14.2.2010


Humorous Icelandic Tales 24






 

The Tobacco-chewing Examiner


http://www.netsaga.is/media/files/sso-awakening.mp3


Mr. Sigurdur Fr. Einarsson, teacher at Thingeyri,

held for a long time the office of examiner in the

local schools, including the one at Keldudalur in

Dyrafjordur.

Gudmundur Sören Magnusson once told this

tale:

"Sigurdur was a handsome and dignified

individual. He used to chew tobacco. I remember

that one spring during an examination he sat at

the teacher’s desk, as usual. At the other end of

the classroom there was a coal furnace that had

been heated to a pitch. All of a sudden the

examiner stands up and spits a large lump of

chewed tobacco from one end of the room to the

other. It landed on the hottest part of the furnace

and lay there crackling and boiling until it

evaporated. Our awe and respect for the examiner

did not diminish after this feat, which had been

masterfully executed."