Chapter VI: Part II (1)

The way to the palace was quickly found, and here the two gods were welcomed by the king. Utgard-Loke sat upon a lordly throne, surrounded by a company of giants so much larger than the others of this race which had from time to time made threatening visits to Asgard that Thor felt glad of the possession of Mjölner. When the travellers entered his halls, the king greeted them kindly and asked the object of their journey. Thor told him boldly that he had come to measure his strength against that of the giants, and Utgard-Loke courteously replied: "We have heard many tales of the might of Thor, the defender of Asgard; but we hope to show him that the frost-giants are no unworthy opponents. Before we begin our tests of strength, however, I will ask one of our youths to meet your servant in some game of skill. Do you choose what it shall be."

Now Thor knew that Thialfi was a very swift runner, so he answered that his servant would run a race with any one of the king's young men. Utgard-Loke then called to a tall, slender youth named Hugi, and bade him make ready for the race. The company adjourned to an open meadow, and here the runners met to test their skill. Thialfi shot over the ground like an arrow sent by the practised bowman; but Hugi quickly outdistanced him and came first to the goal.

The gods were surprised and angry at the ease with which Hugi gained the victory; but when the king asked to have a second race, Thor eagerly agreed, and again Thialfi ran his swiftest. But although he flew with the lightness and speed of a race-horse, he found Hugi waiting for him at the end of the course.

Then Utgard-Loke said, "You are a good runner, Thialfi, but you need to put more speed in your feet before you can rival Hugi." Now Thor's servant was almost breathless from his running, and he was also very tired; but the king's tone seemed so insulting that he insisted upon a third trial. Again the two contestants ran over the course, but this time Hugi gave Thialfi the start of half a mile. In spite of this advantage, however, the young giant passed his competitor like the rush of the wind, and Thialfi lost the race a third time.

As the company had had enough of racing, they returned to the palace; and Thor, feeling angry and ashamed at his servant's defeat, began to wish he had never come to Jötunheim. Then Utgard-Loke asked his guests if either of them cared to challenge one of his men at an eating contest, and Loki eagerly accepted this chance to prove his ability. "I can eat more than any two of this company," he cried boastfully, and gave a loud laugh of scorn when an immense trough full of meat was brought into the room and placed before him. Then the king summoned Logi to contend with the brother of Odin, and he and Loki sat one at each end of the trough.

There was surely never such eating seen before in all the world. Loki devoured the food so fast that it seemed as if he would finish all that was set before him in less than a minute; but when he came to the middle of the great dish, he found that Logi had not only eaten his own share, but had finished up the meat and bones and trough all together.

"Now let us see what the mightiest of the gods can do," said the king, as Loki withdrew to the furthest end of the hall. Thor had been looking on gloomily at Loki's failure; but the king's tone roused up all his anger, and he stepped boldly forward, saying, "I will undertake to empty in one draught any drinking horn that you can place before me." So Utgard-Loke commanded his men to bring out a great drinking horn, and as he handed it to Thor the king said: "Here is a cup which the youngest among us can empty in three draughts. A strong man needs to quaff it twice, but a mighty warrior such as you should finish it all at one drinking." The king's tone was so insulting that Thor felt his fingers tighten on the handle of his hammer, and he longed to hurl it at Utgard-Loke's head; but he took the horn and set it to his lips.

He drank long and deeply until he felt sure that he had drained every drop of the liquid; but when he looked into the horn, he saw that it was but half emptied. "What is the trouble, is the drink too large for the Mighty One of Asgard?" asked Utgard-Loke, contemptuously. At these words Thor flew into a great rage, and, grasping the horn more tightly, he drank as he had never drunk before. Then he set the vessel down, feeling sure that it must now be empty; but he found to his surprise that it was hardly less full than before he began to drink. A loud laugh of derision greeted him, and the king cried scornfully: "Is this the great skill in drinking of which you boasted so freely? The emptying of this horn should be but child's play; but perhaps the mighty Thor is weary."

"Give me the horn," roared the angry god, who was raging inwardly at having to endure these taunts. So a third time Thor drank; and when he stopped to take breath, he threw the horn aside, not waiting to look down into it, for he felt certain that there could not be a drop left in it. But one of the giants caught it up and showed him how much of the liquid still remained. Enraged at this unexpected humiliation, Thor refused to drink any longer, and would barely listen when Utgard-Loke asked him if he would engage in any trial of strength. "We will propose a game which is a favourite pastime among our children, so the defender of Asgard will be able to do the thing with ease. It is merely to lift my cat from the ground."

These words so infuriated Thor that he strode angrily out of the hall, but before he had gone far, he encountered a huge bunch of bristling fur that effectively barred his way. His first impulse was to strike the cat with his hammer, but remembering Utgard-Loke's insulting words, he grasped the great creature by the middle, intending to throw it aside. But though he tried with all the strength of his powerful arm to move the cat, he could not stir it from its place; and the higher he sought to lift it, the higher it arched its back without ever raising one foot from the ground. Thor's arm was now lifted as high as it would go, but he could not budge the great cat an inch. So at last he let go his hold and turned to meet the scornful laughter of the whole company of giants.

"Is this the strength we have been taught to fear?" cried Utgard-Loke. "Surely the gods do not call so puny a fellow as this the defender of Asgard. Perhaps Thor is only mocking us, however, and will prove his boasted strength in some worthier contest."

"Give me a chance to wrestle with the strongest giant among you, and I will soon show you whether my strength can be scorned!" cried Thor, who was longing to hurl his hammer at the king's head and make him cease his insulting words.

"Your boasting has all been idle," said Utgard-Loke, looking sternly at the angry god, "so I will not match you against our strongest men. But here comes my old nurse, Ellie, and you may try a wrestle with her."

Thor looked around as a shrivelled old woman, bent and toothless, hobbled feebly into the hall. Her sightless eyes seemed to blink with an almost supernatural intelligence as she made her way straight toward the spot where the god was standing. "Do not scorn to wrestle with old Ellie," cried the king, "for she has got the better of many a strong man before now."

So Thor grasped the hag firmly and tried to throw her to the ground, but she gripped his body with her thin arms and clung to him with such amazing strength that he had to exert all his force to keep from being strangled. The more he struggled, the tighter grew the old woman's hold, and even his arm which held the hammer was rendered useless by her vise-like grip. He felt himself slowly weakening, and soon one knee was on the ground. Then the hag loosed her hold, and, with a mocking laugh, hobbled out of the hall.

Thor rose up, ashamed and humiliated by this last defeat; but the anger had died out of his eyes, and he stood before Utgard-Loke with bent head. No one had ever seen the strongest of the gods so humbled. Then the king smiled upon him kindly and said, "Let us forget both our pride and our foolish boasting, and share the feast as friends; for we will now offer you the best of food and drink that there is in the land of Jötunheim." So a bountiful meal was spread before them; and, in the friendly hospitality of the king, Thor forgot the insults which he had lately received at Utgard-Loke's hands.

The next morning the king accompanied his guests to the gates of the city; and when they were well outside the walls he said to Thor: "Now that you are no longer within our gates, I will confess to you that during your brief stay among us, we have been not only amazed but terrified at seeing how great indeed is your strength. We know now that all our combined forces would have been powerless against you unless we had deceived you by our magic arts. For it was not superior skill or strength that defeated you in the contests, but enchantment. It was I whom you met in the forest,[29] and when I found how terrible was Thor's strength, I knew that it was rash to admit such a foe within our gates unless he could be deceived by magic, and his strength be met by cunning. I tied the sack with a cord that no one but myself could possibly undo, for every knot was made under a magic spell. Each time Thor struck me those terrific blows, I quickly slid a mountain between myself and the hammer; and you may now see the deep clefts which those blows have made. When Thialfi ran with Hugi, it was against Thought that he was racing; and when Loki strove with Logi, his opponent was none other than Fire, who consumes whatever he touches. Thor took such deep draughts from the horn that we were all amazed at his wonderful drinking; but the other end of the horn was in the sea, so try as he would he could never drain it dry. You will notice, however, as you look over the earth, that the level of the ocean has fallen far beyond its lowest ebb-line, owing to Thor's enormous drinking. The cat which could not be raised from the ground was really the Midgard serpent, and we giants trembled, indeed, when we saw how high Thor lifted it. Lastly the old nurse, Ellie, whose strength seemed so marvellous to you, was not a woman, but Old Age itself; and in her hold even the greatest warrior is bound to weaken and fall."

[29] Utgard-Loke had told Thor that his name was Skrymer.

When Thor heard these words of Utgard-Loke's, he was so furious at the trickery that had been put upon him that he rushed at the speaker with upraised hammer. But before the blow could fall, the giant had disappeared; and when Thor looked about him he no longer saw the gates of Utgard nor any sight of the great city. He and Loki were standing on one of the bleak moorlands over which the winds of Jötunheim blew forever night and day.

The Wooing of Gerd

The god Freyr was busy enough in the summertime when the sun shone upon the earth and everything bloomed and blossomed under his untiring care; but when winter came there was no work for him to do in orchards or meadows, and he grew restless from the long enforced idleness. So one day when Odin was away on some necessary journey, Freyr strolled idly through the golden streets of Asgard, and wished that he might sometime be taken as a companion when Odin went wandering among the dwellings of men. He wondered whether there was any spot in Asgard from which he could look down and see what was going on in the earth, and the longing grew very strong to see where Odin had gone.

There was one place which commanded a view of all the world, but Freyr did not dare to think of usurping it, for Odin's throne was held so sacred that no other god had ever ventured to set foot there. Dismissing this thought from his mind, Freyr wandered restlessly about from one marble hall to another, but getting nearer each moment to the great gold throne, until at last he stood directly before it. A long time he hesitated, thinking of the punishment that might fall upon him if Odin suddenly returned; but finally the desire to see all the kingdoms of the earth grew too strong to be resisted, and Freyr boldly stepped into Odin's sacred seat.

He gave a gasp of wonder and delight as his eyes travelled quickly over the wonderful panorama of earth and sky that lay spread out before him. Far away to the north stretched ice-encircled Jötunheim, whose snow-capped mountains reached up into the clouds. Still farther away lay the Land of Mists with its chill fogs, reaching out toward Muspelheim. The earth itself, which Freyr knew so well, looked wonderfully fresh and new when seen from this exalted place; and he felt that he himself would never weary of watching over the affairs of men, if only he could occupy Odin's seat.

He did not care to rest his gaze very long on frozen Jötunheim, for there was nothing in that dreary country to attract the beauty-loving Freyr; but as he chanced to look at a tall old castle standing on the top of one of the wind-swept hills, he saw the door suddenly open. Then a maiden appeared on the threshold, and Freyr gazed upon her with surprise and delight, for she seemed too beautiful to belong to the grim race of giants.

She stood a moment in the doorway, a very embodiment of warmth and youth and light; and when the doors at length closed behind her, Freyr felt that all the brightness had gone out of the world. Never before had he seen any maiden whom he wished to make his wife; but here in the land of the frost-giants he had found one whose loveliness already made him thrill at the mere thought of her.

He descended slowly and sadly from Odin's throne, and began to wander aimlessly about Asgard, more restless and unhappy than before he had taken that unfortunate glance toward Jötunheim. For many days he roamed through the marble-pillared halls, seeking some distraction to make him forget the golden-haired maiden whom he loved; but always his thoughts turned toward the castle on the wind-swept hill, and he longed--till he grew sick with longing--for a sight of the giant's daughter.

One day his trusted servant Skirner asked him why he looked so sad; so Freyr told him of his longing for the golden-haired maiden, and of how he had watched her from Odin's throne. Then Skirner offered to make the journey into Jötunheim at once, and do his best to woo the giant's daughter for his master. So Freyr gave him his swiftest horse, and filled his hands with rich gifts, and finally girded upon Skirner his own sword, which he promised to give to the wearer if the mission should be successful. Then he bade Skirner ride with all speed northward.

As fast as the faithful horse could carry him, Skirner hurried toward the giants' country; and when the setting sun threw the long, black shadows of the hills across the snow-covered ground, he crossed the last of the fiords that lay at the edge of Jötunheim. Then a short, hard gallop over the frozen ground brought him to the foot of the castle where the giant Gymer lived with his beautiful daughter. As he neared the gates, two enormous dogs sprang at him, barking furiously; and it was with difficulty that Skirner guided his horse well out of their reach. Not far away was a shepherd leading his flock to the scanty pasturage; and Skirner, riding slowly up to him, asked how he might be able to enter the castle.

"What do you seek here?" inquired the shepherd. "No stranger ever comes to Gymer's hall."

"I wish to speak with the giant's daughter," replied Skirner.

The shepherd shook his head. "It is safer to have speech with Gymer than with the beautiful Gerd," he said. Then, looking kindly at the horse and rider, he added, "If you are wise, you will not go too near the castle gates, but call aloud her name, and perchance she may come to answer you."

So Skirner called loudly to the maiden until the hills reëchoed to the name of Gerd; and the giant's daughter listened to the cry, wondering who the stranger might be that would dare to use her name thus boldly.

Angry, and yet curious to see who stood without the castle, Gerd threw open the great hall doors; and at the sight of her the two fierce dogs stopped howling and lay quiet at her feet. Then Skirner came boldly to the maiden's side and begged her to listen to his story. As the laws of hospitality prevailed even in Jötunheim, the beautiful Gerd bade him enter; and when they were seated by a great fire in the hall, Skirner told the maiden how Freyr had seen her from Odin's seat and had loved her with a passion that would surely kill the once-joyous god unless she consented to become his wife.

Gerd listened coldly to the speaker's words, and his impassioned pleading left her unmoved. When Skirner finally spoke of taking her at once with him to Asgard, she cried angrily, "Go back to your master and tell him that though he should die for love of me, Gymer's daughter will never wed with one who is the enemy of her race."

Then Skirner brought out a wonderful ring and many costly gems--the gift of Freyr--and offered them to Gerd; but she haughtily refused to touch them.

"You cannot tempt the daughter of Gymer with gold," she said. "I have plenty here in my father's palace."

Failing in this, Skirner drew his sword--the coveted blade which he hoped to win for himself by the success of his mission--and flashing this before the maiden's eyes he swore by the spear of Odin that he would kill her if she would not consent to wed with Freyr. But Gerd only laughed at his threats, and looked unmoved at the glistening steel.

"Keep your sword to terrify mortal maidens, or those who sit spinning in the halls of Asgard. The daughter of Gymer knows no such thing as fear," she said.

As neither gold nor threats could move the beautiful Gerd to listen to his master's suit, Skirner tried his last resource; and, calling upon all the powers of earth and air and water, he pronounced a terrible curse upon the maiden for her coldness to the unhappy Freyr. "May the sun never shine without bringing pestilence upon your land, and may each day add some trouble to those which already burden you. May sickness throw its blight upon you, and loathsome diseases render your beauty hideous. May old age lay its hand on you before youth is over, and may you sit lonely and desolate among your barren hills. May all the good things of life turn to gnawing pains until you are glad to pray for death. So shall there be no peace for you in all the world for having spurned the love of Freyr."

At first the maiden paid no heed to these fearful words; but soon they seemed to weave a sort of magic spell about her. She trembled, and her beautiful face grew pale with fear. Suddenly she stretched out both white arms to Skirner, crying, "Does Freyr indeed love me so deeply that he can invoke all the powers of the earth to curse me for not wedding him?" Then Skirner told her how great his master was, and how truly the curse would be fulfilled if she hardened her heart against the love of Freyr. And as she listened to the speaker's eager words of praise, the heart of Gerd was touched and she gave Skirner her promise to become Freyr's wife.

"Though," she added sadly, "it is strange indeed for Gymer's daughter to wed with a god." Skirner tried to persuade her to return with him at once to Asgard, but she said, "Go back to your master and tell him that I will meet him nine days hence in the groves of Bar-isle."

So Skirner mounted his horse again and rode away from Jötunheim. Though the journey back to Asgard was as long and hard as his coming had been, it seemed to him to be far less wearisome; for the horse shared his rider's gladness and galloped more lightly over the frozen ground, and the woods looked no longer as if peopled with dreadful shapes and shadows. When Skirner neared Asgard he saw far in the distance Freyr standing by the rainbow bridge eagerly watching for his messenger's return. The impatient god did not wait, however, until horse and rider came close enough for him to see the gladness on Skirner's face; but, believing that his servant had been unsuccessful, since he rode alone, Freyr turned sadly away. He did not even wish to speak with the man who had done him so great a service; but thought only of the loss of Gerd.

Then Skirner spurred his faithful horse till its hoofs struck fire from the hard stones beneath; and when the gates of Asgard were reached, he rushed eagerly in search of Freyr to tell him of Gerd's promise. The god's face was lit with a great joy as he heard that his love was to be rewarded, and that Gymer's beautiful daughter was willing to become his wife.

The nine days of waiting seemed very long to the impatient lover; but at last the time came when the sun shone as it had never shone before, the trees blossomed--although it was still winter--and flowers bloomed along the path that led to the groves of Bar-isle. Then Freyr, full of the glad spirit of youth and love and springtime, went gayly to the trysting place; and there beneath the newly leafing trees stood Gerd, more beautiful by far than when he had seen her standing in her father's halls.

How Thor Fought the Giant Hrungner

One day Odin took a long journey into a land far beyond the seas; and as his road homeward lay through Jötunheim, he went with all speed across that dreary country. With the swiftness of the wind his wonderful horse Sleipnir carried him over the ice and snow that lay thick on the frozen ground; and sometimes, when the mountains loomed very tall in front of them, the horse rose into the air, soaring through mist and cloud as easily as some great bird.

Then as the golden hoofs of Sleipnir struck fire from the hard rocks that seemed to spring up everywhere beneath his feet, Odin rejoiced in the strength and beauty of his horse, for he knew that there was not its like in all the world. He had almost crossed the last stretch of treeless country on the edge of Jötunheim, when he saw a giant seated on a rock, with his horse standing idly beside him. As Sleipnir came rushing by, the giant called out: "Ho! stranger. Why do you ride so swiftly?"

Odin drew rein and came back to the rock where the speaker sat. The giant looked critically at Sleipnir's splendid head and arching neck; then he said, "That is a fine horse you have."

"There is no steed that can equal him in beauty or in swiftness," replied Odin, proudly. The giant scowled at these boastful words, and replied angrily:

"Not so fast, my friend. It is easier to talk than to prove the truth of one's words. Now my horse Goldfax is fully as fine as yours; and there is nothing to match him for speed in the whole land of Jötunheim."

"Jötunheim!" cried Odin, contemptuously. "What could you expect from such a country as this? Why, my steed was reared in the sunny meadows of Asgard, where he still pastures night and day."

"Well, whatever he is, there is no need for us to waste words in boasting," said the giant. "Let us run a race and prove whose horse is the better."

Odin gladly agreed to this; and when the giant mounted his horse Goldfax, the two riders set off on a gallop that made the hills reëcho to the sound of clattering hoofs. Sleipnir, overjoyed at the prospect of a race with something worth his mettle, threw back his head and sped like an arrow toward Asgard. The giant followed close behind, and so full was he of the excitement of the chase that he was unaware of being carried within his enemy's gates. Heimdall, who stood watching by the rainbow bridge, looked on in surprise as the Ruler of Asgard rushed swiftly by; and he would have sounded the usual alarm at the sight of the giant following, if Odin had not signalled to him to let the strange horse and rider go past.

When the giant, whose name was Hrungner, found himself surrounded by so many of those who were his sworn enemies, he grew fearful and began to look helplessly about him. Soon he realized, however, that the laws of hospitality assured every kindness to a guest, and he knew that he was as safe in Asgard as he would be in Jötunheim. So when Odin summoned him to the feast at Valhalla, Hrungner sat down to eat and drink with the gods, feeling at heart very proud to be in the midst of so noble a company.

As the feast progressed, and the giant drained one horn after another of the sparkling drink the gods supplied, he began to grow boastful. He laughed at the smallness of Odin's shield-hung hall, and told of the great palaces that were built by the frost-giants. He boasted loudly of his own great strength; and as he drank more and more of the wine so freely poured, he cried: "What a puny lot of men you are to call yourselves gods! There is not a giant in Jötunheim who could not beat any one of you in single combat. If I chose to make so unfair a return for your hospitality, I could pull this poor little hall about your ears, and not leave one stone upon another in the whole of Asgard."

The gods grew very angry at these insulting words; but as Hrungner was their guest, they could not punish him as he deserved. So the giant continued drinking; and as his swaggering grew more unbearable, the gods with difficulty restrained themselves from striking him dead where he sat. "I shall drink every drop of wine in Asgard before I leave here," he cried, glaring drunkenly at Odin. "Then I shall pick up a handful of you people that are called gods, and carry you off to Jötunheim as playthings for my children."

So pleased was the giant with his own wit that he began to laugh until the cups rattled upon the table. The gods felt they could not endure his presence any longer, and determined to hurl him out of Asgard, even if he was their guest. But Loki, who was enjoying the giant's boasts and drunken wit, begged them not to act too hastily; so Hrungner kept on drinking unmolested. Suddenly he threw his cup with a crash to the ground, and, looking insolently around at the company, cried, "The gods have always been the enemies of the frost-giants; but soon I will drive them from their lofty place, and take Sif and Freya to be my servants."

This insulting speech was more than the gods could bear; so they called upon Thor to rid them of the braggart in any way he desired. Then Hrungner saw the wrathful face of the god approaching, and saw, too, the upraised hammer; but he was too full of drunken courage to feel afraid. Before Mjölner fell, he roared savagely at Thor: "If I had my shield and flint stone here, you would not dare to come at me with your wonderful hammer. It is very brave of you to strike an unprotected guest."

At these words Thor's arm dropped to his side, and the giant gave a mocking laugh.

"Let this mighty fighter meet me in single combat on the plains of Jötunheim, and then I will prove that the frost-giants are stronger than any of the timid dwellers in Asgard."

Thor was only too ready to accept the challenge, and arranged to meet the giant on a certain plain in Jötunheim.[30] Then Hrungner, who felt that there was nothing more for him to do or say in Asgard, took his departure; and, returning to his own country, spread the news that there was to be a mighty combat between himself and Thor. The giants did not feel very certain of Hrungner's victory over the god, so they decided to help him in every possible way. They made a huge giant out of clay and stood him on the plain where the battle was to be fought, hoping by this stratagem to deceive Thor. As there was no human heart to put into the clay giant,[31] they gave him a mare's heart, and this made the poor creature so timid that he could barely be induced to stand still on the plain and await Thor's coming.

[30] The plain was called Grjotlungard.

[31] The clay giant was named Mokkerkalfe.

Beside the newly made giant stood Hrungner with his shield and flintstone, secretly hoping that Thor would mistake the clay figure for that of his opponent, and so spend the first force of his blows on the mock giant's head. Suddenly on the crest of the mountain appeared a runner; and soon Thor's servant, Thialfi, came speeding toward them. He called loudly to Hrungner: "My master is on his way to meet you; but he will not follow on the road I came. He is coming along underground, and will attack you from beneath." The stupid giant believed this; so he threw his shield on the ground and stood firmly upon it, with the flintstone in his hand, ready to strike Thor's head the moment it emerged.

Soon there came a sudden roaring sound as if all the waters of the earth were rushing to pour themselves into the sea; the sky darkened, and through the thick clouds the lightning gleamed and flashed over the darkening plain. Nearer and nearer came the crashing of thunder which heralded Thor's approach, and the hills answered with long, deep peals. Then on the brow of the hill overlooking the plain appeared Thor's majestic figure, so terrible to behold that most of the giants fled away in fear. With incredible swiftness he rushed upon Hrungner, and the hammer--whirled through the air by his mighty arm--flew straight at the giant's head. The terrific force of the blow hurled Hrungner at once to the ground, but not before he had thrown his flintstone at Thor's forehead.

The noise of the combat was like the crashing of many mountains together. Hrungner fell to the ground like an oak tree that has received the last stroke of the axe; and, as he fell, Thialfi sprang at the clay giant and disposed of him with one straight blow. The flintstone which Hrungner had thrown, sank into Thor's forehead; and the sudden pain made him so dizzy that he staggered forward and fell just where Hrungner's great body lay stretched upon the ground. Then Thor found to his dismay that one of the giant's feet was resting firmly on his neck; and, try as he would, he could not get free. So he bade Thialfi bring his little Magne, who was only three days old, and when the child came, he easily lifted the great foot from his father's neck. Thor was very proud of this display of strength, and he wished to give his son the giant's horse Goldfax, but Odin would not permit the gift.

The frost-giants were discouraged over the complete defeat of their champion, but they took great satisfaction in seeing the flintstone which Hrungner had driven into Thor's forehead. When the Thunderer returned to Asgard he found that the stone caused him much pain, and there seemed to be no way to remove it. So he sent for the sorceress Groa, who, as soon as she came, began to weave her magic spells, and chant weird songs, and Thor felt the stone in his head already beginning to loosen. While Groa continued her incantations, and the pain in his head grew less and less each moment, Thor tried to think of some way in which he could reward his benefactress for her kindness. Orvandel, Groa's husband, had been for many years away from his home; and as the sorceress loved him very dearly, there was nothing she wished for so much as his return. Thor was partly responsible for her husband's disappearance, for Orvandel had once angered him so that he had put the offender into a basket and carried him to a far-off country, where he left the unfortunate man to find his way back alone. During the journey the air was so cold that poor Orvandel nearly perished in his narrow prison. As it was, one of his toes which protruded from the basket really did freeze; and this made Thor so ashamed of his harsh treatment of Orvandel that he set the prisoner free. Then he placed his toe in the sky as a star, and in the northern heavens there is a bright constellation which is still known as Orvandel's Toe.

When Thor told Groa what he had done, and promised to bring her husband back to her at once, the sorceress became so overjoyed at the prospect of Orvandel's return that she forgot all her magic arts and spells. Full of happiness at the thought of seeing her husband, she suddenly stopped her weird singing, and was unable to resume it, though Thor begged her to continue the enchantment until the stone was loosed. But Groa had lost all her mystic power, and could never charm things from their place again. So the flintstone remained in Thor's forehead, and in the far-off countries of the north, the children are taught not to throw any stone too hard upon the floor, for when it strikes the ground the flint in Thor's forehead moves, and causes the god much pain.

The Story of Balder

In all the city of Asgard there was no god so beautiful or so dearly loved as Balder. Wherever he went it was like the coming of sunshine, and every grief fled away before the brightness of his presence. In all his happy life he had never known a moment's sadness, and the gods believed that none could ever come to him. So beautiful and joyous and free from care was Balder that he seemed to the gods to be the one among them who could surely never share in the final doom which they knew awaited all the dwellers in Asgard.

The days passed happily for Balder,[32] and no thought of sorrow crossed his untroubled mind, until one night he had a dream which filled him with strange fear. When the gods met again in council he told them his dream, and begged them to interpret its meaning. They tried to laugh and banish his fears, but at heart they felt that an evil day had come. Over Asgard now hung a dark shadow which foreboded the coming sorrow, for the dream spoke of approaching evil, even of death. So full of sadness did the gods become at the thought of losing Balder, that they cared no longer to join in their accustomed games or to make merry while some tragic fate might be overshadowing the bright and joyous youth.

[32] Balder's palace was named Breidablik.

Odin could not rest until he learned the truth about his favourite son; so he mounted Sleipnir and rode down to the dark region where the goddess Hel ruled over her innumerable dead. In those silent halls[33] he found a table spread, and dishes of gold and silver were set out as if for some honoured guest. At the head of the table was one vacant seat; and when Odin saw this, his heart sank with fear, for he knew too well for whom the chair was waiting. Hoping against hope, in spite of this sinister sight, Odin returned to the earth and sought out a certain wood where a famous prophetess had long ago been buried. Over her grave he uttered some mystic words that roused the sleeper from her age-long rest, and at last she spoke in a faint, far-off voice. "Who is it that comes to break my sleep?"

[33] Hel's palace was called Eliudnir.

And Odin answered, "I am Voltam, and I have come to ask why the table is so richly spread in Helheim and for whom the vacant chair stands waiting." Thus Odin spoke, for he feared to tell her his name.

A silence fell over the dim old forest, and for a moment Odin feared that his spells could not compel the dead to speak. But at last a faint voice whispered, "It is for the shining Balder that Hel and all her hosts are waiting."

"Who then shall send the Beloved of the gods to Helheim?" asked Odin, and he waited fearfully for the answer.

"Blind Höder shall slay him, for so it has been written, and so it shall be," came the words which the anxious listener dreaded and yet waited to hear.

"And who shall avenge the death of Balder?" he asked sorrowfully. For a long time no answer came; then the voice, which sounded still farther away, cried mournfully:--

"Keep me no longer from my well-earned rest. For ages upon ages I have lain here, and the rain and snow have beat upon my head and the winds have sung their songs in my ears. Depart thou hence and leave me to my sleep."

So Odin left the forest, for he knew that the dead would speak no more; and slowly and sorrowfully he returned to Asgard. He did not tell the gods of his visit to Helheim; but kept to himself the sad knowledge he had gained.

Meantime the goddess Frigga determined to avert, if possible, the unknown danger that threatened her son; so she went out one day from her palace and wandered over the whole earth. And as she went she begged everything which she met to swear by a solemn oath never to hurt Balder. Fire, water, rocks, trees, iron, brass, birds and beasts,--all were bound by a vow to do no harm to him; and everything on earth gave the promise gladly, for all the world loved the bright and joyous Balder. As Frigga was returning home, she saw just outside the gates of Asgard a small plant called the mistletoe; but it looked so harmless that she passed it by without asking for the promise, and hurried on to tell Odin of the success of her journey.

When the gods heard how everything had sworn never to hurt Balder, there was gladness again among them. But Odin, knowing the decree of the Norns, could not rejoice with the rest; though in the general happiness that reigned now in Asgard, no one marked his sadness. Then, to prove whether all the things which had given the promise would really keep their word to Frigga, the gods placed the youth as a target before them, and hurled at him huge stones and sharp-pointed spears and the weapons which they used in battle; but each missile turned aside, and refused to hurt the shining Balder. Even the deadly battle-axes fell harmless at his feet. Now Loki, who always hated everything beautiful, and who was jealous of Balder because the gods loved him, stood by watching the game. His heart was full of bitterness and envy, and he hated the glorious youth who could be so confident and secure in the love which all the world had owned for him. So he determined to work some harm to Balder.

One day a strange old woman came to the palace of Frigga and asked to have speech with her. The goddess was sitting with her maidens spinning, and when the old woman was admitted to her presence, she spoke to her kindly and asked the object of her visit.

"I have come, lady," said the old woman, who was really Loki in disguise, "to learn what is going on here in Asgard that the shouts of joy reach even to the earth. I hear laughter and cheering in the court where the gods are at their games. Tell me, what does it mean?" Then Frigga smiled happily and said, "It means that the gods are hurling their battle-axes at Balder and trying to wound him, but he stands before them unhurt, for everything on earth has sworn to me to do him no harm."

"Has everything indeed made you this promise?" asked Loki.

"Yes," answered Frigga; "everything except a little plant called the mistletoe, and this looked so small and weak that I did not ask it to promise."

"And does this mistletoe grow far from here?" continued the pretended old woman.

"Just at the gates of Asgard," answered Frigga. And Loki, having learned what he wished, left the palace exulting in the ease with which he had deceived the unsuspecting goddess. Laying aside his disguise, he sought the place where the mistletoe grew, and cutting off a branch, he shaped it into an arrow. Then he went to join the gods in their sport.

Just outside the circle of the players stood Höder, the brother of Balder, silent and alone, for he was blind and could not share in the games. Going up to him, Loki said,--

"Why do you not join in the sport, Höder, and throw some missile at the wonderful Balder who now bears a charmed life?"

"Because I cannot see where he is standing," answered Höder, "and besides, I have no weapon to throw."

"If that is all," said Loki, "come with me and I will give you an arrow and help you shoot it." So he led Höder forward, and the blind god followed him willingly, for he dreamed of no evil.

Then Loki put the arrow into his hand and directed his aim so well that the fatal shaft flew straight to Balder's heart, and in a moment the beautiful god lay dead.

There was mourning now in Asgard, and over all the world. The sun no longer shone with its accustomed brightness; the birds stopped their singing, and the flowers drooped their heads; even the beasts felt the sadness that lay upon the earth, and crouched silent in their dens. Everything that loved the shining Balder now wept and mourned for him. Then the gods arrayed his body in the finest cloth of gold, and brought it down to the sea, where Balder's ship[34] lay close to the water's edge. Very sadly they laid the body upon its deck, and heaped around the beloved form rings and chains of finest gold, jewels and weapons such as warriors love. When Nanna, Balder's wife, saw the body wrapped in readiness for burning, her heart broke from her great grief, and the gods laid her, dead, beside her husband.

[34] The name of the ship was Ringhorn.

Then they lit the funeral fires with a thorn-twig, which is the emblem of sleep; and took their last look at the dead Balder as he lay upon the burning pyre. Odin, stepping forward, whispered in the unhearing ear of his son; but what he said no one ever knew.

When they tried to launch the ship, they found to their dismay that it was too heavily laden for their united efforts. So they sent for the mountain-giantess Hyrroken--who had ever been friendly to the people of Asgard--and begged her to grant this last service to the beloved of the gods. The giantess came, riding on a fierce wolf, with twisted snakes in her hands for reins. She gladly offered her help to the gods, and putting her shoulder to the prow, she gave it a mighty shove which sent the burning ship far out from the shore.

The flames rose higher and higher as the vessel drifted out toward the sea, bearing with it the light and joy of Asgard. A silence fell on all the watchers, and great sorrow filled their hearts. All the world seemed under a shadow, and in the solemn stillness no sound was heard but the roaring of the flames on the burning ship. The gods stood upon the shore watching the funeral pyre, and, mingled with their sadness, was a dread foreboding of evil; for outside the ring of the shining ones of Asgard was another group of watchers--the frost-giants--who seemed to be looking on in mockery at the solemn rites, and now and then drew nearer, their tall forms looming up grim and threatening and terrible.

Then the sea and sky seemed to burst into one mass of glowing flame and a wonderful golden light spread over the earth as the fire upon the slowly moving ship burned each moment more brightly. Thus the vessel drifted westward toward the sea, and the gods knew that Balder had passed forever from their sight.

One by one they returned sadly to Asgard; but Odin could not give up his son without one last effort to reclaim him. He determined to go himself to Helheim, and offer a ransom to the goddess Hel if she would give Balder back to him. Meantime poor blind Höder had been mourning over the great evil which he had innocently wrought, and he wished with all the fervor of his loving heart that he could bring Balder back to Asgard. Sadly he sought the palace of his mother Frigga, and asked her whether he might not go to Helheim and offer his life to the dread goddess in exchange for Balder's. "The road is long and hard to find," said Frigga, "and what could a blind god do in the path where the best traveller would lose his way? Go back to your own dwelling, and send for Hermod, our swift messenger. He loved the shining Balder and now mourns for him. Bid him ride to Helheim."

Höder did as his mother commanded, and found Hermod only too willing to take the fearful journey for the sake of Balder. Odin gave him his own horse Sleipnir, who up to this time had never allowed another rider to mount him. Nine days and nights Hermod rode through the earth in darkness so thick that his horse could not see where to step. It was a black and steep and fearful road down to Helheim, and only on Odin's horse could the journey have been made. On the tenth morning he came to the golden bridge that spanned the river Giöll; and here a maiden,[35] pale and sorrowful, kept guard. She halted Hermod as he rode across the bridge, and said:--

[35] Her name was Modgud.

"Who are you, and what do you seek here among the dead? Yesterday five hands of men rode across the bridge, but they did not shake it as you alone have done. Your face is not as the face of the dead. Why do you come here? It is no place for the living."

Then Hermod asked if she had seen the shining Balder pass over her bridge; and the maiden answered,--

"He has crossed it already, and has gone to the dark hall where the feast is now spread."

So Hermod rode on until he reached Hel's gloomy palace and came face to face with the terrible queen who ruled over the kingdom of the dead. Hermod trembled with fear as he looked about him, but his love for Balder gave him courage, and he stepped up boldly before the goddess, saying:--

"I have come to beg a boon of thee, O Hel. Your land is full without the shining Balder, and Asgard is empty and lonely since he has gone. Every heart mourns for him, and every eye is filled with tears. Give him back to us."

Slowly and sternly Hel replied: "Is there indeed no dry eye upon the earth? If it be true as thou sayest, that everything weeps for Balder, he shall return to Asgard; but if there is one who will not weep, he shall stay forever in Helheim."

Then Hermod hurried with the message back to Asgard, and when Odin heard the answer Hel had made, he gave the command, and everything upon the earth wept and mourned for Balder. Throughout the whole world arose the sound of bitter wailing; and not a single eye remained undimmed by tears. But among the mourners in Asgard there was one old woman[36] whom Odin spied standing apart and shedding no tear.

[36] Loki disguised himself as the giantess Thok.

"Weep," he cried, "weep for Balder that he may return."

"Nay," replied the old woman, "I will not weep. He has done naught for me that I should mourn him. Let him stay in Helheim." Then with a mocking laugh she hurried away, and Odin knew that it was Loki.

So Balder never came back to Asgard.

Andvari's Hoard

Once Odin and Hœnir and Loki went on a visit to the earth, and in order to mingle freely with people without being recognized as gods, they laid aside all their divine powers and became, even in appearance, like ordinary men. When they had wandered about the earth many days, and talked with many people,--who never knew, of course, that the gods were among them,--they grew tired of the busy life of the world, and longed to find some place of quiet and rest. So they went far into the heart of the forest, and sat down beside a brook where many fish were leaping about and darting through the sparkling water. The gods lay idly upon the grass and watched them for a long time. Presently, they spied an otter sitting on the bank of the stream, lazily eating a fish which he had just caught. The gods looked on at the meal, and it made them remember that they too were hungry. Odin therefore proposed that they journey on in search of food, and to this the others readily consented; but as they rose to go, Loki suddenly took up a large stone, and, throwing it at the otter, killed him instantly. At this wanton cruelty Odin became angry, and rebuked Loki for his act[37]; but Loki only laughed, while he skinned the otter and cast its body back into the stream.

[37] The otter was held sacred by the Norsemen, and it
figures in the myths of many races. Even to-day the killing
of an otter is considered a great crime by the Parsees.

The gods then wandered on until almost nightfall before they came to any dwelling, and this was only a rude hut built on the side of a mountain. But they were too weary to look further, so they stopped to beg food and a lodging for the night. The old man[38] who lived in the hut bade them enter and share his simple fare, and in return he asked them to tell him of their adventures. Without revealing their identity, Odin told him of their wanderings among men, and of the strange things they had seen. Hœnir also related many stories; but his were of brave heroes who had wrought the mightiest deeds on bloody battlefields. When it came Loki's turn, they asked him to tell all he knew of the life lived by the bright dwellers in Asgard, but Loki laughed and threw upon the ground his otter's skin. When the old man saw this, he cried out:--

[38] The old man's name was Hreidmar (Rodmar).

"O wicked, cruel man, you have killed my son. He was fishing to-day in the stream, and at this sport he always takes the form of an otter. Alas, this is indeed he, and you have slain him."