Asbjørnsen & Moe

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe revolutionized folktales in the 1800s when they collected oral stories from all across Norway. Through the Asbjørnsen and Moe collected tales, we got the original texts just as they were told around the fireside, and their work defined Norway's folktale heritage.

In their collections we meet everything from cunning trolls and magical creatures to heartwarming stories about courage and friendship. Well-known titles from Asbjørnsen and Moe's tales include "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," "White-Bear-King-Valemon," and "Soria Moria Castle" — stories that have captured children's imaginations for generations.

Explore our Asbjørnsen and Moe page and give your children the chance to dream away into ancient forests, meet creatures from underground, and learn valuable life lessons. This is timeless reading that inspires play, learning, and magical experiences — all year round!

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The best tales from Asbjørnsen & Moe

We've put together a selected collection of the best tales from Asbjørnsen & Moe, and we hope you'll enjoy them!

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Asbjørnsen & Moe have many more tales to offer

Asbjørnsen & Moe gathered a rich variety of stories still waiting to be explored. Here you'll find the whole range of tales from this classic duo — we'll gradually publish adapted versions of each individual story on our site. Stay tuned for ever more magical tales!

Tales of magic

• ⭐ Ash Lad and the Troll's Contest
• ⭐ Ash Lad and the Good Helpers
• ⭐ The Lad Who Went to the North Wind and Demanded His Flour Back
• ⭐ The Mill That Grinds at the Bottom of the Sea
• ⭐ White-Bear-King-Valemon
• Ash Lad Who Stole the Troll's Silver Ducks
• Farmer Weathersky
• Bushy Bride
• The Blue Band
• The Seven Foals
• The Twelve Wild Ducks
• The Three Princesses in the Blue Mountain
• The Three Princesses of Whiteland
• The Doll in the Grass
• The Widow's Son
• The Fisherman's Sons
• Bird Dam
• The Golden Bird
• The Golden Castle That Hung in the Air
• The Boy Who Turned Himself into a Lion, a Falcon, and an Ant
• The Lad Who Was to Serve Three Years Without Pay
• The King's Hares
• Lord Peter
• Hakon Grizzlebeard
• Neither Riding Nor Walking
• The Maiden on the Glass Mountain
• Kari Woodencoat
• The Cat on the Dovre Mountain
• Shortshanks
• Tatterhood
• The Master Maid
• Per, Paul, and Espen Ash Lad
• The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body
• The Boys Who Met the Trolls in the Hedal Woods
• Buttercup
• ⭐ Soria Moria Castle
• The Three Lemons
• True and Untrue
• Little Thumbling
• Little Åse the Goose Girl
• Little Freddy with His Fiddle
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon
• Gudbrand on the Hillside
• The Hen Trips in the Mountain
• Dapplegrim
• Well Done and Ill Paid
• The Farmer's Daughter and the Wife's Daughter
• The Three Aunts
• The Sweetheart in the Forest
• The Green Knight
• Tyrihans, Who Made the Princess Laugh
• The Shop Boy with the Load of Old Cheese
• The Companion
• The Boy with the Beer Keg
• Shoo, Cat, Get Off the Table!
• The Squire's Bride
• The World Pays No Differently
• The Mill Legend
• The King of Ekeberg
• Matthias the Hunter's Tales
• Berthe Tuppenhaug's Tales
• An Evening in a Manor Kitchen
• Of Hulder Descent
• A Man from Hallingdal with Angelica Root
• The Lunde Family
• An Old-Fashioned Christmas Eve
• A Night in Nordmarka
• An Evening by the Andelva River
• The Gravedigger's Tales
• The Jutul and Johannes Blessom
• From the Mountain and the Summer Pasture
• High Mountain Pictures: 1. A Sunday Evening at the Mountain Pasture
• High Mountain Pictures: 2. Reindeer Hunting by Rondane
• The Plank Haulers
• A Capercaillie Mating Ground in Holleia
• A Wise-Woman
• A Summer Night in Krokskogen
• Travelers
• An Evening at the Neighboring Farm
• From the Sognefjord
• To Haus: The Tufte-Folk at Sandflesa
• To Haus: Mackerel Trolling
• To Haus: On the Heights of Alexandria
• Gold Fever

Animal tales

• ⭐ The Three Billy Goats Gruff
• ⭐ The Pancake
• Bamse of Brakar
• They Were to Share a Field
• They Bet on Bacon and a Bumblebee's Nest
• The Pig and His Way of Life
• The Cock, the Cuckoo, and the Blackcock
• The Cock and the Hen
• The Cock and the Hen in the Nut Woods
• The Cock and the Fox
• The Cock That Fell into the Brewing Vat
• The Hare Who Had Been Married
• The House Mouse and the Mountain Mouse
• Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed
• The Hen That Had to Go to Dovre So the World Wouldn't Perish
• The Cat Who Was Such a Terrible Glutton
• Reynard Wants to Taste Horsemeat
• The Fox Widow
• The Fox Cheats the Bear Out of His Christmas Fare
• The Fox as Herdsman
• Let Go the Fir-Root and Grab the Fox's Foot
• The Ram and the Pig Who Went to the Woods to Live by Themselves

Religious and legendary tales

• The Honest Fourpenny-Bit
• A Priest's Tale
• A West-Country Skovdal
• The Devil and the Bailiff
• Gertrude's Bird
• The Boy and the Devil
• The Virgin Mary and the Swallow
• The Virgin Mary as Godmother
• The Christmas Visit to the Parsonage
• The Priest's Mother
• The Cormorants of Utrøst
• The Skipper and Old Erik
• The Smith They Would Not Let into Hell
• Friends in Life and Death
• Our Lord and St. Peter Wandering

Humorous tales

• ⭐ The Seven Fathers in the House
• Ash Lad Who Got the Princess to Give Herself Away
• No Trouble for the Man All Women Love
• Foolish Men and Wives Who Were Trolls
• A Wooing Story
• Crazy Mattis
• Giske
• Good Day, Neighbor! — Axe Handle
• The Boy Who Wanted to Become a Merchant
• The Boy Who Wanted to Woo the Old Woman's Daughter in the Corner
• The Master of the House Himself
• Everyone Thinks Their Own Children Are Best
• Hairy Log, Who Would Never Go Home
• The Sexton in Our Village
• The Old Woman Against the Stream
• The Charcoal Burner
• The Husband Who Was to Mind the House
• The Master Thief
• ⭐ Mumle Goose-Egg
• Peik
• The Priest and the Sexton
• The Princess Who Could Not Be Out-Talked
• Pål of the Second Farm
• Rich Peter the Peddler
• Redfox and Ash Lad
• Seven-Year-Old Porridge
• The Box with Something Strange in It
• Some Wives Are Like That
• The Riddle
• The Storehouse Key in the Spinning-Wheel Head
• Big Per and Little Per
• The Tobacco Boy