Gryla Hires a Cook

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The story

On the eve of the Christmas feast the innkeeper tells his travellers how the troll Gryla came down the valley one winter, not hunting anyone, but desperate to hire the best cook in the village for her cavern kitchen, where her thirteen sons complain about every pot. The innkeeper's own grandmother took the job for one night and outwitted the troll with a soup so dull that Gryla begged her to leave.

How it begins

Pull your chairs nearer, friends, and let the snow stay outside where it belongs. My grandmother was the best cook in this village, and this is the story she told me about the winter Gryla came down the valley. You will notice I keep the soup pot simmering while I talk. Old habits, and a little insurance. Now, you must understand that Gryla was not hunting children that winter. People say she was, and people say many things about the old troll, but the truth is simpler and far more embarrassing for her. Gryla had a kitchen problem. She lived deep in a cavern under the high peak, where the…

The folklore behind it

• Grýla and the 13 Yule Lads