Midsummer in The Enchanted Forest

Midsummer in The Enchanted Forest

There is a place in the northern part of Sweden where the forest is dense and full of life. They call it the Enchanted Forest because it carries so many secrets and people have said it is a place of magic. There is one day of the year when the sun sets for barely an hour before it rises again. It is called Midsummer Eve, and it is a special day in this part of the world. It is the time of the year when you welcome the summer which is short but intense and the people who live outside the forest prepare for a long night of celebrations with food, music, and dance around the traditional may pole.

The sun was already high in the sky that early morning, and it had been a warm night. There was noise and life in the forest as the preparations for the big feast had started. There was a path all the way down to the field that was covered in yellow and blue wildflowers, the trolls had walked there to pick the daisy flowers so they could decorate the may pole standing in the center of the clearing. This was the place where the trolls would be dancing later that evening. Everybody was looking forward to the big party and everyone was happy to give a helping hand, even the little ones who usually just played games with each other, climbing trees, or splashing around by the river.

Trolls have a close relationship to the animals in the forest. They know about their habits and make sure they hide their food and treasures away from the children and the animals by hanging them high up in the trees. Now they climbed up and down the tree trunks to collect the food for the feast. There was dried mushrooms, blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and elderberries. Some of the berries was boiled the year before and left to brew with pieces of bark and honey. This concoction was so strong that even the biggest toughest troll got tipsy.

Some of the young trolls had been down the river fishing for yabbies to be boiled with lots of dill in the big kettle over the fire. You could hear a yabbieparty from a long way, laughter and songs mixed with the slurping sounds of yabbies being lavishly consumed. Trolls get very dirty, especially the children, they walk bare feet in the dirt and roll around in berry bushes, the younger the sillier it would seem. Their hair is long and tangled, sometimes full of twigs and pine needles. Then there are the tails of course that sometimes just hang there in the dirt and water and this was the day when all the children had to have a bath. So, it was a busy morning down by the river where their hair was washed and rinsed with crushed herbs and the bodies were rubbed with scented oil. They all loved this special bath day and stayed in the water for a long time playing and having competitions of who could stay under the water the longest. Trolls can be naughty, and they would cheat of course breathing through a reed picked from the river. Old Troll Mum was there to wash their ears and try to control all the mayhem. The screams were heard from a long way away.

Harald was one of the oldest trolls in the forest. He sat by a rock cleaning fish and for each fish he took out of the basket he repeated a riddle as he looked into the fish eyes.

- Eather you are in, or you are out of the water so its time to make up your mind! In or out?

Looking the fish straight in the eye he continued.

- Looks like you’re out then!

It was a ritual to put a spell on the fish before it was cleaned. That is the way it had been for as long as the trolls could remember and if they did not hear Haralds voice then they knew something was wrong. Harald had sat by the river for so long that he had moss growing between his toes and you could watch him pulling the moss out as he cursed loudly. His hair was so long it reached way past his waist and when he bent down it touched the water. He only had a couple of teeth left in his mouth and when he laughed you stared into a big gaping hole.

It was a rather joyful morning in the forest…until…

- Vilje! Has anyone seen Vilje?

A loud voice echoed across the water and in amongst the trees. Troll Mum gathered her long skirt and jumped up from the river on to the rocks. Her big silver earrings sparkled in the sun and her long plats were decorated with small daisy flowers, blue and yellow from field.

- Has anybody seen Vilje?

The twins hiding behind the weeds were yelling and laughing.

- Vilje is a naughty boy! A naughty, naughty, naughty boy!

- Quiet!

Troll Mum ran towards Harald.

The voices of the twins echoed from behind the bushes.

- Harald, have you seen Vilje?

Harald scratched his head.

- Vilje? Well, he is either in or he is out and if he is out then he can’t be in and if he is in then he can’t be out. That’s all there is to it!

Troll Mum shook her head.

- Quiet! Can you keep your big cake hole shut for a minute? This is serious, have you seen him or not?

Harald looked at her with his big brown eyes.

- Can’t you give me an answer. Just a sensible answer.

Troll Mum was getting angry now and Harald knew it.

- Sensible? I’ll tell you that it can’t get more sensible than that. If he is not in, then he must be out and if…

- That’s enough! Troll Mum raised her voice; she was terribly upset.

- Oh, what’s the point, she murmured.

The twins were yelling from the weeds.

- Where is Vilje? Where is Vilje?

Troll Mum gathered her skirt together and her big feet thumped on the ground as she ran down the path away from the river. She screamed at the top of her voice straight into the forest.

- Viiiiilje! Where are you?

- Viiiiilje! Vilje! Her voice sounded desperate. Where are you Vilje?

Oscar bent down over something on the ground, his behind stuck up in the air. With that tail there was no mistaking of who this troll was.

- Oscar, have you seen Vilje?

Oscar stood up slowly. His hair was knotty and when he opened his mouth to speak you could see he had no teeth. This was old Oscar. The trolls called him that because nobody really knew how old he really was or who his parents were and where he came from. He just seemed to appear one day and never left.

- Nae, I haven’t seen Vilje, he is not here with my little critters. Look for yourself if you don’t believe me.

Troll Mum looked down at the ground, not that she expected to find Vilje there but there was so much to see. Snails, worms, ants, ladybirds, and caterpillars crawling on the ground along the path that Oscar had made for them, and she watched as this mad little parade moved on. Oscar looked at Troll Mum. It was not for nothing they called him “sharp-eyed Oscar.” In one of his slightly blood shot eyes, he wore an ancient monocle that he said made it possible to observe “the real world.”

- Are you not supposed to help with the party?

- Help! What sort of talk is that? Can’t you see I am helping the guests to get to the party! With a bit of luck, we will get there before the moon rises, I have a few more to collect on the way, I noticed a few interesting snails that would certainly be happy to join the party.

Back at the may pole the trolls were busy spreading out bark and leaves for the food to be served on. Tore was guarding the tree where the food was stored when he saw the twins come running from the forest.

- Vilje’s done it again! They bellowed in union.

They were yelling at the top of their voices.

- What is going on?

Tore grabbed both the twins and made them stand still.

- Vilje is soooo naughty! He’s run away!

The twins calmed down and then spoke slowly.

- Vilje has disappeared.

- Wait a minute, what is it you are saying? Where did he go? Do you know?

- Nae, we just saw him going into the forest. Troll Mum is down by the river looking for him. She went to see Harald; she is very upset.

Tore moved quickly along the path down towards the lonely figure by the river. Harald was mumbling to himself as he continued to clean the fish.

- Harald, where is Troll Mum?

He pointed down the path.

- Harald, gather a group and go down the other path. We must find Troll Mum and Vilje.

There was no time to think about the party now, Harald gathered as many trolls as he could find for the search party. They searched along the river, and they searched the forest. You could hear their voices echoing as they screamed.

- Viiiilje! Viiilje!

It was late afternoon when the group met up only to report nobody had seen a trace of Vilje or Troll Mum. They decided to forget about the party and split up again to continue the search. - - What’s that noise?

There were sounds coming from the may pole, and they went to have a look. They ran past a group of young trolls who had obviously drunk most of the elderberry drink and eaten berries and mushrooms. Some were laying on the ground, snoring loudly while others were moaning and groaning, holding their stomachs in pain.

Troll Mum was back now by the river. Her swollen feet were aching from all the running, and she bathed them in the water. She cried; it was a long mournful sound echoing over the water. Harald heard her and hurried to comfort her.

- Vilje is really gone! He has disappeared. Something has happened to him, I just know…

Harald helped her up.

- Come on. Let’s go back to the pole and find the others.

Back at the pole the noise was chaotic. The young trolls started moving around as they looked at the adults who had appeared suddenly.

Tore was the first one at the scene.

- What is this? What have you done?

- Aja, aj, aj, it’s hurting here.

The twins were pointing at their swollen bellies.

- I am not surprised! Look at this! You have eaten all the food, there is nothing left. Are you not ashamed of what you have done? You can stay hungry for a month, I don’t care. You have ruined the party!

The rest of the search party had arrived and stopped and starred in disbelief at the trolls laying on the ground groaning.

Tore went to the tree where the food was stored and looked up.

- What’s all the commotion about?

The sound came from a branch high up in the tree.

Tore looked up and saw Vilje sitting up there looking down at him.

- Vilje! What are you doing there? Come down straight away, we have all been looking for you!

It was a very ruffled little troll that slowly climbed down from the tree. He cried and held his stomach.

- What is the matter with you?

Tore shook him.

- What is it?

- Oh, he groaned mournfully.

- What’s that noise? Where is it coming from?

- It is coming from my stomach! Vilje cried.

- The tummy trolls are screaming!

- That’s enough! I have heard enough!

Tore was getting terribly angry now.

- Don’t you know what you have done! Everyone in the forest have been out looking for you! And look at the mess. There is no food left, the party is ruined and who’s fault, is it?

- I can’t help it Tore! I didn’t eat my porridge this morning and the belly trolls are not very happy!

Troll Mum was running towards him.

-Viiiilje! My little Viiilje!

She took him in his arms and hugged him as if she would never let him go.

- I have looked everywhere for you! I thought something terrible had happened.

- Oh, I know you did not eat your porridge today but…oh never mind…

She exhaled slowly and sat down with Vilje in her arms.

“So much for the midsummer feast” she thought. But at least Vilje was not hurt.

The evening came, the one they had been waiting for so long but there was no sign of a party or no dancing around the may pole. Until suddenly a large group of young trolls came walking out of the clearing.

- Troll Mum, we have something for you!

And they laid the bounty before her. Dried mushrooms, blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and elderberries. And even a nest filled with yellow goose eggs.

Little Doby stepped forward.

- The others will be here soon. Oscar has almost finished with his parade and Harold will bring the fish.

- Sorry Troll Mum, shall we start the party now? I’m getting very hungry; it’s been a long day!