East of the Sun and West of the Moon

There was once a poor farmer who had so many children that he could hardly give them enough food or clothes. They were all pretty children, but the prettiest was the youngest daughter, who was lovelier than words can say.

One Thursday evening late in autumn, the weather outside was wild and stormy and terribly dark. Rain poured down, and the wind blew so hard that the walls of the cottage shook. The family sat around the fire, each busy with some task, when suddenly something tapped three times on the windowpane. The father went out to see what it was, and there outside stood a great big white bear.

“Good evening to you,” said the white bear.

“And to you,” said the man.

“Will you give me your youngest daughter?” asked the bear. “If you do, I’ll make you as rich as you are now poor.”

The man would not have minded being rich at all, but he thought he should talk to his daughter first. So he went in and told the family that a great white bear was waiting outside and had promised to make them all rich if only he could have the youngest daughter.

The girl said “No!” straight out, and nothing could make her say anything else. So the man went out and arranged with the white bear to come next Thursday evening for an answer. Meanwhile he kept talking to his daughter about all the riches they would have and how comfortable she herself would be, until at last she changed her mind. She washed and mended her ragged clothes, made herself as neat as she could and was ready to go. Packing, I can tell you, did not take her long.

The next Thursday evening the white bear came to fetch her. She climbed onto his back with her bundle, and off they went. When they had gone a little way, the bear asked, “Are you afraid?”

No, she wasn’t.

“Just hold tight to my shaggy fur, and there’s nothing to fear,” said the bear.

She rode a long, long way, until they came to a great steep hill. The white bear knocked on the side of it, a door opened, and they went into a castle full of brightly lit rooms gleaming with silver and gold. A table stood ready laid, and everything was as grand as could be. The white bear gave her a silver bell, and whenever she wanted anything, she had only to ring it, and it would appear.

When she had eaten and drunk and evening came on, she grew sleepy after her journey and wanted to go to bed. She rang the bell, and at once she found herself in a bedroom with a bed as fair and white as anyone could wish, with silk pillows and curtains trimmed with gold. Everything in the room was gold or silver.

Now, each night after she had put out the light, the white bear threw off his animal shape and became a man. But she never saw him, for he came only in the dark and was up and gone before daybreak.

So things went happily for a while. But at last she grew quiet and sad, for she spent every day alone, and she longed to go home and see her father and mother and her brothers and sisters. One day, when the white bear asked what was wrong, she told him how dull and lonely it was there and how much she missed her family, and that was why she was so unhappy.

“Well, well,” said the bear, “perhaps something can be done. But you must promise me one thing: never talk with your mother alone, only when the others are there to hear. She will take you by the hand and try to lead you into a room to talk privately, but you must not go, or you will bring bad luck on us both.”

One Sunday the white bear came and said they could set off to visit her family. Away they went, with her on his back, far and long, until they came to a fine big house where her brothers and sisters were running about outdoors, playing, and everything was a joy to see.

“This is where your father and mother live now,” said the white bear. “But don’t forget what I told you, or you’ll bring us both bad luck.”

No, she certainly wouldn’t forget. When she reached the house, the white bear turned around and left her.

When she went in to see her parents, there was no end to the rejoicing. None of them felt they could thank her enough for all she had done for them. Now they had everything they could wish for, and they all wanted to know how she was getting on.

She said that life was very good where she lived and she had everything she wanted. What else she said I don’t know, but I don’t think they learned much from her.

That afternoon, after dinner, everything happened just as the white bear had said. Her mother wanted to talk with her alone in her bedroom. But the girl remembered the white bear’s warning and would not go upstairs. “Oh, whatever we have to talk about can wait,” she said, and put her mother off. But somehow or other her mother got around her in the end, and she told her the whole story: how every night, after she put out the light, a man came, and how she never saw him because he was always gone before morning, and how she longed to see him, and how lonely and dreary it was to wander about by herself all day.

“Oh my!” said her mother. “It may well be a troll! But I’ll show you how to get a look at him. I’ll give you a bit of candle to carry home hidden in your dress. Light it while he is asleep, but be careful not to drip any wax on him.”

She took the candle and hid it, and as night came on, the white bear came to fetch her. When they had gone a little way, he asked whether everything had happened as he had said. Well, she couldn’t say it hadn’t.

“Now mind,” he said, “if you have listened to your mother’s advice, you have brought bad luck on us both, and everything between us will come to nothing.”

No, she said, she hadn’t listened to her mother’s advice.

When they got home and night fell, everything went as usual. But in the middle of the night, when she heard that he was asleep, she got up, struck a light and lit the candle, and let its glow fall on him. She saw that he was the most handsome prince anyone had ever laid eyes on, and she loved him so much at that moment that she felt she must give him a kiss. She did, but as she bent over him, three drops of hot candle wax fell on his shirt, and he woke up.

“What have you done?” he cried. “Now you have brought bad luck on us both. If you had held out for just this one year, I would have been free. My stepmother has put a spell on me, so that I am a white bear by day and a man by night. But now everything between us is broken, and I must leave you and go to her. She lives in a castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and there, too, is a princess with a nose three yards long, and she is the one I must marry now.”

The girl wept and grieved, but there was nothing to be done; he had to go. Then she asked if she could go with him. No, she could not.

“Then tell me the way,” she said, “and I will find you. Surely I may do that.”

Yes, she might, he said, but there was no road to that place. It lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she would never find her way there.

The next morning when she woke, both the prince and the castle were gone. She was lying on a little patch of grass in the middle of a dark, thick forest, and beside her lay the same bundle of rags she had brought from home.

When she had rubbed the sleep from her eyes and cried until she was tired, she set off. She walked for many, many days until she came to a tall cliff. Under it sat an old woman, tossing a golden apple. The girl asked her whether she knew the way to the prince who lived with his stepmother in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and who was to marry the princess with the three-yard nose.

“How do you know about him?” asked the old woman. “Perhaps you are the girl who should have had him?” Yes, she was.

“So it’s you, is it?” said the old woman. “All I know is that he lives in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, and you will get there late or never. But you may borrow my horse and ride him to my neighbor. Perhaps she can tell you. When you get there, just tap the horse under his left ear and tell him to go home. And here, take this golden apple with you.”

So she rode a long, long time, until she came to another cliff, where another old woman sat with a golden carding comb. The girl asked her the way to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, but like the first, she knew nothing except that it lay east of the sun and west of the moon. “And you will get there late or never,” she said, “but you may borrow my horse to ride to my neighbor. Perhaps she can tell you. When you get there, tap the horse under his left ear and send him home.” And she gave the girl the golden carding comb, saying she might find some use for it.

The girl rode far, far away for a weary time, until at last she came to a third cliff, where a third old woman sat spinning at a golden spinning wheel. Her, too, the girl asked about the prince and the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. “Perhaps you are the one who should have had the prince?” said the old woman. Yes, she was. But this old woman knew the way no better than the other two.

“East of the sun and west of the moon, that’s all I know,” she said, “and you will get there late or never. But I’ll lend you my horse, and I think you had best ride to the East Wind and ask him. Perhaps he knows those parts and can blow you there. When you reach him, just tap the horse under the left ear, and he will trot home by himself.” And she gave the girl the golden spinning wheel, saying she might find a use for it.

On she rode for many, many days before she reached the East Wind’s house. She asked him whether he could tell her the way to the prince who lived east of the sun and west of the moon. Yes, the East Wind had often heard of the prince and the castle, but he did not know the way, for he had never blown that far. “But if you like,” he said, “I’ll take you to my brother the West Wind. Perhaps he knows, for he is much stronger than I am. Climb on my back, and I’ll carry you there.”

She climbed on his back, and off they went at a fine speed. When they reached the West Wind’s house, the East Wind explained that this was the girl who should have had the prince in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, that she had set out to find him, and that they would be glad to know whether the West Wind knew the way.

“No,” said the West Wind, “I’ve never blown that far. But if you like, I’ll take you to our brother the South Wind, for he is much stronger than either of us and has flapped his wings far and wide. Perhaps he can tell you. Climb on my back, and I’ll carry you to him.”

So they traveled to the South Wind, and it did not take them very long. The West Wind asked him whether he could tell her the way to the castle east of the sun and west of the moon, for she was the one who should have had the prince who lived there.

“You don’t say! So that’s her, is it?” said the South Wind. “Well, I’ve blustered about in most places in my time, but I’ve never blown that far. If you like, I’ll take you to my brother the North Wind. He is the oldest and strongest of us all, and if he doesn’t know where it is, no one in the world can tell you. Climb on my back, and I’ll carry you there.”

She climbed on, and off he went at a great pace, and this time too the journey was not long. When they reached the North Wind’s house, he was so wild and cross that cold gusts blew from him a long way off. “CONFOUND YOU BOTH, WHAT DO YOU WANT?” he roared at them from far away, so that an icy shiver ran through them.

“Well,” said the South Wind, “there’s no need to be so rude. It’s me, your brother the South Wind, and here is the girl who should have had the prince who lives in the castle east of the sun and west of the moon. She wants to ask whether you have ever been there and can tell her the way, for she longs so much to find him.”

“YES, I KNOW WELL ENOUGH WHERE IT IS,” said the North Wind. “I blew an aspen leaf there one time, and I was so tired afterward that I couldn’t blow a single puff for days. But if you really want to go, and you aren’t afraid to come with me, I’ll take you on my back and see if I can blow you there.”

Yes, with all her heart! She must and would get there if it could be done, and however wildly he went, she would not be afraid at all.

“Very well,” said the North Wind, “but you must sleep here tonight, for we will need the whole day if we are to get there at all.”

Early the next morning the North Wind woke her. He puffed himself up and blew himself out until he was so huge and fierce that he was frightful to look at, and off they went high through the air, as if they would never stop until they reached the end of the world. Down below there raged such a storm that whole stretches of forest and many houses were blown down, and out on the wide sea, ships were tossed and sunk.

On and on they raced, farther than anyone could believe, and all the while they were still over the sea. The North Wind grew more and more tired and so out of breath that he could hardly puff. His wings drooped lower and lower, until at last he sank so low that the tops of the waves splashed against his heels. “Are you afraid?” asked the North Wind. No, she wasn’t.

By then they were not far from land, and the North Wind had just enough strength left to toss her up onto the shore below the windows of the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. But he was so weak and worn out that he had to rest there for many days before he could go home.

The next morning the girl sat down beneath the castle window and began to play with the golden apple. The first person she saw was Long-Nose, the princess who was to marry the prince. “What do you want for your golden apple, girl?” called Long-Nose, throwing open the window.

“It isn’t for sale, not for gold or money,” said the girl.

“If it isn’t for sale for gold or money, what will you take for it? Name your price,” said the princess.

“If I may go to the prince who lives here and stay with him tonight, you may have it,” said the girl.

Yes, that could be arranged. So the princess got the golden apple. But when the girl went up to the prince’s room that night, he was fast asleep. She called him and shook him and wept bitterly, but whatever she did, she could not wake him. As soon as day broke, the long-nosed princess came and drove her out.

That day she sat beneath the castle windows and began to card wool with her golden carding comb, and the same thing happened. The princess asked what she wanted for it, and the girl said it wasn’t for sale for gold or money, but if she might go up to the prince and stay with him that night, the princess could have it. But when she went up, he was fast asleep, and however much she called and shook him and wept and prayed, she could not rouse him. At the first gray light of dawn, the long-nosed princess came and chased her out.

The next day the girl sat beneath the castle window and began to spin at her golden spinning wheel, and the long-nosed princess wanted that too. She threw open the window and asked what the girl wanted for it. As twice before, the girl said it wasn’t for sale for gold or money, but if she could go up to the prince and be with him alone that night, the princess could have it. Yes, she could, and welcome.

Now, there were some people who had been carried off to the castle and were kept in the room next to the prince’s. They had heard a woman in his room weeping and praying and calling to him two nights in a row, and they told the prince. So that evening, when the princess brought him his sleeping drink, the prince only pretended to drink it and tipped it over his shoulder, for he guessed what it was.

When the girl came in, she found the prince wide awake, and she told him the whole story of how she had come there.

“Ah,” said the prince, “you have come in the very nick of time, for tomorrow is to be my wedding day. But now I won’t have Long-Nose, and you are the only woman in the world who can set me free. I’ll say I want to see what my bride can do, and I’ll ask her to wash the shirt with the three spots of wax on it. She’ll agree, for she doesn’t know it was you who put them there. But only an honest human hand can wash them out, never a troll’s. So I’ll say I will marry no one but the woman who can get them clean, and I’ll ask you to do it.” And they sat and talked happily together all that night.

The next day, when the wedding was to take place, the prince said, “First I’d like to see what my bride can do.”

“With all my heart,” said the stepmother.

“Well,” said the prince, “I have a fine shirt I’d like to wear for my wedding, but somehow it has three spots of wax on it that must be washed out. I have sworn to marry no one but the woman who can do it. If she can’t, she isn’t worth having.”

That was no great matter, they said, and they agreed. The long-nosed princess began to wash as hard as she could, but the more she rubbed and scrubbed, the bigger the spots grew. “Ah, you can’t wash,” said the old troll woman, her mother. “Let me try.” But she had hardly taken the shirt in her hands before it got far worse, and with all her rubbing and wringing and scrubbing, the spots grew bigger and blacker, and the shirt grew darker and uglier.

Then all the other trolls began to wash, but the longer they kept at it, the blacker and uglier the shirt became, until at last it was as black all over as if it had been up the chimney.

“Ah,” said the prince, “not one of you is worth a straw. You can’t wash! Why, there’s a beggar girl sitting outside. I’ll bet she can wash better than the whole lot of you. COME IN, GIRL!” he shouted.

In she came. “Can you wash this shirt clean?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but I think I can.” And almost as soon as she had dipped it in the water, it was as white as fresh snow, and whiter still.

“Yes, you are the girl for me,” said the prince.

At that the old troll woman flew into such a rage that she burst on the spot, and the long-nosed princess after her, and the whole pack of trolls after her. At least, I have never heard a word about them since.

As for the prince and his bride, they set free all the poor people who had been carried off and shut up there, took all the silver and gold with them and moved as far away as they could from the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

About this story

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon” is a Norwegian fairy tale. It was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe and translated into English by George Webbe Dasent in Popular Tales from the Norse (1859), and it later gave its name to a collection illustrated by Kay Nielsen.

It invites comparison with Cupid and Psyche through the hidden husband and forbidden light, and with “Beauty and the Beast” through an enchanted bridegroom. These parallels do not mean that every version has the same rules or sequence of events. The heroine succeeds through her own courage and persistence, with help from three old women and the four winds.

Read the original: Popular Tales from the Norse (Project Gutenberg)

Suggested for ages 9–12 with guidance for family pressure, a secretive marriage, a sleeping drug, ships sunk by the wind and the trolls’ bursting deaths.

Who has the information?

The girl first refuses the bear, then changes her answer after her father repeatedly presses the family’s need. At the castle she has material comfort but little company or knowledge about the man who visits in darkness. The prince explains the one-year condition only after the candle falls. That makes the episode more complicated than a failure to trust: she has not been allowed to understand the arrangement she is expected to preserve.

Her journey depends on people who admit the limits of their knowledge and pass her to another helper. At the final castle, the overlooked captives supply the information that changes everything: the prince has been drugged during her visits. Once awake, he can cooperate. His washing challenge is a magical escape plan, not a fair measure of a woman’s worth or a reason to mock someone’s appearance.

Track a gift and a message

Follow each golden object from its giver to the night it purchases. Why do the first two exchanges fail despite the girl’s effort? Add the captives’ message to the sequence and explain what it makes possible. Which people are freed at the end besides the couple?

Questions to ask

• What warning did the white bear give the girl, and why did she break it?
• How did the three old women and the four winds help her?
• How did the prince use the spotted shirt to choose his true bride?

Related stories

• Prince Lindworm — another enchanted bridegroom from the North
• The Three Princesses of Whiteland — another long search helped by the lords of nature
• The Lad Who Went to the North Wind — another visit to the North Wind