Among Sheep, Hens and Horses

By : Eva Glistrup

There are some stories which have a special fife, they seem to live on, like those ageless books that are read by one generation after another. They become classics, in other words, the legacy of generations. Silas og den sorte hoppe (1967)(Silas and the Black Mare), by the Hans Christian Andersen prize‑winner Cecil Bødker, has already become a modem classic of this kind, both at home in Denmark, and in many other countries. Bodil Bredsdorff’s books about the children of Crow Creek, reminiscent in many ways of the Silas books, but much easier to read, have within them the stuff of classics.

The Crow Child
Kragcungen (1993) (The Crow Child) starts somewhere by the sea, somewhere in the world, somewhere in time. Here the girl lives with her grandmother. When Grandmother dies she leaves practically nothing but a set of simple rules for living: trust your own feeling for whether people are likely to help you or hurt you, and remember that the door to a person's heart can only open from within. The Crow Child, as the girl is called, lives alone for a short time, but hunger and loneliness drive her out into the world, with her grandmother's shawl as her only luggage. In the nearest village she is taken in by a disagreeable woman, who exploits the inexperienced girl to do housework, and tricks her out of the shawl. The girl escapes and gets back by long and devious route to Crow Creek, now in the company of a motherless child, Dip, and a woman, Foula, who together with her daughter has fled from a violent, drunken husband.

A little community
Together with these three people, the girl establishes a little community, which is gradually joined by others, each with his or her personal fate, generally not a very happy one.
   In Eidi (1993) (Eidi), Foula has found a good husband and given birth to a son. The three houses in Crow Creek are established, the ground is cultivated, they go hunting and keep sheep, hens and horses. Much is made of the description of life in this pre industrial community, dependent on its own produce and barter. Their days are organized and hard‑working, their relationships warm and loving.
   But the young Eidi feels left out, now that her mother has given birth to another child. She decides to look for work and moves to Rossan, a good friend to the people of Crow Creek. Here she wants to use her talent for spinning and weaving, but her destiny takes her further away, as far as the village. From there she returns home, a good deal wiser about herself and her fellows, bringing with her an orphan, Tink, who is the main character in the third book, Tink (1993) (Tink).
   After a harsh childhood with a ruthless merchant, Bandon, Tink finds it difficult to settle down in Crow Creek. He feels inadequate, and is burdened with guilt feelings. He does not feel that he belongs in this minicommunity, but he too learns something. An old drunk, who is stranded in the place and ends up committing suicide, teaches Tink to fish in these fish filled waters.

Vividly described meals
They may not eat very much in Crow Creek, but mealtimes have rarely been described in such a vivid way. Pure green vegetables, pot herbs prepared in mutton broth, drop scones with rhubarb jam, gulls' eggs in thick mustard sauce, and lamb on a spit. Not to speak of the hot tea, in big mugs, with sugar and milk.
   The language of the books is pleasing, simple and genuine, in admirable harmony with the respect for nature, animal life and the simple existence and the genuine feeling it expresses.
   The readers, children of 10 and over‑ will find great security in this world, which may be of use to them on their way to adult fife.

From Danish Children's Literature 7, Autumn 1994

Translated by Paticia Crampton