In this Christmas folktale from Norway - originally entitled Kjetta på Dovre, it was collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe, in their classic Norske Folkeeventyr - a man and his bear (chiefly the bear) drive a troupe of trolls out of the home of Halvor the cottager one Christmas Eve night. Stopping for shelter, on their journey to the King of Denmark - the man intending to give the bear to the king - they are warned about the trolls that descend upon the house every Christmas, but choose to stay regardless. When one of the ill-mannered invaders mistakes the bear for a pussy-cat, he gets the surprise of his life, setting off a chain of misunderstandings that eventually frees Halvor from his yearly visitors...

I was pleased to see this traditional retelling of this folktale, after having only a lukewarm response to Jane Yolen's recent revisionist adaptation, Sister Bear: A Norse Tale, which changes the man in the story to a young girl, while also expanding her role. Here it is the ursine "cat" who is center stage - as it should be - and the humor of the story is more evident. As always, Tomie dePaola's stylized illustrations are a pleasure - I enjoyed looking at his trolls! I believe this story has also been retold by Jan Brett, in her Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?, and I think I may track that title down, to contrast and compare. ( )

Illustrated by Tomie de Paola