Some Icelandic Christmas Folklore pt. III – Giljagaur AKA Yule Lad No. 2

The second of the Yule Lads gang to arrive on the 13th of December is Giljagaur (Gully Gawk). Forget about ninjas: it’s Giljagaur the ultimate specialist of stealth action, and it’s just because he’s not as marketable as his Japanese colleagues that he is not more known and that there are no action flicks made about him.

The second was Gully Gawk,
gray his head and mien.
He snuck into the cow barn
from his graggy ravine.

Hiding in the stalls,he would steal the milk, while
the milkmaid gave the cowherd
a meaningful smile.

As his nom de guerre properly suggests, his tactics of choice consists in hiding in gullies, waiting patiently for the favorable moment to sneak into cattle sheds, while pails full of fresh milk are left untended. Froth milk is in fact what Giljagaur likes the most. To vary a little his diet, he perhaps should start hiding behind lampposts and parked cars outside cafés and start stealing cappuccino.