A Happy Boy [Harvard Classics edition]

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson (8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) in Norwegian literature (which also include Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland). Bjørnson is celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet".

A Happy Boy is one of his bonde-fortellinger, or peasant tales. This novel is often neglected in today's literature classes, but was included in Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot's compendium of Harvard Classics.