Norwegian fairy tales: Old Tales from the North
The White Bear
The White Bear comes to a poor husbandman’s house and asks for his youngest daughter, promising to make the family wealthy. He carries the girl to a splendid dwelling inside a hill. At night he takes human form, arriving after she has put out the light and leaving before dawn. When she lights a candle to see him, three drops of hot tallow fall on his shirt. He explains that his stepmother has enchanted him and that the broken condition sends him away to another castle and an unwanted marriage. The girl’s subsequent journey to find him gives her an active part in his release. Their reunion turns on the same stained shirt that marked the separation.
Also known as The Bear Prince in Old Tales from the North
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In the sources
A changing form
LiteraryThe story identifies the unseen night visitor as the White Bear in human form; the daytime and nighttime identities belong to the same character.
The interrupted enchantment
LiteraryThe prince names his stepmother as the source of the spell after the candle’s hot tallow wakes him.
The shirt returns at the ending
LiteraryThe girl cleans the shirt after the trolls have failed, and the prince recognises her as his bride.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the title tale in the undated George H. Doran edition illustrated by Kay Nielsen. Its references identify the actual printed prose and exact Reader pages.
Original passages
Source 1
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
a man came and laid himself alongside of herOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: East of the Sun and West of the Moon, printed p. 12
Actual checksum-verified public Reader prose image inspected. Printed pagination read from the text page, not inferred from illustration-list or plate-caption references. Short quotation transcribed with spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0253-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0253-E001-P0014
- Original scan leaf
- 24
- Recorded leaf number
- 24
- Current Reader position
- 15
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
a White Bear by day, and a Man by nightOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: East of the Sun and West of the Moon, printed p. 15
Actual checksum-verified public Reader prose image inspected. Printed pagination read from the text page, not inferred from illustration-list or plate-caption references. Short quotation transcribed with spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0253-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0253-E001-P0017
- Original scan leaf
- 27
- Recorded leaf number
- 27
- Current Reader position
- 18
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 3
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
it was as white as driven snowOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: East of the Sun and West of the Moon, printed p. 27
Actual checksum-verified public Reader prose image inspected. Printed pagination read from the text page, not inferred from illustration-list or plate-caption references. Short quotation transcribed with spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0253-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0253-E001-P0033
- Original scan leaf
- 43
- Recorded leaf number
- 43
- Current Reader position
- 34
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Illustrations
Continue exploring
The Castle East of the Sun and West of the Moon
The remote castle reached with the North Wind’s help, where the girl must recover the enchanted prince.
Shared source pageThe Long-Nosed Princess
The prince’s intended troll bride, who bargains for the golden gifts and fails the test of the stained shirt.
Shared source pageThe White Bear’s Castle
The splendid dwelling entered through a steep hill, which vanishes when the girl loses the enchanted prince.