THE NINE O RL D S

S TO R I ES FR O M NO R S E M Y THO L O G Y

MA R Y E . L IT C H FIE L D

B O S T O N, A ND L O ND O N

G I NN C O M P A NY , P U B L I S H E R S
1 9 0 0
 E NT ERE S TA T I ON ER S HA L L
’
D AT o

CO PY R IG H T ,
1 8 90 ,

B Y MA R Y E . LI TCH FI ELD ,

ALL R IG H T S R ESER E V D .

T Y P OG R A P H Y BY J . C U S H I NG CO .
, B O STON U S A. . .

P R E SS W O R K BY G NN
I 8: C O .
, B O STON , U S A
. . .
 I T H I N K S c a n di n avi a n
g r i t r pti a
g i
an s m, to us h e r e , is m o e n e es n

th an y th r an I t i f o e g . t h l t t I
s, t orti d i
one thi n , e a es . c on nue n

th r g i
ese f E r p ti ll th
e on s l v th
o t ry ig ht h ndr d
u o e e e e en cen u : e u e

y r g th N r w g i
ea s a o w r ti ll w r hipp r f O di
e o e an s It i e e s o s e s o n . s

i t r ti g l
n e es th
n r d f f th r
a s o as th m e whc ee bl d o ou r a e s, e en os e oo

still r s i un v i w h m d bt l w ti ll r mb l i
n o ur e ns, o m y ou es s e s es e e n so an

wa ys .

ith r i th r
“
Ne e i k wi g
s e e m thi g b t thi l d
n o us e n no n so e n a ou s o

pg im f
a an s f th r U o ou r i ly d m bi d w ith hig h r
a e s . n c o n s c ou s , an co ne e

thi g it i i
n s, y t th t lsd f ith
n us w ith l e T , k w it a i u l
o
y a a . o no c on s c o s

bri g u i t l r d l r r r l ti w ith th p t w ith r

n s s n o c os e an c ea e e a ons e as ,
— ou

ow p n i i th p t
os s e s s o n s — T H O M A S C A RL Y L E
n e as . .
 P R E FA C E .

IN w r i t i ng th e se stori e s o f the No r s e g od s m any b ooks h ave

,

b e en onsulted an d espe c i all y the f ollowing A nde rson s No r se

c ,
:
’

M y th ol og y the t ran sl ti on o f R y d b e rg s T e ut oni c M yth ol og y

,
a
’

an d of the Y oung e r Edd b y the s m e auth or G ri mm s

a a ,
’

T e utoni c M yth ol og y t r an sl ated b y S ta ll y b r a s s a n d Th orpe s

’
, ,

tr an sl ati on o f S aem u n d s E dd a
’
.

M y im h as b een to w r ite a st o ry si m pl e en oug h f or c hil d r en

a ,

b u t n ot so s i m pl e a s to b e uninte r e stin g to olde r pe r sons My .

o wn inte r e st in No r se m y th ol og y w a s a r ou sed m an y y e a r s ag o

b y tw o b ook s H e r oe s o f A sg a r d b y A an d E Kea ry an d
,
. .

Wonde r f ul S to rie s of Nor the r n L and s b y J uli a G odd ar d .

T h e e xc u se f or thi s b ook is th a t in m an y r e spe c t s it is unl ike

, , ,

a n y th a t h a e b een w r itten o n the s a m e s u bj e c t

v A n d thi s is .

p ar tl y ow ing to the f ac t th at R y d b e rg s r e se a r c he s h av e m ade

’

it p ossi bl e f or the fi r st ti m e f o on e to f o r m a de finite c on c ep

, ,
r

ti on of the c o sm og r aph y of the m ythol og y and al so b ec ause ,

he cl e ars awa y m any in c onsi stenc ie s that h ave l ong c lung to it .

I h av e wr itten the st o r y o f the g od s a s it h as f or m ed itsel f

in m y m ind a f te r m uc h r e ading an d think ing I n som e c a se s .

the w or ds of the p oe m s of S ae m u n d s E dd a h ave b een used

’
,

e spe c i all y in the l ast c hapte r T h e Twili g ht of the G od s I

,
.

have taken the lib e rt y of p utting a p ar t of the V ala s P r op h ’

v1 P R E F AC E .

ecy an d of Other
p r ophec i e s into the m outh of O din bec ause ,

he is r ep r e sented in the E dd as as knowing al l that is to c om e

in the f utur e I n the stor y of B al d ur I hav e f oll owed R y d b e r g
'

.
,

r athe r th an the a uth or o f the Y oung e r E dd a R y d b e rg c l ai m s

.

that the l atte r h as dep ar ted f r om the ol d m ytholog y in m an y

instan c e s an d e spe c i ally in his ve rsi on of the B aldur m yth
, .

I n or de r to m ak e a d r am ati c wh ol e out of the se p ar ate st or ies ,

it h as b een ne c e ssar y to supp l y c onne c ting links an d to g iv e

spe c i al p r om inenc e to c e r tain c h arac te r s L oki is the c entr al
.

fi g ur e an d T hiassi a s p or t r ay ed b y R y d b e r g p la y s an i m p o r
, ,

tant p ar t Whatev e r is c oa r se or unp oetic in the ol d stor ie s

.

h as b een l e f t ou t an d m u c h h as b e en a dded f r om m y ow n
,

i m ag inati on For instan c e the r e is n o f o undati on f or the

.
,

c h apte r O din seeks W i s d o m f r om M i m i r e xc ept in the l ine s

, ,

q u oted f r o m O din s R u
’
ne s ong -
.

I wi sh to exp r e ss m y sinc e r e th ank s to tho se wh o hav e k ind ly

an sw e r ed my q ue sti ons or hel ped m e b y thei r c r iti c i s m s
,
.
 C O NT E NT S .

I N T RO D UC T O R Y C H AP T E R
O DI N S E E K S W I S D O M FR O M M I M IR
T H E B I N DI N G O F T HE W O LF
T H E J U D GM E N T H A LL O F T H E D E A D
B A LD U R A N D L O KI
B A LD U R S D R E AM S
’

T H E M I S T L E TO E
L O KI MA K E S TR O U B L E B E T W E E N T H E A R T I S T S A N D T H E GO DS
H O W T R I A SS I C A P T U R E D LO K I
T H I A S S I C A RRI E S O FF I D U N A
T H E G O DS GRO W O L D
L O KI B RI N G S B A C K I DU N A
T H O R AN D T H R Y M
T H O R A ND S KR Y M IR
T H O R S J O U R N E Y T O G E T T H E KE T T L E F O R AEG IR
’

FR E Y C LI M B S I N T O O DI N S H I G H S E A T
’

FR E Y S L O V E F O R G E RD
’

S KIR N IR S J O U R N E Y T O W I N G E RD F O R FR E Y
’

T H E D E A T H O F B A LD U R
B A LD U R S FU N E R A L
’

H E R M O D S J O U R N E Y I N S E A R C H O F B A LD U R
’

L O KI A T AZ G I R S FE A S T
’

T H E C A P T U R E O F L O KI
T H E T W ILI G H T O F T H E G O D S
 THE N I NE W O R L D S .

S TO R IE S FR O M N O R SE M Y TH O L O G Y .

I NT R O D U C T O R Y C HAP TE R .

O URan cestors who lived hundreds of ye a rs a g o

believed in many gods Th e stories of thes e gods .
,

however were written not in sacred bo oks but in the

, , ,

memories of the peopl e ; for in thos e early days the

Teuton s living in north ern E urope h ad n o w r itte n lan '

1
guage For centuries the fathers handed down to
.

their children th e tradit ions they had received from

former generation s unt il finally C hristianity took
the place of the old religion .

E ven after this the belief in th e gods lingered long

,

in out of the w ay p l aces ; and at last in Icel a n d some

- - -
, , ,

of the stories about them were collected and written

down The books in w h ich the y are written are called
.

E ddas There are two of them

. The E lder or ,
-
,

’
S ae m u n d s E dda which consists of poem s and T h e
, ,

’
Younger or S n orre S tu r l e s on s E dda which is prose
, , .

1 h ey
T h ad a f ew c h arac t e rs ca lled r u n es, th t a we r e s upp ose d to

p osse ss m ag i c
p r o
p e rti es .
 2 ST OR I ES F RO M N OR S E M YT H O L O G Y .

Probabl y these stories collected in I celand are n ot

ij ust like those told hundreds of years befor e in E urop e ,

because thi n gs handed dow n by word of mouth are

sure to change a little with each generation S till they .
,

gi v e us in the mai n a true idea of the gods our warlike

, ,

forefathers believed in The stories that fol l ow in this

.

book are for the most part based upo nth e E ddas .

O ur ancestors knew but little of the wor l d and W hat ,

they s aw made them think that it was fl at — a great ,

fi at region encircled by a river c a l led the O cean , .

They be l ieved th a t there were nine worlds in stead of

1
one arra nged in s ome such w ay as this :
,

( NO R T H) ( S O UT H)
R EG IO N O F TORT UR E SU RT S E
’ D EP
B EO
L W NIFL HEL S
FIER Y DA L E B EL OW
S E
UR D ’ R ALM

of al l w a s Asgard the hom e of th e f E s ir

H ighest , ,

or gods ruled over by O din or Wodan

, , .

N ext below came Midgard the world of men with , ,

the river O cean around it B eyond the O ce a n on th e

, , .
,

same plane w a s J O t u n h e im the upper giant world

, ,
-
.

1 I n th e p l an of th e n in e w o rl d Rydb rg
s e h as b e e n f o ll ow ed .
 I N T R O D U C T OR Y C H A P T E R .
3

Far below these stretched the under world vast ,

-
,

comp ared with the regions above it and containing four ,

of th e nine worlds I n the n orth was Niflh e im the .

,

VV E S T EA S T

S O UT H

( )
1 pri g H g l m i i Nifl h l Nifi h im u d Y g g d il
S n v er e r ,
n th rn r e or e ,
n er r as
’
s n or e o o t.

( )
2 W ll f W i d m i M im ir R l m u d r Y g g d il m idd l r t
e o s o n s e a
’
n e ,
r as
’

s e oo .

(3) U r d W ll i h R l m u d r Y g g d il u th r r t
’ ’
s e n er ea n e ,
r as s s o e n oo .

H m e o f th e V a n ir
(4) o .

(5) H o m e o f th e E lv e s i n M im ir s R e a l m
’
.

l h r e B a l d u r d w e l t w i th th e A s m é g ir
( )
6 C a s t e w e .

(7) N o r t h e r n E n d o f B if r O s t g u a r d e d,
b y H e i m d a ll .

( )
8 S o u t h e r n E n d o f B i f r o s t n e a
’

r U r,
d s W e ll ’
.

lower giant world cold dark and misty I n the south

-
, , , .

Urd and her two sisters ruled over the kingdoms of

the dead B etween thes e two regions lay M im ir s la n d
.
’

where besides the wis e old giant there dwelt many

, ,

m ighty beings among whom were N ight (the ancient

,

mother) bright D ay and D e l ling the elf of the dawn

, , , .
4 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

E ven the S un and Moon had resting places there ; and -

in som e parts there were elves a n d dwarfs West of .

’
M imir s land was the home of the Vanir a noble race ,

akin to the f E Sir S ome of the Va n ir lived in Asgard

. .

There were regions lower still — the l a nd of s ub ,

’ ’
terranean fire S urt s deep fi ery dales below Urd s
realm and t h e worl d o f torture u n der Nifl h e im
, .

T w o things a bridge and a tr ee united all these

, ,

worlds .

Bifr o st the trembling bridg e t hrew its m ighty arch

1
, ,

over A sgard W hi l e its northern end , g e d upon the .

!

mountains of Nifl h e im and its sout h ern end reached ,

to the land of Urd It was very useful to the gods .

,

w h o crossed it daily on t h eir w ay to the j udgment ha l l

in Urd s realm ; but it had to be carefully watc hed

’

lest hostile giants Should by its help find their w ay t o , ,

Asgard H eimdall a pure and wise Van guarded its

.
, ,

northern end H is ears were s o good that he co uld

.

hear the grass pushing up through the ground and ,

the wool growing on the backs of the Sheep ; and he

needed less sl e ep than a bird .

The tree which connected th e n ine worlds w a s called

2
Yggdrasil Its three main roots were watered by three
.

fo un tain s in the under world and the rootlets went -

,

1 Rydb erg m ain tain s th at th e i

M lk y W ay , an d n ot th e ri a n b ow , is th e

o ri g i n a l o f B i f rost
’

2 Y
gg d r as i l w a s a n ash tr ee - .
 I N T RO D U C T O R Y C H A P T E R .
5

’
dow n to S urt s deep dales and to the world of tor
ture . The branches of this wonderful tree reached
to the most remot e regions and it s sap carried life ,

everywhere S erpents gnawed its root s ; st a gs s q u ir

.
,

rels and birds lived among it s branches ; and on its

,

topmost bough far above A sgard the cock V idof n ir

, ,

”
glittered It was indeed a tree of life
.
“
.

T h ey had a strange story of th e creation thes e ,

northern people — a story that is interesting because

,

it is s o very o l d .

I n the beginning there were two worlds — a world of , .

freezing m ists in the north a n d a worl d of raging fire ,

in the south Bet w ee n these two regions w a s a y awn

.

ing abyss Gn g g p
i un a a
,
dark and empty —
, .

I n Nifl h e im M il d world a mighty spring sent

, ,

do w n twelve rivers ; and some of the rivers flo w ed into

the abyss filling the part that w a s next Nifi h e im with
,

layers of fro z en vapor The flames raged s o fiercely in

.

Muspelheim the world of fire that they blew over into

, ,

G in u n g a g ap taking many Sparks with t hem

, At last .

the sparks met the frozen vapor and a huge giant was ,

formed H is name w as Y mii

.
fl h

The followi n g line s are from a translation of one of

th e old poems

Th re e w as in ti m es of ol d

Wh re e Y m ir d w l t e

nor s an d no r s ea
6 S T OR IES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

n or
g e l id wa v es ;
ea rth i t d ex s e n o t,

n or h v b ea en a o v e,

’
tw as h ti a c ao c c h as m

b f r B r
e o e u
’
s s on s

r i d p h v
a se u ea en s
’
v lt
au ,

th y w h th
e o e no bl e

m id rth h p
-
ea s a e d .
1

N ot long fter the creation of Ymir a cow Aud

a , ,

hum l a w a s formed ; and the gi a nt Y m I r fed upon her

,

m i l k The c ow l icked the m a sses of frozen vapor for

.
,

they were s alt And as S h e w a s l icking the first

.
,

’
evening a man s hair a ppeared ; a n d the s econ d d ay
,

his head ; and the third day the w hole m a n cou l d be

seen . H is name was Bur H e w a s very l a rge and .“

fair and had gre at stren g th H e h a d a s o n c all ed .

From under the ar m of the huge gi a nt Ymir there

grew two children a boy and a girl They w ere gi ants
,
.
,

but sti l l they were good a n d from them descended ,

many wonderful beings M imir, the boy g rew to b e .

,

the wisest person in a ll the nine wor l ds U n fortunate l y .

he lost his life in a great w a r O din cut of f his head .

and preserved it ; and it kept on giving good advice ,

as though it were Mimir himse l f The great goddess .

’
N ight w a s Mimir s daughter The girl who came from .

1 F r om th e V l
o us
p a in T h rpo e s
’
tr an s a l ti o n of S aem un d ’
s E dda .
 I N T RO D U C T O R Y C H A P T E R .
7

un der Ymir s arm was called B e s tl a

’
S he was the .

m other of O din .

While a race of good and wise giants descended from

M imir and B e s tl a a race of evil giants and monsters
,

’
came from a s ix headed s on of Y mir s This monster
-
.

’
grew from Ymir s feet H is descendants were s o .

powerful that in the end they were to conquer O di n

and cause the de struction of the world The ruin of .

the gods however w as to be brought about in part

, ,

by their own shortcomings : they were not strong and

noble enough to resist the evil forces array ed against
them .

O din and his two brothers slew th e gia n t Ymir ,

dragged his body into th e middle of the ab y ss and ,

from it formed the worl d .

F r om Ym ir ’
s fl es h
th e e a rth was f o rm d
e ,

and f r om h is b o n es th e hi ll s,

th e h v ea en f r om th e s u k ll
of th t i a c e -c o ld g i t an ,

an d fr m o his b l d th
oo e s ea 1 .

“ ’
The melancholy clouds were formed from Ymir s
brains S ome of the sparks that flew over into G in u n
.

gagap were placed in th e heave n s and m e n called them ,

stars .

1 F r o m Th e L ay of V a f th r fidn ir in T h orp e s tran sl ati on

’
of S aem un d
’
s

E dda .
8 S T OR IES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

O n e day O din and his brothers 1

w ere w a l king n ear
the s e a when they came upon two trees an ash a n d a n
, ,

elm From these trees they created the first human

.

beings — a man and a woman An old poem says

,
.

Th y f d e ou nrth on ea ,

rl y p w r l
nea o e es s,

A k s d E mb l
an a,

v oid f d ti y o es n .

S pirit th y p ed t os s es s e no ,

s e ns e th y h d t e a no ,

bl d oo m tiv p w r
n or o e o e s,

n or
g o d ly l r
o co o .

S pirit g v O di a e n,

s e ns eg v H ir
a e oe n ,

blo d g v L d r
o a e o u

an d g o d ly l r
o co o .
2

’
The elves and dwarfs swarmed in Ymir s body after
he was killed they we r e not created by the gods .

I n E urope there are still ancient customs and old

say ings that go back to the time when men believed in
Thor and O din I n some parts of G ermany until
.
,
.

recently the peasants left a clump of grain standing

,

’
for O din s horse when they gathered the harvest .

E ven here in Am e r i ca there is something to remi n d us

of the old gods Tuesday is n amed for Ty r the god
.
,

1
Rydb erg
i t i th t H ir d L d r
ma n a ns a oen an o u ar e i d ti l w ith V il i
en ca an d

Y e, O di b r th r
n s
’
o e s .

2
Fr m th V O l p a i T h rp
o etr l ti us n o e s
’
an s a on o f S aem un d
’
s E dda .
 I N T ROD U C T ORY CHA P T E R .
9

who gave his right hand to s a ve hi s people from the

dangerous wo l f ’ ’
Wednesday is O din s or Wodan s
.
, ,

dya . H e placed wisdom a bove everything else being ,

W illing to give even his eye f or one drink from M im ir s ’

well . Thursday belongs to Thor the fi erc e thunder ,

god ; and Friday to Frigga Frey or F r e y ia ,

— w e are , ,
;

not sure which .

H ow did people com e to believe in all these gods ?

N o one w i l l ever know j ust how the belief began and
how it grew but it is possible to learn something
,

about it .

We w h o live now have h a d s o many things fou n d out

for u s that we can n ot im a gine how th e world seemed to
,

people w h o knew very litt l e and W h o had t o find out

,

everything for themselves or make their own guesses

about thi n gs I n the earl y ages men lived in a worl d
.

of mystery ; the s u n t h e moon the s e a th e wind

, , , ,

every thing w as strange and wo n derful Life was a .

struggle I n the north it w as hard to provide for the

.

needs of the long cold winter Man had not learned

, .

how to control the force s of nature and h e w a s contin ,

u al l warring against them The mountain s shut him

y .

in ; the forest s were dark and awful ; th e snow and

the ic e and the desolate wastes s e t themselves against
him to thwart his best endeavors Was it strange that .

these hostil e forces seemed like cold heartless giant s ,

O ppos e d to all that was j o y ous a n d gentle an d human ?

IO S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

Thus bega n the be l ief in fros t gia n ts and mountai n

giants .

T h ere were kindly powers ho wever and chief amo n g , ,

th ese w a s the sun man s best friend H e gave man l ight

,
’
.

and heat Through his influence the rivers burst their

.

b onds the grass grew green a n d the crops ripened

, , .

Whi l e the s u n reigned life w a s h appy But in the

,
.

north at a cert a in tim e of the ye a r the s u n lost his

, ,

power ; and in t h e e x t r e m e n or t h he sank out of Sight

‘

and left the world in d a rkness As men s aw him dis .

appearing what anxiety must h ave fi ll ed their hearts !

,

H ow could they be sure th a t this mysterious being upon

‘

W hom their ve ry lives depended wo uld ever return ?

,

H ow e a gerl y they must have w atched for him ; and

when the first faint flush appeared wh at r eJO I CI n g ! ,

N o wonder they hailed the returni n g s u n as a god ,

the god w h o gave l ight and j oy .

’
The ch a r a cter of O din is said to have come from men s
fee l ing about the s u n S ome books s ay that O din gave
.

one of his eyes for the drink from Mimi r s we l l and that ’

the s un represents O din s Si n gl e eye We can easil y

’
.

s e e that the story of Iduna has somethi n g to do with

the go ing an d coming aga in of the S ummer .

Baldur is the god w h o represents most fully th e

feeling that m en had for the s u n in the far north .

Baldur w as the pure and shining god And as the s un .

sank out of sight and left the world in darkne ss so he ,

 I N T ROD U C T ORY CHA P T E R .

died and went t o the un der world causing untold grie f

,
-
,
~

in Asgard and M idgard .

The thunder was pictured as a strong fierc e god with , ,

fiery hair and h e ar d who rode in h is iron chariot and

, ,

fl u ng his m ighty hammer at the rocks and m ountains ,

Thor the foe of the gi a nts

, .

All the gods ca n not be easily traced back to some

thin g in nature ; indeed m
ost of them lost their original
,

char a cter as the years rolled on and became very ,

hu man in their attributes ; and w e must not think of

them as representing to their worshippers simply some
obj ect in nature M en and women lived hard lives
.

in those rude times and thought much about life and

, ,

death and the unkno w n future What they believed

, .

and hoped w as expressed in the character of their gods

,
,

and in the pictures they made for themselves of the

unseen worlds As we read their poems and stories w e
»
,

feel that they were trying to get at the secret of life ,

the great open secret that no on e has Wholly gues

even with the Ligh t that has come in to the w
s m c e those days .

It w a s a fighting ag e Th e hero looked forward to

~

death on the b a ttle fiel d as th e greatest of b l e s s I n g s

-
.

H e believed that s o dying the Va l kyries would come an d

’
take him to O din s pa l ace of Valhalla where the fi g h t ,

ing an d the feasting would go on for ages S till with .

,

all their love of war these people did not believe that
,
12 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

force w a s to be victorious or that evil w as to triumph

,

over good The Strong gods were to h a v e their day

.

‘
,

but were to be defeated at R agnar o k the n Baldur was

to come the ruler of a new and better world G ood
—
, ,
.

ness and purity were to conquer in the end .

A l l this has passed away a n d those w ar l ike people

,

have left l itt l e to remind uS th a t they once lived here .

Y e t one herit a ge we h ave — not a few pyramids of

,
'

stone but nine wor l ds bui l t of that airy stu f f t h at

,

out l a sts S olid granite and peop l ed with beings stra n ge

,

and wonderful S ure l y h e who l oves th e p a st will care

.
,

sometimes to wander amid the shadows of those ancient

w orl ds .
 O D I N S EE K S WI S D O M F R O M M I M I R .

IT was night in A sgard th e home of the gods A ,

.

s oft light fell upon the sleeping city Showing it s v 1 n e ,

clad hills and glittering palaces and touching even the ,

deep still va l leys th a t lay between For the trembling

, .

bridge Bifr o st spanned the cit y like a rainbow of silver

, , ,

meeting the horizon at the n orth an d south Toward .

th e south as f a r as the eye could reach rose mountains

, , ,

with c a stles upon their tops and sides ; while toward ,

the north stretched th e level and grassy plains of Ida

, .

From a structure upon the highest place of th e cit y ,

a shaft Shot up Slender and glittering as a tal l spire

, ,

rises from some great cathedra l I t rose high above all .

th e cast l es an d towers s o high as almost to touch the ,

arch of the celestial bridge This slender shaft w a s .

’
O din s H igh S eat From its top could be s een n ot
.

only Asgard but also a large part of the worlds below

, .

H ere the A l lf ath e r s at alone buried in tho ught , .

A lone except for two wolves that l ay sleeping at h is

feet and two ravens perched upon his shoulders weary
,
1
,

after their j ourney through the nin e worl d s .

1 O di n ’
s rv a ens we r e, H ug i ( th g h t)
n ou an d M un i n
( m e m o ry) ; e ach

day th y fl
e ew o v r th
e e n nei wo rl d b ri g i g b
s, n n a ck ti di ng s to O di n .

I3
I4 S T OR IES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O GY .

After sitting a l ong whi l e in meditation O din looked ,

down upon the stately homes of his chi l dren and upon ,

the fi elds that stretched aw ay beyo n d the high wa ll s

,

and the dark rushing river that surrounded the city of

,

the gods Then his eyes tri ed in v a in to pierce the

.

d ense blackness that Sh r ouded a land far below him

toward the north H e g azed long and e a rnest l y and a t
.
,

last rose up an d descended quickly to the pal a ce j ust

be l ow his H igh S eat The va st h al l s resounded as he
.

strode thro u gh them .

H e hastened to a building ne a r by and soon appeared ,

again leading a gray horse This hors e was we l l fitted

, .

to be a r the fa t h er of the gods ; for he had a powerful

frame and eight l egs A S he stoo d wai ting for O din to
.

mount he trembled with eagerness and flames poured

, ,

from his nostri l s I n a n instant O din w a s on his back

.
,

a n d the wonderful horse was carrying him toward the

north with the speed of the wind .

The high wall a n d the dark river surrounding the city

were no obstacle to Sl eipnir H e l e ap e d e a s il y over
.
’

them a n d kept on his swift w ay across th e fie l ds on the

,

other side which stretched green and l evel to the dis

,

t ant hori z on H ere and there were groves in whose

.

quiet depths a less rapid trave l ler m ight have heard the
trickling of fount a ins And occasionally a lake reflected
.

on its dark surfa ce the silvery arch of B if r O s t .

At l ast they re a ched the point where the celestial

 OD I N SEEKS WI S DO M F RO M MI M I R . I S

bridge touched the outer edg e of Asgard The eight .

‘

footed horse rushed unhesitating l y upon the bridge ,

although it trembled beneath his weight sending up ,

fi tf ul flames Like a comet among the stars S leipnir

.
,

sped on h e ar in g O din over the black depths

,
.

At length a faint light reached the m from the north ;

and soon O din s aw a horseman clad in a w h it e garment , ,

coming towards him The horse had a mane of gold .

,

which shining full upo n the rider revealed h is pure

, , ,

pale face Approachi n g h e said

. Welcome Father , ,
“
,
‘

O di n I have been wat ching for you ever since I h eard

.

’
S leipnir s eight h oofs stri k e the bridge Doubtless .

”
some deep purpose brings you across Bifr o st at night ?
“
Yes H eimdall you have j udged rightly said O din ;
, , ,

“
a great matter u r ges me on ; and many days must
I j our n e y ere I r e t u r n home I must go through the
x

dark l and of our enemies the frost gi a nts of the lower ,

w or l d ; a n d then far beyond to region s that few have ,

visited Fortunate are t h e gods that H eimda l l guards

.

for them th e trembling bridge Were it not for y our .

keen ears that hear th e grass growing and the wool ,

thickening on the backs of the sheep our enemies ,

might ere this have crossed the abyss an d have

, , ,

stormed Asgard .

As he Spoke they both looked down upon the land

,

beneath them dark except for the l ight that streame d

, ,

from H eimda l l s far shi ning cast l e at the bridge head

’
- -
.
16 S T OR IES F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

And they c ou l d s e e the glistening tops of ice mount a ins

rising above the mists .

A S O din looked he said O ur enemies are strong ,

“
,

a nd I fear the tre a cherous Loki w h o is ever going ,

between Asgard and the giant world We have need -

.

of all your wat chfu l ness H eimd a l l and of a l l the

°

, ,

strength of Thor th e dread foe of th e gi a nts to keep

, ,

o u r enemies a t b ay Wh a t great wisdom do I need to

.

prot ect the real m of Asg ard a n d the world of m en ! ,

They kept on their w ay t o w ard H eimda ll s castle ’

which w as on a high mount a in ne a r th e bridge head -

.

The cast l e w a s apparent l y made of th e sam e material

a s the bridge a n d as it rose to w ard the s k might have
, y
, ,

bee n t aken for a structure of cloud b ath ed in moo n

l ight But in truth it shone with a soft fire of it s own ;
.

for r a di a nce stre a med from it in al l directions lighting ,

up a s we have seen a p a rt of the cold foggy land of

, , ,

the gi a nts The appro a ch to the bridge w a s in this

.

w ay made s o clear l y visib l e that it w ould have been

i m possib l e for any one to get ne a r without H eimd a ll s ’

kn o w l edge eve n h a d his he a ring been l ess keen

, .

Then too the c a st l e w as strongl y fortified surrounded

, , ,

by a high w a ll and a moat the waters of which like

, , ,

those of the A sgard river were covered with a mist ,

that fl a shed into flam es when disturbed by an enemy of

the gods .

“
C ome in O din said H eimdal l as they re a ched the
, , ,
 OD I N S EEKS W I S DO M F RO M MI MI R . I 7

cast l e ; your j ourney h a s been l ong a n d a hard road

“
,

”
lies before y ou .

They e n tered a large b al l whose walls were made of

something that resembled white m a rble or al abaster .

All the decoration s were of silver Vines bearing

clusters of Silver grape s r a n al ong the w alls and ,

curious horn s a n d l amps hung from the a rches above .

Ta l l youths cla d like H eimdall a l l in white brought

, , , ,

1
in tank a rds of foaming m e a d .

The two gods drank the mead and ta l ked earnest l y ,

together unt il at last O din rose saying O ne favor I

, , ,
“

ask of you H eimda l l : keep S l eipn ir for me unti l my

,

return There are few to whom I would intrust him

.
,

but he will be s afe with you I wish to j ourney .

,

unk n own through the w orld of cold and darkne ss and

, ,

th e horse would betray m e .

H eimda l l accomp a nied O din a short distance down

t h e steep mountain a n d then returned t o his post to , ,

guard the brid g e of the gods .

As O din went down int o Nifl h e im a chilly fog closed

2
,

about him shutting out th e li g ht from H eimd a l l s

,
’

castle and making it h a rd for him to keep to the path

, .

A s he got lower th e co l d becam e int ense and his foot

, ,

Slipped on the icy road which broadened into a river of

ice There were sounds of creaking a n d crashing a n d
.
,

1 H on ey an d wa t r f rm t d
e , e en e an d fla vrd o e .

“
2
Th e g i tw
an -
o rl d i th rth r
n e no e n p a r t f th g r t
o e ea un d e r w rl d
- o .
1 8 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

in the dist a n ce c o u l d be heard the moaning of w a ves a s

they broke u pon the desol a t e Sh ore A s he m a de his .

way he could j ust distinguish through the mist and

darkness the enormous mount a ins of ice surrounding
him S ome of these seeming ice m ount a ins were re al ly
.

frost gi a nts whose huge heads wou l d s l o w l y turn to

follow him O nce a n iceberg in the s e a went t o pieces
.

with the noise of distant thunder an d he cou l d long ,

hear the booming and cr a shin g S ometimes a deluge ,

of icy w a ter wou l d rush upon him from a cascade that

h e had not perceived a n d then he would he a r the S l ow ,

heavy laughter of the giants sounding l ike the r oar of

,

h oarse wi n ds At one point in his j ourney he c a me

.

upon a fie l d of ice ; and as the fog lift ed h e cou l d s e e ,

that it stretched on a l l sides level and white covered

, ,

with snow H ere th e sounds of creaking a n d crashing

.

ceased a n d he no longer he a rd the l a ughter of the

,

giants : the si l ence w as absolute H e stood alone .

u nder the stars .

After a lo n g j ourney through the ice region O din ,

reached a country W here dark savage mountain s took

,

the p l ace of icebergs and here and there on their

,

peaks loomed up the strongholds of the mountain

giants A S he kept on his way he cou l d sometim es
.
,

distinguish the g i ants them se l ves looking like huge , ,

m oving m a sses of rock This land w a s a s dreary as

.

the l and of ice ; for a l though there w as no fog and a ,

 O D I N SEEK S W IS D O M F RO M MIMI R . 19

faint twilight g l imm ered it was very desolat e

,

,
N ot .

a green thi ng was to be seen ; nothing but grim

mountains and dark abysses at the bottom of which ,

ru shed rivers finding their way from the spring

,

H v e r g e l m ir to the cold northern s e a The m ountains .

,

at tim es gave place t o level wastes of great extent

, ,

where bowlders lay heaped on e upon another with deep , ,

still pools lurking among th em O fte n heavy clouds .

rolled across the Sky enveloping th e mountain s

, .

A ft er j ourn eying lo n g O din stood upon a high place

,

from which he could look down upon a morass stretch

ing as far as the e y e could reach I n the dim light he .

could j ust distinguish a narrow footpath of solid ground

leading acros s it When h e w a s partl y over on e of
.
,

th e giant s s aw him and soon a troop of th e mon st ers

came stumblin g after him Finding it impossible to
.

reach him the y filled th e air with th eir shout s and

, ,

brandished their great clubs U pon this a fearful wind

.

arose threateni n g to blow O din from the n arrow path

, .

C louds shaped like dragons blew gust s at him from

their open m outh s and when he got safel y ove r howls ,

of disappointed rage resounded long in th e air behind .

H e came next to a river whose dark swift current

, ,

bore with it sharp stones and bits of ir on and n o \

,

bridge spanned the deadly stream ; but O din crossed

it sa fel y on some driftwood .

H igher mountain s than any he h ad y e t seen n ow '

20 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

loomed up t oward th e south ; and one higher than the ,

others down whose sides rushed twelve rivers O n the

, .

top of this mountain w a s the ice cold spring H v e r g e l -

mir O ne of the three roots of the great World Tree

.
,

Yggdrasil w a s bathe d by the w aters of this spring ;

,

and the rivers that flowed fro m it went in a l l direction s ; :

some flowing through the cold foggy land of the giants ,

to the northern ocean while oth e rs flowed to w ard the ,

1 2
south through the vast realm s where M imir and Urd
,

guarded their wells under the other two root s of the

World Tree .

As O din neared th e mountain his w ay led through a ,

gloomy cave where he could hear the baying of a dog

,

and the creaking of an iron gate This gate he knew .

, ,

barred the descent to th e world of t orture below Nifl

heim — a world far more dark and dreadful than that
,

through which he had j ust passed O nce out of the .

cave the road led over the m ountain O n the highest

, .

peak stood a solitary watchman the trust y guardian of ,

the spring and the dread foe of the gia n ts .

A s O din came near b e greeted him : D id the mon ,

s t e r s try to harm you O din ? The hateful crew would ,

be glad enough to crush the father of th e gods and get

possession of Asgard And your Loki is too much .

1 Th e g i t wh
an o g r ew r m d r Y m ir
f o un e
’
s ar m .

2
Ur d an d h e r tw o itr wr r
s s e s e e n o n s, or f t
a e s, r pr
e es e n ti ng th e p as t ,

p r ese n t , an d f tr
u u e .
’
 OD I N SEEKS W I S DO M F RO M MI M I R . I

with them I often s e e him th ere H e thinks hims e l f

. .

well hidden by th e darkness ; but my eyes are trained

”
to s e e in the dark .

”
“
Y e s E gil replied O din ; your eyes and H eim
, ,
“

dall s ears ar e the best defenc e w e have against our

’

foes I came through safely as you s e e Their attacks

.
, .

would have been more fi erce had they known me As .

for Loki I am well aware how dangerou s he has b e

,

com e S til l I may not yet turn h im out of Asgard for

.
, ,

I am bound by an oath mad e when we both were

y oung — when I thought him inno cent But I m ust
, .

”
hasten E gil ; a great purpos e urges m e on
, .

As O din went down the southern slope of the m oun

tain a pleasant prospect greeted h is eyes wearied with
, ,

the gloomy Sight s upon which the y had been looking

for s o many days The country w a s still mountainous
.
,

but it was not black and sterile R ich metals S eam ed .

the rocks and h ere and there were the mouth s of

,

caves W here sparkled crystal s and ge m s When O din .

stopped and listened he could hear the picks and ham ,

mers of the dwarfs Twilight still hung over the scene

: ,

but at intervals lights streamed across the Sky their ,

rich colors playing upon the mountains .

O din had n o w to cross a broad river and then he ,

could s e e in the distan ce a castle of fantastic shape ,

which w a s ornamented in an unusual manner S tone .

dragon s grinned from it s corners their large j ewelled ,

22 ST OR I E S F RO M N OR S E M YT H O L O GY .

eyes gleaming like fire as th e lights flashed upon them .

About the Slender column s tw i ned go l den snakes and

li zards of copper ; and metal vines ran thick l y a l ong
the walls bearing gems for flowers A fire shone from
, .

one part of the building and it w a s evident that work ,

of some kind was going on .

This strange castle was the hom e of S indri and his

brothers — dwarfs and famous artists who had made
, , ,

wonderful weapon s and or n a m ent s f or the gods N one .

approached them in Ski ll except the sons of Iv al di .

The latter were part l y of giant blood and were said to ,

be magicians as we l l as artist s Between them and the .

dwarfs there was some riva l ry but as yet no hard , , ,

feeling O din passed near the castle but did not

.
,

enter .

As he went on the mountains lost all their savage

,

wildness and ro s e in gentle outlines against the S k y

, .

They were clothed with forests and vineyards Down .

their slopes rushed brooks changing into cascades of

(

mist . Peaceful valleys stretched between the mou n

tain s while high above al l were c l ouds glowi n g with ,

the colors of an eternal sunset For this was a land .

where dark night and gl a ring mi dd ay never came .

The mountains grad u a l ly softened into hills and ,

t hese at last were lost in broad stretches of level

, ,

fields covered with golden grain or tall waving grass , .

T h e rivers glided along deep and peacefu l Flower s , .

 O DIN S EEKS W IS D O M F RO M M I M I R . 23

bloomed every where th eir bright colors refl ected in th e

,

still waters of little po n ds H erds of deer came t imidly

.

up t o O din and birds sang to him as he passed O nly

, .

the gentlest bree z e stirred the leaves and all sounds ,

were low and sweet .

Along th e southern horizon there n ow appeared a

bank of white clouds piled high one upon another
, , .

B ut as O din neared them th ey changed to m ountains

,

of marble evidently enclosing some sacred spot Like

, .

pure white sentinels they stood bat hed with rich ,

colors .

There seem ed to be no entrance through this marble

wall ; but when O din reached it he knocked with h is ,

sta f f an d a door w as opened A man of grave and

, .

reverend aspect greeted h im and led the w ay through a,

Spacious cave sparklin g with crystals that reflected the

l ight of his torch At the further end of the cave was
.

a door larger than the one by which O din had entered

, ,

opening into a circular va l ley .

The sides of the valley were formed by the m arble

mountains ; but they did not look like mountains on
the inside ; for they had been carved into beautiful
shapes and delicate vines ran over them veiling the
, ,

whiteness of the marble .

From the centre of the valley grew th e root of the

enormous World Tree ; and the waters of the deep we l l
of wisdom bathed the root of the tree A t the furth e r .
24 ST OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

en d of the val l e y rose a stately p alace H ere and there .

w ere groups of trees and rare plants b l oomed on all

,

sides N ear a pool a large turtle his bac k covered

.
,

with the I ncrustations of ages basked la z ily in the ,

light H arm l ess serpents with bri l liant eyes twined

.

about the trunks of trees Dragons slept with fo l ded .

wings while m any ancient and uncouth monsters

,

rested amid the grove s or sunned them selves in t h e ,

niches of the marb l e wa ll s G ay colored birds fl itt e d in .

-

and out among th e branches and peacocks wal ked ,

proud l y about spreading their tai l s

, The scen e was .

made more fa ir by the l ight that fell upon it It W a s .

n ot sun l ight and one could not tell whence it c a me ;

,

but it flooded the peaceful va l ley with the softest -

radiance .

O din stood for a few moment s lo o king at the sce n e

before him and then wa l ked slowly to w ard the centre
,

of the va ll ey Under the root of the Worl d Tree sat a

.

m an of g iant stature apparently absorbed in w at c h in g

,
r

the waters of the we ll Long silver locks floated over

.

his s h ou l ders and a w h ite beard fell upon his breast

, .

There w a s no look of o l d age in his face a l though a s , ,

he raised h is head the wi sdom of the centuries gleamed

,

from his deep b l ue eyes and his who l e aspect ex ,

pressed perfect peace H is hand rested upon the

.

edge of the wel l which w a s thickly overl a id with go l d

, .

N ear him stood an immense chest curious l y carved , ,

 OD I N S EEK S WI S DO M F RO M MIMI R . 2 5

containi n g treasures from bygone ages A l arge horn .

’
of silver lay upon the chest bearing H eimdall s name ,

in runic characters of gold .

A s O din c ame near Mimir rose s aying Welcome , , ,

“
,

O din ! You come fr om the north I s e e This time , .

”
you h ave chosen the h a rd ro a d an d on foot too ! ,

”
“
Yes Mimir an swered O din ; I chose th a t road
, ,
“

bec a use I wished to e xplore the land of my enemies ,

a n d I h a ve com e to you for cou n sel and help .

G ladly will I help you as you know said Mimir , , .

”
I know your readiness replied O din ; but this ,
“

time I a s k wh a t no one has ever asked of you My .

realm is beset with d a ngers Loki grows in wickedness . .

1
H e h a s taken for his w ife th e witch of the I ro n wood -
,

and their chi l dren thre a ten to prove our most for
m idab l e foes And the frost gian ts and the mountain
.

gi a nts, as you know are on l y too re a d y to attack us

,

whenever there is a chance of success I need great .

wisdom right l y to govern a n d protect Asg a rd a n d ,

”
M idgard the wor l d of men
, .

Both were si l ent for a moment ; and then O din said ,

l ook ing e a rnest l y a t M imir I n order that I may g a in ,

“

this w isdom I a s k for one drink from your deep we ll

, .
”

After a long si l ence M imir s a id s l ow l y You have

, ,
“

a sked a great thing O din ! Are you p repared to p ay

,

”
the price for it ?
1 Th e p ri ip lnc e of e vi l , th e f i i
e m n n e c ou n e t rp rt
a of L ok i
26 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

Y replied O din eagerly ; “al l the go l d of

e s, ,

Asgard our best swords our j ewe ll ed shields ! E ve n

, ,

S l eipnir wi l l I give you for one dr a ught of the precious

”
water !

“
These things w i ll not buy wh a t you desire said ,

M imir ; w is d om a m be g a in ed on ly by s uf f e r ing a n d
{
s o w 755 A
/
Wou l d you give one of your eyes for ,

wisdom ?
A c l oud came over the bo l d face of O din and he ,

pondered l ong Fin all y he said s l ow l y

. I wi ll give ,
“

one of my eyes and I wi l l su f fer w hatever e l se is

,

”
necessary if I m ay thereb y g a in the wisdom I need
, .

Noone ever k n ew al l th a t O din su f fered and learned

in th a t mysterious v a ll ey S ome s ay that he rea ll y .

gave one of his eyes in return for the drink fro m

M imir s we l l But as nothing is s a id of that in the o l d
’
.

song ca l led O din s R une song a n d a s the fa ct of his

“ ’
-
,
”

being one eyed is n ot mentioned in s ome of the o l dest

-

poems it seems doubtfu l whether that sacrifice was

,

required of him O din s ays in his R une song

.
-

I k th t I h ng
n ow a u

on wi d r
a k d tr
n -
oc e ee ,

n In ewh l ig ht
o e n s,

w ith p r w d d
a s ea ou n e

an d t O di o ff r d n o e e ,

m ys e l f to mys el f ;
 OD I N S EEK S W IS DO M F RO M M I M I R .

ou _ t b t tr e a e ,

of w hi h e k ow
c no on n s

f rom w h t r t it pri g a oo s n s .

B r ea d gno v m on e a e e,

n or h r f dri k ;
a o n o n

d w w rd I p r d
o n a ee e ,

t ro pp l i d m y l f
un e s a e se ,

w i l i g l r t th m
a n ea n e ,

th f ll d w
en e th e o n enc .

P t t
o en s on
g s n nei
f r m th
o e f am e d s on , I l ea r ned ,

of B ol th or n , ir B e s tl a s
’
s e,

and a dr g ht bt i d
au o a ne

of th e pr i m d
ec ou s ea

dr a wn f r m O dh m i
o r r r .

Th en I b g
e b
an r f r it
to ea u ,

a nd to k no w m y thi g an n s

to g r wo an d w ll thriv e e

wo rd b y w rd o

I s ou g ht ou t w rd o s,

f ac t by f act
I s ou g ht out f t ac s .
1

1 r
F om O di n ’
s Run e -
s on g in T h orp e s
’
tr l ti
an s a on of S aem un d
’
s E dda .
 T H E B I N D I N G O F TH E W O LF .

O DIN returned to Asgard after a long absence and ,

all noticed that he looked m ore grave and maj estic than
1
ever H e Spoke to n o one but Fr ig g a his wife of the
.
, ,

wonderful things h e h ad seen and h eard Frigga never .

revealed wh at w a s told her in confiden ce .

Loki w a s away when O din returned ; and th e latter at

once took steps to place the chi l dren of the treacherous
god and the witch of th e I ron wood where th ey could -

do no harm .

The children were worthy of their p a rents O ne was .

a wolf F enrir not ye t fu ll y grown him O din had

, ,

2
brought to Asgard and given in charge of Ty r one of ,

the stro n gest and bravest of the ZE S ir Another was .

a dangerous serpent ; and he w a s put into the river ,

O cean that surrounded M idgard the world of men As

, , .

soon as he touched the bott om of the s e a he began to

grow an d grew so fast that before l ong he reached
,

entirely around Midg a rd ; and his tai l finding n o other ,

p l ace gre w down his throat H e w a s c a l led the Midgard

, .

serpent from that time forth But more dreadful in ap .

1 ri
F g g is th e u s ua l f rm
o .

2
S on of Odin on e - a rm ed g o d of w ar .
 T HE BI N D I N G O F THE W O LF . 29

p e ar a n than either of these mon sters w a s the t h ir d

c e .

S he had th e form of a woman but the hard heart of h e r ,

mother the witch of the Iron wood ; and half her body
,
-

was of a deathly white color s o that n o on e could bea r

,

to l ook upon her O din sent her to U rd guardian of

.
,

the fou n tain under the third root of the World Tree ,

and ruler of all th e realms of the dead S he made this .

dreadful being qu ee n of the world of torture unde r

Niflh e im .

Loki s last two children were we ll disposed of for the

’

present at least ; but the wolf Fe n rir kept growi n g

, , ,

stronger and fi e r c e r each day ; and Tyr po w erful as he ,

w a s f ound it no easy matter to cont rol him

, After .

con sulting together th e gods decided to bind him with

,

an iron chain .

There w a s a Smithy in Asgard with the best facilities ,

for maki n g all kinds of m etal t h ings such as chains , ,

swords Shields and axes And in this smithy the gods

, , .

forged a chain larger and stronger than any that had

ever been seen in A sg a rd They took it to Fenrir an d
.

asked him to amuse them b y showing his strength

-
.

Fenrir w a s very proud of his strength ; and as soo n

as h e s aw the chain he k n ew he could easily break it
, .

S o he let them bind him standing quietly as th ey did

,

so . When the y had finished he stretched his l imbs , ,

a n d th e ch a in in stantly broke in several places The .

gods pretended to consider it a good j oke and praise d ,

3 0 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR S E M Y T H O L O G Y .

the wolf for his strength sayi n g they would try the
,

game again som e day .

The y n ow realized that to make a chain stro n g

enough t o bind the wo l f was like ly to prove n o easy
task . This time the most skilful workers in metal
were se cured and they did their best to make th e second
,

chain th e strongest that cou l d possib l y be forged .

When it w a s finished all declared that nothing like it

,
“

had ever been seen in a l l the nine worlds .

They went to Fenrir a s before ; but when he s aw

them bringing a chain s o heavy t h at it took s everal
gods mere l y to dr a g it along th e grou n d his suspicions ,

were aroused H e refused to be b onn d Then they

. .

appealed to his pride ti l l h is strength swe l led within

him ; and eager to Sho w his power he let them wind
, ,

the chain a round till h iswhole body was covered w ith

iron links Then he rolled on the ground and stretched
.
,

his huge limbs and the bonds burst as though made of

,

some brittle met al The gods dissembled their feeli n gs

.

as best they cou l d and praised th e stre ngth and cour

,

age of the wo l f more than ever .

O din with his great wisdom realized how important

, ,

it w as that Fenrir should be bound Finding th a t .

Asgard could not produce a chain stro n g enough for

th a t purpose he se nt S ki r nn: to the hom e of the dark
,

elves to get one For great a s were the gods the elve s
.
,

an d giants knew more about some thin g s t h a n they did .

 T HE BI N D I N G OF T HE W OL F .
3 1

A nd indeed the dark elves must have been very wise

,

and skilful to have mad e the chain which they gave

S kirnir H ow they managed t o get the materials of
.

which it was composed is a mystery ; for it w a s made

of Six things se l dom s een in Asgard or M idgard ,

n amely : th e footfa ll s of a c a t the beard of a woma n the

, ,

roots of a mountain the sinews of a bear the breath of

, ,

a fi sh and the spittle of birds O ne could believe

,
.

al most anything of a chain made of such t h i n gs It is .

no wonder that it w as as soft and smooth as a silken

string an d that its strength w a s greater than that of
,

any chain made since the nin e worlds were form ed .

S kirnir did his errand very quick l y co n sidering the ,

long distance h e had t o go ; and happy were the gods

w hen he returned with the delicate si l ken string , .

They fe l t sure of success now ; for things made by the

dark elves al w ays possessed wo n d erful properties .

I n order to disarm the suspicions of Fenrir the gods ,

planned an excursion to a rocky islan d pretending that ,

the sole obj ect of the trip w as amusement The

amusement w a s to con sist m a inly in trials of strength .

Fenrir w ent with them H ad he d iscovered any ch a in

.
,

he wou l d have suspected foul play ; but there w as noth

ing of the kind t o be seen .

A s soon as they reached the island the sports began , .

They ran races leaped over barriers Shot with bo w s

, , ,

w rest l ed a n d in short did a l l those things that test

, , ,
3 2 ST OR I ES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

men s strength and skil l After the tri a l s w ere ended

’
.

and the victors had been crowned they s at on the grass ,

near Fenrir talking and j esting

,
‘

O ne of the gods then drew from his bosom the magi c

chain and handing it to his neighbor s a id They S ay
, , ,
“

this c ord i s stronger than it looks S ee if you c a n .

break it Th e one to whom it w as given tried in v ain

.
'

and then with a j est he passed it to the god n ext him ,

and s o it went the rounds .

When all h a d tried and fa i l ed S kirnir said as though , ,

struck by a sudden thought Let Fenrir try H e h a s , .

strength in break ing chains if he can do n othing ,

”
else .

S o one of the gods held up the cord saying Wo uld , ,

“

you like to try your strength on this l itt l e string Fen ,

rir ? Perhaps you wi ll scorn to be bound by s o s l ight a

”
thing ; but it is too strong for our hands to break .

The wo l f refused the tria l f or he suspected t r e a c h ,

ery Then they taunted him saying that only a coward

.
,

would refuse to be bou n d by such a cobweb T h e I r .

tau n t s stirred F e n r ir s pride ; and he fin a l l y agreed to

’

let them bind the chain ab out him if one of their num ,

b e r wou l d put his right h a n d into his j a w s while it was

being don e a s a pledge of their good faith

, .

Upon this the gods looked at one another in dismay .

B u t after an instant s p a use Tyr we ll knowing w hat

’

, ,

th e result would be stepped up to the wo l f and thrust

, ,
 T HE BI N D I N G O F T HE W O LF .
33

his right han d into h is j aws saying with a l a ugh You , , ,

“

s e e it is on l y a j oke Fenrir ,

The wolf let them bind him ; and when the magic
cord was tight l y around the gods moved away all b ut , ,

Ty r for they knew the strugg l e would be terrible

, .

The monster now stretched his l imbs ; and finding

'

that the more he struggled the tighter grew th e string ,

he bit Tyr s hand of f at t h e wrist and then ro l led on

’

the ground rending th e air with his howls of rage and

,

despair When he had worn him self out w ith his des
.

perat e struggles the gods secured him an d took him

,

back to A sgard .

O din had him carried to a dark cave on a rocky ,

I sland in the regio n s of torture be l ow Nifl h e im

'

1
,
He .

was chained to a rock that was sunk far into the earth ,

and h is j a w s were kept open by a sword th a t w as thrust

into them s o that th e hilt stood in the lower j aw and
the point in the roof of his mouth F rom his j aws .

flo w e d a poison o us river There he would remai n .

chained unti l R a gnar ok the Twi l ight of the G ods , ,

shou l d com e .

Brave Tyr by his s a crifice h a d saved A sgard from

, ,

a da n gerous foe .

1 Rydb rg e ri
d esc b e s th e r gi
e on s o f t rt r
o u e in h is T e u t i on c My th l g yo o .
 THE J U D G M E NT HAL L O F THE D EAD .

EACH day O din and the other gods rode ove r

B if r O s t going toward s the South and went down to
, ,

the lower world N ear the southern end of the celes

.

tial bridge was the well that w at ered the third root of
Yggdrasil An o l d book says that the waters of this
.

we l l were s o holy that everything that is put in the

“

we l l becomes as white as th e m embrane b etween the

”
egg a n d the eggshell The roots of Yggdrasil were
.

continuall y sprinkled with it s wat ers and were as white ,

as silver in consequence T w o swans of purest white

.
,

the p a rent s of al l the swans that ever have been glided ,

’
over its surface ; and it s edge like that of M imir s well
, ,

w as thickly overl a id with gold .

Urd the great n or n who w as queen of th e world of

,

the dead dwe l t near the well with her two sisters
, .

Multitudes of m essengers and attendants stood read y

to do her bidding ; for her realms were vast h er power ,

extending even to the dark region under Niflh e im A ll .

beings w h o died in Midgard came first to the great

j udgment hall n ear her well And it w a s to meet them
.

there and with Urd to pass j udgment upon them t h at

, ,

the gods crossed each day the trembling bridge an d

34
 T HE J U D GM E N T H ALL OF THE D EA D .
35

c ame to th e lower world Thor the thunder god .

,
-
,

c ould n ot pa s s over the bridge be cause his heav y iron ,

chariot woul d have i n j ured it ; s o he was obliged to

ford three rivers on his wa y .

The great j udgment hall was a solem n plac e and the ,

decision s pronoun ced th ere whether gentle or severe , ,

were alway s j ust M ortals wh o had been very wicked

.

were sent to the world of torture Those w h o had .

died on the fi eld of battle were claimed by O din the ,

A l l f ath e r or b y F r e y ia a Van goddes s w h o lived in

, ,
-

A sgard with the fi s h O din se n t h is maiden s the

.
,

Valky ries t o choose the heroe s on the battle fi e l d and

,
-
,

to conduct them to A sgard They wen t to h is great

. .

palace of Valhalla ; and there they feasted and fought

each day that they might be ready to do battle with
,

the powers of evil when R agnar o k the Twilight of the ,

G ods should come

,
1
F r ey ia unit ed again lovers w h o
.

had been faithful unto death Mortals whose lives had .

bee n peaceful and pure wen t to a home prepared for

them b y Urd in a land where the fields stretched green
,

an d beautiful and W here it w a s always summer

, .

1 F ry e
’
itr
s s s e , a V an -g odde ss . H al f of th e l i
s a n in b a ttl e be l ong e d
to h er .
 BALD U R A N D L O K I .

NON E of the gods stood so high in the j udgment

ha l l of the dea d as Baldur While he was not famed
.
'

as a fighter or noted for his strength his pure heart

, ,

and righteous life made his j udgment so clear that his

decisions were abso l utel y j ust and once spoken were,

n ever questioned .

Besides being a perfect j ud g e, Baldur had other

qua l ities that made every one love him even the strong ,

and fierce H e w a s s o fu l l of kin dness a n d sympath y

.

that wherever he went th e s u n shone more bright l y and ,

j oy fi l le d all hearts From th e first his life had been

.

blameless and his one aim had been to make others

,

happy The loveliness of his character was expressed

.

in his face a n d in his form ; he was the most beautiful

of all the gods : indeed they often called him Ba l dur
,

the Beautiful ; and in M idgard men named the whitest ,

’
flower they could fi nd Baldur s brow , .

But dearly loved as he w as Bal dur had one deadly ,

en em y ,
— the fa l se vindictive Loki Loki secretly hated
, .

all the gods but none s o much as Baldur H is fierce

, .

j ealo u sy w a s stirred because Baldur held such a high

p lace in Asgard . H e hated him as the darkness hates
36
 B A L D U R A ND L O K I .
37

the l ight and as evil abhors good ; an d all h is plot s and

,

schemes tended to on e end — t h e destructi on of thi s

,

hated being H e had long hoped t o bring about in

.

some way the downfall of O din an d the ruin of A sgard

but first h e wou l d kill Baldur for well he k n ew th at
,

n othing would cause such universal grief as h is deat h .

 B A LD U R S D R E A M S
’
.

B A L D U R the beloved of the gods had grow n

, , s ad
.

"
1
H is palace the H all broad shining sple ndor
,
“ -
no of — - -
,

longer gave him pleasure and N anna his wife could , , ,

n ot c omfor t him H is voice was not heard in the

.

cou n cil hall of the gods Finally after su f feri n g long .

,

in silenc e he confided to O din and Frigga the cause of

,

h is sorrow E very night for a long w hile he had bee n

.
, ,

tormented b y dreams wh ich told him that the day of his

death was not far distant that he must leave the home ,

h e loved s o well to dwell in the under world apart

,
-
,

from all his brethren This thought made him s o sad

.

t hat the most j oyous sights and sounds could not drive

a way his melancholy .

O din at once called a council of all the gods and god

desses and after conferring t ogether they se n t some of
, ,

their number to consult wise giants and other beings

w h o knew more of the future than the y themselve s

k n ew All said that Baldur must die

. .

The n it w a s determined that from every living crea

.

ture and from all plant s an d meta l s the oath not to

, ,

harm B aldur should be exacted F r igga received their

~

1 B r id b l ik
e a .
 B A L D U R S D R E A MS
’
.
39

oaths ; and for day s Asgard was thronged with the

multitude of beings who came t o take the s olemn oath
until finally all had sworn
, , .

But even this did not satisfy O din H e resolved t o .

go to th e lower world and there seek information about

the fate of h is son S l e ip n I r was saddled and the All .

father took th e same road that he had t ravelled when

h e visited the realms of M imir in search of wisdom .

Again he crossed the celestial bridge going towards ,

th e north and passed again the Shining castl e of H e im

,

dall the sleepless watchman

, But this time S leipnir .

bore him swiftly through the dark ice region and the
gloomy land of the mountain giants .

As he was going toward the south a dog met him , ,

having com e evidently from th e cave near M ount

H v e r g e l m ir The breast of the dog was bloody an d s o
.
,

were his throat and his lower j aw H e barked furiously .

at O din and howle d long after he had passed ; but the

,

A l l f ath e r rode on not hee ding him °

, .

’
I n the eastern part of Mimir s realm ne a r the home ,

of D elli n g the elf of the dawn O din came to a dense

, ,

1
forest that he could not remember having see n before .

1
r t d tl h v b i tr d d i t th B l d r myth
Th e f o es an c as e a e een n o uc e n o e a u on

Rydb rg e th rity M im ir v d m p r m rt l t th tim f

’
s au o . sa e so e u e o a s a e e o an

im p di g
en t tr ph
n d pl d th m i th i
c a as o tl B l d r m f t r
e , an
,
ac e e n s c as e . a u ca e, a e

h i d th
s ea d r l d Ov r th m
, anA f t r th d tr ti
u e f th w r l d
e t e . e e es uc on o e o , a

R g ok B l d r w t r l
a n ar
‘

, d th
a m rt l w h h d l
u g
asx o rv d h im u e , an e se o a s, o a on se e ,
40 ST OR I ES F RO M NOR S E M YT H O L O GY .

Yet the locality was familiar to him an d he knew that a ,

little farther to the east was the grave of the Vala who m
1
,

he wished to con sult After penetrating for a long dis .

tance into the silent depths of the wood he came to ,

a wall higher than the one around A sgard H owever

, .
,

S leipnir was not daunted by this obstacl e and in an

in stant O din foun d himself in a large garden from the ,

midst of which rose a castle of singular beauty T h e .

doors stood hospitably open : evidently no enemies were

anticipated in this charmed Spot protected by forest ,

a n d wall Th e A l l f ath e r dismounted an d entered

. .

Tall men and fair women walked about the castle ,

or talked together I n sma l l groups ; an d there were

preparations as for some h onored guest whose coming
was expected At the upper end of the hal l w a s a
.

throne of gold and near it benches strewn with rings

, ,

we r e to t e -p e o
p l e th e ea rth . T h e s e l i n es f rom th e l ay of V af th r fidn ir in

S aem un d s E dda
’
r f rt
e e o th e j t
s ub e c :

Wh t m rt l will l iv
a o a s e,

wh th
en g r t Fim b l w i t r
e ea u n e
-

sh ll f r m m h v p d ?
a o en a e a ss e

V a f th r fi d n ir .

L if and L if th r a s ir ;

b ut t h ey wi ll b e c on ce a e d l
in H o d d m im ir
’
s b ol t .

Th e m o r n in g d ews

h
t ey wi ll h v f a e or f oo d .

F r om th m sh a ll
e m en b e b orn .

1 A p r ph t
o e e ss .
 A L D U R S D RE A M S
’
B .
4 1

and ornaments ; while on th e table th e m ead stoo d

read y ; b ut it w as covered with a shield .

A S O din ent ered a graceful y outh cam e forward s ay

, ,

in g reverentl y A re y ou the good king and th e wise

,
“
, ,

that M imir has long promised us You s e e that every

thing is in readiness and y our subj ects await y ou with
,

”
impatienc e .

A nd O din answered I am indeed the king of a fair ,

“

realm but not y our king What i s the nam e of him

, .

W ho is t o rule over you ?

And th e youth replied M imir has not told us his ,
“

name ; but we know he is to come erelong ; and h e

will be s o noble and so pure that w e shall all love h im
”
and serve him gladl y .

O din sighed thinki n g of B aldur After talking a

, .

little with th e inhabitant s of the castl e the A ll f ath e r ,

left them and made his w ay o ut of th e forest

, .

Upon reach ing the grave of th e Vala O din chanted ,

a magic song compellin g her t o rise and an swer him

, .

S he rose an d with a deathlike voice said

, What man , ,

is this to m e unknow n w h o has for me increased an

, ,

irksom e course ? I have with snow be en decked by ,

r ai n beaten and with dew moistened ; long hav e I bee n

,

de adf
’

O din did give his real n am e but said

n ot V e g t am “
‘

, ,

Is m y nam e ; I am V al tam s s on
’
Tell me what I wish .

to k n o w of the realms of death ; from earth I call on

4 2 S TO RIES F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

y ou . who m are those benches strewn o er with

For
”
ri n gs and those costl y couches o e r l aid with gold ?
,
’

And the Vala answered M ead stands for Baldur ,

brewed ; over the bright potion a Shi eld is laid ; but

the f E s ir race are in despair B y compulsio n I hav e .

”
spoken I will n ow b e Silent .

The n O din spoke again B e not sile n t Vala ; I will ,

question y ou until I know all I must y et know who .

”
will Baldur s slayer be w h o wi l l kill the s on of O din ?
’

The Vala said H O du r 1

wi l l thither his glorious
“
'

brother send ; h e wi l l the Slayer of Baldur be ; he wi l l

kill the s on of O din By compul sio n I have spoken ; I .

”
wi ll now be sile n t .

H owever O din kept on questioning the Vala until

, ,

he asked something that revealed his true character ;

and s h e said N ot V e g tam are you as I before b e
,
“
,

l ie v e d ; y ou are O din lord of m en ! H omeward ride , ,

O di n and exult ! N evermore Shall man thus vi s it me

, ,

”
until R agnar o k the Twilight of the G ods have come
, , .

A s She s aI d this the Val a sank back into the earth

, .

A n d O din rode again to Asgard little comforted by ,

what he had learned in th e lower world .

1
i
S a d to b e b l i n d. H e m ay h ave repr e sent ed w i tr
n e , th e lyr
s a e o f
summer .
 T H E M I S TL E T O E .

IT seemed as th ough de a th could not come near Bal ~

dur now ; for all beings had sworn that they wou l d not
hur t him The purest of the gods was surely saved
. .

O ne day he ch a nced t o be hit by an arro w ; and had ,

another been in his place the woun d would have been

,

fatal ; but when th e arrow touched him it w a s blunted , ,

and he w a s not hurt S eeing this some of the gods

.
,

begged him to st a nd as a mark while they amused

,

themselves by hur l ing things at him ; stones spears , ,

arrows a n d swords — nothi n g cou l d harm him

, .

Loki passed by as th e f E s ir were enj oying this gam e ,

a n d fierce j ealousy fi ll ed hi s he a rt w hen he s a w Baldur

s o calm in a position that would h ave m eant death to

any oth er being Taking the form of a decrepit old

.

woman Loki went to the m a n sion of Frigga an d asked

, ,

alms Frigga gave the s eeming beggar something and

.
,

then asked wh at the gods were doing as s h e cr ossed the

p l ains of Ida The woman replied that they were throwin g
.

stones an d weapons at Baldur who stood there unhurt

, , .

”
“
Ah ! exclaimed the queen ,
they cannot har m
“

him now what ever his dream s may be for I have ex

, ,

acted an oath from all things

44 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

What ! said th e woman in a weak shak y voice

, , .

”
H ave a l l t h ings sworn not to harm him ?
” ”
Yes replied Frigga ; all things
,
Then She added .

carelessl y There w a s on e little shrub th e mistletoe

,
“
, ,

that grows on the eastern Side of Va l halla too weak to ,

do any harm I did not exact an oath from that

. .

H ad Frigga been watching the old woman narrowly ,

s h e would h a ve seen a look of triumph come into her

face as s h e heard these words But the queen of the

.

gods scarcely noticed her s o absorbed was s h e in think

,

ing of her de a r s on A nd th e beggar crept quietly out

.

of the palace and disappeared behind a cl ump of bushes

, .

I n a few moments Lo k i w a s talki n g gayl y with the

gods on the plains of I da and congratulating Baldur on
,

his abi l ity to stand unhurt amid a Sh ower of weapon s .

After dark when a l l Asgard was asleep a form m ight

, ,

have been seen creeping stealthily towards the eastern

Side of Valhal l a I t was Loki When he found the
. .

slender mistletoe he pu l led it up by the roots and hid

,

it in his bosom From that time it never left him ;

.

and he was continually planni n g to get some skilful

maker of weapons to form from it an arrow fatal to
B aldur.
 L O K I M A K E S T R O U B L E B E TW E E N TH E
A R TI S T S 1
AND TH E GOD S .

L O K I on ce cut off th e beautiful hair of S if Thor s ,

’

wife . And wh en Thor found out that Loki w a s the

culprit he threatened to cr u sh every bone in his body
,

if he did not repair the mischief he had don e Lok i .

promised to do this for he feared Thor H e went , .

at once t o the son s of I v al d i for help The y were .

famous artists these son s of I v al di Many were the

, .

weapon s and ornaments they had made for th e god s .

They quickl y spun some gold en hair for S if This .

wonderf ul hair grew to her h ead becomin g like her ,

own hair except that it was gold

, .

B esides th is th ey s ent a spear to O di n and a sh ip t o ,

Frey The spear w as sure to hit the mark each tim e

.

and the ship called S k idb l ad n ir could be folded up

, ,

like a napkin and put into the pocket when not i n

u se : it would al w ay s have fair winds .

It h as been told how O din on his j ourney t o M imir s ,

’

well passed n ear the singular hall of the dwarf S indri

,

an d his brothers O ne day when Loki w a s near ther e

.
,

it occurred to him that it would be an easy matt e r to

1 Th e a rti ts s, th e p r oduc tiv e f r

o c e s of v t ti
eg e a on .
4 6 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

stir up j ealousy between th e two sets of artist s Per .

haps t oo he could at th e same time make trouble

, , , ,

between them and the gods .

’
O n e of S in d r i s brothers was outside the castle as
Loki came near ; and the latter at once began to ta l k
with him a bout the making of beautifu l and curious
/

obj ects Loki described t h e w on de r f ul gift s th e sons

.

of I v al di had sent the gods by h I m and then said I , ,

“

wi l l wager my head that you cannot make you and ,

your brothers three treasures a s good as those I have

,

j ust des cribed !

The d w arf was angry at this disparagement of their
Ski l l an d hurried into the h al l to t e l l S indri of Loki s
,
’

w ager . Loki went in after him and repeated what he ,

had said adding that if they would m ake the gifts the
, , ,

gods themse l ves shou l d be the j udges and pronou nce ,

upon the merits of th e rival artists .

They went to the smithy which was in another part ,

of the castle The heat from the great furnace w as s o

.

intense that even Loki who loved fire could hard l y bear
, ,

it S indri took down a pigskin tha t was hanging on

.

the wa l l and putting it into the furnace told his

, ,

brother Brok to b l ow th e bellows and not stop b l ow m g ,

unt il h e took the pigskin out .

Loki stepped behind some iron work and in stantly -

,

a fly appeared upon the hand of Brok as he w a s blowing

the bellows and stung him b adly ; b ut he bore th e
,
 L O K I M A KES T RO UBLE .
47

pain and did not stop blowing Very soon S indri drew
,
.

from the furnace a boar with golden bristles .

N ext S indri put som e gold into the furnace giving

, ,

his brother the sam e direction s This time the fly .

’
settled upon Brok s neck and stung him s o that he ,

lifted his shoulders but still kept on blowing

, The .

r esult was a ring .

The next ti m e S indri put iron into the furnace ;

,

and as Brok was blowing the fly bu z zed angrily an d, ,

s ettling between his eyes stung h im s o severely on

,

the e y elid that the blood ran down into his eye and he ,

could not s e e H e stopped blowi n g for an instant an d

.

brushe d the fly away A hammer cam e out this time ;

.

but the handle was a l ittle too short .

The three treasures were now finished and Loki left ,

the dwarfs naming a day for them t o meet him in

,

Asgard H e s e t out at once for the home of the sons

.

of Iv al di O ne of these artists T hia s s i w h o was as

.
, ,

large as a giant and w h o was said to have great ski l l

,

as a magician went with him to A sgard The treasures

, .

made by the last n amed artists were already in the pos

-

session of the god .

I t w as a fair m orning in the beautiful cit y whe n the

j udgment w as t o be pronounced G lad sheim glittered .

in th e s un Upon its marble walls were pictured the

.

wonders of the nine worlds an d th e mighty deeds of ,

gods and heroes in the earl iest times Mimir s my s te .

’
4 8 S T OR IES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

r iou s valley Urd s pure fountain M ount H v e r g e l m ir

,
’

with it s ice cold spring - — al l could be see n on those,

’
v ast walls A nd there t oo were S urt s fiery dales
.
, ,

below the re a lm s of Urd the dark misty regions of , ,

Nifl h e im and even the world of torture with its stag

,

nant s e a I n other pictures lived again the stra n ge

.

beings and huge uncouth monsters of the ancie n t

,

wor l d .

The great ha l l of G ladsheim w a s to be the sce n e of

the j udgme n t Th ere w a s O din s throne
.
‘

O ver it
’
.

rose the arch of B if r O s t s o like th e real bridge that ,

it sent forth fi tf ul flames Back of the thron e was a .

golden tree representing Yggdrasil the World Tree

, , .

The trembling lea v es flashed in the sunlight that

streamed in through the eastern O penings S if with .
,

her golden hair s at near a table in th e centre of the

,

’
hall A nd upon the table lay O din s Spear and Frey s
.
’

Ship made by the sons of I v al di

, .

Th e hour had come and all eyes were turned toward ,

the wide door as Loki entered accompanied by the

, ,

enormous T h ias s i Loki s eyes sparkl e d with ma l icious

.
’

pl e asure ; and after making his reverence to O din he

, ,

began talking gayly with the other gods T hias s i cam e .

in awkwardly as though unused to scen es of such

,

gra n deur and beauty H e saluted O din and the greater

.

gods and th en seated himself near S if who tried in

, ,

v ain to make him talk with h e r .

 L O K I M A KES T RO U B LE .
9

In a few moments two dim in u tiv e fi g ur e s appeared

,
'

at the great entrance and with them a large boar whose

,

golden bristles dazzled the eyes O ne of the dwarfs .

led the boar while th e other carried a sma l l ham mer

, .

They paid their respects t o O din and th e other gods in

a peculi a r j erky manner and then stood looking about
, ,

with eager inquisitive faces

, .

O din rose and said in a deep voice We are here to

, , ,
“

decide upon the comp a rative ski ll of two sets of artist s .

The y are both very ski l ful and we are indebted to both ,

for many rare and valuable gifts It wi l l b e a di f ficu l t .

task to j udge rightly and we regret that Lok has made i

,

a j udgment n ecessary H e however has promised to

.
, ,

forfeit h is h ead to S indri and his brothers should th e

”
decisio n b e in their favor .

’
H e paused a mome n t and all looked at Loki s head
,

on which the stiff red hair gleamed l ike fi re ; a smile

,

lurked about his treacherous mouth and his eyes ,

twinkled .

O din went on Let T h ias s i state the peculiar

properties and specia l merit s of his work and that of his
broth ers ; an d then S indri sha l l follow him and speak ,

”
of his gifts .

T h ia s s i rose up a sulle n defiant look in his face ;

, ,

evident l y h e was forced to p l ay a part i l l Suited to h im -

.

’
Pointing to S if he said There is Thor s wife you
, ,
“

can all s e e her go l den hair ; it needs no praise ”

Tak .
5 0 S T OR IES F R O M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

ing up the Spear that lay on the table he went on , , ,

”
This is a good spear ; it never misses the mark .

H e n ext t ook from th e table what seemed to be a

white napki n but a s he held it it bloomed and spread , ,

until a Sh ip appeared that grew larger a n d larger while

he ta l ked . This ship i s l ike no other he said ; it
“
,
“

can be made sma l l enough to be c arried in the pocket ,

or large enough to ho l d many men it alw ays has a fair

wind .

T h ia s s i did not raise his eyes as he talked but u t ,

t e r e d every sentenc e as though it cost him an e f fort ,

making long pauses betwee n When he had finished .

speaking he put the Ship w h ich again looked l ike a

,
—

napkin — upon th e table a n d w ith a sigh of relief s at

“

down .

S indri then came forward his small bright eyes peer

, ,

ing everywhere and his face eager and excited H is

, .

brother stood by his side watching him intently and

, ,

im itating all his gestures S indri pointed to the boar

.
,

saying : This boar is w orthy of high er pr a ise than I

“

can give him You s e e how h is golde nbristles flash in

.

th e sun l ight ; but in the d a rkest n ight their brightness

is the same O n this boar Frey can ride through Nifl

.

hei m itself and still have day ; and so swift is h e that ,

S l eipnir with his eight legs cannot outrun him He .

can fly t h rough the air or Skim over the sea as h is rider

, ,

w ills
. AS he said this S indri looked keenly at
,
 L O K I M A K ES T RO U B LE .
5 1

T h ias s i, as though searching in his face for a look of

conscious defeat .

1
H e next drew from his bosom a ring and as he held ,

it up in the sunlight all could s e e the stones of many

,

colors that spark l ed in the setting of yellow gold .

After ga z ing U pon it for a moment as t h ough fascinated

by th e beautiful obj ect S indri spoke : Were this ,
“

ring merely what it seems it would need n o words of ,

min e ; but it has a most marvellous property E very .

ninth night eight rings of equal size and beauty drop

,

from it There is not another treasure like it in all the

.

”
nine worlds ! And S indri put the ring down slow l y ,

a s though l oath to part with it .

H e then took the hammer from his brother A s he .

raised it that it might be seen by all it grew larger and

, ,

larger until the strength of both dwarfs was neede d

,

merely to h old it U pright on the floor With a look of .

triumph S indri cried : This mighty hammer cal l ed

,
“
,

M iO l l n ir will be m ore useful to Thor when he meets the

,

’
frost giants than his wife s golden hair ! It will strike
whatever it is aimed at without fail let the thing be , ,

large or small ; and it will always return to the h a nd

that fl in g s it Besides it can be easi l y carried for it
.
,
°

can be made s o sma ll as to go into the poc k et He .

glanced at Loki as h e added To be sure the hand l e ,

“
,

”
is a little too s h ort .

1 Th e ri ng D r aup n ir , sa id t o re
p r
e s e n t f rti l ity
e .
5 2 ST OR I E S F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

A S S indri
finished speaking he an d his brother ,

’
looked arou n d exultingly T h ia s s i s face w a s expres .

s ion l e s s except for a haughty curl of the lip

, .

A fter a short pause O din rose s ayi n g Let S if , , ,

“

come here and let all the treasures be brought We

,
.

wi l l examine t h em carefully and then pronounce our

”
j udgment .

While the gods were examining a n d con sulting the ,

dwarfs watched them intent l y their quick glance goi n g ,

from on e to a n other ; but T h ia s s i s at motionless his ,

head buried in his hands apparently half asleep , .

After a long consultation s ilence was commanded , .

AS O din rose every eye was fastened upon him

, It .
“

”
h as been a hard task he began to decide between
, ,
“

such wonderful an d useful gifts ; but the decisio n must

be given We consider that the gift s made by th e
.

dwarfs S in dr I and h is brothers surpass in some r e

, ,

”
s p e c t s those made by the Son s of I v a l di Then turn .

ing to Loki he added Loki you have forfeited your

, ,
“
,

head defend yourself a s best you can

As O din pronounced the j udgment a look of dis ap ,

pointment came into T hia s s i s countenance fo ll owed by ’

an expression of fierce hatred and bitter words escaped ,

through his closed teeth But the faces of th e two .

dwarfs be a med with triumph and de l ight .

S indri instantly sprang towards Loki cryi n g Your ,

h ead belongs to me you crafty god ! N ev er again sha l l

,
 L O KI M A KES T RO UBLE .
53

y ou turn yourse l f into a fly to spoil th e work of S indri !

Your red hair wil l make brist l es for my next boar !
H e tried to seize Loki w hile he drew from ben eath his
,

mantle a large knife .

The nimble god slipped from his grasp however , ,

and w a s instantly out of the hall and speedi n g like th e

wind over the plain s of Ida .

S indri called for help Then Thor laughing m ightil y

.
,

at the frantic rage of the dwarf took up his hammer , ,

and cried in a voice of thu n der C ome back you c ow , ,

’
ard or I ll try my hammer on you ! R emember it
, ,

” ’
always hits ! The sound of Thor s voice produced a
quick e f fect upon the runaw ay H e stopped and cam e .
,

Slowly back to the palace

”

“
Try your wits n ow y our heels have fai l ed y ou
, ,

said Thor .

As the dwarf again approached Loki prepared to cut ,

off his head the latter cried The head is yours but
, ,
“
,

”
n ot t h e neck ! S indri stopped and looked question ,

in g l y at the gods .

And the y a l l said Loki is right ! N ot the neck !

,

I am c heated yelled the angry dwarf

, And .

quickly s e 1 z 1 n g h is brother s aw l he sprang toward ’

Loki and in an instant had sewed his l ips together

,

with a stout thread Thereupon he and his brother

.

left the hall T h ia s s i w a s nowhere to be seen

. He .

had disappeared whi l e S indri and Loki were disp u ting .

S4 ST OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

Well had Loki succeeded in stirring up j ealous y and

hatred where all had been peace and g ood will T hias s i
'

-
.

had left the great palace full of rage against the gods
, ,

and with plan s for revenge a lrea dy seething in his

brain ; while S indri and his brother were equally angry
at the loss of their wager and at the mirth of the gods
at their expense Besides the bitterest j ealousy w as
.
,

n ow aroused between the two sets of artists .

 H O W T H IA S S I CA PTU R E D L O K I .

O D I N, Loki and another god set out upon a j our

,

ne .
y The road lay through thickets where they could ,

scarcely make their w ay and up steep hi l ls ; s o that

,

fatigue and hu n ger at last compe l led them to stop .

They threw themselve s down on the edge of a fi eld

where some oxen and cows were grazing Loki whose .
,

appetite was always keen s uggested that one of th e,

oxen would make a good meal In a few moment s th e .

creature was captured and killed While Loki was pre .

paring th e meat for b oiling the other gods brought ,

boughs and small trees t o make the fire Then th ey .

retired into th e Shade .

Loki watched the fire with delight The red flames .

sent their forked tongues up around the huge iron

kettle th e steam rose in clouds and the water hissed
, ,

as the pot boiled over H e laughed gleefully and

.
,

c ried, B urn fire hot and high and cook us a dinner

“
, , ,

fit for gods And h e threw on more wood .

S oon it was time for the meat to be done S o L oki .

f ound a f orked stick a n d fi shed out a piece which h e ,

exam i n ed an d tasted To his asto n ishment it w as as

.
,

raw as when first put in H e stared at the pot and at

.
,

55
56 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

the fire with a look of bewilderment Then he piled

, .

on wood till the fire roared .

In a littl e whil e h e again tried the meat but with ,

no bette r success : it w a s still raw The fooler of .

’
others the knave among the gods was at his wit s
, ,

end . H e ga z ed at the kettle exc l aiming The evi l , ,

“

po w ers are at work ! T h e f rost giants have got into

”
the fi re !
J ust then he heard a m ocking l augh which seemed to ,

come from above A n d looking up he s aw an enor

.
,

m ous eagle that returned his gaze with a steady stare

’
that near l y put him out of countenanc e ; for the eagle s
e y es sh one like stars .

Finally the bird spoke : Wel l friend Loki why “

, ,

’
doesn t your meat cook ? You seem to lack skill or ,

else h ad luck attends you G ive m e my share of the .

”
feast and the meat will be don e soon enough
, .

Loki was already out of patience and the words of ,

”
t h e eag l e made him angry S top your j eering he “
,
.

c r ied or y ou shall feel the might of an A sa !

,
“

Then the mo cking l augh sounded again ; and th e eagl e

s aid ,K eep your threats Loki for those whom you c an
“
, ,

reach You are little pot soon h ot unlike y our big

.
‘
, ,
’

”
kettle th ere .

The god w a s now thoroughly enraged ; but knowi n g

him self to be he l p l ess h e controlled his anger and said
, ,

mildly S uppose w e stop our j esting an d get the m eat

,
 HO W T R I A S SI C A P T U R E D L O KI .
57

cooked Take your portion if it will help matters The

.
, .

”
meat is bewitched .

Upon this the eagle swooped down and sei z ing a leg
, ,

and two sh oulders of the ox — which might certainly ,

’
be called the lion s share — w a s about t o fly off with
,

them when Loki seeing what he had done quickly

, , ,

sei z ed a long pole that was lying near and struck him ,

a hard blow But alas for Loki ! Th e po l e stuck fast

.
,

’
to the eagle s back and the other end would not leave
,

’
Loki s hands The bird sailed up into the a ir carrying
.
,

with him the astonished god H e soon lowered his .

flight s o that Loki was dr a gged over trees and sharp

,

rocks ti l l he ho w l ed with p a in .

After a w hi l e th e eagle tired from c a rrying s o heavy

,

a burden stopped on the crest of a hi l l and looked

,

around at h is captive The latter w a s n earl y dead with

.

fright and pain ; but he got his bre a th in a moment ,

and began to beg for mercy .

The bird listened to him an d laughed his mocking ,

’
laugh again as h e said ,
Don t you kno w me yet ,
“
,

Loki ? D o you forget your friends s o soon

Loki stared for a mom en t and then cried You are , ,
“

Thia s s i !
“
O f course I am replied the bird I did
T h ias s i, .

n ot th ink you could be so e asil y deceived But I have .

n o desire to harm you It is the other gods I wish to

.

r e ach — those w h o pronounced in favor of the dwarfs .

,
5 8 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR SE M Y T H O L O G Y .

D earl y shall the y pay for th e insult don e to us ! They

”
shall y et feel the edge of the fatal sword ! and the
e agle s e y es flashed
’
.

”
H ow can I serve you ? said Loki D o not count .

m e an enemy I beg of you ,

.

I kn ow y ou of o l d Loki replied T hias s i ; an d I

“
, ,
“

know that mischief delights you w hether th e victim be

friend or foe The gam e I am going to play wi l l be
.

1
aft er your own heart Iduna as you may remember is .
, ,

a k in swoman of mine I s aw her the day the j udgment .

w a s pronoun ced the first time in years I fancy She

, .

must at times weary of the charming m onoton y of

Asgard and long for a peep at her giant kin I int end
, .

to gratify her un spoken wish In s o doing I shall .

cause some discomfort to my enemi es the fair gods , .

Their brows will soon be wrinkled and their forms bent ,

if the charming I duna with her golden apples l eaves , ,

them .

At the picture of the happy gods careworn and

wri nkled Loki laughed aloud forgetting his recent
, ,

pain T h ias s i your plan is excellent and I wi l l help

.
“
, ,

”
you carry it out ! he cried ; but in return promise
to do one thing for m e It wi l l hurt your foes more .

”
than the los s of Iduna .

“
S peak said T h ias s i ; I will do anyt hing f or r e “

’
v en
g ef

1 I d un or I dun n , usu a l f rm ;
o th e g o dd e s s o f ea rly pri
S ng .
 HO W T H IA S S I C A P T U R E D L O KI .
59

“
To inj ure the gods most d eepl y said Loki one , ,
“

must hurt Baldur H e is their idol They worship

. .

him as th ough h e were a high er kind of being

,
— even
O din does I do not sh are this enthusiasm as you may
.
,

imagin e S o far as I can remember I have never found

.
,

an y one in all the nin e worlds to admire ; and I hat e

their m eek Baldur as much as the y love him S ome .

time ago thei r favorite had bad dream s and had them ,

s o repeatedly that Father O din and M other Frigga ,

becoming alarmed for their darling called a council of ,

the gods consulted wise giant s and final l y made all

, ,

livi n g creatures and even th e plants and meta l s swear

, ,

n ot to harm Baldur .

N ot satisfied with this O din visited the lower world

,

and con sulted a Vala long since dead concerning his

, ,

’
son s fate I overheard him t elling Frigga about his
.

j ourne y H e rode on S leipnir When he w a s n ear the

. .

cave that lea d s to th e world of torture a dog met h im , ,

an d barked furiously — a bad Sign I believe

,
I lost , .

what cam e n ext B ut at last h e reach ed the grave of

.

the Vala w h o I assur e you was not pleased to b e d is

, , ,

t u r b e d after her long sleep under the dew and the snow
.

S he told O din that a place was being made ready for

h is s on in th e lower world I did n ot h ear all but I
.
,

am convinced that O din got littl e comfort from his

j ourn e y .

“
Thi s meek Baldur n ow parades h is superiority b y
6O S T OR IE S F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

standing up as a m ark for the f E s ir H e thinks him .

self safe now ; but I happe n t o possess a little secret

of great importance M other Frigga in h e r i n nocence
.
, ,

confided it to m e taking me for a begg a r woman When

,
-
.

s h e made a ll creatures swe a r not t o h ar m Ba l dur there

'
'

was one s h e neglected beca u se it was so weak s o ,

powerless to harm any one It w a s the l ittle shrub .

mist l etoe that gre w on the east ern Side of Val ha ll a .

O f cours e I at on ce secured th e p l ant and here it is

, , .

And Loki drew from his bosom the withered mist l etoe .

“
N ow for my p l ot friend T h ias s i ! From this wea k
,

plant you with your wonderfu l ski ll can make an arrow

, , ,

that wi l l kill the fair faced Baldur the dar l ing of the gods
-
, .
”

T h ia s s i pondered a moment and t h e n said I would

, ,
“

not do s o much t o p l ease you You are in my power .

,

and I can compel y ou to he l p me w hether you wil l or

not .But I like your p l ot G ive me the mist l etoe?
.

The arrow I m ake Shal l be deadly ; for it sha l l be pois

on e d by hate I have al rea dy m ade a fatal sword whose
.

e dge the f E s ir sh a ll fee l some day Mimir the wise .

, ,

took it from me whi l e I s l ept I kno w not where it 1 S

.

but it wi ll surel y fu l fi l the end for which it was made .

”

B efore they parted it was arranged that Loki Should

,

entice Iduna outside the wall s of A sgard so that T h ias s i ,

could carry her of f to J O t u n h e im And T h ia s s i as h e .

,
’

flew towards the n orth bore with him th e w ithered mis

,

tl e t oe from which he w a s to m a ke the fata l arrow .

 T H IA S S I C AR R I ES O FF ID UNA .

ID U N A w a s Sitting in her garden one afternoo n when ,

Loki w a ndered in and threw himself down on a l ow

,

se a t All the gods came often to s e e Iduna I t w as a

. .

charming spot this garden with its fountains and bow

, ,

ers a n d Iduna w a s a lovely goddess But the gods had

,
.

’
anoth er reason for coming — the y came to get Iduna s
,

apples .

These apples were the most de l icious fruit They .

were golden in co l or j ust touched with red ; and one

,

seemed to be e ati n g whatever he liked best in the worl d

when he tasted them And there was Something still .

more wonderful about them Whoever a t e them if o l d .

, ,

grew young and if tired fe l t a s fresh as t hough j ust

, ,

awaking from s l eep Because of th ese virtues the

.
,

f E s ir pri z ed them above a ll th eir treasures .

As Loki s at th e r e Thor the strong god of thunder

, , ,

came for refreshment aft er fighting with the giant s in

J O t u n h e im .Ba l dur the Be a utifu l ca m e ; for even he
needed to t a ste the won drous fruit I n a moment Tyr .

w al ked up strong and cheerfu l in spite of the loss of

,

his right hand Later came Frigga and som e of the

.
,

other goddesses And all ta l ked pleasantl y together as

.

6 1
6 2 S T OR IES F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

t h ey stro ll ed about among th e trees or rested in the ,

shady bowers .

Loki chuckle d as he thought to him self H ow wi l l ,

“

migh ty Thor feel when his h and is too weak to fling

the hammer at the giant s and how wi l l Frigga look
?
,

when she can n o longer stand e rect queen of the gods , ,

but must totter about a bent o l d wom a n ,

? O h it wi l l ,

be rare sport !
Th e gods cam e and went and the Shadows length
,

ened but sti l l Loki l ingered When at last h e w as

, .

alone with Idu n a he s aid careless l y Let me s e e one

, ,

of your apples a moment ; I wish t o e x amine it .

”

After looking at it critical l y he smelt of it and tasted

,

it Then he said in a decided ton e Yes it is as I

.
, ,
“
,

thought those apples are much finer !

Iduna looked at him with an expressio n of bewilder
m ent .

H e continued : The go l d is brighter and the r e d

“
,

a more be a utiful Shade and the flavor is beyo n d that

of a nythi n g I have ever tasted I wou l d never have .

be l ieved there w e re apples better than yours in all th e

nine wor l d s h a d I n ot seen and t a sted them myself
, .

A s Loki talked amazement and an x iety were p I c

,
.

’
t u r e d on Idun a s face and wh e n he finish ed She burst ,

out , Why Loki what do you mean

,
? There c an
not b e apples better than mine A l l the gods s ay s o
"

n O din h imself
”
— eve and he has been everywhere .
 T H IA S S I C A RR I E S O FF IDU NA . 63

”
S o the gods y but how cansath ey prove
, it said ?

L ok I smi l ing
,
I have seen fi ner ones a n d h ave eaten
.

them They grow j ust beyond the w al l and river of

.

Asgard in a grov e N o one would ever think of look

,
.

ing there for apples I found them by chance the .

,

other day when searching for something I had lost

, .

”
“
O Loki ! cried I duna with t ears in her eyes I , ,
“

cannot bea r to think there are apples b etter than mine .

I wonder if they are also apples of youth ?

“
A S to that I cannot s ay replied the god ; I o n ly ,
“

k n ow that I was quite exhausted when I came upon

them and the first taste made m e feel a s fresh as a
,

lark S o I presume they surp a s s your a pples in their

.

youth givi n g and refreshing qua l ities a s we l l as in other

-

”
H ow é v e r
’
thi n gs . h e added seeing Iduna s look of
, ,

distress you need not be alarmed I know how s ad

,
“
.

a thing it would be for you to lose your position as sole

possessor of the wonderful fruit And s o out of con .
,

sideration for you I have spoken to no one of my

,

discovery You charming I duna w h o have always

.
, ,

been so gracious and so generous in di spensing your

treasure you alon e must have the new golden apples
,

”
“
H ow kind you are Loki ! said Iduna the tears , ,

’
still in her eyes ; won t y ou get me some of them s o ,

t h at I can s e e for myself how much better they are ?

It seems a s though I cou l d not w a it

“
Let m e think said Loki m editative l y ; I m u st
, ,
“
64 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

start for Midgard to night H ow can I manage it -

.
?

Then in a moment h e added : , I Should not have time

t o get the a pples and come back here with them ; but
this is wh a t we c an do You go with me I shall have . .

tim e t o s e e you s afely into Asgard a gain ; and once

I n s I d e the w a lls you wi l l not mind comi n g hom e a l one
,
.

O r if you pref er you need not go outside at a l l I wil l

, ,
.

get the a pples whi l e you w a it inside You can decide .

”
which you wou l d rather do when we get there .

The u n s u s p e c tI n g I dun a prepared t o go with Loki .

S he threw over her shou l ders a light green mantle her ,

flower embroidered robe Showing gayl y below it Then

-
.

she s a id ,
I wonder whether I had b etter hide my
“

”
apples or take them with m e
,
.

” ’
O h t a ke them Loki replied and then y o u won t
, , ,
“

”
be worrying about them .

They started of f I duna half frightened and half

,

pleased a t the prospect of s o l ong a trip ; for s h e ra re l y

left her own home and had not been beyond the wa l ls
,

for years .

“
I wonder wh a t Bragi wi l l say if he c omes back and -

do e s not find me She mur m ured ,

I hope I sha ll .
“

”
get home before da r k ! A nd She w a s almost ready to
turn b a c k But Loki w a s very g ay a n d his j ests and
.
,

stories soon made her forget h er fears .

After a l ong w a l k a n d gods wa l k much faster than

’

mortal s — the y reached the wa l ls of the city

 T H I AS S I C A RR IES O FF IDUNA . 65

Now ,
said Loki which wi l l y ou do ? st ay here or
,
“

g o with me ? It makes n o differen ce unless you wou l d ,

like t o s e e the apples growing ; and possibly y ou m ay

”
not fan cy bein g left by yourself in such a lonely Spot .

”
I am a little afraid to st ay here alone said Id una , ,

“
and I should like t o s e e the apples growi n g I thi n k .

’
I will go with you There c a n t be any h a rm in my
going if it i s s o near .

Loki h elped her over th e high wall A n d strange t o .

,

sa
y,
there was a curious boat j ust where they got down
on the other S ide H ad Iduna been in the least s u s
.

p ic io u s S h e might have won dered at its being there .

S he did not stop to wonder but stepped in w ith Loki , .

The boat went over the rushing river w ith its dangerous
mists as easily as a swan crosses a smooth lake For .
,

in truth it w a s no common boat but one made by

, ,

T h ias s i for this very occasion .

As they stepped on s h ore Loki pointed t o a grove of

,

trees saying The apples are in there

, , .

They went t ow a rd the grove a n d soon the long rays ,

of the afternoon s u n were shut out by the trees and the

thick undergrowth .

I duna w a s tired and said in a weary tone

, I s it ,
“

much furt h er Loki ,

“
N o onl y a little way
, he rep l ied ; but if you are
,
“

tired here is a nice mossy seat in this little openin g

, .

You c an rest a few moments while I go and get some ,

66 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

water from the Spring that b ub b l e s out from the other

”
side of t he large rock yonder .

I du na s at down holding her basket of golden apples

,

in her lap and lea n i n g her beautifu l he a d agai n st a

-
!

tree Looking up through the ope n ing she could s e e

.
,

the white clouds sailing lazily in the deep blue Sky .

In a few moments her eyes closed and She was fast ,

asleep .

S he w as suddenly awakene d by a whirri n g sound and ,

when s h e looked up the blue Sky had vanished and , ,

a dark thunder cloud was coming rapidly towards the

opening .

“
Loki ! Loki ! come back ! she cried .

There was no reply and the cloud came swiftly dow n

,
-

AS it touched the tree tops a few feathers fell into -

,

’
Iduna s lap ; and as s h e gazed in fear and wonder it ,

’
took the form of a large eagle with Shining eyes Iduna .

screamed with terror and sank back h elpless upon the

,

mossy seat A s the eagle seized her a small arrow

.
,
’

dropped upon the ground near w h e r e s h e had been

Sitting .

Iduna was borne rapidly away toward J otu n h e I m .

When th e e ag l e w a s so f a r up that he looke d no larger

t h an a swal l ow a form appe a red from behind the large
,

rock and Loki a look of m al i c I O u s triumph in his face

, , ,

picked up the mistletoe arrow .

 TH E G O D S G R O W O LD .

HEN 1 ’
W Bragi Iduna s husband cam e home that
, ,

n ight his wife w a s not at the gate to meet him with her
,

happy face a n d her golden hair H e searched for her .

in the garden an d in the palace ; he inquired of the

people about the place of her maidens and fi n ally of all , ,

the gods an d goddesses ; but no one h a d seen Iduna .

since they left her as well and as happy as ever in the

, ,

afternoon Thor did remember that when he left the

.

garden Loki s at on a low seat h alf asleep

, ,
.

“ ”
Thor said Bragi if there is mischief Loki is at
, ,
“
,

the bottom of it ! Let us find him !

They went to Loki s hom e and found him Sitting b y ’

a large fire H e seemed surprised to s e e them an d

.
,

opened his eyes wide when the y told him that Iduna
h ad disappeared .

That is very strange ! said he ; I was the last “

one to leave the garden and everything w a s a l l right ,

then I have seen nothing that looke d suspicious near

.

Asgard Then after a short pause he added

.
,
I did , ,
“

notice a large eagle a s I walked home ; but I do not

think he came very near .

1 Th e g od of p oe try ; th e b e st of sk a l ds .
68 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

Loki seemed s o innocent that they cou l d not suspect

’
him of knowing anything more of I duna s whereabouts
than they did .

That n ight and the day fo ll o w ing and every day the , ,

search for Idun a w a s kept up ; but no trace of her

could be found G reat sorrow w a s felt throughout the
.

city of the gods With her the warm summer that

.
,

never lef t th a t h a ppy home departed giving place t o , ,

dreary N ovember C old winds blew from the north

.
,

chi ll ing the de l icate flowers A look of decay came .

over th e hi l ls and fie l ds ; a n d yel l ow leaves fe l l from

the trees le a ving them b a re an d brown Vines that
, .

had always borne fruit and flowers during every month

of the year rattled their lifeless stems against the tot
,

teri n g wa l ls A cold breath touched the ponds and

.

streams covering them with a thin coating of ice

, .

And the birds left for the first time the summer land -

of the gods a n d flew toward the south The s u n itself .

shone with a pa l e sick l y light scarce l y warming the

, ,

blood even at noon And the nights grew long and .

dark .

But if nature mourned for I duna the gods felt her ,

loss still more As l ong a s She gave them her golde n

.
.

apples weariness and old age could not touch them

, .

E ach one enj oyed the fu ll est life After Iduna s going .
’

O din the wise A l l f ath e r grew older : h is beard becam e

, ,
”

as white as the h e ar d of Mimir and there w a s a look ,

 THE GOD S G R ow OLD . 69

of sadnes s on his king l y features S t a te l y Frigga the

.
,

mother of the gods became wrinkled an d gray E ve n

, .

Thor th e mighty thunder god showed Signs of age

,
-
, ,

although his Spirit was unbroken Matters were fast .

becoming s o desperate that O din decided to ca l l a

council to consider what could be don e to remedy
the evil .

The gods and goddesses assembled those wh ose ,

-

homes were far a w ay as we l l a s those w h o l ived in

Asgard A l l came e x cept H eimd a l l w h o could n ot
.
,

leave his post a s guardi a n of the bridge B if r O s t .

J
NiO r d came from his w ind b l o w n p a l a ce by the s e a
-
,

“
on a strand outside of w hich the s w an s Sing in the ,

western part of the l o w er wor l d Frey came from .

,

A l fheim the land of the light e l ves ; and Vidar th e

,

S ilent left his lonely vine grown home deep in th e

-
,

mountain s at the call of O din

, All came a n d a l l
.
,

showed the signs of weakness an d Of age .

O ne alone w a s a bsent when the ZE S ir w ere assem

bled Loki w a s not there And it h a d been remarked
. .

that he seemed little aff ected b y I duna s absence H is ’

.

hair g leamed red and fi ery u n ml x e d with gr a y ; and his

,

restless eyes had lost n one of their brightness .

All were Silent unti l O din a rose feeble yet maj estic , , ,

his countenance lighted by the wisdom for which he

”
had paid s o dear My chi l dren he said
. I duna has
, ,

gone an d th e wor l d is growing o l d

, The gods grow .
70 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

feeb l e Winter winds a lre a d y howl a rou n d G ladsheim

. .

The shadow of death i s upon us Who will bring bac k .

”
Iduna ?
AS he finished speaking a god ros e from his seat , .

H e w a s one that was not often among them ; for he

l ived f ar from Gl adsheim n ear th e high wall of Asgard
,
.

May I speak f ather O din

“
, he asked .

O din bowed his h ead ; and he went on I heard in “

m y lonely hom e th a t I duna h a d gone ; but it did n ot

o ccur t o m e until recent l y th a t certain str a nge thi n gs

I h a d seen co u l d h a ve anything to do with her dis

appearance .What I have t o s ay m ay unravel the
mystery .

O ne a fternoon rather late I climbed the high wa l l

, ,

w hich is near my castle a n d looked down upon the

,

dark Asgard river S uddenl y my attention w a s at

.

tra cted by a pecu l iar whirring sound such a s is made ,

by a bird in rapid flight Looking up I s aw an enor

.
,

mous eagle carrying somethi n g in his talons I could .

not t ell what I w atched h im until he bec ame a m ere

.

speck and at last v an ished on the northern horizon .

O n looking dow n I s aw another stra nge sight

,
a ,
-

Singular bo a t th a t crossed the d a ngerous river a s e a sily

as though it h a d been a com m on stream N ight w a s .

coming on but I cou l d distinguish Loki as he leaped

,

from the boat concealed it amid some bushes and then

, ,

quickl y c limbed the wall and went towards the centre of

 THE G OD S G RO W O L D .

Asgard I do n ot s e e Loki here a n d that makes it

.
,

seem still more probable th a t h e had something to

’
do with I du n a s dis appeara n ce .

A s the god s at down Thor sprang up the old fire

, ,

”
flashing in his eyes O din he cried
.
“
sha l l not
, ,
“

B ragi an d I seek Loki ? H e sh a l l pay dearly for it if ,

”
he is the cause of all this !

O din gave h is permission and they left the hall, .

They soon came b a ck bringing Loki w h o put on a n ,

air of careless gayety i l l suited to th e occasion O din

,
-
.

calmly repe a ted what the god had s a id a n d Loki fi n d , ,

ing it useless t o deny that he had crossed the river

with I dun a to l d the whole story : how he was captured
,

by T h ias s i on th e day when h e suddenly dis appeared

while travelling with O din and the other god a n d how ,

to save himse l f he h a d b etrayed I d un a into T h ia s s i s ’

hands .

Thor advanced towards the guilty god with his

hammer r a ised ; a n d then Loki thoroughly frightened , ,

begged for mercy s aying he would sure l y fi nd a w ay

,

t o bri n g back Idun a if they wou l d only give him

,

time .

“
Loki said O d in sternly we will give you time ;
, , ,
“

but if at the end of on e month you do not bring her

back you Sha l l b e put to de a th w ith terrible tortures
, .

Loki a sked f or a m o ment s si l e n ce that h e might

’

think of some w ay in w hich h e cou l d outwit T h ia s s i .

72 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O GY .

This was not an e a s y thing to do because the latter

,

was a great magician H e b ur I e d h is face in his hands

.
,

but in an instant looked up s aying : I h ave a p l a n

“
'

, ,

but a disguise is needful If Fr ey ia will lend m e her

.

falcon p l um a ge I wi l l match T h ia s s i w 1 th his eagl e

,

”
feathers . And h e l a ughed gleefu lly a t the thought of
out w itting the gre a t artist Then h e co ntinued : I
.
“

know some runes by which I c a n change I duna into

‘

a nut s o that I can easily bring her back Let me

, .

go ; I long t o fool the giant who trailed me over the

”
rocks and trees .

The gods looked coldly on L oki ; for the y s aw that

his chief desire was not to rescue I duna
-
.

A litt l e later a fal con might have been seen flying

towards the desolat e mountains of J O tun h e im .
 L O K I B R I N G S BA C K I D U N A .

T H E home w here T h ia s s i n ow l ived w a s in J O tun

heim a l and inh a bited by giants This regi on w a s sepa
'

V
, .

rated from Midga rd by the gre a t river O ce a n a n d l ay , ,

between Asg ard a n d the lo w er worl d After the gods .

pro nounced in favor of the d w a rfs Th ia s s i c ame here

,

and Shut himself up in a grim stone castle where he ,

spent most of his time m a king w e a pon s to be used

against his foes H is dw e ll ing was ne a r the sea a n d
.
,

rose like a j ag ged mount a in a mid the gr a y rocks of the

co a st . A few stunted trees a n d bushes clung to
crevices in the rocks a n d in the va l l eys were sc a n ty
,

p a tches of coarse gr a ss A du l l twi l ight reigned

.

always a n d over al l hung a l e a den Sky

,
.

’
Loki s flight w a s very r a pid a n d it did not take him
,

long to reach J O tu n h e im a l though it w a s so f ar from

,

Asga rd As he n e a red the co a st he m a de large c 1r c l e s

.
, ,

flying f ar out to s e a There he s aw T h ia s s i fi s h in g

.

a most fortun ate thing ; for h ad he been at home it ,

would have been h a rd for Loki to rea ch I duna w ithout

his knowledge .

N ext he circ l ed around th e cast l e coming nearer each

,

time a n d ex amining it carefully on every Side A s h e

, .
74 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

p a ssed b y one of the rude openings th a t served a s

windows a gle a m like sunshine Shot out into the gray
,

twilight Loki a l ighted on the edge and looked in

. .

There on a rough couch l a y I dun a sleeping There

, , , .

were tears on her cheeks and the basket of go l den ,

apples was c l a sped firm l y to her breast H er long ’

ye l low hair fi ll ed the b a re room with r a diance a n d ,

the light stream ed out thr o ugh the O pening m aking a ,

litt l e sunshine in that land of g l oom I n her sleep s h e .

”
sobbed a n d L oki c a ught the word Asg a r d
,
“
.

Losing no time he fl e w I nto the room and t aking

, ,

his proper sh a pe gent l y aw a kened her S he stared

, .

vacant l y for a moment an d then fear an d reproach ,

”
pictured themselves up o n her fa ce F a l se Loki s h e .
“
,

cried why a r e you here ? Through you I am a

,
“

”
prisoner f a r from Asg a rd !
“
D o not wast e time in repro a ches fair I duna said , ,

Loki ; I al one c a n save you ; and I wi l l if you do as

“
,

”
I bid you S eeing the look of distrust sti l l on I duna s
.
’

fa ce he added : You may trust me ; for if I do n ot

,
“

c a rry you s afely back to Asga rd I am to be put to ,

death with dre a dful tortures A ll the gods a r e gro w i ng .

o l d an d Asga rd is desol a te You m ay th a nk me a fter

, .
,

a l l ; they wi ll th ink more of you th a n ever when you

”
go b a ck w ith your precious fruit .

’
S o Idun a s fears were quieted ; a n d as th ere was n o
other hope of esc ape s h e decided t o trust herse lf to Loki
, .
 L O K I B R I N G S B A C K I D U NA
’

.
75
\

N ow, said he grasp your basket firmly w h il e I

,
“
,

sa
y some runes that wi l l m a ke y ou as small a s a nut .

”
In th a t way I can c a rry you s afel y home
,
I duna did .
»
‘

as Lo k i b a de her although she trembled as s h e felt her

,

s elf gro wing smaller and sma l ler Loki again put on .

h is falcon plumage a n d in an instant w a s flying towards

,

t h e s ou t h
l
H e fe l t quite sure that T h ia s s i had n ot
.

seen him .

H e flew more s w iftly than the hawk t hat seeks his

prey or th a n the e agl e th a t return s to her young
, .

From time to time he turn ed his he a d to s e e if T h ia s s i ,

in his e a g l e p l um a ge were fo ll owing him H e h a d

, .

gone so f ar that the huge castle could hard l y be seen

on the hori z on when above it appeared a small black
,

speck It w a s T h ia s s i
. .

The race n ow bega n in earnest B oth flew steadi l y .

for hours high up am ong the leaden clouds of the cheer

,

les s sky Loki put forth his god l ike strength and
.
,

T h ia s s i his gi a nt force At last the g l ittering towers

.

of Asgard gl eamed agains t the southern sky Would .

Loki reach it in time ?

I n the city of the gods a l l w a s e x pectancy from the

time Loki s e t forth Wily and ski l ful they knew him
.

to be but T h ia s s i was fierce and powerful The result

, .

wa s doubtful The gods gathered n ear the wall of

.

Asgard th a t looked tow a rd J Ot un h e im O din on l y s at .

, ,

apart far up I n his H igh S e a t I n the dim dista n ce he

, .
76 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

could s e e the mountain s and castle s of J O t u n h e irn .

C old winds ble w and A sgard looked cheerless in the

,

waning light of the afternoon Beautiful as ever rose .

the statel y hom es of the gods ; but the plain s of Ida

lay brown and bare except for a few scattered snow ,

flakes N o su m mer sounds were in the air ; for the

.

birds had flown and even the song of the cricket w a s

,

hushed .

O din kept his eyes fixed upon the distant mou n tains ,

that he might c atch the first g l impse of the returning

Loki H e kne w better than any one else the vast im
.
,

portance of Loki s errand ; and his face grown old and , ,

lined with care expressed the great anxiety h e felt

, .

H is raven s had not come back from their daily j ourney ,

but the two wolves l ay at his feet watchi n g his coun ,

t e n a n c e with eager eyes : n ear him stood H ermod the ,

messenger god .

S uddenly a gleam Shot across th e stern fac e of th e

A l l f a th e r and a light like the fire of battle s h on e in h is
,

eyes . G o H ermod ! he cried ; tell the ZE s ir Loki

“
,
“
,

”
comes ! B ut stay he added : an d then in a m oment
, ,

s ay T h ia s s i c l ad in his eagle plumage pursues him !

“
, ,

”
The gods wi ll soon s e e them from the wall of A sgard .

H e rmod haste n ed to tell the gods and more eagerly ,

tha n e ver did the y scan the northern h orizon for t h e

wish ed for Sight-
.

H ermod went back to O din but soon rej oi n ed th e ,

 L OKI B RIN GS BA C K I DU NA .
77

g ods,
sa y ing : The
“
A l lf a th e r gave Loki important in

s t r u c tion s before he left Asgard . H e bade him lower

his flight as he n eared the city for th e mist s of th e
,

r ushing river cannot har m him ; but Should T hia s s i fly

low enough they will burst into flam es sin ce he is now

, ,

an enem y to the f E s ir .

I n a mom ent two specks could be seen in the north .

Then what suspense w a s felt by the gods ! E very eye

w as fixed upon the swiftly advancing birds The ZE s ir .

showed signs of weakness as the y stood there and

, ,

looked older b y years than when Iduna left them .

The chill wind whistled through their g a rments but

they did n ot feel it N or did they s e e th e s u n as he
.

sank wearily behind the dark clouds in the west as ,

though he too had grown old O ne thought alon e fi l led

.

all their minds , C ould Loki hold out ? Would he

reach A sgard before the powerful Th ia s s i w h o seemed ,

to b e gaining upon him

N earer and nearer comes Loki H is flight is v ery
.

s wift and although th e eagle is gaining upon him the ,

dista n ce is short Wi l l he remember to lower his flight

.
?

Yes ; he sudde nl y swoops down as h e nears the d a rk

river The gods stand breathless with outstretched
.
,

arms T h ias s i too lowers his flight forgetting the

.
, , ,

dangerous mists At last Loki is over the river and

.

over the wall and n ow he fa l ls exhausted to the ground

, .

B ut the g ods heed him not s o intentl y are the y watch

,
78 S T OR I E S F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

ing T h ia s s i AS the eagle flies over the river the

.
,

mists burst into fierc e fl am e s burning his w ings

,
but
he can neither stop nor turn back his headway is s o ,

great H is scorched wings h e a r him over the wall

.
,

and he fal ls dead in their midst .

AS the gods turn t o look at Loki they behold him in

,

his natura l form and near h im stands Idun a radiant

, ,

with j oy holding out with her old gracious smi l e her

,

basket of golden apples The sun as though suddenly

.
,

grown y oung sends a p a rting stream of ra diance from

,

t he west ; the clouds are turned to gold ; G ladsheim

glitters in the distanc e Youth and summer have com e

.

back to the home of th e gods .

 TH O R A N D THR Y M .

TH OR and Loki went to J O t u n h e im in search of ad ,

ventures O n the way home night overtook them

.
, ,

and they l ay down and Slept on the edge of a forest .

When Thor awoke h e felt for his hammer and it w a s

, ,

gone . H is wrath w as t errible H is fi ery eyes and

.

h e ar d darted forth light n ings and he struck h is fore

,

head as though he wou l d awaken from a dream .

”
Loki ! Loki ! he cried awake ! H ear what I
,
“
_

t e ll you ! N o one on earth or in heaven knows this !

’
The f E s ir s hammer is stolen
’
Loki s face showed surprise and b e wilderment .

S tolen ! he replied ; y our hammer ? That cannot

“

be
The n they looked a l l about them in the grass ; but
no hammer could be found .

”
“
Thor s a id Lo k i
, if I had Fr ey ia s feather gar
,
“ ’

ment I might find out where the hammer is D o

,
.

”
you think she wou l d lend it to m e ?
“
The hammer must be found said Thor ; if not ,
“
,

the giants of J O t un h e im m ay prevai l aga inst u s .

”
F r e y ia will not refuse to he l p m e .

Very early I n the morning they entered the city and

79
80 S T OR I E S F R O M N O R S E MY T H O L O G Y .

’
went to Fr ey ia s p alace Many warriors feasted there .

each day mort a ls w h o had died on the field of batt l e

, ,

and lovers who h a d been faithful unto death AS they

’

e n tered the wide h all Fr e y ia ros e t o greet them And , .

’
seei n g th a t Thor s brow w as dark s h e said W h at ails , ,
“

”
you Asa Thor ? S om e trouble is s urel y in your he a rt !
,
-

And Thor a n swered The hammer M iO l l n ir is , , ,

stolen ; it is in th e hands of our enemies !

”
“
M iO l l n ir sto l en ! cr ied F r e y ia H ow can t h at .
“

”
be ? Who cou l d t a ke the hammer from mighty Thor ?
”
“
I slept said Thor and when I awoke t h e ham
, ,
“
,

”
mer w a s gone I can tell you no more . .

Fr e y ia knew we l l wh a t this meant S he p on dere d a .

moment and then said ,

H ow can I help you Thor , ,

”
“
Wi l l you lend me your feather garment ? said
Thor . With the help o f that the hammer may be
“
,

found .

“
I would give it to you if it wer e m ade of gold and ,

”
trust it to you if it were of silver rep l ied F r e y ia , .

Thor and Loki left Fr e y ia s pa l ace taking with t h em ’

the feather garment When they had gone a little way .

,

they stopped an d Loki put on the plumage and flew

,

towards J O tu n h e im H e flew s o swiftl y that the plu.

mage rattled .

When h e reached the icy land he s aw T h r y m th e , ,

’
T h ur s a r s lord sitting on a mound plaiting gold band s
, ,

f or his greyhou n ds and smoothi n g his horses ma n e s

’
, .
 T H OR A ND T HR Y M . 81

He knew Loki in spite of his disguise and said H ow , ,

are the f E s ir getting on A nd the elves Wh y have

y ou come a l one t o J O t u n h e im ?
“
The E s ir are in a b a d p l ight a n d s o are the elves ,

Loki replied Where have y ou hidden Thor s ham

.
“ ’

”
mer ?
T h r y m laughed aloud and said I have hidden
, ,
“

’
Thor s hammer eight miles beneath th e earth ; and n o
m a n shall get it again unless he brings m e F r ey ia for
my wife .

When Loki heard this h e too laughed ; for he w a s

,

n ot sorr y that Thor had lost hi s hammer .

H e flew back to Asgard in th e rattling plumage .

’
When he cam e near t o Thor s palac e the latter s aw ,

him and called out

, H ave you had succes s as well as
,

labor ? Tell me y our story from the air The man .

w h o sit s down leaves out too much an d h e who lies

”
down speaks falsel y .

Loki ans wered from the air : I have had labor and “

success T h r y m th e T h u r s ar s lord has your hammer

.
,
’

, .

A nd no man can get it aga in unl es s he bring him F r ey ia

”
for h is wife Then Loki flew to the ground and took
.

of f th e feather garme n t ; and he and Thor went to

’
Fr e y ia s palace .

When Fr e y ia s aw them s h e welcomed them G lad ,

.

was s h e to get her falcon p l umage again But Thor s

’
.

brow w a s dark and he said , Put on your bri dal ,

“
82 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

garments , F r e y ia for we two must drive t o J otun e

”
heim .

Fr ey ia did not understand him S o h e told her that .

unles s s h e became the wife of the giant T h r y m M iol l ,

n ir would never be returned .

Make ready therefore and come with me ! ,

said,

T hor or th e giants will st orm Asgard ; and without

,
“

the h a m mer , who can defend it ag a in st them

Fr e y ia grew very angry as Thor talked S he w a s a .

mighty goddess t a ll and powerful And as her anger

, .

raged the hall where they were trembled and the gre a t
, ,

1
B r is in g a necklace shivered into pieces N ever will I .
.

”
drive with you to J O tu n h e im ! cried Fr e y ia N ever .
“

will I be the bride of T h r y m

Thor and Loki left the palace a n d sought O din the , ,

W I s e A l l f at h e r A s soon a s O din he a rd wh a t had h a p

.

pened he called a cou n ci l of al l the gods and goddesses ;

,

for the safety of Asg a rd depended upon their getting

’
back Thor s hammer .

The counci l met When many had spoken to no pur .

pose H eim da l l arose H e had the wisdom of the Vanir

,
. .

”
“
I think I know how w e m ay get b a ck the h a mmer ,

he said Let Thor be cloth ed in F r e y ia s garments ;

.
“ ’

l e t keys j I n g l e at his Side ; place precious stone s on his

breast ; around h is neck put th e fa med B r is in g a neck
l a ce ; and s e t a neat coif on h is head
2
C l a d thus he .
,

1
A f am ous n e c k a c e l m a d e b y th e dw ar f s .
2
A k i n d of ca
p .
 T H OR A N D THR Y M . 83

m ay deceiv e the giant an d get again the mighty ham

,
~

me r M i ollnir
, .

These words did not please Thor H e s a id The .

,
“

f E s ir will call m e womanish if I let myself be clad in

”
b ridal raiment .

Loki rej oiced secretl y at the th ought of Thor in

’
woman s robes and he s a id,
S pe a k not such w ords,
“
,

Thor ! The giant s w i l l soon rul e in Asg a rd if you do

n ot get back M iO l l n ir .

’
The f E s ir all agreed th a t H eimdall s words were
wise A nd after much urging Thor allowed them to
.
,

’
cloth e him in Fr e y ia s g a rm ents They put the famed .

B r is in g a necklace a roun d h is neck ; keys j ingled at his

side ; precious stones sparkled upon his breast ; and on
his head w a s a ne a t coif .

Loki w a s de l ighted a n d he said to Thor I wi l l go

, ,
“

as y our serving maid ; w e two will drive t o J O tu n h e im

-

”
together .

The goat s were found in their rocky pastures They .

were quickl y d riven h ome and hurried into the traces ; ,

and Thor and Loki leaped into the chariot Like .

mountain wi n ds let loose the go a ts Sped on The rocks .

were shivered an d the earth w a s in a blaze ; for the

,

might y thunder god drove in his wrath to J O tu n h e im

-
.

When T h r y m the T h u r s a r s lord s aw them coming

,
’

, ,

he w as glad ; for h e thought the desire of his heart was

w on ,
F r ey ia w as to be his wife .
84 S T O R IES F RO M N O R S E M YT H O L O GY .

R ise up J O t u n s,
h e cried a n d deck the be nches ;,

for they bring F r e y ia NiO r d s daughter from N o atun

,
’

, ,

to be my wife B ring hither gold horned cows and a ll

.
-

b l a ck oxen for the j oy of the J O t u n S I had many neck .

l aces and many tre a sures ; but F r ey ia I l a cked With .

her I sh a l l want nothing

E arly in the eve n ing m a ny gi a nts c a me to th e w e d
,

ding fe a st ; an d much beer w a s brought out for them .

Thor alo n e devoured an ox a n d eight sa l m o n a n d a l l ,

the sweetmeats women like H e also dra nk three bar .

rels of me ad .

Th r m the king of the gi a nts was astonished to s e e

, ,

a woman eat so much and he said D id you ever see ,

such a hungry bride I never s a w a bride eat s o much ,

n or a m a iden drink s o much me a d

The craf ty servi n g m aid s at close by and s h e found

-
,

a ready an swer S he said to the J o tun

. For eight ,

days Fr e y ia h as eaten nothing She h as longed s o for ,

”
J O t u n h e im .

Then the g i ant stooped to kiss the bride under her

veil but he suddenly sprang back saying Why are , ,
“

’
F r e y ia s looks s o piercing ? M ethinks fire comes from
”
her eyes .

The crafty serving maid found again fitt ing words

-
,

W é l l may her eyes h e piercing ; F r ey ia did not

sleep f or eight night s s o eager w a s s h e for J Otu n
,

heim .
 TH OR A ND THR Y M . 85

The siste r of th e giant then cam e in S he luckles s .

,

w oman d a red ask for a br ide gift

, G ive me the r uddy
-
.

r i n gs from y our hands s h e s aid if you would gai n m y “

,

friendship and my love .

T h r y m t h e T h u r s a r s lord then s a id :
’

,
B ring in ,
“

the hammer to consecrate th e bride Lay M iO l l n ir on .

the maiden s knees Unite us with each other in th e

’
.

” 1
nam e of Var .

’
When h e s aw th e hammer Thor s h eart leaped withi n ,

him Fierce j oy fi l led his soul at the Sight of Mi ollnir

. .

’
H e rose in his might and slew the T h u r s ar s
lord and crushed all the rac e of giants Last of a l l he
, .

’
slew the giant s aged sister For a bridal gift s h e got .

the stroke of Mi ollnir — blows of the hamme r in stead

,

of man y rings .

Thus did O din s s on get back his might y hammer

’
.

1 V ar or
V535 , th e g o dd e ss o f be tr th l
o a s an d rri
ma ag e s .
 T H O R A N D S K R YM I R .

T H OR in h is great p alace of whic h O din said

s at , ,

Five hundred floors and fort y eke, I think has ,

1
,

"
B il S k ir n ir with its windings
,
O f a l l the roofed houses .

th at I kno w is my son s th e greatest

’

,
The thunder .

g o d w a s uneasy ; for his fi erce restles s Spirit could ,

n ever be satisfied un l ess w a rring against the gi a nts or

s e ek In g adventures in some d ist a n t l a nd H e went .

from one h all to a nother and a t l a st with a Sigh threw , , ,

h imself upon a couch that was covered with the Skin of

a wild beast H is powerful fr a me Showed the muscles
.

of an athlete a n d his red beard gleamed like fire

, .

The w al l s of the ha l l where he l ay w ere thick l y h ung

w ith shields of r a re wo r kmanship a n d between them ,

were Spears and swords th a t fl a shed in the sunlight .

But the g l ories of his gre at p al a ce had no charm for

Thor now ; he y a w ned a n d c a st wistful g l an c e s t ow ar ds
,

the nort h a s though he cou l d discern even a t th a t dis

,

tance the dreary mountains of his foes .

S uddenly a form d a rkened the doorw ay and Loki ,

s tood before him The thunder god did not like Loki ;
.
-

h e distrusted him The love of adventure was s o

.

1 A l so .
2 “
A m om e n t hi i
-
s n n
g , s o n am e d f r om th e l ig h t n in
g .

86
 T H OR A ND SK R YMI R .
7

st rong in both however that it sometimes drew them

, ,

t ogether
Thor said Loki as he entered order your chariot
“
, , ,
“
,

an d let us drive to J O t u n h e im Asg a rd m ay do for .

”
B aldur but I am tired of it I long for so m ething n e w
, .

’
Fire flashed from Thor s listless eyes and he sprang
s a y ing Well Spoken Loki ! G e t ready ; w e will
“
up , , ,

”
go at once .

They started of f to w a rds the north in Thor s heavy ’

rumblin g chariot dr awn b y the famous goats Thor

, .

had with him three things th a t h e never m eant to

leave behind : the hammer M i oll n ir w hich alw ays r e , ,

turned to him when he flung it and never missed the ,

mark ; the iro n g l oy g s which en a bled him to grasp the

hammer more firmly ; and the belt of power .

They j ourneyed a l l da y over b a rren fie l ds and plains ,

and as n ight fell found thems elves in an a l most unin

,

habited countr y A tiny house st a nding on the edge

.

of a forest w a s the only dwel l ing in Sig h t AS they .

c ame n ear some heads appeared at the door w a y and

,

suddenly disappeared E vidently the inmates were

.

frightened : and we l l they might be ; for the rumb l ing

’
of Thor s iro n chariot sounded like thunder and his red ,

beard a n d fi ery eyes flashed s o in the gathering dark

n ess that they might have been mistaken for lightning .

Thor w a s about to d rive on not heeding the house , ,

whe n Loki cried imp l oring l y : D o stop I pra y you “

, ,
88 S T OR IE S F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

Thor ! With your great strength you forget that ordi

nar y gods may get tired and hungry after rattling about
”
in your chariot a l l day with nothi n g to eat !
Thor laughed heartily and said : I forgot who was,
“

with me ; Loki and f ood may n ot long b e p arted This .

”
is a sma l l house but it may give us food and shelter
, .

The y alighted from the chariot and went in The .

peasants c ow e r e d in on e corner of the room on seeing

f

the wonderful strangers s o tall that they could not ,

stand upright in the sm a ll house .

Loki Spoke : D o n ot b e frighten ed good people

“
, .

We are hungry travellers w h o desire rest and food .

We will n ot harm y ou but will reward y ou generously

,

”
for y our hospitality .

R eassured b y L ok I s mild words and Thor s good

’

n atured s mil e the y came forward still trembling

,
The , .

wo m a n made a deep courtes y and said : M y good ,

“

lord s we welcome y ou an d would gladl y give y ou

, ,

s o me s upper ; but th e l ittl e food we had is eaten and ,

”
there is n othing left in the house we are very poor .

”
“
N ever mi n d said Thor ; do as I bid y ou a n d I
,
“
,

”
will manage the rest Then turning to the man h e
.
, ,

s aid
“
G o and u n h a rness my goats while y our w ife
, ,

make s th e fi r e and get s the pot ready ; w e wi l l cook

Som e m eat .

T h e peasant s did as Thor bade them though they ,

c ould not imagine where the me a t was coming from .

 T H OR A ND S K R Y MI R . 89

Loki helped the woman make the fi re while Thor ,

followed the man out A s soon as the goats were

.

unharnessed he knocked them both on the h ead with

,

his hammer and t old th e peasant to prepare them for

,

’
cooking S oon an enormous platter of goat s flesh w as
.

smoking on th e table .

A s Thor helped the peasant s and their two chi l dre n

to the meat he said : E at all y ou will good people
,
“
, ,

but beware of breaking the bones I have a Special .

”
r eason for wishing them to be kept whole .

T h ial fi the s o n had rarel y tasted meat s o this w a s a

, , ,

great feast for him AS he w as picking the meat from

.

one of the thigh bones Loki whi s pered The marrow

-
, ,
“

”
inside th e bone is best of all ! and T hial fi forgetting ,

Thor s command cracked th e bone and sucked out the

’

marrow .

R aska his sister ate but little

, , S he spent h er time
.

in ga z ing with open mouthed wonder at the tall

-

strangers w h o ate with such evident re l ish the goats .

that served them a s hors es An d s h e asked herself.

what the y would do on th e morrow with the he avy ,

iron chariot and no goats to draw it

, .

A fter the hearty meal all were soon fast asleep .

Thor awoke as the first rays of the earl y dawn shot

into the little room J umping up quickly h e gathered
.
,

together the bone s of the goats an d put them into /t iie

‘

s kin s
. Then l ifting his mighty hammer he r epeate d ,
90 S T OR IE S F RO M N O R S E MY T H O L O G Y .

s om e magic words called runes I nstantly the two

, .

goats were Skipping about as livel y as if they had e n

j o ye d a good meal and a night s rest inste a d of having ’

served as food for others ; but Thor noticed th a t one

of them limped S uspecting the c a use h e becam e
.
,

furio us with anger and Called out in a loud voice

, ,

“
Wake up you wretched peasants ! S ee what y ou
,

have done to m y goat s

The peasants st a rted as though waked b y a thunder
clap and cowered trembling before the angry god
, , , .

”
“
Who broke the thigh bon e of my goat ? roared -

Thor clutching M iO l l n e r t i l l his knuckles grew whit e

, ,

while flashes of light came from his eyes and h ear d ,

threatening to b urn the room .

Then T h ial fi w h o was a brave l a d plucked up

, , .

h is courage and said : ,

O h ! mighty s ir I broke the
“
,

thigh bone of your go a t I forgot what you said ; the

-
.

m eat w a s s o good ; and I wanted to get the marrow . .

Punish me but do not harm the ot h ers ; the y have done

,

”
n othing .

’
The boy s courage and honesty touched Thor w h o ,

w a s r e a lly kind a t he a rt And he said : You have “

.

don e a very b a d deed but I w i l l forgive y ou because

, ,

y ou are br ave a n d spe ak the truth A liar and a cow .

a r d I c a nnot a bide But you a r e too good a fel l ow to

.

Spend your life in this b u t l ike a be a st C ome with me .

,

and y o u sha l l s e e the wor l d Y o ur Si s ter sh all com e .

,
 T H OR A ND SK R YMI R .
9 1

too You sha l l l ive in a big house If this little b ut

. .

”
were put into it you might hunt all day a n d not find it
,
.

Then Thor gave the peasant and his wife a handful

of gold s aying Your C hildren shall come and s e e you
, ,

when they will And when they were st a rting of f he

.
,

said I leave the go a ts an d the chariot in your care

,
“

”
until my return D o not bre a k any bones !
. and he
laughed heartily .

S O the four st a rted into th e thick forest T h ial fi .

,

w h o was very fleet of foot c a rried the b a g cont a ining ,

food for the j ourney a n d R a sk a w h o w a s a stout peas ,

ant girl kept up easi l y w ith the others After a long

-
, .

wa l k through th e forest they c a me to the great river , ,

O ce a n on the o t h e r Side of which l ay J O tun h e im

,
I

They crossed the s e a without much trouble although ,

it was a long dist a n ce over it .

O n the other side w a s a l a nd much wilder than the

one they left behind E verythin g w a s enormous in.

s iz e ; t h e stones being a s large a s rocks and the trees ,

re a ching to the c l ouds After c r ossing a barren stretch

.
.

of country stre w n with huge bo w l ders they cam e to a

, ,

deep forest w here perfect S il e n c e r e ig n e d and where .

,

there w as n othing green under foot for th e ground was ,

covered with pine need l es I t was like twi l ight in this

-
.

forest even at n oon ; the thick branches l et s o little

sun l ight through ; and besides t he sun never sho n e ,

bright l y in an y p a rt of J O t u n h e im .
9 2 ST OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

A ll they travelled on and on e par t of th e woo d

d ay ,

w a s s o exactly like another that th ey might have gone

about in a circle h a d n ot T h ial fi now and then climbe d

to the top of a tall tree to make sure that they were
oI n g I n the right direction
g .

AS night fell th e little lig h t that filtered through the

,

branches faded away leaving them in utter darkness , .

I t was impossible to go on without running against

the trees Thor impatient as h e w as t o proceed de
.
, ,

cided to s t op a n d wait for the morning In the dark

‘

nes s they felt around for a good p l ace to s l eep As .

Loki w a s g r oping about he touc h ed so mething th at w a s,

n ot a tree ; a n d as he ran his hand up it seemed like

, ,

t h e entrance to a house .

This I s very strange ! he exc l aimed

“
S trike a .
“

light T h ial fi ! here is som e kind of a house but

, ,

whoever lives in it must be fond of the w oods !

T h ial fi did a s Loki requested a n d by the fl a ring light ,

of a dry stic k they cou l d distinguish a l a rge opening .

A dwe ll ing of some kind it w a s certain l y but of a n e w , ,

pattern for the door was the Size of the who l e front of
th e house .

“
There s nothing like trave ll ing to s e e strange
’

sights ! said Loki And a s they went in he r em a rked

.
, ,

“
This house is of a n odd shape but it seems to be a ,

”
good p l a ce to s l eep in .
 T H OR A ND SK R YMI R .
93

The y threw thems elves dow n on the floor of the

l arge entrance hall and were soon fast asleep
, .

About m idnigh t they were awakened b y a t errible

shaking of the earth together with a rumbling noise
,

like thunder The y started up expecting to feel a n

.
,

other Shock in a moment for apparently it was an

,

earthquake . B ut all w a s still Thor placed him self

.

in the main door of the house W hile the others found

,

some S m a l ler room s tha t promised greater quiet .

A s soon as the first r ays of th e s u n struggled through

th e branches so th a t Thor cou l d distinguish one obj ect
,

from another h e fast ened on his b elt of strength drew

, ,

on his iron gauntlet s and grasping his hammer firm l y

, ,

strode out into the fore st to seek the cause of the noise
and the Shaking that had so disturbed their Slumbers .

H e expected to find a mighty chasm yawnin g n ear b y ,

the result of the earthquake .

H e had not gone far when he s aw a hill rising in

,

an opening a m id th e tree s ; and at th e sam e t ime he

heard a loud sound th a t evidently came from the fur
ther side of the hil l When Thor reached that Side he
.
,

could j ust distinguish in the dim light the enorm ous ,

head of a giant from whose open mouth came the

sounds h e had heard What Thor had taken for a hi ll
.

’
was th e g I a n t s body H is eyes were closed and his
.
,

eye brows stood out like line s of bushes from abov e

-
94 S T OR IES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

them H is hair looked more like a forest of trees tha n

.

like th e h air of a common person .

Thor looked at th e sleeping giant for a moment and

then aimed his h ammer at his forehead But instead .

of flingi n g it he stopped short and reachi n g up put his

, , ,

mouth n ear his ear and roared in a voice of thunder

, ,

”
“
What is your n a me ?

The giant stretched his huge l imbs an d slowl y ,

opened his eyes At first he s eemed dazed ; but grad

.

u al l y a look of inte ll igence came into his face and he ,

said Slowly Did anybody speak

, ,

”
Yes roared Thor I did What s your n ame ?
“
, ,
“
.
’

’
A s the giant heard Thor s voice h e turned his large ,

head S l owly around and l ooked at him A fter a lon g .

”
stare he replied,
S krymir Then he added
,
“
I .
,
“

know y ou ; you are Asa Thor -

You had better thank m e said Thor

“
I se l dom ,
“

begin m y acqu aintance with giant s in s o polite a m an

”
n er as some of your friends have learned to their cost
,
.

S krymir smiled but i t took a good while After a n

, .

other pause he broke the silence with What have you ,

don e with m y glove ? An d he Slowly stretched out

his hand an d picked up the hous e where they h ad spent
the night Lucki l y Loki and the others had j ust left
.

it There was a l ook of amusement on S krymir s enor

.
’

mous features that irritated Thor greatly ; but he trie d

to look unconcerned .
 T H OR A N D SK R YMI R .
95

A t last th e giant got up shook his huge limbs and , ,

said good naturedly : Wi l l you litt l e people accept of

,
-
“

the compan y of such a large person as myself ? I

should like to j oin you ; a n d w e m ay be useful to one
”
another although w e di f f er in si z e
,
.

’
Thor accepted S krymir s offer but his words angered ,

him s o that h e clutched Mi o llnir The gi a n t next u n .

tied a n immen se provision sack in which he carried

his food and began to eat hi s breakfast Thor who
, .
,

could enj oy th e society of giant s o nl y when h e w a s

fighting them went of f to a little distan ce and at e
,

W ith his companions .

A s they were finishing their m eal th e giant came ,

crash ing through the woods to w here they w ere and ,

said : H ere friends I am big and you a r e small Put

, , , .

your provisions into my sack I c a n carry everythi n g .

”
easi ly .

There w a s no reason for refusing the o f fer of the

good natured gi a nt s o they put a l l the food into h is
-
,

sack H e flung the bag over h is shoulder and led the

.
,

w ay with long strides .

It was a hard day s j ourne y But Thor was too ’

.

proud to own that they cou l d n ot easily keep up with

a giant ; s o instead of asking him to slacken his pace ,

they ran al l the w ay .

Toward night S krymir stoppe d under a large oak

,
.

Flinging himself down he handed the provision s a ck

’

,
9 6 S T OR IES F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

to Thor say i g
, H ere A s a Thor take this
n ,
“
,
I am -
, .

m ore sleepy than hungry and do not care for food , .

”

In an instant he was sound asleep and snoring so loud ly ,

that the woods resounded and the earth trembled .

Thor took the bag and started to untie the strings ;

b ut with all his e f f orts not a knot would com e undon e ,

nor could h e even loosen one At this his blood bega n .

to boil ; and seizing M iO l l n ir he flung it with all his ,

m ight at the hea d of the sleeping giant .

S krymir stirred a littl e put his hand to his head and

, ,

Slowly opened his large blue eyes saying Did a leaf , ,

”
fal l on my head ? I thought I felt somethi n g Then .

looking at Thor he asked H ave you eaten your s u p

,

per y et ? Aren t you going to bed

Y es replied Thor ; w e are going t o bed
“
,
“
A nd .

a s he wou l d not ask S krymir to untie the sack the y l a

y ,

down hungry and tired under a tree not very far from
, , ,

the giant .

S krymir made such a roari n g that it was almost

impossible to sleep A S Thor lay there he a ring the
.
,

dreadfu l noise he grew more and more furious

,
At .

l ast he started up with an oath and going to where the ,

giant l ay swung M i oll nir w ith all h is Asa might and

,
-
,

plunged it into his forehead up to the handle .

The giant stopped snoring and turning uneasily , ,

muttered Wh at is the matter now ? D id an acorn

,
“

fall upo n my forehead ? Where ar e y ou Thor ? ,

 T H OR A ND S K R YMI R .

97

Then with a sigh he w a s fa st a s l eep again and snoring

, , ,

as loudl y as ever .

Thor was by this t ime so angry t h at even had al l ,

bee n quiet h e cou l d not h ave Slept H e s at for hours

, .

lean i n g against the tree his comrades asleep ne a r him

, .

I nstead of growing ca l mer he grew m ore enraged as ,

the hours went by .

When the morning light Showed again the outlin es of

’
the gia n t s h uge form he w ent over t o where he lay
, .

This time he swung M iO l l n ir a s he had never swu n g it

before and buried it so deeply in th e giant s temp l e
,
’

that only a little of th e handle stuck out C a n you .

“

”
feel that ? he roared .

S krymir opened his eyes and as they rested upon ,

the angry god asked sleepily : Are there any birds

,
“

on the tree above m e ? I thought some m oss fell

upon m y forehead Then opening his eyes wider
.
,

he added B ut it is morning and we must start

,
“
,

on.

When they were ready to go the giant turned t o ,

Thor with an odd smile on his face and said You , ,

“

evident ly think me rather large A s a Thor ; but when ,

-

y ou reach Ut gar d you will find larger m en than I

, .

Let me give you s Om e advice : do not brag too much .

U tg ar di i ok i the lord of Utgard and his big courtiers

-
, ,

will not stand the b oasti n g of little men like y ou I n .

fact the be st thing y ou can do is to turn back and give

,
9 8 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

up visiting Utgard D angers that you litt l e suspect

.

may lie before you i n that gi a nt land ”

-
.

Thor tried to answer S krymir but h e w as s o choked ,

with rage that the words wou l d not come out .

The giant continued If you ar e determined to go

,
“

on turn to the east toward the mount a ins that you s e e

, ,

yon der ”
And taking the provision sack he dis ap
.
,

p e a r e d in the woods .

Thor started afte r him with M iO l l n ir ; but he seem ed

to have changed suddenly into a la r ge gray mountain
at their right .

As the giant had carried of f th e food the y were ,

forced to content themselves with the few berries a n d

roots that they could find on their w ay ; for there w a s
no game in the woods .

About noon the forest ended abrupt l y and they came ,

into a large p l ain that extended on all sides l ike a gray

sea There were rocks here and there but not a blade
.

of grass n ot a tree gladdened the eye as it ro a med over

,

the dreary waste I n the midst of the pl a in w a s a huge

.

castle E ven at t h a t distance they had to bend back

.

their necks in order to s e e its turrets h al f hidden by ,

clouds It looked as though carved rough l y by gi a nt s

.

out of a rocky mountain It s rude walls bore the scars .

of time an d Showed in places the fierce sport of the

,

lightning .

Thor and his companions went towards the castle ,

 T H OR A ND SK R YMI R .

clambering over the bow l ders I t w a s farther off th a n

.

they had thought : it s great si z e made it seem near .

When a t last they stood before the high walls that sur
rou n ded it night was beginning t o fal l The great god
, .

Thor seemed but a child as he stret ched up his hand to

reach the lock of the ponderous gat e I n vain ; it w a s .

too high for him Loki had a lready w r iggled between

.

the bars ; and he n ow ca ll ed to the others t o follow

h im. O nc e in s ide th e walls th ey saw thro u gh th e
,

’
O pen door of th e castle a hall larger than Thor s whol e

palace .

Th e gods and their comp a nion s w alked in bo l dly and

looked about They cou l d see clouds floating i n and
.

out through j agged O penings in the vast height s above .

I n the centre of the ha ll w a s a table of rough gra n ite

which w a s supported by m onsters whose wide open -

j aws made huge cavern s At th e upper en d of the

.

table w a s Utgard Loki the g ia nt king H e sat on a

-
,
-
.

high Seat the back and arms of which were formed

,

by the coi l s of the M idg a rd serpent sculptured in stone .

The huge horrid head of the mon ster stretched out

,

over the king The beard of Utgard Loki was the co l or

.
-

of the gray rocks and fell in masses t o the ground

,
.

H is motions were heavy and s l ow When he re a ched .

his hand for the beer mug which stood near h im on

-

the table i t was some time before it r e ached his lips ;

,

and after a long drink h e would give a sigh of satis .

IO O ST OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y

faction that sounded like the roaring of the wind H is .

feat ures were slow in changing their expression H is .

large rou n d eyes were neither kind nor fierce for they
had no more human feeling in them than cold mountain
lakes .

O n each side of t h e table there were stone benches

whose high backs made comfortable resting places f or -

the heads of the giants These giant s were n earl y as .

large as Utgard Loki and all were drinking beer

-
, .

S ome on e had evidently made a j oke j ust before Thor

an d his companion s entered ; for a deep slow H a ! , ,
“

ha ! cam e from one and then another of the giants ,

u ntil the roar of their great guff aws fi lled the vast

hall and rolled out like thunder into the gathering

,

n ight The gods could examine everyt h ing at their

.

leisure ; for not one of the giant s seemed awar e of

their presence .

’
T h or s blood began to boil as he looked at the dull ,

mountain like creatures and h e longed t o fli n g h is ham

-

mer an d change them into real mountain s as they s at

o n their ben ches of stone ; b u t h e f or e b or e and going ,

up t o Utgard Loki placed himself directly in front of

-
,

him . Th e king turned his expressio n less e y e s upon

him and after staring for several moments burst into
, ,

a loud laugh showing his granite teeth

, .

Why what have I before me

, he roared This .
“

stripling must be A sa Thor of who m I have often heard

-
.
 TH OR A ND S K RY M I R . 101

I am surprised ! but perhaps you are rea l l y bigger tha n

”
you look ! Then in a moment he added Wha t can
y ou do ? We alw ays m ake our guests prove their
strength or their skill before w e invite them to eat
”
and drink with u s .

Loki was very hungry and pushing himself in front ,

of Thor he cried eagerly

,
I will wager that n o one ,
“

here can eat as fast as I can ! An d he laughed to him

self a t the thought of contending with the Slo w clum sy ,

giants .

Then Utgard beckon ed to a man that Loki had not

noticed H e s at a t th e lo w er end of the table and was
.
,

small a n d agile compared with the giants A trough .

full of meat was brought in .

”
Logi said the king Sh ow thi s littl e man that
, ,
“

'

giant s can be as quick as he .

The y beg a n t o eat se a ted at O pposite ends of the

,

trough Loki ate ravenous l y for pride and hunger both

.

spurred him on N eith er stopped to look at the other

.
,

ti l l at l ast they met in the very middle of the trough .

Loki then s aw to his amazement that while he had

, ,

eate n all the m eat on his side Logi had consumed not , ,

only th e m eat but the bones and even the trough

, ,

it self S o there w a s no question as to w h o h a d w on

.

the victory H owever the fact that he had enj oyed a

.
,

hearty meal conso l ed Loki in part for his defeat .

Utgard next turned h is eye s to where T h ial fi stood

 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

and poi n t ng at him with his huge forefinger asked ;

i
,

“ ?
What c an that young man do
T h ial fi s traightened up and answered proudl y : , I “

can run a race w ith any one you may appoint H e .

”
must be swifter than the eagle if he can outrun m e !
The king rose Slowly from his seat and wa l ked with
a lumbering gait th ro ugh the vast hall and out upon
the plain surrounding the castle A few giants fol .

lowed on e after another and seated them selves on the

, ,

large bowlders that lay around .

Utgard Lo ki pointed out the course and then ca ll e d

-
,

”
in a loud voice J ig i come here
, ! ,

! uick as a flash appeared an agi l e little fe l low appar ,

ently m ore akin to the elves than to the giants A .

peculiar dull smile overspre a d the features of the king

,

as he said We do not match you little people agains t

,

our gian ts ; that would be h ard l y fair ; this is on e of our

”
dwarfs . And he and his courtiers laughed loud a nd
long at the j oke .

The course pointed out was a lo n g one but T h ial fi ,

sta r ted like a steed of high mettl e e ager for the ra ce .

H e flew a s the sw a l low flies Yet H ugi w as s o much .

swifter that he touched th e goa l and met T h ial fi on

,

the return before the latter had finished the c ourse .

Utgard Loki laughed saying

-
You must ply your
, ,
“

legs better littl e T hial fi ; though you are a very f a ir

,

run n er !
 THOR A ND S K R Y M IR . 1 03

They ran a second time ; and when H ugi turned

“

back from the goal T h ial fi w a s a good bow shot from it

,
-
.

”
“
Well run T h ial fi ! cried th e king of the giants ;
,

“
no better runner has ever visited us but for once , ,

y ou have evidently found your mat ch O ne more .

”
cours e shall decide the contest .

This tim e T h ial fi sped as s w iftly a s the winds that

rush over the open plain ; one could hard l y s e e him as
he flew along Yet still his rival outstripped him ;
.

and when the y met T h ial fi was not half w ay to the

,
-

goal E ven Thor cried out th at it w a s enough And

. .

eager to S h ow that he at least could outdo the giants , , ,

h e demanded a trial of his po w ers .

“
Let me sho w your courtiers how an Asa c a n
”
drink ! he said I do not fear to contend with the
.
“

mightiest of you !
They returned t o the hall ; an d Utgard Loki again -
,

seating himself on his high throne called out to his ,

cup bearer Bring hither our an cient drinking horn

-
,
“ -

Then he explained to Thor th at it w as from this horn

that h is courtiers were obliged to drink when they had
trespassed in any w ay against the established usage of
the l a nd .

When the cup bearer brought the horn Thor found

-
,

that whi l e it was not very large at the top it w a s exceed ,

in g l y long winding in coil after coil s o that it w as hard

, ,

to d I s t in g u is h the end Inde ed it reached far across.

,
1 04 S T OR IES F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

the ha ll and was there lost in the Shadows Tho r

, .

gazed at it with interest H e saw that strange s e a .

monsters were carved upon it and th a t its coils were ,

encrusted With Shells and bar n acles and fringed with ,

s e a mosses
-
.

The god was very thirsty and with an expression of ,

satisfaction h e raised the horn to his lips Long and .

deep was his draught As h e dra n k the sound w a s

.
,

like that of water breaking upon a pebb ly beach Yet .

when he stopped bre athless a n d looked to see h ow

, ,

much beer was left in the horn h e fou n d to his s ur , ,

prise that there w a s ab out as much as at first

,
.

R a ising the horn again h e dr a nk as long as he could

,

without taking breath and then looked in Th e liquor

,
.

had sunk even less than before .

Utgard Loki smiled broadly and said

-
H ow now , ,
“
,

Thor ! H ave you not saved for the third draught m ore
than you can m ake a w ay with ? You m u st not Spare
yourself too much in a test of this kind If you wish .

”
to drain th e horn you must drink deep !
,

Thor was in a towering passion a s he r a ised th e horn

for the third time It seemed as though he would
.

never stop drinking T h e noise he m a de w a s l ike the

.

roar of th e waves as they dash upon the rocks in a

st orm ; and yet when he stopped and looked at the
,

horn the liquor w a s s o high that it could onl y j ust b e

,

c a rried wit h out Spilling .

 T H OR A N D S K R YMI R . 1 05

an d
’
S ham e anger were pictured on Thor s face as he
gave back the horn to the cup bearer I own m y se l f -
.
“

”
beaten h e said ;
, but let me try something else : I
“

k n ow I can outdo you giants in something .

“
There is a little game our children sometimes play
s aid th e ki n g ; supposing you try that I would not .

’
propose a child s game to Thor had he not shown ,

himself much we a ker than I thought him S ee if you .

”
can lift m y cat from the ground .

A s he w a s Spe a king a large gray cat ran across the

,

hall Thor sprang to w ards her and putting his hand

.
,

under her body tried to lift her from th e ground ; but

,

as h e raised his hand s h e curved her back and with his

, ,

utmost efforts he could only raise one foot fro m the

fl oon
“
J ust as I expected said Utgard Loki ; the c a t is ,
-
“

”
large an d Thor is small compared with our men
, .

”
Y o u call me small cried Thor thoroughly enraged ;
, ,

“
but which of you dares wrestle with m e n ow that I
”
am angry ? and his eyes darted forth sparks and from ,

his beard shot flam es of fi re lighting up th e gray hall ,

.

“
I s e e no one here said the king looking arou n d , , ,

w h o would not think it beneath him to wrestle with a

little man l ike you But here comes my old nurse E lli ;
.

She has thrown to the ground man y a man as strong

”
a n d bo a stful as Thor .

An old woman bent nearl y double came into the

, ,
1 06 S T OR IES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

ha ll S he was tooth l ess a n d had scant gray locks !

.
, ,

H er thin for m tremb l ed a s S h e ra ised her bleared a n d

a l most sight l ess eyes to Thor H e looked at her with .

disgust .

“
Wrest l e with him mother s a id Utgard Loki
, ,
-
.

Whereupon she w ound her l ong thin arms about ,

Thor and the more he tried to thro w her the more

, ,

firm l y did She st a nd At l a st worn out with th e con

.
,

flic t the god s a nk upon one knee

, .

The king then stepped forward and said it was

enough Then he a dded A l though you l itt l e people
.
,
“

have shown yourselves we a k comp a red w ith us giants ,

sti ll w e admire your Spirit and we invite you to eat a n d

,

drink with us .

Thor an d his comp a nions were by this time thor

ough l y vexed and humb l ed They gave up the contest
.
,

and a ccepted t h e hospita l ity of Utga rd Loki -

.

Long w as the fe a st a n d stra nge and dul l were the

,

stories told by the gi a nts as they nodded over the

foaming beer Thor a s he s at in the dreary stone ha ll
.
, ,

thought of the wit a n d g ayety th a t reigned in G ladsheim .

But the gi a nts seemed to be enj oying themselves .

The gods awoke at d aybreak and Utgard Loki went ,

-

with them through the iron gate When on the other .

side he said : Wh at do you think of your j ourney Asa ,

Thor ? D o you consider th at you hav e met your matc h

”
among the giants this time ?
 T H O R A ND SK R YMI R . 1 07

I own myself be aten said Thor ; I am a shamed ,

“
.

I t vexes me to think in w h a t esteem you must hold

”
me .

“
Well A s a Thor rep l ied the giant
,
-
, since you are ,
“

beyond my c a st l e w all s I wi l l te ll you the truth if it

, ,

will be any comfort to you And first l et m e say that

. .
, ,

never again Sha ll you or any A s a enter within my walls !

I have al l a l ong deceived you by ench antments It .

w a s I w h o met you in the forest a n d there I found out ,

how strong you were The provision sack which you .

tried in vain to untie w a s fastened w ith iron that was

w h y you cou l d not open it The blows of your h am .

mer were s o mighty t h at the first one would have ki l led

me had I not by m agic b rought a mountain between
, ,

us O n your return you w i ll s e e a mount a in with three

.

squ a re g l ens each deeper than the one before it Those

, .

are the m a rks left by your h a mm er .

“
In the s a me w ay I decei v ed you in your contests
w ith my courtiers Loki ate l ike hunger itself ; b ut
.
“

Logi was w i l d fi r e and th a t consumes a l l that is s e t

-

before it T h ial f i 5 r unning struck us a ll with amaze

.

ment for he outstripped the wind ; but H ugi w as my

,

thought and that can fly more swift l y than the light

, ,

ning as it fl a shes from peak to peak When you tried .

to empty our ancient horn you performed a feat so ,

m arve ll ous that had I not seen it myself I s h ou l d neve r

have believed it The end of th e horn which y ou
.
,
1 08 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

could n ot s e e reached to the ocean You drank s o

,
.

deepl y that y ou lowered the great river When y ou .

reach it on your way ho m e y ou will s e e how the water

,

has fallen I n Midgard they will hen ceforth call this

.

the ebb When you lifted from the ground one p aw

.

of my cat you were in reality raising the great M id

,

gard serpent that encircl es the earth And you lifted .

h im s o high that you n earl y pulled his tail out of his

mouth We feared th e foundation s of J O t un h e im wou l d
.

be shaken But y our wrestling with E l li w a s the most

.

astonishing feat of all S he w a s no other than old age

. .

And there never has been an d never will be a m an , ,

whom ol d age cannot lay low if he abide her coming , .

You are a mighty god A sa Thor and I shall take good

,
-
,

care that you never find my country again ho wever ,

dilige n tly you may seek for it We giants dul l a n d .

,
'

heavy as we m ay seem have the wisdom of the ages

, .
”

Thor raised hi s hammer but Utgard Loki had van

,
-

ish e d. An d turning his eyes to where the castle w a s ,

he s aw nothing but a beautiful green pl ain upon which ,

th e Slow m oving clouds cast their shadows

-
.

Thor returned to his home in A sgard but the mem

ory of his adventure s in the castle of Utgard Loki stung -

him continuall y ; an d he det ermined to reve n ge himself

b y attacking the Midgard serpent in his ocean home .
T H O R S J O U R N E Y T O G E T T H E K E TTL E
’

FO R f E G IR .

f E G IR the ruler of the stormy western s e a feasted

, ,

all th e gods at harvest time but there w a s never quite

enough beer t o go round This angered Thor for it
.
,

Showed a lack of h ospitality ; and he told n ir very ,

blunt l y w hat he thought of it

, .

n ir appeared to feel hurt a n d said : Your words

,
“

are rude an d unkind A sa Thor ; the reason w h y the

,
-

beer does not hold out is that I h ave no kettle large

,

enough for the bre w ing I t is no sma l l matter t o make

.

”
beer for al l the d w ellers in Asg a rd .

Ty r w h o stood near turned to Thor and s a id :

, ,
My ,

father the fierce gia n t Hym i r d w e ll s near heaven s

, ,
’

end H e owns a c a l dron a mile d eep I think we can

. .

manage in some w ay to get it from him n ir will .

then have the satisf a ction of entert a ining his friend s in

”
a manner befi t ting h is generous nature .

”
“
It is too bad to trouble you s a id n ir ; it is ,

such a lo n g j ourn ey a n d you may not be able to get

,

the caldron after a l l, .

“
O h friend n ir !
, cried Thor w e count nothing ,

as trouble if it o n ly ob l iges you C om e Tyr let us be.

, ,

1 09
I IO S T OR I ES F RO M NOR S E M Y T H O L O G Y .

off My goa t s are ready and I long to s e e J o tunheim

,

again If I can only meet the Midgard serpent on this

.

j ourney I will pay him well for de c e IV I n g m e as he did

,

’
at Utgard Loki s -
making me lift him for a cat
S o the two gods started of f together Tyr was a .

m ore fit companion for Thor than Loki was H e was .

as fe a rless as the thunder god him self and one of the -

,

noblest of the f E s ir .

Thor put up his goats at s ome distance from the

’
gi ant s c a stle ; for wherever he we n t in hi s great rum
bling ch a riot he was kno w n as the mighty god of thun
der ; and this time he wished to go quietly .

N ight w as coming on a s the y neared the dwell

ing of H ymir which stood b y the froze n shore s u r
, ,

rounded by rocks a n d ic ebergs The sides of the huge .

castle g l istened with fro st a n d from its proj ectio n s ,

hung long icicles As they went I n through the wide

.

door the first obj ect to meet their eyes w as a giantess

,

with n ine hundred heads S he w a s nodding sleepily .

with a l l her heads in a corner of the vast hall and s h e

’
did not notice them This w a s H ymir s mother
. .

A great fire of pine and fir trees burned at one end

of the room and ne a r it s a t a lovely wom a n the fi r e
, ,

light Shining on her golden brown hair S he greeted -

.

her s on and his friend j oyful ly and brought beer to ,

refresh them a fter their long j ourney Then looking .

out into the night s h e said : My husband will soon be

,
“
 T H OR S O RN E Y
’

J U . II 1

hom e from his fishing But he is often in an ill humor

.
-
,

and the sight of guest s might put him in a rage F ear .

less as y ou are do as I bid y ou ; hide under those

,

kettles at the other end of the room I t is dark there .

,

”
and h e wi l l not s e e you They did as s h e bade them
. .

B efore long th ere was a l oud rushing and roaring

sound ; it was Hym ir coming home from his fishing ,

wading through the s e a G reat waves broke upon the

.

’
rocks and icebergs and th e sound of the giant s breath
ing w a s like the roaring of winds The earth trembled .

bene a th his tread and th e walls of the castle were

,

Shaken AS he entered the gods s aw that his huge

.
,

head g l istened w ith ice and snow and that the thicket “

”
on his cheeks w a s frozen With a grunt of ill humor .
-

he threw down h is n et in which were whales an d other

s e a monsters not yet dead
-
, .

H i s wife rose up trembling to m eet him and spoke

, , ,

gently s ayi n g
, You must b etired my husband after
“
, ,

y our hard day s fi shing You s e e I have a good fire

’
.
,

and supper will soon be r eady It is a fierce nig h t . .

E ven you m ust h a ve found it h a rd coming through the

”
s ea
. A rough growl was the only repl y to her kind
words .

After Hymir had s at by the fire some time a n d had ,

taken great draught s of hot beer his wife Spoke to him ,

again s aying : I have been t h inking much of our son

,
“

Tyr of l ate ; and stra nge to s ay he came home to day ;

, ,
-
1 12 S T OR I E S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

an d he brought his friend Thor with him Thor the , ,

great thunder god I know you wi l l be glad to s e e

-
.

them .

”
“
Where are they ? ro a red Hymir ; a n d he glanced
tow a rd the dark end of the ha l l w h ere th e kett l es hung , .

The huge wooden be a m broke as his eyes rested upon

it and eight kettles fell all breaking but one That
, , .

one w a s the largest of all a hard hammered c a l dron , .

T h e gods then stood forth their sh a pely form s in ,

strange contrast with the huge uncouth figure of the

m
,

’
gi a nt When Hy ir s aw the flashing of Thor s eyes
.
,

he felt th a t it boded evil to him .

Three oxen were cooked for supper a n d Thor a t e ,

t w o of them The gi a nt thinki n g such a guest wou l d

.
,

soon make h avoc in h is l a rder s a id g r u f fl y We sh al l , ,

“

have to live on what we can catch in th e s e a to ,

morrow
“
N othing would suit m e better th a n to go fi shing
with you giant Hymir s a id Thor
, , .

The next morning the giant got ready for the e x pedi
tion Be ing in a bad humor he s a id G et your ow n
.
, ,
“

bait if you are going with e m ! Y ou can catch an ox

for y ourself .

Thor found the herd of the giant a n d going u p to a ,

coal b l ack bull the finest of a l l wrung his he a d from

-
, ,

his neck and took it for bait .

Whe n H y mir s aw the head of h is best bu ll he s a id , ,

 T H OR S ’

J O U R N E Y . 1 13

I wish you had s at quiet and had let m e get the ,

b a it
’
They started out in Hymir s boat both rowi n g , .

’
Thor s mighty strokes sent the boat scudding over the
angry sea When they were far out the giant said
.
,

“
Thi s is m y fi s h in g ground H ere I c a tch whales -
. .

We will stop .

“
I t is child s p l ay to fish s o ne a r the shore said
’

Thor redoubling the might of his strokes

, .

The s e a grew rougher and great w aves broke over ,

the boat When at last they were in the very midd l e

.

of the ocean Thor stopped ro w ing The gi a nt a t once

, .

threw his line a n d drew up t w o wha l es w ith one b ait

,
.

Then Thor took out a l ine which a l though S l e n

,

der ,

w a s of gre a t strength H e f a stened the gory he a d of .

the bl a ck ox fi rm l y t o the hook D o w n do w n w ent the .

,

bait far below the rough waves ; deeper th a n where the

,

wh ales sported ; down t o the very b o ttom of the ocean .

There l ay th e mighty earth encircl er the giant serpent -

,

1
of the deep For years he had l a in in the quiet of the
.

deep s e a with his tail do w n his t h ro at w a iting with

, ,

slo w burni n g hatred for the time of vengeance the

-
,

Twi l ight of th e G ods The coi l s of his mighty body .

were fringed with s e a mosses a n d covered with clingin g -

,

1 S e e ( E l e n s c h l aeg er s
’
p o em ,
“
T h r s Fi shi
o
’
ng , in L ong f lle ow s
’
P oe t s

an d P oe try of Eu r o
p e . Th e sa m e p oem m ay b e f ou n d in Fry
’
e s tr a n sl a »

ti on of CEl e n s c h l aeg er s
’
G o ds of th e No rth .
”
I I4 S T OR I ES F RO M N OR SE M YT H O L O GY .

she ll s Tall sea palms waved gent l y in the dim w a ters

.
-

above his head N ever in a l l the long years had bait

.
, ,

with hook com e near his du l l eyes .

Thor had secured a m ost tempti n g bait The gory .

’
head of the ox cam e near th e s erpent s head and then ,

floated slowly away like a living thing Then it c a me .

near ag a in A look of e a gerness came into th e s e r

.

pent s cruel eyes and he d rew his t a il s l o w ly from his

’

j aws As it reached him the third tim e he opened

.
,

wide his j a w s sn atched it a n d s w a l lowed h e a d h ook

, , ,
~

and all Then c a me the strugg l e

. .

Thor pu l led with such strength th at his feet broke

through th e bottom of the bo a t a n d he stood on the ,

floor of the s e a The serpent hissing a n d l a shing w ith

.
,

pain w a s dr a wn up through the v a st depths of mid

,

ocean The s e a aw ay t o the horizon was covered with

.
, ,

poisono u s fo a m H igh w a ves rose like tossing moun

.

tains over the v a st exp a nse H e avy clouds m et the .

waters and Thor s l ightnings d a rted amid the seething

,
’

billows The horrid coi l s of the gre a t serpent rose

.

above the s e a g l iste n ing with venom a n d h is huge

, ,

j aws gaped as he strove to seize his powerful en emy .

Thor gra sped h imin his a rms and the strugg l e grew ,

fi e r c e r stil l S heets of pois o nous fo a m mi x ed w ith the

.

clouds The cr a shi n g of the thunder ming l ed with the

.

loud hissing of the serpent ; a n d e x cept for the lig h t

ning d a rkness covered the s e a Th o r loosed his hold
,
.
 T H OR S ’

J O U RN E Y . II5

of the m onster for a n instant th a t he might hurl M iol l

nir at his head Then the gi a nt w h o s aw with fear and
.
,

hatred the triumph of the god cut th e line ; a n d with a ,

long hiss of vengeful h a te the serpent sank b a ck into ,

the s e a ; there to a wait R ag n ar O k the Twi l ight of the _ ,

’
Thor s rage and disappointment knew no bounds .

H e struck the gi a nt a blo w t h at sent him ree l ing from

h is boat into the boi l ing s e a Then h e himself st a rted .

on foot through the oce a n c a rrying the boat a n d all it

, ,

contained But Hymir recovered a n d reached the

.
,

shore soon after Thor

They supped upon the two whales th a t the gi a nt had
caught AS soon as they had finished e ating Thor
.
,

asked for the f a mous kettle M i l e deep hint ing that ,

-
,

Hymir might fe a r the conseq uences Should he refuse

to give it to him .

”
Asa Thor said the giant y ou are asking a great
-
, ,

favor and you should give me one more proof of your

,

”
strength before expecting m e t o do s o m uch for you .

R ising from his seat he took from a shelf a huge drink

ing cup and handing it to Thor said
-
,
If you can , ,
“

bre a k this cup you sha l l have the kettle

,

T hor first threw the cup at a n up r ight stone that

served as a se at The stone broke in tw o but t h e cup
.
,

remained w ho l e Then with all his might h e flung it

.
, ,

at o n e of the pi l lars of the h all The column w a s .

 I6 S T OR IES F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

shattered but the cup , w as unhurt showing not eve n

,

a dent .

’
The n Tyr s mother whispered in Thor s ear S trike ’

,
“

”
at the head of Hymir ; that i s harder th a n any cup .

Tightening his belt of strength Thor again threw ,

the cup and this tim e full at Hymir s forehead The

,
’
.

cup w a s sh a ttered t o atom s .

Then w a s H ymir astounded and troubled That .

”
was a good cup he said never again can I s ay
, ,

’
wh en the beer is handed to me Beer thou art too hot , , .

And thinking it best to be rid of so dange r ous a guest

as soon as possibl e he said to Thor No w tis to be
, ,
’

seen whether y ou can carry M ile deep out of our -

”
dwelling .

Tyr went up to the huge iron pot and tried t o lift it ; ,

but he could only tip it a little toward on e side Then .

Thor with his iron gloves grasped it by t he brim

, , ,

wh ile his feet burst through the floor ; and putting it

upon his head he started of f the rings j ingling about
, ,

his heels Ty r followed him

. .

They had not gone far when th e y heard a loud noise

behind them ; a n d turning around they s aw a m ighty
ba n d of frost giants with Hymir at their head S ome
, .

brandished gre a t stone c l ubs whi l e others carried ,

bowlders an d blocks of i ce to throw at the f E Sir they

shouted and roared as they came on Then Thor put .

dow n M i l e deep and grasping M iO l l n ir hurl ed it at

-
, ,
 T H OR S
’

J O U RN E Y . I 17

the savage cr e w I nstantl y all w a s still ; and in pl ace

.

of th e nois y giants a line of snow y mountains raised

,

their heads to the Sky .

Thor and T y r soon reached the place where the

goat s were tied and putting the kettle into the chariot
, ,

drove rapidl y toward n ir s halls The y were delay ed

’
.

a littl e because the goat whose thigh bone had been -

inj ured fell down and then went lam e

,
But in spite .

of this the y were not long in reaching n ir s palace

’
.
,

The s e a god welcomed them but looked with dismay

-
,

at M ile d eep knowing how great a brewing there would

-
,

have to be in the future when he feasted the gods

,
.
 FR E Y 1
C LI M B S I N T O O D I N S H I G H ’
S E AT .

FR EY was the ruler of th e light elves H e therefore -

.

Spent the greater part of his time in A l f heim th e home , .

of the elves in the lower world H e w a s often in

, .

Asgard however and hi s kind heart and j o y ous nature

, ,

made him a great favorite there .

O ne aftern oon he arrived in the city j ust as the s u n

was setting and foun d it almost deserted H e wan
, .

d ered about for a tim e feeling very forlorn He , .

looked at the glittering palaces whose towers reached

to th e clouds ; and then his ga z e went higher still and ,

’
rested upon O din s H igh S eat th e most sacred place ,

in A sgard S udde n ly he w a s seized with an int ens e

.

desire t o climb up and s e e for once all that the mighty

O din s aw when he looke d abroad each day The All .

fath er had n ever said that no one but himself might s it

in that sacred place ; but had an y god ventured to
climb up there he would have been thought very pre
,

s u m in
g
,
if not worse K nowing this Frey hesitated
.
, ,

while his e y es rested longingly upon the gleaming point .

At last with an air of determ ination h e entered the

,
‘

,
‘

great palace from which the H igh S eat shot u p a n d ,

0
1 F r e y, a V a n -g o d ; rlr
u e of th e l ig h t e l v e s
-
.
 F R E Y CLI MB S I N T O O D I NS HI G H S E A T ’
. 1 19

w as soon on his w ay upward H e was s o anxious to .

reach the top that he did not once stop to look around
but with all his efforts the w ay s eemed long When .

at last h e reached the top breathles s and weary his , ,

curiosit y gave him no rest With eager eyes he looked .

upon the awe in spiring scene

-
.

A sgard lay j ust below glowing with beaut y in the ,

warm western light B elow Asgard could be seen a

.

portion of M idgard th e home of men with the great

, ,

river O cean surrounding it While toward s the north

, , .
,

on the other side of the ocea n was the gloom y giant ,

land called J o tunheim Far bel ow M idgard and J o tun

, .

’
heim stretched the great under world H ad Frey s -
.

’
eye s been as keen as O din s he could h ave discerned ,

more clearly th e outlines of this vast region which

stret ched beyond the narrow bounds of th e upper
worlds . A part of it w a s hidden by Midgard an d
J O t u n h e im : but Frey could see that the northern part
was dark and mist y except where H eimdall s shining
,
’

castle sent its rays ; while the southern portion glowed

w ith a beautiful light This light he knew came from
.

the realms where U rd and her two sisters lived guarding ,

th e sacred well under Y g g dr a s il s third root M imir s ’ ’

.
,

land h e could not see except th e eastern part where

, ,

lay A lfheim h is own brigh t home ; b ut in the west h e

,

could s e e the land of the Vanir the gr eat race to which ,

he him self belonged A s he looked more closel y h e

.
IZO S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE M Y T H O L O G Y .

felt sure that he cou l d distinguish his f ather s c a st l e ’

N oatun by the sea

, .

H is curiosity w as satisfied at last a n d he w as j ust ,

turning away when a gle a m from the north from icy

, ,

J O t u n h e im caug
,
h t his eye AS he looked keen
. l y in
that direction he s aw a beautifu l gi a nt maiden l ifting
,
-
,

her fa ir white a rms to undo the l atch of a gate in t h e

castle wal l The gl e a m of l ight th a t h ad attr a cted him
.

c ame from her sno w w hit e a rms a n d her go l d en h a ir

-
.

Frey w a s s o a stonished to s e e such a sight in the l a nd of

cold an d d a rkness th a t he cou l d n ot t ak e his eyes aw ay
,
.

A s the maiden p a ssed through the g ate She turned her ,

face toward Asg ard for a moment and Frey f a ncied th a t ,

her large blue eyes l ooked appe al ing l y up to him The .

’
keenness of O din s sight must h ave bee n gra nted to him
j ust then or he never cou l d have seen al l this so pl ain l y
,
.

The vision l asted but a moment The maiden disap .

p e a r e d behind the cast l e w a l l a n d J O t u n h e im lay ,

in
darkness .

It seemed to Frey th at w hen the g l e a m of her sno w

w h it e a r m s v a nished from the l and of the gi a nts the ,

light of day fa ded from a l l the wor l ds E ven Asgard .

w a s d a rk and g l oomy Frey s he art fe l t strange l y ’

.

heavy . N ever had the merry m a ster of the e l ves

known sorrow H is l ife h a d been one long bright
.
,

s ummer day A str ange new fee l ing possessed him

.
,
.

With a heavy step he went s l owl y do w n the winding

,
 F R E Y C LIMBS I N T O OD I N S HI G H S E A T
’
. 12 1

'

stairs When he reached the cit y it w a s still deserted

.
, .

S o he entered the sp a cious h al l of Gl adsheim and thre w

him se l f upon one of the rich l y c a rved se a ts When t h e.

gods returned he tried to assume his usual cheerful

,

ness but a l l noticed the ch ange in him ; a n d he w a s

,

thankful when the Sh a dows deepened an d he cou l d be

a l one S l eep would not come however O ne picture
.
, .

w as continua ll y before his eyes the fair giant maiden

,
-

with her g l eaming white arms and her s ad b l ue eyes .

 F R EY S L OV E F O R G E R D
’
.

1 ’
S KA D I w as the wife of N iord Frey s father S he was , .

t h e d aughter of T h ia s s i who was killed by the burning

,

mists of the Asga rd river The gods were sorry for .

T h ias s i s death bec a use a l though he h a d tried to in

’

, ,

j ure them h e had in the past done them gre a t servi ce s

, .

S o to honor h is memory O din placed his eyes in th e

, ,

heavens where they shone like stars Then he sent for

,
.

S k a di his daughter to come to Asgard ; a n d soon after

, , ,

NiO r d S home w a s in
’
s h e becam e the wife of N i ord .

the V an ir l an d ; but both he and S k adi were often in

Asgard with th e f E s ir
S k a di had grown very fond of Frey ; a n d when s h e
found him p a l e a nd s ad on the morning after he had
climbed to the H igh S eat s h e tried in every w ay to ,

comfort him but in vai n S he sent h im to I duna ; but

, .

for once her golden app l es w er e powerless As he .

grew s a dder and we aker a ll known remedies were tried, ,

but his ma l ady wou l d yie l d to none of them And no .

one could fi n d out the c a use of his trouble .

Frey had a friend n amed S kirnir ; a mortal he w a s

said to be w h o l ived w ith the gods in Asgard H e
,
.

1 A V an -
g od ; f a th r
e of F ry
e an d Fr e y ia .
 FRE Y S L OV E
’
FO R GE R D . 123

w as like a brother to Frey as children they had played

together and nothing had ever come between them to
,

mar their perfect friendship H e had given Frey a .

wo n d erful sword — the fata l sword made by Th ias s i

, .

S kirnir was a great travel l er and in one of his j ourneys

,

he V isited Mimir Th e latter thought that the f E s ir

.

should possess the dangerous weapon s o he gave it to ,

S kirnir ; and he on his return to Asgard gave it to

, ,

Frey Frey valued it above all his possessions ; for it

.

was a sword of rare beauty and it w a s sure to ki l l the

,

foe against whom it was used .

S kir nir w a s away w hen Frey fell Sick and when he ,

got home he w as shocked at the change in h is frie n d

,

he was s o pale and s ad a n d s o languid in h is move

,

ments S k a di tol d S kirnir a l l they had done to cure

‘

her s on of his mysterious sickness ; a n d s h e begged

S kirnir to get from him the secret of his trouble .

S kirnir talked with him ; and Frey felt s o sure of

the love and sym p a thy of h is friend th at h e told him ,

everythin g — how h e had c l imbed to the H igh S eat

, ,

and had seen the be a utiful giant m a iden and how from -
,

that time the th ought of her h a d not left him ; for if

he slept a few moments it w a s only to dream of her
, ,

and to see her s a d blue eyes g azing at him .

”
My he a rt has grown so he avy s a id Frey that , ,
“

I think I shal l not l ive long unless I can have the gi a nt

maiden for my wife But th a t c an n ever be ! The
.
1 24 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

J would not hear to such a thi n g And even could

E S II
Z ‘

I g a in their consent how could I get the good wi l l of

,

her p a rents who a r e hostile gia nts

,
Perhaps even her
own he a rt is co l d tow a rds me S ometimes I think She .

did not s e e me at al l as She glanced towards Asgard ,

and that the look I thought I S aw in her eyes was not

”
re ally t h ere .

S kirnir pondered a few moments and then said ,

I think I c a n he l p you F rey The gods a r e so con , .

cern ed about your he al th t h a t I a m sure they w ill con ,

sent to the m a rri a ge however l itt l e they may like it

, .

An d as for the m a iden herse l f and her p a rents let me , ,

arrange with them You know I have been on many

.

di f ficult errands a n d have a l ways succeede d R est

, .

quietly I wi l l come b a ck soon a n d co n sult with you

.

”
about my j ourney to J otunheim .

S kirnir left Frey and w ent to O din a n d the other

,

gods to tal k the m a tter over w ith them H e tol d them .

that love for the gi a nt m a iden G erd w a s the c ause of

-
, ,

’
Frey s Sickness and t h at in order to b e cured he must
, ,

h ave the m a iden for h is wife When the gods learned .

this they agreed to sanction the m arri age

, .
SKI RN I R S J O U R NE Y W IN G ERD
’
TO FO R

FR E Y .

S KI RN I R went quickly back to Frey and to l d him that

the gods co n sented to his marri a ge with G erd the giant ,

m aiden When Frey heard this the weary look left

.
,

his face and the lig h t of hope shon e in his eyes J oy

, .

gave him strength ; an d he helped his friend make

re a dy for th ed a ngerous j ourney .

’
Two things S kirnir must h ave — O din s horse and ,

Frey s s w ord Sl eipnir w ou l d c a rry him s afely through

’
.

the fl ames with which n o dou b t the g i ant surrounded

, ,

h is castle ; and Frey s sword wou l d protect him in

’

fight Iduna gave him eleven go l den apples to win the

.

heart of the maiden ; a n d O din his wonderful ring ,

made b y the dwarfs .

By the time S kirnir w a s re a dy to Start n ight w as ,

over Asga rd ; and as he mounted S l eipnir he spoke to ,

him saying : Dark is it without it is time for us to go

,

over the misty fel l s over the giant s land

’

,
We shall .

both return or the powerful giant will seize us both

, .

”
W e will not desert one another ! The h o rse turned
h is ears back a n d listened as S kirnir spoke to him .

The n he sped on toward the l a nd of the gi a nts .

1 26 S T OR IES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

I t w as a long j ourney from Asg ard to J O tu n h e im ; but '

at last S kirnir could s e e through the mist the castle of

G y m ir G erd s father
’
It was on the top of a lo n g,
"

, .

n arrow mountain : a deep chasm y awned at the foot of

the mountain .

S kirnir had been on s o ma n y perilous j ourneys an d

had see n s o m a ny strange Sight s th a t h e knew t h e
dangers of c r os s m g the ch a sm The heav y I ron gate .

on the other Side w a s shut and th e bridge was dra w n ,

up for the night although it w a s not l ate S k i r n I r

, .

could have gone no farth er had it n ot bee n for his

matchless steed H e spoke softly in S l eipnir s e ar and
.
’

the noble cre a ture cleared th e ch a sm a n d the w a l l a t

a bound while sharp lightning fl a shed and crackl ing
, ,

thunder sounded .

The chasm was c onsidered such a s afegu a rd that no

w atchm a n stood outside the castle ; but t w o fierce dogs

were Chained at the entran ce A s S kirnir c a me near .

,

he s aw a cowherd who was T es ting aft er h aving

,

Shelt ered his cat tl e for the night H e rode up to him .

,

and said : T ell me co w herd as you s it there on the

“
, ,

mound looking all ways h ow can I p a ss the fi erce

, ,

’
dogs t h at I may Spe a k with G y m ir s young d a ughter ?
,

”
I have a message for her .

The cowherd w a s struck dumb a t the s i g ht of S kirnir

and at his bold words Inste a d of ans w ering h I s ques
.

tion he st a red in Si l ence Then he exclaimed : You

, .
“
 S KI RN I R S U Y
’

J O RN E . 127

are a ma n doomed to die or you are a spirit come ,

back from the dead ! N o living man could have

crossed the chasm and be here in this pl a ce !
”
“
Tell me how I may s e e G y m ir s daughter ! inter ’

r up t e d S kirnir .

N ever will y Ou Speak with the good m a id G erda , ,

said the man .

”
“
That I will ! cried S kirnir If I die in th e .
“

attempt s o be it ! My death is decreed for a certa in

,

day and on t h at day shall I die whether I be in

, ,

G y m ir s cast l e or elsewhere
’
N o man can escape his .

”
fate .J ust then S leipnir b ecoming restless struck the ,

rocks with his mighty hoofs so that the very mount a ins
trembled and the noise of his hoofs resounded far and
,

wide .

G erd was in her father s hall a serving m aid with ’

,
-

’
her When s h e he a rd th e noise made by S kirnir s
.

horse s h e said to th e maid ; What is th a t sound

,
? “

The earth is shaken a n d all the house of G y m ir,

trembles !
The maid r an to one of the rude openings a n d loo k ed
out Then s h e turned to G erd s aying A man is
.
, ,
“

’
without ; he has dismounted from his horse s back ; he
”
lets his steed browse on the gras s .

”
“
G o out said G erd and bid h im come into our h a ll
, ,
“

and drink of our bright m ead My p arents are away and .

,

”
I will Show hospitality even shou l d he be an enemy .
1 28 S T OR I E S F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

S kirnir left his horse and followed the serving maid -

into the castle The dogs growled but did not o f fer to
.
,

touch him AS h e entered he s aw that the vast hall

.

and everythi n g in it w as of stone cold and gray At , .

the upper end s at the g iant maiden on a high seat over -

which w as thrown the skin of a wild beast H er .

gle a ming white a rm s and her golden hair lighted up the

gloomy h a l l S he w a s very beautiful ; but as S kirnir
.

entered s h e gazed a t h im with a cold haughty expres

, ,

sion As he cam e near a n d knelt before her she said

.
,

“
Who are you stranger ? Do you belong to the r a Ce
,

of the elves or to the ra ce of the gods ? or are you one

,

of the wise Vanir ? Why have you come through the

flaming fire t o V isit our h a l ls
S kirnir replied I belong n either to the race of th e
“

elves n or to the race of the gods ; nor am I one of the

wise V a nir ; yet I h ave come alon e through the flaming
”
fire to visit your halls .

”
“
Why h ave you come ? demanded G erd imperiousl y , .

S kirnir then told her of Frey : how h e had seen her

’
and loved her ; and how he to save Frey s life had , ,

’
u ndertaken the d a ngerous j ourney S kirnir s face .

glowed as he spoke of h is friend and told of his ,

sunny lov able n ature of his faith f ulness in friendship

, , ,

and his bravery in battle B ut G erd was untouched ; .

s h e looked as cold and h a ughty a s when S kirnir first

cam e in .
 SKI RN I R S J O U RN EY
’
. 1 29

Finding that he must use other mean s to win her ,

S kirnir drew from beneath his m a n tle the e l even go l den

app l es given him by Iduna H o l ding the m to w a rds the
.

maid h e said : H ere a r e e l even go l den app l es G erd ;

, ,

these you sh all have if you wi l l give yo ur h eart to Frey

, .

Weariness and old age v a nish at the taste of these won

de r f ul apples .

G erd said coldly : N ever will I accept the eleven

“

golden apples to pleas e any on e god or mortal Frey , .

and I S h all never while our lives last live together

, , .

S kirnir then took fro m his fi n ger the precious ring

made by S indri The stones fl a shed as he h eld it up
. .

H e told G erd how the d w a rfs made it do wn in th e gre a t

under world ; and how every ninth night eight rings of
-
, ,

equal beauty dropped from it An y wom a n even the .

,

daughter of a giant must care for such a treasure

, ,

S kirnir thought .

G erd was still unmoved She said haughtily : The “

ring I will not take I have gold eno ugh here in

.
,

’
G y m ir s courts
’
I Share my father s we a lth
. .

Then S kirnir grew angry with the proud giant maiden -

,

w h o cared neither f or l ove nor j ewels H olding high the .

fatal glittering sword he cried

,
Look at this sword
, ,

young maiden ! S ee how thin it is how it glitters ! ,

Beneath it s edge Shall y ou fall and your father the old , ,

giant .

A t this G erd rose from her se a t her blue eyes flash

, ,
~
1 3 0 S T OR I E S F RO M N O R S E MY THO L O G Y .

ing w ith anger N ever c a n you frighten the d aughte r

.

”
of Gy m ir with your threats ! S h e cried S oon sh a l l .
“

you meet my fa ther in fight You w i ll learn to fear .

the giants then

S kirnir fe l t for mome nt that he must give up
a — he
cou l d do no more I n his wr ath h e cou l d have ki ll ed
.

the proud girl ; but that would not h av e h e l p e d his s

friend : it was her love he wanted not her death As .

S kirnir thought of Frey dying of love he w as fired , ,

w ith the determin a tion to win her for him .

Fi x ing his piercing eyes upon her he said : Listen , ,

G erd ! Wh a t I te l l you is the truth ! If you by your ,

h a rd heartedness cause the de ath of Frey be l oved of a l l

-
, ,

the f E s ir dearly sh al l you pay for your crim e You

, .

Shall go f ar f a r be l ow J O t u n h e im to Nifl h e im the world

, , ,

of mist and darkness A l l good beings wi ll h ate y ou ;

.

your on l y comp a nions wi l l be stony gi a nts who wi l l ,

ever stare cold l y upon you with their l a rge eyes You .

wi l l be bowed to the earth with a load of care and s or

row ; terror wi ll fill your soul food wi l l be loathsome to
you With bitter anguish a n d remorse wil l you think
.

of Frey and how you c a st his love away leaving him

, ,

to die of grief Too l ate wi l l love for him fi l l your h a rd

.

heart a n d y ou wil l long for the days th at mig h t have

,

been All this will surely come to pass S uch are

. .

the punishments t h at await the enemies of the gods .

Think of this O G erd ! and then t h ink of what

,
 SKI RN I R S J O U RN E Y
’
. 13 1

m ay be if -
y ou wil l give your l ove ‘

to F rey and be h is
wife
In Spite of his anger S kirnir w a s filled with pit y as
,

h e looked upon her — s o young a n d s o fair an d s o

, ,

ignora n t of life an d l ove And a s he ga zed he s aw her

.
,

face change Th e proud co l d look p a ssed aw ay her

.
, ,

bosom he aved and s h e sank down sobbing upon the

, , ,

great stone seat .

When at las t G erd looked up s h e w a s a dif f erent ,

creature H er expression w a s sweet and gentle and

.
,

her eyes beamed with the soft light of l ove S he g ave .

S kirnir her hand s ayi n g : I never thought I sho u l d

,
“

love one of th a t r a ce so h at ed by my father ; but you

have c on q u e r e d If Frey should n ot love me now it is
p ,

”
I w h o would pine and die for him B ut come ! She .

me give you some me a d You h ave h a d .

but a poor welcome to our gloomy c a stle .

S kirnir drank the foaming mead ; a n d then he and

G erd planned for the meeting between herse l f and
Frey . I wi l l become his wife She s a id
“
for I now ,
“

love him as muc h as he loves me The things you .

brought to win me take back I c are not for them

, .

but only for his love S ti l l my parents m ay require

.
,

s ome gif t when they give me up to him and wh atever

”
they ask must be given .

S kirnir agreed to this b ec a use he knew it was the

onl y w ay to bring about the m arr iage .
 3 2 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

H e would not rest even one night in the castle kno w ,

ing how eagerly Frey was watching for him And .

while thick dar k ness covered the land of the giants he ,

sped swiftl y tow a rds t h e bright city of the gods .

S o the fair giant maiden became th e wife of Frey ;

-

an d a life of love a n d happ i ness opened before h er .

H owever , to gain the consent of h er parents Fre y w as

“

forced to give them the fatal sword made by T h ias s i .

This w as a gr e at loss ; for when the T w i l i g ht of the

L G ods should come the s w ord would b e in the h a nds of
,

his enemies to be used against him ; but Fre y had

,

c ho s e n lov e for his portion and he w,

as satisfied .
 T H E D E AT H O F BA LD U R .

L O K I proposed one day that they shoul d have some

sport s on the plains of Ida ; and h e named among other
things the game of Shooti n g at Baldur .

Toward sundown the f E s ir went out upon th e broad ,

green plain and Bal dur stood up in the midst of them

, .

H e stood there like a beautiful victim surrounded b y

h is fo es but his face w as peaceful and h e smiled to ,

s e e how they enj oyed th e strange sport .

At l ast all had Shot except H O du r When h is t u rn

, .

came he had n o weapon S ome s ay he w a s b l ind a n d

, .
,

that was w h y he cou l d not shoot J ust then Loki came .

up a n d said H ere is a little arrow I found the other

, ,
“

”
day ; perhaps this will d o and he gave H O dur a sma l l
, ,

we l l made arrow H o dur took the arrow fitted it to

-
.
,

the string and in an instant it was whizzing through

,

t h e air The next moment Baldur had fa ll en pierced

.
,

to the he a rt by the fatal we a pon of mistletoe .

The gods were so astounded that at first no one

moved Then Thor sprang forward and lifted Ba l dur
.
!

gently from the ground — but he was dead All eyes

,
.

were now turned towards H o dur for the f E S ir did not

s uspect that Loki w as the re al a uthor of the deed .

133
1 34 S T OR IE S F R O M N O R SE M Y T H O L O G Y .

’
S till , no one sought to avenge B aldur s death ; for the
l aw s of the peace stead where they were permitted no
-
, ,

v iolence .

Wailing and lame n ting they took up the bod y and

,

went slowl y toward the palace of G ladsheim The bird s .

stopped singing and th e flowers drooped as the dead

,

god passed b y When O din s aw them co m ing and

.
,

knew that B aldur w as killed h e bowed his head and , ,

said ,
M y s on is dead ! Th e light is gon e from AS
“

gard ! Frigga clasped him in her arms and vainly

begged him to com e back The sorro w of N anna
.
,

’
Baldur s wife w a s too deep for tears S he did not
,
.

speak or cry ; but the color left her C heek an d her e y e ,

g r e w dim .
 ’
BA LD U R S F U N E R A L .

A L D U R S bod y
’
B pl a ced in the great hall of his
w as

p alace of Bro a d shining spl endor

“ -
H e l ay there as
-
.

though asleep H is broad brow w a s peaceful and his

.
,

expression radi a nt a n d beautiful Tall y ouths stood .

about him clad in whit e a n d ho l ding t orches of sweet

,

sme ll ing wood R everent l y they stood with bowed

.

heads whi l e m a ny cam e from dist ant p l a ces to l ook

,

once m ore upon the purest of the gods At interv a l s .

the youths chanted so l emn hymns in a low ton e ; an d

at the end of each hymn came in the refr a in Ba l dur ,
“

”
the Beautiful is dead !
N e w s of his de a th soon reached the world of men ,

and gre at w a s th e sorro w fe l t a t hi s l oss .

M e n reverenced O din for his w isdom a n d his might

in battle ; B a l dur they loved E ven the light e l v e s
, .
-
,

always gay and merry w ept for B al dur ; and the ,

dwarfs when they he a rd of his de a th beg a n to Se a rch

, ,

for j ewel s to be burnt w ith him The stony he a rt s of .

the giants were softened a n d they c ame in tr 0 0 ps to ,

see him bringing great trees to be burned in th e

, ,

funera l pi l e .

B aldur s ship R in g h or n was the largest Ship in th e

’

, ,

135
1 3 6 S T OR I E S F R O M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

world and on that w a s built the funeral pile

,
The ‘

huge tree s brough t by the giants were first laid on ;

the n smaller trees ; and fina l ly branches of all sweet
smelling woods O ver the boughs were laid mantles
.
,

beautiful l y wrought Baldur s horse richly capari

.
’

s on e d was n ext placed upon the pile

,
A n d last all who .
,

wished t o honor the dead god brought gifts to be burnt

with him O din gave his ring made by S indri ; Thor a
.
,

finel y tempered sword many of the goddesses brought

their necklaces and bracelets the d w arfs gave precious
j ewels and the light elves having n o possessions -
, ,

strewed the pile with flowers .

When a l l w as re a dy they went to Baldur s palace

,
’
.

The youths w h o had been watching there pl a ced the

bod y upon a go l den litter and bore it slowly towards ,

the ship Behind them wa l ked N ann a supported by her

.
,

maidens S he w as clothed in white and her long hair

.
,

float ed over h er shoulders The others however dis .

, ,

played a l l their m agnificence in ho n or of the de a d god .

O din w a s there with his wol v es and his ravens Frigga .

wore her richest garments although her heart w a s s ad ,

.

Frey rode the boar with the golden bristles and Fr ey ia ,

was in her chariot drawn by cats Thor had h is famous .

goats Many gods rode steeds of great beauty And

. .

even H eimdall had l eft his post at the n orthern end of

B if r O s t and came mounted on G ol d tO p whose mane
, ,

shone like the s u n .

 A L D U R S FU N E R A L
’
B . I 37

A stra n ge procession it was ; gods giants elves and , , ,

dwarfs a l l uniting to honor the purest of the f E s ir

, .

A n d strange wer e the hymns they sang as they slowly ,

’
traversed the long road from Bald ur s palace to the s ea .

The deep tones of the giants b l ended for once with the
shrill piping voices of the light e l ves as ancient battle
,
-
,

hymns and songs of peace rose upon the still air .

When they re a ched the ship all stood silent while

, ,

Baldur s body w a s l ifted upon the funeral pile AS the

’
.

youths stepped down they s aw that N anna h a d fallen

, ,

and her mai d en s were trying in vain to bring her back

to life H er heart had broken when s h e s aw Baldur
.

leaving her to go alone upon his l a st voy a ge S o th ey .

p l aced her beside him whom she had l oved better than
life itself .

Thor raised high his mighty hammer and consecrated

the pile while sharp lightnings flash ed and thunder
, ,

sounded through the clear s k y The white sails were

.

sp r ead the youths lighted t h e pile with their torches

, ,

and the ship R in g h or n left forever the Shores of Asgard ,

an d sailed towards the setting s u n AS it sailed away

.
,

the smoke rose to heaven and soon the whole ship w a s

,

in flames ; until at last it sank behind the wester n

hori z on in a blaze of glory .
 U R NE Y IN S EA RC H
’
H ER MOD S JO OF

B AL D U R .

A F TE R
’
Baldur s death Frigga asked whether any one
would be willing to go t o the lower world in search of
him while preparations for his funeral were g oing on
,

in A sgard H erm od th e m essenger god o f fered to go

.
,
-
, ,

and started of f at on ce on S leipnir the swiftes t of

, ,

steeds .

The f E s ir watched eagerl y for his return and loud ,

shouts went up when he appeared H e entered the .

great hall of G ladsheim where all were gathered and

, ,

approaching O din said : I bring you h O p e ! Baldur

,
“

greet s you and s ends again this ring made by th e

,

dwarfs which he asks you to keep always in rem em

,
~

brance of him Then turning t o Frigga he gave h e r

.
,

a carpet and other gifts from N anna ; and to Fulla ,

on e of her maidens a fi n g e r ring ,After be stowing -

.

these gifts and giving each one a message from Bald ur

, ,

he s aid
I went as y ou know by the bridge B if r O s t w h ose
, , ,

northern end is near Nifl h e im F or n ine n ights .

S leipnir bore m e through valleys deep and dark and ,

at last I reached the r iver Gj O l l which is spanned by ,

138
 H ERM O D s J O U RN EY . I 39

the Gj al l e r bridge whose roof is of gl ittering gold AS

, .

S leipnir stepped upon the bridge the maid M odg ud , ,

wh o keeps it asked m e m y name and m y pare n tage

, ,

saying that the day before five bands of dead m en

had ridden over and had not made as much n oise as
,

’
S leipnir s hoofs made in j ust striking the bridge ;
’
‘
And She added it did not Shake ben eath them as it
, ,
‘

’
does beneath you Then She looked closely at me and
.
,

said You have not th e complexion of the dead wh y do

you ride here on your w ay to th e realm s of Urd I told
her I cam e seeking Ba l dur and I asked her whether he ,

had passed th a t w ay S h e said t h at he had ridden over

.

the G j al l e r bridge ; a n d She then t old m e how to go ,

th a t I m ight find him .

“
I went as s h e bade me a n d came at last to that ,

part of M imir s re a l ms where rules D elling the e l f of

’

th e dawn After going f ar int o a thick forest I found

.

the c a stle She had describ ed It was a s m agnifi cent as .

G l a dsheim indeed I cannot begin t o te l l of its be a uty

,

and gra ndeur ; but it w a s surrounded by a w a ll s o high

th a t no intruder could hop e to get near Fortunately .
,

I rode S l eipnir ; no other steed would h ave served m e

then With on e bound h e cleared the high w a l l and I
. ,

found myself in a love ly g a rden B efore me was the .

castle The door was open so I stepped in ; and the

.
,

first person I s aw w a s B aldur H e s at upon a kind of .

thron e N a nna w a s beside him The castl e w a s filled

. .
1 40 S T OR IES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

with beings w h o were evidently r e j oic in g a t Baldur s '

’

coming T h ey did n ot S eem to be gods and yet were

.
,

fairer and nobler than mortals .

“
Baldur rose to greet m e as I entered and his face ,

b e am ed with the sam e expression of peace and good

will that it wore when he was among u s And N an na .

looked as happy as on the day when s h e first came t o

’
Asgard as B a ldur s wife I was filled with wonder
. .

Baldur said kind ly H ermod you are a stonished a t ,

seeing us s o well and s o happy here in the lower wor l d .

We have been warmly welcomed by the people Wh o

live in this beautiful castle and their golden mead h as
,

’
the virtues of Idun a s apples a n d even more ; for it h a s
,

restored N ann a and myself to the fullest enj oyment of

’
life
.

Who a r e these peop l e Ba l dur I inquired

, .

I m ay not tell you a l l about them B a l dur rep l ied ; ,

’

but they are my loya l subj ects a n d rep ay my love a n d

,

’
care with the gre a test devotion .

“
Then w e t a l ked of Asg a r d and of you al l a s w e
, ,

drank the go l den me a d I a sked Ba l dur w hether he

.

would return to us shou l d the gr ea t goddess of the

realms of death a ll o w him to do s o .

“
H e pondered deep l y and then replied
, Yes I ,
‘
,

would return were it a l lowed ; not who l ly for my ow n

"

pleasure — for I a l re a dy love my new subj ects ; but

because you al l grieve s o for my loss in the upper
'
 RMOD J O U RN E Y
’
HE S . 14 1

worlds . A nd he added with a smile We ar e very

’

,
‘ -

’
h appy here .

When I left the palace he and N anna put into my ,

ha n ds the gifts I have brought and seemed loath to ,

part with me .

“
From there I went south to the land of Urd so , ,

well known t o you a l l I found th e mi g hty god dess

.

se ated by her w e ll her two sisters ne a r When I

, .

begged her to a ll ow B al d u r to return to Asgard s h e ,

said Is B a l dur unhappy in the lo w er world

,

N o I replied ; but we grieve for him in Asgard

, .

The s un itse l f seems t o have lost its brightness since

Baldur left u s ; and not the gods alone al l m a n kind , ,

th e dw a rfs and the elves and even the stony giants , ,

’ ’
long for B aldur s return .

‘
Are you sure th at a l l mourn for B aldur said the
dre a d goddess in her deep solemn voice
, , .

Yes a ll I rep l ied ,

’
.

Then after a p a use She s a id slowl y S hould e very

, ,

creature wish for his return shou l d e a ch one weep f or ,

him he might go back to Asgard n ot otherwise R e

,
.

member a l l m us t w e ep
, .
’

“
And s o I bring you hope ; for surely al l wi l l weep
for Baldur ; he w as s o loved by a l l .

Messengers were sent f ar and wide to bid a l l beings

weep for Baldur ; even the trees and stones On .
 S T OR I ES F RO M N OR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

swift steeds th e heralds rushe d along cry ing Baldu r , ,

“

”
the B eautiful is dead ! Weep for him ! O ver high
mountains through deep val l eys b y the lonel y shore
, , ,

everywhere the y went crying Baldur the Beautiful is, ,

”
dead ! Weep for him ! And as they heard the cry ,

all beings even the rocks and the stones wept for the
, ,

god beloved of gods and m en .

The messengers were going home rej oicing in their ,

success wh en they met a giantess who c a l led h erself

,

Thok A S she gazed at them with her co l d unfeeling

.
,

ey e s the y cried Baldur the B eautiful is dead ! Weep

, ,

for him But s h e answered ,

Th k wi ll w p
o ee

W ith dry t r ea s

For B ld r a d th ; u
’
s ea

N ith r i l i f
e e i d th
n e n or n ea

G v h m gl d
a e e e a ness .

L t H l k p wh t h h
e e ee a s e as .

As She Spoke these words th e giantess laughed a ,

hard mocking laugh and disappeared ; and the mes

, ,

s e n g e r s went Slowly back to Asgard N o one kne w .

until afterwards that the giantess w as really Loki in

disguise .
 ZE G I R S
’
L O K I AT F EA ST .

f E G IR had a palace at the bott o m of the ocean in ,

the western part of the lower world It was an e nor .

mous building and its m an y peaks an d towers seemed

,

to undulate as th ey rose through the dim waters N ear .

it were forests of s e a trees that lifted th eir palm like

- -

’
branches as high as the castle s loftiest pinnacles B e .

side the pearl walls glowed corals red or rose colored

,
-
,

and over them ran vines of delicate green .

ZE g ir had asked all th e gods t o a feast The huge .

kettle procured by Thor and Tyr was t o be used for the

first time ; s o there would doubtle ss be mead enough to
go round .

A s the y entered the deep sea palace the gods beheld

-
,

a scene of rare beaut y The large hall rose t o a great

.

height it s roof supported b y pillars of coral From

,
:

the roof hung golde n lamps flooding the hall with

,

light S ea plant s grew in all the recesses and from

.
-
,

shells hidden away came sounds of low sweet music , .

The feast was spread upon a shell Shaped table In -

.

the centre of the table stood the giant kettle Mile deep ; -
,
-

but s o transformed that Hymir himself would n ot have

known it Its pearl y sides gleamed with the soft tints
.

1 43
1 44 S T OR I E S F RO M N OR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

of th e rainbow and around the edge w a s a r im of gold

, .

”
It had undergone a sea change a n d w a s now indeed
-
, , ,

”
“
something rich an d strange S ea y ouths and s e a .
-

maidens some of them n ir s ow n chi l dren walked or

,
’

rather floated about the palace ; for in the deep s e a n o

on e walked as he wou l d on t h e land The m a idens .
”

w or e r ob e s of green and looked like mermaids w ith

.
,

their long hair and th eir crow n s of go l d .

The guests were se a ted and the feasting began , .

E g ir s at at the head of the table with O din beside ,

him ; whi l e R a n his wife s at next Frigga

, , .

Loki h a d not been invited ; for a lthough no one ,

could s ay that he had ki ll ed Ba l dur a l l the f E S ir fe l t ,

th at he had p l anned to bring about h is death ; and t h ey

could n o longer endure his presence But u nbidden
,
.
, ,

he appeare d whi l e they were feasting ; determined to

spoil their p l easure if he might not Share it H e stood .

near the great door looking with eyes of hate upon the
,

fair scen e When some of the gods prais ed ZE g ir S

.
’

servants h is fierce j ealous y was aroused for he could

,

not endure to hear any one praised And t h ere in the .

presence of n ir and the gods h e sle w one of the s e r

vant s Thereupon the AES ir shook their s h ie l d s and
'

drove him from th e hall H e quickl y disappeared in.

th e forest of s e a trees -
.

The y went back t o their feasting ; but it w a s n ot

long before Loki returned With a sneer on h is lips .
 L O KI AT ZE G I R
’
S FE A S T .
45

and fierce hatred in his e y es he asked for a drink of the,

mead and a seat at the table B ragi had great cause .

for disliking Loki because he had betra y ed I duna his

, ,

wife into the hands of T h ia s s i ; and he Spoke first :

,

“
A seat an d place will t he f E s ir never find for y ou at
their board ! Loki an swered him with taunt s and
sneers Then he t urn ed t o O din and reminded him
.

of the oath they h ad sworn when both were y oung ;

and he told how in those day s O din refused even to
, ,

taste beer u n less it were o f f ered to him al so .

N ot wishing t o have the feast disturbed O din spoke ,

t o Vidar the silent and said R ise Vidar and let the
, , ,
“
, ,

wolf s s ire s it at our feast that h e may not utter inso

’

’
lent words in [E g ir s hall .

S o Vidar rose up and pre sented Loki with a cup Of

mead ; but in stead of drinking the latter began t o pour ,

out abus e upon the gods N o on e escaped his venom

.

ou s tongue A nd unfortunately man y of the bitter

.
, ,

things he s aid were onl y too true ; for brave and beau
tiful as were the gods few of them were pure an d good
,

like Baldur T h e worst he could s ay of H eimd all was

.

th a t he had to spend h is life guarding the trembling

bridge .

When he reviled Frigga s h e said F alse Loki

, ,
“
,

had I a s on like Baldur here you would not go out ,

”
unhurt You would be assaulted
. .

Then his rage and hatred making him forget ca ution

, ,
1 46 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

Loki replied S hall I tell y ou more of m y wickedness

, ,

Frigga ? I am the cause of Baldur s absence B ecause ’

.

of me y ou do not s e e him riding to these halls .

At these awful words the gods rose to their feet and

grasped their weapons ; but at a Sign from O din they
restrained their wrath and again seated themselves , .

’
N o violence m ight be done in ZEg ir s halls .

Loki kept on cursing the gods until he came to S if

’

Th g r s wi f e Thor was not there ; he w a s far from

.

Asgard when th e f E s ir were h idde n to th e feast H ow .

ever a s Loki w a s abus ing S if one of F r e y ia s m aidens

, ,
’

cried The floor of the s ea tremb l es I th ink Thor

“
.

i s com ing from h is home H e will s ilence this reviler

.

of the gods
S he right I n a moment a noise like thunder was
w as .

heard and Thor appeared bearing his mighty hammer

, , .

When he understood what was goi n g on he called out ,

to Loki : S ilence vile creature ! My mighty h ammer

“
,

M iOl l n ir Shall stop your prating I will strike y our .

”
head from your neck : then your life W Il l be ended .

’
Loki s fear of Thor did n ot prevent h is utt e r I n g
in sult ing words to him also .

The n again the fierce thunder god cried in a loud

, ,
-

voice : S ilence V ile creature ! My mighty hammer

“
,

M i ol lnir shall stop your prating Up will I hurl you .

to th e east region ; and no one shall ever s e e y ou

again
 L OKI AT zE G I R
’
s F E AS T . 147

S till Loki would n ot be

Silenced I n a sneering tone
'

.
,

“
he said : O f your eastern travels you h a d better s ay
little I t was there you were doubled up in a g l ove
.

thumb You the gre a t hero of the gods ! You h ard l y

.
,

”
t h ought then th a t you were Thor .

Thor spoke again : S i l ence wret ch ! With this

“
,

right hand I the terror of the g i ants will smite you s o

, , ,

that every bone sha l l be broken

Loki l aughed a loud mocking l a ugh a n d said : Tis
, ,
’

m y intention to live a long l ife a l though you do ,

threaten me with y our hammer S k rymir s thongs .

’

seemed hard to you when you cou l d not get a t the food ,

”
you strong and h ealthy dying of hunger !
, ,

S ilence monster ! cried Thor ag a in

, my might y “

hammer M i ol lnir Shall stop your prating ! I t h e foe of ,

the gi a nts will cast you down to hel l beneath the

, ,

gratings of th e dead
Loki spoke : I have said before the ZE S ir and
‘

“
,

’
I have said before the f E s ir S sons wh at ever my min d ,

suggested ; but for you a l one wi l l I go out because I ,

”
know that y ou will fight ! Then turning to n ir he ,

said : N ever ag a in shall you brew beer and ho l d a

“

feast of the gods Flames sha l l play over all your

.

”
possession s and you Sha l l be burnt with them !
,

With these words he darted swift l y from the h al l and ,

they s aw him no more .

 T H E C APT U R E O F L O K I .

L O K I after he h ad fled from n ir s ha ll s hid among

,
’

high mountain s and there bui l t himself a hous e with

,

four doors which looked north south e a s t a n d west

, , , , .

N ear the house a stre a m rushed fo a m i ng over the rocks

into the s e a H ere he lived in const a nt fear of the
.

gods ; for he knew th a t since he had o w ned him

self the real slayer of Bal dur t h ey would Show him ,

no mercy B ut although he h ad chosen the remotest

.

and most secure hiding place O din from his H igh S eat
-
, ,

spied him out a n d Thor and some of the other gods at

,

once s e t out to capture him .

Loki k ne w that the gods were coming some tim e

before they reached the house And h a stily c a sting a.

fi s h in g net that he w as making into the fire he ch a nged

-
,

him self into a salmon and le aped into the h e ig h b or in g

,

stream .

The gods entered the house but there was n o Loki , .

They se a rc hed but cou l d not find him As they were

, .

looking c a reful l y in every nook and corner knowing ,

th a t the cra fty god possessed the power of changing

'

himse l f into dif f erent Shapes one of their number ,

noticed something pecu l i a r in the a shes a n d c alled ,

1 48
 TH E C A P T U RE O F L O KL 1 49

the others to come a n d l ook O n e s a id th a t it looked

.

a s thoug h a device for Ca tching fish had been recently

“

thrust into the fire ; an d on pu ll ing it out they found ,

that it w as a hal f burnt net This suggested the idea

-
.

that in order to elude them Loki h ad changed himself

,

int o a fish and had le a ped into t h e stre a m near by

, .

The gods at once s e t to w ork and wove a net after

the p attern of the one found in the ashes an d when It
w a s finished they took it to the river
,
Putting it in .
,

they let it Sink to the bott om And then Thor took .

one end whi l e the other gods took the other a n d thus
, ,
‘

they drew it a l ong the stream The wily sal m on how .

,

ever thrust himself between two stones a n d th e net

,

p a ssed over him ? S o when the gods drew it up they

, ,

found that although it had touched some l iving thing ,

there was no fish in it .

The next t ime they put great weights into the net ,

s o that it r a ked the bed of the river Loki finding .

th at he cou l d not esc ape if he st ayed a t the bottom a n d ,

knowing th at it w a s but a Short dist a nce to the s e a ,

swam rapid l y down the stream and leaped over the net ,

to where the river fell foaming over the rocks The .

gods s aw him as he rose above the water in h is flying

l eap The next time they divided themse l ves into
.

two bands and they dragged the net while Thor fol ,

l owed wading in the m idd l e of the river Loki must

, .

n ow do one of tw o things — leap again over the net

, ,
 SO S T OR I ES F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

u p stre am or swim r a pidly

, out to s e a H e chose the .

former course an d leaped high into the a ir But Thor

, .

w a s ready and with a quick m otion caught him in h iS

, .

han d The s a lmon w a s so S l ippery th a t he wou l d have

.

escaped had not Thor h a d a firm grip on his tai l 1

.

Loki was n ow forced to t a ke his proper sh ape ; an d

they bound him and c a rried him to the lo w er worl d .

I n the great j udgm ent ha l l ne a r U rd s well his doom ’

w as pronounced A ll beings w h o had suffered throu g h

.

him or w h o kne w of his crimes w ere c a ll ed upon t o

testify Frigg a ch a rged him w ith t h e de ath of Baldur ;
.

Br agi with the betr ay a l of I duna ; an d S k a di said

,

that he h a d c aused the de ath of h e r fa ther T hia s s i , .

All gods e l ves d w a rfs a n d gi a nts w itnessed to

,
—
, ,

the h ar m th e y or their fr iends h a d su f fer e d at the h ands

~

of the w icke d god When al l the ev idence w a s brought

.

in it seem e d a s though no punishment could be great

,

enough for s o crue l a n d t re a cherous a being .

Urd s serva nts took him bound to the dark cave

’

, ,

ne a r Mt H v e r g e l m ir And ther ethe I ron gate s were

. .

opened and they went down to the world of darkness

,
.

Torches shed t h eir lurid light up on the a w ful scenes .

H ere were confined m a ny h orrib l e monsters — gi a nts ,

witches and dragons ,

— foes to gods a n d men .

After a long j ou r ney they reached the borders of a

d a rk s l uggish s e a T a king a b oa t they rowed out t o a
, .
,

1 E vr i
e
"
s nce th t tim
a e sa lm on h av e h ad v ry fi
e ne, th i t il n a s .
 T HE C A P TU RE O F LOKI . I S I

rocky island rising in the midst of the s e a The island

, .

was full of c ave s in which monsters were confi n ed ; in

one was th e wolf Fe a r They placed Loki near his
, .

off spring binding h is feet and hands with strong chains

, ,

and fastening him firmly to the roc k s The rest of his .

punishment w a s too dreadful to be told ; but dreadful as

it w as Loki deserved it all
,
.

N ear th e rock y island w a s m oored an enormous ship ,

called Nag e l f ar ; it w a s larger even than R in g h or n ,

Baldur s ship Whe n R agnar o k the Twilight of th e

’
.
,

G ods should come Loki would be freed from his

, ,

fetters and gathering the h osts of evil would s e t ,

sail upo n this ship to fi ght against the gods Then the .

fierce venom of his soul nursed through long y ears

, ,

w ould flam e out in deeds against h is hated foes .

 T H E TWI LI G H T O F T H E G O D S .

W H E N the gods returned to Asgard ,it seemed to

them that everything w a S c h an g e d B aldur w a s gone ‘

forever and Loki once a gay witty c om p an I on an d

, , , ,

later a secret and dreaded foe was secu r el y bound in ,

the worl d of darkness AS evening fell upon the c ity

.
,

O din surrounded by the greater gods stood l ook I n g out

, ,

upon the s ea over which the Ship R in g h or n had b orne

,

the dead B aldur .

All were silent until at last O din spoke : Baldur

,
“

h a s gone and Loki is punished

, A n e w life beg i n s ; .

an d it is right that y ou th e wisest and strongest of the

,

f E s ir should know what lies before you an d before us

, ,

all. You are strong and can bear the t ruth hard
, ,

though it be You have heard that a time i s coming

.
,

called the Twilight of the G ods it is of that I will now

speak . Then silence reigned again while O din stood ,

with bowed head .

A t last he spoke uttering this solemn prophec y

, ,

while his eyes seemed looking into the far dim future ,

“
A s th e ages roll on wickedness shall increase i n ,

C A s g ar d and in the world of m e n

,
Witches and mon .

s t e r s Shall be b r ed y p in the Iron wood and Shall s ow

m
-
,

the seeds of evil in the world Brothers shall Slay each .

1 52
 T HE T W ILI G H T O F T HE GODS . I 53

other ; co u sin s shall kin ship violate ; sh i elds Shall be .

cloven ; no m an will Spare another H a rd shall it be in .

the world a n axe age a sword age a wind age ere

—
, , ,

the world Sinks .

The great Fim b ul winter shall come when snow sh al l

“
,

fall from the four corners of heaven deadly wi ll be the

frosts and piercing th e winds and the d a rkened sun
, ,

will impart no gladness Three such winters shall .

com e and n o summer to gladden the heart with s u n

,

shine Then shall fo ll ow m ore winters when even

’

.
,

greater discord Shall prevail Fierce wo l ves sh al l .

devour the s u n an d moon and the st a rs sha ll fal l from ,

h e a ven The earth sha ll tremble the stony hi ll s sh al l

.
,

be dash ed together giant s s h all totter a n d dw a rfs , ,

groan before their stony doors M en sha l l seek the .

paths leading to the rea l m s of death ; and earth in ,

flames shall sink ben eath the seething ocean

,
.

Then sha l l the aged World Tree tremble ; and

“

loudl y shall bark t h e dog of hel l At that sound sh a ll .

”
t h e fetters of Loki an d th e wo l f be broken ; and the
D

M idgard serpent with terrib l e l a shing and strugg l ing

, ,

sha l l forsake the s e a The ship Nag e l f ar Sha ll be .

, ,

loosed fro m it s moorings by the rocky isle ; and al l the

“

hosts of evil shal l go on boar d while Loki steers th em ,

across the sluggish s e a S urt shal l le a ve his fiery

1
.

1
Su rt w a s th e f a th r e of S uttun g ,
f ro m w h o m Od i tr h
n e ac e r ous ly oh

ta in e d th e p o e ti c m e ad th e m e a d th ta c ou ld m ak e men p t oe s .
1 54 S T OR I ES F RO M NOR S E MY T H O L O G Y .

dales and j oin the hosts of evi l t o fi g h t against the

'

, ,

gods .

“
Loudly shall th e ancient horn of H eimdall then r e
sound throughout th e nine worlds A nd when they .

hear the sound the host s of O din shall make ready ;,

the gods and all the warriors of V a l h al l Shall buckle on

their armor for the l ast great fight O din shall seek .

wisdom from Mimir that h e may know how best to ,

:

m eet his foe c

1
Terribl e will be the ons et when on the great plain
“

the hosts of the sons of destruction meet the armies of

the gods Th en will come t h e second grief to Frigga
.
,

when O din goes to meet th e wolf For then will her .

beloved fall B ut Vidar the great s on of O din shall

.
, ,

pierce the heart of Loki s o f f spring and ave nge his ’

father s death M ight y Thor will meet th e Midgard

’
.

serpent and in h is rage will slay th e worm Back nine

, .

pace s will h e go and then fall — h e w h o feared n o

, ,

foe ,
— Slain b y th e venom of th e deadly beast T XL .

shall meet the fierce dog of hell and th ey shall Slay ,

each other Fr ey wil l meet his death at the hand of

.

S urt slain b y T h ia s s i s fatal s word Little shall the

’ ’

.
,

love of G erd avail him on that day H e imdall the .

,

w ise and pure sha l l fa l l at th e hand of Loki the father

, ,

of m on sters and sha ll in turn cause Loki s deat h

,
’
.

Few shall be left a l ive w h o meet in that g reat fight ! ”

1 T h i s pl ai n w as a h un dre d m i l es s
q u r
a e .
 T HE T W ILI G H T OF THE G ODS . I 55

He ceased and there w a s silence while the Shadows

, ,

deepened and the s e a grew dark

, .

Finally Tyr spoke : A nd is there no hope O din ?

“
,

D oes all end in darkn ess ? At these words O din s ’

fa ce changed a gleam of sunshine seemed to fall upon

it and he said
, I s e e arise a second time earth from , ,

o cean beauteously green

, I see waterfal ls where leap
.

the fish and eagles flying over the h ills I s e e Bal dur
, .

and H O du r th e rulers of a purer race of mortals

, ,

mortals w h o have long ser v ed Baldur in the lower

world — an d near them Vidar and th e sons of Thor .
,

They meet on Ida s p l ain s a n d cal l to memory the

’

mighty deeds of th e old gods and their a ncient lore ,

;
.

They speak of the serpent the gre a t earth e ncircler and ,

-
,

of the deeds of Loki and of Thor Un sown shall the .

fi elds bri n g forth a n d all evi l sha ll be don e away with

, ,

when B al dur a n d H o dur reign .

”

H e ceased while his g a z e s eemed penetrating through

,

the misty ages .

The sil ence w a s long ; but fin al ly one of the gods

said : And what of us O din ? I S there no hope for ,

the ol d gods
As h e spoke a look n ever before seen on his bold
,

features overspread the face of O din and raising his ,

eyes reverently he said : After the Twilight of the

,
“

G ods shall come the M igh ty O n e to j udgment

, ,
,
— He
whom we dare not name the powerful O ne from above
, ,
1 56 S T OR IE S F RO M NOR SE MY T H O L O G Y .

who rule s over all H e shall dooms pronounce a n d

.
,

strifes allay an d hol y peace e stablish which shall

, ,

be forevermore I s e e a hall with gold bedecked

.
,

brighter than the sun standing in the high heavens

, .

There Shall the righteous dwell forevermore in peace ,

”
an d happin e ss .

A s the vision faded O din looked upon the gods w h o

, ,

s t Ood silent before him M y children said t h e All

“
.
,

father let us b e strong and valiant Long will be the

,
“
.

ages hard will be the fighting an d many the woes that

, ,

w e must endure ; but th e brave heart l oves danger;

and the strong s oul sh rinks n ot from evil and sorrow .

To do our best knowing that w e shall fail ; to fight t o

,

th e end and then give place t o thos e w h o are wholly

,

pure and good — that is th e fate of th e old go d s

, He .

whom w e may not nam e has s o decreed it ; and H is

decrees are ever j ust and right .
 V O CA B U L A R Y .
1

IN rd r o e d p rt t
not to e a oo f ar f r om th e o ri g i l pr na o nun c a i ti on of

th e pr p r o e m na it m y b es , a e we ll to o b rvse e th e ll i r l
f o ow ng u es : 2

a as in f ar , h rt r or s o e .

as th e v w l
o d i th e s ou n n er e .

3 as e in l et .

i as e a in n eed , o r s h rt r
o e .

e i, b th v
o o w e s s ou n l d de .

0 as in r od e .

6 s h ld h v
ou a e a s ou n dr es em bli n
g th ev ow e l s oun di n lzea r a
’
; it h as

noE g li h n iv l t s equ a en .

u as 0 0 i m d n h rt r oo , or s o e .

y as u i Frn h ; th r i e nc e e s no E ng l is h e qu iv l t
a en .

j as y in
y ou ng .

8 a l way s s h arp .

t h in T/
zor a n d s om e o th r w rd
e o s h a s th e s ou n d of th in f a tfi er .

v as W in w el l .

E g ir g , od o ft r m y I pr vi
th e i l E g l i
s o h th y ti ll y s ea . n o nc a n s e s sa ,

H v a r ! th r i th g
e a ca e mi g e e s e ea er co n .

E i s r A or th g d r l d v r b y O di
s as , e o s u e o e n .

A l f h im ( l f l
e d) g iv e t Fr y
-
ant th g i f t , en o e as a oo -
.

A l lf th a er f O di
, m y
o ne o m n s
’
an na es .

A g r d th h m
s a , f th AZ i
e o e O e s r .

1 I h n t p ll i g f h p r p r m T h rp h b
e s e n o t e f ll w d m t
o e na es o e as e en o o e ,
In os

c ase s ,r h r th A d r
at e T h rp g i
an h fi li d i t d f
n e s on , a s o e v es t e na an
’

zr ns ea o e

an d er I. h d fi ii A d r
n t e h b f ll w d
e n t on sA ll pt
n e s on as een o o e . a c c e n ts e xc e

th e uml h v b
aut m itt d
a e e en o e .

2 Th l f pr
e r u es i i b d p h r l i S w t I l d iO
or o n u n c a t on a r e ase u on t e u es n ee
'
s c e an

P rim r e b k th t d l w i h O l d I l d i i i l i l p ri d b tw
,
a oo a ea s t c e an c n ts c a ss c a e o ,
e een

1 2 00 a n d 1 3 5 0 .
1 5 8 V O CA B U LA R Y .

A s k ( ash
) , th e n a m e o f th e fir t s m an r t d b y O di
c ea e n, H oe n ir ,

and L o d ur .

A sy n ur j , th e g o dd es s e s .

A u d h u m b l a , th e r m d f r m th f r
c ow vp r f o e o e oz e n a o .

B al dur ( th e b t ; th f r m t ) th g d f th e m m r l ig ht
es e o e os , e o o su e s un .

B e s t l a c am e fr m d r Y m ir m M i m ir i t r ; O di m th r
o un e
’
s ar
’
s s s e n s
’
o e .

B if r Ost ( to tr m b l ) th bridg f th g d T h M il ky W y
e e , e e o e o s . e a or

th e ri ba n ow .

B il s k ir n ir
( a -
m om e n t hi i
-
s n n
g ) , Th r o
’
s p a ac e l .

B or , s on of B ur .

B ur or r f th r f BB u e , pr g it r f th E i
a e o d V ir ;
or , o en o o e s r an an

pr du d b y th w l i ki g th ri m t
o ce e co
’
s c n e e s on e s
-
.

i d b l ik ( br d b l i k ; br d hi i g ) B l d r d w ll i g ’
B r e a oa -
n oa -
s n n , a u s e n .

B i i g m
r s n F yia en kl ,
m d b y th d w r f
re
’
a s nec a ce , a e e a s .

B k
r o d w rf ; S i d i br th r
, a a n r
’
s o e .

D r au p i ( t n rdrip ) O di ori g m d , b y t h d w r f n s
’
n , a e e a s .

D l l i g ( d y pri g ) th
e n a lf s f th d w ; th f th r f d y
n , e e o e a n e a e o a .

E g il g u rdi
, of tha pri g H g l m i ;
an e s f th r n f I l di v er e r on e o e ac e o va .

Emb l th fir t w m
a , e f rm d f r m s o tr a n, o e o a ee .

F en r i th m t r w l f
r , e on s e f L ki H-
ki ll O di
o , s ond i o o . e s n, an s

ki ll d b y Vid r t R g r ok
e a , a a na
'

F im b l i t
u -
thW
g r n t er d ,
w f l w
e i t r pr di
ea g t h dan t a u n e e ce n e e s r uc

ti f th w r l d
on o e o .

F or s e t th p e, m k r e f B ld r
e a c e- d N
a e ,
s on o a u an an na .

P y
r e ,
f N l
s on oO d ; V ; r l r r v r t h lai g ht l v an u e o e e -
e es .

F y
r e i i t
a r ,
f F r
S s e y d d o g ht r f e N i o rd Han l f t h f ll au i e o
’

. a e a en n

b tt l b l g t h
a e e on o er .

F ig g
r F ig g or ( l v ) w
r i f f a O di o e d q f,
t h g d e o n an ue e n o e o s .

F llu a , on e o f Fri g g m id ’
s a e ns .

G erd d , g ht r auf t h g i t eG y m i o b l v d eb y F r y an r , e o e e .

Gi ll a b id g
ar -
th rbridg b t w e, eth l ivi g d th d d i th ee e ee n e n an e ea , n

u d r w rl d
n e -
o .

Gi ll a h ar H i m d ll h r
-
or n ,
w hi h h w i ll b l w t R g n r k
e a
’
s o n, c e o a a a o .

G im l i G im il l ( h v
or ) t h b d f t
ea h ri g ht en f ,
t r R g e a o e o e e ou s a e a

r ok
na
'

Gi nun g g p th a h a ,
f r m l e c v id b
a os f r r tior I oth es s o e o e c ea on . n e

l v th
e e t ry th
en b tw G r l d d Vi l d ( Am r
ce n u e sea e een e en an an n an e

ic ) w a c ll e d G i as g g p a n nu n a -
a .
 V OC A BUL A R Y . 1 59

G l a d s h e im brig ht( h om e o f
g l d ) O di p l n e s s or a n es s , n s
’
a ac e .

G l ip ie th l
n r t f tt r with w hi h th w l f F rir w b d
, e as e e c e o en as ou n .

G l d t p H i m d ll
o O ,
h r e a
’
s o se .

Gy mi g ir ,
t tah f th r
an f G
, rd e a e o e .

H im d l l th
e a f , i m th r ; g rdi f th
e s on o n ne rth r o d e s ua an o e no e n en

f B if ro t
’

o s .

H l (
e rd i g t Ry db rg ) g r l m f
ac c o n o l l th
e d r w rl d
,
a en e a na e or a e un e -
o ,

and p i l m f th r g i
a s ec a na th f H g l m i
e or e e on s s ou o v er e r .

H erm d o f O di ,
s on o n .

H Od th
ur l y r f B ld r
, e s a e o a u .

H im f
r i ( ri m m
ax
) t h h e r -
f a ne i g ht , e o se o n .

H i (
oe n r rdi g t Ry db rg ) th m
ac c o n o Vi l i O di br th r e , e sa e as ,
n s
’
o e .

wh r d with T h i l fi ; U tg rd L ki th g ht ”
H g i th
u , e on e o ac e a a -
o
’
s ou .

H u g i ( m i d) n f O di
n , r v on e o H i tw r v fl w v r th
n s
’
a ens . s o a ens e o e e

i w orl d
n ne hdy s eac a .

H v er g l m i (e t h l d k r tt l ) th pri
e o
g i th e m idd l f N
e ifl h,
im e s n n e e o e ,

th l w r g ie o t w rl d ; f r m it fl w d t w l v riv r
e an -
o o o e e e e s .

H y m ir g i t , a w r fan t h k ,
tt l
o M i l
ne d p o e e e e -
ee .

i A g rd
’
Id P l i
a s a ns ,
n s a .

Id u n n or Id d g ht r f I l di g dd
un a, au f rly pri g ; p
e o va , o es s o ea s n os

o of th
s es s g r l d pp l e o en a es .

I v al d i f th r f T h i, a i e d th r rti t
o l f th r f I du
as s an o e a s s a so a e o nn .

J Ot h im h m
un e f th g i t
, o Th r w r tw r g i i h bit d
e o e an s . e e e e o e on s n a e

by g i n t a o th s , on e m pl w ith M i dg r d ( b t th
n e sa th r
e an e a u e o e

id f th riv r O
S e o e) d t he th r i th g r
cean t d,
ranw r l d e o e n e ea un e -
o .

T h l tt r w e a ll d N ifl h im
e as c a e e .

L di g
e n f th f tt r w ith w hi h th w l f F
, one o e e e s i w b d c e o e nr r as ou n .

L if L if t h
,
i m ort l r as r ll d A m g i pr rv d b y M i m ir i th
,
a s , ca e s e r ,
es e e n e

u d r w rl d ; r l d
n e -
o v r b y B l d r f t r h i d th Th ir d
u e o e a u a e s ea . e e

d t w r e to p p l th rth f t r R g rok '

s ce n an s e re -
eo e e ea a e a na .

L do ( ur rdi g t
acc o Ry db rg) n id ti ol w ith V i br th
e r f , en ca e ,
a o e o

O di ; n f th g d w h on e o r t d A k d E mbl
e o s o c ea e s an a .

L g i ( w i l d fi ) th
o -
wh
re ,
t d d w ith L ki i ati g
e on e o c on e n e o n e n .

L k i (t
o d ; t fi i h ) th
o en vi l g i t g d f N r my th l g y
o n s ,
e e an -
o o o se o o .

M an h i m th e me ,
M id g rd e sa .
as a .

M id g d ( th m id y rd
ar e m id dl t w ) th -
a b d f m or e- o n ,
e a o e o en , s ur

r d d b y th riv r O
ou n e e e c ea n .

M id g d ar p t -L s er ki f f enpri g ; ,
h w op t i t’
th
s o riv r sO n e as u n o e e cean .
16 0 V OC A BUL A R Y .

M i m ir , th e w t b i g i th i w l d ; h g r w f r m u d r i ses e n n e n ne or s
‘

e e o n e

th m f Y m ir ; g
e ar rd d th w ll f w i d m Ry d b rg ll
o ua e e e o s o . e ca s

h im th m t c h r t ri ti fi g r e f rth r m y th l og y
os a ac e s c u e o no e n o .

M un ni ( m m r y ) f O di n re v o , on e o
’
s a ens .

M i O l l i o M j O l i Th r h mm r
n r r n r , o
’
s a e .

M d g d th e m id w h k pt th G i ll brid g
o u , a o e e a ar -
e .

M us p l h im th fi ry w r l d
e e , e e o .

N g lf
a e th hip i w hi h L ki i l w ith th
ar , e s f d tr u ti
n c o sa s e s on s o es c on ,

to fig ht g i t th g d a a ns e o s .

N an n a, d g ht r f N p ( b d) w i f f B l d r
au e o e u , e o a u .

N ifl h i m ( m i t ; f g ) h m
e f th g i t i th s d r w orl d
o , o e o e an s n e un e -
.

N iO d r V g d , h b a d f S k d ian d f
-
th r f F
o r y ,d F y i us an o a , an a e o e an re a .

H dw l t i N t e in th w t r p rt f th
e n d r w rl d
oa u n , e es e n a o e un e -
o .

N t
oa un , N iO d h m r
’
s o e .

N or n s th w ird i t r ; th thr
, e h v ly r U d V d d
e s s e s e ee ea en n o ns , r , er an e,

d S k l d ( P t Pr
an t d F t r ) Th y g rd d th
u as , es en ,
an u u e . e ua e e sa

r d w ll d r Y g g d il third r t d d id d wh t h l d
c e e un e r as
’
s oo , an ec e a S ou

b th l i f f hh m b i g
"

e e e o e ac u an e n .

O di W
n or d f B d B otl th r l r f th f E i
an , s on o H or a n es a, e u e o e s r . e

i th f s t i n h d f w i d m th f d r f l t r ; th l rd
e ou n a -
ea o s o , e ou n e o cu u e e o

f b tt l
o d vi t r y a W d d yi e an m d f h im c o . e nes a s na e or .

R g
a e k th l t d y ; th T wi l ig ht f th G d
n ar , e as a e o e o s .

R an wif ,f th g d n i
e o S h g ht dr w i
e s ea
g m i h-
o r . e c au o n n en n er

t
ne d t k th m t h
, an p l oo e o er a ac e .

R k R O k th p t g irl w h w t w ith Th r t U tg rd
'

as a or s v a , e e as a n -
o en o o a

L ki o
’
s.

R t tO k
a a
q irr l s th at p,
d d
a s w th br
u h f Y e
gg d a r an u an o n e a nc es o r

s il .

R un e , on e of th e c h r tr
a ac e s f o rm i n
g r l
th e i t l ph b t ea es a a e of th e

T t i ti e u on c n a on s . R u n es h ad m a g i pr
c p rti o e es .

S if Th r w i f
, o
’
s e .

dw rf rig i l rti t kr dr
'

Si d i
n r , a a , o n e of th e o na a s s a ma e of w on e

f l t hi g
u n s .

i t d g ht r f T hi d w if f NiO d
‘

S k di a g , a an es s au e o aS S I a n e o r .

S k id b l d i Fr y hip m d b y th
a f I l di
n r , e
’
s s , a e e s on s o va .

i ( hi i g m h r
”

S ki f n ax ) th f d y S n n -
ane , e o se o a .

S k i i ( idr n rti l w ith S idp g d w ith H r m d Ry db rgen ca v a an e o ,

e ma i n

t i ) Fr y f ri d
a ns , e
’
S en .
 V OC A BUL A R Y . 16 1

S k r y m ir , th e g i an t U
( g t ard L ki i di -
o n s
g u sei ) wh o m e t Th or i n th e
f o esr t .

S l e ip n ir , O di n s
ig h t l g g d h r th wi f t t f t d
’
e -
e e o s e, e s es o s ee s .

S u t th r pr
r , e t tiv f bt rr
e esen a fi e T h f th r f S t
o su e a n ean re . e a e o u

tu g f rom w h m O di tr h r ly t l th p ti m d H
n ,
o n eac e ou s s o e e oe c ea . e

j i th
o ns o f d
e tr u ti
s on s t R g bk
es c on a a n ar
’

Th i l fi of a p e t wh g w ith Th r t U tg rd L ki
’
a o , s n as a n o oes o o a -
o s .

Th i ias s
g i t, d a rtian t ; an f I l di
an a s s on o va .

T h k L ki di g i d
o , o
g is t u se as a an es s .

Th or th th, d r g d ; th f
e un e f th g i t
-
o e oe o e an s .

Th y m r
g i , t w ha t l an Th r h mm o s o e r o
’
s a e .

T w il i g h t f t h G d O th l e td y; R g r ko s , e as a a na o .

Ty r th o
, rm d g d f w
e n e- a e T d y i m d f him
o o ar . u es a s na e or .

U d th
r , hi ef f th thr
e c o r ; q e f th d dee n o ns ue e n o e ea .

U d f t U rd f t i ’
r a ou n , s oun a n .

U tg d ( th e o t y rd ) th
ar ub d f U tg rd L ki
-
a , e a o e o a -
o .

U tg d L k i th g i
ar -
o t ki g w h l iv i U tg rd
, e an n o es n a .

V l f th
a a
( f th r o
er f th l a i ) e f O di e s a nm , on e o
’
n s na es .

V lh ll
a a V lh ll or ( th h a ll f a th l
a i ) t h e h ll t a w hi h O odi e S a n , e a o c n

i vit d th
n e l i i b tt l os e s a n n a e .

V lky i
a V lky j
r e or ( th h a r f r t h a l i ) T
e c h V l k y ri o os e o e s a n . e a es

w r tr p f g dd
e e a oo h d m id
o o f O di
es s es, Th y rv d an a ens o n . e se e

i V l h ll
n a d w r a ,
t O di
an rr d
e e sen on n s e
’
an s .

V an ir V or g d ki ans t , th f oE i ;
s, a th ir h onm w i
o t h e s r e e as n e

und r w rl d b t m f th m l iv d i A g rd
e -
o , u so e o e e n s a .

V ana h i m th e b d f th V ir, e a o e o e an .

V or O V r th g dd ar ,
f b tr th l
e o d m rri g
es s o e o a s an a a es .

V e V i
or d V il i O di
e ,
an br th r ; w ith th ir h l p h f rm d
,
n s
’
o e s e e e o e

th w or l d e .

V g t m um d m f O di ’
e a , a n as s e na e o n s .

V id f i o n r k th t g l itt r
, a c oc th t p m a t b g h f Yg g dr i l
e s on e o os ou o as .

Y g gd il ( th
r as b r r f Ygg e ea e th w r l d m br i g
o h e o -
e ac n as

tr ee .

Y mi th fir t l ivi g b i g
r , e s O t f h i b d y O di
n e n . d hi br th r u o s o n an s o e s

f r m d th w r l d
o e e o .
 R E FE R E NC E S .

The Vl a a s
’
Pr oph cy e .

S T n’ ’ d8
I
T h e L ay
T h e L ay
of

’f
V
G r I m n Ir
af th r fi d n ir .

E ci ég
In tr oduc o t ry C h pt e r a f
.

r E dd
.

T h e Fool I ng of Gy l f e T h e Y ou ng e a

IM
.

A d r Nor s e of Cr
}
n e s on s
’
A c c oun t th e ea

l y th l o og y . ti on .

T he l i nes q u o e t d f rom O di R n s
’
u n e - S on
g ,

O di n k Wi d
s ee s s om S ae m u n d
’
s E dd a .

f r om M i m ir . C h apt e rs on M i m ir i Ry db e rg T e t n
’
s u . M y th .

b gi p e n . 2 08 .

T hf di f th e
v; fi i
n n
g O
i g f G y l f T h e Y o g r E dda T h e Fool n o e . un e .

O
Fr om tt r d p g e i b o th E dd s ca e e as sa s n as
B l d r th B uti f l
a u e ea u
.

Ry db rg T t M y th p 3 4
.

’
e s eu . .
,
. 0 .

Th L y f V g t m S m d E dd e a o e a . ze un
’
s a .

B ld r D r m
a u
’
sThe F l i g ea f Gy l fs Th Y.
g r E dd oo n o e . e ou n e a .

Ry db rg T t M y th pp 2 4 d 48 9 e
’
s eu . .
,
. 0 an 2 -
.

T h L y f G im i ( l ig ht ll i ) e a o r n r a S a u s on
L oki m k troub l b e
.

a es e
S m d E dd ee un
’
s a
tw th A t t d T h P ti l D i ti o T h Y
.

ee n r Is s a n
e
g r E dd e oe ca c n . e ou n e a .

th G d e O S
Ry db rg T t M y th pp 1 5 d 593
'

e
’
s eu . .
,
.
“

1 an °

H w T h i i c pt r ed I O k i
'

o as s a u
B r g i T l k T h Y u g r E dd ‘ ‘

a
’
s a e o n e a
Th G d g r w l d
. .

e o s o o
R y db g T “t M Yth P P o5 o5 o ’
.

er S C ° .

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. .
.
,
n s a na .

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o , r
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Th r d S krymir
o an S mu d E dd . ae n
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Th Fool i g of G y l f e Th e Y g r E deda n . oun e .

 R E FE R E N C ES . 16 3

T h e L ay of H y m ir . ddS aemu n d ’
s E a .

Th r o
’
s J ou r n e y to T h e Fool ng of G y l f i Th Y
e .
g r E dd e ou n e a .

g et th e Ke ttl e A n d e r s on ’
s No r se M y th l g y A tr l ti o o . an s a on

f or n ir . of ( E l e n s c h l mg er s
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p m Th r Fi hi g oe , o
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s s n ,
”

by L on g f e ll ow .

Th r d T h y m T h
o an r . e L ay of Thr y m . S aem un d ’
s E dd a .

Fr y
e l i m b i t O di
c s n o n s
’
H g i h The J ou n e r y or L ay of S kir ir n .

S t ea . S ae mu n d ’
s E dd a .

S kir ir J r y t wi G e rd T h e Fo o l i r
i
of Gylf
’
n s ou n e o n n
g e . Th e Y ou n
g e

f Fr y
or e . E dd a .

Pr ph y S m d E dd T he V l a a s
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s a
th f B l d r
.

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n ir C m p t ti ( ll i.

)
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s o o a on a us on s
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. .

e J o y i
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s ou n e
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n
r E dd e oo n o e e ou n e
g a
r h f B ld r
. .

s ea c o a u
Ry db rg T t M y th pp 4 8 5 6 .

e
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s eu . .
,
. 2 —2 .

L ki A b
o
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s f th n ir C
us e o m p t ti L ki
e A l t e t i
’
s o o a on , or o
’
s er a on .

G d o t [Eg is S mm d
a E dd ’
r s un
’
s a .

F t
eas . Th P ti l D i ti Th Y g r E dd e oe ca c on . e ou n e a .

Th L y f V g t m S m d E dd (
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e a o e a . ae un s a an

ll i ) a us o n
T h C pt r
.

e f L k
a u e o o I
Th F l i g f Gy l f Th Y r E dd
.

e oo n o oun
g e . e e a.

Ry db rg T t M y th p 8 9 e
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s eu . .
,
. 1 .

Th V l Pr ph y S m d E dd
’
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ae un
T h T w i l i g ht f
e a a s o ec . s a .

e o

th G d e
Th F l g
o s
f Gylf Th Y g r E e 1 d oo I n o e . e ou n e c a .

Ry db rg T t M y th pp 3 76 3 8 5 e
’
s eu . .
, .
— .