Student "Troll" Writing Submissions from 20th Nordic Fest: Part 1 of 2

A Troll, Creative Commons license https://www.flickr.com/photos/annabialkowska/

In conjunction with the 20th Nordic Fest in 1986, themed "Trollheim-Home of the Trolls," an essay and poster contest for area students. In this first of a two-part series, winning troll essays are shared:

Two Trolls Who Got Lost

One upon a time there lived a troll in a cave.

It had shaggy hair and an ugly face with warts on it. It only had one eye. One day there was a girl and boy coming down the path. They were lost. They went into Mr. Troll's cave. They seemed scared when they saw the great big monster.

He said, "Don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you at all because I'm a good friend to you - a 

very good friend."

His friend told him they were lost. "Would you help us go home?"

"Yes, I will bring you home and I will stay forever and you will not have any problems." And he did.

Anne Wangness

Grade 2

North Winneshiek 

Uff-Da

The Decorah Troll

A Breed Apart

I suppose I should start at the beginning. About 200 years ago a group of exploring Norwegian trolls found their way into the Decorah forests. During their journey through this area a young troll became lost. This troll was then forced to learn to survive by himself. He had to search for food and shelter. He came close to starving over the years because of lack of lutefisk. However, at that time, torsk could be caught in the Upper Iowa River. Torsk, along with lingen berries, made up the young troll's basic diet. Soon the troll found a home in a dark cave in the forest on the side of a limestone cliff. As he wandered around in amazement anyone spying him would say, "Uff-da!" What was a young troll to think? My name must be Uff-da! Yes, my friends, as funny as that seems, that is how that young troll became Uff-Da!

As he became more acquainted with the people and surroundings of Decorah, he realized that he was more than just a troll. He knew he was not your "run of the mill" troll, he was a "Heartland" troll.

Uff-da soon began to develop a protective attitude over his people, He was often seen chasing away those horrible Swedes as they approaches Decorah. During the holiday season, he stood guard over lutefisk, lefse, lingen berries and cream sauce. Although the holiday season was very busy, the Nordic Fest was far more hectic for poor Uff-da. He would hover over the goodies, smelling and sampling, just to make sure they were genuinely Norwegian. Uff-da was and is still the protective spirit of Nordic Fest. 

As each year goes by, we remember Decorah's beginnings with our special troll, Uff-da.

Liv Davick

Junior High Category