hun lova’ jer’ e, o ji’ föst ti’ tsjern’jin o sá’ åt hennar: “om dö får
skuri’ bost tem di trí strånin ’an (hennes man) hár i stjeddje’ sett, so vál ’an ännu beter.
Han je’ mytsji’ redd fy’ dem, to ska’ sí et’ to do luskar ’an”. Sidan ji’ ’un ti’ kárin hennas o
sá’: “to ska’ sí de’ nåoga fyri nesta gang, to tsjern’jin dín luskar de’, hun tenker stjer striupan
óv de’”. To tsjern’jin sidan luska’ gubbin sen, so vila ’un sí i stjeddje’ hans o, fy’ ti’ få
bost skuri tem di strånin. Som ’un sku’ sí i stjeddje’ hans, so tråodd’ han som Tsjittargrå
sá’ he tsjern’jin hans vila stjer’ striupan óv ’an, o byra’ perr’ o dra’ se’ undan, o ti sliut so byra’
dem slåss’. Tsjittargrå hun iutretta’ no he som int’ fänin va’ kár til’. Från tan tídin ha’
pa’foltsji’ gräla’, int’ förr. Tsjittargrå je’ hun, som föst jåol’ he, o fänin motta’ som ’an lova’
söm’ åt ’in e pa’ ny pjéksor. Han sat på tsjyrkkamban o söma’ dem, o bekksnörin rekt’ enda
neder ti’ jåolin. To ’an ejn gang (det var om en söndagsmorgon) dråo’ opp snöre’, so
rykt’ ’an me’ ti sama opp in tsjerng. Fänin tykt to: “he kom fy’ ståor kniut”, men sá’ ’an:
“he ska’ ful änto dog’ åt Tsjittargrå”, o klappa’ líti’ om ’an me’ hamarin. To pjéksuna va’
fädi’, so dösa’ int’ fänin jev’ dem åt Tsjittargrå, annan bár dem på in humbelstang o rekt’
dem yvi’ älvin ti’ ádrun sídun åt Tsjittargrå. (R II 14)
3) Tsjittar Grey
Once upon a time there was a couple that lived happily and never quarreled. When the
Devil didn’t get them to tease and fight, he went to Tsjittar Grey and said: if she got that
couple to quarrel, she’d get a pair of boots. Tsjittar Grey promised to do it, and first she
went to the woman and said to her: “if you can cut off those three hairs he (her husband)
has in his beard, he’ll be even better. He’s very anxious about them, you should look when
you’re delousing him.” Then she went to her husband and said: “you should be very careful
the next time your wife delouses you, she’s going to cut your throat.” When the woman
deloused her husband, she wanted to look in his beard too, to get those hairs cut off. As
she was going to look in his beard, he believed his wife wanted to cut his throat, as Tsjittar
Grey said, and started teasing her and withdrew, and finally they started fighting. Thus
Tsjittar Grey now did what the Devil couldn’t do. From that time onward, the couple has
quarreled, not before. Tsjittar Grey is the one to accomplish it first, and the Devil had to
sew a pair of new boots for her, as he’d promised. He was sitting on the church roof sewing
them, and the wax-end laces reached to the ground. Once when he pulled up the lace
(it was a Sunday morning), he pulled up a woman at the same time. The Devil thought:
“the knot is too big”, but said: “it’ll surely be good enough for Tsjittar Grey anyway”, and
struck it a little with the hammer. When the boots were ready, the Devil dared not give
them to Tsjittar Grey, but carried them on a pole and handed them over the river to the
other side to Tsjittar Grey.
4) Handelsmannen och djefvulen
He va’ ejngang in rík handilsman, som há’ mytsji’ gambel varor, som ’an int’ vast óv me’.
Sidan so kom in kár til’ ’an o sá’: “om dö lovar de’ åt me’, to tem di varuna je’ sliut, so ska’
dem nåok gá åt. Handilsmannin lova’ se’ åt ’an, om ’an sku’ få sold alt, o dem jåol rigtit
kontrakt se’ imillan. Sidan byra’ nåok handilin gá, handilsmannin tsjöft’ mejr varor, o alt
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Select Narratives of Johan Alén