The goblin of the barn. . .

By Kirsten Nour Namskau

In Scandinavia we have a lot of different gnomes, goblins, pixies and troll. They are about 20 – 50 cm tall.
If you have a farm, you are sure to have a goblin in the barn. If you treat him well, he helps you to keep peace among your animals, but if he’s not happy . . . he will make problems and throw spell over the farm.
He doesn’t want to been seen, and one should not try to see him, because that implies for bad luck.
If he gets surprised by people, he very fast transforms himself to an animal . . . like a bird, squirrel, badger or rat.

I was about 8 years old when I was send to a farm at the countryside for a summer vacation.
We were 10 children at the same age. Spending our days enjoying the nature, good food, playing with the animals, ( horses, pigs, hen, dog and cat) and go to the forest and pick berries, flowers and mushrooms.

One evening after all children had vent to bed, I was still awake . . . listening to the sounds in the house. The grown-ups (a mother, a father and two daughters) had not went to bed yet, so I listened to soft music coming from the room below and their silent conversation.
Suddenly someone came rushing in the door and said with rather loud voice: “I saw the goblin. Ohh, my God. . . I saw the goblin . . . this means bad luck.”
‘Mother’ said: “Hush, don’t wake the children . . . well, we have to set out some good food for him tomorrow and hope that he didn’t see you.”

The next morning, I still remembered the conversation. During the breakfast, I didn’t say much . . . I was thinking about how or what could I do to be able to see the goblin because I wanted to see the goblin and that’s it.
I saw ‘mother’ had made porridge with good butter and cream.
She whispered something to her daughter, who took the bowl of porridge and went out . . .

After breakfast I was set to do some duties . . . but after duties I was heading for the barn. I went slowly and carefully into the barn.
There . . .right inside the barn, I saw the porridge-bowl . . . empty.
That means, the goblin had been there and eaten the porridge !!

A little further I saw the cat, licking its mouth and paws.
“Well,” I thought “That’s what cats are doing.”

I looked around to find a place I could sit down and wait for the goblin.
In a corner, I saw a stack of hay.
I went up to it and sat down, curled my feet up and closed my eyes half away, so the goblin should believe I was asleep.
I was sitting for hours . . . when the bell called for lunch, I didn’t attend. It would have disturbed the “spell” I was under.
When the bell called for dinner, I was still sitting at the stack of hay . . . when I suddenly heard something rattle in the center of the hay-stack.

“Of course” I was thinking “It lives right here inside the hay-stack.”
I was so excited, so I almost couldn’t breath.
I could hear him puzzle and tussle inside the hay-stack.
I waited and waited for him to come out . . . . but he didn’t come . . .
I started to get hungry and it started to get dark and ‘mother’ would soon call us in for supper and bed-time.
Time started to get short so I took a decision. . . .

In a sudden move . . . I took a grip on top of the hay-stack and lifted it up in a high speed . . . and just then . . . there . . .
I saw . . . I saw. . . a little bird. . . all black with a small red cap on his head.
When it saw me, it flew away with a scream . . .

I have always wondered since then . . . was it a bird . . . or was it a goblin, which had been able to transform itself into a bird in last second as I tore the top of the hay-stack off . . . but the transformation went so fast, so the cap on his head did not come with in the transformation???