The Myth about the Wife from Dyret

Those from under the ground and regular people generally get along just fine, but it pays off to be kind to them. Here is a Samsø myth that tells you why.

“Once upon a time, a woman from Onsbjerg on Samsø was taking a walk by the large hill of Dyret and came across a big fat toad on the road. As the woman walked past it, without thinking she said to the toad: “Can I come to your place when you give birth?” A few nights later, after all the people on her farm had gone to bed, a small man rode up to the gate. He knocked on the door and demanded to speak to the woman and that she accompany him to Dyret because his wife had gone into labour and the woman had insisted to be there when she gave birth.

The woman followed him on horseback to Dyret, to help his wife while she was in labour. When it was all over and she was about to leave, the wife told her husband to give her a sack of coal as a thank you. The small man took the woman back to her home, thanked her and gave her the coal. She wasn’t particularly pleased as it was such a strange gift and just dumped it on the floor before she went to sleep, but when the rest of the household got up the next day they found a sack of gold coins on the floor!

Last updated: 11/02/2016 11:30