Hanging the sausages high will not keep them safe from Bjúgnakrækir. Known as Sausage Swiper, the ninth Yule Lad arrives during the night of December 19th, ready for the morning of December 20th. If there are smoked sausages within reach of the rafters, he has every reason to climb.
A Prize Worth Climbing For
The smoked sausages he loves are called bjúgu in Icelandic; one sausage is a bjúga. In this story, they hang overhead while being smoked. That puts dinner out of easy reach, especially for a fellow said here to be afraid of heights.
Supper Among the Rafters
His appetite wins out over his fear. Up he climbs, hiding among the rafters and helping himself to the sausages. In the telling shared here, Grýla’s sausage-making gives him little reason to stay home: her cooking is so awful that a visit to town is his chance for something better. The poem below finds him on a crossbeam, eating in the soot and smoke.
On January 2nd, Bjúgnakrækir tucks his sausage-filled belly into his trousers and heads home to Grýla. The sausages can hang in peace again—until his next Christmas visit.
Sausage Swiper in Verse
Sausage Swiper
The ninth was Sausage Swiper,
a shifty pilferer.
He climbed up to the rafters
and raided food from there.
Sitting on a crossbeam
in soot and in smoke,
he fed himself on sausage
fit for gentlefolk.
Another Verse for the Sausage Thief
Always hungry, Sausage Swiper
didn’t take long to find a farm.
His specialty was to spot
a string of sausages on a nail.
Visiting as many farms as he could,
he stole sausages everywhere.
Keep an Eye on the Sausages
Bjúgnakrækir’s story turns a store of smoked food into a Christmas temptation. The sausages may be hanging overhead, but that is exactly where this hungry visitor is willing to go. If a few disappear, you know which Yule Lad to suspect.
Meet the previous visitor, Skyrgámur, the Skyr Gobbler, then continue to Gluggagægir. You can also meet their mother, Grýla, or explore all the Yule Lad stories.
