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A Rumpelsltiltskin Correspondence
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PAUL WRITES: Here is a self-aggrandizing and (to me) heartwarming story about my Rumpelstiltskin.
It's not surprising, given the different state of world communication back then, that I didn't get fan mail or feedback about those foreign editions. But recently I received a wonderful message from a woman named Rósa who found me—on Instagram!—and said this: |
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"When I was growing up in the Faroe Islands in the 90s, my kindergarten had Rumpelstiltskin. It ... was the most sought-after book in the kindergarten by far. You could tell, because it was completely worn out. I begged my mom to buy a copy for me many times, but it was already sold out. Even at the library it was never available, because it was such a popular book. When I was lucky enough to be able to borrow it, I would spend hours getting lost in the wonderful drawings ... After I had my daughter, I knew I had to get the book for her. The translated edition was sadly never republished and the book was nowhere to be found either in Facebook groups or in second-hand bookstores. My mom bought an English copy of the book and because I live in Denmark now, I plan on copying the Faroese translation when I get back and gluing it on top of the English text. The translation into Faroese is great and that way I can read it to her even when half asleep, because I almost know it by heart. I really hope she will find as much joy in illustrations as I did and still do." | ||||||
 It just happened that the day I received this, my daughter was at the storage facility we rent—it was originally for the overflow from my studio but then things from home went in, and then a massive amount from this daughter when she moved to Australia, and she was now back for a visit, and going through and dealing with it all. I knew that I had some books in there, so I texted her, asking her to look around and see if I had any extra copies of Lorkuleggur, besides the two I keep at home. In that dark room, she took a photo of the shelf to show me that it wasn't there, but then in the photo she saw that she was wrong: there were two copies of the Faroese edition!
I wrote back to Rósa, thanked her for such a great message, and said I might be able to send her an actual copy of the book! My concern was that I had recently had to mail a picture book to Australia, and somehow due to the pandemic, it was impossible to send it for less than $75.00! Rósa and I had a delightful correspondence about the folktale and translation and other things, all on Instagram Messaging. She is an architect and construction manager, doing work to house Ukranian refugees, a cause that impressed me. When I was able to go to the Post Office and find out what it would cost to ship the one book to Denmark, I was glad to learn that the lowest rate was a relatively sane 1/3 of the Australian postage. Rósa understandably wanted to pay for this, but I asked her instead to make a donation to some charity helping the Ukranian refugees, which she did. |
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Two weeks later, the book arrived. Rósa sent me photos of her and her daughter, who are very happy with their (signed) new/old Rumpelstiltskin! 
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And I am happy, too! |
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