Snorri and the Norn

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Pinna.

Adam Gidwitz (0:12)

Hi, my name is Adam Gidwitz.

Adam Gidwitz (0:15)

I'm an author. I'm also a storyteller.

Adam Gidwitz (0:18)

I like telling all kinds of stories, but I especially like telling Grimm fairy tales.

You may think you know Grimm fairy tales, and you may think that they are sweet and boring.

But listen, those tales you heard were the cute, happy little kid bedtime versions of the Grimm tales.

Adam Gidwitz (0:37)

The original Grimm fairy tales aren't like that at all. They're weird and sometimes gross and often scary.

Adam Gidwitz (0:46)

In other words, they're grim.

Adam Gidwitz (0:48)

And I'm about to walk into a classroom and tell one of the original Grimm, Grimm tales to a bunch of kids.

Do you want to join me? Do you want to hear a Grimm fairy tale? Let me help you decide. On a scale of Grimm, Grimmer and Grimmest, this story is grim. It's not too scary, but there is some danger and some philosophy. So beware.

Adam Gidwitz (1:19)

If I get to a part of the story and you start to feel scared or uncomfortable, this is what you could do.

Adam Gidwitz (1:25)

You could turn down the volume and count to five.

Adam Gidwitz (1:29)

Then turn the volume back up.

If it still seems like a part you don't want to hear, just turn the volume down and count to five again. You know how much weird and gross and scary you're ready for.

Adam Gidwitz (1:44)

Okay.

Adam Gidwitz (1:45)

I'm at the classroom door now. There are kids inside waiting to hear a Grimm fairy tale.

So, are you coming in?

Adam Gidwitz (2:04)

Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest.

Adam Gidwitz (2:15)

This episode is called Snorri and the Norn.

SPEAKER_1 (2:20)

What? What is that?

Adam Gidwitz (2:23)

The reason it's called Snorri and the Norn is, this is not based on Grimm's fairy tales. I'm excited about this story. Now, the stories that we've done on Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest so far have almost all, not all, but almost all been German stories. Either stories by the brothers Grimm, who were German, or stories by, who can say his name?

Adam Gidwitz (2:44)

The other guy. I forgot.

Adam Gidwitz (2:46)

It's Franz Xaver von Schönwurt.

So, the Grimm brothers lived in the 1800s, about 200 years ago. But 800 years before that, a thousand years ago, the stories not from Germany, but the Norse myths were written down. You guys have probably heard some of the Norse mythology, right? Like Thor, have you heard of Thor?

SPEAKER_1 (3:15)

Thor, like in the Avengers?

Adam Gidwitz (3:17)

Like in the Avengers. Thor from the Avengers.

Loki from the Avengers. These are Norse gods. There's another Norse god named Odin.

SPEAKER_1 (3:28)

I know, yeah.

Adam Gidwitz (3:29)

So, in Norse mythology, there are gods like Thor, like Loki, like Odin. The famous thing about Odin, in addition to being like the father of the gods, is that he is missing one eye. He's only got one eye.

He either has an eye patch or he wears like a floppy hat over his eye. So, this story was collected a thousand years ago, and the person who collected the Norse myths was named Snorri Sturluson.

SPEAKER_1 (3:58)

They're named. They're in the Norse.

Adam Gidwitz (4:00)

He was like the brother's Grimm of the Norse mythology, the Norse tales, he wrote them down.

So, when I was thinking of who my main character for this story is, this story is inspired by Norse mythology, but I mostly made up the story. When I needed a name for the character, I was like Snorri. Obviously, the main character's name should be Snorri.

Once there was a kingdom so far in the North that it was called the North Way. As in, you can go the South Way and not freeze your tuchases off, or you can go the North Way and then, well, good luck to you. The country still exists, you know. We don't call it North Way anymore. We just call it Norway. That's right, Norway. The name of the country, Norway, just means the North Way.

SPEAKER_6 (4:46)

I'm Norwegian.

Adam Gidwitz (4:48)

Amazing. The story comes from your background. How amazing. In this frozen kingdom way up near the edge of the world, there were all sorts of strange beings. Frost giants and dwarves and elves roamed the frozen fields and forests, and the gods themselves walked the high, craggy fjords, their long beards frozen with frost. Also in the North Way, there was a little boy called Snorri. Now, Snorri was just about the unluckiest boy anyone had ever met. He couldn't walk through a farmyard without putting his foot in a pail of fresh milk. He couldn't stand under a tree without the branch above giving way and dumping a whole ton of snow down the back of his sweater. And he couldn't get on the back of a horse without spooking the poor beast, getting thrown, except for one foot, which would get caught in a stirrup, and then he'd be dragged through the town by his ankle.