How to Get Light into the Cottage - A Finnish Folktale

How to get the light into the cottage?
A folk tale from Finland
World Club 2011
Oriveden Keskuskoulu

A long time ago somewhere in Finland there was a village, where Simpleton people lived. They decided to build a cottage. After a while they noticed that the cottage looked different from other cottages.
“Something is wrong with our cottage. We have forgotten something. What could it be?”

They looked at the cottage and they were sure that something was wrong.
There was so pitch-dark inside the cottage that the Simpletons couldn’t see, what they had forgotten. Finally somebody lighted a wood shingle. In its light, they looked around.
“Wasn’t it great that we lighted the wood shingle? Otherwise we wouldn’t have seen that the light is missing!” yelled the Simpletons.

Well, it isn’t possible to notice that in the darkness or what do you think?
The Simpletons started to plan, what they should do.
“My brothers and sisters”, said one Simpleton woman happily. “The world is full of light! We have many empty sacks. We can carry some light into the cottage and take the darkness outdoors.”

The Simpleton people found the answer to their problem. Some of them started to carry the light into the cottage and the rest of them carried the darkness out. The light and the darkness were so lightweight that it wasn’t hard work at all.

A wise man came to the village and saw, what the Simpletons were doing. He said he could bring the light into the cottage much faster. The Simpleton people were already so tired and sweaty of carrying the sacks that they were ready to let somebody help them.

The wise man took his axe and made a hole in the wall. The Simpletons were happy and wondered how easily the wise man solved their problem.
After the wise man had left the village, the Simpletons decided to get more light and they cut down the whole wall. The cottage was full of light.

“Let’s have even more light”, the Simpletons decided and they cut down another wall.
When they started to cut down the third wall, the whole cottage collapsed. The Simpleton people were disappointed, but also happy that finally they had enough light, perhaps too much.
THE END

How to Get Light into the Cottage - A Finnish Folktale

by Tiina Sarisalmi

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