"Ashlad and the Troll" is a Norwegian tale.

Once upon a time there lived a woodsman who had three sons. The eldest two lads were big and strong and hearty, but the third boy loved nothing more than to sit by the hearth, reading and dreaming. They called him Ashlad, and the elder boys often teased him.

"What good is all your reading?" they would ask, but Ashlad just smiled and took no notice of them.

When the woodsman grew old and his debts began to mount, he called his eldest son to his side.

"I'm too old for this work," he said. "You'll have to go into the forest to chop our wood to pay our debts."

The eldest son set out into the deep, dark forest. As he raised his ax to fell a tree, a huge shadow loomed over him and a deep growl of a voice said, "Chop my wood and I'll kill you."

The eldest son turned and saw a hideous troll standing over him. Terrified, the son dropped his ax and bolted for home. When he arrived, dripping with sweat and out of breath, he told his father he could never go into the forest again. "The troll owns the forest now," he said. "He'll kill us if we chop his wood."

The old man was furious. "Hare-heart," he called the lad. "When I was young I feared no trolls," he said scornfully. And he sent his second son into the woods.

The second son marched into the forest, but just as he raised his ax, a huge shadow loomed over him and a terrifying voice rumbled, "Chop my wood and I'll kill you!"

Sure enough, there stood the troll, so the second brother fled for home too.

Now the father was distraught. "Who will chop my wood?" he lamented. "Who will help me pay our debts? We're doomed!"

Ashlad stepped up and said, "I'll chop the wood."

The others laughed, but Ashlad did not care. He had read a great deal about trolls and had dreamed of meeting one someday, and so he simply asked his mother to pack a big round of cheese in his traveler's bag, and then he slung the strap over his head and tucked the bag inside his shirt. He merrily walked off into the woods.

Just as Ashlad raised his ax, a huge shadow loomed over him and a voice thundered, "Chop my wood and I'll kill you!"

Ashlad did not run. He turned and stared at the troll, and then reached into his bag and pulled out the big round of cheese.

"What's that?" asked the troll.

Ashlad smiled. "Just a big rock," he said, and then he squeezed with all his might until that round of cheese turned runny and dripped onto the ground.

The troll was stunned by this; he had never seen such strength in a man. "You squeezed that rock to make it liquid," he said.

"I did," Ashlad agreed, "and that's just what I'll do to you unless you help me chop this wood and carry it home."

"Very well," said the troll, for he did not wish to be squeezed like that. The two set to work, and they chopped down tree after tree until the sun began to set and snow began to fall.

"Let's take these home now," Ashlad said, and together they began to pull the wagonload toward home. But the troll did not want to lose either his wood or his pride, and so he said, "Let's stop at my place for a bit to eat and to regain our strength."

Ashlad agreed, for he was hungry.

When they reached the troll's house, the troll grinned and said, "I'll build a fire while you fetch the water for our stew." Ashlad walked out back to where two enormous steel pails of water stood. He knew he could never lift these, and so he sat and thought a while, and, as always, his imagination caught fire. He walked back inside and said, "Ah, troll, I am terribly thirsty, but those pails outside are only finger bowls. I think I'll walk down to the stream and fetch the whole thing."

The troll had no desire to lose his stream. "No, no, friend," he said nervously, "you tend the fire and I'll fetch more water," and Ashlad agreed to switch places.

Before long, the troll returned carrying the two enormous pails of water. He set these down to boil, and soon the stew was ready to eat.

"How much would you like?" asked the troll.

Ashlad grinned. "More than you, I'm sure," he said.

The troll howled with laughter. "No man can eat as much as I."

"Let's see then," said Ashlad, and the two sat down. Ashlad began to spoon up stew, and whenever the troll wasn't looking, he slipped a spoonful into the bag hidden beneath his shirt.

This went on until the troll had eaten so much he felt ready to burst. "You're not full?" asked the troll, staring in wonder at this little man.

"I'm getting there," Ashlad said, "so I think I'll make more room," and with that he took his knife and made a slit in his shirt, into the hidden bag.

"That doesn't hurt?" the troll asked, quite surprised at the sight.

"Only a little," answered Ashlad, "only a little. But it gives me more room," and once more he reached a spoon into the stew. "Try it, why don't you?" he said to the troll, "unless you're a coward."

The troll could not let this little man out-eat him, and he was no coward. So he lifted up his knife and did just what Ashlad had done, and naturally this was the death of him.

And so Ashlad conquered the troll, and he found all of the troll's jewels and gold, and these he carried home, pleased to be able to help his family, for he had dreamed of his reading and learning paying off someday.