The Genre of Trolls - Doria

Eve and come there among the trolls. She was detained there until they rang the church
bells on Saturday evening, when she was accompanied by a troll to the edge of the forest,
where she was left alone. Here she found her sought-for cattle herd, but her sanity the old
woman had lost. She constantly talked, but vaguely and incoherently, about her visit to
the meeting point of the trolls.
15) En tsjelg va’ engáng o to’ löve vär Bösberje o hág e bån me se som un sätt osta siti vör
berje, so léng un sku’ arbet. To un ha vuri i arbete in stond, so försvann båne. Módren
kom i ångest o byrja lejt et a, men hitta int a. Slútligen so så un tvinna fälan upp et berje i
sándin, liksom óv in bäsmansklapp. (trä besman, som är rund i båda ändarne). Hun jissa
to at nó ha na bergtroll furi óv me båne henars. Hun fár sidan ti prestin at han skú kóm tít
o skaff oter båne henars ur berje. Prestin kom ti sama ställe, o byrja tross’ tibak tsjeljinas
båne o all ars me, som dem ha taji bånen óv. Han va mytji iveri o predika degligt, o stött
me tsjäppin i berje o sá at dem sku för ti bák, hva dom ha täji. För än an byrja predik, so
sag’ an åt tom, som va me an, at dem sku’ va’ sakta. Tom va som an ság, o nog byrja dom
hör bånstej in i berje jude kóm alt höger o höger upp åt. Men so kóm me he samm två
vildgastar (elaka pojkar) o han di in sá åt han anin o skratta “Sir et hande prestin me langt
tsjeddje sett, o spotte som yr om in munin to an predikar”. Mejr behövis int för än bånjude
sank läger o ti slút försvann. Anin dájin fór prestin tít ömsand, o let int najn kom me
se o byrja oter predik och tros’ fram bånen, o stött nu tsjäppin i berje. To kom tsjeljinas
bån o máng ár bån me upp. Nagir sá de va’ hundra o óvi hundra år gambel, men va änto
små som dom ha vari, to dem ha váli täji. Prestin kresna dem, o tó vat tom, som va óveråldri
ti bare stoft. Tom ár, som va ynger byrja lev. (R II 325)
15) Once an old woman was collecting leaves by the Bötom Hill and had a child with her
which she placed to sit by the hill while she was working. When she had been working
for a while, the child disappeared. The mother was in anguish and started looking for it,
but couldn’t find it. Finally she saw twin footprints along the hill in the sand, as if from
the tongue of a steelyard. (Wooden steelyard which is round at both ends.) She guessed
that some hill troll had stolen her child. Then she went to the parson so that he’d go there
and get her child back from the hill. The parson came to the same place, and started coaxing
the old woman’s child back and all others’ too, from whom they had stolen children.
He was very eager and preached well, and rapped with his stick on the hill and said that
they should return what they had taken. Before he started preaching, he told those who
were with him to be silent. They were [silent] as he said, and they did start hearing the
steps of children in the hill; the sound came higher and higher upward. But all of a sudden
two madcaps (naughty boys) came and one said to the other and laughed “D’ya see
that priest with his long beard, and the spittle flying out of his mouth when he’s preaching”.
More wasn’t needed before the sound of the children was muted och finally vanished.
The second day the parson went there alone, and didn’t let anyone come with him
och started preaching and coaxing the children out once again, and now he rapped with
his stick on the hill. Then the old woman’s child and many other children too emerged.
Some said they were a hundred and more than one hundred years old, but were still small
as they had been when they were taken. The parson baptized them, and those who were
too old turned into only dust. The others who were younger started to live.
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