I know what I have learned
by Andrew Lang
The Man and the Trolls
Once, there was an old man. He had three daughters. They all married trolls. The trolls lived in hills.
The man visited his first daughter. He ate dry bread by a hill. The hill opened. His daughter came out. "Come in, Father!" she said. He went inside.
Soon, Troll 1 came home. "We need soup," said the daughter. "Easy!" said Troll 1. He bumped his head on a beam. Soup appeared! They ate soup. Troll 1 gave him coins.
The man walked home. He thought about his cow. He put the bag down. He ran home. "Did the cow have a baby?" he asked. "No!" said his Wife. They went back. The bag was gone! A thief took it. The Wife was angry. "I know what I learned," said the man.
He visited his second daughter. He ate bread by another hill. His daughter came out. He went inside. Troll 2 came home. "We need light," said the daughter. "Easy!" said Troll 2. He touched the fire. His fingers glowed! They had light. Troll 2 gave him two bags.
The man walked home. He thought about his cow. He put the bags down. He ran home. "Did the cow have a baby?" he asked. "No!" said his Wife. They went back. The bags were gone! The Wife was very angry. "I know what I learned," said the man.
He visited his third daughter. He ate bread by a big hill. His daughter came out. He went inside. Troll 3 came home. "We need fish," said the daughter. "Easy!" said Troll 3. They got in a trough. "Are my eyes green?" asked Troll 3. "Yes," said his wife. He jumped in. He caught many fish! Troll 3 gave him three bags.
The man walked home. He thought about his cow. He put the bags down. He put his shoes on top. He ran home. "Did the cow have a baby?" he asked. "No!" said his Wife. They went back. Only the shoes were there! The Wife was very, very angry. "I know what I learned," said the man.
One day, the Wife wanted soup. "Go buy meat," she said. "No need!" said the man. He bumped his head on a beam. Ouch! It hurt. No soup came. He had to rest.
Later, the Wife wanted light. "Go buy candles," she said. "No need!" said the man. He touched the fire. Ouch! It was hot. He had to rest again.
Then, the Wife wanted fish. "Go buy fish," she said. "No need!" said the man. "Come with me." They got in a trough. "Are my eyes green?" he asked. "No," said his Wife. "Please say yes," he said. "Okay, they are green," she said.
He jumped into the shallow water. Splash! He got very wet. He could not catch fish. He laughed. "I learned something," he said. "I cannot copy trolls. I must use my own brain!" He went home. He was wet but happy.
Original Story
I Know What I Have Learned From the Danish. There was once a man who had three daughters, and they were all married to trolls, who lived underground. One day the man thought that he would pay them a visit, and his wife gave him some dry bread to eat by the way. After he had walked some distance he grew both tired and hungry, so he sat down on the east side of a mound and began to eat his dry bread. The mound then opened, and his youngest daughter came out of it, and said, ‘Why, father! why are you not coming in to see me?’ ‘Oh,’ said he, ‘if I had known that you lived here, and had seen any entrance, I would have come in.’ Then he entered the mound along with her. The troll came home soon after this, and his wife told him that her father was come, and asked him to go and buy some beef to make broth with. ‘We can get it easier than that!’ said the troll. He fixed an iron spike into one of the beams of the roof, and ran his head against this till he had knocked several large pieces off his head. He was just as well as ever after doing this, and they got their broth without further trouble. The troll then gave the old man a sackful of money, and laden with this he betook himself homewards. When he came near his home he remembered that he had a cow about to calve, so he laid down the money on the ground, ran home as fast as he could, and asked his wife whether the cow had calved yet. ‘What kind of a hurry is this to come home in?’ said she. ‘No, the cow has not calved yet.’ ‘Then you must come out and help me in with a sackful of money,’ said the man. ‘A sackful of money?’ cried his wife. ‘Yes, a sackful of money,’ said he. ‘Is that so very wonderful?’ His wife did not believe very much what he told her, but she humoured him, and went out with him. When they came to the spot where he had left it there was no money there; a thief had come along and stolen it. His wife then grew angry and scolded him heartily. ‘Well, well!’ said he, ‘hang the money! I know what I have learned.’ ‘What have you learned?’ said she. ‘Ah! I know that,’ said the man. After some time had passed the man had a mind to visit his second eldest daughter. His wife again gave him some dry bread to eat, and when he grew tired and hungry he sat down on the east side of a mound and began to eat it. As he sat there his daughter came up out of the mound, and invited him to come inside, which he did very willingly. Soon after this the troll came home. It was dark by that time, and his wife bade him go and buy some candles. ‘Oh, we shall soon get a light,’ said the troll. With that he dipped his fingers into the fire, and they then gave light without being burned in the least. The old man got two sacks of money here, and plodded away homewards with these. When he was very nearly home he again thought of the cow that was with calf, so he laid down the money, ran home, and asked his wife whether the cow had calved yet. ‘Whatever is the matter with you?’ said she. ‘You come hurrying as if the whole house was about to fall. You may set your mind at rest: the cow has not calved yet.’ The man now asked her to come and help him home with the two sacks of money. She did not believe him very much, but he continued to assure her that it was quite true, till at last she gave in and went with him. When they came to the spot there had again been a thief there and taken the money. It was no wonder that the woman was angry about this, but the man only said, ‘Ah, if you only knew what I have learned.’ A third time the man set out--to visit his eldest daughter. When he came to a mound he sat down on the east side of it and ate the dry bread which his wife had given him to take with him. The daughter then came out of the mound and invited her father to come inside. In a little the troll came home, and his wife asked him to go and buy some fish. ‘We can get them much more easily than that,’ said the troll. ‘Give me your dough trough and your ladle.’ They seated themselves in the trough, and rowed out on the lake which was beside the mound. When they had got out a little way the troll said to his wife, ‘Are my eyes green?’ ‘No, not yet,’ said she. He rowed on a little further and asked again, ‘Are my eyes not green yet?’ ‘Yes,’ said his wife, ‘they are green now.’ Then the troll sprang into the water and ladled up so many fish that in a short time the trough could hold no more. They then rowed home again, and had a good meal off the fish. The old man now got three sacks full of money, and set off home with them. When he was almost home the cow again came into his head, and he laid down the money. This time, however, he took his wooden shoes and laid them above the money, thinking that no one would take it after that. Then he ran home and asked his wife whether the cow had calved. It had not, and she scolded him again for behaving in this way, but in the end he persuaded her to go with him to help him with the three sacks of money. When they came to the spot they found only the wooden shoes, for a thief had come along in the meantime and taken all the money. The woman was very angry, and broke out upon her husband; but he took it all very quietly, and only said, ‘Hang the money! I know what I have learned.’ ‘What have you learned I should like to know?’ said his wife. ‘You will see that yet,’ said the man. One day his wife took a fancy for broth, and said to him, ‘Oh, go to the village, and buy a piece of beef to make broth.’ ‘There’s no need of that,’ said he; ‘we can get it an easier way.’ With that he drove a spike into a beam, and ran his head against it, and in consequence had to lie in bed for a long time afterwards. After he had recovered from this his wife asked him one day to go and buy candles, as they had none. ‘No,’ he said, ‘there’s no need for that;’ and he stuck his hand into the fire. This also made him take to bed for a good while. When he had got better again his wife one day wanted fish, and asked him to go and buy some. The man, however, wished again to show what he had learned, so he asked her to come along with him and bring her dough trough and a ladle. They both seated themselves in this, and rowed upon the lake. When they had got out a little way the man said, ‘Are my eyes green?’ ‘No,’ said his wife; ‘why should they be?’ They rowed a little further out, and he asked again, ‘Are my eyes not green yet?’ ‘What nonsense is this?’ said she; ‘why should they be green?’ ‘Oh, my dear,’ said he, ‘can’t you just say that they are green?’ ‘Very well,’ said she, ‘they are green.’ As soon as he heard this he sprang out into the water with the ladle for the fishes, but he just got leave to stay there with them!
Moral of the Story
One should not blindly imitate what they see others do, especially when lacking the inherent abilities or understanding of the original actor.
Characters
The Man ★ protagonist
Old, easily tired
Attire: Simple peasant clothing appropriate for rural Denmark
Forgetful, foolish, easily distracted, stubborn
The Wife ◆ supporting
Strong, capable
Attire: Practical peasant dress, apron
Practical, easily angered, long-suffering
Youngest Daughter ◆ supporting
Lives underground
Attire: Simple dress, perhaps with earth-toned colors
Kind, hospitable
Second Eldest Daughter ◆ supporting
Lives underground
Attire: Simple dress, perhaps with earth-toned colors
Kind, hospitable
Eldest Daughter ◆ supporting
Lives underground
Attire: Simple dress, perhaps with earth-toned colors
Kind, hospitable
Troll (Youngest Daughter's Husband) ◆ supporting
Able to injure himself without lasting harm
Attire: Crude clothing
Resourceful, violent
Troll (Second Eldest Daughter's Husband) ◆ supporting
Able to produce light with his fingers
Attire: Crude clothing
Resourceful, violent
Troll (Eldest Daughter's Husband) ◆ supporting
Eyes turn green when fishing
Attire: Crude clothing
Resourceful, violent
Locations
East side of a mound
Grassy mound with an opening to an underground dwelling
Mood: eerie, mysterious
The man visits each of his daughters living with trolls.
Troll's underground home
A dwelling inside a mound, sturdy beams in the roof
Mood: strange, otherworldly
The man witnesses the troll's strange abilities to create food and light.
Road near the man's home
A path leading to the man's house, close enough to worry about a calving cow
Mood: anxious, frustrating
The man repeatedly leaves the money unattended and it gets stolen.
Lake beside the mound
A lake next to the troll's mound dwelling
Mood: foolish, watery
The man tries to imitate the troll's fishing method and fails.
Story DNA
Moral
One should not blindly imitate what they see others do, especially when lacking the inherent abilities or understanding of the original actor.
Plot Summary
An old man visits his three daughters, who are married to trolls, and observes their magical, unconventional ways of performing daily tasks like making broth, lighting rooms, and fishing. Each time, he receives money but loses it due to his preoccupation with his cow and his wife's disbelief, cryptically claiming he has 'learned' something. Convinced he can replicate the trolls' magic, he attempts their tricks himself, injuring himself with the first two and ultimately drowning when he tries to magically fish like the third troll, proving his folly.
Themes
Emotional Arc
curiosity to foolishness to tragicomic demise
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Andrew Lang's 'Fairy Books' were collections of folklore from various cultures, making this a translated and compiled piece rather than an original Danish publication in English.
Plot Beats (12)
- An old man visits his youngest daughter, married to a troll, and enters their mound home.
- The first troll creates beef broth by knocking pieces off his head, then gives the man a sack of money.
- The man loses the money on the way home, distracted by his cow, and tells his scolding wife, 'I know what I have learned.'
- The man visits his second daughter; the second troll creates light by dipping fingers in fire, then gives the man two sacks of money.
- The man again loses the money due to his cow, repeating his cryptic phrase to his angry wife.
- The man visits his eldest daughter; the third troll magically fishes by turning his eyes green and jumping into the lake, then gives the man three sacks of money.
- The man loses the money a third time, despite trying to hide it, and repeats his phrase to his furious wife.
- The wife asks for beef broth, and the man attempts to imitate the first troll's method, injuring himself and requiring bed rest.
- The wife asks for candles, and the man attempts to imitate the second troll's method, burning his hand and requiring more bed rest.
- The wife asks for fish, and the man takes her to the lake, asking her to confirm his eyes are green.
- After some persuasion, his wife says his eyes are green, and the man jumps into the lake.
- The man drowns, unable to perform the troll's magic, having only 'learned' the actions, not the inherent ability.
