Ellen of Villenskov, and Other Ballads

These are Danish folk ballads translated into English, collected in the early 20th century. The centerpiece, 'Ellen of Villenskov,' tells of a yeoman's wife who becomes fair game for a Trold, a mythical creature, after her husband builds their home in its domain. Captured and facing a grim fate, Ellen must use her wits: she kisses the creature, and it transforms into a noble knight, breaking the spell. What makes this ballad remarkable is its reversal of the usual formula, the heroine saves herself, and cleverness defeats brute force. The surrounding pieces, including 'Uraniensborg' and 'The Ready Answer,' blend humor, moral wisdom, and the strange logic of folklore. These are verses that carry the weight of oral tradition, where magic operates by its own rules and the boundary between the human and supernatural world is thin. For readers who prefer their fairy tales dark, their heroines active, and their magic unapologetically strange.