a tale from Langfjord in Alta, from J. A. Friis, Lappiske Sprogprøver (1856)

Stallo is the monstrous, ghostly giant of the Sámi tales, and the Chudes are the raiding enemies of Sámi legend; Jallaš, whose name means something like "little fool", is the simpler of two brothers. Told in North Sámi at Laggo-vuodna (Langfjord) in Alta and printed by Jens Andreas Friis in 1856, in Sámi only, this rough comic tale follows Jallaš as he chops off the leg of a Stallo's wife over a bowl of milk soup, drops her from a spruce to scatter a band of Russian Chudes, and passes her off as his old mother until a king promises him a hundred dalers for her.

Translation

A certain man had two sons; one was rather foolish, and the other was the wiser. The two of them set out wandering and came to the home of the Stallo's wife. The Stallo's wife was cooking milk soup. Then she bade them: whichever of the two would take her child in the meantime, while she went to church, should get to eat the milk soup. So Jallaš took the child to mind while the Stallo's wife was at church.

When the Stallo's wife came back from church, she gave Jallaš the milk soup to eat; but the other brother meant to shove him out, and so the two of them fell to wrestling. Jallaš said: "Whichever leg comes into my milk soup, I'll chop that leg clean through." When the other heard what his brother meant to do, he set about trying to get the Stallo's wife's leg into his brother's milk soup. And Jallaš chopped the Stallo's wife's leg clean through, and she was left with one leg.

Then the three of them set out wandering. Jallaš took the Stallo's wife along, though the other did not want to take her. Then they came to a certain place and caught sight of Russian Chudes. So they took to flight. When night came, they climbed up into a big spruce. Then the Russian Chudes came and made a fire under that spruce, and cooked their meal.

Jallaš was eager for food, and when he saw the food the Russians had, he whimpered, and then he needed to piss. His brother said: "Piss into my cap!" Jallaš pissed, right enough, but he missed. When Jallaš pissed, the Russians thought it was the spruce resin growing warm, and that this was what was running down.

A little after, Jallaš said that now he needed to shit as well. His brother said: "Shit into my cap!" Jallaš did not hit his brother's cap. When Jallaš shat, the Russians said it was spruce cones falling.

Then Jallaš saw that the Russians were eating, and he said he could not hold his mother any longer; he was going to let her drop. His brother said he could hold her all right. Jallaš said he was going to let her drop now all the same, and he let her drop. As she came crashing down, the Russians took fright and ran off, and left the food there.

Jallaš let himself down out of the spruce and began to eat the food. Then one Russian Chude came back again and began to talk with Jallaš. They could not understand each other. Jallaš said: "Stick your tongue into my mouth, so that we can understand each other when we talk!" And the Russian stuck it in, and Jallaš bit it clean through. Then the Russian ran after his companions, shouting, but they could not understand him; and he was more frightened still. So the two of them got the food; only, the Stallo's wife died.

Even so, Jallaš would not leave his mother behind, and the two of them set about dragging the Stallo's wife along with them, and they dragged her to the far side of a river; and there was a bridge there across the river. Then they propped the Stallo's wife up right at the end of the bridge, with her arm stretched out along the bridge across the river, and left her there. They themselves went to the king's house and asked for a night's lodging for themselves, and for the old mother as well.

Now when Jallaš was going to fetch his mother, the king would not allow it: he would send his own people to fetch her. Jallaš did not dare trust his old mother to them; they would be the death of his old mother. The king stood surety for her all the same: and if they were the death of her, he could well pay for one old woman's life. So then Jallaš allowed it, and the king sent people to fetch her.

When the people drew near the place, they took pity on her: "Oh, the poor thing, how she has been waiting all this while on the other side of the river!" Then they hurried over to her and were about to take hold of her. When they touched her, she fell into the river, and away she went down the river.

Then the fetchers came back to Jallaš and told him that they had let the mother slip away down the river. Jallaš began to weep, because they had been the death of his mother. The king said: "Oh, don't weep; I will surely give a hundred dalers!" So Jallaš had to be content; but he did miss his mother all the same, now that he had lost her.

Colophon

Translated from the North Sámi of Lappiske Sprogprøver: en Samling af lappiske Eventyr, Ordsprog og Gaader, edited by J. A. Friis (Christiania: J. W. Cappelen, 1856), pp. 85–86, from the group told at Laggo-vuodna (Langfjord) in Alta. Friis printed it in Sámi only. The text was transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy. Friis's list of corrections has nothing for these pages; in two places, Bâjke (p. 85) and the second boares (p. 86), the fine bar of the letter e did not print, and both are read as e. Words were checked in the Sámi–Norwegian glossary that Friis printed at the back of the same book, and in his larger Ordbog over det lappiske Sprog (1887): jalla is foolish, and the 1887 dictionary has jallaš as a little fool, which is the hero's name; čutte is "enemy" in the glossary, and the 1887 dictionary adds "robber" (hostis, latro, Fiende, Røver), and the English keeps the old name Chudes for these raiders of Sámi legend; Stallo is a monster or a ghostly giant, and akka is a wife; mielke-malle is milk soup, and gaʒʒat, which the glossary lacks, is to eat food with a spoon; gæččat is to look, but also to mind or tend, so Jallaš minds the child; hojgadet is to keep shoving, and rassat (from the 1887 dictionary) is to wrestle; viggatet is to drive or bring something on; čuolastet is a single blow of the axe, and gaskad is clean through; juölge-bælle is to have one leg of the pair; anger (1887) is eager; biekkot is to whimper; goǯǯastuvvat and bâjkestuvvat are to need to piss and to need to shit, and -gis is "also"; gacce is the resin on trees, and dieppe the cones of spruce and pine; nistetet is to let slip from the hands; caggat is to prop up, and gæjgot is stretched out; ajto is read as the glossary's ajdo, "just, exactly", so she is propped right at the end of the bridge; majdaj is also; oskeldet is to dare or to entrust, hævatet to destroy, and dakkedet to stand surety; arbmostallat is to pity; gattat is both to regret and to miss, and the English says miss. Four readings rest on the sense of the passage: Ruošain is taken as the food the Russians had; the singular ballai, "he was more frightened still", is taken of the Russian whose tongue was bitten; oanehaš, "short", is taken as "a little after"; and vieǯǯek, "the fetchers", is read as formed from vieǯǯat, to fetch. Jallaš first calls the Stallo's wife his mother in his own speech in the spruce, and from the middle of the tale on the narrator too calls her his mother (ædne); the English follows the Sámi in each place.

No complete English translation of Friis's collection is known to us.

© 2026 Tianmu Anglican Church. This English translation is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: you may share and adapt it for non-commercial use with credit to the Good Works Library, tianmu.org. The source text keeps its own terms. For other uses, see Rights and Reuse.

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Source Text: Jallaš ja Ruošša-čuđek

North Sámi text as printed by Friis (1856), pp. 85–86, in his orthography; Friis's list of corrections has no entry for these pages. Line-end hyphens are joined, except in the compound mielke-male, which keeps its hyphen as it does elsewhere on the page. Friis's single paragraph is divided here at the same places as the English.

Muttom boadnje ani guökte bardne, nubbe læi jallaslagaš, nubbe læi visasebbo. De vulgiga vandardët ja bođiga Stalo aka siddi. Stalo akka mielke-male vuöšša. De goččo, guabba su mana valda dan gaska, go son girkost manna, de galga oaǯǯot mielke-male gaʒʒat. De Jallaš valdi gæččat dan gaska, go Stalo akka girkost læi.

Go Stalo akka bođi girkost, de addi Jallači mielke-male gaʒʒat, mutto nubbe viellja olgus ajgo hojgadët, ja de riemaiga rassat. Dagja Jallaš: „Guabba juölge mu mielke-mallai boatta, mon čuolastam juölge gaskad.“ Dego nubbe gulai, maid viellja aigoi, de viggatišgođi Stalo aka juölge vielljas mielke-mallai. De Jallaš čuolasti Stalo aka juölge gaskad, ja dat šaddai juölge-bælle.

De vulge dak golmas vandardët. Jallaš valdi Stalo aka mielde, jusgo nubbe i sittam valdët. De botte muttom bajkai ja fuomaše Ruošša-čuđid. De vulge batarussi. Dego igja šaddai, de gorgŋu stuorra gussi. De botte Ruošša-čuđek ja dakke dola dam guosa vuöllai, ja de rakade mallasida.

Jallaš borramušaid anger læi, ja go oajdna borramušaid Ruošain, de biekko, de goǯǯastuvva. Dagja viellja: „Goǯǯa mu gapperi!“ Jallaš goǯǯa galle, mutto i dæjva. Ruoššalaǯak, go Jallaš goǯǯa, de dojvuk, atte guossa-gacce dat lieggana, ja dat dat golga.

Oanehaš de Jallaš dagja, atte de bâjkestuvvagis. Dagja viellja: „Bâjke mu gapperi!“ Jallaš i dæjvam vielljas gapperi. Ruoššalaǯak, go Jallaš bâjka, de dagjek, atte guossa-dieppek dak gačček.

De Jallaš oajdna, atte Ruoššalaǯak borrëk, de dagja, i væje doallat šat ædnes, de son nisteta. Dagja viellja, galle son doalla. Jallaš dagja, de dal nisteta gojke, ja de nisteti. Dego dat rattagođi vulus, de Ruoššalaǯak ballaje ja viekkale ja guđđe daid borramušaid dasa.

Jallaš vulus guosast lujti ječas ja borramušaid borragođi. De okta Ruošša-čutte vel maccali ruoktot ja sardnodišgođi Jallačin. Æba gulahala. Dagja Jallaš: „Nake mu njalbmai njuokčamad, vaj sarnodët gulahalle!“ Ja Ruoššalaš nakehi, ja Jallaš gasketi gaskad. De Ruoššalaš viegaldatti gujmides ja čuorvo, mutto æi gula; de ajn æmbo ballai. De oaǯoiga daid borramušaid; mutto Stalo akka fal jamas manai.

I Jallaš gojke guöđe ædnes, ja de vuölgateiga gæssët dam Stalo aka mieldesga ja gesiga joga duökkai, ja dast læi bruggo joga rasta. De caggaiga dam Stalo aka ajto bruggo gæččai ja gieđa bruggo mielde rasta joga gæjgot ja guđiga dasa. Ječa manaiga gonagas-dalloi ja bivdiga igja-saje aldsesga ja boares ædnai majdaj.

Go dal Jallaš ajgo vieǯǯat ædnes, de gonagas i suovva, galle son bigja ječa olbmaid vieǯǯat. I Jallaš oskeld boares ædnes ječasidi, hævatëk su boares ædne. Gonagas gojke dakkeda, ja jus hævatëk, de galle son ovta boares aka hægga vægja maksët. Gal dal Jallaš suovva, ja de gonagas bijai olbmaid vieǯǯat.

Go olbmak boattegotte dokko, de dak arbmostallëk: „Oh vajvan, go vuördeme jo læ joga duökkën!“ De dak hoapotëk dokko ja gitti galge valdët. Dego guoskate, de gaččai joga sisa, ja dat manai dokko joga mielde.

De botte ruoktot Jallaš lusa vieǯǯek ja mujtale, atte nistete ædne jokka-rajge. Jallaš čierrogođi, go ædne hævate. Dagja gonagas: „Oh, ale čiero, galle mon čuöđe dala addam!“ Galle Jallaš ferti duttat, mutte gal' ædnes maj gatta, go dam massi.

Source Colophon

J. A. Friis (ed.), Lappiske Sprogprøver (Christiania: J. W. Cappelen, 1856), pp. 85–86; Friis's list of misprints has no entry for these pages. Public domain. Transcribed from the page images of the New York Public Library copy, digitized by Google (Internet Archive identifier lappiskesprogpr00friigoog); a former owner's handwritten marks in that copy are not part of the text. Two letters e whose fine bar did not print (Bâjke, p. 85; the second boares, p. 86) are read as e. Friis's letters are kept as printed, including â, ö, ë, æ, č, đ, š, ŋ, and both ʒ and ǯ, which he distinguishes.

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