A troll threatened them as they came, one by one; the two older ones allowed themselves to be chased off, but the youngest son (known in Norwegian as Askeladden 'Ash-lad', or called Boots in some versions), asked his mother for food before going out.

The boy realized he could not carry the huge buckets, so he declared they were too small, and said he would just fetch the entire spring.

When the porridge was made, they had an eating match, but the boy put more into his scrip than into his stomach, and when it was full, he cut a hole in it.

The story was adapted into a 1967 puppet animation directed by Ivo Caprino, titled Gutten som kappåt med trollet.

The film credits Peter Christen Asbjørnsen as having collected the tale, despite Norwegian Folktales attributing it to Jørgen Moe.