stories of norse gods & heroes

7/29/2019 Stories of Norse Gods & Heroes

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OF

GODS AND HEROES.

BY

ANNIE KLINGENSMITH .

CHICAGO :A. PLANAGFAN,


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CONTENTS.PAGE

r .................................................. 5'he., . . a

r ................................................... 18ndHymer ........................................ a7

I Fight withHrunger.............................. a1W....................................... 89

urru~tu, u.............................,..,.... 68:of theAsgardFort,The......................... 42

i Puniehment......................................50....................................................................................:. 53

GoldenRing . . ...........,.................... 561tbe Tobung.. .................................... 68V~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 78dwith theHornyFGn........................... 81

91............................................la3y. .............. .......................01


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COPYRIGHT, 18%Bi

ANNIE KLINGENSMITH.


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BALDER.the father of all the

d of the rainbow.was as high as the sky and

t the ravens to fig . ,


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. I . '6 BALDER. ' .H e stayed always a t the foot of the rainbow,which was the bridge of the gods, to see that thefrost giants did not come into Asgard, andto listen to the sounds of earth. So sharp werehis ears tha t he could hear the p a s s and the *-wool on the sheep's backs growing.One day when Odin mounted his throne he .

7.&,:aw that the earth green and .2%' - 4 4 beautiful. The air of snowflakes and .. tr. the ground was as ~ ) V k a s ark :and cold.The ravens, out to see if -all was well, to tell Odin .:a taken possession of the earth.Heimdal, the watchman, called that he could +:

' no longer hear the music of the waterfalls and -. birds, and all the pleasant sounds of earth.^^:Everything was mute with fear of th e ,terribles;S

-2.'" - .god of darkness. . .< li , .%;;>x\\\,'-;-0din called the gods together, and they looked $$,. with pity on the great earth, which hhd been so '75-*- '\ leasant a place. -&Thor, th e strong god, ,offered to go with his:;,hammer and fight with the god of darkness, but i - i -Odin knew that Hoder could hide himself away 'from Thor. & T-2.-


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. . 7

As soon as the light of Balder's shining eyesearth, it brightened andEnd god Hoder broughtss to resist the god of

and the earth lay as if dead.

only smiled upon theand called to it to awake.

f and the flowers bloomed.

bits came out of- theidden themselves andjoy. Never had thein his realm o$ dark-

r an opportunity t o t&kep9gsession of the earth again. So Odin permittedBalder's mother to cross the rainbow bridge to


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8 BALDEB. -The goddess went through all the earth, beggingeach plant and stone and tree not to harm her

son, who had brought them nothing but blessings. .- And every tree and shrub and tiny plant, and everyrock and pebble, and every stream and little brookpromised gladly. Only the mistletoe, which grows -high up in the oak-tree and not upon the ground -.as other plants do, was forgotten. LLoke, who was a meddlesome god, always doing .something wrong, found out that the mistletoe - Ahad not given the promise, and told Hoder.Hoder thought that because it was so little aand weak it could not really kill the god. So he ,.shot an arrow tipped with a tiny twig of mistle-toe a t Balder.

The arrow pierced through and through the -.beautiful god, and he fell dead. Then theearth put off her green robe and grew silent anddark for a time.B ut because Balder, the Beautiful, had once -'lived on earth, Hoder could only make it coldhalf the year and dark half the day.A nd even now, if you listen, in the winter youcan hear the wind moan through the trees whichfling their great arms in grief. And on summer

mornings very early, you will find the stones andthe grass wet with weeping in the darkness.But; when the sun shines the tears are turned


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BALDEE. ' 'tomamonds and the earth is glad, rememberingBalder the Good.

I heard a voice, that cried,"Balder the BeautifulIs dead, is dead! "And through the misty airP ~ s e dike the mournful cryOf mward-sailing cranes.Balder the Beautiful,God of the summa-sun,Fairest of all the Gods!Light from his forehead beamed,Runeswere upon his tongue,As on the warrior's sword.AlI things in earth and airBound were by magic spellNever to do him harm;Even the plants and s t o m __All save the mistletoe, -;:-..;':-L.-:The sacredmistletoe! ?:-' +< ' 'Hoder, the blind old God, .T&:Z ;;'Whose feet are shod with ~lilence,Pierced through that gentIe breastWith hfs sharp spear by fraudHade of the mistletoe,The accursedmistletoe

-LONGFEUOW.Usedl by pemiasion of Boughton, Hz2pIZn & Co.


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10 - TEE PENRIB-WOLF...

THE ENRIS-WOLF.LOKEwas a mischievous fellow. H e was alkways getting the other gods into trouble. Some-times they shut him up. B u t they always lethim out, because he was so cunning tha t hecould help them to do things they could not dofor themselves.Once h e crossed the rainbow bridge to Jotun- 'heim, the land of the giants, and brought homea giantess for his wife.Very strange children Loke had. One ofthem was the Fenris-wolf. H e was named Penrer.All th e gods knew he was a wolf as soon as theysaw him.B u t he went about among the children, ~ltqy-ing with them like a good-natured dog, and thegods thought there was no harm in h'h.

c iFenrer grew larger and larger, and th e 2gods began to look a t him with distrust. Theyfeared he might some day grow too strong f o ithem. .G..- .:,-I@.,.-? -B u t Fenrer always looked good-natured, a d :qharmed no one. H e did nbt even show that he 'i2


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THE FEPRIS-WOLF. 11

had great strength. So the gods could not havethe heart to kill him.But they put it off too 'long. One day they

I found Fenrer had grown so strong that it wash o s t oo late to do anything with him.

' All the gods worked day and night until theyL?, had forged a chain they thought strong enough#,,to bind the wolf.

, 1 , $ 1 Knowing they could not bind Fenrer againsthis will, all the-gods came together for games.Thor crushed mountains with his hammer. Theother gods showed their strength by lifting, and

7 .

*le8ping, and wrestling.?f$?iThen they brought out the chain and- old2 !, Penrer to let them bind him with it, so that he

a ' might show his strength by breaking it.$ Fenrer knew that he could break the chain, so' he &llowedhimself to be bound. He only drew

in a deepbreath and the chain droppedinto pieaes.p Then the gods forged a hai in twice as strong. .& & irst. Elenrer sawthat this chain would be

- ,.. hard to break. But breaking the first chain had. So he allowed this one toroke, and the gods were in de-

they could never make ad they feared the wolf more


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-12 - . THE FENRIS-WOLF.

Odin took his horse, Sleipner, and went on aseven days' journey to the home of the dwarfs.They lived deep down in the earth, and hadcharge of the gold and diamonds and all otherprecious things. They were the most cunning ofblacksmiths.When Odin told the little people what hewanted, they all cried, "Never fear, Father Odin !W e can make a chain that will bind the wolf."W h e a the chain w as made it was as light anddelicate as a spider'sweb, bu t Odin knew it

could never be broken.As soon as Fearer sawthe chain, he was afraidof it. H e knew if i twere only a cobwebnever care to pu t it onwould not allow himself to be boundunless a god's hand was put into hismouth. A t this theone another. After abravest of all the gods, put his hand into thewolf's mouth.

The moment the chain touched Penrer lie knewhe could never break it, and he bit off the god'shand.But the Fenris-wolf was bound forever.


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LOKE.ONE ay Loke was wandering about idly as heoften did. He came near Thor's house, which

, had five hundred and forty rooms. /By the window sat Sif, Thor's wife, &leep.:= Loke thought it would be a good joke to cut off,. her beautiful hair and make Thor angry. So he

wept in softly and cut off her hair close to her' head without wakening her.

. When Thor came home and found out what** .ia. '. bad been done, he knew at once who had doneit.. Rushing out, he overtook Loke, and threatrYtgned to crush him to atoms. To save his lifeir&;%okeswore to get the elves to make hair of gold

88, that would grow like real hair.. Loke knew he had better do as he had prom-$-'bpd,o he went deep down into the earth to Alf-4 h&m. When he came near he looked through a

sevice in the ground, and there were the elvesat; work. He could see them by the light of theS g e ires.

Some were running about with aprons on and-1 iI


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-, .-;.. : . - - m . .- ,A.: ' d :14 . " 2 . - LOEE, - . ' I .-';,.--, . .

1. _ . _ I , .- . . ,. . - . .:... . - ,:-- ..with sooty faces. Some were hammering iron,and others were smelting gold. Some were cut-ting out rock crystals a;dVstaining them red for, garnets and rubies. The elf women brought

, violets and the greenest grass to be found on theearth above. With these they stained crystals- .- blue and green for sapphires and emeralds.Some of the elf women brought children's tears' from the upper earth, and the gentlest elveschanged them into pearls.A s fast as they were finished the jewels werecarried away by th e little elf boys and hidden in

: the ground, where they are found to this day.If you wish to see what cunning workmen theelves were, look a t the shining faces and straightedges of quartz. crystals, or a t the beautiful col-The little elf girls crep,t

through the earth' under the..- ocean and gave the pearlsto the oysters to keep.Even now the oysters shuttheir shells t ight- 'and will not giveup th e pearls..-* ?T - 9a, Lokewatched the%- 6. little workmen a long time. Then he went in


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the sons of Ivald, who had made the gifts, were, the best workmen in the world.Brok, an elf of another family, heard him, andexclaimed angrily, "Sindre, my brother, is thebest blacksmith in the whole world ! "Loke dared Brok to show him three gifts ofSindre's making equal to the spear, the ship, and

" put a pig-skin into the furnace and told Brok toblow the fire with the bellows while he went out.Brok worked with a wa. Loke had followednever stopping to brush it off.

worked at the bellows, the fly came, and stung,


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stung the elf on the forehead until the blood rail

moment to drive away the hornet. Jus t then hisbrother came in and said it was of no use to g oon after he had once stopped.Sindre took out the iron and it had becomethe mighty hammer Mjolner. B u t the handlewas a little too short. This was because the elf a -

gods. Thor had just lost his hammer in a great

would always return to the owner.

head, which had been wagered. T he cunningLoke said he might have the head, but he must-not touch the neck. So the elf didnot ge t the head.


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THORwas the strong god. So strong was hethat he could crush mountains with one blow ofhis hammer.

His eyes shone like fire. When he drove inhis chariot, the sound could be heard all over theearth. When he struck with his terrible hammerfire streamed through the sky.

On one hand he wore an iron glove to graspthe hammer. Around his waist was a belt.


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. .. 8 - .-.,. THOR. ' ,-.*,-.very time he tightened the belt his strength was . --If he had crossed the rainbow bridge it wouldhare fallen down. So every day he wadedthrough four rivers to go to the council of theThor was usually as good-natured as he w a istrong. But sometimes he had sudden attackis ofanger. Then he drove furiously in his char

I iot, striking in every direction with his hammerhe did damage which, with all hise could never repair.en Thor did kind things. Once the .dal, did not go into his home inthe ground when the frost giants were in the land.

, They caught him and took him to Jotunheim.. Thor waded across the ice-cold river, Blivagar, - 'to the land of the giants, and brought Orvandalback in a basket.. When they were nearly across, -,Orvandal pu t one toe outside and it was bitten 'off by the frost giants.Thor liked nothing better than to go on long

rawn by goats.Night came. Thor made himself no largernd asked to stay all night in a poor


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. .20 - . - . . THOR. 1!*

The man welcomed them. Thor killed hisgoats, and the poor man's wife cooked them.When nothing was left but the bones, Thortold the children to put them all into the skinson the floor. But one of the boys broke a boneto get the marrow.At dawn the next day, Thor touched the boneswith his hammer, and the goats sprang up alive.But one of them was lame. When the family .saw the bones changed into .living goats, theywere very much frightened.Thor was angry because the goat was lame

and grasped his hammer so tightly that his .knuckles grew white. At first he meant to killthe whole family, but after he thought, he only ."took away two of the children for servants.They crossed the ocean that day and found a -forest on the other side.When it grew dark they went into a cave tosleep. I n the cave there were five small roomsand one large one. All night they _heard agreat rumbling noise.Barly in the morning when they went out,they found an immense giant sleeping on the '

ground. The noise they had heard was the -giant's breathing, and the cave was his glove.When Thor saw him, he tightened his belt ofstrength and grasped hia hammer. But just ,


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Thor hurried away and waited until the giantonce more slept soundly. Then he went softly,and struck him so hard that the hammer sankinto h i head.This time tho giant sat up and looked aroundhim. Seeing Thor, he said, '' I think there ares q u h e l s in this tree. See, a nutshell has fallenand scratched my forehead.""B u t make ready to go now. W e are nearthe palace of Utgard.""You see how large I am. I n Utgard's palaceI am thought small. If you go there do notboast of your strength."Wi th that, he directed Thor to *;palace, and-went away northward. i 3 ,&,P-F. *A t noon they saw a palace so higR that they: %.had to bend back ,4&& heads to see the top: ,-iof it. ,S-2*:;**-

The gate was locked. So\* they crept iJ&ithrough the bars, and went from room to roorng;~until they came to the hall where sat utgard$&.-.with his men around him. @For some time he pretended not to see Thor. i~$+Then with a loud laugh he said, "Ho! ho ! w h o :is this little creature ? " Without waiting for a&reply, he cried, "Why, I believe i t is Thor o f F gwhom we have heard." .?.


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THOR. . , A I . 23$aid. "Well, little man, what can you do ? Noone is allowed here unless he can do something."Loke, who was quicker than Thor, said, " Ian eat faster than anyone here." Then Utgardaid, " Truly that is something. W e will see ifou have spoken the truth."

The giants brought in a trough flled witheat. Utgard called Loge, one of his men, tontend with Loke.Loke and Loge met a t the middle of theugh. B ut Loke had only eaten the meat,ile Loge had eaten, meat, bones, and trough.o Loke was beaten.Then Utgard asked what Thjalfe, the boy Thorad taken from the seashore, could do. Thjalfepepl lied that he could outrun any man there.Utgard called a little fellow whose name wasHuge. Huge so fa r outran Thjalfe th at he

turned back and met him haIf-way.Utgss$.&said : ''You are the best runner th atever oam&%ere, but you must ru n more swiftlyto outrun Huge."Then Th or was asked in what he wished tocontend..-giiii answered : " n drinking."U t g a ~ d ~ m ' l ahe cup-bearer to bring his greatiirinking-horn:w h e n Thor took the horn in his hand, Utgard'd : "Most of the men here empty it a t one

. ,


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. . . . - - .- - , .- - :.. - ,. - '-. .. -.-..:,., - .. - THOR. 'T -' , . .... . - . \ . i T't- . . .,: -, - .% .

draught. Some empty it at two draughts. Butno one ever takes three."Thor put the horn to his lips and drank deepand long. When he was out of breath, helowered the horn. To his surprise very little of -the water was gone.utgsrd said : I should have thought Thor

he had any breath. This time enough was goneso that the horn could be carried easily without. spilling any of the water.:- Utgard said : "Have you not left too much

. - . for the third draught ? "- Thor became angry. He put the horn to his* lips and drank until his head swam, and his earsrang, and fire floated before his eps,But the horn was not nearly empty, and he

would not try again.Then Utgard said : "Will you try somelse? 77 Thor replied that he would. Usaid : "We have a little game here tha,-- ymnger childre. nothing of liftin


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him, but Utgard said the men would think itbeneath them ta wrestle with Thor. Then heoalled his old nurse, Elle, to wrestle with him.The tighter Thor gripped the old woman, theer she stood. Soon he was thrown on oneee, and Utgard sent the old woman away.T he next morning a t dawn, Thor and Lokend the two children prepared to go away.d gave them breakfast and went a littleen he was ready to go back, he asked Thorow he liked his visit. Thor replied that he hade himself dishonor.

t this Utgard said: "I will tell you theth now that we are out of my palace. Youall never come into it again. If I had knownour strength you should not have comethis time." I n the forest it was I you met. If I had noteld a mountain between your hammer and myd, you would have killed me. There is theuntain. The three caves you see were madethree blows of your hammer.ne end of the drinking-horn stood in th e. When you come to the shore you will seeow much water is gone." What you took for a cat was the great Mid-d Serpent which encircles the earth and holdst ~ an its mouth. The nurse was old age.


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. .26 . -- ' T H O R . ,- '.. : .- . . ,

Hearing this, Thor raised his hamme1strike. But Utgard and the palace vanishedleft only a grassy plain.

THOR.Here amid icebergsRule I the nations;This is my hammer,Miolner the mighty;Gianb and sorcerersCannot withstand it!These are the gauntletsWherewith I wield it,And hurl it afar off ;This is my girdle;Whenever I brace it,Strength is redoubled!The light thou beholdestStream through the heavensIn flashe~f crimson,Is but my red beardBlown by the night-wind,Affrighting the nations lJove is my brother;Mine eyes are the lightning;The wheels of my chariotRoll in the thunder,The blows of my hammerRing in the e&hquake !

- L O N G F ~ W .


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-*> . , -

' THOR AND HYMER . . - _THOR AND HYMER.

On a day when the ocean lay calm and quietin the sunlight, the gods feasted in ItEger's

was no meat for the guests.

Tyr said, "Just within the borders of Jotunheimes Hymer. He has a kettle a mile deep. But

Thor cried, "I fear no giant ! Show me the


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~ o l ~ h i i snd sword-fish played beside theirpathway without fear.Soon the gods reached the upper world.

There they made themselves look like two youngmen. Then they traveled away to the land .ofsnow.

On the icy shore of the ocean they foundHymer's house. At the door they were met.- .

* The house aas dark and gloomy. Very glad_ was Tyr's mother to see the guests. She bade

.-with frost. The beshook under his feet."My son is here," said his wife, when hti hadhak ken the frost from his hair."Where is he? " said Hymer.

-& -- -


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- - '. .THOR A N D I IYMER..- -1 - - '-. 29

Thor ate two himself, and Hymer thought hemore of his fine black oxen. Heht he would have fish for the next meal.dawn the next day Thor sawHymer gettingThor dressed quickly and askedalong to do the rowing., You might take cold if you staylong as I stay, and the rowing miight tire

or was angry enough to bax .the gianb's- But he only answered that he could rowas Hymer wanted to go, and that H p e r-, ,be'the fir& to want to come back. .:+:i;:s:then asked'riymer for some bait. Butsaid if he wanted to fish he must find his

%her $topped, and EIygmszout a lhe he had brought from, nd baited the hook with the ox's head.ee moment the bait dropped tio +hebottome oaean, the. Midgwd Serpent s w d ~ t e dt.


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, '

30 THOR AND HYMER.

Then Thor tightened his belt of strengtn andpulled till his feet went througkthe boat and hestood on the bottom of the ocean.

The Serpent's head rose to the top of thewater. When Hymer saw it, he turned pale andtrembled with fright. Just as -Thor drew backhis hammer to strike, Hymer cut the line,the serpent sank.to the bottom.

Thor gave the giant a blow with h i s fistliearly ended his We.

Taking the two whales into the boat,rowed to shore. There he took up the ,and the boat and carried-them all into,theat once.

At supper the giant challenged Thor to breakhis goblet by throwing it.

Thor threw it against the walls and upon-$lid'floor, but it would not break.

Then the giant's wife whispered, "Throw ,itagainst Hymer's forehead." tho^ hid SQ, an$the goblet was shattered.

Then the giant said Thor might hs~vethekettle if he gould carry it away. '

Thor tried to lift it, but could not at first,As he tried he grew stronger, and, at last, he put .the kettle over his head. But-& reached down tohis heels, and the handle tripped him. ,Thor and Tyr traveled as fast as they could '


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THOR'S FIGHT WITH HRUNGNER .

Every harvest time B g e r made a feast fore gods in memory o f ' ~ h o r ' s ravery.

THOR'S F IGHT W I TH HRUNGNER.

you get that fine horse ? "Odin replied, " I will wager my head thatthere is not so good a horse in Jotnnheim."doldmane, could take longer strides.Then Odin challenged Hru i~gne r o a race. ',n a short time Goldmane was brought, and therace began. Sleipner was always ahead.

The gods were feasting,. and they invited the -


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32 THOR'S EllCHT WITH HRUNUNER. 1By and by he began to boast of his strength.'(1 will tear down Asgard, kill the gods, andcarry off Preyja," he cried, crashing Thor'sdrinking-horn down upon the table.But the sound made by the drinking-horncalled Thor, who was far away.Soon a muttering a$ of distant thunder washeard. Plashes of fire streamed through the air,and there was Thor with his hammer in his hand.''Why is this giant allowed to feast with thegods7 " Thor demanded. "He should neverhave been allowed to enter Asgard."With that he made ready to strike. ~ t tHrungner cried, "You are a c o w ~ df you killme unarmed. Come to the borders 02 my owncountry. There I will meet you with my shieldand flint stone."So a day was gppointed, and 1Prungner went

back to Jotunheini. There he made a huge claygiant,.nine miles high and three miles across the .shoulders. He put a hoise's heart into the giant,because that was the largest heart he oould find. 'On the appointed.day Thor' appeared' in hischariot, fire flashing f k is eiis, mountahstumbling down as &e passed, aid hurling hishammer before him.His servant, Thjalfe, the swift runner, wentbefore and told ~ r & ~ n e rhat ~hor-could7atta&


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THOR AND THBYM. CI. . . . 33- .him fro& under the ground as well as from thesir. So Hrungner put his shield under his feet.A s Thor approached, so frightened wm the,lolay giant that his horse's heart fluttered within

lammer a t the same moment. They met in theh and the flint stone was broken into tw o6,woes.1.1 One piece fell t d the earth and became aaountain. T he other piece struck Thor's head

t d t h his foot on Thor's neck. Thor c o d d not

Then Thor's son, a baby three days old, came&d lifted the foot with one hand and said.

f$ TEOR AND THRYM.@Y3. ,I"WHENThor v as away on one of his jourrreys1 laid his hammer down for a moment, and wenti!l y without it.i.~:;:,The giant Thrym found the hammer&- 3


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34 THOR AND TIIRYM. ,carried it to Jotunheim and buried it eight milesdeep.When Thor missed his hammer he went backand found that it was gone. He knew that noone but a giant could have lifted it.Back he drove to Asgard in such a rage thatthe gods themselves trembled. But they trem-bled still more when they heard Thor's story.They feared that the giants could no longer bekept out of Asgard.Loke borrowed Freyja's falcon plumage andflew to Jotunheim. The first giant he inet wasThrym. Why have you come to Jotunheim?"said the giant. " I have come for Thor's ham-mer," replied Loke. " Io ! ho ! ho !" laughedthe giant, "the hammer is buried eight milesdeep. I will give it to no one until he bringsme Freyja for a wife."Loke flew swiftly back to Asgard, and toldThor what the giant had said. aThor thought of nothing but his precious ham-mer. He rushed to Freyja and told her to makeready to go to Jotunheim.At this Freyja was so angry that Thor, big ashe was, trembled and went out without sayinganything more.Loke said, "We will dress you up like a wo-man, and what a beautiful bride you will be."


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s--=-., :rJ

. -11. ..- A

' THOR AND TIIRYN. -#._ - 8 35So Thor had Freyja's dress p u t on him, a neck-lace around his great throat, and a veil over hisface. But even then his eyes blazed like fire.Loke dressed himself like a maid, and theywent to Jotuliheim in Thor's chariot.When Thrym saw them coming, he had agreat feast prepared.Thor ate a whole ox and ten salmon. Thrym'seyes stood out with surprise. But Loke ;his-pered, " Freyja longed so much to come to Jotun-heim th a t she has eaten nothing fop sevendays."At this Thrym wa.s so pleased that he leanedover to look in to her face. B ut he started back

. .. '.-.A fwhen he saw the blazing eyes. t 9 ; * . & F . $ ~Loke said softly, Breyja longed so mii& ' t i 'come to Jotunheim that she has not slept forieven nights."W hen the feast was over, Th rym brought theln,mmerand laid it in Breyja's lap.T h e moment Thor's fingers touched the handlele sprang up, tore the veil from his eyes, and-ew back the hammer to strike.

So angry was be that he laid the giant deadth one blow.Thor and 'Loke went away, leaving nothing buta heap of blazing sticks where the honse had


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- - TtiOR AND GEIRROD.36 . , , - r. . _ I _ .T H O R AND GEIRROD.

ONCE oke pu t on Freya's falcon plumage andflew away to Jotunheim. As he flew about amus-ing himself, he came to the home of the giantGeirrod.H e perched on the roof and looked in throughan opening.Geirrod saw the bird and sent a servant tocatch him. T he wall was high a i d slippery.Loke laughed to see how much trouble the servanthad to climb up.H e thought he would fly away when the servanthad almost reached him. But when he tried tofly away, his feet were fast. So he was caughtand taken t o Geirrod.As soon as Geirrod looked into the falcon's eyeshe knew he was not a bird. T he giant asked Lokemany questions, but Loke would not answer aword.Geirrod locked him in a chest for three monthswithout food.At last Loke confessedwho he was. To save hi8life, he promised to get Thor to go to Geirrod'shouse without his hammer and belt.


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TROB AlVD GEIRROD. 37+ Loke went at once to Thor and told him Geirrod*anted to fight him.

Thor's eyes began to flash fire, and he rushedhis ' house for his hammer. and belt. But

oke had been there before him and hiddenThor was so angry that he would not wait tothem. Away he went. in his chariot to G ht.- - .1, -- . A , ,..p-& -.fir%

, ;I>,-: - .. i.,!,;'. l . < . s . : - * , ; + - . :.I*Y,:::wiy he met a gantess who told 1Gm

k o d was a dog-wise and dangerous giant.

1, -Shegave Thor her gloves and staff and beltk&f strength.Soon Thor reached a wide river. He put onIbis belt of strength'and plunged into the water.5 , When he reached the middle of the river, the&waveswent over his shoulders.' Thor looked up and sawthat Geirrod's daughter

&is making the waves with her hand. He threw& stone and drove her away.m e n he reached the bank and caught a branch

drew himself out of the water.Thor reached Geirrod's house he was

by himself. There was only onek Thor sat in the chair. Suddenly it was lifted&o the roof. He raised his staff and pressedf &st the roof with all his strength.e"g,


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38 THOR AND GEIRROD.

The chair fell to the floor. Two of Geirrod'sdaughters had been sitting under it.Soon Geirrod sent a servant to invite Thor tocome and see games.Great fires burned all down the hall. ?ThenThor came near Geirrod, the giant seized a pieceof iron and threw it a t Thor.Thor caught i t in his iron gloves and raised hisarm to throw it a t Geirrod.Geirrod ran behind a post. Thor hurled theron. It went through the post and throughGeirrod, and through the mall into the groundoutside.Thor took the gloves and staff and belt backto the giantess.

He never went anywhere without hia hammer .again.> 7


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- THE APPLES OF IDUN. . -.-. 90-

T H E APPLES OE' ~ u N .ONCEOdin and Loke were traveling together.&ey came to a field where a herd of black-hornedk ~ nere grazing. They were very hungry, so

bey killed one of the oxen..; aB ut they tried in vain to cook the meat. Ittayed raw in spite of the hottest fire they couldnake.A huge eagle flew to a tree near them and~ l l e d , I will make the fire burn if you wi l l share6 th me."T he gods were very glad to do anything'that? o d d give them food. So they promised tohare with the eagle.I n a short time the meat was cooked. Theagle flew down and laid hold' of half of it.Loke was angry and struck the eagle with alole. To his surprise, the pole stuck fast, and heo d d not let i t go.


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40 THE APPLE8 OF IDUX.He was dragged over rocks and bushes untilhe begged for mercy.Then the eagle changed into the renownedgiant, Thjasse. The giant said he would not letLoke go until he promised to deliver Idun andher apples into his hands.Half dead with fright, Loke promised. Buthe did not know how he could keep hispromise.Idun kept the apples in a strong box. Eve7day she gave some of them to the gods.When Loke returned he told her he had seenmuch finer apples thanhersjust outside of Asgard.Idun wished to compare her apples with thoseLoke had seen. So she took the box and wentwith him.As soon as they were outside Thjasse came inshape of an eagle. He carried Idun and herapples to Jotunheim. . .Soon the gods found themselves' growing oldand gray because they had no apples to eat.When they inquired, they found that Lokewas at the bottom of the mischief as ixsual.The gods threatened to k . oke if he did notbring back Idun and her apples.Loke was frightened. He borrowed Freyja'sfaleon plumage and flew to Jotunheijn.Thjasse was out fishing. Loke changed Idun '


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42 THE BUILDING OF THE ASGARD FORT.- . .;-3 -. L -

T H E BUILDING O F T H E ASGARD FORT.THE ods feared that the frost giants wouldinvade. Asgard while Thor was away fightingmonsters.Often they spoke together of the danger.One day Loke advised them to hire a workmanwhom he knew, to build a fort strong enough to

keep out the frost giants.The gods listened to him, although they knewhe seldom gave good advice.The workman was brought into Asgard. Verystrange wages he demanded. H e said he wouldbuild the fort if they would give him Freyja, orthe sun and moon, when i t was finished..The gods agreed to this. But they said heshouId have nothing if the fort were not finishedby the first day of summer.The workman said he would do the work if hecould have Svadilfare, his horse,.to draw the stones.

On the first day of winter he began the work,and worked night and day. A t this the godswere frightened. They feared the fort wouldbe finished on the first day of summer. Sure


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44 - . - LOXE'S PUNISHMENT . -. . -. . - ., . ' ..,.-. ., ., .- , - .. , . < . , . . . ., - . .. . A . ,.-,


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46 LOKEG PUNISHMENT.

sat upon his throne and saw Loke's hidingplace.one day Loke wove a net like the one he haonceborrowedfrom Ran, thesea-god's d e . Juscoming. He threw the net into the fire anplunged into the stream.But the gods saw the shape of the net in theashes and wove onelike it. When it was finishedthey held it by the ends and dragged'it throughthe water.Then Loke hid between two stones and thenet passed over him. The god8 felt that some:thing living had touched the net, and the n e tt h e they'weighted it so heavily that Lake codidnot slip under it.This time he leaped over the net. The godstried again and Thor waded in the middle ofthe stream. As Loke tried to leap over, Thorcaught him. He was so s1;ppery that he almostslid through Thor's hands. But Thor g-rwpedhis tail tightly and he could not escape.Then Loke was bound, so that he couid never'loose himself, but his wife was allowed to bringhim food and water. So he was punished for hismany evil deeds.


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GERD.on O h ' s throne

B e y wbs done in the palaoe,n the throne aad looked over into

e he saw a maiden come out of a low,ouse. As she walked down the pathway, 'became clearer and warmer. The emthed and grew green. When ah>wenti+-.door, the light faded, and tki

I ,


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- .GERD. : - -

Then Skirner said if he could have Frey'shorse and sword, he would ride through theflame wall, kill the watch-dogs and bring Gerd to

When the dogs saw him, they set up a fierce- howling. B u t Skirner quieted them with Frey'sGerd heard the noise outside and sent a serv-ant to see what i t was. The servant said anarmed warrior stood a t the door. 'B u t Gerd knew he must be a god, or he czouldnot have passed the flame wall. So she bade theservant bring him in and give him food and drink.As soon as Skirner saw Gerd, he took from

Then Skirner took out a magic wand and wavedit over the maiden. As he waved th e wand, he


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60 - * THE SONG MEAD.

OWE there lived on earth a poet, who sangsongs so beautiful that all created things werecharmed by them.Two hill trolls, who hated the poet-because hewas noble and good, invited him to their homeunder ground and there killed him.They caught his blood in two cups and mixedit with honey and made mead. If' any mandrank the mead i t would make him a poet too.But the trolls hid it in a dark place and wouldgive i t to no one.One day the 'trolls enticed a giqt' into ,a boatwith them, and drowned him. When his %ife8

Suttung, the son of the giant, came to see whaDthreatened to kill the trolls.T o save their lives, they gave him the preoioussong mead. Suttang tobk it home and put it in-


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- -.--

nk the mead. So he made


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52 THE SOaVG MEAD. .of the cellar. Bauge pretended to have boredthrough. B u t when Odin blew into the hole,the chips flew into his face.Bauge bored again. This t ime the chips flewth e other way. Then Odin changed himself intoa worm and crept through. Before Gunlad knewhe was there, he had drunk every drop of themead.After drinking the mead, Odin, with all hispower could not remain a worm. H e changedat once to a beautiful bird, and flew away.When he reached Asgard, he sang such songs asthe gods had never heard.


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GEIREOD. 63

GEIRROI).ns of a giant, strayedAsgard. They were too young to know the'back to their home.

and called them their sons. Odin oared

eirrod and prove ,&a$it wa~i ot bqe . So

giving him a seat at the table and a


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I .- -For eight days the old man was silent, al-though no food was given him. H e had noteven any water, but once when Aganor, Geirrod$son, ran in and gave him a little cupful.At last the fire became so hot that it burned

Then suddenly he began to sing a wonderful- - song in a deep and musical voice. Geirrod knew.- a t once that it was Odin.In his despair, he slew himself with his sword.-- - T he little Aganor, who had pitied the strahger,. - became king in his place.

.i: ---- *-

-:,.-:c


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, ANDVARE'S GOLDEN RINU. . 55

ANDVARE'S GOLDEN RING .-- - , .TJ . $ ,-


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ANDVARE'S GOLDEN Z INC .

was the richest of all dwarfs. He was also thewariest of all dwarfs. He changed himself intoa fish and hid in the water.

But Loke borrowed a net from Ran, the sea-god's wife, and caught him.

When Andvare found that hecould not escape,he gave up all his gold but one little ring. Thishe tried to hide under his arm. Loke took itaway from him. The dwarf begged to have itgiven back. He said if he!had the ring, he couldmake more gold ; but, without it, he could'do

he cursed the gold, and said it would always bringtrouble to its owner.

Loke carried the gold to Odin. Odin Elled theB otter skin and covered it, but kept the ring.. When the-farmer looked he found one hair that%-. was not covered, Odin puf the ring


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..!BIGUBD THE VOLSUNG. : .: ,.i-'.$. 57, * .. - - . , - L --*". 7.--.iZL

: ;- *--,G-.. -'.L -:

" . =- ..: --.-.- .- - : > , - . -*+,,>.-? -. , -:. ., ,,* .- - -;.,. -. .. .:\ .', .. :.. -* ,+ ,k;+::-?:-, ~ , . -*.Y+. -. . . . > .-- -

SIGURD THE VOLSUNG.ONE ule-tide, King Volsung entertained hisfriends and vassals. All down the great hall

of. T h i was called Odin's tree.the ale horns passed around, and the hall re-nded with the laughter of the warriors, a tallold man strode in with a sword in his hand.With one blow he drove the sword into theroof-tree up to the hilt. Then he exclaimed, H ewho draws out this sword shall have it as a gif tme, and he wil l find that he has neverh that he strode out, and no man dared ask

that it was Odin himself.


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SIGURD THE VOLSGNB . 5 ' - -" 59When Sigmund, King Volsung's son, touchedthe sword it was so loose that he drew it out with

no effort.Afier many years Sigmund was slain in battle

and the sword was broken._ But the pieces werekept by Sigmund's son, who was called Sigurdthe Volsung.

SffprdyeShield

Sigurd waB the bravest and strongest man inthe world.His eyes'were so keen that few men dared gaze

gij him. Ris hair was golden and hung downper his shoulders, which were as broad as tworhen's shoulders.

His shield was of burnished gold with a dragon


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- .

SIGURD THE VOLSUNG.

upon it. All his armor was of gold,piece had upon it a dragon likethe dragon upon the shield.When Fafner went away withthe gold that had been given byOdin for the death of the, otter,he changed himsel into a greatdragon and lay on Gnita Heathguarding the treasure.Regin knew that he was notstrong enough to kill the dragon,so he made a long journey to theland of a wise king to ask his ad-vice. The wise king sent him toSigurd the Volsung.Regin told the Volsung of thehoard, and Sigurd vowed to killthe dragon.

From Odin he received thegood horse Gran, and only neededa sword sharp and strong enoughto pierce the dragon's horny skin.Regin made a sword, but whenSigurd struck it upon the anvil itbroke. Regin madeanotherswordand this also Sigurd broke.Of the pieces of the old sword ~itt-d'es~Ordwhich Odin had given to his father, Sigurd bade


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-

SIGURD THE VOL SUNG . 61, Regin make a new sword. When the sword was.finished Sigurd cleft the anvil from top to bottom

Then he went to a river and held the sword in. the water.' A piece of wool floated against it and

- .was cut in twain.Sigurd mounted Gran, and taking the wonder-rd, rode to Gnita Heath where lay the

!.- When Fafner heard him coming, he tried to-: creep away into the water, bu t Sigurd lay ill ahollow in'the grqund and pierced him with thesword as h,&$a&d overThen Regin came and refused to share thegold with Sigurd as he had promised. WhenSigurd demanded his share, Regin spoke smoothly,- but ip his heart he meant to kill him.Regin bade the Volsung roast the dragon's

-.heart for him. While Sigurd was roasting theheart lie burned his fingers. Putting them intohis mouth, some of the dragon's blood touchedhis tongue. A t once he understood the songs ofbirds. "Regin means to kill you," sang the birdsin the tree-tops. " Cut off his head and eat thedragon's heart ourself ."Then Sigurd killed Regin and ate the heart.Immediately he heard two eagles overhead talkingtogether., .. -. :

, - -


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62 SIGURD THE VOL SUNG .They spoke of a castle on a mountain-top sux- .rounded by blazing flames.Within the castle slept a maiden whom Odinhad pricked with the magic sleep thorn. "Nohorse but Gran," they said, "will go throughthe fire wall, and no man but Sigurd is allowed

to wake th e maiden."Sigurd followed the dragon's track until hecame to its den. There he found the treasure intwo chests. H e put the chests on Gran's back, .but Gran would not move until Sigurd mounted.him.Sigurd rode until he came to a mountain. At%'-the top was a flickering light as of fire, and t hflames shone upon the sky.A s Sigurd rode through the flame wall he saw 'a castle. H e went into the castle and tlzere layan armed knight asleep. When he took off the =

helmet h e saw that the knight was a woman,Then, with his wonderful sword, he cut off the 'maiden's armor.She awoke and said, "W ho is this who daresto wake me from the magic sleep ? "Sigurd told his name, and the maiden said shemas Brynhilda. Sigurd stayed three days. Whenhe left he gave Brynhilda Andvare's golden ring,not knowing there was a curse upon it.Then he traveled southward with the treasure- '


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aG30f a king called Guike. This kingdaughter whose name was Gud-W hen the queen saw Sigurd she was pleasedwith his beauty and strength, and wished him toOne night, when the warriors were feasting; shegave him a cup of magic drink which made himforget Brjwhilda. Soon he married Gudrun andno longer remembered that he had ever seenAfter a time, Gunnar, the king's son, heard ofBrynhilda an'd wished her for his wife. Bryn-hilda had sworn to wed the man who would ridetlirough tho wavering fire around her castle.She swore this vow, because she was sure nohorse b u t Gran would go through the fire, andthat Gran would not move unless Sigurd rodeGunnar tried to ride through the fire, b u t hishorse shrank back. Then he mounted Gran, bu tGran would not move a step. Then the queengave Sigurd a magic drink which made him lookSigurd mounted Gran, and the good horse

'plunged into the fire. The flames blazed upto the sky. B ut as Sigurd rode on the flicker-ing fire wall sank and soon he came to Brynhilda..- ... -- .' . .

- 1. - - .


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64 8IUURD THE VOLSUNG.Brynhilda was sad because it was Gunnar and notSigurd.

After three days Sigurd took Andvare's goldenring and went back, and the queen changed himinto his own likeness again.

Then Brynhilda became Gunnar's wife, be-1

cause she had sworn t o wed the man who wouldride through the fire. ,One day, Gudrun told Brynhilda that it was

Sigurd who had ridden throu.gh the flames andnot Gunnar. Brynhilda reproached Gunnar un-til he threatened to have her chained.

Then she opened the door of her bower wideand wept and wailed until Gudrun begged Sigurdto give her gold to quiet her.

When Sigurd went into the bower, Brynhilda1

lay upon a couch, and he remembered that it washe who had awakened her from hey magic sleep.

When Sigurd remembered Brynhilda he wishedto take her and go away to her castle. ButGunnar had him killed while he slept. WhenBrynhilda saw that Sigurd was dead, she killedherself with the same sword.

Gudrun mourned many years for Sigurd. Atlast her two brothers gave her a cup of magic idrink and she forgot him, and becamethe wife of ,King Atli, the brother of Brynhilda.

Atli was angry because of Brynhilda's death.


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SIQURD THE VOLSUNG. 65

Besides, he wanted the gold which Gunnar hadtaken when Sigurd was killed. So he sent Gunnaran invitation to come to visit Gudrun.Gudrun, knowing that Atli meant to kill herbrother, sent him word not to come. B ut hene'ver received the message.When Gunnar came into Atli's palace, he sawmany armed men. Atli said, " Give me the gold-en hoard which by right belongs to Gudrun."Gunnar refused, and Atli's knights sprang uponhim and his men.Atslast only Gunnar and his brother were left

live. The brother was tortured to death, but hewould not tell where the hoard was kept.Then Gunnar's hands were tied and he wascast into a den of serpents. Gudruil brought hima harp, and he played upon it so sweetly with histoes that all the serpents but one were charmedto sleep. This one, a great adder, crept uponhim and stung him to death.Gunnar had hidden the hoard in the Rhine andno man could find it. I n revenge for the deathof her kindred, Gudrun killed Atli and his tw osons and burned the castle.

Thus Andvare's words came true, and the goldbrought only trouble to its possessor.5

7- ;-.. - - -- I , -7;;-,:--A.


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IN he Northland, among the mountains, livedHilding, a vassal of King Bele. Wi th him livedIngeborg, the daughter of the king, and Frithiof,the son of Thorsten Vikingsson. Thorsten Vi-kingsson was King Bele's best friend and bravestwarrior.The people of the Northland had many ene-. mies, who came in ships. They burned the 'houses and the harvests, slew the men, and c a rried the women and children away captive.King Bele and Thorsten Vikingsson were a1ways fighting battles with them on the land oidriving them across the sea to their own country.So ithi hi of and Ingeborg were sent away intothe mountains to live with old Hilding, wherethey would be safe.All day long the two children wandered throughthe forest. Frithiof held the little Ingeborg'shand and led her along the rough paths.As they sat on the ground close beside the tinybrook, they heard the soft, sweet notes of th e

* = - . .


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FRITHIOF.

So the days passed quickly. Frithiof grew

that he slew a bear and laid the great beast at .On winter evenings they sat by the fire and

heard the little elves of the hearthstone, whoteachlthe wind how to sing in the chimney.

While Ingeborg embroidered with gold andsilver thread, Frithiof read noble sagas of thegods and their chosen heroes.

But King Bele and Thorsten Vikingsson grewold and feared to die of old age and not enterValhallh. So Frithiof and the king's two sons,


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FRITHIOF.

Bele and Thorsten Vikingsson,leaning upon their swords.Many words of wisdom theyspoke to the young men whowere to take their places.

On a day when the sea ,shone in the sunlight, and thewhite-capped mountains glib

$ered like gold, King Beleand Thorsten Vikingssonstood upon the deck oftheir dragon-ship and slewthemselves with their


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FRITHIOF. 69

the waves as the dead heroes hadHelge and Halfden became kings of the North-land and Frithiof went to his father's house.There he found many treasures.One was a sword with a hilt of beaten gold.

On the blade were magic runes. I n time ofpeace the runes were dull, bu t in-battle theyglowed like fire. No man might meet this swordin fight and live.Another treasure was a golden arm-ring. Thering -had'once been stolen by a pirate. H e car-ried it away to his own country. There, whenhe g r e p old, he had himself and his comradesburied alive with his dragon-ship in a great tomb.King Bele and Thorsten Vikingsson followedhim and looked into the tomb. There they sawthe dragon-ship with the sails set for sailing andthe spirit of the dead pirate on the deck. Thor- - 'sten Vikingsson entered and fought with thespirit and took away the arm-ring.T he gteatest treasure of all was the dragon-ship Ellida. The prom was a dragon's headwith golden jaws, and the stern a dragon's tail

th silver scales. T he dragon's wings were thesails.T he ship could sail so fast that the swiftestbird was left behind.


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FBITHIOF.

A long time before one of Frithiof's ancestorshad befriended a sea-god. As he came in to -shore, he saw the wreck of a ship. On it sat anold man with sea-green hair and foam-whitebeard.The viking took the old man home; but a t bed--time, he set sail on the mreck, saying he had ahundred miles to sail that night.

ELLIDA.

Before he went he told the viking to look onthe sea-shore next morning for a gift of thanks.A t dawn next day the viking stood upon theshore and looked seaward. There he beheldEllida sailing straight toward land with not aman on board. .-CThese three treasures had belonged to Frith-


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FRITHIOF. 71

iof's family longer than any man could remem-ber, and they were famons throughout the land.Ftithiof made a banquet for Helge and Half-

den and Ingeborg. As he sat at the table besideIngeborg, tliey spoke together of the time whenthey were children. Almost they forgot thatFrithiof was a man a full head taller than KingHelge, and that Ingeborg was no longer a littlemaiden. *

.when the feast was over and Ingeborg went,she seemed to take the sunshine with her. ThenFrithiof longed so much for his old playmate,that' he -went to King Helge and asked to haveher for his wife.

But King Helge fo;rgot the wish of his father.He'answered Frithiof in scorn, and said his sisterwould'be given to no man but a king.

Frithiof replied not a word. But he drew hismagic sword with the flaming runes upon theblade: With one blow he cleft in twain KingHelge's golden shield where it hung upon a tree.Then he turned and went to his own house.

After a time King Ring, the ruler of a countryacross the sea, sent messengers to ask for Inge-borg. The messengers brought gifts of gold.With them came many scalds with goldenharps.

But Helge and Halfden refused to send Inge-


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72 FRITHIOF.borg. Halfden sent a scornful message tellingKing Ring to come himself and ask.When King Ring heard the message he smotewith his sword on his shield as it hung on a treebefore the door. All his vassals were called to-gether, and they set out in their dragon-ships to

."+ make war on Helge and Halfden.T he tw o kings sent old Hilding to ask Frithiofto help them against King Ring. B u t Frithiofreplied that they had dishonored him, and that hewould not be their friend.Ingeborg was sent to live in Balder's temple, sothat she might be safe. There Frithiof foundher and begged her to go away with him, saying- that he would defend her with his sword until hefell dead in battle. B u t Ingeborg would not go.Then Frithiof went to Icing Helge and offered tobe his friend, if he would allow Ingeborg to behis wife. A thousand warriors who heard h i 9beat applause upon their shields with theirswords.B ut Helge would not listen. He said tha t ifFrithiof wished to be his vassal he must go awayto a distant land and collect tribute from Jar1

, Argantyr, who had refused to pay.Frithiof hurried tobegged Ingeborg to godragon-ship Ellida waited


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But Ingeborg would not go. She told Frithiofto be patient and go away and collect the tribute,as was his duty.Then Frithiof gave her the golden arm-ringleft him by his father and went away alone inEllida.Bub King Helge stood upon the shore andpraye$ the storm fiends to send a tempest. Soonthe wind began to blow, and Ellida leaped fromwave to wave like a living thing.Frithiof climbed upon a mast and looked outacrbss th e water. There he saw the storm fiends.

One rode upon a whale and was like a white bear.The other was like an eagle.Frithiof called to Ellida, and she turned andsmote'the whale so that it died, and the whitebear was drowned. With his magic sword,Frithiof slew the eagle and the storm wasended.Soon they came in sight of the island whereJa'rl Argantyr lived. His house stood uponthe shore. A watchman paced up and downthe sands. Ja r l Argantyr and his vassals feastedwithin.

When the watchman called that a ship waslanding, J a r l Argantyr looked out. He knewEllida a t once and saw that Frithiof stood uponthe deck. I < . . -a ..


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74 FRITHIOF.Atle, one of his vassals, seized his sword and

shield and rushed down to the sea-shore. Therehe and,Frithiof fought upon the sand. At thefirst blow both the shields were cleft from top tobottom, and Atle's sword was broken.

Prithiof threw down his sword and the twowarriors wrestled together. Soon Atle was overcome and lay upon the sand with Frithiof's kneeupon his breast.

Then Frithiof said, "If I had my sword, youshould feel its sharp edge and die." Atle repliedthat he would lie still while Frithiof went for hissword.

When Frithiof returned, he found Atle lyingupon the ground awaitingdeath. But he thoughtit a shame to kill so brave a man. So he gavcAtle his hand, and they went into Jarl Argantyr'fhouse together.

Jarl Argantyr sat in a silver chair high abovcthe others. His robe was of purple trimmed withermine. His golden armor hung on the wallbehind him.

Oil the table before him stood a deer roastedwhole. The deer's hoofs were gilded and raisedas if to leap. Before the Jarl stood scalds andharpers, who sang of the deeds of heroes.

Jarl Argantyr welcomed Frithiof and asked hiserrand. When Frithiof told why he had come


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FRITHIOE 75

the Ja r l said he was not King Helge's vassal, andhe wbuld not pay the tribute unless King Helgecollected it with his sword.Frithiof stayed until spring. Then Ja r l Argan-t Y rgave him a purse of gold and he returned tohie home. There he found his house and hisforest burned.

A s he stood among the ruins, his falcon cameand perched upon his shoulder. H is dog leapedup to lick his hand, and his snow-white war-horsecame and touched his cheek gently with its softlips.' Soon old Hilding came and told him tha t KingRing had overcome King Helge and wasted th eland.To save his kingdom, King Helge had givenInieborg to K ing Ring. A t the wedding KingHelge took Frithiof's arm-ring from his sister andput it upon the statue of Balder.Frithiof hurried to th e temple. There he sawthe priests with the king among them. In amoment he stood before Helge and dashed thepurse of gold into his face. T h e king fell to thefloor. Frithiof tore the arm-ring from the statue.T he statue fell into the fire on the altar, and ina moment th e temple was burning.Frithiof sailed away in Ellida once more.Helge followed him with ten ships. B u t the


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FRITHIOE.

his hall feasting with his vassals. An old marwrapped-in a bearskin entered so$tly and took aseat near the door. .

The guests whispered together and looked a%.the.old man vith a smile. At that he s&ed 'one of them and shook him until all were

stranger sprang from his seat and threw -off thebearskin.' And there stood Frithiof dressed id ;Ivelvet as blue as the sky, and with a s&er beltaround his waist. His long golden hair fa inwaves over his broad shoulders.


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a clang. Every warrior at the rtoara sprang upand swore to protect the noble Frithiof's life.King Ring could not help himself, sohe invited

Frithiof to stay and feast with them.Ingeborg brought him food with her own

hands, and all night long they sang and feasted.So Frithiof stayed, and King Ring grew to lovehim as a son.

-SoonKing Ring was slain, and his little sonbecame king of the land. All the vassalsbeggedQithiof to stay and rule the kingdom until theboy grew older., But Frithiof went northward to his own landto make atonement for the burning of Balder's

temple.As he came near the place, he-saw a phantom

temple like the temple that had been-burned.At the door stood Skuld poin&g to a shadowytemple far more beautiful than the old one.Frithiof knew that the gods meant him tobuild anothty temple. This he did. The newtemple was so beautiful that it was like the hallsg f ~ a & a l k When it was finished, FrithiofBhtered and heard the songs of the white-robedvalas, arid histbeart grew soft.*Phea an old priest told him that the godsloTedsuch gifts as given, but they lovedbetter a And Prithiof heard


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with reverence th e wise words of th e aged man,and forgave King Helge, who was now dead.Th en he went to Halfden and offered his handin friendship, and the young king welcomed himas a brother.As they spoke together, Ingeborg entered.Frithiof asked once more to have her fo r his wife,and K in g Halfden gave her gladly.Frithiof built another house, where his old onehad stood, and Ingeborg came into it bringingthe sunshine with her. Then Frithiof was ashappy with his old playmate as he had been inthe days when he took the little maiden by thehand and led her over the*roughplaces.


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KING OLAP:

KING OLAF. .k GREAT armyof men came into the Northland.They overcame all the warriors of that land,

killed the kilig, and took possession of the king-dom.T b queen fled away through the mountains

with her little son, to the home of one of her oldvassals. .But soon the sokdiers came to find and kill thelittle prince. Again the queen fled, but herenemies always found her.At last she was afraid t o stay in any part of

her own country. So she sailed away to anotherland.On the way the ship was attacked by pirates.The little prince was taken and sold as a slave. .

One day the king of the country in which hewas a slave saw him and bought him. He wasgiven to the queen for a page.The little Olaf was brave and handsome. Theking had no son, so he made the little slavehis son.Olaf was taught to be courteous and truthful.

He was trained to fight with sword and spear.


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KING OLAF. 81~ e 'ould hunt, and skate, and swim, and walkon snow-shoes.

When he was at sea, he could run outside theship oh the oars. He could stand on the shiprail when the sea was .the roughest.

He could use his sword w$h either hand andthrow two spears at once.When he was grown to be a man, the kinggave him ships and an army so that he might goand get back his kingdom.

At that same time another king was going witha great army to conquer Olaf's kingdom.

Olaf went into the church to pray for a bless-ing on his journey. While he was praying, oneo%his warriors hurried in .to tell him that theother king had set sail.

But Olaf ' would not go until he had finished -his prayer. Then he set sail. He could see theships far ahead.

f Soon they came in sight of Olaf's kingdom.Olaf prayed the sea to roll over the land

and make a shorter way for him.The sea swept over the land and Olaf sailed

on. As the water covered the ground, the hill-trolls ran out and cursed him.Olaf said, " Be turned into stones till I return."

The trolls changed to pebbles and rolled down?= d -- .- - -- . f .-


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ceivecl .him gladly. They made him king anclrove oak the army that had come against tlle

swung open. On the doorstep stood a tall man$rapped in s blue cloak.3 King Olaf called the siranger to sit Besidchim. All night long he told them ~ o n c l e ~ f ~ 1 1

I n the morning the guest was gone. T hedoors were locked. The guard liad seen noThen th e king and his men whispered, "Itwas Odin himself ."

When Olaf came into 11is kingdom, he deter-. .-: . ,- - I ' . -.- -,. , . -,


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EIiVG OLAF.

Olaf and his men rushed in and overcame Ran dthe Strong before he was awake.Then they sailed southward taking his dragon-ship with them. Never had such a ship beenseen in th e kingdom.B ut Olaf wanted a finer ship. He.called Thor-beill Skafting, the master-builder, and told himto build a dragon-ship twice as wide and -twiceas long.Thorberg Skafting whistled and sang for joy.His %en too laughed and sang when they heardhim.

All day long they hammered and hewed. T h eoise sounded like music to Thorberg Skaft-ing.A t last the ship was finished, and Olaf and hiswarriors came to see it.W hen they came into th e shipyard th e work-men stood staring. Some one had cu t th e sidesof the ship from end to end.T h e king's face grew red with anger and hevowed to kill the man who did the deed.Th orberg S kafting smiled and said, " I am the,an." Then he smoothed th e sides of th e shipuntil Olaf said she was more beautiful than be-fore.The ship was bright with gilding, and thefigurehead was a golden dragon.


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81 XING OLAF.Olaf named her the Long Serpent. H e sailedthe sea in the Long Serpent many years. Noking was strong enough to overcome him inbattle.Bu t a t last three kings came against hima t once. Olaf. sailed with his fleet to meetthem.When he came in sight he ordered his sails t obe struck so that his ships could not sail away.H e lashed his ships three together and let themdrift toward the enemy.Then he ordered his warhorns to be played4$the music sounded far out across the water.King Olaf stood on the front of the ship.shield and his armor were of gold and he carriedhis bow and arrows in his hand.A sailor said, "The Long Serpent lies too far

ahead: W e will have too hard a fight." . .Olaf drew his bow to shoot him, but thesailor said. "Shoot a t the enemy. You needme."When the ships of the enemy struck againstOlaf's ships, Eric, one of the three kings, cut theropes t h a t bound Olaf's ships together and theydrifted apart.Einar, one of Olaf's warriors, aimed all hisarrows a t K ing Eric. But held his shield in

. - .-;.;.y; .;,


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alled one of his men to shoot th e brave bow-A n arrow broke Einar's bow in his hands, butOlaf said, '' Take my bow and shoot Eric."

Einar drew th e arrow over its head the $sthe bent the bow.

Al+day long th e battle raged until the decwere red, and Olaf's ships were only wrecks.Then Eric's men boarded them.Olaf stood on the deck with the spears flyingAs Eric's men rushed across the deck, Olaf's

captain sprang to his side and held his shieldin front of the king.

ship. Eric's men only saw the flash of theirgolden hair. Then they were gone, and therewas nothing left but two shields floating on the..water.The people thought that Olaf stripped off his

_ ' -..A*- ,-1-,. - T1.. Lj,: 8 .. , I _


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KING OLAF.

armor as he swam beneath the water, and that 'some time h e would come again.B ut h e never came back, and the people called -him St. Olaf.

ST. OLAF.


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SIEGFlr'IED WIT11 THE BORNP SKIN. 87

' SIEGFRIEDWITH THE HORNY SKIN.IN a great forest lived a blacksmith. With him

lived a boy called Siegfried.e knew who Siegfried's father and motherwere. One day when the smith was returningfrom a journey, he found a baby lying on a bed' :of leaves under a tree.' The baby smiled and reached out his iittle

E hands, and the smith carried him home. And: - very pleasant and bright the little boy made the: onely hut for many years, and the smith loved

, him as his own son. ried was grown t o bs a manto hunt. There he found's trail and followed it until he lost him-

As he wandered about, trying to find his wayho rode a coal-black horseand wore a glittering crown.#he dwarf told Siegfried that he mas near thesaid, had carried away thetiful Princess Kriemhild and held her captive.he dwarf to go with him t o


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88 SIEGFRIED WITH THE HORNY SEIN.

it was to guard the gateway.

him. B ut Siegfried threw the giant over a steep -rock and killed him.

she saw Siegfried's broad shoulders and brave

Jus t as they were ready to go, a roar was heard. ..T he mountain trembled, and thedragon appeared

monster. T he dragon breathed out fire until therocks were red hot.

and Siegfried hewed him to pieces.

Then he bathed himself in the melted skin so


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SIEGFRIED WITFI THE HORNY SEIN. 8 ,tween-his shoulders, and one spot was left where asword might enter.Within the mountain lived the dwarf Siegfriedhad met. Wi th him lived his two brothers.While Siegfried was fighting with the dragon,the dwarfs carried out their gold. They fearedthat -the whole mountain would be melted.Siegfried seized the treasure because he thoughtit had, belonged to the dragon. This gold wascalled the Nibelung Hoard because it had belongedto old King Nibelung, the father of the threedwarrs.

Siegfried took Kriemhild back to her father'skingdom. There he was welcomed by the king.Kriemhild was given to him as his wife.For many years he remained there, and he be-came the greatest hero in the kingdom. T heking's three sons became jealous of him, bu t theycould not kill him. because no sword could piercehis skin.Kreimhild alone knew of the spot between hisshoulders. She told the secret to Hagen, herbrother's vassal, because she thought he was Sieg-fried's friend and begged him to shield herhusband in battle. I -Hagen told her to embroider a little cross onSiegfried's clothing over the spot, that he mightbetter know how to protect him.


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- *.'L.90 ' SIEGFRIED 1TTTII THE HORNY SKIN.

Then Hagen hurried to the three brothers withthe tale. One of them ordered a great hunt andinvited Siegfried.When the hunt was over they all sat upon t h eground to rest. Siegfried called for water. Hagensaid no water had been brought, bu t he knewwhere there was a spring.Then Siegfried asked to be directed to thespring. Hagen said, I have heard that you arethe swiftest runner in the land." Siegfried re-plied, "Let us all run a race to the spring."T h e others laid aside their heavy armor. Sieg-fried kept his on, b u t he reached the spring first. iAs he stooped to drink Hagen drove a spearthrough the little cross. Siegfried sprang up, :and seizing his shield beat Hagen almost to death.Then Siegfried fell dead himself.

Kriemhild cared nothing for the gold after Sieg-fried's death. T o prevent her from giving it tothe poor, Hagen hid it in the Rhine, and no maliever saw it again.

31t,


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GUDRUN.' .. A LONG time ago, in a land near the ocean,there lived a king called Sigeband. H e was a veryrich and powerful king and had many knights

, Often he held tournaments, so tha t his lmightsmight show their skill in the use 03 smord andspew and battle-ax.Once he held a tournament that lasted a week.' Hagen, the king's little son, who was some dayto be king of the land, ran about among the' horses and knights.I Ie looked a t the sharp swords and shiningheard the jingling of the golden- spurs. H e saw the gay plumes on the helmets. and wished t ha t he too were a man.

He patted the shining coats of the war-horsesand was never tired looking a t them.One day he forgot to follow the men into thepalace. There was a feast that day, and no onesaw that th e little boy had not come in.T h e king and queen sat at the middle of the

. table. On either hand sat long rows of knights.All were jesting and laughing.


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Suddenly the windows were darkened as if a j,cloud had come over the sun. A roar tha t shookthe palace sounded through the air.Out rushed the knights with their swords intheir hands. T he king and queen followed them.They saw that a huge gr%n was carrying away

the little prince.It was too late to do anything. T he braveknights could only look after the little Hagen.T he king and queen went away sadly becausethey never expected to see their son again.T he griffin carried Hagen to an island far outin the ocean and gave him to its young ones forfood. qAs one of the young griffins hopped ahou ina tree it dropped the little boy. H e hid in thebushes and the griffins could not find him.

At night he foknd a cave. In the cave therewere three maidens who had been carried awayby the g r a n .They were older than Hagen, and took care ofhim until he was old enough to take care of them.One day while the grifEins were away, Hagenwent down to the sea-shore. There he found thata ship had been vrecked.

A dead knight lay upon the sand. Hagentook off the knight's armor and put it upon him-..self. :. .:2,;.,t+:


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. sword that it fell dead. Very soon he slew the.q. shore and matched all day for a ship. After along time a ship came for water.

At first the sailors were afraid to land. They- thought the three maidens were mermaids becausethey were dressed in seaweed.JIagen begged them to come ashore and showed- them the armor and the sword. Then they were

not afraid.t The commander of the ship gave them beauti-- fu l clothes when he heard that their fathers-+ mere kings. B u t he was a t war with Hagen's,- father. So he wished to keep the young mand. prisoner.

.. Hagen ordered the sailors to sail to his home.; -- .-


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GUDRUN. 95

They sent Hagen a war-horse as a gift. T othe queen and the princess they sent silks andjewels.T he queen called them into the palace to thankthem. There they saw the beautiful princessHilde.

After that they were permitted to stay in thepalace.One evening Horant sang. So sweet was hisvoice, that the night had passed before theyknew it.. ,When the sun rose, the birds were quiet to

- hear him. The cattle left their pasture and cameinto the palace yard. T he fish swam to the edge, of the fountain.The next day Hilde called the young man to\ sing to her alone. Then he told her that King +Hetel wished her for his wife.

Hilde said she would go if Horant promisedto sing to her every day. Horant told her thatKing Hetel had twelve better singers than hewas, and that the king could sing most sweetlyof all.In a short time the knights were ready to go

back to their own country.W at went to King Hagen to say good-bye.H e asked the king to let Hilde go on boardthe ship before they started. This the king


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96 GUDRUN.allowed, because he never refused h k daughteranything.Everything was ready. As soon as Hilde wason board, they set sail.Swiftly they sailed, bu t Hagen followed themas swiftly. The day after they landed Hagen'sships came in sight.Hetel's army went down to the shore to meetthem. Hagen was so angry that he sprang intothe water and all his army followed him.A fierce battle was fought. Both th e kingswere wounded. Then Hilde begged them tostop fighting, and they became friends for her 3sake.King Hetel had two children, a boy and a girl.The boy was called Ortwein and the girl Gu$u~i.Gudrun was even more beautiful than hermother. King Hetel would not allow her to be-come the wife of any king in all that land. H ethought no one was good enough for her.Three kings, Siegfried of Moorland, Herwig ofSeeland, and Hartmut of Normandy, came to askfor her. King Hetel refused them all.Herwig returned to his home, but he came backto Hetel's kingdom with three thousand knights.A battle was fought by the castle gate. Heteland Herwig fought hand to hand.Gudrun saw the fight from her window. She


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For her sake they became friends. Hetel prom-ised to give Gudrun to Herwig.A s soon as Siegfried of Moorland heard of this,

,When Herwig could fight no longer, he sent'King Hetel went with his army and left only aw knights to guard the castle.Har tmut of Normandy heard of this and cameHetel's kingdom with a great army.

il to Normandy with all his warriors.Hartmut's army came down to meet them. A

A t last Hetel was killed. The Hegelings went

away and their king killed.Gudrun lived in the castle with Hartmut's


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98 G UDRUN.

After a time Hartmut's mother grew angryand did not treat her as a princess.Gudrun was made to do work like a servant.All th e maidens who were taken with her wereset to spinning flax and weaving cloth.Gudrun swept th e floors and made th e fires.For thirteen years she did this work, but shewould not be Hartmut's wife.By th at time the boys in Hetel's kingdom hadgrown to be men. W at of Sturmland led anotherarmy against King Hartmut.Gudrun was down at the sea-shore washingclothes. A s she worked, a beautiful bird swam toher. T h e bird sang of the gre at army that wascoming to take her home.W hen Gudrun w ent to the castle that night,th e queen scolded her because the work was no tall done.

Next morning the ground was white with snow,bu t th e queen sent G udrt~n o the sea-shore tofinish the washing.Soon she saw he r brother and Herwig comingin a boat. T h e two men did not know her.They were surprised to see so beautiful a maidendoing such work.They asked her name and who dared treat herso. She answered that she was one of the maidens


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GUDRUN. 99K ing H artm ut had carried away from the land ofthe Hegelings.A t this th e young men's eyes filled with tearsto see a maiden of their own land stand ing bare-foot in the snow.. T h e n Gudrun saw the tears in their eyes, shetold them who she really was. Herwig wanted toti k e her away a t once, bu t Ortwein would not lethim.H e told Gudrun to go back to the castle andwait till they came with the army.Gudrun threw the clothes into the sea. Thequeen saw her coming back without them, andsent a servant to whip her with a rod. B u t Gud-un said slie was ready to be Hartmut's wife.Then beautiful dresses were given to Gudrunnd her maidens.Har tmut sent his best knights away to askpeople to come to the wedding.Herwig and Ortwein went back to the armyand told what they had seen. The Hegelingswere so angry that they would not wait for day-light, but set off a t once.Early in the morning Gudrun looked out andsaw the sun shining o n t h e armor just outside thecastle-wall.Soon the Norman knights were ready. Theyrode ou t with H artmut and his father a t the head.

< -.N%

, -[>'. -.-...-4.- +.?'a"

. - $qIT


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Then old W at of Sturmland blew his bugle soloud that it was heard for thirty miles around andthe battle began.Hartmut's father was slain. Old Wat cut hisway through the knights to Hartmut. Har tmutfoug ht for his life, bu t old W at was th e stronger.Hartmut's sister, who had always been kind toGudrun, looked out and saw that her brotherwould be killed.She ran to G udrun and begged her to save hislife. G udrun called Herwig to ask W at to spareHartmizt's life.W nt struclr Herwig for asking, bu t he stoppedfighting and took Hartmut prisoner.Then th e queen threw herself at Gudrun's feetand begged to be saved from W at. B u t W a t cuther head off with his sword.When Gudrun reached home her mother wasstanding on the shore waiting for her. Soon shebecame Herwig's wife.The queen sent Hartmut back to his own land.B ut his sister, mho had always been kind to Gud-run, stayed in th e land of the Hegelings.


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