{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_29551/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_29551","id":"gutenberg_29551","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29551","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Mythology, Norse","Mythology, Norse -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Suzanne Shell, and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                        TOLD BY THE NORTHMEN:\n\n                   Stories from the Eddas and Sagas\n\n\n\n                         E. M. WILMOT-BUXTON\n\n\n\n\n                 George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., London\n\n                                 1908\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n                        Contents\n\n\n          Hakon's Lay                                            ix\n\n  CHAPTER\n\n     I.   How All Things Began                                    1\n\n    II.   How All-Father Odin Became Wise                         6\n\n   III.   How the Queen of the Sky Gave Gifts to Men             14\n\n    IV.   How a Giant Built a Fortress for the Asas              17\n\n     V.   The Magic Mead                                         22\n\n    VI.   How Loki Made a Wager with the Dwarfs                  29\n\n   VII.   The Apples of Youth                                    34\n\n  VIII.   How the Fenris Wolf was Chained                        41\n\n    IX.   How the Pride of Thor was Brought Low                  46\n\n     X.   How Thor's Hammer was Lost and Found                   56\n\n    XI.   The Giant's Daughters                                  64\n\n   XII.   The Story of Balder the Beautiful                      69\n\n  XIII.   How Hermod Made a Journey to the Underworld            78\n\n   XIV.   How Loki was Punished at Last                          83\n\n    XV.   The Story of the Magic Sword                           87\n\n   XVI.   How Sigmund Fought His Last Battle                     96\n\n  XVII.   The Story of the Magic Gold                           101\n\n XVIII.   How Sigurd Slew the Dragon                            107\n\n   XIX.   How Sigurd Won the Hand of Brunhild                   114\n\n    XX.   How the Curse of the Gold is Fulfilled                116\n\n   XXI.   The Boyhood of Frithiof the Bold                      123\n\n  XXII.   Frithiof and Ingeborg                                 127\n\n XXIII.   Frithiof Braves the Storm                             131\n\n  XXIV.   Balder Forgives                                       134\n\n   XXV.   How the End of All Things Came About                  140\n\n          Pronouncing Index of Proper Names                     145\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nHakon's Lay\n\n_By James Russell Lowell_\n\n\n    \"O Skald, sing now an olden song,\n    Such as our fathers heard who led great lives;\n    And, as the bravest on a shield is borne\n    Along the waving host that shouts him king,\n    So rode their thrones upon the thronging seas!\"\n\n    Then the old man arose: white-haired he stood,\n    White-bearded, and with eyes that looked afar\n    From their still region of perpetual snow,\n    Over the little smokes and stirs of men:\n    His head was bowed with gathered flakes of years,\n    As winter bends the sea-foreboding pine,\n    But something triumphed in his brow and eye,\n    Which whoso saw it, could not see and crouch:\n    Loud rang the emptied beakers as he mused,\n    Brooding his eyried thoughts; then, as an eagle\n    Circles smooth-winged above the wind-vexed woods,\n    So wheeled his soul into the air of song\n    High o'er the stormy hall; and thus he sang:\n\n    \"The fletcher for his arrow-shaft picks out\n    Wood closest-grained, long-seasoned, straight as light;\n    And, from a quiver full of such as these,\n    The wary bow-man, matched against his peers,\n    Long doubting, singles yet once more the best.\n    Who is it that can make such shafts as Fate?\n    What archer of his arrows is so choice,\n    Or hits the white so surely? They are men,\n    The chosen of her quiver; nor for her\n    Will every reed suffice, or cross-grained stick\n    At random from life's vulgar fagot plucked:\n    Such answer household ends; but she will have\n    Souls straight and clear, of toughest fibre, sound\n    Down to the heart of heat; from these she strips\n    All needless stuff, all sapwood; hardens them,\n    From circumstance untoward feathers plucks\n    Crumpled and cheap, and barbs with iron will:\n    The hour that passes is her quiver-boy;\n    When she draws bow, 'tis not across the wind,\n    Nor 'gainst the sun, her haste-snatched arrow sings,\n    For sun and wind have plighted faith to her:\n    Ere men have heard the sinew twang, behold,\n    In the butt's heart her trembling messenger!\n\n    \"The song is old and simple that I sing:\n    Good were the days of yore, when men were tried\n    By ring of shields, as now by ring of gold;\n    But, while the gods are left, and hearts of men,\n    And the free ocean, still the days are good;\n    Through the broad Earth roams Opportunity\n    And knocks at every door of hut or hall,\n    Until she finds the brave soul that she wants.\"\n\n    He ceased, and instantly the frothy tide\n    Of interrupted wassail roared along.\n\n\n\n\nTOLD BY THE NORTHMEN:\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nHow All Things Began\n\n_This is the tale which the Northmen tell\nconcerning the Beginning of Things._\n\n\nOnce upon a time, before ever this world was made, there was neither\nearth nor sea, nor air, nor light, but only a great yawning gulf, full\nof twilight, where these things should be.\n\nTo the north of this gulf lay the Home of Mist, a dark and dreary\nland, out of which flowed a river of water from a spring that never\nran dry. As the water in its onward course met the bitter blasts of\nwind from the yawning gulf, it hardened into great blocks of ice,\nwhich rolled far down into the abyss with a thunderous roar and piled\nthemselves one on another until they formed mountains of glistening\nice.\n\nSouth of this gulf lay the Home of Fire, a land of burning heat,\nguarded by a giant with a flaming sword which, as he flashed it to and\nfro before the entrance, sent forth showers of sparks. And these\nsparks fell upon the ice-blocks and partly melted them, so that they\nsent up clouds of steam; and these again were frozen into hoar-frost,\nwhich filled all the space that was left in the midst of the mountains\nof ice.\n\nThen one day, when the gulf was full to the very top, this great mass\nof frosty rime, warmed by the flames from the Home of Fire and frozen\nby the cold airs from the Home of Mist, came to life and became the\nGiant Ymir, with a living, moving body and cruel heart of ice.\n\nNow there was as yet no tree, nor grass, nor anything that would serve\nfor food, in this gloomy abyss. But when the Giant Ymir began to grope\naround for something to satisfy his hunger, he heard a sound as of\nsome animal chewing the cud; and there among the ice-hills he saw a\ngigantic cow, from whose udder flowed four great streams of milk, and\nwith this his craving was easily stilled.\n\nBut the cow was hungry also, and began to lick the salt off the blocks\nof ice by which she was surrounded. And presently, as she went on\nlicking with her strong, rough tongue, a head of hair pushed itself\nthrough the melting ice. Still the cow went on licking, until she had\nat last melted all the icy covering and there stood fully revealed the\nframe of a mighty man.\n\nYmir looked with eyes of hatred at this being, born of snow and ice,\nfor somehow he knew that his heart was warm and kind, and that he and\nhis sons would always be the enemies of the evil race of the Frost\nGiants.\n\nSo, indeed, it came to pass. For from the sons of Ymir came a race of\ngiants whose pleasure was to work evil on the earth; and from the Sons\nof the Iceman sprang the race of the gods, chief of whom was Odin,\nFather of All Things that ever were made; and Odin and his brothers\nbegan at once to war against the wicked Frost Giants, and most of all\nagainst the cold-hearted Ymir, whom in the end they slew.\n\nNow when, after a hard fight, the Giant Ymir was slain, such a river\nof blood flowed forth from his wounds that it drowned all the rest of\nthe Frost Giants save one, who escaped in a boat, with only his wife\non board, and sailed away to the edge of the world. And from him\nsprang all the new race of Frost Giants, who at every opportunity\nissued from their land of twilight and desolation to harm the gods in\ntheir abode of bliss.\n\nNow when the giants had been thus driven out, All-Father Odin set to\nwork with his brothers to make the earth, the sea, and the sky; and\nthese they fashioned out of the great body of the Giant Ymir.\n\nOut of his flesh they formed Midgard, the earth, which lay in the\ncentre of the gulf; and all round it they planted his eyebrows to make\na high fence which should defend it from the race of giants.\n\nWith his bones they made the lofty hills, with his teeth the cliffs,\nand his thick curly hair took root and became trees, bushes, and the\ngreen grass.\n\nWith his blood they made the ocean, and his great skull, poised aloft,\nbecame the arching sky. Just below this they scattered his brains, and\nmade of them the heavy grey clouds that lie between earth and heaven.\n\nThe sky itself was held in place by four strong dwarfs, who support it\non their broad shoulders as they stand east and west and south and\nnorth.\n\nThe next thing was to give light to the new-made world. So the gods\ncaught sparks from the Home of Fire and set them in the sky for stars;\nand they took the living flame and made of it the sun and moon, which\nthey placed in chariots of gold, and harnessed to them beautiful\nhorses, with flowing manes of gold and silver. Before the horses of\nthe sun, they placed a mighty shield to protect them from its hot\nrays; but the swift moon steeds needed no such protection from its\ngentle heat.\n\nAnd now all was ready save that there was no one to drive the horses\nof the sun and moon. This task was given to Mani and Sol, the\nbeautiful son and daughter of a giant; and these fair charioteers\ndrive their fleet steeds along the paths marked out by the gods, and\nnot only give light to the earth but mark out months and days for the\nsons of men.\n\nThen All-Father Odin called forth Night, the gloomy daughter of the\ncold-hearted giant folk, and set her to drive the dark chariot drawn\nby the black horse, Frosty-Mane, from whose long wavy hair the drops\nof dew and hoar-frost fall upon the earth below. After her drove her\nradiant son, Day, with his white steed Shining-Mane, from whom the\nbright beams of daylight shine forth to gladden the hearts of men.\n\nBut the wicked giants were very angry when they saw all these good\nthings; and they set in the sky two hungry wolves, that the fierce,\ngrey creatures might for ever pursue the sun and moon, and devour\nthem, and so bring all things to an end. Sometimes, indeed, or so say\nthe men of the North, the grey wolves almost succeed in swallowing sun\nor moon; and then the earth children make such an uproar that the\nfierce beasts drop their prey in fear. And the sun and moon flee more\nrapidly than before, still pursued by the hungry monsters.\n\nOne day, so runs the tale, as Mani, the Man in the Moon, was hastening\non his course, he gazed upon the earth and saw two beautiful little\nchildren, a boy and a girl, carrying between them a pail of water.\nThey looked very tired and sleepy, and indeed they were, for a cruel\ngiant made them fetch and carry water all night long, when they should\nhave been in bed. So Mani put out a long, long arm and snatched up\nthe children and set them in the moon, pail and all; and there you can\nsee them on any moonlit night for yourself.\n\nBut that happened a long time after the beginning of things; for as\nyet there was no man or woman or child upon the earth.\n\nAnd now that this pleasant Midgard was made, the gods determined to\nsatisfy their desire for an abode where they might rest and enjoy\nthemselves in their hours of ease.\n\nThey chose a suitable place far above the earth, on the other side of\nthe great river which flowed from the Home of Mist where the giants\ndwelt, and here they made for their abode Asgard, wherein they dwelt\nin peace and happiness, and from whence they could look down upon the\nsons of men.\n\nFrom Asgard to Midgard they built a beautiful bridge of many colours,\nto which men gave the name of Rainbow Bridge, and up and down which\nthe gods could pass on their journeys to and from the earth.\n\nHere in Asgard stood the mighty forge where the gods fashioned their\nweapons wherewith they fought the giants, and the tools wherewith they\nbuilt their palaces of gold and silver.\n\nMeantime, no human creature lived upon the earth, and the giants dared\nnot cross its borders for fear of the gods. But one of them, clad in\neagles' plumes, always sat at the north side of Midgard, and, whenever\nhe raised his arms and let them fall again, an icy blast rushed forth\nfrom the Mist Home and nipped all the pleasant things of earth with\nits cruel breath. In due time the earth was no longer without life,\nfor the ground brought forth thousands of tiny creatures, which\ncrawled about and showed signs of great intelligence. And when the\ngods examined these little people closely, they found that they were\nof two kinds.\n\nSome were ugly, misshapen, and cunning-faced, with great heads, small\nbodies, long arms and feet. These they called Trolls or Dwarfs or\nGnomes, and sent them to live underground, threatening to turn them\ninto stone should they appear in the daytime. And this is why the\ntrolls spend all their time in the hidden parts of the earth, digging\nfor gold and silver and precious stones, and hiding their spoil away\nin secret holes and corners. Sometimes they blow their tiny fires and\nset to work to make all kinds of wonderful things from this buried\ntreasure; and that is what they are doing when, if one listens very\nhard on the mountains and hills of the Northland, a sound of\ntap-tap-tapping is heard far underneath the ground.\n\nThe other small earth creatures were very fair and light and slender,\nkindly of heart, and full of goodwill. These the gods called Fairies\nor Elves, and gave to them a charming place called Elfland in which to\ndwell. Elfland lies between Asgard and Midgard, and since all fairies\nhave wings they can easily flit down to the earth to play with the\nbutterflies, teach the young birds to sing, water the flowers, or\ndance in the moonlight round a fairy ring.\n\nLast of all, the gods made a man and woman to dwell in fair Midgard;\nand this is the manner of their creation.\n\nAll-Father Odin was walking with his brothers in Midgard where, by the\nseashore, they found growing two trees, an ash and an elm. Odin took\nthese trees and breathed on them, whereupon a wonderful transformation\ntook place. Where the trees had stood, there were a living man and\nwoman, but they were stupid, pale, and speechless, until Hoenir, the\ngod of Light, touched their fore-heads and gave them sense and wisdom;\nand Loki, the Fire-god, smoothed their faces, giving them bright\ncolour and warm blood, and the power to speak and see and hear. It\nonly remained that they should be named, and they were called Ask and\nEmbla, the names of the trees from which they had been formed. From\nthese two people sprang all the race of men which lives upon this\nearth.\n\nAnd now All-Father Odin completed his work by planting the Tree of\nLife.\n\nThis immense tree had its roots in Asgard and Midgard and the Mist\nLand; and it grew to such a marvellous height that the highest bough,\nthe Bough of Peace, hung over the Hall of Odin on the heights of\nAsgard; and the other branches overshadowed both Midgard and the Mist\nLand. On the top of the Peace Bough was perched a mighty eagle, and\never a falcon sat between his eyes, and kept watch on all that\nhappened in the world below, that he might tell to Odin what he saw.\n\nHeidrun, the goat of Odin, who supplied the heavenly mead, browsed on\nthe leaves of this wonderful tree, and from them fed also the four\nmighty stags from whose horns honey-dew dropped on to the earth\nbeneath and supplied water for all the rivers of Midgard.\n\nThe leaves of the Tree of Life were ever green and fair, despite the\ndragon which, aided by countless serpents, gnawed perpetually at its\nroots, in order that they might kill the Tree of Life and thus bring\nabout the destruction of the gods.\n\nUp and down the branches of the tree scampered the squirrel, Ratatosk,\na malicious little creature, whose one amusement it was to make\nmischief by repeating to the eagle the rude remarks of the dragon, and\nto the dragon those of the eagle, in the hope that one day he might\nsee them in actual conflict.\n\nNear the roots of the Tree of life is a sacred well of sweet water\nfrom which the three Weird Sisters, who know all that shall come to\npass, sprinkle the tree and keep it fresh and green. And the water, as\nit trickles down from the leaves, falls as drops of honey on the\nearth, and the bees take it for their food.\n\nClose to this sacred well is the Council Hall of the gods, to which\nevery morning they rode, over the Rainbow Bridge, to hold converse\ntogether.\n\nAnd this is the end of the tale of How All Things began.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nHow All-Father Odin Became Wise\n\n_These are the tales which the Northmen tell\nconcerning the wisdom of All-Father Odin._\n\n\nOn the highest hill of Asgard, upon a great chair, sat All-Father\nOdin, watching from thence all that was happening on and above and\nunder the earth.\n\nThe Father of Asas and of men had long grey locks and thick curling\nbeard, and he wore a great blue coat flecked with grey like unto the\nsky when the fleecy clouds scud across it.\n\nIn his hand he carried a spear, so sacred that, if anyone swore an\noath upon its point, that oath could never be broken.\n\nOn his head he wore, when sitting upon his watch-tower throne, a\nhelmet shaped like an eagle; but when he wandered, as he loved to do,\nabout the earth, he wore a large broad-brimmed hat drawn low over his\nforehead.\n\nPerched on his broad shoulders sat two inky-black ravens, Hugin and\nMunin, whom every morning he sent to wing their flight about the world\nthat they might see what was going on.\n\nEvery evening when they returned, they whispered all that they had\nseen and heard in his ears.\n\nAt Odin's feet crouched two great wolves, whom he fed from the meat\nset before him; for he himself cared not to eat flesh-food, and\npreferred rather to drink the sacred mead provided by the goat who fed\nupon the leaves of the Tree of Life.\n\nSometimes Odin left his watch-tower throne for the great Council Hall\nwhere the twelve Asas sat and took counsel together; but his favourite\nseat of all was in his own palace of Valhalla, or the Hall of the\nChosen Slain. This palace stood in the midst of a wonderful grove of\ntrees, whose leaves were all of red gold, rustling and shimmering in\nthe breeze. Five and forty doors opened into it, each wide enough to\nallow eight hundred warriors to enter abreast, and over the chief\nentrance was a boar's head and a great eagle, whose keen gaze looked\nforth over all the world. The walls of the palace were built of spears\nof polished steel, so bright that they lighted the whole building; and\nthe roof was made of golden shields.\n\n    \"And wondrous gleamed Valhalla on the heights,--\n    Her walls shone bright as rows of glittering spears;\n    The roof resplendent like great golden shields;\n    Hundreds of open gates and welcoming doors\n    For myriad warriors from the fields of earth,--\n    The chosen heroes of the future years,\n    To be great Odin's mighty bodyguard\n    Against the awful prophecies of doom.\"\n\nFrom end to end of the great hall stood long tables and benches loaded\nwith armour, ready prepared for the fortunate guests. And this was the\nmanner of their selection. Whenever a great battle was about to be\nfought on the earth, Odin sent forth the nine Valkyrs, or Battle\nMaidens, his especial attendants, to watch the progress of the fight\nand to choose from the fallen warriors half of their number. These the\nBattle Maidens carried on their swift steeds over the Rainbow Bridge\ninto the great hall of Valhalla, where they were welcomed by the sons\nof Odin and taken to the All-Father's throne to receive his\ngreeting. But if one had shown himself especially heroic in the fight,\nOdin would descend from his throne and advance to the door to bid him\nwelcome.\n\nAnd now, seated at the long tables, loaded with great beakers of mead\nand dishes of boar flesh, the warriors feasted merrily, tended by the\nfair Battle Maidens.\n\n                  \"The blazing roof resounds\n    The genial uproar of those shades who fall\n    In desperate fight, or by some brave attempt.\"\n\nWhen they had eaten all they could, the warriors would call for their\nweapons, ride out into the great courtyard, and there wage desperate\nfights, in the course of which many a man would be sorely wounded. But\nthis mattered little, for at the sound of the dinner horn all wounds\nwere healed.\n\n    \"And all day long they there are hacked and hewn\n    'Mid dust, and groans, and limbs lopped off, and blood\n    But all at night return to Odin's hall\n    Woundless and fresh; such lot is theirs in heaven.\"\n\nThese warriors were Odin's special joy and delight, and he was never\nweary of watching them at feast or in the combat. Sometimes, indeed,\nwhen some battle on earth was impending, he would appear, riding upon\nhis eight-footed grey horse, and with white shield on arm would fling\nhis glittering spear into the ranks of the warriors as signal for the\nfight to begin, and would rush into the fray with his war-cry, \"Odin\nhas you all!\"\n\nNow, though all this shows very clearly that All-Father Odin was a\nwarlike Asa and delighted in battles, there was another side to his\ncharacter, for beyond all the other Asas he cared for wisdom.\n\nVery early in the morn of time All-Father Odin discovered that beneath\nthe roots of the Tree of Life, just where sky and ocean met, there was\na marvellous spring of water, \"the fountain of all wit and wisdom.\"\nLooking into its crystal depths, all that was going to happen in the\nfuture was revealed, and anyone drinking of it received the gifts of\nwisdom, knowledge, and right judgment about all things. Now this\nspring was guarded by the Giant Mimir, who prided himself upon being\nwiser than any other giants or Asas could be, for he alone had the\nright to draw water from the well; and every morning, dipping his\nglittering horn therein, he drank a long draught, and with every\ndraught he grew wiser, till he knew everything that was past and\npresent and is to come.\n\nWhen Odin became aware of the marvellous properties of the spring, he\nwas eager to drink of it, \"for,\" said he, \"it is not fitting that a\ngiant should know more than the Father of Asas and men.\"\n\nSo early one morn he entered a dark grove of trees, where, amidst\ngreat arching roots fantastically intertwined, bubbled the spring; and\nkeeping watch beside it sat Giant Mimir, his long grey beard sweeping\nover his knees, and his great piercing eyes shining with fierce light\nas the new-comer approached.\n\n\"What do you want here?\" he demanded, in a voice that sounded like the\nmuttering of thunder before a storm.\n\n\"I want a drink of yon water from your glittering horn, good Mimir,\"\nsaid Odin.\n\nBut Giant Mimir sunk his great head upon his chest, and looking from\nunder his shaggy eyebrows, growled again:\n\n\"Begone, I tell you. I give no man drink from my well.\"\n\nThen Odin drew himself up to his full height, and in a voice that was\nmore thunderous than that of the giant himself, cried:\n\n\"No man am I, O Mimir, but Odin, Father of Asas and men. Refuse not to\nme the gift of wisdom; for though I can see all things that happen in\nheaven and earth, I cannot see what lies beneath the deep, nor can I\nsee what shall happen in the future. Give me, therefore, the draught\nof wisdom, and I will pay you whatsoever you demand.\"\n\nBut Mimir still refused. \"We giants are of elder race than ye Asas\nbe,\" he said, \"and all the wisdom in the world is in our hands. If I\ngive you to drink of this water you will become wise even as we are,\nand an enemy more dangerous than ever.\"\n\n\"Nevertheless,\" replied Odin firmly, \"you must give me the water, and\nI will pay you whatsoever you may ask.\"\n\nThen Mimir, feeling sure that such a payment would be refused, said,\n\"I will give you the magic draught in return for one of your eyes.\"\n\nBut to his amazement, for the god was very proud of his keen vision,\nOdin at once plucked forth an eye and handed it to him, saying:\n\n\"No price is too high to pay for wisdom.\"\n\nSo Mimir was obliged to hand him the horn filled with precious water,\nand Odin drank a full draught, caring not at all that henceforth he\nwas to have but one eye, for he knew that he had gained the precious\ngift of wisdom beyond any in the world save Mimir himself.\n\nMeantime, Mimir dropped the eye of the Asa into the well, where it\nshines bright as the moon reflected in still waters; and he bade Odin\ndepart, saying heavily, \"This day is the beginning of trouble betwixt\nyour race and mine.\"\n\nDetermined to put his new-found wisdom to the test, All-Father Odin\nnow disguised himself as a wandering minstrel and went to visit the\nMost Learned of all the Giants save Mimir, who, of course, knew\neverything in the whole world. And the Most Learned Giant received him\ngraciously, and consented readily to enter into a contest of wit, and\nit was agreed that the loser should forfeit his head.\n\nThe Most Learned Giant was the first to begin. He questioned Odin as\nto the size and colour of the horses which bore the chariots of Night\nand Day across the sky; he asked him the source of the river which\nseparated the Land of the Giants from Asgard, and finally he demanded\ndetails about the last battle that was to be fought between Asas and\ngiants in far-distant days.\n\nAll these questions were fully and promptly answered by Odin, and it\nwas now his turn. He questioned his rival first as to the Beginning of\nAll Things; then he asked what the heroes did in Valhalla, what was\nthe work of the Weird Sisters, and who would carry on the work of the\ngods when they had passed away.\n\nAnd all these were fully answered by the Most Learned Giant.\n\nThen Odin bent down to the Giant's ear as he sat on his great seat,\nand said softly:\n\n\"Tell me, lastly, I pray you, what are the words that the All-Father\nwill whisper to his son Balder as he lies dead upon his funeral pyre?\"\n\nAt this the Most Learned Giant uprose, and looking hard into the sad\nand troubled face of his questioner, said:\n\n\"No one but Odin himself can answer that question, and no one but\nOdin would have asked it. For only he who has drunk of the water of\nwisdom would foresee the death in the far-off future of his dearest\nson. Kill me now, therefore, for thou hast triumphed.\"\n\nHere the tale comes to an end; but we should like to think that Odin\nspared the life of the Most Learned Giant, and perhaps he would have\ndone so the more readily because his heart was softened by the\nknowledge, born of his new-found wisdom, that Balder, his beautiful\nson, must die.\n\nAnother story is told in which Odin's great wisdom seemed for a time\nat fault.\n\nWe have noticed how fond was the All-Father of watching the affairs of\nmortal men. He was especially interested, at one time, in two handsome\nlittle princes, the sons of a certain king, who were usually to be\nfound playing or wrestling or riding together on the seashore which\nbounded their father's kingdom.\n\nGeirrod and Agnar were the names of these boys, and All-Father Odin\nand his wife Frigga grew so fond of them both that, disguising\nthemselves as an old man and woman, they went to live upon a desert\nisland which lay far out at sea, opposite the beach where the children\nplayed. Presently it came to pass, exactly as they hoped, that the\nboys went fishing, and Odin made a storm to arise, and the rough wind\nblew the little boat away from the land, and finally stranded it upon\nthe island.\n\nThe boys, frightened, wet, and hungry, came timidly to the door of the\nhut where the old people dwelt and asked for shelter. They were\nreceived kindly by Odin and Frigga, who kept the boys all the long\nwinter, making much of them and delighting in their childish fun and\nmerriment. Geirrod was Odin's favourite. He taught him to fight, to\nswim, and to use the bow and spear. But Frigga loved best the gentle\nlittle Agnar, the elder boy, who would sit by her side and rest his\nhead upon her knee, well contented, while she told him strange tales\nof beautiful Asgard, the home of the gods.\n\nSpring came at length, and, when the sea was calm and still, Odin put\nthe two boys aboard a boat and bade them sail back to their father.\nAnd Agnar grieved at leaving his kind old friends, but Geirrod did not\neven so much as look back to respond to their farewell.\n\nThe favourable breezes which Odin had called up soon urged the boat to\nland; but the moment it touched the shore Geirrod sprang out, and,\npushing it back into the sea with all his might, bade his brother sail\naway to the Land of Giants and never return.\n\nOdin, feeling sure that all was well with the boys, had resigned his\ncare for their safety and had returned to Asgard, and thus the giants\nwere able to play him a trick, which they did by causing the wind to\nveer round, whereby Agnar was carried away to the edge of the world.\n\nMeantime, the hard-hearted Geirrod ran cheerfully into his father's\npalace, and announced that he had come back alone from a desert island\nupon which his boat had been stranded, his elder brother having been\ndrowned in the sea.\n\nHis father was overjoyed to see him, for he had given up hope of\nsetting eyes on either of his sons again. He made him his heir, and in\ndue time, when some years had passed away, he died, and Geirrod became\nking in his stead.\n\nNow All-Father Odin had so many things to attend to that, as we have\nseen, he thought no more of his boy friends for many years.\n\nThen at length, when Geirrod had sat for some time on his fathers\nthrone, Odin looked from his high seat in Asgard upon him, and seeing\nwith pleasure how great a man he had become, his thoughts turned to\nAgnar. For a time he could see nothing of him, but at last he\ndiscerned that he had returned in disguise to his brother's palace and\nwas living there, unknown to Geirrod, as a servant.\n\nThen Odin turned to Frigga, who sat by his side on the high seat, and\nsaid tauntingly, \"Did I not always say that Geirrod was by far the\nbetter and braver and stronger of those two boys? Behold, although he\nis the younger, he sits upon his father's throne, while Agnar brews\nale for his table.\"\n\nTo this Frigga quietly replied: \"It is better to be a poor servant\nthan a hard-hearted king. For see how rich is Geirrod; yet he turns\naway the guest from the door, and ill-treats those who ask a kindness\nat his hands.\"\n\n\"I will never believe it,\" said Odin, who could be very obstinate when\nhe liked; \"and to prove you are wrong I will disguise myself again as\na wanderer, and ask for food and shelter from the king.\"\n\nSo he took his blue-grey cloak and broad-brimmed hat, and, with a\npilgrim's staff in his hand, set off adown the Rainbow Bridge.\nMeantime, Frigga, determined to show that she was right, and to\nprevent Geirrod from receiving Odin with favour by mere chance, sent a\nswift and secret messenger, warning the king to beware of a man in a\nblue-grey mantle and wide-brimmed hat, for that he, a pretended\nwanderer, was an enchanter who would put the king under a spell.\n\nScarcely had the messenger fulfilled his mission when Odin knocked at\nthe great door of the palace and begged for food and shelter. He had\nnot the slightest doubt that these would be granted him, for\ninhospitality to strangers was one of the greatest crimes a Northman\ncould commit.\n\nJudge then of his surprise when, instead of being offered a seat at\nthe supper-table and a bed for the night, he was seized by the beard,\nand dragged roughly into the presence of Geirrod.\n\n\"Where do you come from, and what is your name, O miserable old man?\"\nasked the angry king.\n\n\"My name is Grimnir,\" answered Odin, now well on his guard, \"but where\nI come from I will not say, since that is my concern alone.\"\n\nThen the king's wrath knew no bounds, and finding it impossible to\nmake the old man speak, he ordered that he should be chained to a\npillar between two fires, whose flames scorched him on either side\nwithout actually burning him.\n\nFor eight days and nights was Odin imprisoned thus, and during all\nthat time the cruel Geirrod would give him neither food nor drink, and\nkept close watch to see that he obtained them from no one else.\n\nBut one night, when the watchmen were drowsy from the heat of the\nfire, a serving-man came stealthily over the floor, a horn of ale in\nhis hand. Holding this to the parched lips of the prisoner, he gave\nhim a long, cool drink; and then did Odin recognize the features of\nAgnar, brother of the king, who should have been king in his stead.\n\nThe next evening, as Geirrod sat at the head of the table gloating\nover the sufferings of his prisoner, Odin suddenly began to sing.\nSoftly the notes began, but soon they grew louder and louder, till the\ngreat hall echoed and re-echoed the song of triumph. And at length he\nsang how Geirrod, who had so long enjoyed the favour of the gods, was\nnow about to meet the just reward of his misdeeds:\n\n    \"Thy life is now run out:\n    Wroth with thee are the gods:\n    Odin thou now shalt see:\n    Draw near me if thou canst.\"\n\nWith these words the chain fell from off his hands, the flames shot up\nto the roof and died away, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall, no\nlonger a poor and suffering wayfarer, but revealed in all the might\nand majesty of a god.\n\nDirectly he had understood the meaning of the song, Geirrod had risen\nto his feet with drawn sword, meaning to kill his prisoner, but so\nstartled was he at the sudden change in his appearance that he\nstumbled back, and, losing his footing, he fell upon the sharp point\nof his own sword and miserably perished.\n\nWhen his words had been thus fulfilled, Odin turned to Agnar, who,\nwith the other servants, had rushed into the hall, and bade him take\nhis rightful place upon his father's throne, and in return for his\nkind act in bringing the draught of ale he promised him prosperity and\nhappiness so long as he should live.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nHow the Queen of the Sky Gave Gifts to Men\n\n_This is the tale which the Northmen tell\nof Frigga, Queen of the Asas._\n\n\nBy the side of All-Father Odin, upon his high seat in Asgard, sat\nFrigga, his wife, the Queen of the Asas. Sometimes she would be\ndressed in snow-white garments, bound at the waist by a golden girdle,\nfrom which hung a great bunch of golden keys. And the earth-dwellers,\ngazing into the sky, would admire the great white clouds as they\nfloated across the blue, not perceiving that these clouds were really\nthe folds of Frigga's flowing white robe, as it waved in the wind.\n\nAt other times she would wear dark grey or purple garments; and then\nthe earth-dwellers made haste into their houses, for they said, \"the\nsky is lowering to-day, and a storm is nigh at hand.\"\n\nFrigga had a palace of her own called Fensalir, or the Hall of Mists,\nwhere she spent much of her time at her wheel, spinning golden thread,\nor weaving web after web of many-coloured clouds. All night long she\nsat at this golden wheel, and if you look at the sky on a starry night\nyou may chance to see it set up where the men of the South show a\nconstellation called the Girdle of Orion.\n\nHusbands and wives who had dwelt lovingly together upon earth were\ninvited by Frigga to her hall when they died, so that they might be\nfor ever united within its hospitable walls.\n\n    \"There in the glen Fensalir stands, the house\n    Of Frigga, honoured mother of the gods,\n    And shows its lighted windows, and the open doors.\"\n\nFrigga was especially interested in all good housewives, and she\nherself set them an excellent example in Fensalir. When the snowflakes\nfell, the earth-dwellers knew it was Frigga shaking her great feather\nbed, and when it rained they said it was her washing day. It was she\nwho first gave to them the gift of flax that the women upon earth\nmight spin, and weave, and bleach their linen as white as the clouds\nof her own white robe.\n\nAnd this is how it came about.\n\nThere once was a shepherd who lived among the mountains with his wife\nand children; and so very poor was he that he often found it hard to\ngive his family enough to satisfy their hunger. But he did not\ngrumble; he only worked the harder; and his wife, though she had\nscarcely any furniture, and never a chance of a new dress, kept the\nhouse so clean, and the old clothes so well mended, that, all unknown\nto herself, she rose high in the favour of the all-seeing Frigga.\n\nNow one day, when the shepherd had driven his few poor sheep up the\nmountain to pasture, a fine reindeer sprang from the rocks above him\nand began to leap upward along the steep slope. The shepherd snatched\nup his crossbow and pursued the animal, thinking to himself: \"Now we\nshall have a better meal than we have had for many a long day.\"\n\nUp and up leaped the reindeer, always just out of reach and at length\ndisappeared behind a great boulder just as the shepherd, breathless\nand weary, reached the spot. No sign of the reindeer was to be seen,\nbut, on looking round, the shepherd saw that he was among the snowy\nheights of the mountains, and almost at the top of a great glacier.\n\nPresently, as he pursued his vain search for the animal, he saw to his\namazement an open door, leading apparently into the heart of the\nglacier. He was a fearless man, and so, without hesitation, he passed\nboldly through the doorway and found himself standing in a marvellous\ncavern, lit up by blazing torches which gleamed upon rich jewels\nhanging from the roof and walls. And in the midst stood a woman, most\nfair to behold, clad in snow-white robes and surrounded by a group of\nlovely maidens.\n\nThe shepherd's boldness gave way at this awesome sight, and he sank to\nhis knees before the Asa, Frigga, for she it was. But Frigga bade him\nbe of good cheer, and said: \"Choose now whatsoever you will to carry\naway with you as a remembrance of this place.\"\n\nThe shepherd's eyes wandered over the glittering jewels on the walls\nand roof, but they came back to a little bunch of blue flowers which\nFrigga held in her hand. They alone looked homelike to him; the rest\nwere hard and cold; so he asked timidly that he might be given the\nlittle nosegay.\n\nThen Frigga smiled kindly upon him.\n\n\"Most wise has been your choice,\" said she. \"Take with the flowers\nthis measure of seed and sow it in your field, and you shall grow\nflowers of your own. They shall bring prosperity to you and yours.\"\n\nSo the shepherd took the flowers and the seed, and scarcely had he\ndone so when a mighty peal of thunder, followed by the shock of an\nearthquake, rent the cavern, and when he had collected his senses he\nfound himself once more upon the mountain side.\n\nWhen he reached home and had told his tale, his wife scolded him\nroundly for not bringing home a jewel which would have made them rich\nfor ever. But when she would have thrown the flowers away he prevented\nher. Next day he sowed the seed in his field, and was surprised to\nfind how far it went.\n\nVery soon after this the field was thick with tiny green shoots; and\nthough his wife reproached him for wasting good ground upon useless\nflowers, he watched and waited in hope until the field was blue with\nthe starry flax blooms.\n\nThen one night, when the flowers had withered and the seed was ripe,\nFrigga, in the disguise of an old woman, visited the lowly hut and\nshowed the shepherd and his astonished wife how to use the flax\nstalks; how to spin them into thread, and how to weave the thread into\nlinen.\n\nIt was not long before all the dwellers in that part of the earth had\nheard of the wonderful material, and were hurrying to the shepherd's\nhut to buy the bleached linen or the seed from which it was obtained.\nAnd so the shepherd and his family were soon among the richest people\nin the land; and the promise of Frigga was amply fulfilled.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nHow a Giant Built a Fortress for the Asas\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\na giant once built a fortress for the Asas._\n\n\nAlthough their city of Asgard was beautiful beyond compare, the Asas\nwho lived therein could not forget that the race of the giants kept\nunwearying watch to do them despite. Even All-Father Odin was troubled\nwhen he remembered Mimir's warning that the draught of wisdom would\never work strife between the races of Asas and giants. And so at\nlength the Asas, meeting in their Council Chamber at the roots of the\nTree of Life, resolved that something more should be done to guard\nthemselves. Already, it is true, the watchman Heimdall kept ward over\nthe Rainbow Bridge by night and day, blowing a soft note on his horn\nto announce the coming or going of the Asas, but prepared to give a\nterrible blast should any of the Frost Giants attempt to cross the\nbridge.\n\nHeimdall, however, might be overpowered before aid could reach him,\nand so it was decided to build, just within Asgard, a great fortress,\nwhich should be so strong that the Asas could rest safely behind its\nwalls, even if the Frost Giants should invade their city.\n\nThe next question was, Who should build this fortress?\n\nNone of the Asas knew of a likely architect, and while they were\ndiscussing where one should be found, the horn of Heimdall rang out in\ntoken of the approach of a stranger.\n\nOut rushed the Asas, and there, in parley with Heimdall, stood a\ngigantic figure with powerful limbs, on which the muscles stood out\nlike ropes of iron.\n\nHeimdall was speaking sharply, for he did not altogether like the\nstranger's look. \"For what purpose do you come?\" he was inquiring.\n\n\"I am a Master Builder,\" replied the stranger. \"I can build towers and\nforts more strongly than any other builder in all the world. Have you\nanything of the kind that wants doing here?\"\n\nThe eyes of the Asas met as they heard these words, and Odin, stepping\nforward, said, \"Can you build us a fortress so strong that not all the\nstrength of the Frost Giants could avail against it?\"\n\n\"Ay, that can I,\" replied the stranger. \"Look at my strong arms and\nsee the breadth of my chest. If you will set me to work you shall soon\nfind my worth as a Master Builder.\"\n\n\"How long will the fortress take to build?\" asked Odin.\n\n\"I will build it for you in three half years,\" replied the stranger.\n\n\"And what do you ask as wages?\" said Odin, and the Master Builder\nanswered promptly:\n\n\"You must give me the sun, the moon, and Freya for my wife.\"\n\nAt these words the Asas, who had been pressing forward to hear the\nconference, fell back with muttered disapproval. For Freya was the\nmost beautiful maiden in Asgard, the joy and pride of the city, ever\nyoung and ever fair; and the sun and moon were the light and life of\nmen in the world below. So they bade the Master Builder come again\nnext day, and meantime retired to their Council Hall to consider the\nmatter.\n\nAll-Father Odin was for sending the Builder promptly about his\nbusiness when he returned for their decision, but his brother Loki\ncounselled a different course.\n\nRed Loki was a mischievous, sly fellow, full of wiles and deceit, and\nalways quick to suggest a way out of a difficulty. On this occasion\nhis plan was to allow the man to build the fortress, and to promise\nhim the terms demanded, but subject to the condition that he fulfilled\nhis task in a way that would be impossible for him fully to carry out.\n\nHis eloquence persuaded the Asas, and next day, when the Builder\nreturned for their decision, Loki, as their spokesman, called to the\nmighty fellow as he crossed the bridge:\n\n\"Good man, we cannot wait for three half years for the completion of\nour fortress. But if you will undertake to do the work in the course\nof one winter, without any assistance, you shall have Freya, and the\nsun and moon to boot. If, however, on the first day of summer, one\nstone is missing from its place, the fortress will be ours without any\npayment whatever, since you will have broken your plighted word.\"\n\nAt this the Master Builder did not look well pleased. He pulled his\ngreat beard and eyed the speaker doubtfully, muttering that the time\nwas too short for so great a task; but when Loki pretended to turn\naway, as though the matter were ended, he called after him:\n\n\"Well, have it so--the fortress shall be built in the time you set.\nBut you must at least let me have the help of my good horse Svadilfare\nto carry stone.\"\n\nWhen they heard this request the Asas demurred, saying: \"He means to\nplay us some trick.\"\n\nBut Loki persuaded them to make this trifling concession.\n\n\"For,\" said he, \"of what use can a horse be in building a fortress? He\nwill never be able to finish the place in time, and we shall get our\nfort for nothing. At least you can let him have his great clumsy horse\nfor any use that he may be.\"\n\nSo the Asas agreed, and went their different ways, leaving the Master\nBuilder to his work.\n\nThe winter months passed on, and while the Asas busied themselves with\ntheir various occupations and amusements, the Master Builder was\ntoiling with might and main. But he could have done little in the time\nif he had not had the help of his wonderful horse Svadilfare, who not\nonly dragged huge blocks of stone to the spot, but raised them into\nposition with his strong forefeet. And this was done with such speed\nthat, some days before the end of winter, the fortress was finished,\nwith the exception of three blocks of stone which were to form one of\nthe gateways.\n\nThen the Asas suddenly realised what was about to happen. In less than\nthree days more the fortress would be finished; it needed, in fact,\nbut one night's work to make all complete. They remembered with horror\nthe price they had undertaken to pay; the loss not only of Freya,\nfairest of maidens, but also of sun and moon, whose light was the joy\nof their life and the necessity of mankind.\n\n\"It is Red Loki,\" said they, \"who has brought us to this sad pass.\" So\nthey began to reproach him very bitterly, threatening even to kill him\nif he did not find some way to evade the loss which threatened them.\n\nAt length, being really frightened, Loki promised to do\nsomething--anything, that would prevent the Master Builder from\nfinishing the work during the three days that yet remained of winter.\n\nThat same night good Svadilfare was painfully dragging a great block\nof stone along the path to the new-built fortress, when Red Loki,\nchanged into the semblance of a pretty little grey mare, came running\nup, saying, as plainly as horses can speak:\n\n\"Down below there is a delightful green meadow. Do come with me, and\ntake a holiday from this ever-lasting work.\"\n\nScarcely had he heard her neigh when the steed kicked off his harness,\nleft the block of stone to roll down the steep hill, and rushed after\nthe mare. Away ran Loki, away ran Svadilfare, and after them rushed\nthe Master Builder, shouting and yelling in vain. The noise they made\nwas terrific, for the gallop of the horses and the _thud_, _thud_, of\nthe mighty Builder shook the walls of Asgard and made the\nearth-dwellers shrink in terror from what they imagined to be\nthunderstorms and earthquakes. But the Builder never found his horse,\nfor Loki had lured him to a meadow hidden safely away within a secret\ngrove.\n\nWhen the Master Builder returned to the fortress the first day of\nsummer had dawned, and lo! the winter was gone, and the gateway of the\nbuilding was unfinished.\n\nBefore it stood the Asas, and All-Father Odin greeted the Builder\nwith:\n\n\"See, fellow, here is the first day of summer and your task is not yet\nfulfilled. Begone, then, from Asgard, for we are free from our bond,\nand would have no further dealing with thee or thy evil brood.\"\n\nThen the Builder perceived that Odin knew who he really was, and with\na roar of rage he returned to his own form, and stood revealed as a\nmighty Frost Giant, almost as huge as the fortress he had built.\n\nShaking his great fist at the Asas, he shouted threateningly:\n\n\"Ye have tricked and fooled me enough. Not for nothing does a Frost\nGiant stand within the walls of Asgard. Were it not so strongly built\nI would now tear down this fortress that I have raised; but your own\npalaces are not giant-built, and see to it that they are not soon\ntumbling about your ears!\"\n\nAnd in good sooth he might have torn down the very halls of the Asas\nin his rage, had not Thor at that moment dashed up the Rainbow Bridge\nin his chariot drawn by goats. For all this while Thor, the strongest\nof the Asas, had been away on a long journey; and had this not been\nso, the giants would have had little cause to fear.\n\nSpringing from his chariot as the furious giant was about to pull the\nroof off Valhalla, Thor gave him so mighty a blow on the head with his\nhuge hammer that his skull broke into little bits and his body fell\ndown into the Land of Mists.\n\n\"Take that for your wages,\" roared Thor, as he swung his hammer on\nhigh, \"and in this same manner will I repay all of the race of Frost\nGiants who seek to set foot in Asgard.\"\n\nAnd so in this way was built for the Asas a fortress so strong that\nnone of the giant folk could dare to raise hand against it. But always\nit lacked three stones in the gateway, for no one except a Frost Giant\ncould lift such mighty blocks into place.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nThe Magic Mead\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how All-Father Odin\nbrought the Magic Mead to Asgard._\n\n\nThere once lived among the earth-dwellers a certain man named Kvasir,\nwho was very wise. He did not keep his wisdom to himself, as Mimir\ndid, but went his way through all the world, answering questions and\nsharing his gift with those who cared for it. And wherever he went men\nwere the better for his silver words, for Kvasir was a poet, the first\nwho ever lived, and by his gift of poetry he made glad the hearts of\ngods and men.\n\nNow when the dwarf people saw how Kvasir was loved and honoured, they\ngrew jealous of him, and plotted to work him evil. So two of their\nnumber, called Fialar and Galar, met Kvasir one day and begged him to\nvisit their cave under the earth and to take counsel with them\nconcerning a very secret and important matter.\n\nGlad, as was his wont, to help others, Kvasir agreed, whereupon the\ndwarfs conducted him into a dark and dismal place underground; and\nthere, taking him unawares, they treacherously slew him, and poured\nhis blood into three jars. This they mixed with honey, and thus made a\nMagic Mead, of such a nature that whoever drinks of it receives the\ngift of poesy, and his speech is silver and his heart is filled with\nwisdom.\n\nIt was not long before the gods in Asgard, missing the sweet sound of\nKvasir's voice throughout the earth, began to make inquiries as to\nwhat had become of him.\n\nThe wicked dwarfs had spread the report that the wise man had choked\nby reason of his great wisdom. But All-Father Odin knew well that this\nabsurd tale was not true, and was on the watch to see what mischief\nFialar and Galar had been brewing.\n\nMeantime, the dwarfs did not taste a drop of the Magic Mead, but hid\nit away in a secret place, while they went off in search of further\nadventures.\n\nAfter awhile they found the Giant Gilling fast asleep by the seashore,\nand they began to pinch him till he was wide awake.\n\n\"Take us for a row on the sea, Gilling,\" they shouted, in their\nimpudent little voices.\n\nSo the Giant Gilling, who was good-natured and stupid, got into a\nboat, and being very lazy, allowed the dwarfs to take the oars and row\nwhere they would.\n\nThen Fialar and Galar rowed on to an unseen rock and upset the boat,\nso that the giant, who could not swim, was drowned; but they\nthemselves perched astride on the keel, and the boat soon drifted\nashore.\n\nHurrying to the giant's house they told his wife, with a fine pretence\nof sympathy, that her husband had fallen into the sea and was drowned.\nAt this the poor giantess began to sob and groan until the walls shook\nwith the noise. Then Fialar said to his brother:\n\n\"Tired am I of this bawling. I will now take her out, and as she\npasses through the doorway, drop a millstone on her head; and then\nthere will be an end to them both.\"\n\nForthwith he asked if it would not comfort her to look upon the sea\nwhere her dear husband lay drowned; and she said it would. But as she\npassed through the doorway wicked Galar, who had scrambled up above\nthe lintel, dropped a millstone on her head, and so she too fell an\neasy victim to the malice of the cruel brothers.\n\nNow while the two dwarfs were jumping and skipping about in their\nwicked glee at the success of their evil plans, the Giant Suttung, son\nof Gilling, came home, and finding that his mother and father were\nboth dead, he quickly guessed who were at the bottom of the mischief,\nand determined to put an end to the wretches.\n\nBefore they could evade his wrath, he grasped one of the dwarfs in\neach of his great hands, and, wading out into the ocean, he set them\ndown upon a rock which he knew would be flooded at high tide, and\nthere left them.\n\nThen Fialar and Galar began to scream with terror, and to offer\nanything that Suttung chose to ask for, if only he would spare their\nlives.\n\nNow Suttung had heard, as most people had done, of the Magic Mead, and\nhe thought that this was a fine opportunity of getting it into his\npossession. So he bargained with the dwarfs, and they gladly promised\nto give him the whole brew if only he would save them from their\nperilous plight.\n\nSuttung waited till they had had a good fright, and then, as the first\nwave washed over them, he waded to the rock and lifted them off. He\ntook good care, however, not to give them their liberty until they had\nhanded over the three jars of Magic Mead.\n\nThe moment he had got the precious jars into his possession Suttung\nhid them in a cave deep down in the centre of a mountain, and he set\nhis daughter, Gunlod, the Giant-Maiden, to keep watch and ward,\ncharging her to guard the cavern night and day, and to allow neither\ngods nor men to have so much as a sip of the marvellous liquid.\n\nMeantime, All-Father Odin had sent forth his ravens, Hugin and Munin,\nto find out what had become of the wise Kvasir. For a while even they\nwere puzzled by his complete disappearance, but presently they heard\nmen talk of the Magic Mead that had been made from his blood, and so,\nlittle by little, they learned the truth, and flying back to Odin,\nthey perched on his shoulders, and whispered it into his ears.\n\nNow All-Father Odin was sorry for Kvasir, but he was still more vexed\nto think that this wonderful gift of poetry should be in the hands of\nhis enemies, the giants. He began, therefore, to consider how he could\nget it from them, for though he had drained the draught of wisdom in\nspeech and song, and nothing save a draught of the Magic Mead would\nbring him that gift.\n\nSo once more All-Father Odin disguised himself as an aged wanderer,\npulled his grey hat well over his brows, threw his storm-hued cloak\naround him, and journeyed to the Land of Giants.\n\nSearching about for the home of Suttung, Odin presently passed by a\nfield where nine ugly serving-men were mowing hay. Now these were the\nservants of Baugi, the brother of Suttung, as Odin very well knew; so,\nafter watching them for awhile, he called out:\n\n\"Hi, fellows! Your scythes are blunt. Would you like me to whet them\nfor you?\"\n\nGlad of an excuse to stop work, the men shouted, \"Yes.\"\n\nThen Odin took a whetstone from his belt and whetted the scythes till\nthey were sharp as razors.\n\nThe servants were much struck with the speed and skill with which this\nwas done, and they all called out together to ask if the whetstone was\nfor sale.\n\nOdin replied that he was willing to sell it if he could get a fair\nprice; upon which they all yelled at once that they would pay whatever\nhe asked.\n\n\"Then let him have it who catches it,\" said Odin, and with that he\nthrew the whetstone up in the air.\n\nAnd then a tremendous struggle began. Each man fought with his\nneighbour for the stone and hacked at him with his keen scythe; and\nwithin a very few minutes all the nine serving-men lay dead on the\nfield.\n\nWith a grim smile at the greed and quarrelsome behaviour which had\nbrought them to this end, Odin passed on to the house of the Giant\nBaugi, and begged for supper and shelter for the night. The giant\nreceived him hospitably enough, and was about to sit down to table\nwith him, when word was brought that his nine servants had killed each\nother and lay dead in the field.\n\nThen Baugi began to complain and lament his bad luck, saying: \"Here\nhave I never had a better harvest, and yet there is not a man left to\ngather it in.\"\n\n\"Suppose you give _me_ a trial,\" suggested Odin, \"for though I look\nold I can do the work of nine men, and that you will soon find.\"\n\n\"What do you want for your wages?\" asked Baugi doubtfully, for he\nguessed that the stranger was somebody out of the common.\n\n\"Nothing but a draught of the Magic Mead stored away by your brother\nSuttung,\" answered Odin calmly.\n\n\"'Tis no easy thing you ask of me, good fellow,\" replied Baugi, \"nor\nis it mine to give. But if you will do my work I will go with you to\nmy brother when all is done, and we will do our best to get the mead.\"\n\nSo Odin set to work all that summer-time, and never before had Baugi\nhad such service done. Then, when the first breath of frost touched\nthe autumn leaves, the toiler laid aside his tools and, going to his\nmaster, asked for his reward.\n\nBut Baugi shook his head doubtfully. \"'Tis a harder matter than you\nthink,\" said he. \"Come with me, however, and I will do my best for\nyou.\"\n\nSo they went together to the house of Suttung, and Baugi entered in\nand boldly asked his brother to give him a drink of the Magic Mead,\nwherewith to reward his servant.\n\nAt this Suttung flew into a great rage, and reproached Baugi for\nasking such a thing. \"You have been fooled,\" he cried, \"for this is\nnone other than one of the gods, our deadly enemies, who, when he\ndrinks the mead, will use his new-found wisdom in our despite. If you\ntake my advice, you will do this enemy an ill turn while you have him\nin your power.\"\n\nSo Baugi went back to Odin, his heart torn between hatred of the god\nand fear as to what would happen if he did not keep his promise; but\nhe only told gloomily that he had failed to get the mead.\n\nThen Odin said, \"If Suttung will not give the mead because of your\npromise, we must get it by some trick. And you will have to help me in\nthis, because of your plighted word.\"\n\nTo this Baugi pretended to agree, but all the while he was trying to\nthink of a plan whereby he could make an end of his troublesome\nservant.\n\nThey now made their way to the mountain where Gunlod kept watch over\nher treasured jars of mead. But her cave was hidden far away in the\ncentre of the mountain, and none but Suttung knew how to find the\nentrance.\n\nBaugi only pretended to join in the long and fruitless search, and at\nlength, tired out, Odin took from his pocket an auger, wherewith holes\nare bored, and bade the giant use his great strength to drill a hole\nthrough the mountain to the cave.\n\nAccordingly Baugi bored away and presently cried out, \"See, there is\nyour hole right into the cave!\"\n\nBut Odin warily blew into the hole, and immediately chips of rock and\ndust flew back into his face, showing that the hole extended only a\nlittle way.\n\nThen Odin knew, what before he had only guessed, that Baugi was trying\nto trick him; but he only looked at him grimly and said:\n\n\"Bore deeper, master, bore deeper.\"\n\nAnd the giant was so frightened by the gleam in the iron-grey eye that\nhe seized the auger, and this time made a hole which really pierced\nthe mountain and penetrated to the hidden cave.\n\nDirectly Odin had made sure that Baugi had fulfilled his task, he\nchanged himself into a snake and wriggled into the hole before Baugi\nhad realised what had happened.\n\nThe next moment Baugi gave a stab at the snake with the sharp auger,\nhoping to cut him in two, but Odin was too quick for him, and he\nwriggled out of sight as the blow fell.\n\nOdin crept a long way through the mountain until he came at length to\na dark cave; and then he took again the form of the Father of Gods and\nMen.\n\nLooking about him for awhile in the dimness of the cavern, he saw at\nlength the beautiful Giant-Maiden, resting her head wearily on her\nhands and gazing at the great jars of mead which stood before her on a\nledge as though she hated their very sight.\n\nComing softly to her side, Odin bent over her and gently kissed her\nforehead. Gunlod at this sprang up in terror, but when she saw Odin's\nkind face, her fears vanished and she smiled back at him.\n\n\"Whence come you?\" asked the beautiful Giant-Maiden.\n\n\"I come from a long, long way off,\" replied the god, \"and I am thirsty\nafter my journey. May I taste the mead that stands in yon vessels?\"\n\nGunlod shook her head till her long golden locks fell in confusion\nover her like a shower of laburnum blossom; but Odin set himself so\nwinningly to coax her that, after she had held out for some long time,\nshe told him at last that he might take one sip from each jar.\n\nThe words were hardly uttered ere Odin seized the first jar and in a\nmoment had drained it dry. Then he snatched up the second and the\nthird; and before Gunlod realised what had happened he had kissed her\nagain, and, passing rapidly through the hole, had flown forth into the\nfresh air in the form of an eagle, and was bearing away the precious\nmead in his mouth to Asgard.\n\nMeanwhile, Baugi had gone back to the Giant Suttung with the tale of\nhow he had seen the mysterious serving-man change into a snake and\nwriggle through a hole in the mountain; and Suttung at once guessed\nthat they had to deal with Odin himself. So he hurried to the hole and\nsat there to watch for the return of the snake.\n\nBut he had to wait so long that at length he grew drowsy, and in\norder to keep awake he was just pricking himself with the branch of a\nneighbouring thorn-bush, when _birr! whizz!_ a great bird dashed out\nof the hole and made off into the upper air.\n\nThis awoke Suttung effectually. He knew he had missed a good chance of\nkilling Odin, and that, in all probability, in the very act of\ncarrying off the Magic Mead to Asgard; but he would not give up all\nhope, and next moment, in the form of another eagle, he was pursuing\nhis enemy in eager flight.\n\nNow Odin was heavy with the mead he had drunk, and his head was dizzy,\nso that he did not always fly along the straightest path. Little by\nlittle Suttung gained on him therefore, till it became very uncertain\nwhether Odin could first reach the walls of Asgard.\n\nThe loud rush of fast-beating wings through the air attracted the\nattention of the gods, and they crowded to the walls of Asgard to\nwatch the progress of the eagle, in whom they easily recognised Odin.\n\nSome prepared great dishes in which to receive the Magic Mead from his\nmouth; others, seeing that he might be caught by his pursuer before he\ncould reach the city, gathered a great pile of wood outside the walls,\nand heaped it with tow and tar and turpentine. To this they set fire,\njust as Odin flew over the battlements. And the flames shot up and\nburnt the wings of the pursuing eagle, so that Suttung tumbled to the\nearth and could fly no more.\n\nOdin, exhausted and breathless, was meantime filling the dishes which\nthe gods held ready for the Magic Mead, but so hurried was he that\nsome of it was spilt; a few scattered drops fell on to the earth\nbelow.\n\nMen rushed eagerly to catch the precious drops in their mouths; but\nnone could get enough to be made wise with the true spirit of poesy.\nSome caught enough to become makers of rhymes and verses, but this is\na different thing.\n\nThe Magic Mead was henceforth kept in Asgard under the charge of\nwhite-haired Bragi, the son of Odin, he who plays so beautifully upon\nthe harp that it seems to sing of itself.\n\nAnd once or twice in every hundred years or so, the gods allow some\nvery favoured babe of mortal man to drink a full draught of the Magic\nMead. Then, when the child grows up, he becomes a great poet, and\npeople say he is \"inspired.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nHow Loki Made a Wager with the Dwarfs\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nLoki once made a Wager with the Dwarfs._\n\n\nA most mischievous and tricky god was Loki, always on the look-out to\nplay some wicked prank which was sure to bring trouble upon himself or\nothers. It was, indeed, a wonder that the other Asas put up with him\nso long in Asgard; but then, you see, he was Odin's brother.\n\nOne day, when Loki was looking about him for diversions, he saw asleep\nin the sunlight Sif, the beautiful wife of Thor the Thunderer.\n\nNow Sif was noted among all the dwellers in Asgard for her glorious\nhair, which hung down to her heels and was like a thick web of golden\nsilk. When she stood up it covered her like a cloak, and when she lay\ndown it was like a golden coverlet; and Thor, her husband, thought it\nwas the most beautiful thing in all the habitation of the gods.\n\nNow mischievous Loki saw her sleeping under the gleaming mass of\ngolden web, and he took a pair of sharp scissors and cut it all off\nclose to her head, so that she looked quite bald and ugly.\n\nWhen Thor came home and saw what had happened, he was wild with fury,\nand guessing at once who had done the deed, he stamped off to find Red\nLoki, vowing that he would break every bone in his body.\n\nThen Loki, when he heard the thunder of Thor's tramp and saw the\nlightning flash from his angry eyes, was terrified, and attempted to\nchange himself into another shape; but before he could do so the\nwrathful god had gripped him by the throat and was shaking the life\nout of him.\n\n\"Let me go!\" gasped Loki. \"Let me go, and I will bring new hair for\nSif ere the daylight's gone.\"\n\n\"Go, then,\" roared Thor, \"but mind, if you break your word you will\nhave not only to reckon with _me_, but with Odin and Frey as well.\"\n\nThen, giving Loki a last shake, he sent him flying over the\nbattlements and down the Rainbow Bridge like a falling star.\n\nNow Loki was terrified at the result of his trick, and dread of the\npunishment that Odin might have in store for him, when he returned\nwith the hair, began to assail him. So he determined to take back with\nhim two presents, one for his mighty brother, and one for Frey, the\ngod of the Golden Sunshine.\n\nLeaping on to the earth, he quickly made his way through a hillside\ninto the depths of the mountains, never stopping till he had reached\nthe dark and gloomy district of Dwarfland.\n\nFor a time Loki could see nothing, though he heard on every side the\ntapping hammers and heaving bellows of the Little Men.\n\nPresently, however, he distinguished a tiny furnace with its burning\nflame, and saw by its light a little squat figure, who pulled off his\npeaked cap and asked the visitor what he wanted.\n\n\"I want you to make me three gifts,\" said Loki; \"one for Odin, and one\nfor Frey, and the third must be golden hair that will grow upon Sif's\nhead.\"\n\nNow the dwarfs were anxious to keep on good terms with the gods, who\ncould protect them against the giants; and so, when they heard Loki's\nrequest, they readily agreed to make the three things. Accordingly,\nthey set to work upon a pile of golden nuggets, and spun from them a\nmass of the finest gold thread, so smooth and soft that it looked like\nthe loveliest hair. This they gave to Loki, telling him that directly\nit touched the head of Sif it would become as a natural growth.\n\n\"Now give me something for Odin,\" said Loki, well pleased.\n\nSo the dwarfs set to work again, and presently fashioned the spear\ncalled Gungnir, which, however badly it might be aimed, was always\nsure to go straight to its mark.\n\nLoki gratefully took the spear, and there now only remained the gift\nfor Frey.\n\nThe dwarfs thought awhile, and then set to work upon a ship which,\nwhen pressed together, would fold up and go into one's pocket, but\nwhich, when allowed to expand, would hold all the gods in Asgard and\ntheir horses, would sail through air as well as on water, and would\nalways get a favourable wind directly it hoisted canvas.\n\nLoki was immensely pleased with these gifts, and went away, declaring\nloudly that his dwarf friends were the cleverest smiths in all the\nworld.\n\nNow it so fell out that his words were heard by another dwarf, named\nBrock, who came and stood in his way and looked with scorn at the ship\nand the spear and the golden web which he carried in his hands.\n\n\"A clumsy lot of things you have there!\" he jeered. \"Why, my brother\nSindri could make gifts that are far more wonderful than those.\"\n\n\"My head against yours that he could not!\" said Loki, getting angry.\n\n\"Done!\" chuckled Brock with a leer, and forthwith they made their way\nto the underground cave where Sindri was at work in his forge.\n\nNow Sindri was quite ready to take up the challenge, but only on\ncondition that Brock would blow the bellows for him. Loki now began to\nfeel uneasy, for he had hoped the dwarf would decline to compete when\nhe heard what were the gifts he had to improve upon. But Sindri only\nwagged his long beard at them contemptuously, and Loki's head began to\ntremble for the result of his wager.\n\nSo he determined to try and hinder the work.\n\nMeantime Sindri had thrown a pigskin into the furnace, and had gone\noutside to find a magic charm, saying as he went:\n\n\"Blow, brother, blow with all thy might till I return, and stay not\nthy hand for an instant.\"\n\nDirectly Loki heard this he changed himself into a great stinging fly,\nand lighting on Brock's hand, he stung him with all his might. But the\ndwarf never stopped blowing, though he stamped and roared with pain.\nThen Sindri returned, and going to the furnace drew from it a golden\nboar of great size, which had the power of flying through the sky and\nscattering light from his golden bristles as he flew. But Brock did\nnot know all this, and looked somewhat scornfully at the gift, saying:\n\n\"I thought you could do better than this.\"\n\n\"Wait a bit,\" said Sindri, and with that he threw a lump of gold upon\nthe fire and went out, charging his brother not to stop blowing for an\ninstant.\n\nThen in flew Loki again, still disguised as a gadfly, and lighted on\nBrock's neck and stung him so that the blood flowed. But though the\ndwarf yelled with pain he did not cease blowing.\n\nWhen Sindri returned he pulled out of the fire a fine gold ring. And\nthis ring was made in such a marvellous fashion that every ninth night\nnine other rings would drop from it, so that its owner would be the\nrichest being in the world.\n\nBut Brock did not know all this, and only growled.\n\n\"Wait a bit,\" said Sindri again, and this time he threw a lump of iron\non the fire, once more going out, and urging his brother, as he went,\nto be specially careful this time, or he would spoil all.\n\nThen in flew Loki and lighted between Brock's eyelids, stinging them\nso that the blood poured down and blinded him. Raising his hand for a\nsecond the dwarf dashed away the blood, and just for that instant he\nceased to blow. Presently Sindri was back again, saying gloomily that\nwhat lay in the furnace came nigh to being spoilt. Then he put in his\nhand and pulled out a great hammer; but the handle of the hammer was\nan inch too short.\n\nNow this hammer was so powerful that no one, not even a Frost Giant,\ncould resist its force, and it would smash a mountain as easily as it\nwould an egg-shell. So Brock, when he knew all that was to be known,\ntook the three gifts and hastened away to Asgard to pit them against\nthose of Loki, who had just returned.\n\nEnthroned in a circle sat the Asas, and in the midst, as judges of the\ngifts, sat Odin, Thor and Frey.\n\nLoki of the red beard and cunning eye, bringing forward the magic\nspear, bowed low to Odin, saying: \"Here, brother Odin, is a spear that\nwill never miss its mark!\"\n\nThen he turned to Frey and handed him the magic ship, saying: \"Here is\na ship which will never lack a fair wind wherever you wish to go; and\nthough you may fold it up and carry it in your pocket, it will hold\nall the gods of Asgard and their steeds besides.\"\n\nBut to Thor he gave the golden web of hair, and said nothing, for he\nfeared him.\n\nThen Brock stood forth and produced his treasures, saying: \"Here,\nmighty Odin, is a ring that will produce nine other gold rings every\nninth night.\"\n\nOdin laughed with joy, and said: \"Spears have I in abundance, but with\nthis ring I shall never want for gold.\"\n\nNext Brock opened the heavy bag with which his shoulders were\nburdened, and out of it fell the golden boar, which he laid before\nFrey, saying: \"Here, good Frey, is a boar who will carry you through\nthe air or over the sea. And wherever you go on his back the sky will\nbe lighted up by his golden bristles.\"\n\nThen Frey laughed with joy, saying: \"Better sport is it to ride on a\ngolden boar than in a ship.\"\n\nLastly Brock drew out the short-handled hammer named Mi\u00f6lnir. And this\nhe gave to Thor, saying: \"Most powerful one, here is a hammer whose\nblows nothing can withstand, not even mountains or Frost Giants; and\nhowever far you throw it, this hammer will always return to your\nhand.\"\n\nThen Thor jumped from his seat joyfully crying out: \"Better than the\ngolden hair of Sif is a weapon against which none of my enemies can\nstand. Brothers, let us decide this wager forthwith. And for me, I\ngive my vote in favour of the gifts of Brock.\"\n\nThen the gods and goddesses put their heads together and came to the\nconclusion that the hammer of Thor was worth all the gifts of Loki\ntwice over; for with it they could be protected against the Frost\nGiants, who were always their secret dread. So they decided:\n\n\"Brock has won the wager. Let Loki lose his head.\"\n\nMuch dismayed, Red Loki offered to pay a huge ransom, but of this\nBrock would not hear.\n\nThen Loki pretended to give in. \"Come and take me then,\" he cried, but\nwhen the dwarf tried to seize him he was already far away, for he wore\nthe shoes with which he could run through the air and over the sea.\n\nAnd knowing that he could never catch him, Brock was beside himself\nwith rage. Looking round him he saw that, though the others had\ndispersed, Thor was still playing with his new hammer, smashing a\nmountain here and a great tree there.\n\n\"Mighty Thor,\" cried the dwarf, \"will you do something for me in\nreturn for my gift? Bring to me that fellow who has broken his word,\nthat I may slay him forthwith.\"\n\nWith a nod of his great head Thor jumped into his goat chariot, and\nwas soon thundering through the air after wicked Loki. Driving with\nthe speed of lightning he quickly overtook the fugitive, whose plea\nfor help, however, touched him so that he relented and bethought him\nof a way in which he might save his life.\n\nJustice must be done, however, so he dragged the culprit back to\nAsgard and gave him over to Brock; but he warned the dwarf that\nalthough the head of Loki was rightfully his, he must not touch his\nneck.\n\nNow Brock could not possibly cut off the one without touching the\nother, so he bethought him of another plan. He would at any rate sew\nup the bragging lips that had caused so much trouble and told so many\nlies since All Things began.\n\nSo he took a strong piece of string and bored holes with his auger,\nand firmly stitched up the lips of Red Loki, and broke off the thread\nat the end of the sewing.\n\nFor a time after this there was peace in Asgard, and this would have\nlasted for long had not Loki managed at length to cut the string, when\nhe became as talkative as ever.\n\nAnd this is the end of the tale of How Loki made a Wager with the\nDwarfs.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nThe Apples of Youth\n\n_This is the tale which the Northmen tell of how the Apples\nof Youth were once very nearly lost to Asgard._\n\n\nSweetest of all the Asa folk was Idun, the fair young goddess of\nSpringtime and Youth, and dearly loved was she by the other Asas, both\nfor herself and for her magic apples.\n\nFast locked in a golden casket were her apples, ripe and sweet and\nrosy. And each day, at dawn, Idun came to the table where the gods\nsat and feasted together, and gave those who wished a taste of the\nfruit.\n\nAnd it came to pass that everyone who ate the magic fruit grew fresh\nand young again, however old and weary he had been before. For even\nthe gods of Asgard grew old and weary sometimes; and then nothing\nwould make them young again but the Apples of Youth.\n\nSo Idun treasured the fruit with the greatest care, and never let it\nout of her charge for a moment. And however many she took out of her\ncasket wherewith to feed the gods, there always remained just the same\nnumber as before.\n\n    \"Bright Iduna, maid immortal!\n    Standing at Valhalla's portal,\n    In her casket has rich store\n    Of rare apples, gilded o'er;\n    Those rare apples, not of earth,\n    To ageing Asas gave new birth.\"\n\nIt was only to be expected, of course, that the fame of this magic\nfruit should spread, and as nobody liked to grow old, many of the\ngiants, as well as the little dwarf people, used to come to the gates\nof Asgard and beg that Idun would give them a taste of her apples. But\nthis, though they offered her the richest gifts they could think of,\nshe never would do.\n\nNow one day it so fell out that Odin grew weary of watching his heroes\nfeast and fight in Valhalla, and determined to go forth and seek an\nadventure elsewhere.\n\nSo he called for his brother Hoenir, the clear-eyed Asa who first\ngave hope to the heart of man, and Loki, the mischievous fellow who\nyet by reason of his fun and gaiety was no bad travelling companion,\nand bade them accompany him on a journey.\n\nSpeeding over the Rainbow Bridge they came down to the world below,\nand presently found themselves in a desolate region of mountain and\nmoorland, through which they wandered for a long, long time, without\ncoming across any kind of human habitation.\n\nAt length, grown weary and very hungry, they began to look about for\nfood, and presently saw, to their great joy, a herd of oxen feeding\nupon the mountain side. It took no long time to kill a fine bull and\nto kindle an immense fire; after which the Asas hung up the animal to\nroast and sat down to wait till it was done.\n\nBut though the fire flamed bravely over the logs, it made no\ndifference whatever to the meat, which remained raw and cold.\n\nHeaping on fresh fuel, the three Asas put the carcass still nearer the\nflame and waited hungrily. All in vain, the meat remained uneatable.\n\nLooking at each other in dismay, the Asas exclaimed:\n\n\"There is some magic spell at work here.\"\n\nAnd at that very moment they heard the loud croak of a bird in the\ntree above them.\n\nHastily searching the branches, the Asas soon found an immense eagle\nperched there and looking down upon them with an evil expression.\n\n\"Ho!\" cried Odin, \"is it you who has bewitched our food?\"\n\nThe eagle nodded and croaked maliciously again.\n\n\"Then come at once and remove the spell,\" cried the famished Hoenir.\n\n\"If I do so, will you give me as much as I want to eat?\" asked the\neagle.\n\nAt this Odin hesitated, for he feared a trick, but Loki's mouth was\nwatering, and he called out:\n\n\"Yes, yes, anything you like if you will only let the meat be cooked.\"\n\nThen the great bird swooped down and began to fan the flame with his\nhuge wings, and behold! in a very few minutes the gravy began to run,\na delicious smell of roast beef filled the air, and there was the meat\ndone to a turn.\n\nJust as the three Asas were putting out hungry hands to seize their\nportions, however, the eagle, which had been hovering overhead,\nswooped down and seized more than three-quarters of the animal,\nleaving barely enough for one of the famished gods.\n\nThis was too much for Loki. With a roar of rage like that of an angry\nlion, he seized a great stake that stood near and struck with all his\nmight at the greedy bird.\n\nThe eagle shook himself after the blow, but instead of dropping his\nbooty he rose slowly into the air. And then, to Loki's dismay, he\nfound that one end of the pole had stuck fast to the body of the bird,\nthe other to his own hands.\n\nTry as he would he could not let go, and so found himself being\ndragged along over stones and bushes and briers, while his arms were\nalmost torn out of their sockets.\n\nIn vain he begged and implored the eagle to let him go; it took no\nnotice of him whatever, but flew on and on, just a little way above\nthe earth, until at length Loki, feeling that he could endure no\nlonger, promised to give him anything he asked if he would only\nrelease him.\n\nThen at last the eagle spoke, telling him that he would set him free\non one condition only, and that was that he should manage, by some\ntrick, to tempt Idun out of Asgard, in order that he could obtain\npossession of her and of the magic fruit. He told Loki, moreover, that\nhe was the Storm Giant Thiassi in disguise, and bade him beware of the\nconsequences if he broke his solemn promise to one of giant race.\n\nBy this time Loki was ready to promise anything to save his life, and\nso at length he found himself free.\n\nBruised and torn he made his way back to Odin and Hoenir, by whom he\nwas closely questioned concerning his adventures.\n\nBut Loki never hesitated to depart from the truth, and, knowing that\nit would not do to tell what he had promised, he answered glibly that\nthe eagle had captured him in mistake for someone else, and that when\nhe found out it was Red Loki himself, he had set him free, with many\nexpressions of sorrow for his error.\n\nSo the three Asas returned to Asgard, and from that moment Loki did\nnot cease to plot and plan the means by which he could entice Idun\noutside the gates.\n\nAnd indeed this was no easy matter, for the Apples of Youth were so\nprecious to the gods that Idun was well guarded by night and day.\nSometimes, however, even the Asas were off their guard, and that was\nthe opportunity for Loki.\n\nStrolling one day through the groves of Asgard, Loki found the\nbeautiful maiden all alone in a sunny corner playing at ball with her\ngolden fruit.\n\n\"Aha!\" cried he, approaching gently so as not to startle her, \"what a\nfair game thou playest here, maiden!\"\n\nBut Idun only smiled at him happily and went on tossing her apples.\n\nThen Loki pulled a long face, and came nearer, and said:\n\n\"Till this day, fair Idun, I had said that nowhere in the wide world\ngrew apples like thine. But now have I found a tree whereon the fruit\nis of finer gold, and of greater size than these, and a taste of it\nneeds not to be renewed again, but makes one young for evermore.\"\n\nThen Idun stopped playing and her blue eyes grew dark and stormy, for\nshe could not bear to think that her apples would no longer be the joy\nand delight of the Asas.\n\nBut then she remembered Loki's deceitful ways, and said: \"I believe\nthee not. This is one of thy tricks, Red Loki.\"\n\n\"Ho, you think so, do you?\" said the crafty one. \"Then come and see\nthem for yourself, and bring your own to compare with them.\"\n\n\"Are they near by?\" said Idun, rising doubtfully to her feet, and\nstill holding fast to the casket of fruit.\n\n\"Only just a little way off,\" replied Loki, and taking hold of her\nhand he drew her outside the thicket.\n\nOn and on they went, and when she asked where they were going he\nalways replied that the grove where the apples grew was just a little\nfarther than he had thought.\n\nAt length, without noticing that she had passed the boundaries, Idun\nstood outside the walls of Asgard on a dreary region of barren heath,\nand then she at last began to suspect mischief.\n\n\"Where am I?\" she cried, \"and where, O Loki, are the golden apples?\"\n\nBut she only heard the jeering ha! ha! ha! of the Asa as he returned\nto Asgard, and that was soon lost in the _whirr-r-r_ of wings as a\nmighty eagle, swooping down upon her, fixed his talons in her girdle\nand rose with her into the air.\n\nAnd this, of course, was Thiassi, the Storm Giant, who had been on the\nwatch for her all the time, and who now carried her off, casket and\nall, to the bleak and desolate abode over which he ruled. Well had it\nbeen said that Loki was at the bottom of all the misfortunes that ever\nbefell in Asgard. And never until the End of All Things would he work\nso dire a mischief again.\n\nPoor Idun grew pale and thin and sad in her captivity, but she would\nnot purchase freedom with a taste of the Apples of Youth, although the\nStorm Giant coaxed and begged and threatened by turns.\n\nFor a time the Asas took little notice of her absence, for they\nthought she was amusing herself somewhere in the sunny groves of\nAsgard and had forgotten her daily visit. Then they began to feel old\nand weary, and at first scarcely knew what was wrong.\n\nGlancing at each other they saw, with startled eyes, wrinkles and\nlines and grey hairs where these things were not wont to be. Their\nyouth and beauty were disappearing, and then they suddenly awoke to\nthe need of a thorough search for the missing Idun.\n\nAnd, when she could nowhere be found, All-Father Odin, mindful of\nformer tricks, sent for Red Loki and began very closely to question\nhim. Others had seen Idun in his company on that eventful day when she\nhad been carried away, and so, finding it impossible to keep the\nmatter hidden, Loki confessed, with a mocking laugh, that he had\nbetrayed her into the power of the Storm Giant.\n\nThen all the Asas arose in hot wrath and threatened Loki with death or\ntorture if he did not at once restore the beautiful Goddess of Youth\nwith her magic fruit. And at length, being fairly frightened, he\nundertook to bring her back, if Freya would lend him her falcon plumes\nthat he might disguise himself as a bird.\n\nThus equipped, Loki flew off to Giantland, and arrived, fortunately\nfor him, just as Thiassi had gone out a-fishing.\n\nHigh up at the window of a great stone castle fair Idun looked with\ntearful eyes upon the stormy sea, and, as she thought of the sunny\ngroves of Asgard, suddenly the plumage of a great falcon almost\nbrushed against her face. Drawing back in alarm, she saw the cunning\nred eyes of Loki looking at her from the bird's head.\n\n\"See how kind am I!\" he jeered. \"I am come to take thee back to\nAsgard.\"\n\nThen Idun almost wept for joy, till she remembered that she was a\nprisoner, and so cried pitifully:\n\n\"I cannot win forth from this cold stone tower, O Loki, and even if I\ncould, thou canst never carry me and my casket back to Asgard. And\nlo! I cannot outrun the wicked Storm Giant, and though the fruit be\nheavy, I will not leave it behind.\"\n\nThen Loki soothed her, and by his magic arts he changed her into a\nnut, which he took up in one talon, while the casket he carried with\nthe other, and so set off to fly back to Asgard.\n\nNow Thiassi, the Storm Giant, was ill at ease that day, for he felt\nthe pangs and pains of old age upon him as he went a-fishing. So he\ndetermined to return earlier than usual, in order to try once more to\nget the magic fruit from Idun.\n\nJudge then of his dismay when he found his prisoner flown!\n\nHastily transforming himself into an eagle, Thiassi began to scour the\nregions of the air, looking everywhere for the maiden, and before long\nhe noted the steady flight of a falcon towards the walls of Asgard.\n\nSweeping towards him through the air, the keen eyes of the eagle saw\nthe gleam of a golden casket in his talons, and he knew that it was an\nAsa who had come to the rescue of Idun.\n\nAnd now it seemed that Loki would be hard put to it to reach Asgard\nbefore he was overtaken; for the eagle swept through the air with his\ngreat wings much faster than the falcon could fly, and the Asas, who\nhad assembled on the battlements of the city to watch the race,\ntrembled for its issue.\n\nThen some of them remembered how once before they had played a trick\nupon the pursuer in a similar conflict, and they collected pine\nshavings in great abundance and piled them on the walls, and stood\nready to fire them when the moment came.\n\nOn, on flew Loki, hard beset; and close behind him came, with steady\nrush, the mighty eagle Thiassi. He was almost upon his prey as they\nneared the walls, but Loki made a last violent effort, which was\nsuccessful, and he fell exhausted into the midst of the Asas.\n\nAt the same moment the pile of fuel was lighted, and Thiassi, blinded\nwith smoke and singed with flame, dropped over the battlements, and\nthus fell an easy prey to his waiting enemies. In admiration of his\ngood race, however, the Asas placed his eyes as stars in the heavens,\nand there they shine to this day.\n\nSo the Apples of Youth returned to Asgard, and all the Asas hastened\nto eat of them and became young and beautiful again. And fair Idun\nonce more resumed her shape, and never again was tricked by wicked\nLoki, but played with her magic fruit in the golden groves of Asgard\ntill the End of All Things.\n\nAnd this is how the Apples of Youth were once very nearly lost to\nAsgard.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nHow the Fenris Wolf was Chained\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of\nhow the Fenris Wolf was chained._\n\n\nFair as were the meads of Asgard, we have seen that the Asa folk were\nfond of wandering far afield in other regions. Most restless of all\nwas Red Loki, that cunning fellow who was always bringing trouble upon\nhimself or upon his kindred. And because he loved evil, he would often\nbetake himself to the gloomy halls of Giantland and mingle with the\nwicked folk of that region.\n\nNow one day he met a hideous giantess named Angur-Boda. This creature\nhad a heart of ice, and because he loved ugliness and evil she had a\ngreat attraction for him, and in the end he married her, and they\nlived together in a horrible cave in Giantland.\n\nThree children were born to Loki and Angur-Boda in this dread abode,\nand they were even more terrible in appearance than their mother. The\nfirst was an immense wolf called Fenris, with a huge mouth filled with\nlong white teeth, which he was constantly gnashing together.\n\nThe second was a wicked-looking serpent with a fiery-tongue lolling\nfrom its mouth.\n\nThe third was a hideous giantess, partly blue and partly flesh-colour,\nwhose name was Hela.\n\nNo sooner were these three terrible children born than all the wise\nmen of the earth began to foretell the misery they would bring upon\nthe Asa folk.\n\nIn vain did Loki try to keep them hidden within the cave wherein\ntheir mother dwelt. They soon grew so immense in size that no dwelling\nwould contain them, and all the world began to talk of their frightful\nappearance.\n\nIt was not long, of course, before All-Father Odin, from his high seat\nin Asgard, heard of the children of Loki. So he sent for some of the\nAsas, and said:\n\n\"Much evil will come upon us, O my children, from this giant brood, if\nwe defend not ourselves against them. For their mother will teach them\nwickedness, and still more quickly will they learn the cunning wiles\nof their father. Fetch me them here, therefore, that I may deal with\nthem forthwith.\"\n\nSo, after somewhat of a struggle, the Asas captured the three\ngiant-children and brought them before Odin's judgment-seat.\n\nThen Odin looked first at Hela, and when he saw her gloomy eyes, full\nof misery and despair, he was sorry, and dealt kindly with her,\nsaying: \"Thou art the bringer of Pain to man, and Asgard is no place\nfor such as thou. But I will make thee ruler of the Mist Home, and\nthere shalt thou rule over that unlighted world, the Region of the\nDead.\"\n\nForthwith he sent her away over rough roads to the cold, dark region\nof the North called the Mist Home. And there did Hela rule over a grim\ncrew, for all those who had done wickedness in the world above were\nimprisoned by her in those gloomy regions. To her came also all those\nwho had died, not on the battlefield, but of old age or disease. And\nthough these were treated kindly enough, theirs was a joyless life in\ncomparison with that of the dead warriors who were feasting and\nfighting in the halls of Valhalla, under the kindly rule of All-Father\nOdin.\n\nHaving thus disposed of Hela, Odin next turned his attention to the\nserpent. And when he saw his evil tongue and cunning, wicked eyes, he\nsaid:\n\n\"Thou art he who bringest Sin into the world of men; therefore the\nocean shall be thy home for ever.\"\n\nThen he threw that horrid serpent into the deep sea which surrounds\nall lands, and there the creature grew so fast that when he stretched\nhimself one day he encircled all the earth, and held his own tail fast\nin his mouth. And sometimes he grew angry to think that he, the son of\na god, had thus been cast out; and at those times he would writhe with\nhis huge body and lash his tail till the sea spouted up to the sky.\nAnd when that happened the men of the North said that a great tempest\nwas raging. But it was only the Serpent-son of Loki writhing in his\nwrath.\n\nThen Odin turned to the third child. And behold! the Fenris Wolf was\nso appalling to look upon that Odin feared to cast him forth, and he\ndecided to endeavour to tame him by kindness so that he should not\nwish them ill.\n\nBut when he bade them carry food to the Fenris Wolf, not one of the\nAsas would do so, for they feared a snap from his great jaws. Only the\nbrave Tyr had courage enough to feed him, and the wolf ate so much and\nso fast that the business took him all his time. Meantime, too, the\nFenris grew so rapidly, and became so fierce, that the gods were\ncompelled to take counsel and consider how they should get rid of him.\nThey remembered that it would make their peaceful halls unholy if they\nwere to slay him, and so they resolved instead to bind him fast, that\nhe should be unable to do them harm.\n\nSo those of the Asa folk who were clever smiths set to work and made a\nvery strong, thick chain; and when it was finished they carried it out\nto the yard where the wolf dwelt, and said to him, as though in jest:\n\n\"Here is a fine proof of thy boasted strength, O Fenris. Let us bind\nthis about thee, that we may see if thou canst break it asunder.\"\n\nThen the wolf gave a great grin with his wide jaws, and came and stood\nstill that they might bind the chain about him; for he knew what he\ncould do. And it came to pass that directly they had fastened the\nchain, and had slipped aside from him, the great beast gave himself a\nshake, and the chain fell about him in little bits.\n\nAt this the Asas were much annoyed, but they tried not to show it, and\npraised him for his strength.\n\nThen they set to work again upon a chain much stronger than the last,\nand brought it to the Fenris Wolf, saying:\n\n\"Great will be thy renown, O Fenris, if thou canst break this chain as\nthou didst the last.\"\n\nBut the wolf looked at them askance, for the chain they brought was\nvery much thicker than the one he had already broken. He reflected,\nhowever, that since that time he himself had grown stronger and\nbigger, and moreover, that one must risk something in order to win\nrenown.\n\nSo he let them put the chain upon him, and when the Asas said that all\nwas ready, he gave a good shake and stretched himself a few times, and\nagain the fetters lay in fragments on the ground.\n\nThen the gods began to fear that they would never hold the wolf in\nbonds; and it was All-Father Odin who persuaded them to make one more\nattempt.\n\nSo they sent a messenger to Dwarfland bidding him ask the Little Men\nto make a chain which nothing could possibly destroy.\n\nSetting at once to work, the clever little smiths soon fashioned a\nslender silken rope, and gave it to the messenger, saying that no\nstrength could break it, and that the more it was strained the\nstronger it would become.\n\nIt was made of the most mysterious things--the sound of a cat's\nfootsteps, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath\nof fishes, and other such strange materials, which only the dwarfs\nknew how to use.\n\nWith this chain the messenger hastened back over the Rainbow Bridge to\nAsgard.\n\nBy this time the Fenris Wolf had grown too big for his yard, so he\nlived on a rocky island in the middle of the lake that lies in the\nmidst of Asgard. And here the Asas now betook themselves with their\nchain, and began to play their part with wily words.\n\n\"See,\" they cried, \"O Fenris! Here is a cord so soft and thin that\nnone would think of it binding such strength as thine.\"\n\nAnd they laughed great laughs, and handed it to one another, and tried\nits strength by pulling at it with all their might, but it did not\nbreak.\n\nThen they came nearer and used more wiles, saying:\n\n\"We cannot break the cord, though 'tis stronger than it looks, but\nthou, O mighty one, will be able to snap it in a moment.\"\n\nBut the wolf tossed his head in scorn, and said:\n\n\"Small renown would there be to me, O Asa folk, if I were to break yon\nslender string. Save, therefore, your breath, and leave me now alone.\"\n\n\"Aha!\" cried the Asas. \"Thou fearest the might of the silken cord,\nthou false one, and that is why thou wilt not let us bind thee!\"\n\n\"Not I,\" said the Fenris Wolf, growing rather suspicious, \"but if it\nis made with craft and guile it shall never come near my feet.\"\n\n\"But,\" said the Asas, \"thou wilt surely be able to break this silken\ncord with ease, since thou hast already broken the great iron\nfetters.\"\n\nTo this the wolf made no answer, pretending not to hear.\n\n\"Come!\" said the Asas again, \"why shouldst thou fear? For even if thou\ncouldst not break the cord we would immediately let thee free again.\nTo refuse is a coward's piece of work.\"\n\nThen the wolf gnashed his teeth at them in anger, and said:\n\n\"Well I know you Asas! For if you bind me so fast that I cannot get\nloose you will skulk away, and it will be long before I get any help\nfrom you; and therefore am I loth to let this band be laid upon me.\"\n\nBut still the Asas continued to persuade him and to twit him with\ncowardice, until at length the Fenris Wolf said, with a sullen growl:\n\n\"Have it your own way then. But, as a pledge that this is done without\ndeceit, let one of you lay his hand in my mouth while you are binding\nme, and afterwards while I try to break the bonds.\"\n\nThen the Asa folk looked at one another in dismay, for they knew very\nwell what this would mean.\n\nAnd while they consulted together the wolf stood gnashing his teeth at\nthem with a horrid grin.\n\nAt length Tyr the Brave hesitated no longer. Boldly he stalked up to\nthe wolf and thrust his arm into his enormous mouth, bidding the Asas\nbind fast the beast. Scarce had they done so when the wolf began to\nstrain and pull, but the more he did so the tighter and suffer the\nrope became.\n\nThe gods shouted and laughed with glee when they saw how all his\nefforts were in vain. But Tyr did not join in their mirth, for the\nwolf in his rage snapped his great teeth together and bit off his hand\nat the wrist.\n\nNow when the Asas discovered that the animal was fast bound, they took\nthe chain which was fixed to the rope and drew it through a huge\nrock, and fastened this rock deep down in the earth, so that it could\nnever be moved. And this they fastened to another great rock which was\ndriven still deeper into the ground.\n\nWhen the Fenris Wolf found that he had been thus secured he opened his\nmouth terribly wide, and twisted himself right and left, and tried his\nbest to bite the Asa folk. He uttered, moreover, such terrible howls\nthat at length the gods could bear it no longer. So they took a sword\nand thrust it into his mouth, so that the hilt rested on his lower,\nand the point against his upper jaw. And there he was doomed to remain\nuntil the end of All Things shall come, when he\n\n    \"Freed from the Chain\n    Shall range the Earth.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nHow the Pride of Thor was Brought low\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how the\nPride of Thor was once brought low._\n\n\nFrom the sunny heights of Asgard the Asa folk were wont to look upon\nthe earth and to take pleasure in its welfare and in the happiness of\nits people. But all too often they saw with dismay that the Frost\nGiants from their cold Northern home of ice and snow sent forth cruel\nblasts which nipped the buds, withered the flowers of spring, and\nsaddened the hearts of men. So, one day, that mighty Asa who is called\nThor determined to go forth and teach these Giant folk how to behave\nthemselves better. Calling for his chariot of brass, which was drawn\nby two mighty goats, from whose teeth and hoofs sparks continually\nflew, he was about to drive away, when Red Loki came running up and\nbegged to be taken too.\n\nTo this Thor agreed, for he had rather a liking for Loki, in spite of\nhis mischievous tricks, and in a few minutes they were hurtling\nthrough the air at a great rate.\n\nAll day long they drove, and at evening time reached the borders of\nGiantland, where stood the hut of a poor peasant. Seeing this, the two\nAsas determined to try to obtain shelter for the night.\n\nThe peasant was a good-hearted fellow, and gladly welcomed them under\nhis roof; but he had only a bit of black bread to offer them for\nsupper, and this was by no means a satisfactory meal for two hungry\ngods.\n\nBut Thor was quite equal to the occasion.\n\n\"Fear not,\" said he kindly, \"I will provide meat in plenty for you and\nyour family as well as for ourselves.\"\n\nThen he went out, killed his two goats, cut them up and threw them\ninto a great cauldron, which the peasant's wife, at his request, had\nset to boil upon the fire. The skins, meantime, he spread with care\nupon the floor.\n\nThe stew was soon cooked to perfection, whereupon Thor invited the man\nand his wife and children to eat as much as they would.\n\n\"Be careful, however,\" said he, \"not to break a single bone, but to\nthrow them all into the skins spread out on the floor.\"\n\nThis they promised to do, but during the meal Red Loki, wishing to see\nwhat would happen if they disobeyed, persuaded the boy, Thialfi, the\npeasant's son, to break one of the bones in order to suck out the\nmarrow, saying that no one could possibly know that he had done so.\nThen they lay down to sleep, the bones of the animals wrapped in the\ngoat skins being upon the floor.\n\nNext morning, just before daybreak, Thor arose, and, having stretched\nhimself, took up his mighty hammer and gave the goat skins a tap.\nImmediately the goats sprang up, as much alive as ever they were, and\nperfectly well, save that one of them limped.\n\nThen Thor knew at once that his commands had been disobeyed, and the\nwhole household soon knew it too. His brows sank over his eyes, and he\ngrasped his hammer so hard that his knuckles grew white. The terrified\npeasant fell down on his face before him; and when Thor lifted the\nhammer to destroy him the whole household wept aloud and begged for\nmercy, promising to give him all they had in the world as an\natonement.\n\nWhen Thor saw their terror, his anger left him, and he agreed to take\nas a ransom the children of the peasant, a boy and girl, called\nThialfi and Roskva. And they became his servants, and have been always\nin his company since that time.\n\nLeaving his goats in charge of the peasant, Thor went forward towards\nGiantland, accompanied by Loki and the two children; and the boy\nThialfi, who was the fleetest of foot of all living creatures, carried\nThor's bag.\n\nAfter walking all day through a bleak and barren country wrapped in a\nthick mist, they came at nightfall to a great wood, which seemed to\noffer neither provisions, nor roof to shelter under for the night.\n\nAt length, after searching about for a very long time, they came to\nwhat seemed to be a large hall of misty and uncertain shape, the door\nof which was as wide as the whole building.\n\nSo they entered, and, finding everything within empty and dark, they\ndetermined to go no farther, and stretched themselves, hungry and\nweary as they were, upon the ground.\n\nIn the middle of the night they were awakened by what seemed to be a\ngreat earthquake. The earth trembled beneath them and the house shook.\n\nCalling upon his companions, Thor arose, and fearing lest the roof\nshould fall upon them he drew them into an inner room and, seating\nhimself in the doorway, took up his hammer and prepared to defend\nhimself and them, if anything should befall. But nothing further\nhappened save a renewed trembling of the ground and a curious,\nregularly recurring sound, like a loud groan or roar.\n\nWhen it began to grow light Thor went out and saw, not far off, a huge\ngiant lying on the ground fast asleep; and he understood that it was\nhis snores which had caused the ground to shake and which had sounded\nlike a roar or groan.\n\nSuddenly the giant awoke and sprang up, so quickly that Loki and the\nchildren, who had followed Thor, jumped behind a tree. But Thor, who\nwas afraid of nothing, only grasped his hammer tightly and asked his\nname.\n\n\"I am called Skrymir,\" said the giant, looking down at him, and,\ncatching sight of his hammer, of which all in heaven and earth had\nheard, he went on: \"I don't need to ask _your_ name, for I see you are\nThor. But what have you done with my glove?\"\n\nAs he said these last words, he stretched out a huge hand and picked\nup his glove, which Thor, to his great astonishment, found to be the\nhouse in which he had spent the night; and the inner room was the\nplace for the thumb.\n\nHearing that they were on their way towards Giantland, Skrymir asked\nif he might accompany them; and as he seemed a good-natured fellow\nthey agreed. But first they sat down to eat their breakfast.\n\nSkrymir ate his huge meal out of a great provision sack, and eyed with\nmuch merriment the wallet which held the food of Thor and his\ncompanions.\n\n\"'Tis like a little toy,\" said he; but Thialfi answered crossly:\n\n\"Toy it may be to you, but it has made my shoulders ache very finely,\nI can tell you. I could hardly sleep all night for the pain.\"\n\nThen Skrymir laughed, and took the bag and put it into his sack,\nslinging the whole over his shoulder as if it had been a\nfeather-weight.\n\nAfter this they all set off together, and that day they covered an\nimmense distance, for the giant took such huge strides that they had\nto run the whole time in order to keep up with him.\n\nWhen it grew dark, Skrymir led them into a vast wood where no\nhabitation was to be found, and bade them take up their quarters under\na huge oak. The others were weary and hungry beyond words, for they\nhad not stopped all day either to eat or rest; but Skrymir seemed only\nsleepy, and was preparing to begin his snores when Loki, whom fasting\nhad put decidedly out of temper, sharply reminded him that they had\nhad no supper. Pushing the great sack over to them, the giant sleepily\nreplied that they were welcome to all that it contained, and\nimmediately fell into a deep slumber.\n\nBut when Loki tried to undo the mouth of the sack he could not get one\nknot loosened, nor could he even get one of the strings to stir. Then\nThor tried with all his strength, but could do nothing. This was a\nserious matter, for they were all starving with hunger by this time;\nso Thor, in a great rage, snatched up his hammer in both hands,\nstepped up to where Skrymir was lying and dashed the hammer, with all\nhis force, at his head.\n\nAt this blow, which would have smashed the skull of most men, the\ngiant drowsily opened one eye, saying: \"Did a leaf fall on my head\njust now? Good-night to all of you. I suppose you have now had your\nsupper and are going to bed.\"\n\nAt this the Asas were so astonished that they meekly replied that they\nwere just going to do that very thing. And they went and lay down\nunder another oak. But there was no sleep for them, for, besides their\nfear and hunger, the whole wood resounded with the giant's snores, so\nthat it seemed as though it thundered all the time.\n\nAt last Thor could stand it no longer, so he went over to him, and\nswinging his hammer with all his skill brought it down with such a\ncrash that he knew by the feel of it that it had sunk deep into the\nhead.\n\nBut the giant only turned over, saying sleepily: \"What was that? Did\nan acorn fall upon my head? How is it with you, friend Thor?\"\n\nThen Thor answered hastily that he had only just waked up, and that it\nwas midnight and still time to sleep.\n\nThe god was now alarmed, and he decided that, if it were possible, he\nwould get in a third blow which should put an end altogether to the\nmost extraordinary companion he had ever had.\n\nSo he lay watching for Skrymir to go fast asleep again, and shortly\nbefore daybreak his chance came.\n\nCreeping up, he clutched the hammer with all his might and dashed it\nat the giant's temples with such force that it sank up to the handle.\n\nScarcely had he time to pull it out again than Skrymir sat up and\nbegan to yawn, rubbing his eyes and stroking his temples and saying:\n\n\"Are there any birds sitting in the tree above me? I thought, as I\nwoke up, that some moss from the branches fell upon my head. Ho,\nthere! Thor, are you awake? You seem to be moving early this morning.\nLet us all get up and continue our journey, for we are now not far\nfrom Giant Town.\"\n\nFilled with astonished dismay at the failure of his attempts, Thor\nroused his companions, and all set off, hungry and dispirited, at the\ngiant's heels. Presently they began to whisper together as to the\nevents of the night, and of the enormous strength and size of their\ncompanion, but after awhile Skrymir looked down at them and said:\n\n\"We have now come to two ways; mine goes to the north where you see\nyon mountains; yours, if you still wish to reach Giant Town, lies\nthere to the east. So here we part company, but first let me give you\nsome useful advice.\n\n\"I have heard you whispering to one another that I am not small of\nstature; but when you come to Giant Town you will see greater folk\nstill. So do not brag too much of your own powers, for the Giant folk\nwill not put up with the boasting of such insignificant little fellows\nas you be.\n\n\"But if you want to be quite wise, turn back now to your own place,\nfor that is the best thing you can do.\"\n\nSo saying, Skrymir shouldered his great sack and, turning his back\nupon them, went off through the forest with such huge strides that he\nwas soon lost to sight.\n\nNow Loki was much disposed to follow the advice of the giant and turn\nback to Asgard, but of this Thor would not hear. So they continued\ntheir journey until noonday, when they saw before them a great town\nstanding in the midst of an immense plain. The walls and gates of the\ntown were so high that they had to bend their necks right back before\nthey could see to the top of them, and when they came nearer still\nthey found the gate was fast shut.\n\nBut this gate had bars, and was made to keep in the Giant folk, not to\nkeep out smaller people, of whose visits they had never thought. So\nthe two Asas and their servants found little difficulty in creeping\nthrough the bars, and so getting into the town.\n\nThe first thing they saw was a great hall, towards which they went,\nand finding the door open they entered, and saw in the centre of it\ntwo benches, enormously high and wide, upon which sat a number of\ngiants. In their midst, upon a platform high as the roof of an\nordinary house, sat the King of the Giants, to whom they advanced and\nmade their bows. At first the King looked about on the floor as though\nthey were too small for him to see, but at length he cast a scornful\nglance upon them, and with a grin that showed all his teeth, said:\n\n\"Is this little fellow the great god Thor, of whom we have heard so\nmuch? Perhaps, however, you are bigger in strength than in size. Now,\nfor what feats are you and your companions prepared? For you must know\nthis, that no one is allowed to stay here unless he be more skilled\nin some craft or accomplishment than any other man.\"\n\nAt this Red Loki, who was so dreadfully hungry that he scarcely knew\nwhat he was saying, called out: \"I know what I can do better than\nanyone else! I will soon prove that there is no one present who can\neat his food faster than I can.\"\n\nThen said the King of the Giants: \"That is a feat to be proud of, if\nyou speak the truth, and you shall try it immediately.\"\n\nSo he called from the bench a man called Logi, and bade him come out\non the floor and try his strength against Loki.\n\nThe others took a huge trough full of meat and set it on the floor,\nand they put Logi at one end and Loki at the other.\n\nBoth of them ate as fast as they possibly could, and met in the middle\nof the trough. But though Loki had such an immense appetite, and had\neaten every scrap of meat off the bones, Logi had eaten up the flesh\nand the bones and the trough as well.\n\nSo Loki had to confess that he had been beaten.\n\nThen the Giant-King looked at the boy Thialfi and asked: \"What use is\nthat lad in heaven or earth?\"\n\nAnd Thialfi answered that he would run faster than anyone whom the\nGiant-King liked to name.\n\n\"That is a good feat,\" said the King, \"but it is to be hoped you can\nrun _really_ fast, for you will have something to do to win this\nrace.\"\n\nSo saying he took them outside, where there was an excellent\nracecourse along the flat plain; and he called up a young man, whose\nname was Hugi, and bade him run a race with Thialfi.\n\nIn the first heat of that race, although Hugi ran so fast, yet, when\nhe turned to run back, he met Thialfi face to face. Then the King of\nthe Giants encouraged the lad, saying: \"Never before has come anyone\nhither who was swifter of foot than you.\"\n\nThen they ran the second heat, and when Hugi reached the goal, Thialfi\nwas three quarters of the way thither.\n\nThen said the giant: \"Well run, Thialfi; yet I do not think that you\nwill win this race. However, we shall see what happens in the third\nheat.\"\n\nWhen this was run, Hugi had reached the goal and turned back again ere\npoor Thialfi was barely halfway there.\n\nAt this all the giants began to applaud Hugi, saying that he had\nfairly won the race; and Thialfi was obliged to go sadly away.\n\nThe King of the Giants next inquired what feats Thor could show to\nprove the truth of the tales men told of his great strength; and the\nAsa, who was now very thirsty, and at all times a mighty man at the\nbowl, said that he would drink deeper than anyone in the whole world.\n\nSo they returned to the hall, where the King called upon his\ncup-bearer to bring the horn out of which his valiant giants drank;\nand this was filled with ale and handed to Thor.\n\nThen said the King of the Giants: \"With us 'tis thought that the man\nis a good drinker who empties this horn at one draught; he who takes\nit off in two is but moderately thirsty; but he who cannot empty it in\nthree is but a wretched drinker, and not worthy of the name.\"\n\nThor looked at the horn, and thinking within himself: \"This is not a\ndifficult task, for the horn, though it seems deep, is not very\nlarge,\" took a drink which he quite thought would have drained the\nvessel. But when he could drink no longer, for lack of breath, he\nlooked in the horn, and there was the ale still brimming over the\nedge.\n\nThen the giant chuckled and said: \"Well drunk, good Thor, but you have\nby no means emptied the horn. It seems to me, indeed, that men have\nboasted too much of your fine deeds. I would not have believed that\nyou would have taken so long to drink up the ale. However, I don't\ndoubt you will finish it at the second draught.\"\n\nThor reddened with wrath at these scoffing words, and took up the\nhorn, intending to drink the ale to the last dregs. But, try as he\nwould, he could not get the end of the horn to tip up completely, and\nwhen he set it down it seemed to him that he had drunk less than at\nthe first time. Yet some difference had been made, for the horn could\nnow be carried without spilling.\n\n\"Ha! ha!\" laughed the giant. \"Is this your skill, good Thor? Are you\nnot leaving rather much for your third draught? It looks to me as if\nthat will have to be the greatest of them all.\"\n\nThen Thor got very angry indeed, and, setting the horn to his mouth,\ndrank with all his might and main, so that when he could do no more\nand had set it down again, the ale had certainly grown less.\n\n\"Ha! ha!\" roared the giant. \"They think too highly of you in the world\nabove, my little Thor. Now what other game would you like to try?\"\n\n\"Whatever you like,\" answered Thor very grumpily, for none of the Asas\nliked being laughed at.\n\nSo the giant said: \"Young lads here think it nothing but play to lift\nmy cat up from the ground, and I should never have suggested such a\nfeat to the strength of Asa Thor had I not discovered that he is much\nless of a man than I thought.\"\n\nThen he called: \"Puss! Puss!\" in a voice that shook the house; upon\nwhich an enormous grey cat sprang forth on the floor before them.\n\nRather annoyed at being asked to do such an easy thing, Thor went over\nto the animal, put his arm round it and tried to lift it up. But the\nmore he tugged and strained the more the cat arched its back, so that\nhis strength was exerted vainly; and in the end, when he was black in\nthe face with the efforts he had made, he had only succeeded in\nlifting up one paw.\n\nThen the giant repeated his scornful laugh, saying: \"That's just as I\nexpected. The cat is rather large, and Thor is small--tiny, indeed,\ncompared with the great men who are here with us.\"\n\n\"Tiny, indeed!\" roared Thor, in great wrath. \"Let anyone you like come\nand wrestle with me and I will show you if my strength is as tiny as\nyou seem to think.\"\n\nAt this the giant pretended to look about him on the benches, saying:\n\"I don't see anyone here who would not think it beneath him to wrestle\nwith such a puny fellow. Let me see! Let me see! Ah! call hither my\nold nurse, Elli, and let Thor wrestle with her if he wants to. She has\nthrown to the ground before now men who thought themselves as strong\nas this little Thor.\"\n\nAt his call there came into the hall an old woman--so old that Thor\nrefused at first to close with her. But the giants mocked him so that\nat length he seized her round the waist. Yet the tighter he grasped\nher the firmer she stood. At length she began to grip him in her turn.\nThor lost his footing almost at once and, though he wrestled\nvaliantly, she brought him on to his knee.\n\nAt this the giant interfered, saying that no more was necessary to\nshow who was the stronger, and that it was getting too late for any\nmore such contests. Then he bade them seat themselves at supper, and\nafter a royal feast conducted them to their beds with the kindest\nhospitality. But Thor spent all that night in bitterness, for his\npride had been brought very low.\n\nAt daybreak next morning the Asas and their companions arose and\nprepared to depart. Before they set out, however, their host appeared\non the scene and insisted upon their eating a hearty breakfast, after\nwhich he offered to show them the most direct way out of the city.\n\nAs they set out, the Giant-King grew strangely silent and thoughtful\nand did not speak to them until they stood outside the gates. Then as\nthey were about to bid him farewell, he suddenly asked Thor how he\nthought his journey had turned out.\n\nTo this Thor, deeply humbled and mortified by all that had occurred,\nsaid that he felt much disgraced at the knowledge that henceforth the\ngiants would call him a man of little account. But to his intense\nsurprise the giant shook his head, saying: \"Had I my way, you should\nnever enter this city again, and if I had known before how strong you\nwere, you should never have come into it, for you have very nearly\nbrought utter ruin upon us all.\n\n\"Know then, first of all, that I have deceived you with magical\ndelusions the whole time. For I was that giant Skrymir who met you in\nthe woods, and who tied up the mouth of the provision sack with\ninvisible iron threads, so that you could not unloose it.\n\n\"That same night you struck with your hammer three great blows upon my\nhead, the least of which would have made an end of me if it had hit\nme. But in the darkness I managed each time to bring a mountain\nbetween me and your hammer without your seeing it; and if you want to\nsee the marks you made in it you have but to look at that mountain\nabove my city, with its top cloven into three great dales.\n\n\"Next, when you came to my hall, Loki contested with Logi, my\ncourtier, as to who should eat the fastest. But he whose name was Logi\nis really _Fire_, and in consequence he could eat up trough and bones\nand all in no time. When Thialfi ran his race, he ran against Hugi,\nwho is no other than _Thought_, and no one, of course, can run as fast\nas he.\n\n\"When you yourself drank from that horn, then indeed was seen a marvel\nwhich I should never have thought possible. You did not see that one\nend of the horn stood in the sea, which you were drinking all the\ntime. And when you reach the shore you will see how much the sea has\nebbed by your draughts.\n\n\"Nor was it less marvellous to me that you lifted up the paw of the\ncat. For that cat was none other than the Serpent which lies around\nthe whole earth with its tail in its mouth. When it took the form of a\ncat you lifted it so that it was obliged to arch itself almost up to\nthe sky; and then we all trembled, for we feared that you would pull\nit altogether out of the sea.\n\n\"Your struggle with Elli was perhaps the most amazing of all. For she\nis _Old Age_, of whom none has ever got the better.\n\n\"And now depart, O Asa folk, and 'twill be better for us both if we\nnever see each other again.\"\n\nNow when Thor heard how he had been tricked, he grasped his hammer\nwith intent to dash both the giant and his city in pieces. But when he\nlooked for them, both had disappeared, and he found himself standing\nwith his companions in the midst of a large plain, on which was no\nsign of habitation.\n\nThen he knew that the power of the Giant folk would not yield to\nforce, and thinking of their strange adventures Thor and his\ncompanions returned to Asgard.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nHow Thor's Hammer was Lost and Found\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nThor's Hammer was lost and found._\n\n\nMost precious in the eyes of Thor was his magic hammer, Mi\u00f6lnir, of\nwhich even the mighty Frost Giants stood in dread.\n\nAlways he laid it by his side when he went to rest, and always it was\nthe first thing for which his hand was outstretched when he awoke.\nJudge then of his horror and dismay when, on opening his eyes one\nmorning, the hammer was nowhere to be seen.\n\nStarting up with a roar of rage, Thor commenced to search everywhere\nfor the missing weapon. Up and down his wonderful palace, built of the\nthunder clouds, he tramped, with a noise that shook the whole city of\nAsgard. But the hammer was not to be found.\n\nThen he called upon golden-haired Sif, his wife, and bade her help in\nthe search; and still the hammer was nowhere to be seen. It was clear\nthat someone must have stolen it, and, when he realised this, Thor's\nwrath broke all bounds. His bristling red hair and beard stood up on\nend, and from them flew a whole volley of fiery sparks.\n\nPresently, as the angry Asa was shaking the palace with his thunderous\nvoice, Red Loki came along to inquire into the trouble. He was not\nlikely to sympathise with Thor, but, always brimful of curiosity, he\nloved to have a part in everything that happened.\n\n\"What's the matter, Asa Thor?\" said he; and Thor replied, lowering his\nvoice as he spoke, for he did not want his loss to be too widely\nknown:\n\n\"Now listen to what I tell thee, Loki--'tis a thing which is known\nneither on earth below nor in heaven above. My hammer's gone.\"\n\nThis news was most interesting to Loki, who had long owed Thor a\ngrudge, which he was afraid to pay openly. \"Ho, ho!\" said he. \"Then\nshall we soon have the giants turning us out of Asgard, brother Thor.\"\n\n\"Not if you use your wits as you know how,\" growled Thor, still in a\nvery bad temper. \"Come, you call yourself a clever fellow. Find out\nfor me who has robbed me of my thunderbolt, my hammer, my Mi\u00f6lnir.\"\n\nThen Loki gave a grin and a wink, and promised to do what he\ncould--not because he cared for Thor, but because he loved to be of\nimportance, and was, moreover, really frightened as to what might\nhappen to Asgard if the magic hammer was not at hand.\n\nIt was not long before he noticed that an extraordinary kind of\ntempest was raging in the regions below--not an orderly kind of\ntempest, with first some thunder, and then some rain, and then a gust\nof wind or two, such as Thor was wont to arrange, but a mixture of\nhail and wind and thunder and lightning and rain and snow, all raging\ntogether in a tremendous muddle, so that the earth folk thought the\nend of the world was come.\n\nThis gave Loki a hint, and he began to peer about between the clouds,\nuntil at length he saw that the trouble was coming from a certain hill\nwhich stood in the centre of Giantland.\n\nNow on the top of this hill lived a certain Thrym, prince of the Frost\nGiants, who for a long time past had been very envious of the might of\nThor. He had, indeed, done his best to imitate him as far as he could,\nand had managed to get up a very good imitation of lightning and hail\nand rain; but he had not been able to manage the thunderbolts, for\nthey could only be made by means of Thor's hammer, Mi\u00f6lnir.\n\nAll this was well known to Red Loki, and he was therefore not at all\nsurprised to find that, somehow or other, Thrym must have got hold of\nthe magic weapon; for here were thunderbolts crashing about the earth\nand sky at a terrible rate.\n\nWhen informed of the discovery, Thor flew into a still more tremendous\nrage, and wanted to rush off at once to try conclusions with the\ngiant. But Loki, who loved rather to get a thing by trickery and\ndeceit, persuaded him that violence would never do.\n\n\"Remember,\" said he, \"that Thrym _with_ the hammer is much stronger\nthan Thor without it. This is a matter which must be managed by clever\nwit and craft, not by force and loud talking. Leave therefore the\nwhole matter to me.\"\n\nTo this Thor very reluctantly agreed.\n\nThen Loki bethought him of some disguise wherein he might visit\nGiantland in safety, for he was not at all anxious to risk his life.\nHe betook himself to the House of Maidens, over which ruled Freya,\nfairest of all in Asgard, she who was wont to shake the spring flowers\nfrom her golden locks as she passed over the frozen uplands, leaving\nbehind her a region of green and smiling beauty. Loki found the\ngoddess, and begged the loan of her magic falcon plumes, in which she\nwas wont to flit to and fro over the earth; and when she learnt for\nwhat purpose he needed them she gladly assented.\n\nThen Loki took the appearance of a great brown bird, and spreading his\nwings he flew away towards Giantland.\n\nIt was a long journey, as he already knew, and, although the tempest\nhad now ceased to rage, he found the country of the giants darker and\ncolder and drearier than ever.\n\nThe longest journey comes to an end, and at length Loki reached a\nmountain where sat the Giant Thrym, his huge legs dangling to the\nground, playing with a puppy as large as an elephant.\n\nPerching as near as he dared, Loki gazed at the giant with his bright,\nround eyes, and was wondering how to begin, when Thrym, who, at a\nglance, had seen completely through his disguise, said calmly, in a\nvoice as much as possible like Thor's thunderous roar: \"Oh, ho! Loki,\nwhat are you doing so far from Asgard? Are you not afraid, little\nfellow as you are, to venture alone into our country?\"\n\nThen Loki, thinking to win his way by flattery, replied: \"Sad indeed\nis it in Asgard, now that Mi\u00f6lnir has vanished. Clever was that one\nwho spirited it away from the very side of Thor. Methinks none but you\ncould have done it, O mighty Thrym!\"\n\nPleased with the compliment to his cleverness the giant chuckled\nbefore admitting: \"Ay, Loki, the hammer is mine, 'tis very true; and\nnow men will know who really is the Thunderer.\"\n\n\"Ah well!\" sighed cunning Loki, \"some men are strong by reason of\ntheir weapons, and some are just as strong without. Small need have\nyou, O mighty Thrym, for hammers, but Thor is naught without it. Yet,\nsince all the world knows that you are his master, let him have his\nplaything back, that we may cease to be troubled by his peevish\noutcry.\"\n\nBut though Thrym was as stupid as he was big, he was not to be caught\nthus.\n\n\"No, no, my little Loki,\" he said. \"Mine is the hammer, and deep have\nI buried it beneath the bottom of the sea. Go, tell this to your Asa\nfolk, and say to them that I will give it back on one condition\nonly--and that is, that they send me Freya, that fairest of maidens,\nto be my wife.\"\n\nAt this suggestion Loki could scarcely keep from laughing, for the\nidea of sending the beautiful Freya, the joy and delight of Asgard, to\nbe the wife of this ill-favoured Frost Giant was too absurd for\nwords.\n\nIt was not much to him, however, what happened to anyone except\nhimself, so he hastened to reply: \"Be sure, O Thrym, that everything I\ncan do to further the matter shall be done. And if Freya is of the\nsame mind as I you will soon be welcoming that most sweet maiden to\nGiantland--farewell!\"\n\nSo saying, he spread his brown wings and flew back to Asgard,\ndelighted to think of the mischief he could now set brewing.\n\nFirst of all he visited Thor, and told him of what had passed. And the\nThunderer, when he heard of Thrym's boastful words, was filled with\nwild wrath and wanted to start off, then and there, and wrest the\nhammer from the depths of the sea. But Loki pointed out the\ndifficulties that stood in the way and, leaving the Asa to ponder over\nhis words, he hurried off to Freya and informed her of Thrym's\nproposal.\n\nThe beautiful Freya was walking in her garden, and round her neck she\nwore her famous necklet of stars. When she heard Loki's suggestion\nthat she should wed a hideous giant she fell into such a rage that she\nbroke her necklace, and all the stars went falling through the sky, so\nthat men cried: \"See how the stars are shooting!\"\n\nMeantime the Asa folk had met together to consider all that had\nhappened, and, having calmed the fury of Thor, they pointed out to him\nthat Asgard stood in the gravest danger of an attack which would find\nthem quite unprotected. When they had said this several times over,\nThor began to weary of the subject, and he replied with great\nsurliness: \"Very well, then. Let Freya go to Thrym as his wife, and\nthen shall we be as before, with Mi\u00f6lnir to defend us.\"\n\nWhen Freya heard this, her rage turned to tears and lamentations, and\nshe declared that it would be death to her to send her to the gloomy\nhalls of Giantland, whence she could never hope to revisit the flowery\nmeads and grassy slopes of Asgard. And the Asas, unable to bear the\nsight of her grief, with one voice declared that they would never\nspare her from the Home of Bliss.\n\nThen there stepped forward Heimdall, the watchman who sits on guard\nover the Rainbow Bridge by night and day.\n\nNow Heimdall had the gift of seeing into the future, and the Asas were\nalways ready to hear his words, well knowing them to be wise.\n\n\"My plan is this,\" said he. \"Let Thor borrow the clothes of Freya and\nput a thick veil over his face; and let him go thus to Thrym's castle\nand pass for his bride. And if he cannot by some means manage to get\nhold of the hammer when he is there--why, he must give it up\naltogether.\"\n\nAt this suggestion the Asas clapped their hands with approval--all,\nindeed, save Thor, who looked most glum, and was extremely unwilling\nto agree to the plan.\n\n\"Dress me as a bride!\" he grumbled. \"A pretty maiden I shall make.\nReady enough am I to fight, but I will not make myself a\nlaughing-stock if I know it.\"\n\nBut the Asas besought him to give way, while Loki twitted him with\ncowardice. Fair Freya, too, appealed with tearful eyes; and so at\nlength, with great reluctance, the Thunderer agreed to do what they\nwished.\n\nFortunately the maiden Freya was very tall, but even so it was with\nsome difficulty that they managed to cover the burly form of Thor with\nher robes.\n\nHe insisted, moreover, upon wearing his own shirt of mail and his\ngirdle of strength; and these took much drapery to hide. Great was the\nlaughter in the halls of Asgard that night as the Battle Maidens\nbrushed and curled Thor's long yellow hair, and set a jewelled\nheaddress upon it; and finally, when the maidens proceeded to cover up\nhis thick beard and angry eyes with a silken veil, the mirth of the\nAsas was unrestrained. To complete the disguise, the maidens hung\nround his neck the famous necklet, which had now been re-strung, and\nfinally Frigga, the wife of All-Father Odin, secured at his girdle the\ngreat bunch of keys proper to brides at a wedding in the Northland.\n\nWhile this was being done, Loki, more than all, had been convulsed\nwith merriment at the success of his mischief-making. The very sight\nof Thor's disgusted looks, and of his great hands clenched with rage\nunder the delicate veil, nearly killed him with laughter; and when all\nwas ready he declared himself unable to lose an atom of the fun in\nstore.\n\n\"Let me go with you,\" he implored. \"See, I will dress myself as your\nhandmaiden. Ah, you had better agree, for without me to prompt you,\nyou will never play your part.\"\n\nSo Loki was dressed as a waiting-maid, and took his seat very\ndemurely by the side of Thor in the goat-car. Loud was the laughter in\nAsgard as the Asas watched the two drive off together and heard the\nroar of the Thunderer's voice issuing from the folds of a meek\nmaiden's veil as he urged his goats upon their course. Long and stormy\nwas that ride to Giantland, for Thor was still in the worst of\ntempers, and drove his chariot so furiously that\n\n    \"The mountains crashed,\n    The earth stood in flames,\"\n\nas the hoofs of the goats clattered over mountains and waters,\nstriking sparks wherever they touched a rock.\n\nThrym was much overjoyed when he heard that a chariot containing the\ntwo maidens was approaching his door. Away ran his servants in\ndifferent directions, some with orders to make ready a grand banquet,\nsome to prepare the chamber of the bride, some to receive her at the\ndoor.\n\nThe giant himself assisted them to alight, and looked with admiration\nat the stately figure of his bride; but he made no attempt to see her\nface, since it is the custom in the Northland for the bride to remain\nveiled until the marriage has been completed.\n\n\"A bride worthy of a giant!\" murmured his servants, as he led her to a\nlofty seat beside his own great throne of gold; and they looked with\napproval also on the buxom form of the waiting-maid, who stood,\nclosely veiled, behind her mistress' chair.\n\nNow the journey had been long and cold, and it was with joy that the\nnew-comers noticed that the preparations for the banquet were\ncomplete, for they were exceedingly hungry.\n\nThe giants are huge eaters, and they gathered round the board, whereon\nwere displayed an enormous ox roasted whole, a vast dish of salmon and\nvarious other dainties. But because the bride was a woman, and modest\nwithal, they brought her tiny morsels on a dainty golden plate.\n\nThis was too much for Thor, who had always possessed a most healthy\nappetite, and was now more than usually ready for his supper.\nGradually drawing nearer to the table, whilst the others were busy\nwith the meal, he managed to get hold of the dish of roasted ox, and\nwithin a few minutes the whole of the animal had disappeared.\n\nThen he put out his hand to the platter of salmon, and in eight\nmouthfuls disposed of eight of the great fish. After this he noticed a\nlarge plate full of cakes and sweetmeats, which was set apart for the\nladies of the party. Of these, too, he made short work. Finally,\nfeeling thirsty after his huge meal, he took up two barrels of mead,\nand tossed them off, one after another, down his capacious throat.\nThen he sat back on his chair with a sigh of deep content.\n\nThese proceedings had been watched by Loki with uneasiness, but by\nThrym with open-mouthed dismay. Was this the usual appetite of this\ndainty maiden, who had eaten more than the company of giants? But Loki\nbent towards him and whispered in his ear that the thought of marrying\nhad so excited Freya that she had eaten nothing for eight days, and\nhad therefore been on the point of starvation.\n\nThis reassured the giant, and being now himself filled with mead he\ndrew nearer and, lifting a corner of the veil, tried to kiss the cheek\nof his future bride.\n\nBut Thor, who was longing to be at close grips with him, threw him\nsuch a fiery glance that he drew quickly back, saying: \"Why does fair\nFreya's eye burn like a spark from a furnace?\" \"Pooh!\" whispered Loki\nagain, \"that is nothing but her love for you, which for eight days has\nraged like a flaming fire.\"\n\nThis news was still more pleasant to hear, and Thrym, in high good\nhumour, cried: \"Bring in the hammer, my wedding gift, wherewith to\nplight the maid. For when I have laid it on her lap she will be my own\nfor ever, and together we will work dire evil against the Asa folk,\nwhom I hate with all my heart.\"\n\nWhat was that unmaidenly sound that issued from under the silken veil\nat these words? But though Loki turned pale to hear it, Thrym, busy\nsending for the hammer, did not pay any heed.\n\nBack came the giant's servants at length, bending under the weight of\nMi\u00f6lnir. And as they bowed before the silent maiden, sitting with\nmeekly bent head upon the throne, Thrym cried with a merry jest: \"See,\nhere is little Thor's tiny plaything--a pretty toy truly for his\nfeeble hands. Take it, fair Freya, as my wedding gift.\"\n\n\"And take _that_ as mine!\" roared Thor, in a voice of thunder, as he\nflung off the veil and rose to his full height. And with the words he\nswung the hammer once--and ere the eye could follow its movement, it\nhad crashed through Thrym's skull, and had knocked over a round dozen\nof his guests. Yet again did it swing in the Asa's hand, and this time\nit left not a giant standing in the hall.\n\nA third time it was swung, and on this occasion the roof and walls of\nthe palace came tumbling on every side, and only Thor and Loki were\nleft alive amid the ruins.\n\n\"Ha! ha!\" laughed Red Loki, \"that was neatly done, fair Freya.\"\n\nThor, who was now busily tearing off the hated robes and veil, stayed\nto look threateningly at his companion. \"No more of that, Loki,\" said\nhe, \"the thing had to be done, 'tis true, but talk not to me again of\nthis woman's work. We will remember only that I am the Thunderer, and\nthat my hammer that was lost is found.\"\n\nSo they drove back peacefully to Asgard.\n\nAnd this is the end of the tale of How Thor's Hammer was lost and\nfound.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nThe Giant's Daughters\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nthe Giant's Daughters tried to kill Thor._\n\n\nUgliest and wickedest of all the giants was Geirrod, who lived in a\ngreat gloomy castle away in a dark corner of Giantland, with his two\ngiant daughters, Gialp and Greip.\n\nHideous, indeed, were they, for, besides being of huge misshapen\nfigure and clumsy of feature, the one had red eyes and the other had\nperfectly black teeth.\n\nNow, when Geirrod heard of the death of Thrym, his brother, he waxed\nvery wroth, and swore with a great oath that he would never rest till\nhe had wreaked vengeance on Thor.\n\nLoudly he described the terrible things he would do to him if only he\ncould catch him without his hammer, his belt of power, and his gloves\nof might; and one ugly daughter blinked her red eyes, and the other\ngnashed her black teeth, and both clamoured to have what might be left\nof the Asa when their father had finished with him.\n\nMeantime Thor was not even aware of the existence of these folk, and\nit did not seem at all likely that he would put himself in their way.\n\nAbout the time that Geirrod was thus breathing out threats against the\nThunderer, Loki grew restless within the walls of Asgard, and,\nrecalling the fun he had had when he visited Giantland in the guise of\na bird, he went to Freya once more with intent to borrow her falcon\ndress. But Freya would not lend it again, for she had no liking for\nRed Loki. So the mischievous fellow waited for a moment when she was\nbusy watering the blades of young corn, and stole the dress.\n\nOnly a few moments passed ere Loki was on the wing. To and fro he\nflitted for awhile, and then directed his flight towards Giantland,\nuntil at length, as luck would have it, he found himself hovering\nabove the towers of Geirrod's castle.\n\nThe giant and his family were sitting at their great table as Loki\narrived upon the scene. Peering through the open window he could see\nthe ugly trio snatching at the joints from the smoking dishes, and\nhalf choking themselves in their efforts each to eat faster than the\nrest.\n\nPerching on the window-sill, Loki could not resist a croaking chuckle\nof amusement, and at the same time his great wings shut out much of\nthe light, so that the giant's attention was attracted, and he looked\nquickly up.\n\n\"Ho! Catch me yon bird!\" he cried to one of his servants, for there\nwas that about the appearance of the falcon that revealed the truth to\nGeirrod at a glance.\n\nThe servant leapt at once to the window-sill; but the ledge was too\nhigh for him, and Loki croaked and chuckled at his vain attempts,\nkeeping all but within reach in order to increase the fun.\n\nBut suddenly the servant, giving an extra high spring, managed to get\na grip of the sill, and as Loki spread his wings in flight he found\nhis feet firmly caught in some ivy. In vain he struggled to get free,\nthe servant seized him fast and carried him off in triumph to Geirrod.\n\n\"Who are you?\" asked the giant; but Loki only blinked and made no\nreply.\n\n\"What are you doing here?\" he demanded again; but still he got only a\nblink for answer.\n\n\"Who sent you to spy upon us?\" roared Geirrod; Loki gave only another\nblink.\n\nThen the giant arose in wrath, and, declaring that hunger and thirst\nwere the best things in the world to teach a bird to talk, he locked\nthe unfortunate Asa in a strong cage, with neither food nor drink.\n\nFor three whole months he languished, and then at last, being at the\npoint of death, he croaked out feebly that he was Asa Loki, and\npromised anything in his power if Geirrod would only set him free.\n\nThis was the chance which the giant had been waiting for.\n\n\"Bring me here,\" said he, \"yon Thor of whom I hear so much, and see\nthat he comes without his hammer or his belt of strength or his gloves\nof might.\"\n\nAnd this Loki promised to do.\n\nAs soon as he was able, Loki flew back to Asgard, with a fine story\ncomposed upon the way. He told Thor that during his three months'\nabsence he had been a welcome guest at the hall of a friendly giant,\nGeirrod by name; and that, when he had reluctantly torn himself away,\nthe giant had expressed the strongest wish that he would revisit him,\nalong with Thor the Thunderer, of whose brave deeds he had often heard\ntell.\n\nFlattered by these honeyed words, Thor readily fell into the trap and\nagreed to accompany Loki to Geirrod's hall. He even laid aside his\nhammer, girdle, and gloves, when Loki pointed out that to wear such\nthings would not be courteous to their friendly host.\n\nThen the two set forth together.\n\nNow on their way they passed the house of Grid, a kindly old giantess,\nwho had long been a friend of Thor's. Sitting in her doorway, she saw\nthem pass by, and beckoned to Thor to come to her, while Loki,\nunsuspecting, went on his way.\n\n\"Whence goest thou, Asa Thor?\" asked the old giantess.\n\n\"To Geirrod's hall, good mother,\" he cheerfully replied. \"Do you know\nhim?\"\n\n\"Know him!\" said Grid, with a hoarse chuckle. \"Is there anyone who\ndoes not know Geirrod? But why, my son Thor, do you go unarmed to the\nhall of the strongest and wickedest of all the giants?\"\n\nThen Thor ground his teeth, exclaiming: \"This is another trick of that\nrascal Loki! And now, what is to be done, for if I return to fetch\nMi\u00f6lnir, and my girdle of strength and my gloves of might, they will\nsay that Thor is afraid.\"\n\nNow Grid was possessed of a girdle of strength, a staff of power, and\ngloves of might, and these she produced and gave to Thor, bidding him\nsay not a word about them.\n\nAnd when Thor had thanked her he resumed his way after Loki.\n\nPresently the two Asas came to the brink of a river which is the\nlargest in all the world, and the waves were dashing far above their\nheads. Then Thor buckled on the belt of strength and, taking the staff\nfirmly in his grasp, he stepped boldly into the water, while Loki\nclung to his belt, for he was afraid. Higher and higher rose the\nwaves, and if Thor had not kept a firm grip on the staff of power he\nmust have been washed away. But Loki, overcome with fear, let go of\nthe belt and was carried by the waves back whence he came; and from\nthence he hastened back to Asgard as fast as he could run.\n\nWhen Thor had reached midstream he saw Gialp, the red-eyed daughter of\nthe giant, stirring up the water at its source with intent to\noverwhelm him. So, stooping quickly, he took up out of the river an\nenormous rock and threw it at her. He was not wont to miss his mark,\nand the giantess fled, howling. At once the waters abated, and Thor,\nseeing a mountain ash over-hanging the river caught at it and pulled\nhimself safely ashore.\n\nThis is why the mountain ash from that time has been called \"Thor's\nSalvation.\"\n\nWearied with his journey, Thor gladly turned his steps towards\nGeirrod's hall, which loomed out of the darkness near by. He was\nreceived with much honour by the giant's servants, though Geirrod\nhimself had not yet returned home.\n\nA banquet had been prepared within the hall, and thither Thor was\nconducted. But, somewhat to his surprise, he could see only one chair.\nThis, however, was large and roomy, draped round the legs and\ncomfortably cushioned, so the Asa was glad to throw his tired limbs\nupon it.\n\nBut scarcely had he done so, when the chair began to rise beneath him,\nand it ascended towards the rafters with such force and speed that in\nanother moment Thor would have been crushed to death, had he not\nretained his hold of the staff of power. This he now pushed against\nthe rafters, and at the same time he pressed down on the seat with\nsuch force that he descended again with a loud crash, which was\nmingled with shrieks and screams. For Gialp and Greip, the giant's\ndaughters, had hidden themselves under the chair, intending to kill\nThor, and had now met the fate which they had prepared for him.\n\nAfter this, Thor proceeded to eat a good supper, and scarcely had he\nfinished when the Giant Geirrod came striding into the hall.\n\nHe gnashed his teeth horribly when he saw Thor sitting quite at home,\nbut he pretended that he was pleased at his visit, and at once invited\nhim into another hall, where a number of large fires were burning.\n\nHere he proceeded to challenge Thor to a contest of skill in throwing.\nThe Thunderer, nothing loth, bade Geirrod give the signal.\n\nBut Geirrod, thinking to catch Thor off his guard, snatched up a\nred-hot wedge of iron from the fire and flung it at him.\n\nQuick as lightning, Thor caught the wedge in his glove of might, and\nso forcibly did he throw it back that it passed through the giant,\nthrough the pillar in front of which he stood, through the wall of his\ncastle, and at last buried itself fathoms deep in the rock without.\n\nNor was this all, for at the touch of the red-hot iron the body of\nGeirrod was turned into stone; this Thor now took and set up on top of\na high mountain in Giantland; and it was long before any of the folk\nof that country dared try conclusions with the Thunderer again.\n\nAnd this is the end of the tale of How the Giant's Daughters tried to\nkill Thor.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nThe Story of Balder the Beautiful\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of the\nsad fate of Balder the Beautiful._\n\n\nFair beyond all the sons of Odin was Balder the Beautiful, Balder of\nthe snow-white brow and golden locks, and he was well beloved not only\nby the Asa folk, but also by the men of the earth below.\n\n    \"Of all the twelve round Odin's throne,\n    Balder, the Beautiful, alone,\n    The Sun-god, good and pure and bright,\n    Was loved by all, as all love light.\"\n\nBalder had a twin-brother named Hoder, who was born blind. Gloomy and\nsilent was he, but none the less he loved his bright sun-brother best\nof all in heaven or earth.\n\nThe home of Balder was a palace with silver roof and pillars of gold,\nand nothing unclean or impure was allowed to come inside its doors.\n\nVery wise in all magic charms was this radiant young god; and for all\nothers save himself he could read the future; but \"to keep his own\nlife safe and see the sun\" was not granted to him.\n\nNow there came a time when Balder's bright face grew sad and downcast;\nand when his father Odin and his mother Frigga perceived this they\nimplored him to tell them the cause of his grief. Then Balder told\nthem that he had been troubled by strange dreams; and, since in those\ndays men believed that dreams were sent as a warning of what was about\nto happen, he had gone heavily since these visions had come to him.\n\nFirst he had dreamt that a dark cloud had arisen which came before the\nsun and shut out all brightness from the land.\n\nThe next night he dreamt again that Asgard lay in darkness, and that\nher bright flowers and radiant trees were withered and lifeless, and\nthat the Asa folk, dull and withered also, were sorrowing as though\nfrom some great calamity.\n\nThe third night he dreamt yet again that Asgard was dark and lifeless\nand that from out of the gloom one sad voice cried:\n\n\"Woe! Woe! Woe! For Balder the Beautiful is dead--is dead!\"\n\nOdin listened to the recital of this story with heavy heart, and at\nits conclusion he mounted his coal-black horse and rode over many a\nhard and toilsome road till he came to the dark abode of Hela. And\nthere he saw, to his surprise, that a great banquet was being prepared\nin the gloomy hall. Dishes of gold were set upon the table and all the\ncouches were covered with the richest silken tapestry, as though some\nhonoured guest were expected. But a throne that stood at the head of\nthe table was empty.\n\nVery thoughtfully Odin rode on through those dim halls till he came to\none where dwelt an ancient prophetess, whose voice no man had heard\nfor many a long year.\n\nSilent he stood before her, until she asked in a voice that sounded as\nthough it came from far away: \"Who art thou, and from whence dost thou\ncome to trouble my long rest?\"\n\nNow Odin was fearful that she would not answer him did he give his\nreal name, so he told her that he was the son of Valtam, and asked\nanxiously for whom the grim goddess of death was preparing her\nbanquet.\n\nThen, to his great grief, the hollow voice of the prophetess replied\nthat Balder was the expected guest, and that he would shortly be sent\nthither, slain by the hand of Hoder, the blind god of darkness.\n\n\"Who then,\" asked Odin, in sorrowful tones, \"shall avenge the death of\nBalder?\"\n\nAnd she answered that the son of the Earth-goddess, Vali by name,\nshould neither\n\n            \"Comb his raven hair\n    Nor wash his visage in the stream,\n    Nor see the sun's departing beam,\n    Till he on Hoder's corse shall smile\n    Flaming on the funeral pile.\"\n\nAnd learning thus of the fate of his two favourite sons, All-Father\nOdin went sadly back to Asgard.\n\nMeantime Mother Frigga had not been idle. Filled with anxiety for her\ndarling son, she decided to send her servants throughout the earth,\nbidding them exact a promise from all things--not only living\ncreatures, but plants, stones, and metals, fire, water, trees and\ndiseases of all kinds--that they would do harm in no way to Balder the\nBeautiful.\n\nTheirs was an easy task, for all things loved the bright Sun-god, and\nreadily agreed to give the pledge. Nothing was overlooked save only\nthe mistletoe, growing upon the oak-tree that shaded the entrance to\nValhalla. It seemed so insignificant that no one thought it worth\nwhile to ask this plant to take the oath.\n\nThe servants returned to Frigga with all the vows and compacts that\nhad been made; and the Mother of Gods and Men went back with heart at\nease to her spinning-wheel.\n\nThe Asa folk, too, were reassured, and, casting aside the burden of\ncare that had fallen upon them, they resumed their favourite game upon\nthe plains of Idavold, where they were wont to contend with one\nanother in the throwing of golden disks.\n\nAnd when it became known among them that nothing would hurt Balder the\nBeautiful they invented a new game.\n\nPlacing the young Sun-god in their midst, they would throw stones at\nhim, or thrust at him with their knives, or strike with their wooden\nstaves; and the wood or the knife or the stone would glance off from\nBalder and leave him quite unhurt.\n\nThis new game delighted both Balder and the Asa folk, and so loud was\ntheir laughter that Loki, who was some distance away pursuing one of\nhis schemes in the disguise of an old woman, shook with rage at the\nsound. For Loki was jealous of Balder and, as is usual with people who\nmake themselves disliked, nothing gave him such displeasure as to see\na group of the Asas on such happy terms with each other.\n\nPresently, in his wanderings, Loki passed by the house of Fensalir, in\nthe doorway of which sat Frigga, at her spinning-wheel. She did not\nrecognise Red Loki, but greeted him kindly and asked:\n\n\"Old woman, dost thou know why the gods are so merry this evening?\"\n\nAnd Loki answered: \"They are casting stones and throwing sharp knives\nand great clubs at Balder the Beautiful, who stands smiling in their\nmidst, daring them to hurt him.\"\n\nThen Frigga smiled tranquilly and turned again to her wheel, saying:\n\"Let them play on, for no harm will come to him whom all things in\nheaven and earth have sworn not to hurt.\"\n\n\"Art thou sure, good mother, that _all_ things in heaven and earth\nhave taken this vow?\"\n\n\"Ay, indeed,\" replied Frigga, \"all save a harmless little plant, the\nmistletoe, which grows on the oak by Valhalla, and this is far too\nsmall and weak to be feared.\"\n\nAnd to this Loki replied in musing voice, nodding his head as he\nspoke: \"Yea, thou art right, great Mother of Gods and Men.\"\n\nBut the wicked Asa had learnt what he desired to know. The instrument\nby which he might bring harm to Balder the Beautiful was now awaiting\nhim, and he determined to use it, to the dire sorrow of Asgard.\n\nHastening to the western gate of Valhalla, he pulled a clump of the\nmistletoe from the oak, and fashioned therefrom a little wand, or\nstick, and with this in his hand he returned to the plain of Idavold.\nHe was far too cunning, however, to attempt to carry out his wicked\ndesign himself. His malicious heart was too well known to the Asa\nfolk. But he soon found an innocent tool. Leaning against a tree, and\ntaking no part in the game, was Hoder, the blind god, the twin-brother\nof Balder, and to him he began:\n\n\"Hark to the Asas--how they laugh! Do you take no share in the game,\ngood Hoder?\"\n\n\"Not I,\" said Hoder gloomily, \"for I am blind, and know not where to\nthrow.\"\n\n\"I could show you that,\" said Loki, assuming a pleasant tone; \"'tis no\nhard matter, Hoder, and methinks the Asas will call you proud and\nhaughty if you take no share in the fun.\"\n\n\"But I have nothing to throw,\" said poor blind Hoder.\n\nThen Loki said: \"Here, at least, is a small shaft, 'twill serve your\npurpose,\" and leading innocent Hoder into the ring he cunningly guided\nhis aim. Hoder, well pleased to be able to share in a game with his\nbeloved brother, boldly sped the shaft, expecting to hear the usual\nshouts of joyous laughter which greeted all such attempts. There fell\ninstead dead silence on his ear, and immediately on this followed a\nwail of bitter agony. For Balder the Beautiful had fallen dead without\na groan, his heart transfixed by the little dart of mistletoe.\n\n    \"So on the floor lay Balder dead; and round\n    Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and spears,\n    Which all the gods in sport had idly thrown\n    At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove;\n    But in his breast stood fixed the fatal bough\n    Of mistletoe, which Loki the Accuser gave\n    To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw--\n    'Gainst that alone had Balder's life no charm.\"\n\nDreading he knew not what, Hoder stood in doubt for some moments. But\nsoon the meaning of that bitter wail was borne in upon him, piercing\nthe cloud of darkness in which he always moved. He opened wide his\narms as though to clasp the beloved form, and then with: \"I have slain\nthee, my brother,\" despair seized him and he fell prostrate in utter\ngrief.\n\nMeantime, the Asa folk crowded round the silent form of Balder,\nweeping and wailing; but, alas! their moans and tears could not bring\nBalder back. At length, All-Father Odin, whose grief was too deep for\nlamentations, bade them be silent and prepare to bear the body of the\ndead Asa to the seashore.\n\nThe unhappy Hoder, unable to take part in these last offices, made his\nway sadly through Asgard, beyond the walls and along the seashore,\nuntil he came to the house Fensalir.\n\nFrigga was seated upon her seat of honour before the fire against the\ninner wall, and standing before her, with bent head and woeful\nsightless gaze, Hoder told her of the dread mishap that had befallen.\n\n\"Tell me, O mother,\" he cried in ending, and his voice sounded like\nthe wail of the wind on stormy nights, \"tell me, is there aught I can\ndo to bring my brother back? Or can I make agreement with the dread\nmother of the Underworld, giving my life in exchange for his?\"\n\nWoe crowded upon woe in the heart of Frigga as she listened to the\nstory. The doom was wrought that she had tried so vainly to avert,\nand not even her mother's love had availed to safeguard the son so\ndearly cherished.\n\n\"On Balder Death hath laid her hand, not thee, my son,\" she said, \"yet\nthough we fail in the end, there is much that may be tried before all\nhope is lost.\"\n\nThen she told Hoder of a road by which the abode of Hela could be\nreached, one which had been travelled by none living save Odin\nhimself.\n\n    \"Who goes that way must take no other horse\n    To ride, but Sleipnir, Odin's horse, alone.\n    Nor must he choose that common path of gods\n    Which every day they come and go in heaven,\n    O'er the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdall's watch.\n\n    But he must tread a dark untravelled road\n    Which branches from the north of heaven, and ride\n    Nine days, nine nights, toward the northern ice,\n    Through valleys deep engulfed, with roaring streams.\n    And he will reach on the tenth morn a bridge\n    Which spans with golden arches Gi\u00f6ll's stream.\n    Then he will journey through no lighted land,\n    Nor see the sun arise, nor see it set;\n\n    And he must fare across the dismal ice\n    Northward, until he meets a stretching wall\n    Barring his way, and in the wall a grate,\n    But then he must dismount and on the ice\n    Tighten the girths of Sleipnir, Odin's horse,\n    And make him leap the grate, and come within.\"\n\nThere in that cheerless abode dead Balder was enthroned, but, said\nFrigga, he who braves that dread journey must take no heed of him, nor\nof the sad ghosts flitting to and fro, like eddying leaves. First he\nmust accost their gloomy queen and entreat her with prayers:\n\n    \"Telling her all that grief they have in heaven\n    For Balder, whom she holds by right below.\"\n\nA bitter groan of anguish escaped from Hoder when Frigga had finished\nher recital of the trials which must be undergone:\n\n    \"Mother, a dreadful way is this thou showest;\n    No journey for a sightless god to go.\"\n\nAnd she replied:\n\n    \"... Thyself thou shalt not go, my son;\n    But he whom first thou meetest when thou com'st\n    To Asgard and declar'st this hidden way,\n    Shall go; and I will be his guide unseen.\"\n\nMeantime the Asa folk had felled trees and had carried to the seashore\noutside the walls of Asgard a great pile of fuel, which they laid upon\nthe deck of Balder's great ship, _Ringhorn_, as it lay stranded high\nup on the beach.\n\n    \"Seventy ells and four extended\n      On the grass the vessel's keel;\n    High above it, gilt and splendid,\n    Rose the figurehead ferocious\n      With its crest of steel.\"\n\nThen they adorned the funeral pyre with garlands of flowers, with\ngolden vessels and rings, with finely wrought weapons and rich\nnecklets and armlets; and when this was done they carried out the fair\nbody of Balder the Beautiful, and bearing it reverently upon their\nshields they laid it upon the pyre.\n\nThen they tried to launch the good ship, but so heavily laden was she\nthat they could not stir her an inch.\n\nThe Mountain-Giants, from their heights afar, had watched the tragedy\nwith eyes that were not unpitying, for even they had no ill-will for\nBalder, and they sent and told of a giantess called Hyrroken, who was\nso strong that she could launch any vessel whatever its weight might\nbe.\n\nSo the Asas sent to fetch her from Giantland, and she soon came,\nriding a wolf for steed and twisted serpents for reins.\n\nWhen she alighted, Odin ordered four of his mightiest warriors to\nhold the wolf, but he was so strong that they could do nothing until\nthe giantess had thrown him down and bound him fast.\n\nThen with a few enormous strides, Hyrroken reached the great vessel,\nand set her shoulder against the prow, sending the ship rolling into\nthe deep. The earth shook with the force of the movement as though\nwith an earthquake, and the Asa folk collided with one another like\npine-trees during a storm. The ship, too, with its precious weight,\nwas well-nigh lost. At this Thor was wroth and, seizing his hammer,\nwould have slain the giantess had not the other Asas held him back,\nbidding him not forget the last duty to the dead god. So Thor hallowed\nthe pyre with a touch of his sacred hammer and kindled it with a thorn\ntwig, which is the emblem of sleep.\n\nLast of all, before the pyre blazed up, All-Father Odin added to the\npile of offerings his magic ring, from which fell eight new rings\nevery ninth night, and bending he whispered in Balder's ear.\n\nBut none to this day know the words that Odin spake thus in the ear of\nhis dead son.\n\nThen the flames from the pyre rose high and the great ship drifted out\nto sea, and the wind caught the sails and fanned the flames till it\nseemed as though sky and sea were wrapped in golden flame.\n\n    \"And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down\n    Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on.\n    But through the dark they watched the burning ship\n    Still carried o'er the distant waters....\n    But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared;\n    And as, in a decaying winter fire,\n    A charr'd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks--\n    So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in,\n    Reddening the sea around; and all was dark.\"\n\nAnd thus did Balder the Beautiful pass from the peaceful steads of\nAsgard, as passes the sun when he paints the evening clouds with the\nglory of his setting.\n\n     _Note._--Most of the poetical extracts throughout this\n     chapter are taken from Matthew Arnold's \"Balder Dead.\"\n\n\nTHE PASSING OF BALDER\n\n    I heard a voice, that cried,\n    \"Balder the Beautiful\n    Is dead, is dead!\"\n    And through the misty air\n    Passed like the mournful cry\n    Of sunward sailing cranes.\n\n    I saw the pallid corpse\n    Of the dead sun\n    Borne through the Northern sky.\n    Blasts from Niffelheim\n    Lifted the sheeted mists\n    Around him as he passed.\n\n    And the voice for ever cried,\n    \"Balder the Beautiful\n    Is dead, is dead!\"\n    And died away\n    Through the dreary night,\n    In accents of despair.\n\n    Balder the Beautiful,\n    God of the summer sun,\n    Fairest of all the Gods!\n    Light from his forehead beamed,\n    Runes were upon his tongue,\n    As on the warrior's sword.\n\n    All things in earth and air\n    Bound were by magic spell\n    Never to do him harm;\n    Even the plants and stones;\n    All save the mistletoe,\n    The sacred mistletoe!\n\n    Hoder, the blind old God,\n    Whose feet are shod with silence,\n    Pierced through that gentle breast\n    With his sharp spear, by fraud\n    Made of the mistletoe,\n    The accursed mistletoe!\n\n    They laid him in his ship,\n    With horse and harness,\n    As on a funeral pyre.\n    Odin placed\n    A ring upon his finger,\n    And whispered in his ear.\n\n    They launched the burning ship!\n    It floated far away\n    Over the misty sea,\n    Till like the sun it seemed,\n    Sinking beneath the waves.\n    Balder returned no more!\n\n                       LONGFELLOW.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nHow Hermod Made a Journey to the Underworld\n\n_This is the tale which the Northmen tell of how\nHermod journeyed to the Underworld to bring\nback Balder the Beautiful to Asgard._\n\n\nOf all the Asa folk most fleet of foot was Hermod, but on that sad eve\nwhen Balder was laid upon the funeral pyre his step was lagging and\nslow as he went to his home by the city wall.\n\nAs he approached, there met him in the gloom a vague figure, that\nwalked with outstretched hands and faltering steps like one that is\nblind. And Hermod knew it to be the form of Hoder of the sightless\neyes, brother to Balder and to him.\n\nBut when he would have spoken Hoder brushed past, murmuring in his\near:\n\n    \"Take Sleipnir, Hermod, and set forth with dawn\n    To Hela's kingdom, to ask Balder back;\n    and they shall be thy guides who have the power.\"\n\nHermod bowed his head and passed on; but poor blind Hoder,\nheartbroken, went his way to his own house and shut the door upon his\ngrief.\n\nWhen the first rosy fingers of dawn touched the clouds of morning\nHermod led out Sleipnir, the steed of Odin, from Valhalla, and rode\naway. Sleipnir was not wont to permit any to mount him, or even to\ntouch his mane, save the All-Father himself; but he stood meekly as\nHermod mounted; for he knew upon what errand they were bound.\n\nNine long days and nine long nights rode Hermod towards the realms of\nice and snow; and on the tenth morn he drew near to the golden bridge\nwhich spanned Gi\u00f6ll, the greatest river in the world.\n\nA maiden of pale and downcast mien kept this bridge, with unsleeping\nvigilance, and she now challenged Hermod as he approached:\n\n    \"Who art thou on thy black and fiery horse,\n    Under whose hoofs the bridge o'er Gi\u00f6ll's stream\n    Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home.\n    But yestermorn, five troops of dead passed by,\n    Bound on their way below to Hela's realm,\n    Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone.\n    And thou hast flesh and colour on thy cheeks,\n    Like men who live, and draw the vital air;\n    Nor look'st thou pale and wan, like men deceased,\n    Souls bound below, my daily passers here.\"\n\nThen Hermod told his name and whence he came, and asked eagerly if\nBalder had already crossed that bridge. And the maiden told him that\nBalder had indeed passed that way along the road to Hela's kingdom.\n\nSo Hermod galloped over the golden bridge, and resumed his way through\na darksome tract of frozen country, and over fields of ice unlighted\nsave by dim stars that shone uncertainly through the mist. At length\nfurther passage was barred by a high wall in which was a grate.\nWithout hesitation Hermod put Sleipnir to this obstacle, he surmounted\nit with the ease and grace of a fawn, and they found themselves in\nHela's realm.\n\nOn passed Hermod, unheeding the murmuring shades that flocked around,\nand he did not draw rein until, coming to Hela's hall, he saw there\nBalder, his brother, and, near by, the awful goddess.\n\nLeaping from Sleipnir, the young Asa knelt before Hela and besought\nher that Balder might ride home with him, that the heavy hearts of all\nin Asgard might be comforted.\n\nBut dark Hela shook her head, reminding him how Odin had cast her out\nwith her two brothers, the Serpent and the Fenris Wolf; why should she\ngrant the Asa folk this boon?\n\nThen Hermod laid his hands upon her knees. \"All things in heaven and\nearth grieve for Balder, therefore restore him, good mother, and\ndarken not our lives for evermore,\" he answered.\n\nThe appeal in his mournful eyes, as well as in his words, somewhat\nmoved Hela, though her heart was still hardened against Odin, and she\nsaid: \"Come now, let us see if all things love Balder as you say,\n\n    \"Show me through all the world the signs of grief!\n    Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops!\n    Let all that lives and moves upon the earth\n    Weep him, and all that is without life weep:\n    Let gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones.\n    So shall I know the lost was dear indeed,\n    And bend my heart, and give him back to heaven.\"\n\nThen Hermod was given permission to greet his brother, and Balder\nanswered him with faint voice. They spoke of Asgard, the beloved land\nof living gods and heroes, and at parting Balder charged his brother\nto carry the magic ring, Draupnir, back to Odin, and a kerchief and\nother gifts to Frigga, as tokens of his love. And Hermod rode sadly\nback along the weary road to Asgard.\n\nAll-Father Odin from his high seat saw his son returning, and he\nhastened forth to receive him.\n\n    \"And Hermod came, and leapt from Sleipnir down,\n    And in his father's hand put Sleipnir's rein\n    And greeted Odin and the gods.\"\n\nThen all the Asa folk assembled in the Council Hall, at the root of\nthe Tree of Life, to hear the message that Hermod had brought from the\njoyless realms; and he told them of Hela's reply to his request,\nsaying:\n\n    \"... To your prayer she sends you this reply:\n    _Show her through all the world the signs of grief!\n    Fails but one thing to grieve, there Balder stops!\n    Let gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones;\n    So shall she know your loss was dear indeed,\n    And bend her heart, and give you Balder back._\"\n\nWhen Hermod had ceased speaking, All-Father Odin arose, and leaning on\nhis great staff he looked slowly around and commanded: \"Go ye quickly\nforth through all the world and pray all living and unliving things to\nweep for Balder dead.\"\n\nThen the gods arose willingly and went their way through all the\nworld, Thor in his goat chariot, and Freya in her carriage drawn by\nwhite cats, but most of the others on swift horses. North, South,\nEast, and West, they rode, entreating all things to weep for Balder's\ndeath.\n\n    \"And all that lived, and all without life, wept.\"\n\nJust as at the end of winter, before the springtime, when a warm\nsouth-west wind blows over the land and melts the ice and snow,\n\n                      \"A dripping sound is heard\n    In all the forests....\n    And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots\n    Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow,\n    And widen, and the peasant's heart is glad\"--\n\nso through the whole world was now heard the sound of falling tears,\nas all things living and dead wept for Balder's sake.\n\nHermod rode with the Storm-god, Ni\u00f6rd, who knew all the creeks and\nhidden bays of the coastline of the earth; and when the sea-creatures\nand those that live on the borders of the ocean heard the message they\nall added their tribute of tears to the common cause.\n\nNow, as the Asas rode home together they came to a great wood upon the\nborders of Giantland, where all the trees are of iron. And in the\nmidst of this wood was a cave, at the mouth of which sat an ancient\ngiantess, gnashing her teeth at all who passed by.\n\nThis seeming giantess was none other but wicked Loki in disguise, but\nthis Hermod did not know.\n\nAs the Asas came near, she greeted them with shrill laughter, and\nasked them if it was dull in Asgard that they came thither to her iron\nwood. But they answered that they came not for gibes but for tears,\nthat Balder might be saved. Then she laughed louder and cried:\n\n    \"Is Balder dead? And do ye come for tears?\n    Weep him all other things, if weep they will:\n    I weep him not! let Hela keep her prey.\"\n\nAnd with these mocking words she fled to the dark recesses of her\ncave, repeating again and again:\n\n    \"Neither in life, nor yet in death,\n    Gave he me gladness.\n    Let Hela keep her prey.\"\n\nHeavy were the steps with which Hermod returned to Asgard, and when\nthey had heard the news of how one creature had refused her tears, the\neager faces of the Asa folk grew dark with woe, for they knew that\nnever more would they see Balder--Balder the Beautiful.\n\nBut the future days brought peace to the tormented soul of Hoder, the\ninnocent cause of all their grief.\n\nFor there was born to Odin a child who grew to his full size within a\nfew short hours. And on the first day that he arrived in Asgard he\nfared forth with bow and arrow, and one of his shafts found mark in\nthe heart of Hoder.\n\nAnd so, from henceforth, the blind god and his twin-brother are\ntogether in the realms of Hela.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nHow Loki was Punished at Last\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Red Loki\nwas punished at last for his sins._\n\n\nWhen the Asas knew that it was Loki, disguised as Thok, the\ngiant-woman, who had refused to shed the tears that would have won\nBalder's release, they determined to bear with his presence in Asgard\nno longer.\n\nSo with many a hard word and ugly look they drove him forth, bidding\nhim never enter those gates again.\n\nBut the Asa folk were still sad and heavy of heart: for at every\nmoment the gloom that lay over the city reminded them of the loss of\ntheir bright young Balder.\n\n\u00c6gir, god of the sea, saw their forlorn condition, and he prepared a\ngreat banquet in the caves of coral that lie underneath the sea, and\nbade all the Asas attend it as his guests.\n\n    \"That though for Balder every guest\n    Was grieving yet,\n    He might forget\n    Awhile his woe in friendly feast.\"\n\nThe invitation was pleasing to the gods, and on the day appointed they\ncame, attired in their richest cloaks of silk and satin, green and\nblue and yellow and purple, by a path through the waters whereby they\nreached the coral caves of the Sea-god.\n\nVery beautiful were these caves. The walls and ceilings were carved\nwith the most delicate fret-work of pink and cream and white, and a\nfaint green light shone into them from the ocean without.\n\nThe floor was covered with the finest silver sand, encrusted with\nbeautiful sea-shells, and the flowers with which the tables were\nadorned were feathery sea-weeds and glowing sea-anemones. In the midst\nof the floor was a mass of gold, so bright that it lighted up the\nwhole place as though with fire.\n\nThe dishes upon the table were filled with the most delicious fish, of\nevery kind and variety, and the gods sat down to the feast well\npleased, regretting only the absence of the well-loved Balder, and the\nfact that Thor had been detained by a tempest, which kept him busy in\nthe regions of the dwarfs, from whence he hoped to travel to the\nsea-caves directly his work was done.\n\nMerrily went the banquet, for all the Asas were filled with goodwill\ntowards one another and towards their burly host, who sat at the head\nof the board with his long grey beard sweeping his broad chest.\n\nSuddenly into the midst of this cheerful scene fell a black shadow\nfrom the entrance to the cave; and there, red and gaunt, and evil of\ncountenance, stood Loki, glowering upon them all.\n\nAt first the Asas sat in silence, their anger too deep for words. Then\nOdin arose and sternly bade the intruder begone.\n\nThis was the signal for a storm of hatred in words so evil that they\npoisoned the air. For a time the Asas pretended not to heed, but went\non quietly with the meal. One of them even tried to drown his speech\nby talking loudly to old \u00c6gir in praise of the servant who waited so\ndeftly upon them all. But at the word Loki sprang forward, knife in\nhand, and killed the unfortunate serving-man before their eyes.\n\nThen the Asa folk arose and cast out Loki with violence, threatening\nhim with dire punishment should he appear in their presence again.\n\nResuming their seats at the interrupted feast, they made brave efforts\nto appear gay and cheerful; but scarcely had they begun to eat when\nLoki came creeping in again disguised as a sea-serpent. Once in, he\nresumed his proper form and began as before to revile the gods,\ntaunting them one after another with the mistakes which each had made,\nand telling his malicious stories, so that the gods were filled with\ndismay, and with suspicion, each of his neighbour.\n\nLouder and louder grew the voice of Loki, the Asas all the time\nsitting as if turned to stone, and now he began to heap abuse on the\nhead of Sif, the fair-haired wife of Thor.\n\nSuddenly there was heard outside the noise of goats' feet clattering\nover the rocks, and in another moment the Thunderer entered,\nbrandishing his hammer about his head and crying:\n\n\"Silence, thou wicked wretch, or my mighty hammer shall put a stop to\nthy prating. At one blow will I strike thy head from thy neck, and\nthen will thy evil tongue be silenced once for all!\"\n\nBut Loki did not wait for Thor to strike. Quick as light he dashed out\nof the cave and disappeared. He well knew that now at length he had\nindeed lost all hope of forgiveness.\n\nWandering in dismal wise about the earth, fear seized him after a time\nlest Odin or the Thunderer should find and slay him, in order to\nprevent further annoyance.\n\nSo he made his way to the mountains of the North, and there he built\nfor himself a hut with four doors, open to every quarter of the earth,\nthat, if need arose, he might be able to escape quickly.\n\nHe built this hut, moreover, close to a mountain side, down which\nrushed a mighty cataract of water. For he intended, if the Asas found\nhim, to spring into the stream, change himself into a salmon, and so\nmake good his escape.\n\nBut when, sitting within his cold and draughty hut, he began to\nconsider the matter afresh, he remembered that, even if he carried out\nthis plan, he would not yet be quite safe.\n\nFor though he could easily avoid any hook that ever was made, he would\nfind it very difficult to evade capture if the gods should think of\nmaking a net like that which the Sea-goddess, Ran, spreads for unwary\nmen when they are fishing or bathing in the sea, and all the time she\nis lurking near in some cavern on the shore, or enmeshed in the dark\nfolds of a giant sea-weed in the ocean depths.\n\nSo much and so long did Loki brood over the thought of Ran's\nfishing-net, that at length he began to wonder if such a thing could\nreally be made, and then to try to weave one out of twine as much like\nit as possible.\n\nHe had not quite finished his curious task when upon the mountain,\njust above the hut, he suddenly perceived the two mighty figures of\nhis dreaded foes.\n\nKnowing that their intention must be to enter his hut and make him\nprisoner, Loki hastily threw the half-made net upon the fire, and\nrushing forth he flung himself into the waterfall, where he quickly\nchanged himself into a salmon and lurked unseen among the stones in\nthe torrent's bed.\n\nMeantime, the two Asas had entered the hut.\n\n\"Ho! ho!\" said Odin, as he noted the silence of the place, \"our bird\nhas flown.\"\n\n\"What fresh mischief doth he plan?\" muttered Thor, looking closely\nabout him.\n\n\"Let us look further afield,\" urged Odin; but Thor kicked over the\nlogs on the hearth and picked out the half-burned net.\n\nNow Odin well knew the net of Ran, and the half-burnt strands\nsuggested to him the truth. So he set to work and, with Thor's\nassistance, quickly mended the net, and they proceeded to drag the\nmountain stream with it.\n\nAt their first attempt sly Loki hid between two stones at the bottom\nof the river, laughing in scorn as the net passed over his head.\n\nThen the Asas weighted the net with stones and tried again; but Loki\ngave a great leap over the net, and dashed up stream.\n\nA third time they made the attempt, and now Loki, grown reckless,\nleaped out of the water. But this time Thor caught him by his tail,\nand held it fast in spite of its slipperiness.\n\nThen the gods forced him to resume his usual shape, and they carried\nhim off to an underground cavern, far below the earth, and there they\nbound him fast to a rock with iron fetters.\n\nMost things in heaven and earth rejoiced at the downfall of wicked Red\nLoki, but above all rejoiced Skadi the giantess. Her home was in the\ncold mountain stream which Loki had invaded, and he had done her many\nan ill turn in bygone days.\n\nThis Skadi now took a poisonous serpent and fastened it above his\nhead, so that the venom of the reptile falling, drop by drop, upon his\nface, would cause the most terrible pain. But Sigyn, Loki's loyal\nwife, the only person in heaven or earth who cared what became of him,\ntook a cup and held it up to catch the burning drops as they fell, and\nshe only left his side when the cup was full and she had to empty it.\n\nIn these brief periods, the fettered god howled with rage and pain, in\ntones which echoed through the dismal caverns of earth like mighty\npeals of thunder, and his writhing shook the earth to its foundations,\nbringing the Northmen from their dwellings in terror of what they\nthought to be violent earthquakes.\n\nBut his efforts can avail nothing until the day of Ragnarok. Then\nshall his bonds be loosed, and he shall fight his last battle and\nfall, never to rise again.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nThe Story of the Magic Sword\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how a great feud\narose between the Volsungs and the Goths._\n\n\nSigi, the son of Odin, was a man mighty in the hunt, and he lived in\nthe house of Skadi. And one day he went out to the woods with Bredi,\nSkadi's servant, and they hunted deer all day long. But when they\ngathered their spoil in the evening, it was found that Bredi had slain\nfar more than Sigi, and it vexed the soul of Sigi that a servant\nshould hunt better than his master. So, in his jealous rage, he fell\nupon Bredi and killed him, and hid his body in a snowdrift, after\nwhich he rode home in the gloaming, with the tale that Bredi had\nridden away from him into the wild woods.\n\n\"Out of the sight of mine eyes he rode,\" said he, \"and I know not what\nhas become of him.\"\n\nBut Skadi did not believe his words--for Sigi's eyes looked sideways\nas he spoke--and he sent and searched the woods, and the body of Bredi\nwas found in a snowdrift. Then, his dark suspicion being confirmed, he\ntook Sigi and put him forth from the land and commanded that he be an\noutlaw for ever.\n\nSigi embarked upon the ocean in a small boat, and he had not been\nsailing long when a little skiff drew near, wherein was an old man\nwith one eye, wearing a broad-brimmed grey hat. This was none other\nthan Odin, who had come to succour his son, and he took the boat in\ntow and brought Sigi to a war vessel manned with a brave crew, well\narmed and provided, which he gave into his charge, promising that\nvictory in battle should always be his.\n\nThen Sigi took fresh heart and, ever aided by the powerful favour of\nOdin, he won at length dominion and lordship over the great empire of\nthe Huns.\n\nYet did he not escape punishment for the evil deed of his youth, for\nwhen he was very old the favour of Odin forsook him; and the brother\nof his wife, whom he trusted above all men, fell upon him with\ntreachery and slew him.\n\nBut the son of Sigi was now a brave youth, and gathering the warriors\nof his land he drove out his mother's kindred and took the kingdom for\nhimself. When peace had settled upon it he took unto him a wife, and\nFrigga blessed them with a fine little son, whom they named Volsung.\nBut while the boy was yet quite young Rerir, his father, went out to\nthe wars and was killed, and the Battle Maidens carried him away to\nOdin and the festal halls of Valhalla.\n\nThe young Volsung grew mightily in valour and in strength, so that\nwhen he had come to man's estate his renown was greater than that of\nhis father or grandfather, and all men knew him to be a true son of\nthe race of Odin.\n\nSo in due time he became the founder of a great family, and the\nbuilder of a mighty house. The walls of his dwelling were hung with\nbattle shields taken from the foe, and in the midst of the floor\n\n                                \"Sprang up a mighty tree\n    That reared its blessings roofward, and wreathed the roof-tree dear\n    With the glory of the summer and the garland of the year.\"\n\nUnderneath the branches of this gigantic \"Branstock,\" as the tree was\nnamed, dwelt Volsung and his wife and their eleven children. Ten\nstalwart sons had he and one fair daughter, Signy by name.\n\nNow when Signy was become a tall and stately maiden, it came to pass\nthat Siggeir, King of the Goths, sent messages to beg that she might\nbe given to him in marriage. And because Volsung had heard a good\nreport of his success in war, he promised his daughter to him without\nsetting eyes upon his face.\n\nBut when he came to claim the promise, Signy saw that her bridegroom\nwas small and dark and evil of countenance, different indeed from the\ntall, fair, open-faced Northmen, and her heart sank within her.\n\nThe sacred pledge had been given, however, and no Northland maiden\ncould draw back from the plighted word.\n\nTrue to her hero-blood, Signy went through the marriage ceremony with\nseeming cheerfulness, and none but her twin-brother Sigmund knew her\ngrief.\n\nThe wedding feast was celebrated with magnificence. Great fires burned\nbrightly along the hall, and the flickering flames cast a lurid glow\nupon the huge oak which upreared its massive and fantastic shape in\nthe centre.\n\nNow, while the merry-making was at its height, there suddenly entered\na tall, old man with hat slouched over his eyes and huge grey cloak\naround his majestic shoulders.\n\nAdvancing to the Branstock, he drew his sword, and plunged it to the\nvery hilt in the great trunk.\n\nThen, as the assembled guests gazed at him in awe-struck silence, he\nsaid: \"Whoso draweth the sword from this stock shall have the same as\na gift from me, and it shall give him victory in every battle.\"\n\nThere was something so attractive in the voice and mien of the speaker\nthat all men sat chained to their seats, as in a dream. And none\nroused himself as the old man turned and passed through the hall and\nout of the door.\n\nBut as soon as Odin, for he it was, had vanished, all tongues were\nloosed and there arose a great hubbub. And the men of noblest rank\nwent up one after another to the Branstock and pulled and tugged and\nstrained at the goodly sword. First of all went up King Siggeir, but\nthough he pulled till his eyes nearly started from his head, yet the\nsword moved not an inch.\n\nThen Volsung put his hand to the sword, but it was not meant for him.\nNeither could the Volsung princes, who followed one by one, do aught\nto move it, until last of them came Sigmund, the youngest, and as soon\nas he grasped the hilt he pulled the weapon out of the trunk as if it\nhad lain loose therein.\n\nIt was indeed a weapon worthy of the gods, and when Siggeir looked\nupon its shapely proportions his heart was fired with desire, and he\noffered to buy it from the youth at thrice its weight in gold.\n\nBut Sigmund answered: \"Thou mightst have taken the sword as easily as\nI if it had been thy lot to wear it. But now it has fallen to me, thou\nshalt never have it, though thou dost offer all the gold thou hast.\"\n\nAnd thus began the fatal quarrel between the race of Siggeir and the\nVolsungs, for at the words Siggeir's heart grew bitter against\nSigmund; and he determined that, when the time was ripe, he would put\nan end to the Volsung race and take that sword to himself.\n\nBut outwardly Siggeir was all that was fair and gentle. And when he\nset sail with his bride to his own land, he begged King Volsung and\nhis sons to visit him as soon as possible.\n\nSo, at an appointed time, King Volsung and his ten stalwart sons set\noff to the kingdom of Siggeir with three brave ships; and after a fair\nvoyage they cast anchor late one eventide.\n\nDuring the night, as they lay on their ships, thinking to land next\nmorning, Signy, who had received tidings of their arrival, came in\nsecret to her father and brothers and begged them not to go ashore,\nsaying that her treacherous husband had laid an ambush for them,\nwhence they could not escape alive. She bade them therefore return to\ntheir own land, and together, with a mighty army, come again to take\nrevenge upon King Siggeir.\n\nBut the brave old Volsung shook his great white head, saying that\nnever yet had he or his turned back before fire or sword or hurt--and\nhe would not play the coward in his old age.\n\n\"A hundred fights have I fought,\" said he, \"and ever I had the\nvictory, nor shall it be said of me that I fled from a foe or prayed\nfor peace.\"\n\nThen Signy wept right sore, and prayed that she might stay with her\nkinsmen, and not return to her husband.\n\nBut this seemed not good in the eyes of Volsung, and he sent her back\nsadly to her home.\n\nAs soon as it was day, King Volsung went ashore with his folk, and all\nwere fully armed. But that availed them little; for Siggeir fell upon\nthem with a great army. The Volsungs were few in number, but they\nfought with desperate courage, and no fewer than eight times did they\ncut their way through their foes. They would have done so yet again,\nhad not Volsung fallen in the midst of his folk, and his followers\nwith him, save only his ten sons.\n\nThen the princes were taken and led, fast bound, into the presence of\nSiggeir, who had watched the fight from afar; and when he had secured\nthe sword of Odin he condemned the young men to die.\n\nBut Signy, wild with grief, besought her husband: \"I will not pray\nthee to spare their lives, but let them be first set awhile in the\nforest, chained fast to a fallen oak; for there comes to me an old\nsaying--_'Sweet to eye while eye can see.'_ I pray not for longer life\nfor them, because well I know that my prayer will avail nothing.\"\n\nAt this Siggeir laughed an evil laugh: \"Surely thou art mad,\" he said,\n\"to wish that the suffering of thy brothers should be prolonged. I\ncare not, however, for the more pain they have to bear the better\nshall I be pleased.\"\n\nSo the ten young men were chained to an oak in the woods with a heavy\nbeam upon their feet, and Signy meantime was shut up in the palace\nunder close watch, lest she should try to succour them.\n\nNow it came to pass that at midnight there came up a great she-wolf\nout of the wild woods, and she fell upon one of the brothers and\ndevoured him and went upon her way.\n\nNext morning Signy sent a trusty servant to bring tidings of her\nbrothers, and grievously she mourned when she heard that one was dead;\nfor she feared that the same fate would overtake all.\n\nEvery morning she sent the man to the forest, and every morning he\nreturned with the news that the she-wolf had eaten up another of the\nVolsung princes, until all save Sigmund were dead. Then Signy, in dire\ndespair, bethought herself of a plan, and she sent the messenger with\nhoney in his hand to her twin-brother, and bade him smear it over\nSigmund's face and feet and a little of it in his mouth. And it was\ndone as she commanded.\n\nAnd that same night, as Sigmund sat alone in the wild woods, the\nshe-wolf came up, according to her wont, and would have slain and\neaten him like his brothers. But first she smelt the honey and began\nto lick his face all over, and finally thrust her tongue into his\nmouth.\n\nThen Sigmund caught the she-wolf's tongue in his strong teeth and held\nfast to it; and she, in her pain and terror, set her feet against the\nbeam and against the oak, and strained so mightily that beam and oak\ngave way, and the chain that bound the prince snapped in twain. And\nspringing up, he killed the murderer of his brothers, that gaunt\nshe-wolf, and ran through the wild woods a free man.\n\nNow when Signy knew what had happened she was full of joy; and as her\nhusband thought that all the Volsungs were dead, and so kept watch\nover her no longer, she was able to visit her brother where he lay\nhiding in secret. Together they built for him a hut underground in the\nwild woods, and they covered up the entrance with branches, moss, and\nleaves, so that it was quite hidden from sight. To this retreat Signy\nbrought food and all things that were needed, and together in secret\nthey made plans to revenge their father and his nine brave sons.\n\nNow to Siggeir and Signy had been born two sons who, both in nature\nand in face, were exactly like their father. When the eldest was ten\nyears of age, his mother sent him to Sigmund, that he might be trained\nby a Volsung to avenge the death of his grandfather.\n\nLate at eventide he came to the earth-dwelling, and when Sigmund had\nwelcomed the boy he bade him make ready the bread for their evening\nmeal. \"For I,\" said he, \"must go seek firewood.\" And with these words\nhe gave the meal bag into his hands and left the hut.\n\nBut he could see no trace of any bread making when he came back, so he\nasked if the food was ready.\n\n\"No,\" said the boy, \"I dared not set hand in the meal sack, because I\nsaw something move in the meal.\"\n\nThen Sigmund knew that the boy had the heart of a mouse, and he sent\nhim back to his mother.\n\nThe next winter Signy sent her second son to him, and Sigmund tested\nhim in like manner. But he too showed his coward's heart, and was sent\nhome again.\n\nAs time went on Signy had another son, whom she called Sinfiotli. He\nwas tall and strong and fair of face, like unto the Volsungs; and\nbefore he was ten years of age, she sent him to Sigmund. But first she\ntested him herself by sewing his shirt to his skin and then suddenly\nsnatching it off again, whereat the child did but laugh at her,\nsaying: \"Full little would a Volsung care for such a smart as that.\"\n\nSo the boy came to Sigmund, who bade him knead the meal while he went\nto fetch firewood.\n\nThis time the bread stood ready baked upon the hearth when he came\nback, whereupon he asked Sinfiotli if he had found nothing in the\nmeal.\n\n\"Ay,\" said the boy, \"I saw there was something living in the meal when\nI first began to knead it; but I have kneaded all together, both the\nmeal and whatever was therein.\"\n\nThen Sigmund gave a great laugh, and caught the boy in his arms,\nsaying: \"Naught wilt thou eat of this bread to-night, for thou hast\nkneaded up therewith the most deadly of serpents.\"\n\nThough no sting from outside could harm Sinfiotli, he could neither\neat nor drink venom and live. But Sigmund could eat of the bread,\nsince no poison could harm him.\n\nFrom that day the training of the lad became Sigmund's constant care,\nand he grudged no pains in the effort to make him worthy of a\nVolsung's teaching.\n\nIn his desire to make him hardy and daring beyond his years he took\nSinfiotli with him on all his expeditions. Together they lived the\nwild life of outlaws, faring far and wide through the woods, and\nslaying men for their wealth. And the boy forgot his father and\nthought as a Volsung.\n\nNow it befell that on a day, as they roamed through the woods, they\ncame upon a certain house, wherein lay two men, with great gold rings\non wrists and ankles, fast asleep. Over their heads hung the skins of\ntwo grey wolves, and by this Sigmund knew that they were king's sons\nwho had been turned into were-wolves. Every tenth night would they\ncome out of their wolf skins and return to them again at dawn.\n\nThen did Sigmund and Sinfiotli, half in jest, put on the wolf skins\nwhile the men lay asleep; and having done this they could in nowise\nrid themselves of them till the appointed time. They rushed forth\nhowling as wolves howl, though each knew the meaning of the sound, and\nthey lay out in the wild woods all that night.\n\nNext morning each prepared to go his separate way to seek food, and\nfirst they made a compact that they would risk the attack of seven\nmen; but if more set upon them, each would howl for the other in\nwolfish wise.\n\n\"For thou art young and over-bold,\" said Sigmund, \"and men will think\nwell of themselves when they take thee.\"\n\nThen each went his way, but before Sigmund had gone far he was\nattacked by a band of eight men. Then he gave forth the long wolf\nhowl, and Sinfiotli came and slew them all, and returned his way\nagain.\n\nA few hours later eleven men met Sinfiotli in the woods and tried to\nkill him, but he fought them in such wise that they were all slain.\nThen, being weary, he crawled under an oak to take his rest. Soon came\nSigmund, and seeing the dead men lying on the ground, he asked: \"Why\ndidst thou not call for help?\"\n\nBut Sinfiotli only yawned and said: \"I was loth to call on thee to\nhelp me slay so few as eleven men.\"\n\nThese words so offended Sigmund that he sprang upon Sinfiotli and bit\nhim in the throat so sorely that he lay dead upon the ground.\n\nThen was Sigmund heavy at heart, for he had grown to love the boy, and\nhe cursed the wolf skin, from which he could not get free. With much\ndifficulty, however, he succeeded in dragging the body to the hut,\nwhere he crouched beside it, howling for grief.\n\nNow, as he sat, he saw two weasels come from behind a tree, and one\nbit the other in the throat, so that it lay to all appearance dead\nupon the ground. Then the first weasel ran into a thicket and brought\na leaf in its mouth and laid it upon the wound; and immediately its\ncompanion sprang up and scampered off, perfectly cured. A moment later\na raven, in his flight overhead, dropped a leaf of the same kind at\nSigmund's feet.\n\nThen he knew that Odin had sent to his aid, and he took the leaf and\ndrew it over Sinfiotli's hurt, and the lad sprang up quite well and\nstrong again.\n\nSo they lay down together in their earth-house till the time came to\nput off their wolf skins; and then they burnt them with fire and\nprayed the Asa folk to let no further harm come through the spell of\nthe evil shapes.\n\nNow when Sinfiotli was grown to manhood, Sigmund having tried him\nfairly and found him of true Volsung blood, plotted with him to avenge\nhis kinsmen and exact the penalty from King Siggeir. Wherefore, on a\ncertain day they left the earth-house and came to the palace of the\nking; and they gained, unperceived, a lurking-place amongst the casks\nof ale which were stacked in the entrance to the hall.\n\nNow Signy and the king were sitting in the hall, and two of their\nyounger children were trundling a golden ball along the floor.\nSuddenly a golden ring came off the ball and rolled behind the casks\nof ale, and the little ones ran after it and discovered the two big,\ngrim men with helmets on their heads and swords in their hands.\n\nScreaming with fright the children rushed to their father with news of\nwhat they had seen.\n\nThen the king summoned his warriors, and a rush was made to where\nSigmund and Sinfiotli lay hidden. They were quickly surrounded; and\nthough they fought desperately, they were taken and fast bound.\n\nThat night the king pondered what would be the worst and most\nlingering death he could mete out to them; and when morning came he\nordered a great hollow mound of stones and turf to be made, with a\nlarge flat stone, extending from wall to wall, in the midst; and he\nordered the prisoners to be buried alive, one on each side of this\nstone, so that they could hear each other speak but might in nowise\npass through to one another.\n\nNow, while the servants were closing in the mound, came Signy along\nwith a bundle of straw in her arms, and this she cast down to\nSinfiotli, bidding the men say nothing of this to the king; and they\npromised, and set the topmost stones, and left the two to die.\n\nPresently Sinfiotli called to Sigmund and said: \"I at anyrate shall\nnot starve for awhile, for the queen has thrown in a lump of swine's\nflesh wrapped in straw.\"\n\nA moment later he gave a shout of joy, for hidden in the meat he found\nthe magic sword of Sigmund, which he knew by the hilt, for Sigmund had\noften talked to him of this weapon.\n\nHe now drove the point with all his strength into the big stone, and\nit passed quite through, so that Sigmund caught the point and pulled\nto and fro; and in this wise they sawed right through that mighty\nstone, and stood together in the mound. But they stayed not there, for\nwith that good sword they soon cut their way through stones and iron\nand turf.\n\nThen, very softly, they crept to the king's hall where all men slept,\nand set wood around it; and having secured the door they set fire to\nthe wood.\n\nIt was not long ere the folk within were awakened by the smoke and\nflames, and the king cried out: \"Who kindled this fire in which I\nburn?\"\n\n\"I,\" replied Sigmund, \"with Sinfiotli, my sister's son, that you may\nknow well that all the Volsungs are not yet dead.\"\n\nThen he entreated his sister to come out into a place of safety; but\nshe would not. \"Merrily now will I die with King Siggeir, though I was\nnot merry to wed him,\" said she, and she perished in the fire with her\nhusband and his men.\n\nSigmund and Sinfiotli now gathered together folk and ships and\nreturned to the land of the Volsungs, where they were warmly welcomed.\n\nAnd thus ended the great feud between the Volsungs and the Goths.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nHow Sigmund Fought His Last Battle\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Sigmund took\nHiordis to wife, and was slain of the might of Odin._\n\n\nNow Sigmund in course of time became the greatest king of all the\nVolsungs; and Sinfiotli was the captain of his host.\n\nAnd it came to pass that Sinfiotli loved a fair woman and desired to\nhave her for his wife; but the brother of Sigmund's queen was also in\nlove with her. So they fought together in a distant land, and\nSinfiotli slew his rival.\n\nMany another battle did he fight, until he had become renowned above\nall men; and in the autumn-tide he turned home again.\n\nAnd when he had told all his news to King Sigmund he went to the\nqueen, and told how he had slain her brother in fair fight. Now when\nshe heard this the queen was wroth, and bade him begone from the\nkingdom, nor would she listen to his words about the quarrel. But\nSigmund forbade him to depart, and, declaring that her brother had\nbeen slain in fair fight, offered to his wife much gold in atonement\nfor the unhappy deed.\n\nThen the queen, seeing that her will was not likely to prevail, bowed\nher head, and said: \"Have thy way in this matter, my lord, for it is\nright that so it should be.\"\n\nBut in her heart she harboured evil thoughts against Sinfiotli. Then\nshe held a funeral feast for her dead brother, and bade thither many\ngreat men.\n\nAnd at that feast, as was the custom in those days, the queen carried\nhorns of mead to the chief guests. And when she came to Sinfiotli in\nhis turn she put the mighty horn into his hands, saying, with a smile:\n\"Come now and drink, fair nephew.\"\n\nBut Sinfiotli looked therein and said: \"Nay; for there is a charm\nwithin the mead.\"\n\n\"Give it to me,\" quoth Sigmund, when he heard those words. And he took\nthe horn and drank off the mead.\n\nBut the queen's face darkened, and she taunted Sinfiotli, saying:\n\"Must other men quaff thy drink for thee?\"\n\nAnd she came a second time and gave the horn into his hands, saying:\n\"Art thou a coward after all? Come now and drink.\"\n\nBut he looked into the horn, and lo: \"Guile is in the drink,\" said he.\n\nSigmund again seized the vessel, saying: \"Give it then to me,\" and\ndrank the full draught.\n\nThen the queen came to Sinfiotli a third time, and mocked him, saying:\n\"How is this that thou fearest to take thy mead like a man? If thou\nhast the heart of a Volsung, drink now thy portion.\"\n\nBut again he looked on the horn, and said: \"Venom is therein.\"\n\nNow Sigmund by this time was weary of drinking, and he said: \"Pour it\nthrough thy beard then, and all will be well.\" But Sinfiotli mistook\nhis meaning, and thought he desired him to drink the mead; and he\ndrank, and straightway fell down dead to the ground.\n\nThen the heart of Sigmund was full of grief at his kinsman's end. He\nwould let no man touch him, but took him in his arms and fared away to\nthe wild woods and so to the seashore. And behold, there was an old\nman sitting in a little boat; on his head was a grey hat pulled well\nover his face, and over his shoulders a blue-grey cloak.\n\n\"Wilt thou be ferried across the bay?\" asked the old man; and Sigmund\nbowed his head. But the boat was too little to carry all at once; so\nSinfiotli was laid therein and Sigmund stood by on the shore.\n\nA moment later both boat and ferryman had vanished from before his\neyes.\n\nThen Sigmund knew that All-Father Odin had himself come for his\nkinsman and had carried him to the halls of Asgard, and, after he had\nmused awhile upon what had befallen, he returned to his folk; but\nbecause of the wrong that she had done he would not look upon his\nqueen again, and soon afterwards she died.\n\nNow there lived in a neighbouring kingdom a mighty and famous king,\nwho had a daughter named Hiordis; and she was the fairest and wisest\nof women. And it came to pass that King Sigmund heard it told of her\nthat she was the only woman who was fitted to be his wife; and he made\na journey to the court of the king her father, and looked on her and\nloved her. And her father listened graciously to his proposal that he\nshould marry his daughter.\n\nBut at that same time came King Lygni, son of Hunding; and he also\ndemanded the hand of Hiordis in marriage. And the king, fearful lest\ntrouble should come, called his daughter, and said: \"Full wise art\nthou, my daughter, and it is fitting that thou alone shalt choose thy\nhusband. Say now which of these two kings thou wilt have, and I will\nabide by thy choice.\"\n\nAnd Hiordis said: \"I will choose King Sigmund, though he is old and\nstricken in years, for the greater valour has been his.\"\n\nSo to him she was betrothed, and King Lygni was obliged to depart. And\nin due time a great wedding feast was made, and Sigmund and Hiordis\nwere married with all the rites customary in the Northland, after\nwhich they returned to Sigmund's own kingdom.\n\nBut within a few months news was brought that King Lygni had gathered\ntogether a vast army, and was marching upon the Volsungs with intent\nto destroy them utterly. So King Sigmund hastily got together his\nfighting men and went out to his enemy, and they met in an open space\nin the middle of a wood. And Hiordis carried away the king's treasure\nand hid herself in the wood with her handmaid, in a place from whence\nshe could watch the fight.\n\nThe Vikings that came up from the sea were greater in number by far\nthan the warriors of Sigmund. But Sigmund was a host in himself, and\nall the fierce strength of the Volsungs was in his arm that day.\nWherever he went his foes made way before him, and full many were the\nVikings who fell by his magic sword. But the king, who was the father\nof his wife, was killed in the foremost rank.\n\nNow, when the battle had raged for a long time, suddenly a strange\nwarrior, tall of form, with slouched hat upon his head, and blue-grey\ncloak about his shoulders, was seen making his way through the press\nto where Sigmund towered above the host of those who came against him.\nSoon he confronted Sigmund, and his flashing weapon whirled like a\nflail ere it descended. The Volsung king lifted his magic sword to\nward off the blow, but it fell with terrific force upon the blade and\nbroke it in two pieces. From that moment the fortune of the battle\nturned against the Volsungs, and they fell fast around their king. But\nSigmund stood as in a trance, and the war rage faded from his face.\nAll-Father Odin had come to claim the sword he had given all those\nmany years ago, and had left him defenceless against the foe who now\npressed hot upon him.\n\n    \"And there they smote down Sigmund, the wonder of all lands,\n    On the foemen, on the death-heap his deeds had piled that day.\"\n\nWhen he saw that his rival had fallen, King Lygni made for the king's\nabode, meaning to take both queen and treasure for himself. But he\nfound all empty and silent within. Then, thinking that he had slain\nevery one of the Volsung race, and that he need dread them no more, he\nwent through the kingdom to take possession of it.\n\nWhen night had fallen upon the scene of bloodshed, Hiordis crept out\nof the thicket and searched among the dead for her beloved Sigmund.\nPresently she found him lying, and the life was still in him; and\ntaking him in her arms she thought to staunch his wounds. But with\nfaint voice he said: \"War have I waged as long as it was Odin's will,\nbut never will I draw sword again, since the blade he gave me has\nbroken in two. My good fortune has departed, and I will not suffer\nmyself to be healed.\"\n\nThen Hiordis wept sore and answered: \"Naught would I care if but one\nVolsung was left to avenge thee and my father.\"\n\nAnd Sigmund said: \"A son shall be born to thee who shall be mightier\nthan I. Our boy shall be the noblest and most famed of all the Volsung\nrace. See to it that thou keep the pieces of my good sword, for from\nit he shall fashion a goodly blade, and shall work many a great work\ntherewith, and his name shall abide and flourish as long as the world\nshall endure.\n\n\"But now am I weary, and would fain go to join my kindred that have\ngone before me.\"\n\nAll through the night Hiordis kept watch beside him, till, at the\ndawn, he died.\n\nAnd as the queen mourned over the lifeless body she heard the sound of\nmany ships upon the seashore, and she said to her handmaid: \"Let us\nnow exchange garments and flee into the woods, and do thou play the\npart of king's daughter, and I will be thy handmaid.\"\n\nThen there came up a great band of Vikings from the shore, and their\nleader was Alf, son of the King of Denmark. And they saw how a great\ncompany of men lay slain, and also how two women had escaped into the\nwoods.\n\nSo Alf bade his followers go seek the maidens, and bring them before\nhim. This they did, and when he questioned them, the handmaid spoke as\nthough she were queen, and answered for both, and told of the fall of\nKing Sigmund, and who it was who had brought the war trouble into the\nland.\n\nThen the prince asked if they knew where the wealth of the king was\nhidden, and the maiden replied: \"Ay, we know full well where it is\nlaid.\"\n\nAnd she guided them to the place, and this pleased the prince, and he\nput the treasure aboard his ships, and took the women also with him.\nBut first he gave ear to the tale of Sigmund, and it won his\nadmiration, and he caused the king to be buried as beseemed his rank\nand valour.\n\nThen did Hiordis and the handmaid sail away with Alf to his own land.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nThe Story of the Magic Gold\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nSigurd was nurtured in Denmark._\n\n\nWhen Hiordis and her handmaid came to the kingdom of Prince Alf, they\nwere treated with all honour and goodwill. But soon the queen-mother\nof Prince Alf called him to her and said:\n\n\"Tell me, my son, why the fairer of these women has the fewer rings\nand the commoner garments? For methinks that she whom you have held of\nleast account is the nobler of the two.\"\n\nAnd he answered: \"I, too, have had my doubts, since she is little like\na bond-servant, and when we first met she greeted me in noble wise.\nBut let us make trial of the matter.\"\n\nSo it came to pass that, as they sat at table, the prince said: \"How\nis it that you know the hour for rising in the winter mornings, seeing\nthat there are then no lights in heaven?\"\n\nAnd the handmaid, who was playing the part of mistress, forgot\nherself, and answered: \"At a certain hour I was ever wont to drink\nmilk before wending to feed the cows; and now that I no longer do\nthis, I still awake thereby at that self-same time.\"\n\nAt this the prince laughed aloud, saying: \"That is ill manners for a\nking's daughter.\"\n\nThen he turned to Hiordis and asked her the same question, and she\nanswered unthinkingly: \"My father once gave me a little gold ring of\nsuch a nature that it grows cold on my finger in the day-dawning; and\nthat is the sign by which I know it is time to rise.\"\n\nThen the prince sprang up, saying: \"Gold rings for a bond-maid! Come\nnow, thou has deceived me, for I perceive that thou art a king's\ndaughter.\"\n\nSo the queen told him the whole truth, and then was she held in the\ngreatest honour.\n\nSoon after, Prince Alf succeeded to his father's throne and became\nKing of Denmark, and about this time a fair son was given to Hiordis,\nas had been foretold by Sigmund, his father. His hair was fair as the\nmorning light and his eyes were keen and blue.\n\nAnd when, as happened shortly afterwards, the king married Hiordis,\nthe young Sigurd, as he was named, was brought up at the palace, with\nall care and love, as the king's foster-son. Tall and straight did he\ngrow, and very comely of countenance; and there was no man but loved\nhim.\n\nIn due time the young prince was sent to Regin, the wisest man in that\nrealm, to be taught by him.\n\nSo old was he that none could recall his first coming to the land, and\nhis wisdom embraced all things known to men. He had great skill in all\nthe arts of peace, but chiefly was he famed for the mighty works he\nhad wrought at the forge and upon the anvil.\n\n    \"The Master of the Masters in the smithying craft was he;\n    And he dealt with the wind and the weather and the stilling of\n        the sea.\"\n\nBut though he was so wise, he had an evil heart, and he soon\ndetermined to use the young Sigurd for his own ends.\n\nSo one day he began to instil a spirit of discontent within the lad,\nasking him if he knew how much wealth his father Sigmund had and who\nnow had it in charge.\n\nAnd the boy answered: \"The king himself has it in charge.\"\n\n\"Dost thou then trust him so utterly?\" sneered Regin.\n\n\"It is but right he should have it so,\" answered Sigurd, \"for he knows\nbetter how to guard it than I.\"\n\nSo Regin waited awhile, and then tried again, saying: \"Surely it is a\nmarvellous thing that thou, a king's son, should run about on thy feet\nlike a horse-boy, and do the bidding of King Alf!\"\n\n\"That is not so,\" said Sigurd, \"for I have my way in all things, and\nwhatever I desire is granted to me.\"\n\n\"Well, then,\" said Regin, \"ask for a horse for thyself.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the boy; \"and that shall I have when I have need of such a\nthing.\"\n\nAfter this Sigurd went to the king, who smiled on him and said: \"What\nwilt thou of me?\"\n\nAnd Sigurd said: \"I would have a horse of my very own.\"\n\nTo which the king replied: \"Choose for thyself a horse from any part\nof the kingdom it seems good to thee.\"\n\nSo Sigurd went away to the wild woods to consider where he should\nsearch for the finest steed in all the world; and as he pondered he\nmet in the way a tall, old man, with a grey hat drawn over his\nforehead and a grey-blue cloak about his shoulders, who asked him\nwhere he was going.\n\n\"I want to choose a horse,\" said Sigurd. \"Come thou with me, old man,\nand give me thy counsel.\"\n\nSo they went together to a meadow where all the finest horses in the\nking's dominions were feeding, in charge of the royal grooms. And the\nstranger said: \"See now, let us drive all these horses into the deeps\nof the river and choose the one that best can cross the foaming tide.\"\n\nAnd this they did. And it came to pass that, because of the strong\nswirl of the waters, all but one of the horses turned back and\nscrambled again to land.\n\nBut one not only breasted the tide as though it were still water, but,\nhaving gained the opposite bank, he raced round the meadow as though\nhe were a colt. Then plunging into the river again he swam back quite\neasily and rejoined his companions.\n\n\"That is the horse that I will choose,\" said young Sigurd, and running\nout, he caught the beautiful creature by the mane. Young of years was\nhe, grey of colour, and very great and fair of limb; and as yet no man\nhad thrown foot across his back.\n\nThen said the old man: \"This horse is of the kin of Sleipnir, the\nsteed of Odin. Nourish him well, for he will prove the best of horses\nto thee.\"\n\nAnd with those words he vanished.\n\nThen Sigurd called the steed Greyfell, and he proved, as Odin had\npromised, the best of all horses in the world.\n\nAnd after awhile Regin spoke again to Sigurd and said: \"It grieves me\nsore to see thee in this poor and humble guise at the court. But thou\nart a brave lad, and I will tell thee where there is much wealth to be\nwon, as well as fame and honour in the winning of it, if thou wilt.\"\n\nThese words roused Sigurd's curiosity, and he asked where that wealth\nmight be, and who had watch and ward over it.\n\nAnd Regin answered: \"Fafnir is his name, and he lies not so far away,\non a lonely waste of heath. And when thou comest to that place, thou\nmayest well say that thou hast never seen or heard of such abundance\nof treasure.\"\n\n\"But I have already heard of Fafnir,\" said Sigurd thoughtfully. \"Is\nhe not the most terrible of dragons, so huge and evil that no man dare\ngo out against him?\"\n\n\"Not so,\" said the cunning Regin, \"he is like unto other dragons of\nhis kind. Men make too great a tale about him, that is all. But there,\nthy forefathers would have thought nothing of such a beast, but 'tis\nhardly to be expected that thou, though thou be of Volsung blood,\nshall have the heart and mind of those great ones whose deeds of fame\nstill ring throughout the lands.\"\n\nThen Sigurd grew angry. \"Why shouldst thou lay on me the name of\ncoward, who am yet but a child?\" he said. \"I have had as yet no chance\nto win renown. And tell me, why dost thou egg me on to this so\nstrongly?\"\n\n\"Hundreds of years ago,\" replied Regin, \"when I was but a boy, I lived\nin the house of my father Hreidmar, the king of the dwarfs. His eldest\nson was named Fafnir, his second Otter, and I was the youngest and\nleast; for I could never wield a sword in battle, though I was a\ncunning worker in iron and silver and gold. My brother Otter was\ncleverer than I, for he was a great fisher, and excelled all other men\nas such.\n\n\"By day he took the form of an otter, and dwelt in the river, and\nbrought fish in his mouth to the bank. He lived usually thus, coming\nhome only to eat and slumber, for on dry land he could see nothing.\nBut Fafnir was by far more grim, as he was greater than us all, and he\nwould have everything we possessed called his.\n\n\"Now in the waterfall hard by our house lived a dwarf called Andvari,\nwho had changed himself into the likeness of a pike; and this he did\nthat he might eat the smaller fishes, of which the river was full.\n\n\"And one day it came to pass that three of the Asa folk, Odin, Loki,\nand Hoenir, being on a journey, came to Andvari's waterfall just as\nOtter, having eaten a large salmon, was slumbering on the river bank.\nWhen Loki saw him he took up a stone, and threw it with such force\nthat my brother fell dead on the ground. At this the Asas were well\ncontent, for they did not know that he was a dwarf's son. And they\nflayed off his skin and Loki carried it away with him, hanging it over\nhis shoulder.\n\n\"Now at eventide they came to the house of my father, and entered in,\nsuspecting no evil. But when Loki, coming last, threw his burden on\nthe floor, the dwarf king recognised the skin, and his face grew\nblack with rage. Before the Asas could defend themselves or flee, he\nmade signs to his servants who bound them fast in the midst of the\nfloor.\n\n\"Then the Asas asked what ransom they should pay, and Hreidmar\nanswered and said: 'In the depth of the waterfall lies the Flame of\nthe Waters, the Gold of the Sea, hidden there by the dwarfs, and\ncalled by men Andvari's Hoard. Find this for me, and fill with it the\notter skin, and cover it outside with the same red gold, and then, and\nthen only, will I let you go free.'\n\n\"Now this was a heavy ransom indeed, for not only was Andvari's hoard\nhidden cunningly away, but the otter skin had the property of\nstretching itself to an enormous size.\n\n\"The Asas, however, determined to do their best, and they sent Loki,\nwho was set free for the purpose, to find the Magic Gold.\n\n\"So Loki went down to the river bank and peered and poked and\nsearched. This he did for days, but nowhere could he discover either\nthe dwarf Andvari or his hoard. At length he noticed a wonderfully\nfine pike, with gills of gold, which each day sported in the foam of\nthe waterfall, and he suspected that this was the dwarf in the form of\na fish.\n\n\"So he went to Ran, the goddess of the sea, and borrowed her magic\nnet, and taking this to the waterfall he cast it therein; and the pike\nswam into the net and was caught. Then said Loki:\n\n    \"What fish of all fishes\n    Swims strong in the flood,\n    But hath learnt little wit to unfold?\n    Thine head must thou buy\n    If fate thou would'st fly,\n    And find me the water's red gold.\"\n\n\"The dwarf now resumed his proper form, and answered sulkily:\n\n    \"Andvari folk call me,\n    A dwarf is my father,\n    And deep in the fall is my home.\n    For of ill-luck a fay\n    This fate on me lay,\n    Through wet ways ever to roam.\"\n\n\"Slowly, and very reluctantly, the dwarf accepted the situation; but\nat last he consented to yield up the golden hoard as ransom for his\nlife, and diving into the depths of the waterfall he brought up\nthence, little by little, his marvellous pile of treasure.\n\n\"Last of all he laid upon the bank, which now shone like a sea of\ngold, the glittering Helmet of Dread and a massive breastplate, all of\nthe precious metal.\n\n\"'This is the full measure,' said he, as he laid his burden at Loki's\nfeet.\n\n\"But Loki caught sight of a ring gleaming upon his thumb. 'Give me\nalso that ring,' said he.\n\n\"Now this ring was a talisman and had the power of attracting to it\nall precious metal like itself; therefore Andvari would not part with\nit.\n\n\"Then Loki snatched the ring from him with a wicked laugh, and went\nhis way chuckling. But Andvari crept into a cleft of the rocks, and\nfrom thence called out angry curses upon him.\n\n    \"That gold hoard of mine\n    Shall be to all thine\n    A cause of dissension and woe;\n    And no good at all\n    Shall ever befall\n    The man to whose hands it shall go.\"\n\n\"Meanwhile, Loki had carried the treasure to Hreidmar, and they placed\nit on the otter skin, which ever stretched and widened, so that, with\nall that large store, one hair of the bristle remained uncovered. And\non this Loki placed the magic ring, that was called 'Andvari's Loom,'\nbecause it made much gold, and at last the skin was entirely covered.\nThen Loki chanted:\n\n    \"Gold enow, gold enow,\n    A great treasure hast thou,\n    That our heads on our necks we may hold,\n    But thou and thy son,\n    Are now both undone,\n    For a curse has been placed on the gold.\"\n\n\"Now scarcely had the Asas departed than the curse began to work. For\nthough Hreidmar watched night and day over the treasure, it was plain\nthat Fafnir coveted it. At last he slew his father, and having thus\nobtained possession of the hoard he donned the Helmet of Dread and the\nglittering breastplate, and,\" said Regin, \"he drove me out when I came\nto claim my share, and bade me get my bread as best I could.\n\n\"And so evil did Fafnir grow with gloating over the treasure,\nbegrudging any man a share in his wealth, that he took the shape of a\nvile dragon, and to this day he lies brooding over his hoard.\n\n\"As for me, I went to the king, who made me master smith.\"\n\n    \"Hast thou hearkened, Sigurd? Wilt thou help a man that is old\n    To avenge him for his father? Wilt thou win the treasure of gold\n    And be more than the kings of the earth? Wilt thou rid the earth of\n        a wrong\n    And heal the woe and the sorrow my heart hath endured o'er long?\"\n\nThen Sigurd answered: \"Much wrong has been thine and exceeding evil\nhas thy kinsman been to thee. Make me, therefore, a sword by thy\ncraft, such as none has ever been made before; and with it I will go\nforth to slay this mighty dragon.\"\n\n\"Trust me well in that task,\" said Regin, \"and with that same sword\nshalt thou slay Fafnir.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nHow Sigurd Slew the Dragon\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Sigurd slew\nFafnir and Regin with the Magic Sword._\n\n\nRegin set to work, and exercising all his skill as a cunning worker in\nmetals he fashioned a sword, very fine and keen and strong, and this\nhe brought to Sigurd.\n\nSigurd received it with joy, but the weapon which was to slay Fafnir\nmust be severely tested; and, raising it aloft, the youth smote with\nall his might upon the iron anvil, and the sword broke in pieces.\n\n\"Behold thy sword, O Regin!\" he laughed.\n\nThen Regin forged another sword and said: \"Surely thou wilt be content\nwith this, though thou be hard to please in the matter of a weapon.\"\n\nBut again Sigurd struck upon the anvil, and again the sword fell to\npieces. Then he turned wrathfully to Regin: \"Art thou also a liar and\na traitor like thy father and brother?\"\n\nAnd thus saying he went to his mother, and seating himself at her\nfeet, he began: \"Is it true, my mother, that Sigmund, my father, gave\nthee the Magic Sword of Odin in two pieces?\"\n\n\"That is true enough,\" said she.\n\nThen Sigurd entreated: \"Give them then to me, I pray thee, for only in\nsuch wise shall I get a sword to my mind.\"\n\nThen the queen knew that he looked to win great fame with that weapon,\nand she gave him the pieces; and he took them to Regin and bade him\nmake a sword therefrom.\n\nAnd though Regin's evil heart was wroth because of the words that the\nyouth had spoken, he dared not refuse. So he set to work, and when he\ncarried the finished sword from out the forge, it seemed to his\nhelpers that fire burned along its edges.\n\n\"Take thy sword,\" said the old man, \"and if this fails, I have lost my\nskill in sword-making.\"\n\nThis time when Sigurd smote upon the anvil the keen steel clove into\nthe metal right up to the hilt, and he pulled it out unhurt. Then he\nwent to the river and flung up-stream a tuft of wool, and when the\ntide carried the wool against the edge of the sword it was cut in two.\nAnd then was Sigurd satisfied and his heart rejoiced.\n\nUpon his return Regin met him. \"Now that I have made thee this good\nsword,\" said he, \"wilt thou, for thy part, keep thy word, and go\nagainst Fafnir the dragon?\"\n\n\"Surely will I do that thing,\" said Sigurd, \"but first I must avenge\nmy father.\"\n\nSo he went to the king, and bowing before him said: \"Here have I now\nlived all my lifetime, and thanks and gratitude are owing from me to\nyou, with all due honour. But now will I go hence to meet the sons of\nHunding, that they may know that the Volsungs are not all dead; and I\nwould have your goodwill go with me upon the journey.\"\n\nThe king approved of Sigurd's spirit, and said he would give him\nwhatsoever he desired; and therewith a great army was prepared, with\nships and weapons, so that he might proceed on his journey in due\nstate and power. And Sigurd himself steered the ship with the dragon's\nhead, which was the finest of the fleet.\n\nAt first they ran before a fair wind; but after a few days there arose\na great storm, and the sky and sea were red like blood. And as they\nsailed close along the shore, a certain man hailed them and asked who\nwas captain of that array; and they told him that their chief was\nSigurd, son of Sigmund, on his way to win fame for himself.\n\nAnd the stranger said: \"There is none like Sigurd, son of Sigmund, on\nthis earth; so now, I pray thee, take me on board.\"\n\nSo they made for land and took the man aboard. Old he was and\none-eyed; and his grey hat was slouched far over his face. And Sigurd\nsaw that he was no ordinary traveller, and asked therefore if he could\ntell, before ever they reached land, what their fate would be on those\nstormy waters and in the battle that was to come.\n\nThen said the Traveller: \"Thou shalt land safe and sound, and victory\nshall be thine in the fight if thou shalt see these signs: First, a\nraven sitting on a tree; next, two warriors coming into the courtyard\nto meet thee, when the tramp of thy feet is heard; third, a wolf\nhowling under boughs of ash. But see to it, that none of thy warriors\nlook at the moon as she sets, nor trip up their feet as they march out\nto meet their foe. Let each warrior be well washed, well combed, and\nwell fed--and if all these things come to pass, then have no fear as\nto who shall win the day.\"\n\nEven as he spoke the wind abated, and the waves were stilled, and the\nships were thenceforth wafted by friendly breezes to the shores of the\nrealm of the sons of Hunding. But the instant they landed the\nmysterious stranger vanished, and by this Sigurd knew that once again\nhe had been visited by All-Father Odin; and he went on his way\nrejoicing.\n\nAnd as he passed up the strand a raven sitting upon a tree croaked at\nhim; a short way farther on a wolf crouched howling under an ash; and\nas he approached the court of the king, the two sons of Hunding\nadvanced from the courtyard to see what was meant by the tramp of\narmed men.\n\nNow the news of the coming of the strangers soon spread far and wide\nover the land, and the people rose with one accord in defence of Lygni\ntheir king.\n\nSo he advanced upon Sigurd with a vast host, and an exceedingly fierce\nfight began. Skulls were split, helmets shivered, and shields cut in\ntwo, full many times ere that day's work was done. Ever in the front\nof the fight rode Sigurd, with his good sword flashing, and\nwheresoever he went his foes fell back before him, for his like had\nnever been seen by any man.\n\nThen came against him the sons of Hunding, and Sigurd smote them down,\none after the other, beginning with Lygni the king, until there were\nnone left, and very few of their folk.\n\nThen away sailed Sigurd, flushed with victory, to his mother and his\nstepfather, by whom he was received with much honour. But when he had\nbeen at home a little while, Regin came to him and said: \"Perhaps now\nthou wilt have leisure to keep thy word and humble the crest of Fafnir\nto the earth, since thou hast avenged thy father and others of the\nVolsung kin.\"\n\nAnd Sigurd answered: \"That will I hold to, for I have pledged my\nword.\"\n\nSo it came to pass that Sigurd and Regin rode together to the heath\nwhere Fafnir dwelt; and they passed along the way by which the dragon\nwas wont to creep down to the water to drink. So long was this\nterrible creature that he would lie crouched on a cliff sixty feet\nhigh when he drank of the water below. When Sigurd saw the huge tracks\nthat he had made he said to Regin: \"Sayest thou that this dragon is no\ngreater than other such beasts? Methinks he leaves tracks behind him\nthat are strangely well marked.\"\n\n\"There is naught to fear,\" said Regin. \"Make thee a hole and sit down\nin it, and when the dragon comes to drink, smite him through the\nheart, and so shalt thou win for thyself great fame.\"\n\n\"But,\" said Sigurd, \"what will happen when the burning blood of the\ndragon falls upon me?\"\n\nNow Regin well knew that no man could endure that frightful stream and\nlive, and he wished to make an end of Sigurd when he had slain the\nbeast. Therefore he answered wrathfully: \"Of what use is it to give\nadvice if thou art fearful of everything? Not like thy kin art thou,\ncareless of perils.\"\n\nWith this undeserved taunt he rode away, for he himself was sore\nafraid, and dared not abide the coming of the dragon.\n\nSo Sigurd rode alone over the heath, and when he came to the marks\nwhere the tracks lay deep he began to dig a pit, as Regin had told\nhim. But while he was busy at work an old man, wearing a big grey hat\nover his face, passed by and asked what he was doing. And when he had\nbeen told, he said:\n\n\"That was no wise advice that was given thee. Rather dig trenches in\nthe midst of the dragon track, that the blood may run therein; and do\nthou then crouch in one of these and run thy sword through his heart\nas he drags his huge shape overhead.\"\n\nAnd with these words he vanished.\n\nSigurd could not doubt the wisdom of this advice and he did as he had\nbeen bidden; and when he heard the dragon approaching he hid himself,\nhis sword ready in his hand.\n\nThe roar of the dragon shook the earth for miles around, and Sigurd\nsaw streams of venom issuing from his jaws as he drew near. But this\ndid not affright him; he waited until the huge shape loomed overhead,\nand then thrust his sword, with all the strength he could command, as\nfar as it would go into the loathsome breast.\n\nThen followed a scene of violence beyond the power of words to\nexpress. A great roar, which shook the very heavens, went up from the\ncavernous throat, and well it was for Sigurd that he darted aside with\nthe quickness of light. The huge coils unwound and contracted again in\nthe monster's agony, and the furious lashing of his enormous tail\nutterly destroyed the surrounding vegetation, while his cruel talons,\nall powerless now to do aught else, ploughed deep furrows in the hard\nand rocky soil. All nature seemed to be undergoing its final\nconvulsions in the few moments which elapsed ere the monster at length\nlay limp and gasping in the last throes of death.\n\nThen, with the voice of Fafnir the dwarf, he asked in feeble accents:\n\"Who art thou, and what is thy kin, that thou wast bold to lift weapon\nagainst me?\"\n\nAnd his foe made answer: \"Sigurd am I called, of Volsung kin.\"\n\nThen Fafnir asked: \"Who urged thee to this deed, O bright-eyed boy?\"\n\nAnd Sigurd replied: \"A bold heart urged me, and a strong hand and\nsharp sword aided me in the doing thereof.\"\n\nBut Fafnir's eyes were opened at the approach of death, and he said:\n\"Regin, my brother, has brought about my end, and even now he is\nplotting to bring about thine also. Full soon shall the red gold of\nAndvari's hoard begin to work thy destruction. I give thee counsel,\ntherefore, that thou ridest swiftly away without the gold; for often\nit happens that he who gets a death wound is none the less avenged.\"\n\nBut Sigurd answered: \"I will not follow thy counsel, but even now will\nI rise to thy lair and take that great treasure which thou hast\nhoarded there.\"\n\nAnd Fafnir answered: \"Have thine own will. Yet shalt that gold be a\ncurse to thee, and a curse to whosoever possesses it hereafter.\"\n\nWith this warning the loathsome creature breathed his last, and at the\nsame moment the sun broke through the clouds, casting a glamour over\nthe heath which only so lately had been the haunt of evil and a place\nof desolation.\n\nNow, when it was plain that nothing more was to be feared from the\ndragon, came Regin from the place of safety where he lurked. And since\nhe feared lest Sigurd should claim the treasure as his reward for\nslaying Fafnir, he began to accuse him of having murdered his kinsman,\nand to remind him that, according to the law of the Northmen, he could\nnow require Sigurd's own life.\n\nBut Sigurd said: \"I did but kill him at thy wish, O Regin, and with\nthe good sword that thou thyself did make for me.\"\n\n\"Ah yes,\" said the traitor warily, \"it was my good sword and not thy\narm that has done the deed, and therefore no thanks are due to thee.\nBut now will I count thee guiltless of my brother's blood if thou wilt\ncut out the heart of the dragon and give me to eat of it.\"\n\nThis Sigurd promised to do, and he made a fire and set about roasting\nthe heart of the monster upon a rod. But presently, as he felt the\nheart to see if it were cooked enough, he burnt his fingers so\nseverely that at once he set them in his mouth to soothe the smart.\nAnd the moment the heart-blood of Fafnir touched his tongue his ears\nwere open to the voices of the birds, and he understood the meaning of\ntheir songs in the bushes hard by.\n\nAnd this was what the woodpeckers sang, chuckling all the time: \"There\nthou sittest, Sigurd, roasting the heart of Fafnir for another,\nwhereas if thou ate it thyself thou wouldst become wisest of men.\"\n\nAnd the swallows twittered: \"See where lies Regin, who is in mind to\nkill the man who trusts in him.\"\n\nAnd the raven croaked: \"Let Sigurd then cut off his head and so have\nall the gold-hoard for his own.\"\n\nAnd the eagle screamed: \"Why did he not ride away with that hoard at\nonce? Then might he have found the hill where Brunhild lies.\"\n\nAnd the owl hooted: \"Ay, let him now take his chance and slay the man\nwho will surely kill him if he lets him live.\"\n\nThen Sigurd arose, and he scrupled not to slay Regin; for he knew that\nhe was about to betray him unto his death.\n\nThen once more the birds began to sing. And this time they sang with\nglee of a warrior-maiden sleeping fast on a high mountain in the midst\nof a ring of glittering flames; and through this fiery ring only the\nbravest of heroes might pass and awake her from sleep.\n\n    \"On a mountain fell\n    A warrior-maid fast sleeps\n    Where a ring of flame\n    Perfect safety keeps.\n    None may take her hence\n    Save a hero bold,\n    For only at a hero's touch\n    Will those fires burn cold.\"\n\nThen was Sigurd fired with desire to find that fair maiden. So, after\npartaking of the dragon's heart, he leapt on his horse and rode along\nin the monster's tracks till he reached the place where, deep down in\nthe earth, the gold lay hoarded. And there he found the store of\ntreasure, which he placed in two great chests upon the back of his\ngood horse, meaning to walk along-side. But the horse would not stir a\nfoot until Sigurd, guessing what was in his mind, leapt upon his back;\nwhereat Greyfell galloped away at once as though he were carrying no\nweight at all.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nHow Sigurd Won the Hand of Brunhild\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nSigurd braved the flames, and what befell._\n\n\nOn and on, over level plain, by wild marshes, through winding ways,\ngalloped Greyfell, until at last he brought Sigurd to the foot of a\nmountain that is called Hindfell. And before him, on the crest of that\nheight, he saw a great light as of a fire burning, so that the flames\nseemed to touch the sky.\n\nRiding up the slope Sigurd found himself at length face to face with a\nring of lurid fire, crackling and roaring with a noise like thunder.\nBut without a moment's hesitation he plunged into the very midst of\nthis.\n\nNaught did he care for peril who had come to seek such prize, and, as\nif daunted by the courage of the Volsung, the fierce flames shrank\nback as he advanced, leaving ever a magic circle in which he rode\nunscathed, while all around they roared like some hungry lion robbed\nof its prey. They rose wave upon wave to the very sky, but their\nfierce glare shone with glory upon Sigurd, and his form was as that of\nthe Sun-god when he rises from the ever-lasting hills at the dawn of\nday.\n\nAnd suddenly, as though their work was done, the flames flickered and\nfell, leaving only a broad ring of pale ashes behind the hero as he\nrode on to where loomed the massive shape of a great castle hung with\nshields.\n\nThe doors of this castle stood wide open, and not a warrior was to be\nseen; so, dismounting, Sigurd entered the great hall, and at first saw\nno one--neither man, woman, nor child. But presently he came to a\nroom where he saw a figure, clad all in armour, lying stretched upon a\ncouch. Approaching thither, Sigurd removed the helmet, and saw, to his\nastonishment, the face of a beautiful maiden fast asleep. He called to\nher and tried to awaken her, but in vain. Then he cut off the\nbreastplate, which was fastened so closely that it seemed as though it\nhad grown into her flesh, and then the sleeves and the long steel\nboots; and at length she lay before him in her garments of fine white\nlinen, over which fell long, thick tresses of golden hair. Sigurd bent\nover her in admiration, and at that moment she opened her beautiful\neyes and gazed in wonder at his face. Then she arose, and looked with\njoy at the rising sun, but her gaze returned to Sigurd; and the two\nloved each other at first sight.\n\nWhen they had communed tenderly together, Sigurd told who he was and\nwhence he came; and Brunhild rejoiced to hear the tale. \"For,\" said\nshe, \"none but a hero might pass through that ring of fire.\"\n\nThen said Sigurd: \"Tell me now, fair Brunhild, how thou camest to this\nlonely fire-girt castle.\"\n\nAnd she told him this tale:\n\n\"A warrior-maiden am I--chief of those Valkyrs who carry off the\nvaliant dead to the halls of Valhalla and ply them with mead at the\nbanquet. But many years ago I gave dire offence to All-Father Odin, as\nthou shalt hear.\n\n\"Two kings had a quarrel, and determined to put their feud to the\nissue of the sword. One was named Helm Gunnar. He was an old man and a\nmighty warrior, and to him had Odin promised the victory.\n\n\"But for the other, young Agnar, my heart was filled with pity; and so\nI disregarded the command of Odin and struck down Helm Gunnar in the\nfight, the victory thus going to Agnar.\n\n\"Then did All-Father Odin, in his wrath, decree that I should be cast\nout from Valhalla and be banished to the earth, there to find a\nhusband like any other maiden of Midgard. But I was sore afraid, for I\nfeared to mate with a coward--I, who had been a warrior-maiden from my\nbirth. And All-Father Odin was pitiful, and placed me in this castle\non Hindfell, and surrounded me with a barrier of flames, through which\nnone but a hero would dare to pass. But first he pierced me with the\nThorn of Sleep, that I might not grow old in the years of\nwaiting--that I should awake, as thou seest me, just as I was when I\nbegan to sleep, at the touch of a brave man.\"\n\nThen Sigurd told her all his story, and when she knew that he was\nbound on adventurous quests she would not let him stay long by her\nside, but bade him go forth and win honour for himself and afterwards\nreturn to her again. Meantime she promised to await his return in the\ncastle, protected by the ring of flames, which should be rekindled on\nhis departure. \"For none but Sigurd,\" said she, \"will be brave enough\nto make his way through such flames as these, and so shall I be safe\nuntil thy return.\"\n\nSo Sigurd made ready to depart; but first he took Andvari's golden\nring, and placing it upon Brunhild's finger, as they stood together on\nthe mountain crest, he vowed to love none but her as long as his life\nshould last.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nHow the Curse of the Gold is Fulfilled\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Sigurd\nwas foully slain in the land of the Niblungs._\n\n\nNow when Sigurd had ridden far upon his way, he came to the land of\nthe Niblungs, a place of eternal mists, ruled over by Giuki and his\nwife Grimhild. Three fine sons had they and one daughter, Gudrun, the\nfairest maiden upon earth.\n\nBut Grimhild was a witch-wife--a fierce-hearted woman, learned in\nmagic and filled with crafty wile.\n\nWhen they saw Sigurd riding into the courtyard with his glittering\narmour and his burden of treasure, the king and queen said to one\nanother: \"Surely one of the Asas has come hither; for the array of\nthis stranger shines with the gold-gleam, and his horse is mightier\nthan other horses, and the man himself excels in bearing all that we\nhave ever seen.\"\n\nSo the king went out with his court to greet Sigurd, and asked: \"Who\nart thou, who ridest into my kingdom without the leave of my sons, as\nnone have dared to do before?\"\n\nAnd he answered: \"Sigurd am I, the son of Sigmund.\"\n\nAnd the king said: \"Be thou welcome here then, and take from our hands\nwhatsoever thou wilt have.\"\n\nSo for a time Sigurd lived in great honour at the court of the\nNiblungs, from whence he fared forth upon many adventures with the\nprinces of that land, and ever was he foremost of them all.\n\nDuring this time Brunhild was always in his memory, and he talked so\noften of her that at length the evil heart of Grimhild, the queen, was\nroused to jealousy. She bethought herself that, could he but be made\nto forget the maiden of the Flaming Castle, he might marry Gudrun, her\ndaughter; and so all the wealth of Andvari's hoard might remain in the\ncourt of the Niblungs for ever. On a day, therefore, she mixed a magic\npotion, and gave it to Sigurd, saying:\n\n\"We have great joy in thy visit here, and would give thee the best\nthat we enjoy. Now take this horn, and drink therefrom.\"\n\nSo he drank with gladness; and from that moment all remembrance of\nBrunhild was blotted from his mind, as though she had never been. And,\nas the queen had hoped, he began to look with eyes of affection upon\nGudrun, the fair maiden whom he saw every day, so that the Niblung\nprinces, who had grown to love and honour Sigurd more and more, came\nto him and said: \"Great good thou hast brought us, Sigurd, and\nexceeding strength thou givest to our realm. We pray thee therefore to\nabide with us for ever, and thou shalt have rule in our land, and we\nwill give thee our sister in marriage, whom another man would not get\nfor all his prayers.\" Then the heart of the Volsung responded, and\nthey swore brotherhood together, even as if they were children of one\nfather and mother; and in due time Gudrun was married to Sigurd with\nall joy and festivity.\n\nYet, in the midst of all this glee, a strange feeling oppressed the\nheart of Sigurd. Some old memory seemed to be striving within him,\nbut, try as he would, he could not give it definite shape.\n\nTime passed and King Giuki died, Gunnar, his son, succeeding him. And\nas he had no wife, his mother, Grimhild, said: \"Fair is thy life and\nfortune, O my son, but one thing thou lackest. Go, seek for thyself a\nwife who shall be a joy to thy house.\"\n\n\"But where can I find one who will be a worthy queen of the Niblungs?\"\nasked Gunnar.\n\nAnd his mother answered: \"Fair among the daughters of the earth and\nbravest of warrior-maidens is Brunhild. In her Castle of Flames she\nawaits the bridegroom who shall dare to penetrate the barrier of fire.\nGo then, seek her out, and Sigurd will ride with thee.\"\n\nSo Gunnar and Sigurd arrayed themselves joyously and rode away, till\non the crest of a high mountain they saw a castle with a golden roof\nand all about it a ring of flaming fire.\n\nThen right eagerly they pricked their steeds, but all too long it\nseemed ere they gained the summit. At length they reached the fiery\nwall, and Gunnar put his tired horse at it without pause. But the\nhorse trembled and stood stock still. Again and again he tried him,\nbut always with the same result, until, at length, Gunnar cried to\nSigurd: \"Lend me thy steed, Sigurd, for mine will not brave this\nfire.\"\n\n\"With all my heart,\" replied Sigurd, leaping off Greyfell. But when\nGunnar had mounted the horse, Greyfell would not stir, and he too\ntrembled before the flames.\n\nThen Gunnar sprang to earth, and stamped with impatience, for he\nthought it shame to go afoot into the presence of the maid. Presently\nhe remembered that his witch-mother had given him a magic potion which\nwould enable a man to take the face and form of another at will. So he\nproposed that Sigurd should take his appearance and win Brunhild for\nhim by proxy, for he knew that Greyfell would dare anything with his\nbeloved master astride his back.\n\nRemembering naught, Sigurd eagerly accepted the mission, and when he\nhad drunk of the potion prepared by Gunnar he leaped again upon the\nback of Greyfell, who sprang at once into the heart of the fire.\n\nThen the flames roared with a thunderous sound, and shot up high into\nthe sky; but next moment they died away into a heap of grey ashes, and\nSigurd, unharmed, entered the hall where Brunhild sat and waited for\nher faithless lover.\n\nAs he entered she started up with a cry of joy, which quickly died\naway when, in place of Sigurd's fair hair and bright blue eyes, she\nsaw the dark locks and flashing black eyes of Gunnar.\n\n\"What man art thou?\" she asked.\n\n\"Gunnar am I called,\" said Sigurd, \"and through the flames have I\nridden to woo thee for my bride.\"\n\nBut she looked sadly at the floor and said: \"Methought none but Sigurd\nthe Volsung could have dared those awful flames.\"\n\nThen Sigurd thought to entice the maiden. \"Much gold shall be thine,\"\nsaid he, \"if thou wilt marry Gunnar the Niblung.\"\n\nBut she said: \"Talk not to me of gold. All-Father Odin promised me a\nhero-husband, and I, a warrior-maiden, will marry no silken knight for\ngold.\"\n\nNow Brunhild had bound herself by a solemn pledge to marry him who\nshould ride through the fire, so in the end she was obliged to submit\nto her wooer's will; wherefore she took off the ring from Andvari's\nhoard that Sigurd had placed upon her finger, and gave it to him, with\nher promise to appear at the court of the Niblungs in ten days' time.\nSigurd gave her another ring in exchange, and then rejoined Gunnar,\nwith whom he rode back home, after having taken back his own form and\nlikeness.\n\nAnd only to Gudrun, his wife, did Sigurd reveal the secret of how\nBrunhild had been won for her brother Gunnar, and to her he gave the\nring from Andvari's hoard which she had returned to him.\n\nNow, when ten days had passed by, Brunhild came to the land of the\nNiblungs, and was met in solemn state by Gunnar at the door of his\npalace. Then was held high festival at the marriage celebration, after\nwhich Gunnar led his bride into the great hall where Sigurd and Gudrun\nsat side by side upon the high dais. When Brunhild saw her old lover\nshe trembled violently and her face went ashy pale, then her beautiful\neyes met Sigurd's with a look of such intense sadness and meaning that\nthe spell was dissolved, and the remembrance of the love he had given\nher rushed suddenly back into his mind, well-nigh overwhelming him\nwith grief.\n\nYet was he bound to Gudrun, as Brunhild was to Gunnar, so no more\npassed at that time.\n\nNow one day, when the birds sang pleasantly and all nature rejoiced in\nthe warmth of the summer sun, the two princesses, Gudrun and Brunhild,\nwent down to the river to bathe; and Gudrun waded the farther into the\nwater, saying scornfully that thus it became the wife to do whose\nhusband was the bravest in the world.\n\nThen the bitter feelings which for long had vexed the soul of Brunhild\nwould not be restrained, and they poured forth in a torrent of wrath\nlike some mighty waters when the dam gives way before its constant\nforce.\n\nGudrun retorted upon her by telling how that it was Sigurd, not\nGunnar, who had braved the fiery flames, and in proof of this she\nshowed in triumph the ring from Andvari's hoard which she wore upon\nher finger.\n\nNow when she heard this, Brunhild was beside herself with rage that\nshe should have been thus tricked, and she went to her husband and\nsaid: \"Never again shalt thou see me glad in thy hall, nor hear me\nspeak words of peace and gladness within thy borders, for thou hast\ndeceived me, and art no hero as I thought.\"\n\nAnd for many days after that Brunhild neither ate nor drank, but set\nwide the doors of her bower and lamented, so that all folk heard and\nmarvelled.\n\nIn vain they tried to comfort her; she would not hear even the\nsoothing words of Sigurd, whom Gudrun had sent to her, saying\nscornfully, however, as he went: \"Give her red gold, forsooth, and\nsmother up her grief and anger therewith.\"\n\nAt length Brunhild sent for her husband, and bade him put Sigurd to\ndeath, saying that she had vowed to marry the man who should come to\nher through the fire, and, since this was now impossible, Sigurd must\nsurely die, that she might be released from her oath.\n\nAnd at that Gunnar was sorely troubled, for he loved Sigurd very\ndearly. But he said to himself: \"Brunhild is better to me than all\nthings else, and the fairest of all women, and I will lay down my life\nrather than lose her love.\"\n\nSo he sent for his brother and told him that he had made up his mind\nto kill Sigurd. And H\u00f6gni, his brother, was very loth, and declared\nthat such an act of treachery would bring great shame upon the land.\nBut Gunnar reminded him of the gold-hoard, and of how all would be\ntheirs if Sigurd were out of the way. And at length they determined to\nincite their younger brother, Guttorm, to do the deed.\n\nBut Guttorm, in his turn, was unwilling until they mixed for him a\nmagic drink, which made him fierce and wild and eager for bloodshed,\nso that he was ready for whatever might befall.\n\nAt midnight, therefore, Guttorm crept, sword in hand, to Sigurd's\nchamber; but, as he bent over his pillow, he saw the bright blue eyes\nof the young hero fixed steadily upon him; and he fled, for so keen\nand eager were the eyes of Sigurd that few might look upon him. A\nsecond time he went in, and again the same thing happened.\n\nBut the third time Sigurd lay asleep; then Guttorm took his sword and\ndrove it through his breast.\n\nWounded to death, the young man had just strength to raise himself,\nseize his good sword and hurl it after Guttorm as he fled, and the\nmagic weapon cut him in two ere he reached the door. Then Sigurd fell\nback into the arms of Gudrun and died.\n\nThen did great grief fall upon the land of the Niblungs; and a mighty\nfuneral pyre was built for Sigurd, and his body was laid thereon.\n\nGudrun, his wife, sat silent and apart, her heart breaking for her\nhero-husband; but Brunhild, when she saw what she had done, was filled\nwith grief and despair beyond endurance, and snatching a dagger from\nher handmaidens, she stabbed herself and so died.\n\nIn such wise had the doom of the Magic Gold descended upon Regin and\nFafnir, and upon Sigurd and Brunhild. Nor was this the end of the\nmisery it was to work.\n\nLoathing the thought of life in her brother's palace, Gudrun now fled\nto the court of Alf, the foster-father of Sigurd, where for some years\nshe remained, busying herself in working a vast piece of tapestry on\nwhich she embroidered the heroic deeds of Sigurd.\n\nBut after a time Atli, King of the Huns, the brother of Brunhild, sent\nto Gunnar to demand that compensation should be made to him for his\nsister's death; and to him Gunnar promised that, in satisfaction for\nthis, he should receive the hand of his sister Gudrun in marriage. So\nthe Niblung princes sent and fetched her from the court of Alf, and\nforced her to marry Atli, much against her will.\n\nNow at Atli's court her talk was ever of Sigurd and of the wondrous\ngold-hoard he had brought to the Niblungs' land. And so it came to\npass that the greed of Atli was kindled when he heard of that\ntreasure, and he determined to make it his own.\n\nSo he sent a messenger to invite all the Niblung princes to visit his\ncourt, intending, when he had them in his power, to put an end to\nthem. Now Gudrun guessed what was in Atli's mind, and therefore she\ntook off the gold ring from Andvari's hoard, and twined about it a\nwolf's hair as a sign of warning; and this she sent by the same\nmessenger to her brothers.\n\nBut this messenger untwined the wolf's hair and gave only the ring to\nGunnar, who took it as a signal of good faith and gladly accepted the\ninvitation.\n\nH\u00f6gni alone was unwilling to accept the invitation, but when he found\nthat Gunnar would pay no heed to him, he prepared to go along with\nhim.\n\nFirst, however, he persuaded his brother to take that great\ntreasure-hoard and to cast it into a deep hole at the bottom of a\nmighty river, where none might find it save themselves.\n\nSo Gunnar agreed, and H\u00f6gni took the gold, and, standing on a great\nrock in the midst of the river, he flung it, with a huge splash, into\nthe water.\n\n    \"Down then and whirling outward the ruddy gold fell forth,\n    As a flame in the dim grey morning flashed out a kingdom's worth;\n    Then the waters roared above it, the wan water and the foam\n    Flew up o'er the face of the rock-wall as the tinkling gold fell home,\n    Unheard, unseen, forever, a wonder and a tale,\n    Till the last of earthly singers from the sons of men shall fail.\"\n\nNot yet, however, had the curse of that gold-hoard been entirely\nfulfilled. For when the brave Niblungs reached the hall of Atli, they\nfound no welcome awaiting them, but sharp swords and hostile looks.\nFiercely they fought, but to no avail, and at length all were slain\nsave only Gunnar and H\u00f6gni.\n\nThen Atli had each brought before him in turn, fast bound as they\nwere, and promised to give freedom to him who would first reveal to\nhim the hiding-place of the gold-hoard. But they laughed in contempt,\neven when they were put to the torture in his presence.\n\nThen H\u00f6gni, being weary of his life in chains, made an agreement with\nGunnar, so that when next King Atli asked the latter to tell him the\nsecret, he replied that he had made an oath not to reveal the\nhiding-place while H\u00f6gni lived, but that when he saw his brother was\ndead, he would do all that Atli bade him. So they killed H\u00f6gni, and\nthe Battle Maidens carried him away to the joys of Valhalla. But when\nthey showed proofs of his death to his brother, and bade him tell the\nwhereabouts of the hoard, Gunnar laughed a proud laugh and declared\nthat now the secret rested with him alone, and it should never be\nrevealed.\n\nSo, in his fury of disappointment, the king ordered him to be thrown,\nwith chained hands, into a den full of poisonous serpents; and his\nharp was flung in after him. Then did Gunnar sit smiling in their\nmidst, and played with his toes upon the instrument until all the\ncreatures, save one, were fast asleep.\n\nBut this one serpent, whom men say was the witch-mother of Atli in\ndisguise, bit Gunnar in the side, and thus died the last of the\nNiblungs.\n\nOf that race Gudrun still remained, and she now planned a thing which\nshould avenge the blood of her kinsmen and end her own unhappy life.\n\nSo she took the sword of Sigurd, which Gunnar had given into her\nhands, and slew Atli and placed him dead upon a ship. And when she had\ncast it adrift, she flung herself into the sea; and so died.\n\nThus did Andvari's hoard fulfil the curse that had been set upon all\nthose who should be concerned with it. But the glittering treasure\nitself lies hidden far beneath the waves of the mighty river Rhine,\nand only the water-sprites know where it is hid.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nThe Boyhood of Frithiof the Bold\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Frithiof\nthe Bold asked for the hand of Ingeborg the Fair._\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived in Norway a king named Bele, who had\nthree children. Helge and Halfdan were his sons, and his daughter was\ncalled by the name of Ingeborg.\n\nNow Ingeborg was the fairest of maidens, and had moreover such a fine\nwit and understanding that all men said she was the first and best of\nthe good king's children.\n\nTo the west of the settlement in which King Bele lived rose up a great\nwhite temple, hedged around with a lofty wall of wood. This temple was\nsacred to Balder the Beautiful; and so much did men honour him in\nthose days of old, that they made strict laws that within the\nenclosure in which his temple stood no man should hold converse with a\nwoman, nor should any harm be done to man or beast.\n\nOn the other side of the inlet on which stood the abode of Bele was a\nvillage ruled by a mighty man of valour named Thorsten. This Thorsten\nhad a son called Frithiof, who at the time of his birth was bigger and\nstronger than all other babes, and grew up not only tall but also bold\nand brave of heart; so that men named him Frithiof the Bold.\n\nNow Thorsten was a sea-rover. So he sent his little son to a sturdy\nyeoman called Hilding, that he might be brought up by him and taught\nall that a Viking ought to know. For the education of a Viking was no\nsmall thing. He might not claim the title till he had lifted the\nmighty stone that stood before the door of the king and had borne it\nacross the pathway. And he had to learn what was meant by the \"triple\noath\"--that he would not capture woman or child in battle, nor seek\nrefuge in a tempest, nor wait to bind up his wounds before the fight\nwas spent.\n\nNow it so happened that, while the children of the king were still\nyoung, their mother died, and the little princess was also placed in\nthe care of Hilding and his wife. Thus Frithiof and Ingeborg grew up\ntogether, and were more beautiful and brave and clever than all the\nother boys and girls of that place.\n\nThorsten, Frithiof's father, was the king's right hand, and now that\nBele was grown old and feeble he managed most of the affairs of the\nkingdom. And Frithiof too was useful to the king, more so, indeed,\nthan were his own two sons.\n\nThorsten had a famous swift ship, called _Ellida_, which was rowed by\nfifteen men on each side, and each oar required the strength of two\nmen to pull it; but Frithiof was so strong that he would row two oars\nat once.\n\nThe king's two sons, Helge and Halfden, differed much from each other\nin their appearance and characters, but they were alike in their\njealous dispositions. In particular they grudged Frithiof his growing\nrenown, and hated him in their hearts for his great strength, which\nfar exceeded theirs.\n\nAt length King Bele fell very sick, and, knowing that he was about to\ndie, he sent for Thorsten and their three sons and said:\n\n\"I know that this sickness will be to my death, and I have called you,\nmy children, to hear the last counsel of your father.\n\n\"My sons, govern the realm in peace, and let force stand sentinel at\nthe borders. The king is helpless who hath not the confidence and\naffection of his people, and the throne is insecure if it rest not on\na foundation of just and equal laws.\n\n\"Choose not the forward for your counsellors, but confide, rather, in\nthe wisdom and valour of one tried friend. Thorsten and I have\nfaithfully kept friendship's troth in steadfast union, so do ye, in\nweal or woe, wend together with Frithiof. If ye three will hold\ntogether as one man, your match shall not be seen through all our\nNorthland.\n\n\"Let my last words be for my beloved Ingeborg. She hath grown lovely\nin peace as the rose. Helge, be thou her guardian, and let no\nstorm-wind scatter those fair petals.\"\n\nThen Thorsten, in his turn, addressed Frithiof:\n\n\"My son, I too must shortly wend to Valhalla, and I rejoice to think\nthat Odin has bestowed upon thee much strength and courage of heart.\nIt is good, but remember that strength without wit is soon brought to\nnaught, even as the bear, who wields in his paw the strength of twelve\nmen, is laid low by a thrust from the sword of one. Beware of\narrogance, which goes before a fall, and bend before the will of the\nking's sons. Above all, will noble deeds and do thou every right.\"\n\nAfter this the old men gave directions for their burial, and they\ncharged their sons to lay them beneath two barrows or mounds, one on\neach side of the narrow firth, whose murmurs would ever be sweet music\nas they slept, and across whose waves their spirits would hold\nconverse as of yore.\n\nAfter the death of Thorsten, Frithiof took his land and ruled in his\nstead, with the aid of his two foster-brothers, Bj\u00f6rn and Osmund. And\nhe was now the owner of _Ellida_, the good ship which understood every\nword that was spoken to her, as though she were alive; and of two\nother heirlooms of priceless value. The first was a sword, Angurvadel\nit was named, which tradition said had been forged in Eastern lands by\nthe dwarfs. Its hilt was of hammered gold, and the blade was covered\nwith magic runes, which in peace were dull, but which flamed blood-red\nwhen the sword was brandished in war. The other was a marvellous\narm-ring, carved with all the wonders of the heavens.\n\nIt had always been the custom of the House of Thorsten to invite the\nhousehold of the king each year to a banquet, and so, soon after he\nhad succeeded to his father's place, Frithiof gave a feast more\nmagnificent than any that had been given hitherto. For he knew that,\nwith her two brothers, would come also Ingeborg the Fair, whom he\nloved with his whole heart. And while the two young kings sat at the\nboard with hostile looks and downcast faces, this sweet princess\nlaughed among her maidens like a sunny day in June. Her hair was as\ngolden as the butter-cups in the spring meadows, her eyes were blue\nlike a summer sea, and her face fair as a hawthorn bush when it first\nopens its buds of red and white.\n\nBut Frithiof was silent in her presence, for he had no words save \"I\nlove thee\" in his mind.\n\nAfter this festival, the two kings turned home again in deeper wrath\nthan ever, for they saw how all men loved Frithiof and had him in\nhonour.\n\nBut after their departure, Frithiof grew silent and sad of\ncountenance, and when his foster-brother Bj\u00f6rn questioned him as to\nthe cause he answered: \"Sad am I because I love the Princess Ingeborg\nwith all my heart, and now would I ask for her in marriage. But I am\nnot of royal birth, and much I fear that my suit will be refused.\"\n\n\"Let us at least make trial,\" said practical Bj\u00f6rn; and so, together\nwith a band of followers, they set off in the swift dragon-ship\n_Ellida_ to the strand where, upon their father's burial mound, the\nkings sat in judgment with their people.\n\nThen Frithiof stood forth and in manly words made his request for the\nhand of Ingeborg the Fair. But the kings said scornfully:\n\n\"Think not that we would give our sister to a peasant's son. She is\nfor a proud Northland chieftain, not for such as you, though all men\nmay boast of your wondrous deeds.\"\n\n\"Then,\" said Frithiof, in slow-gathering wrath, \"my errand is soon\nfinished. Remember, that if this is your final answer, I will never\ngive you help in trouble, however much you may require it.\"\n\n\"Our kingdom requires not your service,\" they answered jeeringly, \"we\ncan protect it ourselves. But if you need employment, why, we can give\nyou a servant's place among our household men.\"\n\nThen Frithiof reared his great head, saying proudly:\n\n\"No man of yours am I, but, as my father was, I am a man for myself.\nAnd now, were it not for the honour I bear to our fathers' graves,\nyour words would cost you dear. Hereafter come not within range of my\nsword.\"\n\nAnd as he spoke, with one blow he cleft the golden war shield of Helge\nwith his good sword, and the two halves fell clashing to the ground.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nFrithiof and Ingeborg\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nIngeborg went to dwell in Balder's grove._\n\n\nFar in the south of that land lived a mighty ruler, whose name was\nRing. Wise was he, and king of a land like the groves of the gods,\nwhere the corn crops waved each year and peace and justice flourished\nwithin its borders. For thirty years had he ruled his kingdom, and\neach year his people rose up and called him blessed.\n\nNow one day this king sat deep in thought upon his golden chair, and\nwhen he at length pushed it back from the board, his chieftains rose\nup gladly to hear his words.\n\nAnd the king said: \"It is now a weary while since the queen, my wife,\nleft me sorrowful upon the earth and went to dwell in the bowers of\nthe blessed ones in Asgard. Never again shall I find a queen so good\nand fair; but my children cry to me for a mother's care and I must\nseek another wife for their sake.\n\n\"Now it comes to my remembrance that often King Bele visited my hall,\nand with him sometimes came his fair daughter Ingeborg. 'Tis on her my\nchoice shall fall, for though I am old and she is but a young girl, I\nknow that she will be a good mother to my children.\"\n\n\"Take therefore gold and gems from yon oak presses, and let the\nminstrels tune their harps and go forth to ask her in marriage from\nthe sons of Bele.\"\n\nSo a long line of harpers went forth, followed by youths in glad\narray, and they stood before King Helge and King Halfdan, and gave to\nthem the message of King Ring.\n\nNow Helge was nothing loth to give his fair sister to the king,\nalthough he was an old man and she but a young girl; but, since he was\nalways very heedful of the will of the gods, he offered sacrifice and\ncarefully consulted the wise men and the wise women and all the omens\nas to whether this thing should be. And all with one consent answered\nthat the marriage must not be allowed.\n\nSo Helge refused the king's request courteously enough, saying that\nman must obey when the gods decree; but Halfdan, being rude and\nwaggish of tongue, said: \"King Greybeard himself should have ridden\nhither for his bride if he is not too old to mount his horse!\"\n\nThen the messenger returned wrathful, and King Ring said grimly: \"They\nshall soon see if King Greybeard be too old to take revenge,\" and with\nthat he struck his war shield, as it hung on the tree above him, such\na blow that the echo of it was borne even to the hall of Helge and\nHalfdan. Then he sent messengers, this time in warlike array, to the\ntwo kings, bidding them submit to his authority and pay him tribute.\n\"If ye refuse,\" said they, \"our king will send a great army and take\nthe kingdom and utterly destroy you and your people.\"\n\nBut Helge and Halfdan answered with spirit:\n\n\"Not in our young days will we learn to do that which we will never\nknow when old, and that is how to do shameful service to a neighbour\nking.\"\n\nThen they summoned Hilding, their foster-father, and bade him go to\nFrithiof and pray him to come with his followers to their aid. And\nmeantime, being in fear for their sister's safety, they sent her away\nto the dim grove where Balder's temple rose grey among the shadows.\nThere, day by day, fair Ingeborg sat among her maidens at her\nembroidery, and as she drew the thread it was wet with her tears.\n\nNow when Hilding, that good old yeoman, reached the hall of Frithiof,\nhe found the hero sitting with Bj\u00f6rn at a game of chess. Gladly was he\ngreeted by the young man, who pointed to the High Chair, the chief\nseat at the board, and bade him sit and drink a horn of mead while\nthey finished their game.\n\nBut Hilding, full of his errand, began at once to speak: \"I am sent by\nthe sons of Bele,\" said he. \"They now salute thee and pray that thou\nwouldst go up to their help to battle against King Ring, who is about\nto attack their land with violence.\"\n\nBut Frithiof seemingly paid no heed to his words, saying only to his\nopponent: \"Bj\u00f6rn, thy king is in danger, beware! Yet a pawn can\nrecover him even now.\"\n\nThen Hilding urged: \"Frithiof, my son, anger not the kings. Remember\nthat they too have power, and that they threaten thee with a terrible\nfate if thou wilt not go forth to their aid.\"\n\nBut Frithiof only said to Bj\u00f6rn:\n\n\"See how thou threatenest my castle in vain!\"\n\n    \"Grim and high the fierce wall rises,\n    Bright the Shield-tower shines within.\"\n\nThen Hilding tried another argument.\n\n\"Son!\" he cried, \"knowest thou not how Ingeborg weeps all day within\nthe Place of Balder? Wilt thou not fight for her release? Wilt thou\nleave her blue eyes to melt in vain?\"\n\nBut Frithiof answered Bj\u00f6rn, as though unheeding: \"Bj\u00f6rn, 'tis in vain\nthou tryest to take my queen, ever so dear and true to me. She is my\nfavourite piece in all the game, and, come what will, I'll save my\nqueen.\"\n\n\"What!\" cried the old man. \"Must I go forth unheeded, without even a\nreply, because of this child's game?\"\n\nThen Frithiof rose and pressed his hand kindly, saying: \"Father,\nnaught will make me change my mind, and what thou hast heard me say\nhere in this place, thou mayest tell again to those who sent thee.\"\n\nWhen the kings received the report of Hilding concerning Frithiof,\nthey waited but to see that their sister Ingeborg was safe within the\nwalls of Balder's grove, and then prepared to march with all the\nforces they could muster to meet King Ring.\n\nMeantime Frithiof attired himself in his richest dress, and placed his\ngolden ring upon his arm, and called on Bj\u00f6rn and his servants to\nfollow him.\n\n\"Whither now do we go, my brother?\" asked Bj\u00f6rn.\n\n\"To the grove of Balder,\" answered Frithiof shortly.\n\n\"That is not well,\" said Bj\u00f6rn anxiously. \"It will draw down the anger\nof the gods upon us.\"\n\n\"That remains to be seen,\" replied Frithiof.\n\nSo they rowed over the firth and entered Balder's grove, and made\ntheir way into Ingeborg's bower.\n\nNow when she saw Frithiof, the blue eyes of Ingeborg flashed with joy,\nbut she said gravely, as she rose to receive him: \"Now wherefore art\nthou so bold, Frithiof, to come hither against the will of my brothers\nand to bring the wrath of the gods upon us?\"\n\nBut Frithiof replied: \"Nay, love, no perils attend us. Fear not the\nwrath of Balder; that gentle god will not punish true lovers. Let us\nkneel at his shrine. No incense is more grateful to his soul than the\nfaith of two young hearts vowing eternal love.\"\n\nSo when they had knelt for a space they sat down side by side, and\nFrithiof drew the ring from off his arm and gave it to Ingeborg,\nsaying: \"This ring will I give thee if thou wilt promise never to part\nwith it, but to send it to me when thou no longer hast need of it. And\nwith it I plight thee my troth.\"\n\nAnd in the same manner did Ingeborg give her own ring to Frithiof.\n\nAnd then Ingeborg with fond entreaties implored her lover to seek\nHelge once again, and offer his hand, lest haply he might be\nreconciled. Long did Frithiof hesitate, but at last the melting eyes\nof Ingeborg could be denied no longer, and he promised that once again\nwould he seek the kings in peace and friendship.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nFrithiof Braves the Storm\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Frithiof\nthe Bold went on a perilous adventure._\n\n\nNow when the two young kings met with Ring, and found that his forces\nwere far stronger than theirs, their hearts failed them and they sent\nmessengers to sue for peace. And it was arranged that they should\nsubmit to King Ring, and should give Ingeborg their sister to him in\nmarriage, together with the third part of all their possession.\n\nNow one morning tidings were brought to Frithiof by Bj\u00f6rn, who cried:\n\"The kings are returned home, and short enough will be our time of\npeace, for we have broken the law of Balder, and we shall have to\npay.\"\n\nBut Frithiof, who knew no fear, bade him be at rest, saying that\ndirectly the kings had taken their seat upon their father's\ngrave-mound, to hear the suits brought before them, he intended once\nagain to claim the hand of Ingeborg.\n\nSo on the day appointed he sought the place where Helge sat, black as\na thunder-cloud, with his warriors around him, and foolish Halfdan,\njesting as usual, and playing with his sword, stood by his side. And\nFrithiof stood forth and said: \"Not yet is thy kingdom free, O Helge,\nfrom the threat of battle. Give me then thy sister and my strong right\narm shall fight for thee. Come, let this grudge between us be\nforgotten, for I am loth to bear myself ill towards the brother of\nIngeborg and the sons of Bele. Here is my hand; but by the gods I\nswear that, if thou refuse, it shall never be stretched forth to thee\nin peace again.\"\n\nAt these words a shout broke from the listening throng and the air was\nrent with the noise of clashing weapons.\n\n\"Ay! Give him Ingeborg, for what swordsman in our land is like to\nhim?\"\n\nAnd even foolish Halfdan joined in the prayer.\n\nBut Helge, still cold and hard, made reply:\n\n\"The peasant's son might indeed have claimed the Princess Ingeborg,\nbut not he who has broken Balder's peace. Say, Frithiof, hast thou\nnot spurned the law of Balder's house and spoken to my sister within\nhis sacred walls?\"\n\nThen from the crowd of warriors came the murmur: \"Say but nay, say\nnay! The word of Thorsten's son is good as any king's. Say nay! Say\nnay!\"\n\nBut Frithiof made reply: \"I will not lie to gain the joys of Asgard. I\nhave seen thy sister and spoken to her within yon walls, yet have I\nnot disturbed Balder nor broken his good peace.\"\n\nThen all that assembly was filled with horror as they heard his words,\nfor they all feared the wrath of the god. Hoarse and gloomy was the\nvoice of Helge as he said:\n\n\"Now, by my great father's laws, I could condemn thee to banishment or\ndeath, but, even as great Balder was mild, so shall my judgment be.\n\n\"Far away on the isles of the west dwells a mighty jarl named\nAngantyr, who in my father's days paid yearly tribute to our land, and\nsince his death has kept all back. Away then to his realm, collect the\nmoney, and bring it back to us. 'Tis said he is hard-handed, and will\nmeet with the sharp sword him who asks for his gold, but what is that\nto thee? Hence, Frithiof, or be branded coward for evermore.\"\n\nThen Frithiof bowed his head and departed, for he knew that it was the\nwill of Balder that this thing should be.\n\nBut first he went again to visit his betrothed and to bid her a sad\nfarewell. Heavy of heart was Ingeborg, for she knew that her brother\nhad planned an expedition that should cost Frithiof his life; but\nFrithiof cheered her, reminding her that this Angantyr, whom men so\ndreaded, was his father's oldest friend.\n\nSo Frithiof prepared to set out on his journey, but first he made a\npact with Helge that his possessions should rest in peace during his\nabsence, and the promise was confirmed with oaths.\n\nThen Frithiof set out with eighteen of his companions, and they went\non board the swift ship _Ellida_ and sailed out beyond the bay.\n\nBut no sooner had he departed than the kings plundered and burnt his\nvillage. After this, they sent two witches, and bade them send such a\nterrible tempest against Frithiof and his followers that they should\nall perish in the sea. To this the evil hags readily agreed, and,\nhaving climbed to the top of a high mountain, began to cast their\nwicked spells upon the winds.\n\nThus it came to pass that when Frithiof and his men had left the land\nfar behind them there arose a great storm, and a mighty wind, which\nlashed the waves to the very stars and drove the ship violently along.\n\nBut Frithiof only smiled and sang:\n\n    \"Run, good ship, before the wind,\n    Ingeborg thou soon shalt find.\n    Ingeborg, the maid I love,\n    Waits for me in Balder's grove.\"\n\nThen said Bj\u00f6rn, in fear and wrath: \"Well would it be if thou hadst\nsomething better to do than to sing of Balder's grove.\"\n\nBut Frithiof laughed aloud, and showed him how the north wind was\nblowing them straight to the Solundar Isles, where they might find\nsafe harbour. They did not bide there long, however, for the weather\nsuddenly became calmer, and for awhile they sailed along before a\nfavourable breeze. Then the wind began to freshen again, and when they\nwere far out at sea a still mightier tempest arose, with so much sleet\nand snow that they could not see the prow of the vessel from the\nstern. The waves also beat over the ship, so that they had to bale\nincessantly. But Frithiof, though he toiled harder than them all,\ncontinued to laugh and sing, though Bj\u00f6rn growled: \"He who wanders far\nmeets many a hindrance.\"\n\nThen a great sea swept over the boat and nearly swamped her; and\nFrithiof cried: \"See how the Swan Maidens are pledging us!\" and set to\nwork to bale with a good heart.\n\nStill higher rose the storm, till the waves, like snow mountains,\nreared themselves above the ship; and Bj\u00f6rn cried in despair: \"Sure\nwoe is now at hand, my foster-brother. Why didst thou ever enter the\nbower of Balder's grove?\"\n\nBut Frithiof said with a laugh: \"Methinks some of our good fellows\nwill have to journey to the realms of Ran, the Sea-goddess, and we\nshall cut but a sorry figure there unless we go with a brave face and\nred gold in our hands.\"\n\nSo saying he took the gold ring that Ingeborg had given him and cut it\nin pieces and divided it among his men.\n\nAt last the storm grew still and the waves calm; but the ship was\nwater-logged, and Frithiof called loudly on the men to bale her out.\n\n\"It is useless to try to do it,\" said the faint-hearted Bj\u00f6rn, but\nFrithiof cried: \"Come, brother, never despair, for it hath ever been a\nhero's custom to give what help he can as long as possible, come what\nmay hereafter.\"\n\nSo they baled _Ellida_ clear, and, seeing his companions were now worn\nout with toil, Frithiof bade them lie down in the boat and rest. And\nhe himself took two oars at the prow and rowed onwards with his mighty\nstrength till they came to land; and finding that his followers were\nstill weak and weary he carried them over the surf on his shoulders\nand set them safely on shore.\n\nNow the island on which they had landed was part of the domain of that\nJarl Angantyr, and soon a message him:\n\n\"Tidings, my jarl. Men have come ashore, but they seem weary and\nhelpless enough. Yet one of them is so strong and fresh that he\ncarries all the others to land.\"\n\n\"Surely,\" said the jarl, \"that man must be Frithiof, son of my old\nfriend Thorsten, a man renowned for all good deeds.\"\n\nThen Angantyr sent messengers to bid Frithiof welcome and to bring him\nto his hall. And he prevailed upon his guest to pass the winter with\nhim, and showed high hospitality to him and to all his men. But when\nFrithiof spoke of the errand on which he had come, the jarl said\nproudly: \"No tribute shall King Helge have of me, but thou, my friend,\nshall take back such treasure as thou wilt, and tribute thou mayest\ncall it, or any other name, as thou desirest. For now it is clear to\nme that Helge hath laid a trap for thee, and such kings are but\nill-esteemed in this land.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nBalder Forgives\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how Frithiof\nthe Bold was wedded to Ingeborg the Fair._\n\n\nNow while Frithiof was absent in the Western Isles there came Ring,\nthat good old chieftain, northward to the land of the two young\nrulers, Helge and Halfdan.\n\nSorely grieved was Ingeborg when she knew that she must wed the\nstranger king, but she knew naught of what had happened to Frithiof,\nand was obliged to obey her brothers' will.\n\nAnd as they sat at the marriage feast, Ring saw the bracelet upon her\narm and knew that it had been Frithiof's; and he bade her take it off\nand give it to the wife of Helge that she might give it to the\nwanderer on his return.\n\nIn the following spring came Frithiof back again to Norway, having\nparted from Angantyr with much love and goodwill. But as he neared his\nhome, one met him whom he knew, who said: \"Black have grown the\nbuildings here, and traces there are none of the hands of friends.\"\n\nThen Frithiof held counsel with his men and they shaped their course\nto the hall of the kings. But upon arrival there he heard that they\nwere away at Balder's grove offering a sacrifice. So he set off\nthither with Bj\u00f6rn, leaving the rest with orders to make holes in all\nthe ships, both large and small, that lay in that harbour. When they\ncame to the entrance of the temple, Frithiof bade Bj\u00f6rn stay outside\nand, entering alone, stood silent in the shadows watching where King\nHelge stood, crowned, by the altar of fire, whose flickering flames\npainted the great wooden image of Balder with a golden glory. Around\nthe walls were ranged the ancient priests, silver-bearded, some with\nburning brands and others with flint knives for the sacrifice.\n\nUp to King Helge then strode Frithiof and, taking from his girdle the\nbag of silver which he had received from Angantyr, he flung it in the\nface of the king, saying: \"Receive thy tribute thus!\" And so hard did\nhe fling the money that it struck out two of Helge's teeth, and he\nfell senseless on the floor.\n\nNow there were few but old men in the temple hall, and they were awed\nby the sight of Frithiof's gleaming blade.\n\nSo for a time he stood unmolested, but as he turned to go the arm-ring\nhe had given to Ingeborg caught his eye, for it had been placed upon\nBalder's arm. \"Pardon, O Balder,\" he said, \"but thou wilt no claim a\nstolen jewel!\" As he spoke he tugged at the ring, but it seemed to\nhave grown fast to the wooden arm. Frithiof put forth all his\nstrength, and suddenly the ring came away, but the great figure of the\ngod fell prone across the altar, whose flames immediately enveloped\nit and leapt up as though in triumph to the rafters of the hall.\n\nThen was there great confusion as the flames spread rapidly. Frithiof\nstayed to render what aid was possible, but when it was seen that the\ntemple was doomed to utter destruction he turned grief-stricken away,\nand rejoining his companions they put out to sea.\n\nWhen King Helge came to his senses again his first thought was\nvengeance, and he summoned his men to pursue after Frithiof. But his\nships had barely got under way when they began to sink, so that they\nhad to put back quickly into harbour. Then in his fury did Helge\nsnatch his bow to shoot an arrow after Frithiof, but so strongly did\nhe pull it that the string broke and the bow fell useless from his\nhand.\n\nMeantime, Frithiof sailed merrily out to sea; and when Bj\u00f6rn\nquestioned him as to what he meant to do next he replied: \"Since I may\nno longer stay in Norway, I will learn the customs of the sea-chief,\nand will rove as a Viking.\"\n\nSo all through the summer they sailed to distant islands and far-off\ncountries, winning both goods and renown, until he had become\nexceeding rich and famous. Wicked and cruel men he slew, but peasants\nand merchants and women he let go free, like the good Viking that he\nwas.\n\nAt length, after four years had thus passed away, Frithiof said to\nBj\u00f6rn: \"Weary am I of these expeditions, and therefore will I sail\naway to Uplands and hold discourse with good King Ring.\"\n\n\"It is not good,\" said Bj\u00f6rn, \"to trust thyself in a rival's power. If\nthou must do this rash thing at least go not alone.\"\n\n\"I am never alone,\" replied the hero, \"while my sword hangs at my\nside.\"\n\nFrithiof now made preparation for his journey, and when he said\nfarewell to his companions he was clad in a cloak of skin which\ncompletely covered him, and he walked with two staves as one who is\nbowed down with years. His face, too, was covered with a great beard.\n\nIt was eventide when he entered the king's hall and stood far down by\nthe door with his cloak drawn over his face.\n\nThen the king said to the queen as she sat by him at table: \"There has\njust come a man into the hall taller by far than other men.\"\n\nAnd she answered without interest that that was no great news.\n\nThen the king sent for the stranger and questioned him as to whence he\ncame; and because he loved to show hospitality he bade him seat\nhimself at his side. \"But,\" said he, \"let fall that shaggy hide, which\ncovers, as I think, a proper man.\"\n\nThen Frithiof showed himself in a dark-blue kirtle, with the ring\ngleaming on his arm and his sword girt to a broad silver belt, from\nwhich hung a well-filled purse. And when the queen saw that arm-ring\nshe knew Frithiof, in spite of the great beard that he had grown; but\nshe betrayed her recognition only by her changing colour and the\nheaving of her breast.\n\nNow the king soon grew to love Frithiof, whom he compelled to stay\nwith him all the winter through. Little and seldom spoke the queen to\nhim, but by the king he was ever regarded with a glad and smiling\ncountenance.\n\nThen it came to pass that one day Frithiof had accompanied them to a\nbanquet, and their way lay over a lake. And Frithiof warned the king\nthat the ice on this lake was not safe. Scarcely had the king thanked\nhim for his care when the ice broke, and the sledge with the royal\npair upon it must have been submerged had not Frithiof dragged it\nforth and saved their lives. Then said the king, looking at him very\nkindly: \"Well done, good friend, Frithiof the Bold could not have done\nbetter had he been here.\"\n\nThe winter passed away, and one day, when the woods were full of green\nleaves, the king went forth into them with Frithiof as his only\ncompanion. Presently said the king: \"Heavy am I with sleep, and here\nmust I rest.\"\n\nBut Frithiof said: \"Not so; let my lord journey home, for here is\ndanger to those who sleep in the open air.\"\n\n\"I care not,\" said the king, and so laid himself down to sleep.\n\nAnd as he slept Frithiof came and looked on him, and then quickly took\nhis sword from its scabbard and flung it away.\n\nThen the king opened his eyes and said: \"Well hast thou resisted that\ntemptation, Frithiof; for Frithiof I knew thee to be when first thou\ncamest into my hall. Now stay with me, for my heart yearns towards\nthee and I am far stricken in years, and if thou wilt be my right hand\nfor the days that are left, thou shalt have my land after my death for\nthine own.\"\n\nBut Frithiof shook his head sadly, saying: \"not so, O king, for even\nnow must I journey away from these shores.\"\n\nShortly after this Frithiof prepared to depart, and his dragon-ship\nlay at her moorings tugging as though eager to breast the waves of\nocean once again. Then came he to Ring and Ingeborg, but the old king\nwas at the point of death. \"Valhalla calls to me,\" said he, \"and my\nweary spirit would fain be at rest. Frithiof, take thou my kingdom and\nguard the crown.\" He then placed the hand of his queen in that of\nFrithiof, and a moment later his spirit was borne by the Valkyrs into\nthe Regions of the Blessed.\n\nSo they raised a mighty cairn above King Ring, and great was the\nmourning and lamentation in the land. Then all men looked to Frithiof\nas his successor, but he bade them give their allegiance to the son of\nKing Ring, who was a right noble boy, and when they looked upon him\nthey saw that he was worthy to wear his father's crown.\n\nBut because the people loved Frithiof, they cried: \"Govern thou the\nrealm while our king is young, and let us celebrate thy marriage with\nIngeborg, as King Ring desired.\"\n\nBut Frithiof answered sadly: \"I must fare over the seas to Balder's\nsacred grove. The mild god's wrath still burns against me. He took, he\nonly can restore, my cherished bride.\"\n\nThe farewells have been spoken, the swift ship has cleaved the waves,\nand the hero stands in the desolate grove where once stood the temple\nof Balder, but where wild animals are now in hiding.\n\n\"Mild, blue-eyed Balder,\" speaks the hero, \"will no atonement quit me\nof my guilt? Blood-fines take we for kinsmen slain, and the high gods\nare not wont to nurse their wrath when altar flames consume the\nsacrifice. Some offering ask, all that thou wilt is thine.\"\n\n    \"Then sudden, o'er the western waters pendent,\n    An Image comes, with gold and flames resplendent,\n    O'er Balder's grove it hovers, night's clouds under,\n    Like gold crown resting on a bed of green.\n    At last to a temple settling, firm 'tis grounded--\n    Where Balder stood, another temple's founded.\"\n\nFrithiof gazed in wonderment, and his heart went out in praise for the\nsign vouchsafed. He would raise a shrine more glorious than the one\nwhich had been destroyed by fire, and thus would he be at rest.\n\nNow, while the timbers were being hewn and the carved pillars were\ntaking shape, King Helge was absent upon a foray amongst the Finnish\nmountains. One day his band passed by a crag where stood the lonely\nshrine of some forgotten god, and King Helge scaled the rocky summit\nwith intent to raze the ruined walls. The lock held fast and, as Helge\ntugged fiercely at the mouldered gate, suddenly a sculptured image of\nthe deity, rudely summoned from his ancient sleep, started from his\nniche above.\n\nRudely he fell upon the head of the intruder, and Helge stretched his\nlength upon the rocky floor, nor stirred again.\n\nAnd now Balder's temple is finished, and its noble proportions look\nover the firth, in whose clear waters it is reflected. Its vast hall\nis filled melody, and the Chief Priest of Balder stands ready to\nreceive a bride. But who stands frowning upon the threshold? King\nHalfdan it is, who approaches, sword in hand.\n\nFrithiof with quick hands unbuckled the sword from his thigh and\nleaned it, with his golden shield, against the altar. Then with\noutstretched hand he advanced saying:\n\n    \"Most noble in this strife will he be found\n    Who first is right hand good\n    Offers in pledge of peaceful brotherhood.\"\n\nHalfdan, blushing deeply, hastened to doff his iron gauntlet, and the\ntwo men, severed so long, forgot their enmity and pledged abiding\nfaith with friendly grasp.\n\n    \"And as the last deep accents\n    Of reconcilement sounded,\n    Lo! Ingeborg sudden enters, rich adorn'd,\n      And to her brother's heart she trembling sinketh.\n    He with his sister's fears\n      Deep-moved, her hand all tenderly in Frithiof's linketh,\n    His burden soft transferring to the Hero's breast.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nHow the End of All Things Came About\n\n_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how\nthe End of All Things Came About._\n\n\nWhen the Asa folk had banished wicked Loki to earth, and bound him\nfast in his gloomy cavern, they thought they had heard and seen the\nlast of his evil ways.\n\nBut this was not to be the case. Finding he could not free himself,\nbut must endure his bonds till the end of All Things, Loki tried to\ndivert himself by enticing the earth people to him and teaching them\nto do every manner of evil. And so fast did knowledge of this evil\nspread, that the whole world soon became full of wickedness. Brothers\nfought and killed each other, men were for ever at war with other men,\nno one had time or room in his heart for pity or for kindliness.\n\nSol and Mani, who were wont to drive radiant through the sky in their\ngolden chariots, grew pale with dismay, for they knew that these\nthings portended their end, when those hungry wolves, who were ever\npursuing them, would overtake and devour them utterly.\n\nAnd they ceased to smile upon the land, wherefore the earth grew cold\nand dark, and a long, long winter began. From North, South, East, and\nWest great snowstorms blew over the world, the Frost Giants waved\ntheir great wings and breathed an icy blast, and a thick layer of ice\nspread over the whole surface of the earth.\n\nFor six seasons this terrible winter held the world in its grip, and\nduring all that time the earth people grew more wicked, until all\ntraces of goodness disappeared. Meantime, deep down in the dark shades\nof the Ironwood, an evil Frost Giantess fed the pursuing wolves, so\nthat they gained strength each day, and at length they were able to\novertake Sol and Mani in their head-long course, and to devour them.\n\nNow when that dreadful thing had happened, the whole earth shook to\nits foundations, and Loki, the Fenris Wolf, and the Sea-serpent,\nmaking one last tremendous effort, broke their bonds and rushed to\nwreak revenge upon their captors.\n\nAt that moment the dragon that lies at the root of the Tree of Life\ngnawed it through, so that it quivered and shook to its very top. The\nred cock who stood perched above the halls of Valhalla gave a shrill\ncrow of alarm, and this was taken up by the white cock who roosts upon\nthe tallest tree on the earth, and echoed by Hela's blood-red bird in\nthe depths of the Mist Home.\n\nHeimdall knew the meaning of these sounds, and putting the horn to his\nlips he gave the last long call from Asgard, which resounded across\nthe Rainbow Bridge throughout the whole world.\n\nThen the Asa folk sprang from their flower-strewn couches, and seizing\ntheir weapons, they mounted their battle steeds and rode across the\nRainbow Bridge to the great plain where they were to wage their last\nfight.\n\nMeantime, the Sea-serpent was lashing the waters of the ocean with his\ntail as he made his way through the blood-red waves to that dread\nbattlefield. And Loki, who had roused all the host of the Fire Giants,\nwas sailing thither as fast as the tossing ocean would carry his fatal\nbarque; while from the foggy regions of the north issued the whole\nrace of Frost Giants, eager for their revenge upon the hated Asa folk.\n\nFrom a cleft in the earth came also Hela, the goddess of the\nunderworld, followed by her gaunt watchdog and by all the evil dregs\nof her gloomy realm. Lastly, from a blinding flash of lightning that\nseemed to rend the skies in twain, came forth the troop of Flame\nGiants, each with his fiery sword in hand.\n\nLoki gladly placed himself at the head of all those hosts, and he led\nthem forward boldly against the gods.\n\nAnd first they thought to storm Asgard in one wild onset, but the\nRainbow Bridge sank with a mighty crash under their horses' feet.\n\nMeanwhile, the Asas had been gathering their forces upon the\nbattlefield, where with calm, stern faces they awaited the attack of\ntheir foes--the red Flame Giants, the grim army of Hela, the\ngrey-white host of the Frost Giants, led by Loki, with the Fenris Wolf\non one hand and the Sea-serpent, breathing out clouds of deadly\nvapour, on the other.\n\n    \"And all are marshalled in one flaming square\n    Against the gods, upon the plains of heaven.\"\n\nThen came the crash of battle, in which, for all their courage, the\nAsas were bound to meet with defeat. Desperately they fought, but all\nto no avail, for, at the moment that Heimdall and Loki fell dead\nbefore each other's swords, and Thor, after killing the Sea-serpent,\nwas drowned in the poisonous stream that flowed from the creature's\nmouth, the Fenris Wolf came at All-Father Odin with jaws open so wide\nthat they reached from earth to heaven; and rushing upon the mighty\nAsa he engulfed him in that horrid tomb.\n\nMost of the Asas, as well as their foes, now lay dead on the\nbattlefield, and, seeing this, the Flame Giants suddenly grasped their\nfiery brands and flung them over earth and heaven and all the\nunderworld.\n\nThe mighty Tree of Life withered and fell; the golden halls of Asgard\nmelted away; the green things of earth turned black, and still the\nfire raged, until the whole world, burnt to a cinder, sank beneath the\nwaves of the sea.\n\nThus did the End of All Things come about.\n\nBut because the End of All Things is also very often the Beginning of\nOthers, the Northmen say that, after many long years, the old Earth\nrose again, clean and pure and bright from her long cleansing\nunderneath the sea. And in the sky above a daughter of Sol again drove\nher sun-chariot, and smiled upon the earth, so that it grew young and\nfresh and green again.\n\nAnd when this came to pass, a man and a woman, who, sunk in sleep in\nthe depths of a forest, had escaped the universal destruction, came\nforth and took possession of the sweet green lands, for themselves and\nfor their children for ever.\n\n    \"So perish the old Gods!\n    But out of the sea of Time\n    Rises a new land of song.\n    Fairer than the old.\n    Over is meadows green\n    Walk the young bards and sing.\n\n    Build it again,\n    O ye bards,\n    Fairer than before!\n    Ye fathers of the new race,\n    Feed upon morning dew,\n    Sing the new Song of Love!\n\n    The law of force is dead!\n    The law of love prevails!\n    Thor, the thunderer,\n    Shall rule the earth no more,\n    No more, with threats,\n    Challenge the meek Christ.\n\n    Sing no more,\n    O ye bards of the North,\n    Of Vikings and of Jarls!\n    Of the days of Eld\n    Preserve the freedom only,\n    Not the deeds of blood.\"\n\n                      LONGFELLOW.\n\n\n\n\nPRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER NAMES\n\n(_a as in hate; e as in tea; o as in note; \u00e4 as in arm; e\nas in merit_)\n\nTranscriber's Note: [=oo] represents two 'o's with a line on top. There\nis no Unicode representation for the letter.\n\nThese letters can be represented only in Unicode. Correct letters are\nprovided in the Unicode text.\n\n\n\u00c6gir (a\u00b4jir)\n\nAgnar (ag\u00b4nar)\n\nAndvari (\u00e4nd\u00b4v\u00e4-re)\n\nAngantyr (\u00e4n-g\u00e4n\u00b4ter)\n\nAngurvadel (\u00e4n-gur-v\u00e4\u00b4del)\n\nAngur-boda (\u00e4n-gur-bo\u00b4d\u00e0)\n\nAsa (a\u00b4sa)\n\nAsgard (as\u00b4g\u00e4rd)\n\nAsk (\u00e4sk)\n\nAtli (at\u00b4le)\n\n\nBalder (baul\u00b4der)\n\nBaugi (bow\u00b4ge)\n\nBele (be-la\u00b4)\n\nBj\u00f6rn (byern)\n\nBragi (br\u00e4\u00b4ge)\n\nBranstock (bran\u00b4stok)\n\nBredi (bre\u00b4de)\n\nBrock (brock)\n\nBrunhild (br[=oo]n\u00b4hild)\n\n\nDraupnir (drowp\u00b4nir)\n\n\nElli (el\u00b4le)\n\nEllida (el-li\u00b4da)\n\nEmbla (em\u00b4bla)\n\n\nFafnir (faf\u00b4nir)\n\nFenga (feng\u00e1)\n\nFenris (fen\u00b4ris)\n\nFensalir (fen\u00b4s\u00e4l-ir)\n\nFialar (fy\u00e4l\u00b4ar)\n\nFiorgyn (fy\u00f4r\u00b4gen)\n\nFrey (fri)\n\nFreya (fri\u00b4a)\n\nFrigga (frig\u00b4a)\n\nFrithiof (frit\u00b4yof)\n\n\nGalar (g\u00e4l\u00b4ar)\n\nGeirrod (gir\u00b4rod)\n\nGeri (ger\u00b4e)\n\nGersemi (ger\u00b4se-me)\n\nGialp (gy\u00e4lp)\n\nGilling (gil\u00b4ling)\n\nGi\u00f6ll (gyel)\n\nGiuki (gi\u00b4[=oo]ki)\n\nGnomes (nomz)\n\nGreip (grip)\n\nGreyfell (gra-fel)\n\nGrid (gred)\n\nGrimnir (grim\u00b4nir)\n\nGrimhild (grim\u00b4hild)\n\nGudrun (goo\u00b4droon)\n\nGungnir (goong\u00b4nir)\n\nGunlod (goon\u00b4lod)\n\nGunnar (gun\u00b4n\u00e4r)\n\nGuttorm (goot\u00b4torm)\n\n\nHamdir (ham\u00b4dir)\n\nHalfdan (half\u00b4dan)\n\nHeidrun (hi\u00b4dr[=oo]n)\n\nHeimdall (him\u00b4d\u00e4l)\n\nHela (hel\u00e1)\n\nHelge (hel\u00b4ge)\n\nHermod (her\u00b4mod)\n\nHindfell (hind\u00b4fel)\n\nHiordis (hy\u00f4r\u00b4dis)\n\nHoder (ho\u00b4der)\n\nHoenir (he\u00b4nir)\n\nH\u00f6gni (heg\u00b4ne)\n\nHreidmar (hrid\u00b4mar)\n\nHugi (hu\u00b4gi)\n\nHugin (hu\u00b4gin)\n\nHunding (hund\u00edng)\n\nHyrroken (her\u00b4ro-kin)\n\n\nIdun (e\u00b4doon)\n\nIngeborg (in\u00b4ge-borg)\n\n\nJarl (y\u00e4rl)\n\n\nKari (k\u00e4r\u00b4e)\n\nKvasir (kv\u00e4\u00b4sir)\n\n\nLogi (lo\u00b4ge)\n\nLoki (lo\u00b4ke)\n\nLygni (leg\u00b4ni)\n\n\nMani (m\u00e4\u00b4ne)\n\nMidgard (mid\u00b4g\u00e4rd)\n\nMimir (me\u00b4mir)\n\nMi\u00f6lnir (myel\u00b4nir)\n\nModir (mo\u00b4dir)\n\nMunin (mu\u00b4nin)\n\n\nNiblungs (ne\u00b4bloongz)\n\nNiffelheim (nifl\u00b4him)\n\nNi\u00f6rd (nyerd)\n\n\nOdin (o\u00b4din)\n\nOdur (o\u00b4door)\n\n\nRagnarok (rag\u00b4na-ruk)\n\nRan (r\u00e4n)\n\nRatatosk (r\u00e4\u00b4ta-tusk)\n\nRati (r\u00e4\u00b4te)\n\nRegin (ra\u00b4gin)\n\nRerir (ra\u00b4rir)\n\nRing (ring)\n\nRinghorn (ring\u00b4horn)\n\nRoskva (ros\u00b4kva)\n\n\nSif (sif)\n\nSiggeir (sig\u00b4ir)\n\nSigi (sig\u00b4e)\n\nSigmund (sig\u00b4moond)\n\nSigny (sig\u00b4ni)\n\nSigurd (se\u00b4goord)\n\nSigyn (se\u00b4gen)\n\nSindri (sin\u00b4dre)\n\nSinfiotli (sin-fe-ot\u00b4li)\n\nSkadi (sk\u00e4\u00b4de)\n\nSkrymir (skrim\u00b4ir)\n\nSleipnir (slip\u00b4nir)\n\nSol (sol)\n\nSuttung (soot\u00b4t[=oo]ng)\n\nSvadilfare (sv\u00e4\u00b4dil-f\u00e4r\u00b4e)\n\n\nThialfi (te\u00b4\u00e4lf\u00b4e)\n\nThiassi (te-\u00e4s-se)\n\nThok (tok)\n\nThor (thor or tor)\n\nThorsten (tor-sten)\n\nThrym (trim)\n\nTyr (ter)\n\n\nUplands (up\u00b4lands)\n\n\nValhalla (v\u00e4l-h\u00e4l\u00b4la)\n\nVali (v\u00e4l\u00b4e)\n\nValkyrs (val\u00b4kirz)\n\nValtam (v\u00e4l\u00b4tam)\n\nVikings (vik\u00b4ingz)\n\nVolsung (vol\u00b4soong)\n\n\nYmir (e\u00b4mir)\n\n       *       *       *       *       *","title":"Told by the Northmen: Stories from the Eddas and Sagas","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":55475}