Snufkin

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.

Appearances

Snufkin appears in the following books:

*2. "Comet in Moominland" - 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.
*3 "Finn Family Moomintroll" - In this book, Snufkin's role as a solitary wanderer is firmly established: While he stays in Moominvalley during spring and early summer, in the late summer and last part of the book he leaves to go off on his wanderings, promising to return next spring.
*4 "The Exploits of Moominpappa" - Snufkin plays a minor role in this book, as one of the people who listen to Moominpappa's story, but his family background is also explained as his father, the Joxter, is a main character in the story.
*5 "Moominsummer Madness" - Here, Snufkin plays a larger role again. He battles a rule-obsessed Park Keeper, saves Little My when she gets separated from the rest of the family, and briefly (and unwillingly) becomes the father figure to a group of orphans.
*7 "Tales from Moominvalley" - This book consists of several short stories, three of which heavily feature Snufkin: "A Spring Tune", where a talkactive squirrel keeps him from composing the melody he wants, "The Last Dragon on Earth", where Moomintroll's newfound "pet" dragon falls in love with him, and "Cedric," where he tells Sniff a story about his mother's aunt.
*9 "Moominvalley in November" - In the last of the books, Snufkin and several other characters end up in a Moominvalley where the Moomins have left (they've gone to live on an island, as described in the previous book, "Moominpappa at Sea") and have to try and live in the valley without their reassuring presence.

Snufkin also has cameo roles in the picture-books "Who Will Comfort Toffle?", "The Dangerous Journey" and "An Unwanted Guest".

He is absent from "The Moomins and the Great Flood", "Moominland Midwinter" and "Moominpappa at Sea", though he is at least mentioned in both the latter books.