It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club: Soria Moria Castle

Episode Date: May 18, 2025

Margaret reads you a classic norse fairy tale and then makes a thin and likely incorrect argument for why it's a queer parable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I collect my roommates toenails and fingernails. Those were some callers from my call in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept,

but I promise it's very interesting. Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte? Sarah Jessica Parker is here, and she is sharing stories from the very beginning, like the time she forgot we filmed the pilot

episode. I remember some things about shooting the pilot. Right. I have some memories I can fill you in. And that you're going to fill me in. Yes, but then you forgot about it in the very long time they took to pick us up. I completely forgot about it. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I think it's a sign of great mental health to acknowledge the dark wolf inside you. It's Mental Health Awareness Month, and on a recent episode of The One You Feed, Josh Radner from How I Met Your Mother

joins us to talk about fame, self-acceptance, aging, and finding peace in discomfort. That is the mercy of time, that time, it is a healer. To hear this and more on healing, identity, and the wisdom of slowing down, open your free iHeart radio app, search one you feed, and listen now. Hi, I'm Bob Pitman, Chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Cool Zone Media. Welcome to Cool Zone Media Book Club. That's always been our introduction, right? Hi, welcome to Cool Zone Media Book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kilgry, and this is the book club where you don't have to do the

reading because I do it for you. And it's been too long since I read you some folklore. It has been too long, and I spend way too much of my time researching history, so I spend a lot of my time thinking about conceptions of self and myth and things of people in the past. And when I have those feelings, I turn to folklore. So this week I'm going to read you a story called Soria Moria Castle and it's from the Norse. It is a popular folk tale there or at least the internet tells me it's popular there. I have not spent enough time in Norway to know whether the

average Norwegian person is like, ah yes, totally, Soria Moria Castle, that's our shit. But the reason I picked this story is not because it's popular in Norway. It's because I was looking at a different story that I'll probably read to you some other time. It's a very good story. When I ran across this story, translated by the same person, and specifically I ran across it because Moria is the name of the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings, and Tolkien admitted that it is from this story.

There's nothing about it, like there's no actual connection besides the name, but that's enough for me. And this version of the story is from a book from 100 plus years ago called Popular Tales from the Norse, a translation by George Webb Descent. Okay, the other reason that I'm reading it to you is that the first paragraph is just so... I'm so into it. But neurodivergence is totally new, says the person who's trying to destroy all health services in this country. But actually, neurodivergence is as old as time. Okay, now I'm going to read you the story.

The neurodivergence is as old as time. Okay, now I'm gonna read you the story. Soria Moria Castle. Once on a time, there was a poor couple who had a son whose name was Halvor. Ever since he was a little boy, he would turn his hand to nothing, but just sat there and groped about in the ashes. His father and mother often put him out

to learn this trade or that, but Halvor could stay nowhere for, when he had been there a day or two, he ran away from his master and never stopped till he was sitting again in the Ingle, poking about in the cinders. Well, one day a skipper came and asked Halvor if he hadn't a mind to be with him and go

to sea and see strange lands. Yes, Halvor would like that very much, so he wasn't long in getting himself ready. How long they sailed, I'm sure I can't tell. But the end of it was they fell into a great storm, and when it was blown over and it got still again, they couldn't tell where they were, for they had been driven away to a strange coast, which none of them knew anything about. Well, as there was just no wind at all, they stayed lying windbound there, and Halvor asked

the skipper's leave to go on shore and look about him. He would sooner go, he said, than lie there and sleep. "'Do you think now you're fit to show yourself before folk?' said the skipper. "'Why, you've no clothes than those rags you stand in.' But Havor stuck to his own, and so at last he got leave, but he was to be sure and come back as soon as it ever began to blow. So off he went and found a lovely land. Wherever he came there were fine, large, flat cornfields and rich meads, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of a living soul.

Well, it began to blow. But Halivor thought he hadn't seen enough yet and he wanted to walk a little farther, just to see if he couldn't meet any folk. So after a while he came to a broad high road, so smooth and even you might easily roll an egg along it. Halvor followed this, and when evening drew on, he saw a great castle ever so far off, from which the sunbeams shone. So as he had now walked the whole day and hadn't taken a bit to eat with him, he was as

hungry as a hunter. But still, the nearer he came to the castle, the more afraid he got. In the castle kitchen, a great fire was blazing, and Havor went to it, but such a kitchen he had never seen in all his born days. It was so grand and fine. There were vessels of silver and vessels of gold, but still never a living soul. So when Halvor had stood there a while and no one came out, he went and opened a door, and there inside sat a princess who sat upon a spinning wheel. Nay, nay, now, she called out, dare Christian folk come hither. But now you'd best be off about your business if you don't want the troll to gobble you up, for here lives a troll with three heads." "'All one to me,' said the lad.

I'd be just as glad to hear he had four heads beside. I'd like to see what kind of fellow he is. As for going, I won't go at all. I've done no harm. But meat you must get me, for I am almost starved to death." When Havor had eaten his fill, the princess told him to try if he could brandish the sword that hung against the wall. No, he couldn't brandish it.

He couldn't even lift it up. "'Oh,' said the princess, "'now you must go and take a pull of that flask that hangs by its side.' That's what the troll does every time he goes out to use the sword." And so Havor took a pull, and in the twinkling of an eye, he could brandish the sword like nothing. And now, he thought at high time the troll came, and lo, just then, up came the troll, puffing and blowing.

Havor jumped behind the door. Hw'tetu, said the troll as he put his head in the door. What a smell of Christian man's blood. Aye, said Havor, you'll soon know that to your cost. And with that, he hewed off all his heads. Now the princess was so glad she was free, she both danced and sang. But then all at once she called her sisters to mind, and so she said, Would my sisters were free too?

Where are they? asked Halvor. Well, she told him all about it. One was taken away by a troll to his castle, which lay 50 miles off, and the other by another troll to his castle, which was 50 miles further still. And do you know what lay between him, Halvor, and those other castles in his further adventure? Well, nothing he couldn't skip past. It was a bunch of ads. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now and I cannot decide if I like him or not.

Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples

of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend, and I found his his jar in our apartment I collect my roommates toenails and fingernails I have very overbearing parents even at the age of 29 and they won't let me move out of their house So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head search for Therapy gecko on the I heart radio Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.

Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte? What We Have All Been Waiting For. Sarah Jessica Parker is here. And she is sharing stories from the very beginning, like the time she forgot we filmed the pilot episode. I remember some things about shooting the pilot. Right. I have some memories I can fill you in.

And that you're going to fill me in. Yes. But then you forgot about it in the very long time they took to pick us up. I completely forgot about it. And she reveals what she thought when she read the script for Sex and the City the very first time. He said he wrote this like I was in his head in some way,

which I found really interesting. And does she think Carrie is too good for Mr. Big? She had inexplicable feelings. It is the human being that can't explain to her friends why somebody that might be beneath her is dictating the hunt. You can't miss this. Listen to Are You a Charlotte? on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Bob Pipman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop. But then once I got to country it was he's too pop for country. So I kind of never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit. I just embraced that. Like yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners.

That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I have a question for you, and I want you to be honest with me. How are you?

It's a really hard question to ask. It's a harder one to answer, but taking care of our mental wellbeing has never been more important. All of May is mental health awareness month and on the psychology of your 20s podcast, we are taking a vulnerable look at why mental health is so hard to talk about and all the science and psychology behind some of life's hardest moments and transitions. Prepare for our conversations to go deep. Everything from grief to heartbreak, career burnout, anxiety, all of the things that you would only talk about with your closest friends. I spent the majority of my teenage years and my twenties just feeling absolutely terrified.

I had a panic attack on a conference call. Knowing that she had six months to live, I was no longer pretending that this was my best friend. So this Mental Health Awareness Month, take that extra bit of care of yourself and your brain. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back. But now, she said, you must first help me get this ugly carcass out of the house. Yes, Hauvor was so strong he swept everything away and made it all clean and tidy in no time. So they had a good and happy time of it and next morning he set

off at peep of grey dawn. He could take no rest by the way but ran and walked the whole day. When he first saw the castle he got a little afraid. It was far grander than the first and there wasn't a living soul to be seen. But Halvor went into the kitchen and didn't stop there either but went straight on further into the house. Nay, nay, called out the princess, dare Christian folk come hither. I don't know, I'm sure, how long it is since I came here, but in all that time I haven't seen a Christian man. Twer best you saw how to get away as fast as you came, for here lives a troll who has six heads.

I shan't go, said Havvor, if he had six heads besides." "'He'll take you up and swallow you down alive,' said the princess." But it was no good. Halvor wouldn't go, and he wasn't at all afraid of the troll. But meat and drink he must have, for he was starved after his long journey. Well, he got as much of that as he wished, but then the Princess wanted him to be off again. No, said Halvor, I won't go. I've done no harm and I have nothing to be afraid about. You won't stay to ask that, said the Princess, for he'll take you without law or leave.

But as soon as you won't go, just try and see if you can brandish that sword yonder, which the troll wields in war. But as soon as you won't go, just try and see if you can brandish that sword yonder, which the troll wields in war." He couldn't brandish it. And then the princess said he must take a pull at the flask which hung by its side, and when he had done that, he could brandish it. Just then back came the troll, and he was both stout and big, so that he had to go sideways to get through the door.

When the troll got his first head in, he called out, "'Hututu! What a smell of Christian man's blood!" But that very moment, Hauvore hewed off his first head, and so on all the rest as they popped in. The princess was overjoyed, but just then she came to think of her sisters and wished out loud they were free. Havor thought that might easily be done and wanted to be off at once, but first he had

to help the princess get the troll's carcass out of the way, and so he could only set out next morning. It was a long way to the castle, and he had to walk fast and run hard to reach it in time, but about nightfall he saw the castle, which was far finer and grander than either of the others. This time he wasn't the least afraid, but walked straight through the kitchen and into the castle. There sat a princess who was so pretty, there was no end to her loveliness.

She too, like the others, told him there hadn't been Christian folk there ever since she came thither and bade him go away again, else the troll would swallow him alive. And do you know, she said, he has nine heads. Aye, aye, said Halvor, if he had nine other heads, and nine other heads still I won't go away. And so he stood fast before the stove. The princess kept on begging him so prettily to go away, lest the troll should gobble him up. But Halvor said, let him come as soon as he likes.

So she gave him the troll's sword and bade him take a pull at the flask that he might be able to brandish and wield it. Just then back came the troll puffing and blowing and tearing along. He was far stouter and bigger than the other two, and he too had to go on one side to get through the door. He said as the others had said, Huttatoo! What a smell of Christian man's blood.

That very moment, Halvor hewed off the first head and then all the rest, but the last was toughest of them all, and it was the hardest bit of work Havor had to do to get a hewn off. Although he knew very well he had strength enough to do it. So all the princesses came together to that castle, which was called Soria Moria Castle. And they were glad and happy as they had never been in all their lives before. And they were all fond of Havor and Havor of them, and he might choose the one he liked best for his bride,

but the youngest was fondest of him of all the three. But there, after a while, Halvor went about, and was so strange and dull and silent. Then the princesses asked him what he lacked, and if he didn't like to live with them any longer. Yes, he did, for they had enough to spare, and he was well off in every way, but still somehow or other he did so long to go home, for his father and mother were alive, and them he had such a great wish to see. Well, they thought that that might be done easily enough.

You shall go thither and then come back hither, safe and unscathed, if you will only follow our advice," said the princesses. Yes, he'd be sure to mind all they said. So they dressed him up till he was as grand as a king's son, and they set a ring on his finger. And that was such a ring, he could wish himself thither and hither with it. But they told him to be sure not to take it off and not to name their names, for there would be an end to all his bravery, and then he'd never see them more.

If only I stood at home I'd be glad, said Halvor, and it was done as he wished. Then stood Halvor at his father's cottage door before he knew a word about it. Now it was about dusk at even, and so when they saw such a grand stately lord walk in, the old couple got so afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then Halvor asked if he couldn't stay there and have lodging there that night. No that he couldn't. We can't do it at all, they said, for we haven't this thing or that thing which such a lord is used to have.

Tor Best, your lordship, went up to the farm, no long way off, for you can see the chimneys. And there they have lots of everything." Halvor wouldn't hear of it. He wanted to stop, but the old couple stuck to their own, that he had better go to the farmers. There he could get both meat and drink. As for them, they hadn't even a chair to offer him to sit down on.

No, said Halvor, I won't go up there till tomorrow early, but let me just stay here tonight. Worst comes to worst, I can sit in the chimney corner. Well, they couldn't say anything against that. So Halvor sat down by the ingle and began to poke about in the ashes, just as he used to do when he lay at the home in old days, and stretched his lazy bones. Well, they chattered and talked about many things, and they told Halvor about this thing and that, and so he asked them if they never had any children. Yes, yes, they once had a lad whose name was Halvor, but they didn't know whether he had

wandered. They couldn't even tell whether he were dead or alive. Couldn't it be me now? said Halvor. Let me see. I could tell him well enough, said the old wife, and rose up. Our Halvor was so lazy and dull, never did a thing, and besides, he was so ragged. That one tatter took hold of the next tatter on him. No, there never was the making of such a fine fellow in him as you are, master. A little while after, the old wife went to the hearth to poke up the fire, and when the blaze fell on Halvor's face, just as when he was at home of old, poking about in the ashes, she knew him at once.

Ah, but it is you after all, Halvor, she cried. And then there was such joy for the old couple, there was no end to it, and he was forced to tell how he had fared. And the old dame was so fond and proud of him, nothing would do, but he must go up at once to the farmers and show himself to the lassies, who had always looked down on him. And off she went first and Halvor followed after. So when she got up there, she told them all how her Halvor had come home again, and now they should only see how grand he was, for, said she, he looks like nothing but a king's son. All very fine, said the lassies, and tossed up their heads. We'll be bound, he's just the same beggarly, ragged boy he always was.

Just then in walked Halvor, and the lassies were also taken aback. They forgot their sarx in the ingle, where they were sitting, darning their clothes, and ran out in their smocks. Well, when they were got back again, they were so shame-faced, they scarce dared look at Halvor, towards whom they had always been so proud and haughty. Aye, aye, said Halvor, you always thought yourself so pretty and neat no one could ever come near you. But now you should just see the eldest princess I have set free. Against her you look like just milkmaids, and the midmost is prettier still, but the

youngest who is my sweetheart, she is fairer than both sun and moon. Would to heaven she were only here, said Halvor. Then you'd see what you would see." He had scarce uttered these words before there they stood. But then he felt so sorry. For now what they had said came into his mind. Up at the farm there was a great feast got ready for the princesses, and much was made of them.

But they wouldn't stop there. No, we want to go down to your father and mother, they said to Halvor, and so we'll go out now and look about us. So we went down with them, and they came to a great lake just outside the farm. And what did they find there? But goods and services. That's what was at the lake, just a bunch of stuff. And they listened to it all attentively.

Just like you're listening now to the ads. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now and I cannot decide if I like him or not. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world

as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend and I found his piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommates toenails and fingernails.

I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house. So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, host of the podcast Are You a Charlotte? What we have all been waiting for. Sarah Jessica Parker is here, and she is sharing stories from the very beginning, like the time she forgot we filmed the pilot episode.

I remember some things about shooting the pilot. Right. I have some memories I can fill you in. And that you're going to fill me in. Yes. But then you forgot about it in the very long time they took to pick us up. And she reveals what she thought when she read the script for Sex and the City the very first time. He said he wrote this like I was in his head in some way, which I found really interesting. And does she think Carrie is too good for Mr. Big? She had inexplicable feelings.

Got it. It is a human being that can't explain to her friends why somebody that might be beneath her Yes. is dictating the hunt. You can't miss this. Listen to Are You a Charlotte? on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pippman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia.

On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio. The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop. But then once I got to country, it was he's too pop for country. So I kind of never really had a place to fit in,

but that's exactly how and why I fit. I just embraced that. Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math & Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

I have a question for you, and I want you to be honest with me. How are you? or wherever you get your podcast. of your 20s podcast, we are taking a vulnerable look at why mental health is so hard to talk about and all the science and psychology behind some of life's hardest moments and transitions. Prepare for our conversations to go deep. Everything from grief to heartbreak, career burnout, anxiety, all of the things that you would only talk about with your closest friends. I spent the majority of my teenage years and my twenties just feeling absolutely terrified. I had a panic attack on a conference call. Knowing that she had six months to live, I was no longer pretending that this was my best friend.

So this Mental Health Awareness Month, take that extra bit of care of yourself and your brain. Listen to the psychology of your twenties on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back! So we went down with them and they came to a great lake just outside the farm. Close by the water was such a lovely green bank. Here, the princesses said, they would like to sit and rest a while.

They thought it so sweet to sit down and look over the water. So they sat down there, and when they had sat a while, the youngest princess said, I may as well comb your hair a little, Halvor. Yes, Halvor laid his head on her lap, and so she combed his bonny locks, and it wasn't long before Halvor fell asleep. Then she took the ring from his finger and put another in its stead, and so she said, Now hold me altogether, and now would we were all in Soria Moria Castle.

So when Halvor woke up, he could very well tell that he had lost the princesses, and began to weep and wail. And he was so downcast they couldn't comfort him at all. In spite of all his father and mother had said he wouldn't stop there but took farewell of them and said he was safe not to see them again. For if he couldn't find the princesses again he thought it not worthwhile to live. Well he still had three hundred dollars left, so he put them into his pocket and set out on his way. When he had walked a little, he met a man

with a tidy horse, and he wanted to buy it, and began to chaffer with the man. I said to the man, to tell the truth, I never thought of selling him. But if we could strike a bargain, perhaps. What do you want for him? asked Halvor. I didn't give much for him, nor is he worth much. He's a brave horse to ride, but he can't draw at all. Still, he's strong enough to carry your knapsack and you too. Turn and turn about, said the man.

At last they agreed on the price, and Halvor laid the knapsack on him, and so he walked a bit and rode a bit. Turn and turn about. At night he came to a green plain where stood a great tree, at the roots of which he sat down. There he let the horse loose, but he didn't lie down to sleep, but opened his knapsack and took a meal. At peep of day off he said again, for he could take no rest.

So he rode and walked and walked and rode the whole day through the wide wood and where there were so many green spots and glades that shone so bright and lovely between the trees. He didn't know at all where he was or whither he was going, but he gave himself no more time to rest than when his horse cropped a bit of grass and he took a snack out of his knapsack when they came to one of those green glades. So he went on walking and riding by turns. And as for the wood, there seemed to be no end of it. But at dusk the next day, he saw a light gleaming away

through the trees. Would there were folk here away, thought Halver, that I might warm myself a bit and get a morsel to keep my body and soul together. When he got up to it, he saw the light came from a wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old, old couple inside. They were as gray-headed as a pair of doves, and the old wife had such a nose.

Why, it was so long, she used it for a poker to stir the fire as she sat in the ingle. Good evening, said Halvor. Good evening, said the old wife. But what errand can you have coming in Hither?' she went on, "'for no Christian folk have been here these hundred years and more.' "'Well, Halvor told her all about himself and how he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle and asked if she knew the way thither. "'No,' said the old wife, "'that I don't, but see now, here comes the moon, I'll ask her,

she'll know all about it, for doesn't she shine on everything? So when the moon stood clear and bright over the treetops, the old wife went out. Thou moon, thou moon, she screamed, canst thou tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle? No, said the moon, that I can't, for the last time I shone. There a cloud stood before me. Wait a bit still, said the old wife to Halvor. By and by comes the west wind. He's sure to know it, for he puffs and blows round every corner.

Nay, nay, said the old wife when she went out again. You don't mean to say you've got a horse too. Just turn the poor beastie loose in our tun and don't let him stand there and starve to death at the door. Then she ran on. But you won't swap him away to me, we've got an old pair of boots here with which you can take twenty miles at each stride, those you shall have for your horse, and so you'll get all the sooner the Soria Moria Castle."

That Halvor was willing to do at once, and the old wife was so glad at the horse she was ready to dance and skip for joy. For now, she said, I shall be able to ride to church. I too think of that. As for Halvor, he had no rest and wanted to be off at once, but the old wife said there was no hurry. Lie down there on that bench with you and sleep a bit, for we've no bed to offer you, and I'll watch and wake you when the west wind comes."

So after a while, up came the west wind, roaring and howling along till the winds creaked and groaned again. Outran the old wife. "'Thou west wind, thou west wind, canst thou tell me the way To Soria Moria Castle? Here's one who wants to get Vither. Yes, I know it very well, said the Westwind, And now I'm off, Vither, to dry clothes For the wedding that's to be. If he's swift afoot, he can go along with me.

Out ran Halvor. You'll have to stretch your legs, If you mean to keep up, said the Westwind. So off he set over field and hedge and hill and fell, and Halvor had hard work to keep up. Well, said the West Wind, now I've no time to stay with you any longer, for I've got to go away yonder and tear down a strip of spruce wood first, before I go to the bleaching ground to dry the clothes. But if you go alongside the hill,

you'll come to a lot of lassies standing washing clothes, and then you've not far to go to Soria Moria Castle." In a little while, Halvor came upon the lassies who stood washing, and they asked if he had seen anything of the West Wind, who was to come and dry the clothes for the wedding. "'Aye, that I have,' said Halvor. He's only gone to tear down a strip of spruce wood.

It'll not be long before he's here. And then he asked them the way to Soria Moria Castle. So they put him into the right way, and when he got to the castle it was full of folk and horses. So full it made one giddy to look at them. But Halvor was so ragged and torn from having followed the West Wind through bush and briar and bog that he kept on one side and wouldn't show himself to the last day when the bridal feast was to be.

So when all, as was then right and fitting, were to drink the bride and bridegroom's health and wish them luck, and when the cupbearer was to drink to them again, both knights and squires, last of all he came and turned to Halvor. He drank their health, but let the ring which the princesses had put upon his finger as he lay by the lake fall into the grass. And he bade the cupbearer go and greet the bride and hand her the glass. Then up rose the princess from the board at once. Who is most worthy to have one of us?' she said.

"'He that has set us free, or he that here sits by me as bridegroom.' "'Well, they all said there could be but one voice and will as to that. And when Halvor heard that, he wasn't long in throwing off his beggar's rags and arraying himself as bridegroom.' "'Aye, aye, here is the right one after all, said the youngest princess as soon as she saw him. And so she tossed the other one out the window and held her wedding with Hauvore. The end.

I always end stories with I like that story so much because and I like the story so much because it obviously there's a lot of like just a really annoying tropes about like, oh, I'm going to go save the princess and whoever saves me gets to marry me or whatever. Right. But there's this undertone of like, okay, two things. One, the fool's journey. Right.

And I think Soria and Moria, like, I think it somehow relay how I don't have in front of me. I was looking it up beforehand, but I didn't write a script. I just remembered some stuff. It probably comes from Greek for like foolishness, right? And you have the fool's journey. You have the idea of like, here's the wanderer who's just open to the world and off to go discover things. And in this story, like I know I'm out on a limb here and I'm probably wrong. There's a story of like a trans narrative

here. It reminds me a little bit of I saw the TV glow. There's this idea of, well, there's this other magical fantasy land. And in that land, like, it's not about like, and then I'm totally gonna sleep with the princesses. I mean, he's gonna marry one, right? But he seems happiest when he's helping them clean up and when he's lying with his head in this princess's lap and having his hair brushed. And I just kind of have this like, gay off to the big city kind of vibe to it.

I don't know. And also the particular neurodivergence of like, he's just described as all he wants to do is sit by the fire and he doesn't want to work. He just wants to like poke around in the ashes. Like that's so specific and dramatic and interesting. So that's story of Moria Castle and I hope y'all are doing well. We'll be back next week with more Book Club. Bye everyone. It could happen here as a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone We'll be back next week with more Book Club. Bye everyone. at coolzonedmedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly.

I collect my roommates' toenails and fingernails. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take phone calls from anonymous strangers as a fake gecko therapist and try to learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's very interesting.

Check it out for yourself by searching for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte? Sarah Jessica Parker is here, and she is sharing stories from the very beginning, like the time she forgot we filmed the pilot episode.

I remember some things about shooting the pilot. Right, I have some memories I can fill you in. That you're gonna fill me in. Yes, but then you forgot about it in the very long time they took to pick us up. Listen to Are You a Charlotte? on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I think it's a sign of great mental health to acknowledge the dark wolf inside you. It's Mental Health Awareness Month. And on a recent episode of The One You Feed, Josh Radner from How I Met Your Mother joins us to talk about fame, self-acceptance, aging, and finding peace in discomfort. That is the mercy of time, that time, it is a healer. To hear this and more on healing, identity, and the wisdom of slowing down, open your free iHeart radio app, search one you feed, and listen now. Hi, I'm Bob Pitman, Chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. On this week's episode of Math and Magic, I'm sitting down with the one and only Bobby Bones. We're exploring the power of audio.

Yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners. That's why I'm here now because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me. Listen to Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeart Radio me and have loyalties like me.