The third silly yule lad to come to town arrives the night of December 13th. His name is Stúfur (Shorty) and is the shortest one of all the yule lads. This silly Stúfur yule lad doesn’t want milk like his other brothers before him. However, he arrives starving and ready to steal for it.
Sticky fingers
The jolly Stúfur yule lad is unusually short and therefore, it is very easy for him to sneak into homes. Once inside he tiptoes into the kitchen and steals the dirty frying pans so he can scrape the delicious crusted leftovers.
The pan problem
Unfortunately, this devastates the farmers back in the day. This is because frying pans were not made in Iceland and therefore had to be imported. This made them a very expensive item, especially for the many struggling households.
On December 27th, the fun ends for the silly Stúfur yule lad and he is forced to head back home. He is out of time to steal pans and eat the leftovers stuck to them. But beware, he’ll be back next year so make sure your frying pans are clean!
Poem
translation by Hallberg Hallmundsson
Stubby was the third called,
a stunted little man,
who watched for every chance
to whisk off a pan.
And scurrying away with it,
he scraped off the bits
that stuck to the bottom
and brims – his favorites.
Shorty - Verse
Poor Shorty kept his undivided attention
on the kitchen pans, coveting their contents.
On stubby legs he hovered near the larder,
ingenious in finding ways to get near the roast.
Waiting in a corner where he was unseen,
for a chance to snatch a pan of juicy meat.
