{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_20853/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_20853","id":"gutenberg_20853","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20853","summary":null,"tags":["Beowulf -- Adaptations","Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Sagas -- Adaptations"],"text":"Produced by Al Haines\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Frontispiece: Ingeborg the Fair]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNorthland Heroes\n\n\nBy\n\nFLORENCE HOLBROOK\n\n\nAuthor of\n\n\"The Hiawatha Primer\" \"A Book of Nature Myths\" etc.\n\n\n\nLONDON: GEORGE G. HARRAP & CO. LTD.\n\n2 & 3 Portsmouth St. Kingsway WC\n\nAND AT CALCUTTA AND SYDNEY\n\n\n\n\nFirst published January 1909\n\nby GEORGE G. HARRAP & Co.\n\n2 & 3 Portsmouth Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.2\n\n\nReprinted: April 1911; May 1913;\n\nMay 1914; October 1919; July 1922\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nFor centuries the songs of Homer, the blind poet of Greece, recounting\nthe heroic deeds of great Hector and lion-hearted Achilles, have\ndelighted the children, young and old, of many lands.  But part of our\nown heritage, and nearer to us in race and time, are these stories of\nBeowulf and Frithiof.\n\nThe records of lives nobly lived are an inspiration to noble living.\nWith the hope that the courage, truth, endurance, reverence, and\npatriotism shown by these heroes of the Northland will arouse interest\nand emulation, this little book is offered to our children.\n\n\"The Story of Frithiof\" is based upon Holcomb's translation of Bishop\nTegner's poem, \"The Saga of Frithiof,\" and the quotations are used by\nthe kind permission of Mrs Holcomb and the publishers.\n\nFLORENCE HOLBROOK.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nTHE STORY OF FRITHIOF\n\n  IN HILDING'S GARDEN\n  KING BELE AND THORSTEN\n  FRAMNESS\n  KING HELGE AND FRITHIOF\n  IN THE COUNTRY OF KING RING\n  FRITHIOF'S ANSWER\n  IN BALDER'S GROVE\n  THE PARTING\n  FRITHIOF AND ANGANTYR\n  THE RETURN\n  BALDER'S FUNERAL PILE\n  ON THE SEA\n  THE VIKING'S CODE\n  FRITHIOF'S RETURN\n  KING RING AND THE STRANGER\n  THE RIDE ON THE ICE\n  IN THE FOREST\n  KING RING'S DEATH\n  THE NEW KING\n  PRITHIOF AT HIS FATHER'S GRAVE\n  THE RECONCILIATION\n\n\nTHE STORY OF BEOWULF\n\n  THE COMING OF SHEAF\n  THE YOUNG BEOWULF\n  THE HARPER'S STORY\n  BEOWULF AND HIS MEN\n  THE WARDER OF THE SHORE\n  BEOWULF RECEIVED BY HROTHGAR\n  THE CONTEST WITH GRENDEL\n  THE FEAST OF JOY\n  GRENDEL'S MOTHER\n  THE WAY TO THE POOL\n  BEOWULF IN THE POOL\n  BEOWULF'S RETURN\n  HROTHGAR HONOURS BEOWULF\n  BEOWULF AND HYGELAC\n  THE DRAGON OF THE MOUNTAIN\n  BEOWULF GOES AGAINST THE DRAGON\n  WIGLAF AIDS HIS KING\n  THE DEATH OF BEOWULF\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\nIngeborg the Fair . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_\n\nKing Bele and his sons\n\nBurial mounds\n\nViking ship\n\nFrithiof asking for Ingeborg\n\nIngeborg at Balder's temple\n\nFrithiof's song\n\nInto the hall came a man unknown to any there\n\nKing Ring's sleigh\n\nThe boy on the shield\n\nIngeborg given to Frithiof\n\nThe departure of Beowulf\n\nThe landing of Beowulf in Hrothgar's realm\n\nBeowulf presenting his gifts to Hygelac\n\nThe dragon\n\nPronouncing vocabulary of proper names\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF FRITHIOF\n\n\nIn Hilding's Garden\n\n  So they grew up in joy and glee,\n  And Frithiof was the young oak tree;\n    Unfolding in the vale serenely\n    The rose was Ingeborg the queenly.\n\n\nIn the garden of Hilding, the teacher, were two young children.\nIngeborg was a princess, the daughter of a King of Norway.  The boy,\nFrithiof, was a viking's son.  Their fathers, King Bele and Thorsten,\nwere good friends, and the children were brought up together in the\nhome of Hilding, their foster-father and teacher.\n\nHilding was very fond of them both.  He called the boy Frithiof an oak,\nfor he was straight and strong.  The little Ingeborg he called his\nrose, she was so rosy and sweet.\n\nAll day roaming over field and grove the strong lad cared for the\nlittle maid.  If they came to a swift-flowing brook he would carry her\nover.  When the first spring flowers showed their pretty heads Frithiof\ngathered them for Ingeborg.  For her he found the red berries and the\ngolden-cheeked apples.\n\nIn the evening they sat at the feet of their kind teacher and together\nthey learned to read.  Often they danced on the sward at twilight, when\nthey looked like golden-haired elves in a fairy dance.\n\nWhen Frithiof had grown into a sturdy youth he often hunted in the\nforests.  He was so strong that he needed neither spear nor lance.\nWhen he met the wild bear they struggled breast to breast.  Both bear\nand youth fought bravely, but at last Frithiof won.  Home he went\ngaily, carrying the great bear-skin, which he gave to Ingeborg.  She\npraised his bravery and strength, for every woman loves courage.\n\nWhile Frithiof roamed the forest for game, Ingeborg, at the loom, wove\nbeautiful tapestries.  Pictures of sea and grove, blue waters and\nwaving trees, grew under her deft fingers.  Then she wove warriors on\nhorseback, with their shining shields and their bright red lances.\nSoon the face of the leader was seen; 'twas the face of her brave\nplaymate, Frithiof.\n\nIn the long winter evenings around the fire, Ingeborg heard the story\nof the gods.  The light shining upon her fair face made her lovely as\none of the goddesses.  Frithiof thought her hair as golden as Freya's\ntreasure.\n\n  When darkness held the quiet earth\n  They gathered round the welcome hearth,\n    And Hilding told them stories old\n    Of gods and kings and heroes bold.\n\n\nSo Frithiof and the lovely Ingeborg grew to love each other.  But when\nHilding saw that the viking's son dared to love the daughter of a king,\nhe said: \"Frithiof, my dear foster-son, in vain are your hopes.\nIngeborg is a king's daughter.  Your reason should tell you that you\ncannot marry her.  Proud is King Bele of his family descended from the\ngreat god Odin.  He will have his daughter marry a prince, not a\nyeoman.  Well do I love you; brave and handsome are you and strong as\nany prince, but you must forget your love for Ingeborg.\"\n\nThen the brave youth smiled and said: \"I am free-born, and never will I\nyield.  I killed the forest chief, and honour is mine for the deed.\nAll power is noble--Thor who hurls the thunderbolts is noble, although\nOdin is king of the gods.  So free-born men shall never yield though\nkings are on the throne.  In Thor's kingdom, where all strength is,\nworth is king, not lineage.  The sword always speaks with power; never\nwill I forget Ingeborg, but will fight all the world for her.\"\n\n  The free-born man will never yield,\n  He owns the world's unconquered field;\n    Where worth and not descent is leader\n    The sword is e'er a valiant pleader.\n\n\n\n\nKing Bele and Thorsten\n\nThe words by an old man spoken should not be slighted\n\n\nIn the great palace stood the old King Bele and his friend, Thorsten\nthe faithful.  Both had lived brave lives and longed for Valhalla, the\nhome of heroes.\n\n\"The evening of life comes over me,\" said King Bele, \"but as death\ndraws nearer, the glory of heaven seems brighter.  I have called our\nsons to the throne room, dear friend, to speak words of warning and\nhelp.  To-morrow it may be that I shall sleep in death, and it will be\ntoo late.\"\n\n[Illustration: King Bele and his sons]\n\nInto the throne room came the two princes obedient to their father's\ncommand.  Helge, the elder, was dark and gloomy.  Halfdan, the younger,\nfair and gay, came with untroubled heart, thinking only of games and\nhunting.\n\nAfter these came Frithiof, son of Thorsten, taller and stronger than\nthe princes.  He stood between the brothers, shining in beauty like the\nsun.\n\n\"Sons of my heart,\" said the king gently, \"my life on earth is ending.\nRule the kingdom together.  While you are united no power can destroy\nyou.  Let freedom bloom through all the land, and use your power, O\nHelge, as a shield for your people.\n\n\"The power the king possesses comes from the people, and foolish is the\nruler who is cruel and hears not their cry.  The great and good king is\nmerciful, and kindness can do more than cruelty.  Boast not of the\ngreatness of your ancestors.  Each man uses but one bowstring, and that\nis his own.  Who cares for the worth that is buried?  The good man is\ntrue to his own heart, and thus makes himself great.\n\n\"A joyous spirit is yours, O Halfdan, and it is good.  But idle talk is\nneedless and weakens kings.  Hold fast to your friend and choose the\nbest, but do not give your love and faith to all men.  Fools win no\npraise though they be kings, but the wise are loved and honoured by all\nmen, no matter how lowly they may be.\"\n\nThen Thorsten spake: \"Not alone, O Bele, shall you go to Odin.  Always\nhave we stood together, and death shall not divide us.\n\n\"Hear me, my son, my Frithiof, and slight not the words of the old.\n\n  \"First, give the gods high honour, for good or ill,\n  Storms come as well as sunshine, by Heaven's will.\n  Great strength is Heaven's dower; but, Frithiof, learn\n  That power devoid of wisdom, can little earn.\n\n\n\"Obey your king.  One must be king, and others are happiest when\nobeying wise directions.  The shields of brave men are the best\nprotection for a country against the swords of an enemy, and law is the\nbest defence against treason.  Young men should listen to advice and\nshould test the strength of friendship by use.\n\n  \"All men will surely perish, with all they prize,\n  But one thing know I, Frithiof, which never dies,--\n  And that is reputation! therefore, ever\n  The noble action strive for, the good endeavour.\"\n\n\nIt was pleasant to hear Bele and Thorsten talk of their lives together.\nMuch they told of the wonderful adventures of their youth, when they\ntravelled to strange lands in their swift-moving boats.  They had been\nfriends through good fortune and ill, with hands clasped together and\nhearts united.  In battle they had stood back to back, facing their\nenemies.  If one was threatened by an enemy, the other was on guard and\ndefended his friend.\n\nThe king spoke much of the bravery of Frithiof, and said that his\nheroic power was better than all royal birth.  Thorsten in return\npraised the gifts of Helge and Halfdan.  Thus did they give an example\nof friendship between a king and his man.  With the memory of their\nlong friendship King Bele urged his sons and Frithiof to be friends too.\n\n  \"But hold ye fast together, ye children three,\n  The Northland then your conqueror shall never see;\n  For royalty and power, when duly ordered,\n  Are like a bright shield golden, by blue steel bordered.\"\n\n\nThen again spoke Bele: \"These are my last commands.  On you, O Helge,\nmy eldest son, I place a father's care.  Guard and love your sister\nIngeborg.  Be gentle and guide her with loving words.  Noble spirits\nfret under harshness, but loving and gentle manners win all to right\nand honour.\n\n\"And now, farewell, my children.  Together Thorsten and I go to the\nAll-father gladly.  Lay us in mounds close to the waves of the restless\ngulf singing the song of the sea.\"\n\n[Illustration: Burial mounds]\n\n\n\n\nFramness\n\nSo the old king and his faithful friend were united in death as they\nhad been in life, and were buried on the shore of the loud-singing sea.\nTogether by the wish of the people did his sons, Helge and Halfdan,\nrule the kingdom.\n\nFrithiof, the son of Thorsten, went to his father's hall, the mighty\nFramness.  For twelve miles in all directions stretched his broad\nacres.  The hilltops were covered with birch forests.  On the sloping\nsides grew the golden corn and the tall rye.  Many blue lakes gleamed\nlike mirrors.  Streams rippled over the pebbly beds.  In the wide\nvalleys herds of oxen and sheep were quietly grazing, and in the\nstables were twenty-four steeds swift as the whirlwind.\n\nIn the great hall built of choicest fir more than five hundred warriors\ngathered at Yule-time.  A great table of oak, polished and shining, ran\nthrough the middle from end to end.  The floor was covered with straw,\nand on the hearth in the centre of the hall a warm and cheerful fire\nwas always burning.\n\nOn the great nails in the hall hung helmets and coats-of-mail.  Between\nthem flashed swords and sparkling shields.  Round the table sat the\nwarriors, and as often as the drinking-horn needed filling fair maidens\ncame with the joyous mead.\n\n  All this and other vast treasures did Frithiof receive from\n      his father,\n  Scarce was there found in the Northland any with richer\n      possessions,\n  Save were he heir to a kingdom, for of kings is the wealth\n      always greatest.\n  Though from no king he descended, yet was his mind\n      truly royal,\n  Courteous, noble, and kind.  Daily became he more famous.\n\nRich was the house of Framness.  Everywhere plenty and beauty, gleaming\njewels, gold and silver, met the eye of the stranger.  But three things\nin Framness were most prized by Frithiof and his brave men.  First of\nthe three was a sword which had descended from father to son.  The\nsword was called Angurvadel, grief-wader, and brother of lightning.\nMade in the far east, it had finally come into the hands of Viking, the\nfather of Thorsten.\n\nWhen Viking was a youth of fifteen he heard of a monster ferocious and\nshaggy, misshapen and higher in stature than man, who came from the\nwood to the palace of a weak old king.  This king had a lovely\ndaughter, and the monster boldly demanded her hand and the kingdom,\noffering to meet in hand-to-hand combat any who would say him nay.  No\none dared to meet him, for no one had a weapon that could pierce his\nhard skull.\n\nThen came Viking gladly to the combat with Ironskull, and with one blow\nof his good sword Angurvadel cleft the head of the monster and rescued\nthe maiden.  Viking gave the sword to his son Thorsten, and Thorsten\ngave it to Frithiof.  The hilt was of hammered gold, covered with\nmystic red letters.  Whenever he drew the sword light filled the hall,\nas when the northern lights gleam or the bright lightning flashes.\n\n            Lost was the warrior\n  Who met, on the field of encounter, the blade with its red\n      letters glowing.\n  Widely renowned was that sword, and of swords was the\n      chief in the Northland.\n\n\nThe second prize in Framness was the wonderful arm-ring forged by\nVolund, the lame blacksmith.  This ring was made of gold and was very\nheavy, and upon it Volund had carved pictures.  First he showed the\nhouse of the gods, with twelve high castles.  In one was the sun rising\nover the ocean.  In the second castle were Odin and Saga, drinking\ntogether from a golden shell.  That shell is the ocean gilded by the\nglow of morning.  Balder, the beautiful king of summer, was seen, the\ngood, kind god.  Next was shown the castle of Giltner, the home of\npeace.  Within was Forseti, god of justice, holding the scales.  Many\nmore pictures were graven on the great ring, showing the conflict\nbetween light and darkness.  High in the centre was a cluster of rubies\nbright as the sun in the heavens.  This circlet was a family heirloom,\nfor Frithiof's mother was a descendant of Volund, its maker.\n\n[Illustration: Viking ship]\n\nThe third of the family treasures was _Ellide_, the famous ship, of\nwhich this story is told.  When Viking was returning from the wars he\nsaw a sailor adrift on the billows.  Noble and tall he seemed, borne on\nthe waves as if he were at home on the sea.  He wore a mantle of blue\nbound by a golden girdle.  His hair was sea-green and his beard as\nwhite as the foam of the ocean.\n\nViking took him home and cared for him right courteously; but soon he\nsailed away in his broken boat, thanking Viking warmly for his\nkindness.  \"If I could only leave thee a gift!\" said he.  \"Perhaps in\nthe morning the ocean will waft thee a token.\"\n\nThe next day Viking stood on the shore, when, lo! swiftly over the\nbillows came a dragon ship.  There was no leader, no sailor, no\nsteersman.  The wonderful ship drew near, the sails were furled by\nunseen hands and the anchor dropped into the firm sand.\n\nViking was speechless with wonder.  Then he heard the winds murmur\nsoftly: \"Aeger never forgetteth a kindness.  He giveth thee this\ndragon.\"\n\nKingly the gift and beautiful.  Its throat was ablaze with gold, and\nbordered with red were its inky black pinions.  When they were\nunfolded, the boat flew in a race with the whirlwind and left far\nbehind the swift eagle.  Widely renowned was the ship, the chief of all\nships of the Northland.\n\nOf chieftains Frithiof had many around his hearth.  One youth whom he\ngreatly loved was Bjorn.  Frithiof and Bjorn were of the same age and\ndear to each other, brothers in joy and grief.  In the days of their\nboyhood they had mingled their blood, thus becoming brothers in good\nNorthern fashion, in peace and in war sworn to help and avenge each\nother.\n\n\n\n\nKing Helge and Frithiof\n\nIn the spring Frithiof sailed in his dragon ship proudly over the\nbillows to the palace of King Helge.  The kings had met at the mound of\ntheir father to give justice to their people.\n\nTo them came Frithiof and proudly he spoke: \"Ye kings, I choose here\nfrom all women your sister, the lovely Ingeborg, to be my bride.  The\ngood king, your father, wished us to marry, and therefore reared us\ntogether in the garden of Hilding.  My father was of peasant birth, yet\nhis memory will live in the songs of the poets, for he and his father\nwere the bravest of heroes.\n\n\"Full easily could I win a kingdom for myself, but I choose to stay in\nmy own country and serve ye, my kings.\n\n  \"On King Bele's grave we are standing now,\n  He hears every word in the grave below,\n  With thee he pleadeth.--\n  A dead father's counsel a wise son heedeth.\"\n\n[Illustration: Frithiof asking for Ingeborg]\n\nBut King Helge refused Frithiof's words with scorn, saying: \"Our sister\nwas not for a peasant born!  Kings should strive to win our Ingeborg.\nBoast not of your strength--women are won by words and not by force.\nAs for my kingdom, I will defend that myself and do not need your help.\nIf you wish to be my man your place is among my servants.\"\n\n\"Thy servant!  No, never!\" cried Frithiof.  \"My father had no master,\nnor shall I.  Fly from your silver dwelling to avenge this insult, my\ngood Angurvadel!  You, at least, are royal.  Were we not at the grave\nof thy father, O King, here would I teach thee not to come where my\nsword can reach.\"\n\nWith these words he struck the gold shield of Helge, and it fell in\nhalves with a clang to the ground.\n\n\"Well done, my sword!  Lie still and dream of great deeds to come!  Now\nwill we go home over the foaming billows.\"\n\nSo in anger did the noble Frithiof leave the presence of King Helge,\nand return to Framness, the house of his fathers.\n\n\n\n\nIn the Country of King Ring\n\nFar in the north lived the good King Ring.  His words were wise and\nkind.  In his land no war cast its dark shadow and everywhere in his\nkingdom blossomed fair flowers.  Justice and right clasped hands, and\npeace lived with plenty in the golden fields.\n\nFor thirty years King Ring had ruled in the Northland.  The people\nloved him well and named him in their evening prayers.  His good queen\nhad died, and long had he mourned for her.  But the people begged him\nto marry again.\n\nAt last the old king said: \"King Bele often visited me and spake of his\nfair daughter.  Her would I choose for my bride.  Take gold and jewels\nrare from my coffers.  Have minstrels go and with their songs win for\nme the fair Ingeborg.\"\n\nIn gay company they went to Helge's court and asked him for his sister\nIngeborg.  Here they remained three days, singing and feasting.  On the\nfourth morning they asked for a reply from King Helge for their king.\n\n[Illustration: Ingeborg at Balder's Temple]\n\nIn the grove of Balder Helge offered bird and beast and asked the\npriest what answer he should give.  The priest, frightened by evil\nomens, replied that Ingeborg must not be given to King Ring.  Then\nHelge said nay to the messengers, for men must obey when the gods have\nspoken.\n\nAngry were the messengers, and angry was King Ring when he was told\nthat Helge would not give the lovely Ingeborg to be his queen.  He\nstruck his bright shield and seized his warlike weapons.\n\nOver the sea many a dragon ship came hurrying and the plumes of the\nwarriors waved in the breeze.\n\n\"Let us teach the proud Helge a lesson,\" they cried.\n\nWhen King Helge heard of the ships and the warriors hurrying over the\nsea, he said: \"Long and bloody will be the strife, for King Ring is a\nmighty king.  To protect my sister we must place her in the temple of\nBalder the holy.\"\n\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Answer\n\nWhile King Helge gathered his warriors to fight King Ring, the angry\nFrithiof was playing chess with his friend Bjorn.  Hilding urged him to\nforget his anger and go into battle to fight for his king and his\ncountry.  \"The times are evil, dear foster-son,\" said the good Hilding,\n\"and you are all the people's hope.\"\n\nKindly but firmly said the youth: \"My resolve is firm.  I will not obey\nHelge.  He and Halfdan may be angry and threaten.  They are kings, but\nI bid defiance to their power and their threats.\"\n\nThen said Hilding sadly: \"Is this the reply to my pleading?\"\n\n  Frithiof then arises, laying\n  Hilding's hand in his, and saying:\n    \"My resolve is firm and steady,\n    And my answer you have heard.\n\n  \"Go to Bele's sons and warn them\n  Peasants love not those who scorn them;\n    To their power I bid defiance,\n    Their behests will not obey.\"\n\n  \"In thy chosen way abide thee,\n  For thy wrath I cannot chide thee;\n    Odin must be our reliance,\"\n    Hilding said, and went his way.\n\n\n\n\nIn Balder's Grove\n\nWhile King Bele's sons were preparing for war with King Ring, Frithiof\nsought Ingeborg in the grove of Balder.  Most beautiful was this temple\nof the sun-god, and here the sunshine seemed lovelier than in other\ngroves.  The flowers glowed in the friendly rays and seemed more\nbeautiful.  At night, when evening drew the rosy curtain, the brooks\nand breezes whispered softly to one another and the stars gleamed like\npearls upon the dark blue robe of night.\n\nThe wonderful boat, _Ellide_, sped over the waves sparkling in the\nmoonlight.  \"Glide on, _Ellide_, over the deep gulf and bear me swiftly\nto the grove of Balder.  I hail thee, moon, with thy pale light\nstreaming over grove and dale.  Upon the shore I leap with joy and\nsalute thy brown cheek, smiling earth.\"\n\nSo spake Frithiof as he landed on the shore.  The earth seemed\nfriendly, the red and white flowers smiled upon him, and he was happy\nand free from care.  With Ingeborg the brave youth knelt at the shrine\nof Balder, the mild, radiant god of the sun whom all gods and men love,\nand prayed for happiness and peace.  They prayed not for princely\nhonours, but for a home near the dark blue sea.  Then, amid flowers and\nunder the shade of the leafy trees, their lives would be happy and free\nfrom envy and care.\n\nBut they feared the king, the cold and cruel Helge.  He would never\nconsent to Frithiof's request for the hand of Ingeborg.  If he learned\nthat Frithiof had dared to visit Ingeborg in Balder's grove, his anger\nwould be greater than ever.  But Ingeborg begged Frithiof to go to her\nbrother and to offer his hand in friendship.  She could not leave the\ngrove of Balder, where Helge had placed her for protection during the\nwar with King Ring.\n\nAt last Frithiof yielded.  He said farewell to Ingeborg with sadness in\nhis heart.\n\n\"Like Balder are you, Ingeborg!  Like him your hair is golden, and your\neyes are blue as his skies, while your soul is as pure as the morning\nlight!\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Parting\n\nA meeting of all the warriors had been called by King Helge.  They were\nto gather at the mound of Bele to decide upon the war and upon the fate\nof Ingeborg.\n\nThe princess had urged Frithiof to go and offer his hand to the haughty\nking and join him in battle.  It had been very hard for Frithiof to\nconsent, for he felt that Helge would not receive him kindly.  Now in\nBalder's grove Ingeborg waited to hear how her lover had fared.  Sad\nwas she, for she feared her haughty brother, and she knew he would be\nangry because Frithiof and she had met in the temple of the great god\nBalder without his consent.  Bravely, however, she resolved to meet her\nfate, and when she saw Frithiof returning with angry look she cried:\n\"Tell me, Frithiof, for I have foreseen the worst and am prepared for\nall.\"\n\nThen Frithiof spake: \"To the council at Bele's mound I went.  There,\ngathered ring after ring, sat the great chiefs of Helge's kingdom.\nUpon the judgment seat sat your brother, dark fate upon his brow.  Near\nby was Halfdan, careless and like a child.  To the king I spake: 'Thy\nkingdom is in peril and every strong arm is needed in the war.  Give me\nthy sister and I will lend to thee mine arm.  Let us forget ill-will.\nHere is my hand.'\n\n\"Loud cheered the throng.  A thousand swords struck upon a thousand\nshields and the freemen cried: 'To him give Ingeborg!  Strong his sword\nand well he deserves our fair lily.'\n\n\"Hilding spoke words of peace and wisdom, and Halfdan rose with\npleading looks and words.  But all in vain.  King Helge replied:--\n\n\"'A peasant's son might gain my sister, but he who profanes a holy\ntemple seems unfit for Bele's daughter.  Say, Frithiof, have you not\nstolen into Balder's temple, against our laws, to see my sister?  Speak\nyes or no.'\n\n\"'Say no!' shouted the brave men; 'we believe thee, son of Thorsten.\nSay no, and Ingeborg is thine!'\n\n\"Fear not, O Helge,' I replied; 'I would not lie to gain the joy of\nheaven, and I shall not now to gain thy sister.  I have seen Ingeborg\nin Balder's temple, but the laws I have not broken.'\n\n\"More they would not let me say.  They looked at me with dread as one\naccursed.  'Though I could order thy death by the laws of our fathers,'\nsaid Helge, 'yet will I be mild as Balder whose sacred dwelling thou\nhast profaned.  Across the sea lives Angantyr, who tribute owes to us.\nGo thither and when summer comes bring back this tribute, or to every\nman thou wilt be as one without honour, and outlawed shalt thou be.'\"\n\n\"What did you decide, my Frithiof?\"\n\n\"Could I choose?  Must I not get the gold and thus redeem my honour?\nTo-day I will depart and will get for your brother the gold he craves.\nBut we, my Ingeborg, will sail in _Ellide_ to a friendly land.  A\nlittle earth from our fathers' graves we'll place upon our ships, and\nthat will be our fatherland.  Often has my father told of the beautiful\nislands of Greece--fresh groves of green in shining waves.  There\ngolden apples glow and blushing grapes hang down from every bough.\nThere will we build a little North, more beautiful than this.\nHappiness stands near to human hearts if they are brave enough to seize\nit.  Come, let us go!  All is ready, and _Ellide_ stretches her shadowy\nwings for flight.\"\n\n\"I cannot go.  Dear friend, be not angry.  I am not free to go, like\nyou.  Helge is now my father, and on his will I go or stay.  I will not\nsteal my happiness.  Last night I thought about my fate.  I must remain\nobedient to my brother.  A child of the Northland cannot live in the\nsouth.  With eyes filled with tears should I look for the bright\nnorthern star which stands over our fathers' graves.  And you, my\nFrithiof, must not desert the land you were born to guard.  Let us\nyield to the voice of duty.  Let us save our honour though our\nhappiness be lost!\"\n\n\"Necessity commands our flight.  Come, Ingeborg!\"\n\n\"What's right and noble, that's necessity.\"\n\n\"Consider well.  Is that your last resolve?\"\n\n\"It is my last.  But remember that my thought will follow you wherever\nyou may go.  When evening comes I will send a greeting, and the\nfleeting cloud shall bear it unto you.\"\n\n\"You have conquered, my Ingeborg.  A noble mind best teaches what is\nnoble.  To-day I yield and leave you.  But in the earliest spring I\nshall return and in open council of the sons of the Northland, who\nalone can give the hand of a princess, will I demand you.  Farewell\ntill then.  For memory wear this arm-ring, the work of Volund, graven\nwith heaven's wonders.  But the best of wonders is a faithful heart.\"\n\nSo, full of hope, did Frithiof leave, but Ingeborg feared her gloomy\nbrother, knowing well how he hated the noble Frithiof.  To herself she\nsaid: \"Never will he give me to thee, dear childhood's friend.  Rather\nwill he wed me to King Ring whom he fights.  No hope do I see, yet I am\nglad thy heart can hope.  May all the good gods follow thee.\"\n\n\n\n\nFrithiof and Angantyr\n\nOver the sea sailed Frithiof with his friends in the good ship _Ellide_\nto the home of the brave earl Angantyr.  The old man, joyous and\nlight-hearted, one day looked over the sea and saw the white-winged\nship bringing the brave heroes.\n\n\"That is _Ellide_ coming, and the hero with firm and steady step is\nFrithiof, son of Thorsten.  No one in the Northland has so brave a brow\nand so bright a smile.\"\n\nThen the sturdy Atle sprang up crying: \"Now will I go and prove what\ntruth there is in the report that Frithiof breaks all swords and never\nsues for peace.\"\n\nWhen he saw Frithiof he cried: \"No one comes here but he either fights\nor flies.  If you beg for peace, I shall receive you in friendship and\ntake you to the earl.\"\n\nFrithiof replied sharply: \"Before I cry for peace our good swords must\nbe tested.\"\n\nThen flashed his sword-blade, the bright Angurvadel.  The men fought\nlong and cleft each other's shields, but finally Atle's sword was\nbroken and Frithiof's sword was king.\n\nThen said the victor: \"I do not wish to slay a swordless foe.  If you\nwish, let us strive as yeomen, man to man, without weapons.\"\n\nSo they wrestled breast to breast as two bears trying their strength,\nor as wave breaking against wave.  The firm earth trembled, and the\ngreat oaks scarce could endure the shock.\n\nBut Frithiof proved the stronger, and at length brought proud Atle to\nthe ground.  Angrily he said: \"If my good sword were at my hand,\nthrough thy body would I plunge it, thou black-beard!\"\n\n\"Go bring it!  Who'll prevent thee?\" cried the brave Atle.  \"Here will\nI lie if that will content thee.  All must Valhal see; I, to-day; thou,\nperhaps, to-morrow!\"\n\nThen Frithiof fetched the gleaming Angurvadel, but the good sword\nharmed not the noble foe.  Frithiof struck the sand with the blade, for\nhe admired the courage of the brave Atle.\n\nAs friends Frithiof and Atle then entered the palace of Angantyr.\nEverything seemed new and beautiful to Frithiof.  Instead of planks\nwell matched, leather embroidered in gold covered the walls.  No rough\nhearthstone littered the centre of the hall, but a marble fireplace was\nbuilt up against the side.  In the windows were fitted panes of glass,\nand a key secured the door.\n\nHere were no wooden torches as light of the feast, but waxen candles\ngleamed brightly in their silver sconces.  The roasted stag gracing the\ntable had gold bands on his hoofs, and flowers wreathed his horns.\n\nThree steps the earl descended, saying to Frithiof: \"Come sit by me,\nbrave son of Thorsten.\"\n\nThen was Thorsten's praise chanted by the singers, and his brave deeds\nwere sung in the old Norse tongue.\n\nThe earl asked much about his friends of long ago.  Frithiof answered\nwisely and kindly, and all the warriors cheered him loudly.  Soon he\nspoke of the errand that brought him from his own land.  Angantyr\nlistened kindly but replied:\n\n\"I never paid tribute to Bele and shall not to his sons.  If they wish\nto take it, let them meet us on the strand and see who is best.  But\nThorsten was my friend,\" continued the earl, and beckoned to his\ndaughter, who sat near him.\n\nThe beautiful maid hastened to her room and brought back a green silk\npurse all deftly wrought.  The tassels were made of gold and the clasps\nshone with rubies.\n\nAngantyr took the treasure and filled it with gold.  Giving it to\nFrithiof, he said: \"This welcome gift is a tribute to you, my friend,\nbut not to King Helge.  And now I beg you, Frithiof, to pass the long\nwinter hours with us, your friends and the friends of your fathers.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Return\n\nWhen lovely spring with her blue skies came again, Frithiof left his\nkind host Angantyr and sailed over the deep billows.  Full of joy is\none who has travelled far when his bark turns homeward.  Memory shows\nthe smoke from his mother's hearth-fire and the fountain where his\nchildish feet played.\n\nSix days Frithiof sailed, and on the seventh he saw his loved land.  He\nsaluted the cliffs and the forest dancing in the sunlight, but thought\nof Ingeborg.  As _Ellide_ rounded the headland, Frithiof stood at the\nprow, shading his eyes from the sun and looking for his old home, loved\nFramness.\n\nBut he looked in vain!  Of the stately hall ashes alone remained.\nSadly did the hero thread the blackened ruins.  Then his faithful dog,\nBran, ran up to welcome him.  A powerful dog was he, and often had he\nbeen master of wolves.  The milk-white steed with swan-like neck and\ngolden mane came bounding up the valley.  Both asked for food of\nFrithiof, their master; but he, poorer than they, had nothing to give\nthem.\n\nThen came Hilding, the foster-father with silvery hair.  \"My message,\"\nhe said, \"I fear will bring you little gladness.  Scarce had you sailed\nwhen King Ring came.  Five shields had he to our one.  Not long did the\nbattle last.  King Helge yielded and fled.  In his flight he passed\nFramness and fired the lordly dwelling.\n\n\"Ring gave the brothers, Helge and Halfdan, this choice: to give their\nsister to him or to lose their throne.  The brothers chose, and now\nIngeborg has gone with old King Ring.\"\n\nThen Frithiof blamed Ingeborg for her broken vow and declared he would\nnever believe her again.  And yet his heart grieved for her, and he\ncould never forget the friend of his childhood.\n\n\"You wrong the maid,\" said old Hilding.  \"As the sea-fowl, when its\nbreast is wounded, dives far away from the eyes of daylight, and, with\nits life-blood flowing, yet gives no sign of weakness or misery, so\nIngeborg in the darkness bore her suffering and I only saw her anguish.\nWhen the wedding day came, she, pale as death, rode a black steed,\nfollowing the white-robed maidens and the steel-clad men.\n\n\"From off the saddle I took the sad maid and went with her to the\naltar, where she uttered her vows and prayed long to Balder.  When\nHelge saw your ring on her arm he tore it off with angry words.  Then I\nin anger drew my sword, but Ingeborg gently said: 'Let the All-father\njudge between him and me.'\"\n\n\"The All-father will judge,\" calmly replied Frithiof, when Hilding had\ntold his story; \"I, too, will judge.  Now is the time when the king who\nsold his sister sits in the temple of Balder as priest.  Him will I\nseek.\"\n\n\n\n\nBalder's Funeral Pile\n\nMidnight's sun fell upon the mountain.  The beams seemed to threaten\nfire and war, so blood-red were they.  The heavens glowed; it was night\ncontending with day.\n\nOn Balder's altar burned a fire--the emblem of the sun--and priests\nstood around the wall of the temple, grasping burning brands.  Near the\naltar stood King Helge, wearing his crown.  All at once he heard the\nwar-cry, and the clash of weapons resounded through the forest.\n\n\"Bjorn, stand fast by yonder door!\"\n\nHelge heard the cry and turned pale.  Well he knew the ringing voice of\nFrithiof.  Fiercely as autumn winds fell the hero's bitter words:--\n\n  \"Here's the ordered tribute; it came\n    Safe through the tempest's rattle;\n  Take it; then here by Balder's flame,\n    For life or death we'll battle.\n\n  \"Shields behind us, our bosoms free,\n    Fair the fight be reckoned;\n  As the king the first blow belongs to thee,\n    Mind thou, mine's the second.\"\n\n\nWith these words he threw the purse filled with gold in Helge's face.\nThe heavy blow stunned the king, and he fainted near the altar.\nFrithiof laughed and called in scorn: \"Are you then overpowered by a\npurse of gold?  No one shall blame my sword for felling so cowardly a\nfoe, for he deserves not to fall by a brave man's sword.\"\n\nThen Frithiof put up his sword and turned to the statue of Balder that\nstood near the altar.  Calm and kind seemed the god.  On his arm was\nthe ring given by Frithiof to Ingeborg but taken from her by Helge.\n\n\"Holy Balder,\" spake Frithiof, \"be not angry with thy servant.  Well\ndost thou know that the arm-ring which thou wearest was stolen, and\nthat Volund's work was never meant for thee.\"  With these words he\nstrove to take the ring, but arm and ring seemed to have grown\ntogether.  Then he became angry and with a supreme effort he loosened\nthe ring; but the image fell into the flames of the altar.\n\nUp leaped the fierce fire!  Bjorn at the door was pale with dread.\nFrithiof with equal anxiety called to him: \"Open the doors, Bjorn, and\nlet the people go.  The temple is burning; bring water, yea throw on an\noceanful!\"\n\nThe warriors quickly formed a chain from the burning grove to the sea\nand the water was passed with speed from hand to hand.  Frithiof sat\nlike the god of rain and gave his orders in a calm, clear voice.  Long\nthey strove, but in vain.  The flames borne on the wings of the wind\nmounted to the sky.  The grove was dry with summer heat and the hungry\nfire-king revelled midst the quick-burning branches.\n\n  Fiercely leaping from height to height,\n    Aiming yet still higher;\n  Oh, what wild and terrific light!\n    Strong is Balder's pyre!\n\n  Soon in smouldering ashes lay\n    Grove and temple's adorning;\n  Sadly then Frithiof turned away--\n    Wept in the light of morning.\n\n\n\n\nOn the Sea\n\nAfter the burning of Balder's temple and grove Frithiof was very sad at\nheart.  He felt that the sun-god would never forgive him, although he\nhad not intended any wrong.  His home, the lovely Framness, had been\ndestroyed by the king.  Ingeborg was kept from him, and the people of\nhis own country shunned him because of his crime against Balder.  He\nfelt that he had no home, no country, no friends.\n\nOne refuge he had--the swift-flying ship _Ellide_.  From her deck he\nsaw the fires still burning in Balder's grove.  Grief filled his heart.\n\"Gone is the temple of the white god.  In ashes are the groves once\nnever neglected!  And I am to blame; anger and haste made me forget\ntime and place, the reverence due in that holy temple!\"\n\nOver the blue sea where wild waves sing, _Ellide_ flew.  Frithiof felt\nat home in the tempest on the rocking ship--this was his Northland,\nthese on board were his only friends.  The sea knows no king, and\nHelge's wrath could not reach him on its waves.\n\nBut lo! from a hiding-place in the high rocks King Helge sends out ten\ndragon ships.  The warriors with Frithiof rejoice and laugh at the\nking, for Bjorn had, unknown to all, leaped into the sea and bored\nholes in the boat-keels.  Down sank the ships and many men were\ndrowned, but Helge escaped.\n\nIn wrath the king drew his bow, but it broke.  Then Frithiof aimed his\nlance.  \"A death bird have I here, false king! but my lance refuses to\ndrink thy coward blood.  It is too good for food so craven!\"\n\nSo speaking Frithiof seized his oars--huge blades of fir, and swiftly\nmoved away.\n\n  Where foam-crest swimmeth\n  _Ellide_ skimmeth\n  On joyous wings;\n  But Frithiof sings:\n\n  \"Thou front of creation,\n    Exalted North!\n  I have no station\n    On thy green earth.\n  Thy lineage sharing\n    My pride doth swell,\n  Thou home of daring!\n    Farewell, farewell!\"\n\nAnd that you also may sing Frithiof's song, the last verse is given\nwith the music.\n\n[Illustration: Frithiof's Song]\n\n\n\n\nThe Viking's Code\n\nOver the foaming sea Frithiof sailed, seeking strange lands and\nadventures.  Like a falcon in search of its prey flew the good boat,\n_Ellide_, over the waves.\n\nTo the champions on board Frithiof gave this law of the viking:--\n\n  Make no tent on thy ship, never sleep in a house, for a foe\n    within doors you may view;\n  On his shield sleeps the viking; his sword in his hand, and\n    his tent is the heavenly blue.\n\n  When the storm rageth fierce, hoist the sail to the top--\n    O how merry the storm-king appears;\n  Let her drive! let her drive! better founder than strike,\n    for who strikes is a slave to his fears.\n\n  If a merchant sail by, you must shelter his ship, but the\n    weak will not tribute withhold;\n  You are king of the waves, he a slave to his gains; and\n    your steel is as good as his gold.\n\n  Let your goods be divided by lot or by dice, how it falls\n    you may never complain;\n  But the sea-king himself takes no part in the lots--he\n    considers the honour his gain.\n\n  If a viking-ship come, there is grappling and strife, and\n    the fight 'neath the shields will rejoice;\n  If you yield but a pace you are parted from us; 'tis the\n    law, you may act by your choice.\n\n  If you win, be content: he who, praying for peace, yields\n    his sword, is no longer a foe!\n  Prayer's a Valhalla-child, hear the suppliant voice; he's\n    a coward who answereth no.\n\n  Wounds are viking's reward, and the pride of the man\n    on whose breast or whose forehead they stand;\n  Let them bleed on unbound till the close of the day, if you\n    wish to be one of our band.\n\n\n\n\nFrithiof's Return\n\nSuch was the law of the vikings which Frithiof gave to his men.  Day by\nday his name became more renowned through foreign lands.  No viking was\nbrave as Frithiof, and none had braver followers.  When the conflict\ncame, his spirit rose like an eagle refreshed for its flight.  A smile\nwas on his face and his voice rang clear above the noise of the battle.\n\nAfter many conquests he sailed to Greece.  In her beautiful seas he\nfound many green islands.  On the shores were green groves and temples\ngleaming with pillars.  Here it seemed peace must have its home.  The\nmurmuring fountains and the sweet songs of the birds made music in the\ngroves.\n\nBut in the midst of all this beauty Frithiof thought of his home in the\nnorth.  There was the friend of his youth, the fair Ingeborg.  There\nwere the grave-mounds of his fathers.  Around the groves and shrines of\nhis country gathered the memories of his early years, and no matter how\nlovely any other land might be, his heart returned to his home land.\n\n\"Three years have passed since I saw the Northland, the land of heroes.\nHow I long to see those loved shores once more!  The tree that I\nplanted on the grave-mound of my father--can it be that it lives now?\nWhy do I linger in distant waves, taking tribute and conquering in war?\nMy soul despises the glittering gold, and enough have I of renown.\n\n  \"There's a flag on the mast and it points to the north, in\n    the north is the land I hold dear;\n  I will follow the course of the heavenly winds, and back\n    to the Northland I'll steer.\"\n\n\nTo his foster-brother Frithiof said: \"Bjorn, I am weary of riding the\nsea.  My heart longs for the firm earth of the Northland, and her lofty\nmountains are calling to me.  Tired am I of this life on the sea and\ntoo long have I wandered an exile from home.\"\n\n\"Frithiof, why do you complain?\" asked Bjorn.  \"Freedom and joy\nflourish best on the sea.  When I am old I too will turn to the\ngreen-growing land with the grass for my pillow.  But now I'll fight\nwith a free hand and enjoy the freedom of the billows.\"\n\nSo the dragon ship sailed for far northern waters.  The ice closed in\naround them and Frithiof declared he would not spend the winter on the\ndesolate shore.  He would go as a stranger to the palace of King Ring\nand see Ingeborg once more.\n\n\"Good!\" exclaimed Bjorn.  \"Right glad will I be to fight the king and\nto let him feel a viking's power.  We will fire the palace of the\ngreybeard and carry his queen away with us; or, if you wish, challenge\nhim to a fight on the ice.\"\n\n\"No!\" replied Frithiof; \"no fight have I with King Ring.  His is not\nthe fault.  But peace would I bear to them both and say farewell to\nIngeborg.  When spring returns you see Frithiof here.\"\n\n\"You may be prevented from returning, Frithiof; go not alone!\" said\nBjorn.\n\nBut Frithiof had no fear and laughed at the warnings of Bjorn.  Alone\nhe went with his good sword to the country of the old King Ring.\n\n\n\n\nKing Ring and the Stranger\n\nIn the kingdom of the north reigned King Ring.  Old was he now and\nwhite-haired, but noble and brave.  At the merry Yuletime he held a\ngreat feast in the royal hall.  High on the throne of state he sat, and\nbeside him was his fair young queen, the gentle Ingeborg.\n\nInto the spacious hall came a man unknown to any there.  A bear-skin\ncovered him from head to foot.  He leaned heavily upon a staff, but\neven then he was taller than any warrior in the hall.  He chose for\nrest a seat upon the bench beside the door.  This is now the poor man's\nplace and has always been.  Some of the young men laughed at the beggar\ndressed in the skin of the wild bear and pointed the finger at him.\n\n[Illustration: INTO THE HALL CAME A MAN UNKNOWN TO ANY THERE]\n\nThe stranger's eyes flashed and all felt his anger.  Quickly he seized\none of the young men by the belt and shook him so that all were\nsuddenly silent in the hall.\n\n\"What causes such commotion?\" cried the angry monarch.  \"Who dares\ndisturb our peace?  Old man, come here and answer.  What is your name,\nyour place, your errand?\"\n\nThe old man replied: \"Many questions you ask, O King, but every one\nwill I answer.  My name belongs to me alone and I'll not give it.  My\nbirth-place was misfortune and all I possess is want.  I have come\nhither from the wolf so fierce and gaunt.  In youth I bestrode a dragon\non the blue waters, but now I am old and feeble and must live upon the\nland.  As to my errand, I came to see your wisdom, renowned far and\nnear.  When your men met me rudely I seized one of them by the girdle\nand hurled him to the ground.  For that forgive me, though the man is\nsafe and sound.\"\n\n\"Your words are wisely chosen,\" said King Ring.  \"The aged should be\nhonoured; come, sit here by me.  You are no beggar, I know.  Throw off\nyour disguise and appear in your true form.  Disguise is a foe to\npleasure, and pleasure should rule at Yule-tide.\"\n\nThen the guest dropped the bear-skin.  Instead of an old man bent with\ncare, there stood a handsome youth with long golden locks.  His mantle\nwas of azure velvet and his girdle was of silver finely worked.  Around\nhis arm clung a heavy golden circlet and at his side gleamed the great\nbattle-sword.\n\nWhen the queen looked at the guest she knew him as Frithiof, but\nmentioned not his name.  It was the right of a guest to claim\nhospitality without giving his name, and Frithiof had claimed this\nguest-right.  The horn sounded a shrill blast in the hall and all was\nstill.  The hour for vows was coming and the boar was now brought in.\nHis four knees were bent beneath him on the great silver dish; in his\nmouth was an apple, and there were wreaths about his neck.\n\n  King Ring, his grey locks flowing, arose and straightway now\n  The boar's head gently touching, he thus declared his vow:\n  \"I swear to conquer Frithiof, the champion in war,\n  So help me, Frey and Odin, and likewise mighty Thor.\"\n\n  Then with a smile defiant uprose the stranger tall\n  A look of wrath heroic spread o'er his features all--\n  He smote with sword the table till through the hall it rang\n  And up from oaken benches the steel-clad warriors sprang.\n\n  \"And now, Sir King, please listen while I my vow shall tell--\n  Young Frithiof is my kinsman, and so I know him well;\n  'Gainst all the world I'll shield him, I give you here in word,\n  So help me now my norn, and likewise my good sword!\"\n\n\nThe king laughed at this bold defiance.  \"Right daring, methinks your\nspeech,\" he said, \"but in the Northland palace all fair words are\nfree.\"  Then turning to the queen he bade her fill a horn of wine, the\nvery best.  \"I hope that he'll remain our guest through the winter,\" he\nconcluded.\n\nThe queen then took the great goblet and filled it with wine.  With\ntrembling hand she gave it to the guest.  He accepted the horn with a\nbow of reverence and drank the wine at a draught in honour of the fair\nqueen who gave it.\n\nThen the skald, the singer of the royal court, touched the strings of\nhis harp and sang a song of love and glory.  As he sang he moved the\nwarriors' hearts to pity or roused them to anger and revenge at his\nwill.  Such is the wonderful power of music and poetry.  He sang of the\nhome in Valhal, where brave heroes go after death, and all hearts were\nfilled with a desire to be brave and noble that they might deserve a\nplace in heaven when their work on earth was finished.\n\nSo with mirth and song, with stories of the great heroes of their race,\nKing Ring and his court kept the merry Yule-tide in his castle.\n\n\n\n\nThe Ride on the Ice\n\nKing Ring had set forth a banquet for his queen in a palace far over\nthe lake.  The ice on the lake was glistening in the sun, and the king\nordered his sleigh and his swiftest horse.\n\n\"Do not go on the ice,\" urged the stranger; \"it may break, and the\nwater below is deep and cold.\"  Then the old king laughed.  \"A king,\"\nsaid he, \"is not easily drowned.  If any one is afraid let him go\nround!\"\n\nThe scornful laugh of the king angered the bold stranger, and he\nfrowned.  Soon, however, he bound his good skates to his feet.  The\nservants meantime had brought out the sleigh-horse, strong and free,\nand his nostrils flamed as he breathed the bright, cold air.\n\n\"On,\" cried the king; \"on, my brave steed and show if you are of famed\nSleipner's brood!\"\n\n[Illustration: King Ring's Sleigh]\n\nAs swift was his speed as a storm at sea.  The queen grew fearful as\nthe mighty steed flew on, but the king had no fear and paid no heed to\nthe queen's cries.\n\nThe stranger skated, now fast, now slow, passing Ingeborg and the king\nwhenever he wished.  He made letters and figures on the sparkling ice,\nwriting often the name of the queen.  Onward swiftly they glided across\nthe lake, but the treacherous ice-maidens were hiding below.  Suddenly\nthey made a hole in the silvery ice and caught the sleigh of the king\nwith its precious load.  The queen turned pale and called for help.\nLike a whirlwind came the skater, strong and brave.\n\nHe buried his skate in the ice and clasped the flowing mane of the\nsteed with a grasp of iron.  With one strong swing of his arm he\nbrought horse and sleigh to the firm ice.\n\n\"Well done!\" said King Ring; \"that was a noble stroke.  Not Frithiof,\nthe strong, could have done better!\"\n\nThen they all returned to the palace, rejoicing in the safety of the\ngood king and queen.\n\n\n\n\nIn the Forest\n\nThrough the long winter the stranger remained at the court of the king.\nThe time passed merrily in skating, sleighing, and in other manly\nsports.  In the evening all gathered in the great hall and listened to\nthe songs of the skalds or related the deeds of heroes.\n\nThe coming of spring rejoiced all hearts.  The songs of the birds, the\nnew leaves on the trees, the warmer rays of the sun, all gave joy to\nthose who had passed through the long cold winter.  The ice-bound\nrivulets melted and ran merrily to the ocean; the buds began to unfold,\nand the earth seemed born anew, filled with love and hope and courage.\n\nThe king had planned a great hunt for the court.  Men and women,\ncourtiers and servants, awaited the signal to start.  The steeds\nimpatiently pawed the ground; the clanging of bows and the rattling of\nquivers were heard on every side.  The hooded falcons, eager to escape,\nuttered wild shrieks that echoed on the hills.  At last the queen\nappeared, like a star in the spring's clear sky, and the hunting troop\nwas ready.\n\nHark! through hills and valleys sounds the horn!  The falcon, loosened,\nflies straight up into the heaven's blue, and the wild animals of the\nforest fly in terror to their cavern homes.  Off rush the hunters on\ntheir eager steeds.  The aged king rides no more on the wild hunt,\nthough in years gone by he was one of the best to follow wild game.\nFrithiof is with the king, for he, too, does not wish to join the\nhunters.  Sad thoughts trouble him, and he wishes he had never left his\nbeloved boat.  On the sea he had no time for brooding over his sad\nfate, but here, with the king and Ingeborg, he is always remembering\nhappier days.\n\nAs the two entered the forest they came upon a lonely place, dark and\nrestful.  Here the king halted and said: \"See how lovely, fresh, and\ndeep is this forest.  Here will I rest me, for I desire to sleep.\"  But\nFrithiof urged him not to sleep in the dark, damp forest.  \"Hard and\nchilly is the ground, O King!  Let me take you back to the palace.\"\n\n\"Like the other gods, Sleep cometh unexpected,\" said the king; \"and\nhere will I sleep.\"\n\nWhen Frithiof saw that the king was determined, he took off his mantle\nand spread it beneath a tree.  The king in trusting friendship leaned\nhis head against the stranger's knee.  Soon he slept as the hero sleeps\nafter the battle, or as the infant sleeps cradled in its mother's arms.\n\nAs he slumbered, hark! from the branch of a tree a coal-black bird\nsings: \"Frithiof, now thou mayest slay thine enemy, the old king.\nHuman eyes do not behold thee!\"  But a snow-white bird sings: \"Though\nno human eye behold thee, Odin sees and hears each word.  Wouldst thou\nbe a coward and slay an old man now defenceless and sleeping!  The\nhero-crown is not won by such a deed.\"\n\nSo sang the birds.  Frithiof, snatching up his battle-blade, flung it\nfar from him into the gloomy glade.  The black bird flew away into the\ndark underworld.  The snow-white bird, singing sweetly as a harp tone,\nmounted towards the sun.\n\nSuddenly the old man awoke: \"Sleep is sweet beneath a tree, guarded by\na brave man's weapon.  But where is your sword?  What has parted you\nwho have never before been parted?\"\n\n\"It is not hard to find a sword,\" replied Frithiof.  \"Sharp is its\ntongue, O King, and it never speaks for peace.  I think it is haunted\nby an evil spirit.\"\n\n\"I have not slept, O youth, but have been proving you.  Man or sword a\nwise man testeth ere in them he can confide.  You are Frithiof.  I have\nknown it since first you entered my hall,\" said the old king.  \"Why did\nyou enter my home in disguise?  Honour, Frithiof, sits not nameless,\nthe rude guest of hospitality.  We had heard of a Frithiof whom both\nmen and gods revere.  Soon, I thought, will he come against my home\nwith his famous sword, bold and brave.  But you came clad in tatters, a\nbeggar's staff in your hand.\n\n\"But cast not down your eyelids.  I have proved you and forgiven.  I\nhave pitied and forgotten.  All life is a struggle, hardest in youth.\nYou are young and I am old.  Soon shall I rest in the grave.\nTherefore, O youth, take my kingdom and my queen.  Be my son and let us\nforget our quarrel.\"\n\n\"I came not as a thief,\" said Frithiof sadly, \"but only to see Ingeborg\nfor the last time.  Too long have I stayed as your guest.  The gods\nwill not forgive me.  Balder the Good loves all mankind but me.\nNorthland has cast me out, and no more shall I seek for peace on the\nearth so green and sweet.  To ocean's billows will I go, out upon my\ngood ship far as the stars can guide me and far as the stormy billows\ncan bear me.\n\n  \"Let me hear the rolling thunder, let me hear the lightning's voice;\n  When it thunders all around me, Frithiof's heart will then rejoice\n  Clang of shields and rain of arrows! let the sea the battle fill;\n  Purified, I'll then fall gladly, reconciled to heaven's will.\"\n\n\n\n\nKing Ring's Death\n\nOn a lovely day in spring when the rays of the sun seemed more golden\nthan usual, Frithiof entered the hall of King Ring to take leave of his\nhost.  The king and Ingeborg his queen sat upon their chairs of state,\nboth pale and sad.  Frithiof listened to a song of parting recited by\nthe king's harper.  Then he said: \"O king! the billows now bathe my\nship, the flying steed, the sea-horse that is longing to leave the\nshore.  Gladly will they follow him who is fleeing from his\nwell-beloved land.\"\n\nTo the queen Frithiof said: \"Again I give you this arm-ring, O\nIngeborg!  Receive it in memory of our youth, and never let it leave\nyou.  I go, and never will you see me again.  No more shall I behold\nthe smoke rising upward from Northland.  For the ocean is my fatherland\nand shall be my grave.\"\n\n\"Well know I that death is nigh,\" now said King Ring.  \"All men must\ndie, and I shall not moan like a coward.  No one can by complaining\nchange what the fates have decreed.  But if you will stay, my sorrow\nyou will lighten.  Take my queen, reign over the land and guard the\ncrown.  Long have I reigned in the Northland, loved and respected.\nThough I longed for peace, yet have I broken shields in war both by sea\nand land without turning pale.  Vainly have I sought for peace amid\nslaughter.  Now the mild daughter of heaven beckons me hence to Valhal.\n\n  \"Bring for my drinking\n    The horn with wine flowing;\n  Skoal to thy honour, thou land of my birth!\n    Minds deeply thinking,\n      Harvest fields growing--\n  Peaceful exploits have I loved on the earth.\"\n\n\nSpeaking thus bravely, the king pressed the hand of his queen and of\nhis son.  Frithiof's also he clasped with love.  Then, closing his\neyelids gently, the royal spirit of King Ring sank with a sigh to\nAll-father's breast.\n\n\n\n\nThe New King\n\nKing Ring sits in his barrow, buckler on arm and battle-sword by his\nside.  His war-horse stands at the cairn pawing the earth and chafing\nas though impatient to start on the long journey.\n\nThus sang the harper of the departed hero: \"Great King Ring has gone on\nhis last journey.  He rides over Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that leads\nto Valhal.  The bridge bends with his weight.  Wide open the doors of\nValhal to welcome him, and hands reach out to lead him within the doors.\n\n\"'Odin himself, king of the gods, calls for the beaker to be brought.\nFrey wreathes the king's head with garlands of grain ears, and Frigg\nplaces therein the bluest of her blossoms.  Broge, the singer of the\ngods, tunes his golden harp and sings a song of welcome.  Silent is\nValhal as he sings:--\n\n\"'Dear to us is this hero king, for he held his shield as a shelter for\npeace.  Always did Forseti, goddess of justice and peace, have an\nhonoured place in his kingdom.  Generous, too, was the king, always\nstrewing beauty and blessing far and near.  To heroes he gave gifts\nwithout measure; sadness he comforted and suffering he relieved.\n\n\"'Welcome, thou wise winner of Valhal!  Long will you be loved and\nhonoured in the Northland.  You are loved by the gods, a friend from\nthe earth.'\"\n\nSo sang the harper in the palace of the king whom he loved.\n\nWhen the news spread over the country that King Ring was dead, the\npeasants and warriors from hill and dale, from meadow and farm, cried:\n\"We must choose a king to fill his place.\"\n\nThe peasant took from the wall his steel sword and tried its edge with\nhis practised finger to prove its sharpness.  His boys admired their\nfather's blade and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy for one, and\ntwo struggled to lift it from the floor.\n\nThe peasant's daughter scoured the helmet to make it clean and bright,\nand laughed to see her face shining from the silvery sheen of its\npolished surface.\n\nWhen the peasant had bound his good sword to his side and put on his\nshining helmet, he took his round shield and started with his friends\nto the gathering-place.\n\n  Hail! iron man, so strong and sound,\n      Thou peasant good!\n  Renown and powers which nations wield\n      From thee they draw.\n  In war thou art thy country's shield,\n      In peace its law.\n\nWith sounding of arms and shields the peasants met under heaven's blue\nsky in the fair, pleasant fields.  Upon the great stone in the centre\nof the assembly stood the noble Frithiof.  With him was the little\nprince, son of King Ring, a slender, noble lad with long golden hair.\nWhen the men saw the two, there rose the cry on every hand, \"Too small\nis the king's son to rule our land and to lead our wars.  Frithiof\nshall be our king!\"\n\nBut Frithiof raised up the little boy on his shield and cried: \"Ye\nNorthmen, behold your hope, your king, your joy!  From Odin is he\ndescended, and he is brave at heart, as much at home 'mid shield and\nspear as fish are in the sea.\n\n  \"I swear my lance and sword to set\n    Round land and throne,\n  And with the father's coronet\n    To crown the son.\"\n\n[Illustration: The Boy on the Shield]\n\nWhile Frithiof was urging the Northmen to choose the son of Ring for\ntheir King, the boy sat on the high shield as if it were a throne.  No\nfear had he, but he faced them all as the eaglet faces the sun.  At\nlast he grew impatient and leaped to the ground; fearless and proud he\nstood, like the royal prince he was.\n\nThen all rejoiced at his courage: \"We of the north, we choose thee,\nthou shield-borne youth, to be our king.  Be like thy father, brave and\ngood.  For Frithiof, thy loyal friend, he shall be thy guardian and\nguide thy youth.  You, Frithiof, shall marry the queen.  We give her to\nyou for your bride.\"\n\nBut Frithiof frowned and said: \"To-day you are here to make choice of\nyour king,--not of my bride.  To the temple of Balder I must go to\nrepair the wrong I have done, if perchance I can do this.\n\n  \"Against me Balder's anger sore\n    Doth still abide;\n  He took, he only can restore\n    My cherished bride.\"\n\n\nThen Frithiof kissed the youthful monarch on the brow in farewell, and,\nturning from the assembly, he silently and slowly passed from view.\n\n\n\n\nFrithiof at his Father's Grave\n\nFrom the home of King Ring Frithiof fared to seek his father's grave in\nhis own loved land.  As he neared the shore, he looked upon it with\njoy.  How brightly the sun shone, smiling like a friend as its soft\nrays touched the branches of the forest!  The dewdrops reflected the\nlight as perfectly as the great ocean.  The mountains were aglow with\ncrimson light as the sun slowly sank in the west.\n\nOn every side Frithiof saw the well-known places he loved as a child.\nThe same sweet beauty graced the valleys, the same birds were filling\nthe woods with song.  He visited the stream in which he strove as a\nswimmer bold, and he found the birch trees with their white bark, on\nwhich he had carved his name so long ago.\n\nAll seemed unchanged.  But when he looked for Framness, that royal home\nof his father, he found it not.  And Balder's shrine was gone; both\ndestroyed by fire and sword.  No more the pious pilgrim came to\nBalder's grove, for wild beasts roamed where once the sacred temple\nstood.  Although Frithiof had suffered so long, his grief was even\nstronger than before, when he saw the ruined temple.  He repaired next\nday to the grave of his father, the brave Thorsten, where he prayed to\nthe gods:--\n\n\"Is there no way by which I may obtain pardon for my offence?  Will the\nblue-eyed god, kind Balder, refuse forgiveness when man pardons man who\nasks for pardon?  Command any sacrifice and I will perform it.  No evil\nwill had I in the burning of thy shrine.  Tis the only stain upon my\nshield.  I pray thee, remove it and make my shield spotless.  Cannot an\nupright life repair a moment's fault?\n\n\"Here is my father's grave.  He has gone where there are no tears, and\nhe rejoices in the company of noble heroes.  O father, hear my prayer!\nNot for renown in war I pray, but for forgiveness.  Take my plea to\nheaven.  No rest have noble minds if unforgiven.  Will you not send me\nsome message, some token, some sign that you hear and answer my prayer?\nThe waves are resounding on the shore; can you not speak through them?\nThe storm flies by, bounding on swift pinions; will you not whisper to\nme in the storm?--No answer?\"\n\nAs Frithiof prayed, the storm passed by.  The sun sank in golden\nsplendour.  Over hill and dale the glowing clouds floated in many\nlovely circles.  Then came a wondrous vision to his longing eyes.  In\nthe clouds appeared a temple of gold surrounded by groves of emerald\ntrees.  The gold and marble gleamed with divine lustre never seen by\nman.  Slowly it sank to earth but did not disappear.  It stood in\nbeauty where before the temple of Balder had stood.  Its broad walls\nwere of silver, and each pillar seemed cut of deep blue steel.  The\naltar was carved of a single precious stone.  The ceiling seemed like\nthe blue sky with twinkling golden stars, and there sat the gods of\nValhal in all their splendour.\n\nFrithiof gazed in wonder and in praise.  \"Now I know your answer, my\nfather.  I will build a new shrine to Balder the Good, more glorious\nthan the one destroyed by fire.  How glad I am to atone for my warlike\nact by peaceful deeds!  The gods will pardon those who sue meekly for\nforgiveness.  Now with joy can I look at the stars and welcome the\nNorthern Lights.  To-night I shall sleep upon my shield and dream how\nheaven forgets the faults its mercy hath forgiven.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Reconciliation\n\nAfter seeing this vision of the lovely temple, Frithiof, greatly\ncheered, worked long to build one as beautiful as his vision.  At last\nit was finished, a noble work.  It stood high up on the mountain cliff,\nand its image was mirrored in the ocean beneath.  About this glorious\ntemple stretched a grove of noble trees, their branches green against\nthe sky.  Here could be heard the songs of birds, but no sound of\ndiscord.  All was harmony.\n\nAs Frithiof stood admiring the temple, he saw twelve virgins clad in\nsilver gauze, with roses in their hair, enter the temple and approach\nthe altar of Balder.  About the altar they danced lightly as breezes\nabout a fountain, or elves amid the waving grass while dewdrops glisten\nthere.  As Frithiof looked, all hate and vengeance faded from his heart\nas ice melts from the cliff before the sun of springtime.  All was\nquiet,--peace and joy seemed to possess his soul.  He felt love for all\nnature and longed to be at peace with all God's creatures.\n\nThen came into the temple the most high priest of Balder.  Kind was his\nface, and Frithiof reverenced the noble man of peace.  \"Son Frithiof,\nwelcome to this grove and temple.  I have long expected thee.  Weary\nwith travel and longing for home, the strong man at last returns from\nhis wanderings.\n\n\"Dost thou remember when thy heart was joyous as the birds are when\nsummer night winds gently rock the fragrant blossoms?  Then Balder was\ngrowing in thy pure soul.  But always with the good Balder there grows\nup in every human soul his brother Hoder, the evil one, the child of\nnight.\n\n\"No one can suffer for thy sins,--no one can atone for the living but\nthemselves.  One offering canst thou give, more dear to the gods than\nthe smoke of victims.  This is the sacrifice of thine own vengeance,\nthe hate in thy untamed heart.\n\n\"Canst thou not forgive, O youth?  Be reconciled with thyself and thy\nfoes, and then will Balder be reconciled with thee.\n\n\"Thou hatest Bele's sons because pride of birth was theirs and they\nwould not give thee Ingeborg, their sister.  Strange it is but true,\nthat no one is proud of his own merit, but only of his fortune.  Art\nthou not proud of thy heroic deeds, of thy great strength?  But who\ngave thee this strength?  Is it thy merit or Odin's gift?  Censure not\nanother's pride, lest thine own be condemned.  King Helge now is\nfallen.\"\n\n\"Fallen!\" exclaimed Frithiof; \"King Helge is fallen?\"\n\n\"Yes, my Frithiof.  Thou must know that while thou wert building this\ntemple, Helge was far away, marching among the Finnish mountains.  On a\nlonely crag of the mountains was an ancient shrine.  He wished to\nenter, but the gate was closed and the key fast in the lock.  Helge was\nangry, and, grasping the doorposts, he shook them with all his might.\nAll at once with horrid crash the rotten pillars gave way, and a great\nimage standing on the doorposts fell upon him, and crushed him to\nearth.  Thus he died.\n\n\"Now Halfdan sits alone upon the throne of his father.  To him offer\nthy hand.  The god Balder demands this offering.  If thou refuse, in\nvain has this temple been built, and vain are thy prayers for\nforgiveness.\"\n\n[Illustration: INGEBORG GIVEN TO FRITHIOF]\n\nAs the noble priest thus advised, King Halfdan entered the temple, but\nstood apart in silence.  Frithiof at once loosed his breast-plate and\nplaced the bright shield against the altar.  To Halfdan he offered his\nhand, saying, \"In such a strife the noblest first offers his hand for\npeace.\"  King Halfdan met his friend half-way, and their hands, long\nseparated, met in a strong clasp.\n\nThen the priest in solemn voice proclaimed Frithiof forgiven for his\ncrime against Balder, the loving god, and purified from his guilt.\n\nScarce had the words been spoken when Ingeborg entered, attired in\nbridal robes and mantle of ermine.  She walked among her maids as the\nmoon glides in the heavenly azure attended by the radiant stars.  With\ntears in her lovely eyes she turned to her brother; but Halfdan clasped\nher hand in Frithiof's, and thus gave his sister, the fair Ingeborg, to\nthe friend of their childhood, her best beloved, the noble Frithiof.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF BEOWULF\n\n\nThe Coming of Sheaf\n\nOnce upon a time, many, many years ago, a boat came sailing over the\nsea to Denmark.  In it were shields and rings of gold, banners of\nbright colours, bracelets, drinking-cups, and helmets.  With sails\ngaily spread the breezes bore the boat gently over the deep blue sea.\nNo sailor was seen at the oars.\n\n\"What can it be?\" cried the people as they came to the shore,\nwondering; \"is it a ship of earth, or have the gods sent it?\"  They\nasked one another many questions, but knew not what to think.\n\nNearer and nearer came the beautiful boat; bright shone the coloured\nsails and golden armour.  Many were the treasures borne therein, but\nloveliest and most precious was--a little baby boy!  He smiled at the\nman who found him, and lifted up his tiny hands as if asking to be\ntaken.\n\n\"A prince!\" cried the people; \"we have found our prince!  The gods have\nsent us a king to rule over us and to conquer our enemies.\"  For at\nthat time the Danes had no king, and were glad to see the beautiful\nchild who so strangely came to their shores.\n\nThe ship with all its treasures was carefully guarded, and the boy, who\nwas called Sheaf, was brought up as a prince.  In due time he became\nking and fought many battles and won many victories over the robbers on\nland and sea.  Over many noble thanes did Sheaf, the king, rule; all\nobeyed him and paid tribute to him.\n\nNor did God withhold from him a son to comfort the people.  The boy was\nstrong and handsome and gave great joy to the heart of his father.\nOver many lands shone the glory of the young prince.  So shall a young\nhero act that when he is old all his friends shall praise him.  He\nshall fight for his people and by praiseworthy deeds shall he flourish.\n\nNow when the time came for Sheaf to die, he asked his companions to\nbear him to the shore.  There stood the brave ship with gleaming prow\nand widespread sails, eager to go.  Sad and yet glad at heart were the\nheroes who bore the king to the death-boat--glad to honour a brave\nking, and sad that he must leave them.\n\nOn the king's bosom they placed treasures of gold and silver; rings,\nshining stones, cloth of gold, shields, and drinking-cups.  Indeed, he\ntook away treasures as many as he brought with him when, years before,\nhe had come, a tiny child, to the country of the Danes.  Out into the\nmist sailed the proud ship with its precious load never to return.  No\nman saw it again, and whither it went none can tell.\n\n\n\n\nThe Young Beowulf\n\nThe sons and grandsons of the great Sheaf ruled the country of the\nDanes until the time of Hrothgar.  Hrothgar was king of the Danes when\nBeowulf, the hero of our story, was a prince in the country of the\nGoths.\n\nThe young Beowulf grew up in the court of his uncle, Hygelac, king of\nthe Goths.  Fond of all games and manly sports was he, and he learned\nto throw the heavy hammer, to shoot, to row, to swim, and to ride.\nRunning, wrestling, and hunting were daily exercises of the young men,\nand Beowulf could excel them all in every trial of skill.  Soon the men\nat court called Beowulf their leader, and they loved and honoured him.\n\nAlthough Beowulf had won many victories at home, and his people knew\nhim to be brave and strong, yet he longed to do some great deed which\nshould make his name known over other lands.  The time came when he had\nhis wish and when all his strength and courage were tested.  For a\nharper from the land of the Danes came to the court of Hygelac and told\na sad story.\n\n\n\n\nThe Harper's Story\n\n\"In the land of the Danes lives Hrothgar, a great and wise king; but\nsadness clouds his brow and tears dim his eyes.  Years ago all was joy\nand glory.  Hrothgar had conquered all his foes and made them friends.\nMuch wealth had he added to his country's treasures, and many warriors\ngathered round him, glad to hail him leader and king.\n\n\"Hrothgar loved peace more than war and was glad when the earls were\nhis friends, and he said: 'I will build a great hall, a house of joy\nfor all my friends.  This shall be larger than any hall earth has seen.\nHere I will bring all my war treasures.  The walls shall be hung with\nbanners of bright colours and decked with shields and swords.  Tables\nshall be spread and guests shall always be welcomed.'\n\n\"The great king spoke, and many workmen gathered to build the hall.\nLarge and strong it rose, a wonder for all the people.  The king named\nthe hall Heorot, and here was every one made welcome.  The mead-cup was\npassed, the king gave presents of shining rings, and joy and laughter\nfilled the hall.\n\n\"Gleemen sang of the goodness of the king, the beauty and grace of the\nqueen, and the bravery of the Danes.  One singer told of the beginning\nof all things; how the All-Father wrought the earth, the beautiful\nplain, which the water embraces.  He sang of how God placed the sun and\nmoon in the heavens for light to dwellers on the land; how he adorned\nthe earth with grass and leaves and made all creatures that go quickly\nto and fro.\n\n\"But alas! now all this joy is changed to sorrow.  No longer does the\ngleeman strike the harp and fill the hall with music.  No merry laugh\nis heard, but all is dark and still.  King Hrothgar sits upon his\nkingly seat, silent and sad.\n\n\"You marvel what can bring grief to the great king and his merry\nthanes?  In all the broad lands there is but one who does not wish long\nlife and joy to the king.  This is Grendel.  No man is he, but a\nmonster whose heart is filled with wickedness.  Laughter and happiness\nare strangers to him, and he hates all beauty and goodness.\n\n\"Far in a lake, dark, poisonous, and surrounded by a marsh, does\nGrendel live.  When he heard the songs and sounds of joy in the great\nhall, he smiled grimly to think how he would turn their joy to gloom,\ntheir songs to groans.  So, in the darkness, from his horrid home the\nmonster crept up to the wondrous hall.  There slept the warriors,\nlittle dreaming of evil.  A score and ten the monster slew, then strode\naway, howling defiance to the king.\n\n\"When the sleeping thanes awoke and found their comrades slain, sad\nwere they all at heart.  Night after night the monster came and slew,\nand fear seized every heart.  In all homes were cries of grief for the\ndead, and men knew not where to go for safety.\n\n\"This is the woe of the Danes, for none can battle with a monster of\nthe deep.  No one has ever seen this ugly shape, for he comes always in\nthe darkness and when no one looks for him.  Everywhere has the great\nking sought help, but none can be found.  Hrothgar sits weeping for his\nbrave comrades in the hall he built for their comfort and joy.\"\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf and his Men\n\nWhen the harper had ceased, the hall was still.  All voices were hushed\nfor they grieved at the sorrow of the good Hrothgar.  Then the brave\nBeowulf cried out: \"Give me leave, O king!  Let me go to Hrothgar and\nfree his land from this monster so wicked and fearsome.\"  The other\nthanes applauded his words and cried: \"Take us with you!\"\n\nBut Hygelac, the great king, said wisely: \"Brave men go to war with\ncare and after deep thought.  Not easy is the way over the sea; not\neasy is the contest with the evil Grendel.  But to fight for a good\ncause and to nobly win or nobly die is the best a man can do.  Proud is\nmy heart when I see so many brave men ready to overcome the evil\nmonster or to die fighting, but all may not venture.  Go, my cousin and\nmy thane,\" he said to Beowulf, \"and make thy name famous in all places\nwhere honour is loved.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE DEPARTURE OF BEOWULF]\n\nBeowulf thanked his king and chose fourteen of his bravest warriors to\ngo with him.  They prepared the strong ship and found a pilot who knew\nthe road the swans take, and who could safely guide the boat.  The\nwarriors made their weapons bright and carried them to the ship.  The\nmen shoved the boat from the shore.  The sails were raised, and, driven\nby the wind, the boat flew over the foamy waves.\n\nOn the second day the voyagers saw the shining ocean-shore.  The\nsea-farer was at the end of the watery way.  Quickly the men stepped\nout upon the plain.  They tied the sea-wood, shook their shirts of\nmail, and thanked God that to them the wave paths had been easy.\n\n\n\n\nThe Warder of the Shore\n\nA warder of Hrothgar, guarding the seashore, saw these warlike men and\nwondered why they came.  Shaking his spear, he cried: \"Who are you?\nWhy come you over the seas in a giant ship, bearing arms into our land?\nHaste to make known whence is your coming!\"\n\nThen Beowulf answered: \"We are of the Goths; Hygelac is our king.  My\nfather was a noble chief.  All wise men through the earth remember him.\nWe have come in kindness to your lord and to defend him.  For we have\nheard that a foul fiend spreads terror through your land and in the\ndarkness slays your thanes.  We would overcome this foe to joy.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE LANDING OF BEOWULF IN HROTHGAR'S REALM]\n\nThen the warder spake: \"A warrior wise should know the difference\nbetween words and works.  But I perceive that you are a friendly band.\nI will bid my fellows guard your ship against every foe, and then I\nwill direct you.\"  So with their guide the warlike men hastened until\nthey saw the shining roof of the great hall.  Their ringed armour rang\nas they walked.\n\nAt last the warriors came to the entrance of the hall.  Here, on a\nbench, they sat until some one should bid them welcome.\n\nSoon came the warder of the hall, a princely chief.  \"Whence bear you\nthe stout spears and war-shields?  Great men and proud you seem, and\nmethinks you plan great deeds.\"\n\nThen the proud lord, the leader, spoke: \"Beowulf is my name.  I will\nrelate my errand to your prince if he will grant that we may greet him.\"\n\nReplied the Dane: \"I will seek the king and tell him of your coming.\"\nQuickly he came to Hrothgar, sitting with his wise men, and told him of\nthe strangers, praising the hardy warriors.  Kindly spoke the king:\n\"Glad am I that Beowulf and his brave Goths have come thus to our\nshores.  For I have heard he has the strength of thirty in his\nhand-grip.  Him God in his great mercy has sent to us.  Hasten, bid\nthem come in!  Tell them that they are welcome guests to the Danes.\"\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf received by Hrothgar\n\nWhen the king's message had been told, Beowulf and all his men entered\nthe hall.  Proud and warlike he stood before the king.  \"Hrothgar,\nhail!  Kinsman to Hygelac am I and daring deeds have I done.  Now I\nhave heard that this brave hall of yours stands empty and silent when\nnight shuts out the day, because of Grendel's warfare.  So I have come\nwith my good friends to help you.  Deny me not one prayer: that I alone\nwith my brave thanes fight with Grendel.  This monster fights not with\nweapons, I have heard.  Then I also will bear neither sword nor shield,\nbut with my strong hands will I seize him.  If Grendel conquers me in\nthe battle, he will carry me off; so no care need you take of my body,\nbut send to Hygelac my armour.\"\n\nAt the brave, strong words of the young Beowulf the heart of the old\nking rejoiced.  \"I welcome you to my home.  Come, now, let us sit at\nthe feast and listen to the songs of brave deeds,\" said the king.  Then\nthe mead-cup was passed, the gleeman sang, and there was joy in the\nhall.\n\nOne man in the hall did not rejoice; there was envy in his heart, for\nhe did not wish any other man on earth to have more glory than himself.\nSo he said: \"Are you the Beowulf who strove with Breca in the wide sea\nin swimming?  For seven nights you strove, but he had more strength and\novercame you in the race.  Surely if you dare to fight with Grendel,\nworse things will befall you.\"\n\nThen spoke Beowulf: \"Much do you speak of Breca.  Now I speak the\ntruth.  More strength on the sea have I than any other man.  Five days\nwere we together.  Then the cold winds and waves drove us apart.  Many\na water monster tried to kill me, but sank to the bottom of the sea\nwith a blow from my powerful hands.  Nine of these water nixies I\nkilled.  I have never heard of a harder fight, yet from all these\ndangers I escaped.  I have never been told that you have gone through\nsuch terrible fights.  Although your wit be good, I must say in truth\nthat never had so many princes of Hrothgar's court fallen under\nGrendel's stroke, if your courage were as fierce as your tongue.\nGrendel fears not the Danes, but kills for pleasure.  Now a Goth shall\noffer him toil and battle.  Afterwards, all who wish may go to the\nmead-hall and rejoice.\"\n\nAll the Danes applauded Beowulf's bold words, for they did not like the\njealous prince who had taunted him.  The queen, lovely and gracious,\nbore the mead-cup to the king, and then to their guest.  In kind words\nshe greeted him: \"Glad am I and grateful to God that I may trust in you\nfor comfort against our sorrow.\"\n\nThen replied Beowulf, for battle eager: \"I alone shall work your\npeople's safety or bow in death.  I shall perform deeds of noble valour\nor my last day in this mead-hall await.\"\n\nThese words pleased both Goths and Danes, and applause filled the hall.\nWhen darkness came on, the company arose and greeted one another.\nHrothgar to Beowulf said: \"Never before, since I could raise hand to\nshield, have I given to any man the Dane's festive hall to guard save\nnow to thee.  Have now and hold the best of houses; keep watch against\nour foe.  All things shall be yours if you escape with life from the\nbattle of this night.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Contest with Grendel\n\nHrothgar then departed with all his warriors.  And Beowulf spoke to his\nmen: \"I do not think myself less in warlike strength than Grendel; so I\nwill not use the sword or shield, but we two shall fight to-night\nwithout weapons, and God shall give the glory to whom glory belongs.\"\n\nAround him lay the warriors, sadly thinking they would never see their\nhomes across the sea again, for so many before that night had been\nslain by the cruel Grendel.  At last they slept, all but one.  The\nmighty Beowulf in angry mood awaited the battle.\n\nNow truly it is shown that mighty God rules the race of men.  Over the\nmoor came the shadow-walker stalking.  He strode under the clouds until\nhe saw the golden hall of men.  This was not the first time he had come\nto the hall of Hrothgar.  On the door he rushed.  He opened the wide\nmouth and trod on the floor.  When he saw the men sleeping on the\nbenches he laughed, thinking how he would take life from the body of\nevery one there.\n\nThe shadowy form came nearer and nearer.  At last he stretched out his\ngreat hand to take Beowulf, but with all his strength the brave warrior\nseized the arm of the monster.  Then did the heart of Grendel fill with\nfear.  Fearful was his mind, but not for that could he escape the\nsooner.\n\nThen stood Beowulf upright and firmly grasped Grendel.  Very angry were\nboth.  The wonder was that the great hall did not fall to the ground.\nBut it was made fast within and without with iron bands, and naught but\nfire could destroy it.  Then the noise grew greater.  The Danes who had\nheard it were terrified; never had such horrid noise filled the air,\nfor Beowulf, the strongest of men, held Grendel fast.  Not for anything\nwould he let the dreadful one escape that day.\n\nThe warriors sought to help their leader, but he would not use any\nweapon.  With his hands, with his bare hands, he held fast the fearful\nfoe.  On the shoulder of Grendel was a horrid wound, and Beowulf tore\nthe arm from the body.  Well knew the monster then that his life's end\nhad come.\n\nGlad was Beowulf that his strength had aided the Danes, had freed the\ngreat hall, and had healed the deep sorrow which had been theirs for so\nmany years.\n\n\n\n\nThe Feast of Joy\n\nThere was in the morning many a warrior in the gift hall.  From far and\nnear over distant ways they came to behold the wonder, the arm of\nGrendel the joy-killer.  Away to the dark water, his home, had he gone\nwith his death-wound.\n\nAll the warriors rode in gladness to the great hall.  There was told\nthe bravery of Beowulf.  No other was so great, so worthy of honour, as\nhe.  Hrothgar, also, they praised as a good king and famous in war.\n\nAll the Danes and the Goths were happy that the terror of the land had\nbeen destroyed.  Care was removed from their hearts.  They were filled\nwith joy and turned to games and sports.  Some let their beautiful\nhorses run in contest over the fair roads.  Some who knew the famous\nstories of heroes told them to eager listeners.  Laughter, song, and\nmerry voices were heard once more in the hall.  Soon one of the singers\nbegan a song in honour of this new deed, the victory of Beowulf.\n\nThen over the meadow came the great king with many knights famed for\ntheir brave deeds.  With them also walked the fair queen and a company\nof maidens.\n\nWhen Hrothgar entered the gold-crowned hall and saw the great hand and\narm of Grendel, he said: \"Now let us give to the All-Father thanks!\nWonder after wonder can God work.  This one brave warrior has, through\nGod's might, performed a deed which the Danes could not.  Happy is the\nmother of such a son!  Now, Beowulf, as a dear son will I hold you in\nmy heart.  Nothing shall you want which I have power to give you.  You\nhave done a deed which will make your glory live through every age.\"\n\nThen replied Beowulf; \"With great good-will we fought the fight.  I\nseized the enemy quickly with hard hands and hoped to lay him on his\ndeath-bed.  But I have his hand and arm, and he will surely die, for\npain has him in its deadly grip.\"\n\nHrothgar now gave the order that the hall should be adorned for the\nfeast of joy.  Men and women worked to make all clean and whole.\nBeautiful banners, a wonder to all who beheld them, decked the walls.\n\nWhen all was ready, the king himself came to the feast in honour of\nBeowulf.  Never had a larger or a nobler company sat in the gift hall.\nMerry at heart were they all, and they had a merry feast.\n\nThen Hrothgar gave to Beowulf a golden banner in reward of victory; a\nsword, a cup, and a helmet he gave, four beautiful and wonderful gifts.\nThese were most precious gifts, of which Beowulf need not be ashamed.\n\nThen Hrothgar, the shield of warriors, eight warlike steeds brought\ninto the hall as gifts to Beowulf.  On one of the horses was the\nwar-seat the king himself used when going to battle.  So with steeds\nand treasures did the king of the Danes reward the brave prince.\n\nTo every man with the hero did the king give a precious gift.  Then the\nsong of praise was heard.  \"The wise God rules all, therefore is\nunderstanding everywhere best; wise forethought is best.\"\n\nWhen the song was ended, the queen took the mead-cup to the king,\nsaying: \"Accept this cup, my beloved lord; be thou happy, good friend\nof men, and to the Goths speak with kind words as one should do.  Be\ncheerful to thy guests and mindful of gifts.  The bright hall is made\nsafe; be happy with thy sons and friends.\"\n\nThen the gracious queen said to Beowulf: \"Receive as a gift this\ncollar, dear prince.  Thou hast done that which men will praise\nthroughout all time.  Be noble and happy!  Be brave and gentle in\ndeeds.  Here in this hall is every man to each other true and to his\nlord faithful.  The thanes unite to praise thee!\"\n\nThen the queen went to her seat, and all the court united in praise of\nBeowulf, who had driven Grendel from the great hall.\n\nAfter the merry feast, all left the hall except a few warriors who\nslept rejoicing, thinking all their warfare was over.\n\n\n\n\nGrendel's Mother\n\nBut Grendel's mother did not close her eyes in sleep.  When her son\ncame home with his death-blow, great was the sorrow and anger in her\nheart.  She would punish the Danes and the Goths for her son's death.\nIn the middle of the night she crept to the hall where the Danes were\nsleeping, free from all fear.  One she seized,--a brave man and dear to\nthe king.  Then rose a great cry in the hall when Grendel's mother saw\nher son's well-known hand and arm.  She seized it and bore it away to\nthe dark lake, together with the body of the warrior.\n\nSoon Hrothgar was told of the fresh calamity, and he grieved at the\ndeath of his friend, the brave warrior whom Grendel's mother had taken\naway.\n\nWhen Beowulf came to the hall, Hrothgar cried out: \"Speak not to me of\nrest or joy!  Sorrow has come again.  My best friend in war and peace\nis dead!  The dread monster has killed him.  Two shadows on the moor\nhave my men seen; one, Grendel, is the figure of a man, and the other\nis like a woman.  They dwell in the secret land where the wolf howls\nand the winds sweep; where the flood flows under the earth.  About a\nmile away is this lake over which the dark trees bend.  Every night can\nfire be seen over this waste of water.  No one knows how deep the lake\nis.  The noisy winds raise the black waves until the air grows gloomy\nand the heavens shed tears.  You know not this dreadful place.  If you\ndare seek it and come back from the strife, I will give you money and\ntreasures of gold.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Way to the Pool\n\nThen the brave Beowulf replied: \"Better is it for every one to avenge\nhis friend than that he greatly mourn.  Each of us must await the end\nof his life.  Let them who can, work high deeds of honour.  Let us go\nquickly to seek Grendel's mother.  I promise you she shall not escape;\nneither in the sea nor in the bosom of the earth, in the mountain wood\nnor in the ocean's ground.\"\n\nThen was the heart of the old king glad to hear these brave words.\nHorses were brought out and troops of men set forth towards the home of\nthe dreadful shadows.  The road was narrow and dark, an unknown way.\nSoon they saw the mountain-trees leaning over the rock, a joyous wood.\nThe water below was dark and gloomy.  Many strange creatures could be\nseen moving in the deep pool.\n\nNow Beowulf clad himself in his war-gear.  The coat of rings was about\nhis breast so that no grip could injure his life.  On his head he wore\na bright helmet wrought with strength so that no battle-axe could break\nit.  Then a prince of Hrothgar gave him a famous sword named Hrunting.\nThis was one of the old treasures.  Never in battle had it failed those\nwho dared to go in ways of terror.  This was not the first time that it\nhad done brave deeds.\n\nThen said Beowulf: \"Now, O king, I am ready for my journey.  Bear in\nmind what you have said--if I for your need should lose my life, that\nyou would be to me as a father.  If, then, war takes me off, be a\nfriend to my comrades.  Send to Hygelac the treasures you have given to\nme, so that he may know that I found a good king in you.  Now with the\ngood sword Hrunting will I seek out the foe.\"\n\nWith these words Beowulf leaped into the lake.\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf in the Pool\n\nAll that day he sank into the water before he beheld the ground-bed of\nthe pool.  Then he saw the fierce creature who for a hundred years had\nheld the floods.  Eagerly she seized him and bore him to her dwelling.\nMany a sea-monster broke through his warlike coat.  At last the warrior\nfound himself in a great room where the waters did not enter.  Then a\nfierce light shone brightly upon him, and by its gleam he saw the\nsea-wolf.  With a loud cry he struck her with his good broad sword, but\nit would not bite or injure her.  This was the first time its power had\nfailed.  Beowulf remembered his former deeds of bravery and threw down\nhis useless sword to use the strength of his hands alone.  He seized\nthe sea-creature and made her bow to the earth, but fiercely she\ngrasped the brave warrior and overthrew him so that he was like to\nperish.\n\nHim she would have slain, but his good coat withstood her sword.  The\nRuler of the Skies was his friend, for on the wall was a great sword so\nheavy that other men could not use it.  This sword Beowulf seized\ngladly.  Angrily he struck the sea-wolf, and the sword passed through\nher neck.  Down on the ground she sank.  The warrior rejoiced in his\nwork.  He looked through the great dwelling and saw Grendel lying\nlifeless.  With a strong blow Beowulf cut off the head of the monster,\nbut the hot blood melted the sword and nothing was left but the hilt.\nThe blade melted away as ice melts when the Father, who has power over\nthe seasons, unbinds the bands of the frost-king.\n\nThe men at the shore, watching, saw the water all coloured with blood,\nand feared their great leader was dead.  The king and noble Danes spoke\nof the brave hero with praise and sorrow.  When noon came, they went\nback to the great hall sadly, thinking Beowulf the daring had been\nslain by the fearful monster.\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf's Return\n\nBut the Goths stayed by the shore, though little hoping to see their\ndear lord again.  But soon the water cleared and they saw their brave\nleader swimming toward them with the head of Grendel and the hilt of\nthe great sword.  Then they went to him, thanking God.  The stout band\nof thanes rejoiced that their lord had returned.  Forth they went on\nthe narrow road, rejoicing.  Four of the strong men bore the heavy head\nof Grendel.  Beowulf proudly led his brave men.  The prince of the\nthanes entered the great hall, with glory crowned, to greet Hrothgar.\nThe warriors bore the great head of Grendel into the hall before the\nking and his men.\n\n\"Behold, O king!\" said Beowulf, \"the head of the sea-monster!  I hardly\nwith life came from the battle under the water.  Had not God helped me,\nI had not conquered.  The good sword Hrunting could not harm my foe,\nbut the Ruler of men guided me to see on the wall an old strong sword,\nand with it I slew her.  Then I cut off the head of the monster\nGrendel.  In his hot blood was the good sword melted, and I brought\nonly the hilt away.  I now promise thee that in Heorot all may sleep\nsafe from harm, for I have slain thy foes, Grendel and his mother, and\nhave given peace to thy land and people.\"\n\nThen did Beowulf give the sword-hilt to Hrothgar.  The good king said:\n\"Thy glory is exalted, friend Beowulf, over every nation.  Long shall\nthou be a comfort to thy people and a help to the warriors.  Now is the\nflower of thy might.  Long may it be before thy strength departs in\nfire's clutch, or rage of flood, or arrow's flight, or age or blindness\ntakes thee.  Go now to thy seat at the feast as a guest of honour.\"\n\n\n\n\nHrothgar honours Beowulf\n\nThen Beowulf went to the seat of honour in great joy, and all were\nmerry.  The helm of night grew dark; the warriors left their seats.\nThey greeted Beowulf and wished him well to rest.  In the gold-roofed\nhall well slept the prince until the black raven saw the coming of the\nbright sun.  At the first light the Goths hastened to the good ship,\neager to be gone to their homes.\n\nWhen all were ready, Beowulf said: \"O king, we seafarers wish to seek\nour homes.  Here have we been kindly treated.  If there is more that I\ncan do, O lord of men, I shall always be ready.  If when far away I\nhear that foes surround thee, I shall come to help thee with many\nwarriors.  Well I know that my king, Hygelac, will send me to thy aid.\"\n\nThen Hrothgar spoke: \"Into thy mind has the wise God sent these kind\nwords.  Never have I heard wiser words from one so young.  Thou art\nstrong and wise, and I think that if death should take Hygelac, the\npeople would wish thee for their king.  So well hast thou borne thyself\nthat there shall be peace between the Danes and Goths, and many a gift\nI shall send to thee over the great sea.\"\n\nThen Hrothgar gave to Beowulf rich gifts and bade him seek his home in\nsafety.  The good king wept when he said good-bye, for he loved the\nnoble youth and was sad to have him go away over the deep sea.\n\nBeowulf was glad and proud of the king's praise.  He set sail from the\nland of Hrothgar, and often he and his men admired the rich gifts of\nthe great and good king.\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf and Hygelac\n\nOver ocean-stream went the brave youths and soon saw the shores of the\nGoths, their homeland.  Beowulf and his men brought the ship high up on\nthe shore lest the billow's force might wreck it.  Then Beowulf ordered\nthem to carry the noble gifts of Hrothgar.  Near the sea-wall was the\nhome of Hygelac.  The bright sun, the candle of the world, was shining\nwhen the brave Beowulf and his men went to greet their king.  Hygelac\nwas glad to see their safe returning, and said: \"Tell me, friend\nBeowulf, how the Danes treated you.  Long have I feared for you,\nknowing you would meet Grendel, the deadly foe of men.\"\n\nBeowulf answered: \"Right well did Hrothgar greet me and gave me a seat\nin his hall next his own son.  All the people were gay, and never have\nI seen a grander hall or greater cheer.  Oft the sweet queen left her\nseat and spoke to the young warriors, giving one and another a wreath.\nOft their young daughter bore the mead-cup to her father's friends.\n\n\"So all the day we spent in song and story.  At night the beast Grendel\ncame.  First he seized and slew one of my kindred, and then sought me.\nBut I seized his right hand and would not let go my hold.  Long we\nfought, and at last he fled, in the night, to his home in the black\nwaters.  But his hand and arm were torn from him, and from this wound\nhe died.\n\n\"Much praise and many gifts I had from the old king, when he learned\nthat the cruel Grendel must die.  But the next night Grendel's mother\ncrept up to the hall and seized one of the king's good friends.  Sad\nwere we all when morning came.  The king with tears begged me to hunt\nout the wicked creature, and I plunged into the dark waters.  Fierce\nwas the fight, but at last I won, and never will Hrothgar's hall be sad\nagain at the loss of brave warriors.\n\n\"Then Hrothgar gave me rich gifts which I bring to you, my king.  With\ngladness I bring them, for because of you are my pleasures long.\"\n\nAs Beowulf spoke, his men brought in the banner, the shield, the\nbattle-sword, and the helmet.  They also brought four fiery steeds with\nrich trappings, fit for a king.  All these did Beowulf give to his\nfriend, the king Hygelac.  To the queen he gave the lovely collar\nHrothgar's queen had given to him, beautiful and rare with jewels.  He\nalso gave her three black horses with saddles bright.\n\n[Illustration: BEOWULF PRESENTING HIS GIFTS TO HYGELAC]\n\nThe king and queen rejoiced in the precious gifts and in the love of\nthis brave warrior.  To Beowulf the king gave a sword of wonder, the\nbest treasure he had, adorned with gold.  Also he gave him many, many\nrings of gold and a beautiful palace.\n\nSo there was love between the king and the brave hero.\n\n\n\n\nThe Dragon of the Mountain\n\nAfter many years, when the king and his son had perished in the wars,\nthe Goths chose Beowulf for their king.  No better king could they\nhave, and for many years he ruled over them.  He was a wise king and\nbrave.  The people loved him much.\n\nThen a strange story came to his ears: that far away in a dark cave\nlived a terrible dragon.  The way to his lair was rough and steep.  In\nthis cave was much treasure, and the dragon was guarding it.\n\nMany men had gathered the treasures in this cave.  Swords, helmets, and\nshields, and rings were hidden there in time of war, so that the enemy\ncould not find them.  For many years these treasures were collecting\nthere.  At last a dragon came, a fierce creature, and for three hundred\nwinters he had kept watch with his fiery eyes.\n\nAt last a man found the cave filled with the treasures.  The dragon was\nasleep, so the man took a golden cup and bore it home to his lord.\nThus the secret of the hoard became known.\n\nWhen the fearful dragon awoke and found that one of his treasures had\nbeen taken, he was very angry.  Fire came from his nostrils and from\nhis wicked mouth.  He would find the man who had done this thing.\n\nThen the dragon began to burn all the houses round.  Nothing living was\nleft.  Ruin and death were in his path.  Then he darted back to the\ndark cave.  He trusted in its darkness, but in vain.\n\n\n\n\nBeowulf goes against the Dragon\n\nWhen Beowulf heard that his men were driven from their burning homes,\nhis heart was hot with anger.  He ordered a war-board of iron made, for\nwell he knew that forest-wood could not help him against fire.  All the\nfoes of the kingdom Beowulf had turned to friends, and for many years\nhad ruled the Goths in peace and joy.  But now he must go against the\nfearful dragon who was guarding the hoard of treasures.\n\nThe man who had taken the cup showed them the path, for he alone knew\nthe way.  When they came to the mound near the great sea-waves, Beowulf\nsaid farewell to his warriors.  For him alone was the fight with the\nenemy of his people, the fire-breathing dragon.\n\n[Illustration: THE DRAGON]\n\nSad was the hero at heart, for he knew this was his last fight.  \"I\nhave dared many battles in my youth, and I will now, as safe guardian\nof my people, seek out this wicked creature in his earth-hall.\"\n\nBeowulf then greeted each of his men, saying: \"I would not bear a\nweapon against this dragon, but would fight him as I did Grendel, only\nI must expect hot fire.  Await me near this mound.  This is a battle\nfor me, not for you or for any other man.  I shall obtain the gold, or\nwar shall conquer me, your lord.\"\n\nThen the bold king, trusting in his good sword, went forth to battle,\nwith his helmet and his shield.  When he came to the mound by the sea\nhe saw an arch of stone, and a stream flowing from the mound.  The\nwater was boiling hot and he could not get near the hoard unburned.\nThen the brave war-lord shouted to the dragon.  First came forth from\nthe mountain the hot breath of the dreadful monster.  The earth shook\nand flames burst forth.  The good king drew his sword and waited.  When\nthe dragon came, Beowulf strode at it with his sword, and fierce was\nthe conflict.  The hero knew that he would fall in the battle, but he\nwould kill the dragon first.  It is a brave man who enters such a\ndeadly contest.\n\nBeowulf's men had sought safety, but one of them felt that he must help\nhis lord in this hour of deadly battle.  He said: \"Now Beowulf, our\ngreat lord, has need of us.  Although he is the greatest of warriors\nand wishes to do this brave deed alone, yet he has need of our swords!\nLet us help our warlike leader.  For me, I well know that Beowulf shall\nnot fall alone.\"\n\n\n\n\nWiglaf aids his King\n\nThen the noble Wiglaf went to his lord and said: \"Dear Beowulf, once\ndid you say that never would your greatness sink.  But in this great\ndeed I shall help.\"\n\nAfter these words the dragon came forth in great anger.  The fiery\nflames burned the broad wooden shield of Wiglaf.  Then the young, brave\nhero fought from behind the great iron shield of his leader, Beowulf.\nNow this warlike king called to mind the glorious deeds of his youth.\nWith all his strength he struck with his sword, but it broke in his\nhand.  Then rushed out for the third time the deadly dragon and wound\nhimself about his kingly foe.\n\nTo help the king in his great need did Wiglaf strike the dreadful foe.\nThe king drew his deadly knife and together they destroyed the fiery\ncreature.  Then both rejoiced.\n\nBut now the wound in the breast of Beowulf began to burn.  Wiglaf\nbrought water to help the king.  Then Beowulf spoke: \"My joy in earth\nhas gone.  I have ruled this people fifty winters.  All kings are my\nfriends.  Never have I spoken falsely, and for this I have joy to-day.\nGo quickly, dear Wiglaf, and find the treasures guarded by the great\ndragon, that I may behold all the jewels, the precious gems for which\nwe fought.\"\n\nMany wonders did Wiglaf find and bring to the eyes of his dying king:\njewels, helmets, rings, shields, swords rich with gold and jewels.\nMost beautiful was a banner of cloth of gold so bright that it made the\ndark cave light.\n\n\n\n\nThe Death of Beowulf\n\nWhen Beowulf saw these things of wonderful beauty, he said: \"I thank\nthe Father of the gods, for all; because I have been able to kill the\ngreat dragon and give my life for my people.  No longer may I stay\nhere.  Tell my brave warriors to make a mound near the sea, so high\nthat sailors may see it from afar and call it Beowulf's mound.\"\n\nThen from his neck the bold-hearted prince took a golden ring and gave\nit to the young warrior.  To him also he gave his helmet and shield and\nbade him use them well.  \"Thou art the last of our race.  All my\nkinsmen fate has swept away.  I shall follow them.\"  These were the\nlast words from the heart of the hero.\n\nWhen the thanes came to where Wiglaf sat by his dead lord, the young\nwarrior said: \"The great prince who gave you rings, and shields, and\nhomes, could not boast of you when need came.  He alone conquered the\nbeast.  I could help him little, but yet I did what I could to help the\ngood king.  Death is better for every one than a life of reproach.\"\n\nThen he told them of the wish of Beowulf and bade them prepare the\nmound by the shore of the noisy sea.  Many, many warriors came to see\nthe great king.  Much they loved him and admired his great strength.\nMuch they mourned for him and tears fell.  All day they sat by the sea\nand spoke no word.  They looked with dread at their great foe.  Fifty\nfeet long it stretched on the ground.  At last the warriors threw the\ngreat dragon into the sea, never again to be seen by men.\n\nThen Wiglaf took the warriors into the dark cave to see the treasures\nhoarded there.  For a thousand years had gold and gems and jewelled\narmour been gathered there.  Now there were more treasures than man\ncould count.  The Goths were amazed to see such treasures, but they\nwished not to take them for their own.  They heaped high the\nmountain-pines for a funeral pile.  To this they carried the precious\ntreasures of the cave.  Here they placed the king, so dearly loved.\nThen the greatest of the warriors kindled the pine trees high.  The\nroaring flames arose; sounds of weeping were heard.  Sad they waited\nuntil all was destroyed by the flames.  Then they began the mound in\nhonour of their lord.  Ten days they worked, and built the mound so\nhigh that sea-farers far away could see it and say, \"There is the mound\nof the good Beowulf, the king of the Goths.\"\n\nAnd his people said: \"Our Beowulf was of all kings the mildest, the\nnoblest of men, the gentlest to his people and most worthy of praise.\"\n\n\n[Illustration:  PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF PROPER NAMES]","title":"Northland Heroes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":19399}