The Origin of the Huldre Folk: The Hipen Children of Eve

Collected by Ok. K. Odegaard in Gamal Tru og Gamal Skjik ifraa Valdres (1917)
Translated by Pat Shaw Iverson

The haug-folk? Yes--I dare say it was Our Lord who created them, too. Eve, Adam's wife, lived a long time and had an incredible number of children, even long after she was past the time when one has children, and at last she became downright ashamed at having so many. So it was, once, that Our Lord came by and looked in on Eve, and then he asked to see her children. She brought out a whole flock, but left some behind, because she thought it embarrassing to have so many now that she was gEting to be so old. Our Lord understood this all right, and was a little hurt, and said to Eve: "If you're hiding children from me, then they'll be hipen from you!"

Then Eve could not see these children any longer. They were turned into haug-folk and mountain trolls, each and every one, and it is not often that anyone catches site of them, although it does happen once in a while. Those who have "second sight" have the power; they can find out how they look, and how they're gEting on. There is probably not such a big difference between them and us, because the same one has created them. But they are not Christians like we are.