The Sailor-Boy's Tale by Isak Dinesen
"The Sailor-Boy's Tale" by Isak Dinesen tells the story of a young sailor named Simon who, during a stormy voyage from Marseilles to Athens, rescues a peregrine falcon stuck in the ship's rigging. However, the falcon bites Simon in return for his kindness, leading to a violent reaction from the boy. Two years later, Simon finds himself in northern Norway, where he encounters a girl named Nora and becomes entangled in a deadly confrontation with Russian sailors. After killing one of them in self-defense, Simon seeks solace from Nora, who grapples with the reality of his violent act but acknowledges its necessity. The narrative takes a mystical turn when an old Lapp-woman named Sunniva reveals her true identity as the falcon Simon once saved. She assists Simon by hiding him and arranging his escape, highlighting themes of justice, transformation, and the interconnectedness of actions and consequences. The tale ultimately explores the complexities of human relationships and the impact of seemingly minor deeds on one's fate.
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The Sailor-Boy's Tale by Isak Dinesen
First published: "Skibsdrengens Fortælling," 1942 (English translation, 1942)
Type of plot: Fantasy
Time of work: About 1865
Locale: Mediterranean Sea; Bodø, Norway
Principal Characters:
Simon , the protagonist, a young sailorNora , a Norwegian girlIvan , a Russian sailorSunniva , an old Lapp woman with magical powers
The Story
While en route from Marseilles to Athens during a gale, the young sailor-boy Simon spots a bird that is stuck high in the rigging of his ship. Seeing that the bird is a peregrine falcon, the boy climbs up in order to free it. The ungrateful falcon rewards Simon for his kindness by hacking him in the thumb so hard that he bleeds, and the boy responds in kind by giving the bird a strong blow to its head.
Two years later Simon experiences the full consequences of this seemingly unimportant incident. He is now a crew member on another ship that is docked in northern Norway, in order to buy herring at Bodø, a thriving and gregarious market town. While on shore leave one evening, Simon meets a young girl named Nora, to whom he gives an orange in exchange for the promise of a kiss. The following night he goes ashore again in order to collect his payment. He ends up in the company of Russian sailors, however, and one of them, Ivan, tries to prevent him from going to meet Nora, saying that he wants Simon to stay with them so that they can show him a good time. Simon responds to Ivan's advances by stabbing him to death.
Simon proceeds to his meeting with Nora. Although she is uncomfortable with the realization that Simon has killed a man, she acknowledges that it was a necessity, especially because he would have otherwise been unable to come to her. After promising never to marry anyone else, Nora gives Simon the kiss that she owes him—an experience that Simon feels has a maturing effect on him. Nora cannot do anything to hide Simon from the Russians, however, because her father is the local parson.
Ivan's friends are now looking for his killer; Simon hides in the crowd at a dance in order to elude them. As he despairs of being able to save his life, an old pagan Lapp-woman named Sunniva appears, claims that Simon is her son, and tells him to come home with her. Sunniva lets Simon wipe his bloody hands on her skirt; as she hides him, she cuts her own thumb in order to explain the blood on her skirt to the Russians. They treat her with great respect, as Lapps are thought to have magical powers.
Sunniva reveals to Simon that she is the falcon that he once released during the storm in the Mediterranean. As a Lapp, she has the power of flight. She also tells him she likes his commitment to Nora, and that she will place a mark on his forehead that will make girls like him. She has the power to do this, she explains, because of her position in a great conspiracy of the females of the earth.
Sunniva then arranges safe passage for Simon back to his ship, which is to leave Bodø the following morning. She explains that she is helping him not only because she likes him, but also because of her sense of justice, for he deserved to be repaid for helping her when she was caught in the rigging when she was in the form of a falcon. In order completely to settle her accounts with Simon, she boxes his ear in return for the blow to her head that he once gave her.