Short Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Jonas Lie.
Chapter 1
Short Fiction
A collection of short stories exploring themes of folklore, human nature, and the supernatural in coastal Norwegian communities.
Chapter 2
The Grey
The chapter introduces the farms of Strömshagen and Evjen, divided by a ravine and a history of land disputes. Gjermund Strömshagen, a poor but proud young man, and Sigrid Evjen, a beautiful and capable woman, have a childhood bond that has grown into a secret affection. After a lawsuit impoverishes Strömshagen, Gjermund's beloved grey horse is sold at auction to the wealthy Oesten Störsat as an act of revenge. Gjermund falls into despair, but his mother intervenes by fetching Sigrid to say goodbye to the horse. Later, Gjermund recovers the horse and returns home, but his long absence and silence have wounded Sigrid's pride. His mother mediates, and the rift is healed, leading Gjermund to finally go to Evjen himself.
Chapter 3
The Fisherman and the Draug
Elias, a poor fisherman on Kvalholm, spears a monstrous seal that is later revealed to be a Draug. After buying a mysterious Fembøring built by a boat-master instructed by the Draug, Elias takes his family on a voyage. The boat races a phantom vessel, capsizes in a storm, and Elias drowns after confessing the Draug's revenge. His son Bernt survives, rescued by the Finn girl, and later marries her.
Chapter 4
Jack of Sjöholm and the Gan-Finn
Jack of Sjöholm, a young fisherman, leads his crew northward in search of fish, only to be caught in a storm that sinks their boat and drowns all but Jack. He washes ashore and is taken in by the Gan-Finn and his granddaughter Seimke. Jack becomes obsessed with outwitting the Finn to return south. Despite Seimke's warnings, he attempts to build a boat, but the Finn's magic sabotages his efforts. A mysterious stranger offers him a boat, and Seimke desperately tries to keep him. Later, Jack becomes a successful boat-builder, but after his family drowns in one of his boats, he is haunted by guilt and supernatural visitations.
Chapter 5
Tug of War
After a storm, a fishing crew attempts to launch a Fembøring but finds it immovable. A man with second sight warns it is too heavy for human strength. A skeptical fourteen-year-old boy throws a stone into the boat, provoking a Draug to emerge and flee into the sea, allowing the boat to launch. That night, the Draug returns and drags the boy toward the door. The crew struggles to hold him, but after a fierce tug-of-war, the Draug releases the boy, who is found dead.
Chapter 6
The Earth Draws
A young salesman discovers a magical ring belonging to the underground folk, which draws him into a series of supernatural encounters with a pale, broad-shouldered woman. Despite his attempts to resist, he is repeatedly lured back to the mountain, where he glimpses vast wealth and power. He eventually wrenches the ring off and marries a tradesman's daughter, living happily for seven years. However, as Yuletide approaches again, a strange restlessness returns, and he becomes obsessed with an iron ring in the floor, muttering 'the earth draws' before disappearing.
Chapter 7
The Cormorants of Andvaer
A mysterious girl living on a remote island with her mother guards drying racks and captivates every young fisherman who visits. She demands that her suitors retrieve a specific gold ring from a treacherous island guarded by cormorants. Two suitors fail, but a third, whom she rescues from a shipwreck and revives, succeeds. On Midsummer Day, he fetches the ring, marries her, and they share a blissful day. At sunset, she ages and fades away, leaving only rags, and twelve cormorants fly out to sea.
Chapter 8
The Wind-Gnome
Bardun, a headstrong skipper from Dyrevig, captures the daughter of the Wind-Gnome while gathering eiderdown from a perilous cliff. She grants him a magical rudder that ensures fair winds for him and ruin for his enemies. Bardun becomes a tyrannical ruler over Finmark, defying magistrates and the king. His daughter Boel marries a young officer against his will, and when she and her husband flee, they perish in a storm. Bardun, now believing himself a god, sails south into a monstrous storm.
Chapter 9
The Huldrefish
Nona catches a strange, eyeless trout in a mountain lake, which is rumored to be a huldrefish from a double-bottomed lake. After eating it, he dreams of a terrifying subterranean journey through a world of eyeless fish, monstrous serpents, and supernatural beings, culminating in a vision of warm, deep earth and a liberating ascent back to the surface.
Chapter 10
Finn-Blood
Eilert, a young lad from Svartfjord, is drawn to the neighboring Finn family despite his parents' hostility. He befriends the Finn girl Zilla, learning tales of mermen and draugs. As tensions rise over fishing grounds, Eilert steals grave-mould from a Finn burial ground to help his father's catch, then seeks forgiveness. Later, he publicly rejects Zilla to avoid social shame. After a shipwreck, Eilert is rescued by a sea-girl who leads him to an underwater realm.
Chapter 11
The Homestead Westward in the Blue Mountains
A farmer's son, a drummer traveling to Moen for maneuvers, rests in the mountains and is lured by supernatural maidens. He chases one who stole his drumsticks into a homestead where five girls—Randi, Brandi, Gyri, Gunna, and a golden-red-haired girl—tempt him with dancing, music, and promises. An older female figure warns him that all is glamour and that the girls are homeless spirits. She instructs him to escape at sunrise. He follows her advice, flees over the fence, and returns to the valley, vowing never to drum for girls again.
Chapter 12
It's Me
Toad, a servant at the general dealer's house, gains increasing control over the household and shop through her strength and cunning, but her greed and mismanagement lead to conflict with the fishermen and her mistress.
Chapter 13
Endnotes
This chapter provides explanatory notes on Norwegian terms, cultural references, and folklore elements referenced throughout the book, including definitions of boats, fishing tools, supernatural beings like the Draug, and customs such as magic knots and the Finns' joikun.
