THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS EXHIBITION

"Look at them," said the Trollmother. Look at my sons! There are no more beautiful trolls this side of the moon!

The beautiful princess is sitting on a rock deep in the dark forest. She is surrounded by trolls from the gray mountains who have taken her prisoner. The mother troll is absolutely delighted that the beautiful princess will have to marry one of her three troll sons. They try to impress the princess with fine gifts of silver, gold, and precious stones. But the princess is in despair and refuses to live the rest of her life trapped underground. Meanwhile, a young boy is out in search of adventure on his way through the forest. He has followed the trolls and manages to save the princess from the trolls with the help of a magical formula he picked learned on his journey through the great forest. A spell that only a young boy who is not afraid of trolls or the dark can use

“Why don't you come to my room? The air there is absolutely fantastic! The windows haven't been opened in a thousand years. It is full of silver, gold and precious stones that shine and sparkle brighter than any star!”

From Walter Stenström's fairy tale "The Boy and the Trolls or the Adventure" illustrated by John Bauer in 1915, Helle Bang has captured the iconic scene. The mother troll tries to convince the princess of all the wonderful things about being a troll so that the princess will want to marry one of her sons.

Princess Tuvstarr sits despairingly at the edge of the dark forest pond. The fairies took her crown, the forest witch her dress and finally she has lost her necklace in the dark water. At the edge of the forest pond, she remains to this day. You can glimpse her spirit in the flower named after her - Tuvstarr.

John Bauer's iconic pictures of Princess Tuvstarr were published in "The Tale of the Moose Bull Skutt and the Little Princess Tuvstarr" by Helge Kjelli in "Bland tomtar och troll" in 1913.

"Here you will get a piece of a magic herb, which no one but me can look for"

The story is about a boy who ventures into the depths of Hultaskogen to search for the croft's only dairy cow that the trolls have taken. Since the boy cannot be afraid, he is kind-hearted and kind to all beings and things in the world. Why then would any of them wish the boy harm? Soon the boy meets Hultaskogen's green-haired witch, the forest roe, who gets caught dangling by her long hair in a large fir tree. The boy helps her down and as a thank you receives a piece of magic herb with which the boy can understand and speak to the beings of the forest. Soon, with the help of his kindness, and the magic herb, he has won over the dreaded Bälg dog and the king of the forest, Nalle the bear, to his side. With their help, the boy succeeds in freeing the family's dairy cow, Blomsterfina, from the trolls' hideous lair.

"The boy who was never afraid" was written by Alfred Smedberg and published with illustrations by John Bauer in 1912 in the magazine "Bland tomtar och troll".

"Hold fast my horns with both hands and they will have no power over you."

In this fairy tale, the little princess Tuvstarr goes on an adventure from the safe but oh so boring court of the castle. She wants to be free to explore and experience the outside world. She has the moose Skutt to help her. Wise and experienced, he tries to warn Princess Tuvstarr that the world is big, cold, and inhospitable, that the deep forest is full of evil dangers. But despite Skutt's advice, the treacherous fairies take Tuvstarr's crown and the forest witch her dress. Finally, she drops her necklace with a golden heart in the deep dark forest pond and remains forever at its shore. The moose prays and asks Tuvstarr to come home with him, but she remains there by the water looking for her lost heart, forever looking down into the pond.

The pictures of John Bauer were published with "The tale of the elk bull Skutt and the little princess Tuvstarr" by Helge Kjelli in "Bland tomtar och troll" in 1907.

"Lena and the knight dance in the land of dreams"

The old king has died, and times have changed now that the queen rules the kingdom alone. The shepherdess Lena guards the queen's sheep and has an angelic singing voice. She is given a golden key by three fairies, a key to the paradise of dreams. There she meets a handsome knight with whom she dances every night. A knight who exists for real and courts the queen. Lena understands that it is the same man and tries to catch his attention. But the queen is cruel and subjects Lena to many torments. In the end, the three fairies intervene and conjure the cruel queen away so that Lena and the knight have each other and create their own paradise with flowers and birds.

"The Golden Keys" was written by WE Björk and published in "Bland tomtar och troll" with illustrations by John Bauer in 1915.