A dirty frying pan is exactly what Stúfur is hoping to find. The smallest of Iceland’s thirteen Yule Lads has an appetite for the crusted bits left behind after cooking.
He arrives during the night of December 13, ready for the morning of December 14. By then, Stekkjastaur and Giljagaur have already begun their visits. Stúfur, also called Shorty or Stubby in English, follows them with a different theft in mind.
Small Lad, Large Appetite
Small enough to slip into the house unnoticed, Stúfur makes his way to the kitchen. There, he watches for a chance to snatch a frying pan.
The scraps stuck to its bottom and rim are what he wants. Once he has the pan, he scurries away to scrape them off. What looks like washing-up to everyone else is a meal worth stealing to Stúfur.
The Leftovers Worth Stealing
The mischief is in the choice of treasure. Stúfur carries off the pan for the little pieces of food that others have left stuck to it.
It is a simple household nuisance turned into a Christmas character: the smallest visitor with a sharp eye for an unwashed pan.
On December 27, Stúfur heads home, following his brothers in the order they arrived. His time for stealing pans and scraping leftovers is over for another year.
But he will be back. If you would rather keep your frying pans to yourself, the story offers a cheerful warning: do the washing-up before Stúfur comes calling.
Stúfur in Verse
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 Watches the Kitchen
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.
A Little Mischief Left in the Pan
Stúfur’s story brings Christmas folklore into the everyday kitchen. His small size makes him easy to overlook; his fondness for leftovers makes a forgotten pan worth watching. Like the brothers before him, he turns a familiar part of household life into seasonal mischief.
Read about the previous visitor, Giljagaur, then meet Þvörusleikir, the Spoon Licker. Explore all thirteen Yule Lads or the story of their mother, Grýla.
