The Black Bull of Norroway

Once upon a time, there was a king who had three daughters. The two older daughters were very unattractive and also quite proud, while the youngest was such a beauty, so gentle, that not only her parents but everyone in the kingdom adored her.

One evening, the three princesses sat together and talked about whom they would like to marry.

"I would only marry a king," said the eldest princess.

The middle princess declared that she would only marry a prince or a duke.

"Oh, how proud you both are!" laughed the youngest. "I would even agree to marry the Black Bull of Norroway!"

And with that, the princesses stopped talking about it. But the next morning, as they were sitting down to breakfast, a terrible roar was heard outside the door—it was the Black Bull of Norroway, come to claim his bride. Everyone in the palace was terrified! The Black Bull was a monstrous creature.

The king and queen didn’t know how to save their daughter. Finally, they decided to deceive the beast and brought out an old henwife instead of their daughter. They placed her on the bull’s back, and he galloped away with her.

The bull ran into a deep forest, threw his burden to the ground, and realized that his bride had been swapped. Enraged, he rushed back to the palace with an even louder and fiercer roar. This time, the king and queen brought out a maid, but they failed to deceive him again.

One by one, they sent all the maids and then the two older daughters, but the bull treated them no better than he had the old henwife. Reluctantly, the king and queen had to give him their youngest, beloved daughter.

The Black Bull carried her far away. He raced through dark forests and desolate moors until he finally arrived at a grand castle where many guests had gathered. The lord of the castle was astonished to see the beautiful princess on the back of the fearsome bull but allowed them inside. When everyone sat down to dine, the princess noticed a pin in the Black Bull’s hide and pulled it out. Suddenly, the wild beast transformed into a handsome young man!

The princess was overjoyed as the young man fell to her feet, thanking her for breaking the evil spell that had cursed him. Everyone in the castle rejoiced and celebrated. But alas! In the midst of the festivities, the young man vanished. They searched every corner but could not find him.

The princess, who had been so happy just moments before, was now heartbroken. She decided to search the world to find her beloved.

She traveled many roads and paths but for a long, long time heard nothing of her love.

One day, as she wandered through a dark forest, she got lost. Night fell, and the princess thought her end had come—she would either freeze in the forest or starve to death. But suddenly, she noticed a light among the trees. She followed it and found a small hut. Inside lived an old woman. The woman invited her in, fed her, and let her stay the night.

In the morning, the old woman gave the princess three nuts and said:

"Do not crack them until your heart is nearly broken with grief!"

Then she showed the princess the way and wished her luck.

The princess set off again. Soon, she passed a group of ladies and gentlemen chatting merrily about the upcoming wedding of the Duke of Norroway. Later, she caught up with more finely dressed people who were also hurrying to the duke’s wedding, carrying all sorts of things.

Finally, the princess reached the castle, where crowds of cooks and bakers bustled about, unsure where to start. As she stood watching, a commotion arose behind her. The noble guests had returned from the hunt, and one of them shouted:

"Make way for the Duke of Norroway!"

And her beloved, accompanied by a beautiful lady, rushed past her.

At that moment, the princess felt her heart was about to break, but she remembered the old woman’s advice and cracked one of the nuts. Instantly, a tiny fairy emerged, holding wool that she began to comb.

The princess hurried to the castle and asked to see the beautiful lady. As soon as the lady saw the tiny fairy diligently working, she said she would spare no expense to have her.

"I will give her to you," said the princess. "But on one condition: delay your wedding to the Duke of Norroway by one day and allow me to enter his room at night and sit by his bedside."

The beautiful lady, eager to have the magical nut with the tiny fairy, agreed. When night fell and the duke was fast asleep, the princess was let into his chamber. She sat by his bed and sang:

"I searched for you,
I loved you,
Wake up,
Look at me."

She sang and sang, but the duke did not wake. In the morning, the princess had to leave, and he never knew she had been in his room.

Then the princess cracked the second nut. Out came a tiny fairy with a spinning wheel. The beautiful lady was so enchanted by her that she gladly agreed to delay the wedding another day to have this nut as well. But again, the princess failed to wake the duke that night. Desperate, she cracked the last nut. Another tiny fairy appeared, swiftly winding wool onto spools.

The beautiful lady received this nut too and agreed to delay the wedding one more day, allowing the princess to spend another night in the duke’s chamber.

But that morning, as the duke was dressing, his servant asked about the strange song and weeping that had been coming from his room the past two nights.

"I heard nothing," said the duke. "You must have imagined it."

"Perhaps you should take something to keep you awake tonight," suggested the servant. "Then you’ll hear the song and weeping too. They’ve kept me awake for two nights now."

The duke followed his servant’s advice. That night, the princess entered his room again and sat by his bed. She sighed heavily, thinking this would be the last time she saw him. But as soon as the duke heard his beloved’s voice, he jumped up. He was overjoyed that she had found him and explained that a sorceress had enchanted him, forcing him to become engaged to her.

"But now her spell is broken," he said, "because we are together again."

The princess was overjoyed to have freed the duke from the spell once more and agreed to marry him. The evil sorceress, fearing the duke’s wrath, fled the country forever, and no one ever heard of her again.

The castle quickly prepared for the wedding, and the festivities were held, bringing a happy end to the adventures of the Black Bull of Norroway and the travels of the king’s youngest daughter.

↑ To the top

The Black Bull of Norroway

More fairy tales