'round the Yule-log

On a bleak Christmas Eve in Christiania, a young convalescent lieutenant finds himself far from home, lonely, and unable to join his family for the holiday. Sheltered in the old house of two elderly sisters, he is drawn into a warm, old-fashioned world of ghostly corners, fairy tales, and winter hospitality that softens the night's disappointment. When Miss Mette invites him to the fire, children and elderly neighbors gather in the candleless sitting room, and the evening turns into a feast of storytelling. At the children's eager request, he spins playful tales of brownies and village spirits, including the mischievous brownie at Hesselberg and the famed trickster Peter Gynt. The stories build into a comic showdown in which Peter outwits the trolls by trapping them in a giant shoe and driving them off with the aid of his bear. Aunt Mette answers with her own tale of a fearless cook who frightens away a troublesome spirit at an orphan asylum. As laughter and folklore fill the room, the lieutenant is pulled back into the role of storyteller, ready to continue with a dance-filled tale helped along by his cousin Lizzie's singing. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.