East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Classical Stories · No. 78 — The girl who rode the winds to undo one glance.
- Classical Stories
- 50 min
- Ages 8–13
- 7 chapters
About this audiobook
A white bear comes to a poor family and offers them wealth in exchange for the youngest daughter, who bravely agrees to go. In his castle he is a bear by day, but each night a man lies down beside her in the dark whom she is never allowed to see. Homesick, she visits her family, who plant a doubt; back at the castle she lights a candle to look at him — and he is a beautiful prince, but three drops of wax fall on his shirt and wake him. The spell is broken: an enchantment would have ended in a year, but now a troll-queen will carry him off to a castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon, to marry a troll-princess. Determined, the girl sets out to find a place with no address, begging directions and rides from the North, South, East, and West Winds, and reaching at last the impossible castle to win him free with courage and a golden apple.
Why it's worth a listen
A great white bear promises a poor family riches if their youngest daughter will come with him; by day he is a bear, but each night a man she never sees in the dark. When curiosity makes her light one candle and a drop of wax betrays her, she must travel east of the sun and west of the moon — begging rides from the four winds themselves — to win him back. Norway's luminous cousin to Beauty and the Beast, and one of the great quest-fairy-tales.
A question to keep
If love makes one mistake, is it lost — or is it worth walking to the ends of the earth to mend?
Chapters
- The White Bear’s Bargain
- The Palace of the Unseen
- Three Drops of Tallow
- East of the Sun, West of the Moon
- On the Wings of the Winds
- The Castle of Trolls
- A Question to Keep