Snufkin

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Snufkin (or Snusmumriken in the original Swedish) is a character in the Moomin series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson.

Moomintroll's best friend, who goes south every winter and returns in the spring. He is the son of the Mymble and the Joxter, and is half-brother to the Mymble's daughter and Little My. Snufkin is an adventurer and a vagabond, admired by those who are small and shy.

Snufkin wears old green clothes and a wide brimmed hat he's had since birth. He lives in a tent, smokes a pipe, and plays the harmonica. Snufkin also has a great dislike for authority figures such as the Park Keeper, and the many regulation signs and fences he puts up, and as such is often thought of as an anarchist. At one point he sabotages The Park Keeper by planting Hattifatteners in his garden, causing them to grow and drive him out.

Snufkin prefers freely-growing foliage to fenced-in lawns. Snufkin keeps as few worldly possessions as possible, seeing them as a burden, and being happier keeping the memory of a thing than the thing itself. This aspect of his personality is contrasted in the character of Sniff.

[edit] Appearances

Comet in Moominland, the second book, is the first appearance of Snufkin. Here he meets with Moomintroll and Sniff on the journey to the observatory in an attempt to prevent the comet hitting Moominland. He also features heavily in Finn Family Moomintroll, where he often plays games with the other children. In The Exploits of Moominpappa he is one of the people who listen to Moominpappa's story, and his family background is also explained in this book. In Moominsummer Madness he battles the Park Keeper. He features in Tales from Moominvalley, where he is a key character in the story; The Last Dragon on Earth.

He is absent from The Moomins and the Great Flood, Moominland Midwinter and Moominpappa at Sea.

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