Om Gud och Ondska (Of Good and Evil)

An anti-fairy tale, written originally in Swedish for a class activity.

 

In a time long past, stood a house. This wasn't an interesting house, but it was a house. In this house lived three brothers. They were named Björn, Sven, and Jonas.

Björn was the oldest, and he was strong, blond haired, and  handsome. When Björn was barely seventeen years old he caught and killed an old wolf which had terrorized his little hamlet. Everyone in the village, and soon everyone in Sweden learned of Björn and his great deeds.

Jonas was also beloved throughout the land. He wasn't so strong as his elder brother, but he was the kindest man around. Princesses came from near and far so as to win his heart(princes were difficult to find at this time). Ultimately, Jonas married one of those princesses and they lived happily ever after.

But our story is concerned with the middle brother. The forgotten, uninteresting brother, Sven. Sven was a skinny, pale, short boy with black hair and green eyes. From a young age, he always wanted to become a priest, just like his father had been before he died. Now Sven lived with his mother, in that little house, in that little village. Sven's mother was called Ingred, and she was the only doctor in the village.

All of his life, Sven was ignored. His mother was forever busy with her patients, his father was dead, and the entire village was always talking about his brothers. So Sven spent all of his time reading in his father's library. He had read the entire Bible three times by age sixteen. He was very near to becoming a priest in earnest. Before he took his final test, Sven walked out into the forest, that he might speak with god.

            -"Dear God, I have always wanted to be a priest, but now that I nearly am a priest, I wonder if this is truly my destiny.Give me a sign!" pleaded Sven.

Then he waited. For two hours he sat beneath a tree.

      *                            *                          *

A voice came from within the forest:

            -"I have another plan for you..."

The voice was not as loud or powerful as Sven would have expected the voice of god to be. The voice had come from behind him, and Sven was alone in the forest, so it couldn't be anything but the voice of god. Sven was captivated, and answered to god,

-"Thank you for speaking to me, o Lord. I had begun to think you didn't exist. But what is your will for me?

Sven thought he had heard a little laugh, but decided it must have been merely the rustling of leaves.

            -"I shall give you three tests to decide if you are worthy. You first test is simple: You must do something evil.

            -"Why would god want me to do something evil?" Sven wondered, "but if it be God's will, I must do it..."

He was uncertain as to what he should do, so he asked,

-"What evil deed would you have me do God?"

Sven waited there in the forest, but no answer came to him. So he thought about evil things.... Eventually, he had an idea.He would do everything evil, until god spoke to him again!

            Full of determination, he walked back to his little village. As he walked, he saw a squirrel that followed along. "This is a good place to begin my evil deeds", he thought as he picked up a stone and threw it at that squirrel. It was strange, but he was excited to frighten that little squirrel.

            When Sven was back in town, he kicked a passing dog and laughed. Over the next five years, he continued to kick small animals, make faces at children, and to steal pies from windowsills. Never again did he hear a word from god, but after the first year, he had forgotten all about why he had become evil in the first place. In all those years, Sven often saw that squirrel that he had thrown the rock at. The squirrel sat on his windowsill and watched him. Sven knew it was the same squirrel as before because of a red mark atop its head.

            All Sven knew was that now he was happy. People in town knew and feared him. His mother had become rich in curing all those whom Sven had injured. The most beautiful girl in town was offered to him to be his wife. The town council had hoped that a woman might calm Sven down.

            But his wife, Katrine, under Svens influence quickly became evil as well.  Soon the pair controlled the entire town. In the years that followed, their power grew. Soon they had become king and queen of the entire land.

            Sven  continued to see that squirrel all the more often. One night, while he slept, he dreamt that god had spoken to him again, in that same weak, little, squeaky voice.

            -"Have you forgotten everything? You should be working for me. It was my idea for you to become evil!"

            -"Is that you, God?" Sven asked.

            -"God!?" laughed the voice.

            -"I'm not god! You know who I am, or else you are dumber than I had thought. I sit at your window every day. I created you!

            -"This can't be true! You're not a squirrel! Are you?

            -"so, you aren't so dumb..."

            -I must be insane! But I am evil and powerful (and possibly insane), so I shall have every squirrel killed! No squirrel will take my power or my mind from me!

Sven woke in a cold sweat, called his head guard, and said,

-"Take all of your men, and I want you to kill every squirrel in Sweden!"

            Soon, all of the squirrels were dead, and Sven could relax. He and his wife ruled, happy and safe in their power. Until they died in the First Scandinavian War.

 

Moral of the story: If one is evil, one can be happy and powerful for a short time, but in the end: he will be insane and dead.

 

THE END