Geirlaug and Grethari
Long ago, a king, a queen, and a young prince lived in a happy kingdom. They had no worries, but that changed one night when a dragon attacked the palace and kidnapped the young prince.
The dragon flew fast to reach his hidden world, but was spotted by the military commander of the Mountain Kingdom. The dragon fled, leaving the prince behind. The child was brought before the Mountain King.
— Who are you, young man? Where do you come from? — I am Grethari. My father is the king of Goland. — Ah, yes, that kingdom is very far away. We will send word that you are here, safe. In the meantime, stay here with us. — Thank you, Your Highness.
A New Family
The Mountain King sent several letters to the king of Goland, but every time, they were intercepted by the dragon with his magic. After ten letters, when they received no reply from the king of Goland, the Mountain King decided to adopt the young prince.
— Ah, yes, what a wonderful idea, Sire! — The prince is a fine young man and will make a worthy king for these lands.
The commander also had a daughter named Geirlaug. She was a beautiful and wise young woman who knew magic. She and Prince Grethari became friends, and over time they came to love each other deeply.
— Geirlaug, shall we tell our parents that we want to be engaged? — Think again, Grethari. You are a prince! You must marry a princess. — You know that neither I nor Father believe in that. You are the only queen of my heart and I will not marry anyone else.
The Mountain King and his military commander were delighted by the relationship and decided to engage Grethari to Geirlaug. But life had other plans. The dragon cast a spell on the kingdom and kidnapped them both — Geirlaug and Grethari.
The Battle with the Dragon
— I've finally caught you, Prince Grethari! — What do you want from me? — I needed a king's son born under the dragon moon, when the moon was full, to sacrifice in fire so I could become invincible. You are that prince, and now I will sacrifice you in fire and become the most powerful dragon ever known! — Let me go, you fat bird, and you'll see what I do with my sword! — Oh, really? Very well!
— Fight me! — Grethari, you won't last long in battle, because he will use magic. On the table is a box of ash. While you fight, bring it to me, cut my bonds, and stay close. I'll take care of the rest.
So, as Geirlaug told him, Grethari brought her the box of ash and stayed beside her. The dragon used his magic, and when he was about to strike Grethari with a spell, Geirlaug threw ash on herself and Grethari.
The dragon's dungeon vanished and suddenly, the two were in an ocean. Both Grethari and Geirlaug transformed into whales. The whales fought fiercely with the dragon until he could no longer move, and the battle came to an end.
Grethari and Geirlaug came ashore, tired and drained, and returned to their original forms.
— Ah, ah, what was that? — Dragons don't like water. Only by bringing him into the ocean could we defeat him. — Where do we go now? Where is our kingdom? — Our kingdom is on the other side of the world. We can only go to Goland, your father's kingdom. — Really? How far is it? — I can take you there in a second, but you must promise something. — Anything, Geirlaug. — Whatever happens, you must not stop to drink water. If you do, we will be in great trouble. Keep this with you, for this ash brings misfortune. Never lose it. If you do, you will forget me until your future bride throws it away. — I don't understand. Whatever happens, I don't stop to drink water. Otherwise, we'll be in great trouble. I must never lose this? If I do, I'll forget you until my future bride throws it away? What bride, Geirlaug? And how could I forget you? I will only marry you. — Magic is mysterious, Grethari. Do as I say, please. — Of course. I will do exactly as you wish. — I will miss you dearly. — I will wait for you here.
Geirlaug sprinkled some more ash on him, and Grethari instantly arrived before the gates of the palace of the king of Goland.
The Return Home
— The palace is here? I'll be there in a moment.
Indeed, the palace gate seemed close, but no matter how far Grethari walked, he couldn't seem to reach the gate. It seemed like he'd been walking for hours and had covered miles, yet still hadn't reached the gate. The sun was scorching, and Prince Grethari was tired and thirsty. He was so thirsty that he forgot the promise he had made to Geirlaug, and the moment he heard a river, he headed toward it.
— Ah! Without this water I would have died. — Is that you, my son? — Father! Yes, it's me! — My dear child! We've missed you so much! — I've missed you too, Mother! — You've returned! Come to the palace, let us celebrate that our son, the prince of Goland, has returned!
The entire kingdom rejoiced. Because Grethari did what Geirlaug had warned him not to do — drinking water and losing the necklace — he forgot all about her and the mountains. Geirlaug waited for days, but when she saw he wasn't coming, she realized what had happened.
— My beloved prince has forgotten me! Oh, mother of the winds, what shall I do?
A New Life
— Life is strange and has ups and downs. But don't despair, for good things are coming!
Hearing nature's voice, Geirlaug sprinkled ash on herself and arrived at the river where Prince Grethari had drunk water. There she found his necklace and took it. Then she went into the kingdom. She began looking for work.
— I've come here looking for work. Do you need help? — Yes, you seem clever and young. We need someone to look after the barn and the stables. — I can do that if you'd like. — Of course, show me what needs to be done and I won't disappoint you, I promise. — Then come with me.
The forester's daughter showed Geirlaug what needed to be done, and soon Geirlaug was so skilled at her work that the forester's family was very pleased. Geirlaug cleaned the barn and stables, took the cows to pasture in the forest, repaired halters and riding crops. She even learned to make riding crops herself. Many riders came to her for them, and she became well-known in the kingdom.
One day, Prince Grethari was riding in the forest while Geirlaug was grazing the animals.
— Aha! The riding crop has come loose! — Can I help you, Prince? — Well, it seems the riding crop has broken. — If you come to my workshop, I can make you a new one. — Really? You're the famous crop-maker from the kingdom? — Prince, I don't know if I'm famous, but I do know how to make riding crops.
Grethari didn't remember Geirlaug and went with her to the forester's house, where she crafted him a new riding crop immediately.
— Here's your riding crop, Prince! — Thank you! It's perfect! How much should I pay you? — Well, if you want to pay me, promise me that when you get engaged, you'll invite me to the engagement and I'll receive a seat beside you at the feast. — Um, that's a bit of an odd request, but I promise I'll do so. — Do you think a prince must marry a princess? — Well, that's the custom. In fact, tomorrow I'm going to the neighboring kingdom to find a princess among the seven there. Thanks for the riding crop!
So the next day, Grethari went to the neighboring kingdom and, as was the custom, chose the most beautiful of the princesses. The wedding was to take place in Goland. The princess Grethari chose was rather poorly raised, and soon he realized he didn't like her at all.
— You want me to ride in this boat? So ugly? — It's not a boat, it's a ship. And how beautiful would you like it to be? — If I'd known you had such poor taste, I wouldn't have married you! — Ah, let's just go!
The prince and princess arrived in Goland, but the princess's behavior didn't change.
— Your palace is so small! Ouch! — It has a thousand rooms. How many rooms would you like it to have? — It's ugly and small! — Ah!
The Reunion
Soon, the engagement day arrived. As he had promised, Grethari invited Geirlaug and seated her beside him at the feast. The princess didn't like this.
— Who is this woman sitting at our table? — She's the famous crop-maker of Goland. — What? You put a crop-maker at our table? — Watch how you behave! — How dare you? — It seems you're arguing because of me. Perhaps I should leave. — No! I promised you! — Accept this gift from me. Wear it around your neck, and I will consider you've kept your word. — Of course. — Never take off this necklace. If you do, you will forget me until your future bride throws it away. — Why would you wear such an ugly necklace?
— Geirlaug! Is that you? — You've finally remembered! — Yes, yes. I'm very sorry I didn't listen to you before. What have I done? — What's going on? First you invited this ugly woman to the engagement! You seated her at our table, and then you put that ugly necklace around your neck! What an insult! — Well, my dear, if you consider yourself insulted in this ugly kingdom and in this ugly palace, perhaps you should reconsider whether you want to be engaged to my son? — Oh, yes! I want to return to my father immediately and break off the engagement! — I'm sure my son's heart is broken, but I will send you back to your father's kingdom on our ugly ship. — How wonderful! No one will miss her. Who is this charming servant? — She is the love of my life, Mother. She is the woman who brought me here alive.
And the prince told his parents everything about his life in the mountains.
— But I'm not a princess! — Who says a prince must marry a princess? People should marry for love, and I can see that you love each other very much.
So the king of Goland sent word to the Mountain King and his commander, and Geirlaug and Grethari had a fairy-tale wedding full of splendor. They were never separated again and lived happily ever after.
