Heathlands & Hummocks & Hidden Folk

This week, I have again been working on the Icelandic Fairy Tales collection and have enjoyed one story in particular.  "The Field Hand" is a wonderful, wandering story that has a little life lesson on the benefits of being kind.  As I worked on it, the visual had me remembering last year's trip to Iceland.



Fog rolls in quicky!

I easily recalled watching in amazement how alive the fog can seem, how sometimes it may seem to creep on bony fingers over the mountain tops and other times it overtakes the landscape, seeming to fly in like a fire devouring a forest.  So driven was the progress it seemed that it was being moved by an unseen force.  I also recalled on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula there is a beautiful Fishermen's Garden where you can stand with the Ocean at your back and the mountain-tops covered by the glacier in front of you.  Remembering this area, it became easy to imagine the heathlands and hummocks and quite believable that they may be home to hidden folk. 

The start of the story goes like this:

A young man named Dreki was from the Sudurnes, which is the southern peninsula of Iceland.  One summer, he traveled to the North to find work as a field hand.  His travel was uneventful until he reached the heathlands.  The heathlands is an area of very rocky ground, where little can grow except a heath moss.  It is very dry and ground is covered in hummocks, which are lumps and mounds that are often home to the Hidden Folk.  As Dreki passed into the heathlands, a heavy fog descended upon him that was so thick, he soon lost his way.   The dense fog was followed by sleet and cold, so Dreki decided to stop for the night and pitched his tent.  After his camp was set up, he dug into his pack, pulled out his food and began to eat. 

While he was enjoying his meal, a rust-colored dog entered the tent, all wet and hungry-looking.  The southerner was surprised to see a dog in such a place where he expected no living creature.  And so ugly and outlandish was the animal that the man was a bit frightened of it.  Nevertheless, he gave the dog all it wanted to eat.  The mutt wolfed down the food and then left, disappearing into the fog. 

 Dreki may be in for a supernatural encounter!  Or, has he had one already?   Read the whole story in my upcoming book on Icelandic legends & fairy tales which is set to be released this summer.  Follow my blog for more stories and details.