Greenland | Google Maps
People believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. Like “Red”. Weren’t for his beard, I’ll tell you that.
Us, banished. Again. He didn’t want to tell me, either. That’s where the red came from. Him standing on the other side of the hide-door, shifting from foot to foot. “Thjodhild. I’ve got some bad news.”
“You can’t be murdering the neighbors. Have you murdered the neighbors again?”
Ever tried to cross the North Atlantic in a longship in September?
Not that I agree with the sentence, mind you. Fellow he killed was Eyiolf the Foul. Seems like he was doing the town a favor.
Anyway, Erik wanted to call it “Exileland”. Seriously. Hoping to build a colony in a brave new land by calling it a land of exiles. He never had no sense.
“What should we call it then, to bring back settlers?”
“Erik—you’re calling it Greenland.”
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149 words
This has been an edition of What Pegman Saw. To read more stories inspired by the prompt, click here.
I couldn’t help having a little fun with the legend of Erik the Red by making his wife larger than life. Who knows what the real Thjodhild had to put up with, but I like thinking Erik wasn’t and Leif weren’t the only badasses of the family.
k. Rawson 
Ha! Loved this likely-true depiction. How many failures of “great” men had a woman shaking her head in the background and suppressing another “I told you so” behind her pursed lips.
Nice work.
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Thanks Peter. You have to wonder what his wife must’ve thought of his antics.
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[…] to Karen and Josh for hosting the […]
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Dear Karen,
I did have to look up Erik the Red. I love the way you wrote it from her point of view. It is after all National Women’s Month. 😉 Well done. Not to mention I learned something new. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’m delighted with your comment–and as a matter of fact, I did write it in honor of International Women’s Day 🙂
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Love thy neighbor, don’t murder them. I always thought that naming it Greenland was a classic failed marketing story. Well done
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Oh at the rate things are going, It may be green eventually. Thanks for reading!
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Behind every great man… or rather, in this case, out front, leading him quickly away.
I love the third paragraph. Laughed out loud. Tell me you didnt murder the neighbors!
Nice to see “the Red” burying the hatchet and turning Green!
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I’m glad the story got a laugh out of you! I had fun with this one. Thanks for reading.
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What an entertaining story Karen – loved the names – Eyiolf the Foul ! You brought the characters to life. Nice writing.
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Thanks for reading Francine. I cant take credit for Eyiolf the Foul–he’s an actual historical person! I have to wonder what a person does to earn a name like that.
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LOL, Well, no man ever settled any place permanently without womenfolk, in some form or another. Even Greenland. Well told! And … I never believed Erik the Red’s wife was anything but a force to reckon with. 🙂 Nicely done!
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Erik the Red’s wife HAD to be a force 🙂 Thanks for reading.
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Yep. Me agree! 🙂
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She must have been rolling her eyes – Greenland isn’t exactly what most think of an island paradise! Love the voice and the character of Thjohild – a woman’s eye view on all those sagas. Great Karen
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Thanks Lynn. I imagine Erik the Red’s wife must’ve put up with a lot, so it was great fun making her intolerant of his BS.:-)
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Oh, Karen, how I enjoyed that story! Lovely humour, especially the last sentence! You sketched the whole world of that family through the exchange between Erik and Thjodhild. Super story-telling!
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