I honestly do not know where the name Habogi came from. It popped into my mind when my father asked me to name my future husband. I had a name in mind but then a voice in my head whispered, “Marry nobody who is not called Habogi.” I found the name strange and unpleasant, but I could not resist saying, “I will marry nobody who is not called Habogi.”

”Who is Habogi?” My father and sisters asked. “We’ve never heard of such a person.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But if I ever do marry, my husband will be named Habogi.”

Later, at my sisters’ wedding, a man showed up. He was a coarse old peasant, and he strode up to my father and said, “My name is Habogi, and Helga will be my wife.”

My father put him off, but I stood pale and trembling with surprise. I did not try and run away.

Helga Who Names Her Husband in Habogi, Brown Fairy Book. Painting by Sir Frank Dicksee.