The Snork Maiden, gathering flowers.
The Snork Maiden brushing her tail.
The Snork Maiden (Swedish: Snorkfröken) is a character in the Moomin series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. She is a member of the species known as Snorks, and is the sister of the Snork and Moomintroll's beloved, although their relationship is very innocent. Her appearance is very similar to Moomins, being round and furry, with a large snout that resembles a hippopotamus's.
The Snork Maiden differs from the Moomins by having a curly fringe of hair at the front of her head, of which she is very proud. She is very loyal to her friends and somewhat emotional. All Snorks change colour with their moods, although this is only mentioned in two books, Comet in Moominland and (very briefly) Finn Family Moomintroll. She has a little gold anklet that she wears and likes to wear a flower behind her ear (usually in a color that compliments her current body color). She is also able to make a fruit soup using fruit and lemonade and make a cure for stomach aches.
The Snork Maiden and her brother the Snork are first mentioned in Chapter 6 of Comet in Moominland, and encountered in the following chapter, when they accompany Moomintroll and his friends back to Moominvalley after Moomintroll saves the Snork Maiden from a poisonous bush. Both the Snork and Snork Maiden also appear, living with the Moomins, in the following book, Finn Family Moomintroll, but are not mentioned in The Exploits of Moominpappa, the events of which are solely related to Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff.
The Snork Maiden then appears, without the Snork, in Moominsummer Madness - where she and Moomintroll are separated from the family for most of the book, and is asleep throughout Moominland Midwinter. Finally, she makes appearances in two of the stories in Tales from Moominvalley: the fourth, "The Last Dragon in the World", and the ninth and final story, "The Fir Tree". She is not part of the family in Moominpappa at Sea, and no account is given of when she left, though Moomintroll briefly mentions her on at least one occasion.
Adaptations
In the various adaptations of the books, Snork Maiden is depicted. In the 1990s Japanese animated Moomin series, she is given a very prominent role in most episodes, which is different from the books.
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