The Yule Cat by Balder Bloodaxe

The Yule Cat

By Balder Bloodaxe

Soon it will be Yule.  It is a time of feasting and rejoicing.  A time to implore the Gods with Blot and offerings to ensure a bountiful new year.  The weather is crisp and dry. Parties abound. Many make a Julebord for friends and for those less fortunate.  The Others go about and wish each other Joy and Good Will!  

But when I was a kitten of 3 or 4 years, I was told by one of the Elders on the farm that it was also the time of The Yule Cat!  Now, looking back on it, (I am in my 9th year now) I’m not convinced that The Yule Cat is real so much as a scary story used to keep the Little Ones from misbehaving.  But then again, you can never be too careful!

The Yule Cat lives in a cave up in the hills.  And he is ENORMOUS!! Bigger than your house! He has long, sharp teeth and huge, shaggy paws   He is terrible to look upon! His claws are razor sharp and immensely long. A single swipe from one of those paws can sever a full grown person in two!  His tail is strong and can easily smash a car or take down a tree, and if you take a swat from The Yule Cat’s tail … well let’s just say you want to do anything you can to keep that from happening!

But The Yule Cat doesn’t live alone, oh, no!  The Yule Cat is only the pet of the huge, ugly, troll-woman, Gryla and her lazy Jotun husband, Leppaludi.  They all live in the cave together with their mischievous, ne’er-do-well offspring, The Yule Lads. These Evil Beings lurk outside people’s homes in the dark, intent upon taking their Yule dinners, or kidnapping and eating the children!  But not all children. No, only the children who have not received new clothing in time for Yule.  

The Elder used to recite this poem to us as we sat in the barn.  We huddled together in the straw, my Litter Mates and I, in a big jumble in the loft, warm and cozy as The Elder scared us silly:

“He opens his glaring eyes wide,

  The two of them glowing bright,

  His craggy back arched up high,

  Oh, what a terrible sight!

  He roams outside,

  In the freezing Yule snow,

  But his hunger isn’t for mice!

  For if he sees old rags on your feet,

  He’ll gobble you up in a trice!

  But if he sees new socks or shoes,

  When through the window he does peer,

  He’ll go away with a vicious hiss,

  And not come back for a year.”

  

The Elder also told us of the Old Times, back when She was a kitten.  When The One would go hunting for wild boar and The Woman would prepare it with berries that were gathered in the Fall and with grain from the fields, freshly harvested, and fresh milk!  She said that those were the best meals that She ever ate, and that Yule was Her favorite time of the year. I think She was right about that. I love Yule time! I don’t get wild boar on Yule, but I do get freshly smoked ham, cured right there on The Farm.  And it’s prepared in the fashion of the Old Times, with berries and grains, and fresh milk. And as the Sunna rides her chariot over the horizon, and the Yule lights begin to twinkle, I cuddle up with The One, in front of the Yule fire. And I make sure he is wearing new clothes!  Because even though I’m pretty sure that The Yule Cat is just a scary story, meant to frighten kittens, I don’t want to take any chances. I am sworn to protect The One, after all. And … his lap is a very adequate substitute for the straw in the loft. The warmth from the Yule log makes me happy, and while it’s not exactly the same as cuddling with my Litter-Mates in the barn, it’s pretty close.  It makes me purr. And that is very good.  

Good Yule to you and yours!

Copyrighted images © Þórdís Tryggvadóttir

The fragment of poem adapted here is from

The English version of Jóhannes' úr Kötlum 

Poem translated by Vignir Jónsson