Snork

Snork (Finnish: Niisku; Swedish: Snorken) is a character who first appears in the Moomin books. In the books, the Snork is an ordinary person whose primary characteristic is his love of order and being in charge, but in the 1990 TV series, he is a professional inventor and scientist. Snork is always inventing things that are rare in Moominvalley. Snork's little sister is Snorkmaiden, and he often appears as part of storylines including his sister. He likes things to be organised and often writes things down in his notebook.

Snork is not only Snorkmaidens brother, but his name is the same as all of their kind - Snorks. As with his sister, Snork's fur is said to change colour depending on his emotions, and he is said to look similar to Moomins, as all known Snorks are.

Snork appears in only two of the Moomin books: Comet in Moominland and Finn Family Moomintroll. He is absent from the Moomin comic books, including the Comet in Moominland comic adaption from the 1940s.

Snork will appear in the third series of the Moominvalley television show.

Snorks and Moomins
Moomintroll first met the Snork and the Snorkmaiden in the second Moomin book, the 1946 novel Comet in Moominland. As Moomintroll, Snufkin, and Sniff travel to the Observatory to learn about the approaching comet, Snufkin mentions that he met a couple of Snorks a few months ago. When Moomin asks what Snorks are, Snufkin is surprised: "Don't you really know what a Snork is?" said Snufkin in amazement. "They must be the same family as you, I should think, because they look the same, except that they aren't often white. They can be any colour in the world (like an Easter egg), and they change colour when they get upset."

Moomintroll looked quite angry. "Well!" he said. I've never heard of that branch of the family. A real Moomintroll is always white. Changing colour indeed! What an idea!"

As Snufkin describes, when they're feeling relaxed, the Snork's natural color is mauve, and the Snork Maiden is pale green. Later, when Moomintroll rescues the pair from a poisonous Angostura bush, the Snork is "green with terror", and afterward, when Moomin has returned the Snork Maiden's missing anklet, she turns "quite pink with pleasure." When she begins to worry about the comet, the Snork Maiden turns from pink to mauve. By this time, Moomintroll has forgotten his earlier prejudice against color-changing Snorks and is overwhelmed by the Snork Maiden's beauty.