Summary of The Rattrap - Selma Lagerlöf

THE RATTRAP

                                –Selma Lagerlöf

A ‘philosophical’ rattrap seller
Once there was a man who made rattraps of wire and went around selling them. However, occasionally he had to turn to begging and stealing. He looked at the world with vengeance for being unkind to him. He entertained himself with the idea of the world being “nothing but a big rattrap” where the riches act as baits to lure and trap people for life.
Crofter’s thirty kronor bills stolen
One evening the rattrap peddler took shelter in an old man’s cottage, who had been a crofter at Ramsjö Ironworks. The amiable and generous man offered him dinner and tobacco. He even showed him the thirty kronor bills, earned by selling his cow’s milk, kept in a leather pouch that hung near the window. However, the next morning, the rattrap peddler stole the money and made his escape through the forest.
Caught in the big rattrap called ‘world’
But as he got lost in the woods, he realised that the thirty kronor bills had been a bait to trap him in the huge rattrap that the world is.
The Ramsjö Ironworks & the ironmaster
Nevertheless, he kept walking. Attracted by a ‘regular thumping’, he reached the Ramsjö Ironworks, where the blacksmith allowed him to spend the night. Soon, the owner of the mill arrived for a nightly inspection. The ironmaster mistook the peddler for an old acquaintance, Nils Olof (Captain von Stahle). The rattrap seller thought of taking advantage of the opportunity but soon decided against it when he was invited to his home as he feared the discovery of the stolen money.
But the unsuspecting ironmaster wasn’t willing to leave the matter. He informed the rattrap peddler how, after the death of his wife and departure of his sons, he was left only in the company of his oldest daughter and that he wished to have company for Christmas. When he had failed to persuade the rattrap peddler, he sent his daughter to bring him home.
The invitation
Edla Willmansson, the shy and modest daughter of the ironmaster, came to persuade the peddler to come to their home for Christmas. By his frightened look, she guessed that the peddler had either stolen something or has escaped prison.  So she hinted an assurance that he would be free to leave whenever he wanted. Reassured, he accepted the invitation. However, the idea of being trapped did not leave him. On the way to the manor, he regretted stealing the money from the crofter and once again considered himself caught in the trap.
The change of events for the peddler
The following morning, on Christmas Eve, the ironmaster and his daughter discussed how to help the peddler. The ironmaster planned to help him regain his health and also to assist him in finding a vocation for himself. The peddler was bathed, saved and given a hair-cut. However, when the peddler - in clean suit and shoes - presented himself to his host, the ironmaster was shocked to realise his mistake. He demanded an explanation from the peddler and threatened to hand him over to the sheriff.
Suddenly, the rattrap peddler put forward his idea of the world being a rattrap and that one day even the ironmaster may become caught in it. The ironmaster laughed it off and ordered the rattrap peddler to leave at the earliest.
Edla’s intervention
However, before he could actually leave, the daughter intervened. She had been in high spirits that morning thinking of the ways in which she could help the peddler. However, not wanting to express her own feelings, she beseeched her father on the behalf of the rattrap peddler to enjoy just one day at their place. The father finally gave in to his daughter’s request, hoping that they would not regret the decision later on.
Throughout the day, the rattrap peddler did not utter a word.  He merely ate and slept. He had to be woken up for even meals. At the end of the day, when he was told by Edla that he was welcome to return on the next Christmas Eve, he was flabbergasted.
Theft of thirty kronor bills revealed
Next morning, in the church, the ironmaster and Edla were shocked to find that a certain rattrap seller had robbed one of their old crofters. As they returned, the father wondered what all the rattrap peddler would have robbed them of. The daughter, however, felt dejected.
On returning home, they were informed, by the valet, that the man had left empty handed. On the contrary, he had left a package, as a Christmas present, for Edla.
A Christmas gift for Edla
The peddler left a package containing a small rattrap with the three ten kronor bills that he had stolen from the crofter. Along with that he left a letter thanking Edla for her generosity and asking her to return the bills to the crofter. He wrote, “The rattrap is a Christmas present from a rat who would have been caught in this world’s rattrap if he had not been raised to captain, because in that way he got power to clear himself.” It was signed as “Caption von Stahle”