NORSE STORIES Books bg ffir. MY STUDY FIRE MY STUDY FIRE, SECOND SERIES UNDER THE TREES AND ELSEWHERE SHORT STUDIES IN LITERATURE ESSAYS IN LITERARY INTERPRETATION ESSAYS ON NATURE AND CULTURE BOOKS AND CULTURE ESSAYS ON WORK AND CULTURE THE LIFE OF THE SPIRIT NORSE STORIES WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE FOREST OF ARDEN CHILD OF NATURE . WORK AND DAYS NORSE STORIES RETOLD FROM THE EDDAS * * BY HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY MDCCCCII Copyright, 1882 BY ROBERTS BROTHERS Copyright, 1900 BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY STACK ANNEX TO J. T. M. Contents Chapter Page I. THE MAKING OF THE WORLD . . i II. GODS AND MEN 13 III. ODIN'S SEARCH FOR WISDOM . . 24 IV. How ODIN BROUGHT THE MEAD TO ASGARD 36 V. THE WOOING OF GERD .... 54 VI. THE MAKING OF THE HAMMER . 69 VII. ODIN IN GEIRROD'S PALACE . . 84 VIII. THE APPLES OF IDUN .... 99 IX. THOR GOES A FISHING . . . . 113 X. How THOR FOUND HIS HAMMER . 127 XI. How THOR FOUGHT THE GIANT HRUNGNER 141 XII. THE BINDING OF THE WOLF . . 156 XIII. THOR'S WONDERFUL JOURNEY . 171 XIV. THE DEATH OF BALDER . . . 197 XV. How LORE WAS PUNISHED . . . 222 XVI. THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS . . 234 XVII. THE NEW EARTH 244 VII Norse Stories 9 Chapter I The Making of the World EIGHT hundred years ago, when the galleys of the bold Norse- men were scudding through storm and mist far into the unknown west- ern seas, or, in the soft summer of the Mediterranean, riding at anchor in the ports of Italy and Northern Africa, the old stories of the battles of the gods and the giants that had been repeated for hundreds of years by Norse firesides in the long winter evening were brought together by some unknown man in Iceland, and were known henceforth as the Elder Norse Stories Edda ; and a hundred years later Snorre Sturleson retold the same old stories, with others equally marvel- lous, in the Younger Edda. These ancient books, which a brave and noble race carried in its heart through all its wide wanderings and conquests, take one back to the beginning of time, and tell of the birth of the worlds and the coming of the gods to rule over them. Norway faces the sea with a line of cliffs so massive that their founda- tions seem everlasting. Islands with- out number rise out of the tossing waves ; the deep, tranquil waters of the fjords, overhung with fir-covered mountains, and bright at night with the quenchless splendour of the stars, flow through narrow channels to the outer ocean ; and against the sky great mountains stand vast and im- 2 The Making of the World movable, as if from eternity to eter- nity. No Norseman, steering his adventurous galley along these rocky shores, seeing, perhaps, the mighty rush of the polar seas against the North Cape, and hearing the long .reverberation of Thor's hammer roll from mountain peak to mountain peak, would have believed that these things had not been as he saw them from the very beginning, if the Ed- das, wiser than any wisdom of man, had not told him of a time when even the gods had not begun to live, and in the vast space where no worlds hung and no heavens shone there was nothing but the un- seen spirit of the great All-father, solitary and silent in the depths. Not even the Eddas are able to reveal his thoughts or to describe his life in the awful solitariness of a si- 3 Norse Stories lent universe ; they can only declare that in his own good time he began to build the worlds, and far in the north Niflheim rose out of the depths, the land of eternal winter wrapped in fogs and mists, and far in the south Muspelheim, the land of quenchless fire, glowing with unspeakable heat and overhung with clouds and fiery sparks, in the midst of whose blind- ing heat and light sat Surt, guarding the kingdom of fire with a flaming sword. Between the land of ice and the land of fire yawned the bottom- less abyss, Ginungagap, black and fathomless, and into it the rivers of Niflheim poured with soundless fury, and as the icy streams fell into the darkness they congealed and hung in great masses from the northern edges of the abyss ; and over the awful chasm and the silent cataracts 4 The Making of the World icy fogs gathered and bitter winds swept. Against the whirling snows and shifting fogs of Niflheim glowed the wandering flames and floating fires of Muspelheim, throwing broad beams of light far into the sunless abyss, and sending a wide glow through the drifting snow. Glitter- ing sparks shot into the silent space above and floated far off towards the north like stars that had wandered from their courses ; and as the icy mist met the burning heat in the upper air, it hung motionless for a brief moment and then fell drop by drop into the abyss, and there, out of heat and cold, fire and fog, in darkness and solitude, the giant Ymer grew into life. To give him food the cow Audhumbla was made, and as she stood nourishing the giant 5 Norse Stories with her milk, she licked the icy stones which were covered with salt, and straightway the head of a man began to take shape, grew larger, and on the third day the man stood up- right, fair of face and mighty of stature ; and his name was Bure. Now Bure had a son, whom he called Bor, and Bor, in turn, became the father of Odin, Vile, and Ve, the first of the gods. The giant Ymer also was the father of many children who were frost-giants and enemies of the gods. Ymer grew to such vast size, and was so full of evil, that Odin, Vile, and Ve could not live in peace with him, and at last they fell upon him, and slew him, and the blood poured in such torrents from his great body that all the giants, save Bergelmer and his wife, were drowned ; these two alone 6 The Making of the World escaped on a chest, and from them the whole race of the frost-giants sprang. The gods dragged Ymer's body into the centre of the abyss, and there they fashioned the world out of it. They wrought with divine beauty and power, spreading out the great plains, cutting the deep valleys through the hills, filling the wide seas and sending the waters far up into the deep fjords ; and over all they stretched the bending heaven, and north, south, east, and west set a dwarf to keep it in place ; and they caught the great sparks that floated out of Muspelheim and set them in the sky, until the splendour of the stars shone over the whole earth. Around the world lay the deep sea, an endless circle of waters, and beyond it were the dreary shores of Jotun- heim, the home of the frost-giants. 7 Norse Stories To the giantess Night, and to her beautiful son Day, whose father was of their own number, the gods gave chariots and swift horses that they might ride through the sky once in every twenty-four hours. Night drove first behind the fleet Hrim- faxe, and as she ended her course at dawn bedewed the waiting earth with drops from his bit; Day flew swiftly after his dusky mother, the shining mane of his horse, Skinfaxe, filling the heavens with light. There was also one Mundilfare, who had a son and daughter of such exceed- ing beauty that he called the one Maane, or Moon, and the other Sol, or Sun ; and the gods were so angry at his daring that they set the one to guide the Sun and the other the Moon in their daily courses around the world. So day and night, 8 The Making of the World summer and winter, seed-time and harvest, were established. In the very centre of the earth rose a lofty mountain, and on the top of it was the beautiful plain of Ida, overlooking all lands and seas. Here the gods came when their work was done, and looked upon all that they had made and saw that it was fair; the earth, green and fruitful, blos- somed at their feet, and the heavens bent over them radiant with sun by day and filled with the soft splendour of moon and stars by night. And they chose the plain of Ida for their home, and built the shining city of Asgard. In the midst of it stood a hall of pure gold, whose walls were circled with the thrones of the twelve gods, and they called it Gladsheim. There was a noble hall for the god- desses also, and homes for all the 9 Norse Stories gods. They made ready a great smithy, and filled it with all manner of tools, anvils, hammers, and tongs, with which to forge the weapons that were to slay the giants and keep the world in order. From earth to heaven they stretched Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, over which they passed and repassed in their journey- ings. When the work was done, and Asgard shone like a beautiful cloud overhanging the world, there came a time so peaceful and happy that it was called the Age of Gold. The gods had endless sport in games of skill and strength on the plains of Ida, and day and night the fires blazed in the smithy, as, with won- derful skill, they fashioned all kinds of curious things. There was no care nor sorrow anywhere; no clouds 10 The Making of the World darkened the sun, no blights fell on the growing fields, no mighty tasks pressed on the hearts of the gods summoning them out of ease and pleasure to great enterprises and aw- ful perils. At last the happy time came to an end, for one day the Norns, or fates, the three terrible sisters, Urd, Verdande, and Skuld, who determined the course of events and shaped the lives of things, took their abode at the foot of the tree Ygdrasil, and henceforth not even the gods were free from care. The earth was fruitful, but no one tilled its field or crossed its seas ; the shouts of children at play and the ringing voices of the reapers and harvesters were never heard. So the gods took the earth-mould and out of it they made the dwarfs and set them to work in the veins of metal ii Norse Stories and in dark caverns under ground. It happened also one day that Odin, Hoener, and Loder were walking together along the shore of the sea, and they came upon an ash and an elm, two beautiful trees, straight and symmetrical and crowned with foliage. Odin looked at them long, and a great thought came into his mind. " Out of these trees," he said at last, "let us make man to fill the earth and make it fruitful, and he shall be our child, and we will care for him." And out of the ash and the elm the first man and woman were made, and the gods called the man Ask and the woman Embla. 12 Chapter II Gods and Men A GREAT many hundreds of years after the creation of the world, there ruled in Sweden a wise king whose name was Gylfe ; and the wisdom of this king, like all wis- dom, was in part knowledge and in larger part goodness. He knew how to give as well as how to receive. A wayfaring woman once found shelter at his hands, and, in return told him many wonderful stories; which so pleased the king that he gave her, as a reward, as much land as four oxen could plough in a day and a night. Now this woman was of the race of the gods and her name was Gefjun. She took four great oxen from Jotun- '3 Norse Stories helm, who were the offspring of a giant, and set them before the plough and drove them forth into the land which the king had set apart for her. And the plough, being drawn by giants, cut so deep into the soil, that it tore away a great piece of land, and carried it into the sea to the west, and there left it. Gefjun called this new country which she had taken from the mainland, Seeland ; and the place from which the land was taken was filled by the sea and formed a lake which is now called Logrinn. This was but the beginning of King Gylfe's acquaintance with the gods ; for he was a seeker after wis- dom and he who searches for wisdom must go to the gods to find it. He saw the wonderful things which the gods did and the marvellous ways in which their will was done in Asgard, 14 Gods and Men and upon the earth, and he thought much upon their power and wondered whence it came. He could not make up his mind whether these gods, of whom he had heard and whose mighty works he saw, were powerful by reason of the force in themselves, or whether they were made strong by other and greater gods. After thinking much about these things and finding that no man could answer the questions which he was continually asking himself, Gylfe assumed the form of a very old man and made the long journey to As- gard, thinking to learn the secrets of the gods without letting them know who he was. The gods know all things, and they not only knew that the old man who one day came to Asgard was Gylfe, but they knew that he 15 Norse Stories was to make the journey long before he had so much as thought of it. They received him, however, as if they thought he was what he ap- peared to be, and he learned as much as he could understand ; which is as much as a man ever learns. The gods have often visited men, but men have rarely visited the gods, and the King's coming to Asgard was the beginning of a new wisdom among men. No sooner did he enter the home of the gods than he found himself in a great hall, so high that he could hardly see over it. And the roof of this hall was thatched with shields of gold in place of shingles: Thinking thatchers Thatched the roof; The beams of the burg Beamed with gold. 16 Gods and Men When Gylfe came to the door of this great hall he saw a man playing with swords with such wonderful quickness and skill that he kept seven flashing in the air at one time. When this player with swords asked his name, the king speaking as an old man, answered that he was Ganglere, or the Walker, that he had come a long distance and that he begged a lodging for the night; and he asked, as if it were a very unimportant matter, who owned the hall. The man, who was a god in disguise, replied that it belonged to their king and that he would take Ganglere to him. "You may ask him his name yourself when you see him," he added. Then the man led the way into the hall and no sooner were they 2 I7 Norse Stories within its walls than the doors were shut. There were many rooms under the shining roof and every room seemed to be full of people, some of whom were playing games, and some were drinking out of great horns or cups, and some were right- ing with different kinds of weapons; and Gylfe did not understand half of the things he saw. He was not at all frightened by his ignorance, however, and he said to himself: Gates all, Before in you go, You must examine well ; For you cannot know Where enemies sit In the house before you. When Gylfe had looked about him he saw three seats or thrones and upon each of these a man sat 18 Gods and Men high above the throng which played and drank and fought. " What are the names of these kings ? " he asked. And the man who led him into the hall answered that he who sat on the lowest of the three thrones was the king and was called Har, and that he who sat on the throne next above him was called Jafnhar, and he who sat on the highest throne was called Thride. Now these three gods were as many different forms of Odin, and Gylfe was really seeing one god when he seemed to be seeing three. Then Har, or Odin, spoke in a deep and wonderful tone and asked Gylfe who he was, and why he had come there, and bade him welcome by inviting him to eat and drink as much and often as he chose. But Gylfe was so bent upon learning the 19 Norse Stories secrets of the gods that he did not think of food or drink, nor did he stop to answer Har's questions. He replied boldly that he wanted to find a wise man if there were one. Then Har answered him, as the gods often answer men, in words which were so full of meaning that he did not under- stand them until long afterwards : " You shall not go from this place unharmed unless you go wiser than you came." It is dangerous to seek the gods, unless we profit by what they tell us; for it is better to be ignorant than to possess knowledge and not live by it. Then Gylfe stood boldly before Odin, a man standing in the pres- ence of God and seeking for knowl- edge, and asked many and deep questions about the gods and their ways and power ; and about the 20 Gods and Men giants, and their homes ; and about the making of the world and the crea- tion of man ; and about the sun and moon and stars ; and about the sea- sons and the wind and fire. And Odin answered his questions and told ,him the things which men are eager to know, but cannot learn unless the gods teach them. When Odin had told Gylfe all that a man could understand of these deep mysteries he refused to answer any more questions and bade the questioner make the best use of what had been told him, and when Odin had spoken these words Gylfe heard a great noise and found himself stand- ing alone in a great plain, and the hall and Asgard had vanished utterly. Then, filled with wonder by all he had heard and seen, he went home to his own kingdom, and told of the 21 Norse Stories marvellous things which had befallen him on his journey to the home of the gods ; and what he said was re- membered by those who heard the wonderful stories and told again to their children and their children's children to the latest generations. Now Gylfe was not the only man who talked with the gods ; for -^Eger, who lived on the island called Hler's Isle and was also a man of great wis- dom, made the journey to Asgard and the gods knew of his coming be- fore he came and prepared a great feast for him. When the feast began Odin had swords brought into the hall and these swords were of such brightness that they lighted the hall without the aid of fire or lamps ; and the hall was hung with glittering shields. The gods sat on their thrones and ate and drank with j'Eger, and 22 Gods and Men Brage told him strange and wonder- ful tales of the things which had be- fallen the gods. And this is the way in which men came to know the stories which are told in this book. Chapter III Odin's Search for Wisdom THE wonderful ash-tree, Ygdra- sil, made a far-spreading shade against the fierce heat of the sun in summer, and a stronghold against the piercing winds of winter. No man could remember when it had been young. Little children played under its branches, grew to be strong men and women, lived to be old and weary and feeble, and died ; and yet the ash- tree gave no signs of decay. Forever preserving its freshness and beauty, it was to live as long as there were men to look upon it, animals to feed under it, birds to flutter among its branches. This mighty ash-tree touched and bound all the worlds together in its 24 Odin's Search for Wisdom wonderful circle of life. One root it sent deep down into the sightless depths of Hel, where the dead lived ; another it fastened firmly in Jotun- heim, the dreary home of the giants ; and with the third it grasped Mid- 'gard, the dwelling-place of men. Ser- pents and all kinds of worms gnawed continually at its roots, but were never able to destroy them. Its branches spread out over the whole earth, and the topmost boughs swayed in the clear air of Asgard itself, rustling against the Valhal, the home of the heroes who had done great deeds or died manfully in battle. At the foot of the tree sat the three Norns,wonder- ful spinners of fate, who weave the thread of every man's life, making it what they will ; and a strange weav- ing it often was, cut off when the pat- tern was just beginning to show itself. 25 Norse Stories And every day these Norns sprinkled the tree with the water of life from the Urdar fountain, and so kept it forever green. In the topmost branches sat an eagle singing a strange song about the birth of the world, its decay and death. Under its branches browsed all manner of animals ; among its leaves every kind of bird made its nest ; by day the rainbow hung under it; at night the pale northern light flashed over it, and as the winds swept through its rustling branches, the mul- titudinous murmur of the leaves told strange stories of the past and of the future. The giants were older than the gods, and knew so much more of the past that the gods had to go to them for wisdom. After a time, how- ever, the gods became wiser than the giants, or they would have ceased to 26 Odin's Search for Wisdom be gods, and been destroyed by the giants, instead of destroying them. When the world was still young, and there were still many things which even the gods had to learn, Odin was so anxious to become wise that he went ,to a deep well whose waters touched the roots of Ygdrasil itself. The keeper of the well was a very old and very wise giant, named Mimer, or Memory, and he gave no draughts out of the well until he was well paid ; for the well contained the water of wisdom, and whoever drank of it became straightway wonderfully wise. " Give me a draught of this clear water, O Mimer," said Odin, when he had reached the well, and was look- ing down into its clear, fathomless depths. Mimer, the keeper, was so old that 27 Norse Stories he could remember everything that had ever happened. His eyes were clear and calm as the stars, his face was noble and restful, and his long white beard flowed down to his waist. " This water is only to be had at a great price," he said in a wonder- fully sweet, majestic tone. " I can- not give to all who ask, but only to those who are able and willing to give greatly in return," he continued. If Odin had been less of a god he would have thought longer and bar- gained sharper, but he was so godlike that he cared more to be wise and great than for anything else. " I will give you whatever you ask," he answered. Mimer thought a moment. " You must leave an eye," he said at last. Then he drew up a great draught of the sparkling water, and Odin 28 Odin's Search for Wisdom quenched his divine thirst and went away rejoicing, although he had left an eye behind. Even the gods could not be wise without struggle and toil and sacrifice. So Odin became the wisest in all ^the worlds, and there was no god or giant that could contend with him. There was one giant, however, who was called all-wise in Jotunheim, with whom many had contended in knowl- edge, with curious and difficult ques- tions, and had always been silenced and killed, for then, as now, a man's life often depended on his wisdom. Of this giant, Vafthrudner, and his wisdom many wonderful stories were told, and even among the gods his fame was great. One day as Odin sat thinking of many strange things in the worlds, and many mysterious things in the future, he thought of 29 Norse Stories Vafthrudner. " I will go to Jotun- heim and measure wisdom with Vaf- thrudner, the wisest of the giants," said he to Frigg, his wife, who was sitting by. Then Frigg remembered those who had gone to contend with the all-wise giant and had never come back, and a fear came over her that the same fate might befall Odin. " You are wisest in all the worlds, All-Father," she said ; " why should you seek a treacherous giant who knows not half so much as you ? " But Odin, who feared nothing, could not be persuaded to stay, and Frigg sadly said good-by as he passed out of Asgard on his journey tojotun- heim. His blue mantle set with stars and his golden helmet he left behind him, and as hejourneyed swiftly those who met him saw nothing godlike in 3 Odin's Search for Wisdom him ; nor did Vafthrudner when at last he stood at the giant's door. " I am a simple traveller, Gangraad by name," he said, as Vafthrudner came gruffly toward him. " I ask your hospitality and a chance to strive .with you in wisdom." The giant laughed scornfully at the thought of a man coming to contend with him for mastery in knowledge. "You shall have all you want of both," he growled, " and if you can- not answer my questions you shall never go hence alive." He did not even ask Odin to sit down, but let him stand in the hall, despising him too much to show him any courtesy. After a time he began to ask questions. " Tell me, if you can, O wise Gan- graad, the name of the river which di- vides Asgard from Jotunheim." 31 Norse Stories "The river Ifing, which never freezes over," answered Odin quickly, as if it were the easiest question in the world ; and indeed it was to him, al- though no man could have answered it. Vafthrudner looked up in great surprise when he heard the reply. " Good," he said, " you have an- swered rightly. Tell me, now, the names of the horses that carry day and night across the sky." Before the words were fairly spoken Odin replied, " Skinfaxe and Hrim- faxe." The giant could not conceal his surprise that a man should know these things. " Once more," he said quickly, as if he were risking everything on one question ; " tell me the name of the plain where the Last Battle will be fought." This was a terrible question, for the 32 Odin's Search for Wisdom Last Battle was still far off in the fu- ture, and only the gods and the great- est of the giants knew where and when it would come. Odin bowed his head when he heard the words, for to be ready for that battle was the divine work of his life, and then said, slowly and solemnly, " On the plain of Vigrid, which is one hundred miles on each side." Vafthrudner rose trembling from his seat. He knew now that Gan- graad was some great one in disguise, and that his own life hung on the an- swers he himself would soon be forced to make. " Sit here beside me," he said, " for, whoever you are, worthier antagonist has never entered these walls." Then they sat down together in the rude stone hall, the mightiest of the gods and the wisest of the giants, and 3 33 Norse Stories the great contest in wisdom, with a life hanging in either scale, went on between them. Wonderful secrets of the time when no man was and the time when no man will be, those silent walls listened to as Vafthrudner asked Odin one deep question after another, the answer coming swiftly and surely. After a time the giant could ask no more, for he had exhausted his wisdom. " It is my turn now," said Odin, and one after another he drew out from Vafthrudner the events of the past, then the wonderful things of the race of giants, and finally he began to ques- tion him of that dim, mysterious future whose secrets only the gods know; and as he touched these won- derful things Odin's eyes began to flash, and his form to grow larger and nobler until he seemed no longer the humble Gangraad, but the mighty god 34 Odin's Search for Wisdom he was, and Vafthrudner trembled as he felt the coming doom nearing him with every question. So hours went by, until at last Odin paused in his swift questioning, stooped down and asked the giant, " What did Odin whisper in the ear of Balder as he ascended the funeral pile ? " Only Odin himself could answer this question, and Vafthrudner re- plied humbly and with awe, " Who but thyself, All-father, knoweth the words thou didst say to thy son in the days of old ? I have brought my doom upon myself, for in my ignor- ance I have contended with wisdom it- self. Thou art ever the wisest of all." So Odin conquered, and Wisdom was victorious, as she always has been even when she has contended with giants. 35 Chapter IV How Odin brought the Mead to Asgard BESIDES the gods who lived in Asgard and ruled over Mid- gard, the world of men, there were the Vans, who ruled the seas and the air. The greatest of these was Njord, who kept the winds in the hollow of his hand and vexed the seas with storms or spread over them the peace of a great calm. His son Frey sent rain and sunshine upon the earth and cared for the harvests, while his daughter Freyja was so full of love that she made the whole world beautiful with tenderness, and filled the hearts of men with the sweetest joys they ever knew. 36 How Odin Brought the Mead It happened almost at the begin- ning that the gods and the Vans went to war with each other, and long and fierce was the struggle be- tween them. When peace was made at last, Njord, Frey, and Freyja found homes for themselves in As- gard, and henceforth they were all as one family. While the council at which peace was made was being held, a great jar stood in the open space between the two parties, and when the meeting was over the gods were so glad to be rid of the troublesome war that they resolved to create something that should always remind them of the council. So they took the great jar and out of it they moulded the form of a man, and called him Kvaser. Kvaser was grown up when he was born, and a wonderful man he was 37 Norse Stories too. In all the world there was no- body so wise as he ; ask him any question, and he could answer it. He knew how the gods lived, how the world was made, and what sort of places heaven and hell were. Kvaser was good, too, as all really wise men are. He was a great trav- eller, always going from place to place, and always welcome, because wherever he went he made men wiser and better. People sometimes think poets rather useless sort of men ; but that was not the opinion of the gods, for when they made the first poet they made the very best man they could think of. But poets cannot keep out of trouble any easier than other men, and sometimes not half so well. One night as Kvaser was travelling along through one of those deep 38 How Odin Brought the Mead valleys that run down to the sea in that country, he came to the house of two dwarfs with very queer names, Galar and Fjalar. They were not only little in size, but small and mean in nature, and like all other people of little nature, they were very envious and cruel, and they hated Kvaser because he was so much nobler than they. Galar had a dark, ugly face, which looked still uglier when he saw Kvaser coming towards the house. " Fjalar ! Fjalar ! " he called out, " here comes the wise man who al- ways talks in rhymes, and thinks he knows so much more than anybody else." And when Fjalar saw the poet walking across the fields, a black shadow came over his face like a thunder-cloud. " Galar," he whis- 39 Norse Stories pered, looking around to see that nobody could hear, "we've got him alone ; let 's kill him, and see how much good his wisdom will do him." Meanwhile Kvaser was slowly ap- proaching the house, and the sea, as it dashed against the rocks, was making a song in his mind. If you had heard him sing it, you would have heard the voices of the waves as they toss their white caps and chase each other foaming and roaring and tumbling on the beach. When Kvaser came up to the dwarfs they pretended to be very glad to see him, and told him he was the one person above all others they had wanted to see, because they had a question they had been waiting a long time to ask him. Kvaser was so noble himself that he never thought evil of any one, and when they asked him to 40 How Odin Brought the Mead go with them into a very dark and lonely part of the valley, so that nobody could hear their talk, he had no suspicion that they meant any harm ; but no sooner had they come to the place than they struck him down from behind. Having killed him, they caught his blood in two jars and a kettle, and mixed it with honey, and so the wonderful mead was made. It took not only sweet- ness but life to make true poetry. Not long after this Galar and Fja- lar killed a giant named Gilling, and were punished for it too ; for the giant's son, Suttung, when he dis- covered how his father had been put to death, took the dwarfs out to sea and put them on a little rocky island where they would certainly be drowned when the tide came in, and rowed off to leave them ; but the rascals begged 41 Norse Stories so hard to be taken off, that he final- ly promised to let them live if they would give him the mead. Then Suttung took the mead home and put it in his cellar, and told his daughter Gunlad to watch it day and night, for he knew what a precious drink it was. So the mead passed out of the dwarfs' hands into the keeping of a giant. Now the gods were very fond of Kvaser, and when a long time had passed without any word from him, they asked Galar and Fjalar if they knew anything about him, and the dwarfs said he had been choked by his own wisdom ; but Odin knew that this was a false story. He kept his own counsel, and said nothing about what he was going to do, but one day the gods missed him, and knew he had gone on one of his long journeys. 42 How Odin Brought the Mead As he walked along nobody took him for a god ; he looked like a very hand- some labourer, and in fact that is what he really was. He had pretty much the whole world in his charge, and he had to work very hard to keep it ^in any kind of order. Words could hardly describe the beautiful country through which Odin took his way, its deep, quiet green valleys, with the sparkling cold streams rushing through them ; its steep mountains, crowned with fir and pine ; its great crags standing out into the sea ; and its fjords breaking the coast into num- berless bays. Odin enjoyed it all, for the gods love beauty, but he was thinking all the time how he should get the mead out of the giant's cellar. He knew perfectly well that Suttung would never give it up willingly, and that he must get it either by force or by 43 Norse Stories stratagem. Suttung was very strong, and the cellar was cut out of the solid rock; and the more Odin thought about it the harder it seemed to him. If he had been a man he would have given up, but that was not his way ; besides, he had loved Kvaser, and the mead was his blood, and he meant to bring it to heaven. Now Suttung had a brother named Bauge, who was a farmer, and one afternoon, as his nine thralls were mowing in the fields, they saw a stranger coming towards them. It was a very uncommon thing to see a stranger in that out-of-the-way place, and the men all stopped work to watch him. He was a farm labourer like themselves, but he was very large in stature, and had a very noble face and manner. "A fine meadow of grass," he said 44 How Odin Brought the Mead in a deep musical voice as he joined them, " but you find it hard work ; your scythes are dull." They certainly did look tired and overworked. " Hand me your scythes and I will whet them for you," continued the stranger. The thralls were very glad to have anybody do that for them, so they gave him their scythes with- out saying a word. In a moment the valley rang with the quick strokes of the stone on the hard metal, and the sparks flew in showers around them. The men had never seen such a whetting of scythes before, and their astonishment grew greater still when they found that the grass seemed to fall like magic before them. The mowing, which had been so hard, was now the easiest thing in the world. 45 Norse Stories " Sell us the whetstone," they shouted, crowding around the stranger. " Well," said he very coolly, " I will sell it, but I must have a good price for it." Then each demanded it for him- self, and while they were quarrel- ling as to which should have it, the stranger threw it high into the air, and bade them fight for it, which they did so fiercely that each slew his fellow with his scythe, and the stranger was left alone in the field. He threw the whetstone away, walked off, and as the sun was going down, came to the giant's house and asked if he might stay all night. Bauge was willing, as people were in those days, to give supper and a bed to the stranger, and asked him in. After supper they talked together, and Bauge told the stranger that his 46 How Odin Brought the Mead nine thralls had been fighting in the field and had killed each other, and that he was in great trouble because he did not know where to get men to do his work. " I '11 do it," said the stranger. "Yes," said Bauge, "but you are only one." "That is true," he answered, "but try me and I '11 do the work of all nine." Bauge looked as if he did n't be- lieve it, but it was one good man gained, at least, and that was some- thing. " What shall I pay you ? " con- tinued Bauge, determined to finish the bargain before the man had time to change his mind. The stranger thought a few moments as if he were uncertain what pay he wanted. " I '11 do the work," he said slowly, 47 Norse Stories at last, " if you will give me a drink of the mead in your brother's cellar." Bauge was very much surprised ; he could not understand how the man knew anything about the mead. He was very sure, however, that Suttung would not give him a drop of it, and he thought it was a good chance to get his work done for nothing. "Well," said he, " I can't promise you that, for Suttung takes precious good care of the mead, but I '11 do what I can to help you get it." So the bargain was made, and the next morning the stranger was at work; and all summer, early and late, he was in the fields doing the work of nine men. Bauge often wondered what kind of a man his new farm-hand was ; but so long as the work was done he cared for nothing more, and he asked no ques- 48 How Odin Brought the Mead tions. The stranger once said his name was Bolverk, and that was all he ever said about himself. The months went by, winter came, the work was all done, and Bolverk demanded his pay. ' "We'll go and ask my brother about it," said Bauge ; so they both went to Suttung. Bauge told his brother the bargain he had made with his workman, and asked for a little of the mead. " No," said Suttung very crossly, and looking suspiciously at Bolverk; "it's no bargain of mine, and not a drop shall you have." Bolverk seemed not at all sur- prised at his ill fortune, and Bauge thought that he had gotten his work done for nothing ; but after they had gone a little way together and were hidden from the house by the trees, 4 49 Norse Stories Bolverk drew out an auger from under his clothing. " Bauge," said he, " you promised to help me get that mead. I am going into Suttung's cellar for it." Bauge smiled at the idea of cut- ting through a thick rock and getting into the cellar with that auger, but when it was handed to him he took it without saying a word and began to bore. It was an astonishing au- ger, for no sooner had he pressed it against the rock than it began to fly around with wonderful rapidity, the chips of stone fairly making a cloud about him. Once he stopped, for he was afraid he really would get into the cellar, and told Bolverk he had bored through, but Bolverk knew that couldn't be true, because the chips still flew out; so he told Bauge to go on. In a little time the au- 50 How Odin Brought the Mead ger slipped through. Bauge looked around, but there was no Bolverk, and while he stared in every direction a large worm crept up the rock and into the hole. When Bauge caught sight of it he thrust the auger hastily into the hole, but Bolverk's voice answered back from the cellar, "Too late, Bauge ; you need n't bore any longer." Then Bauge suspected that a man who had done the work of nine men all summer, and suddenly changed himself into a worm, must be some- body more than common. Bolverk was actually in Suttung's house, but how was he to get out again with the mead? Gunlad, the young lady who had been charged by her father to watch O J the precious drink day and night, was sitting quietly beside it, when she 5* Norse Stories was suddenly surprised, and not a little frightened, by the apparition of a young and beautiful man standing before her. What the handsome young man said to her nobody knows, but he probably told her he was very much exhausted, and hinted that she was very lovely; that he had never seen any one he admired so much before. At any rate, he persuaded her to let him drink three draughts of the mead, only three. They were certainly the most as- tonishing draughts anybody ever heard of, for with the first he emptied one jar, with the second he emptied the other jar, and with the third he finished the kettle. And now another wonderful change took place. Bolverk had entered as a worm, but no sooner had he drunk the mead than in an instant he be- 52 How Odin Brought the Mead came an eagle, and before Gunlad knew what had happened, with splendid wings outspread he was rising upward in broad, easy flight. Through the still air, faster and faster, higher and higher, in wide circles that swept far round the sum- mits of the mountains, in swift ma- jestic flight he rose until the earth had vanished out of sight, and his mighty pinions beat against the gates of Asgard. So Odin brought the mead to heaven, where it remains to this day, and only those whom the gods love are permitted to drink of it. 53 Chapter V The Wooing of Gerd FREY was busy enough in sum- mer, when the sunlight was to fall warm and fruitful along the moun- tain ridges and deep into the val- leys, and the gentle showers were to be gathered far out at sea and driven by the winds across the heavens, weav- ing soft draperies of mist about the hills, or folding the landscape in with blinding curtains of rain as they passed ; for the sowing and the harvesting and the ripening of the fruit were his to watch over and care for. But when winter came, Frey was idle day in and day out, and so it happened, in this long dull 54 The Wooing of Gerd season, that he was wandering rest- lessly one morning about Asgard, when he saw that Odin's throne was empty. To sit upon it and look out over the world was the thought that flashed into Frey's mind and out again, leaving him more idle and restless than before. Neither man nor god, save Odin, had dared to sit in that awful seat, from which noth- ing was hidden ; but when one has nothing to do, it is easy to do wrong. Frey wandered about a little longer, and then boldly mounted the steps and sat down on the throne of the world. What a wonderful view it was ! There lay Asgard beautiful in the morning light ; there were the rol- ling clouds like great waves in the clear heaven ; there was the world with its steep mountains and tossing 55 Norse Stories seas ; and there was Jotunheim, the home of the giants, gloomy and for- bidding, great black cliffs standing along the coast like grim sentinels. Frey looked long and earnestly at this dreary place where the enemies of the gods lived, hating the sun- shine and the summer, and always plotting to bring back winter and barrenness to the earth ; and as he looked he saw a massive house standing alone amid the hills. Dark shadows lay across the gloomy land- scape, cold winds swept over the stony valleys, and not one bright or beautiful thing was visible in all the country round. In a moment, how- ever, a figure moved out of the shad- ows, and a maiden walked slowly to the desolate house, mounted the steps, paused a moment at the door, and then raised her arms to loosen 56 The Wooing of Gerd the latch. Straightway a wonder- ful warmth and light stole over the hills. As she stood with uplifted arms she was so beautiful that earth and air were flooded with her loveli- ness, and even the heavens were radiant. When she opened the door and closed it behind her the shadows deepened among the hills, and Frey's heart was fast bound among the rocks of Jotunheim. He had been punished for sitting in the seat of Odin. For days Frey neither ate, slept, nor spoke. He wandered about, silent and gloomy as a cloud, and no one dared ask him why he was so sorrowful. Njord, Frey's father, waited until he could wait no longer, and then with a heavy heart sent for Skirner, whom Frey loved as his own brother, and begged him to find 57 Norse Stories the cause of all this sadness. Skirner came upon Frey walking about with folded arms and eyes cast gloomily upon the ground. " Why do you stay here all day alone?" he asked. "Where are the light and joy that have always been yours ? " " The sun shines every day, but not for me," answered Frey. " We were children together," said Skirner, laying his hand on Frey's arm ; " we trust each other's truth ; tell me your sorrow." And Frey told him how he had climbed into the seat of Odin and looked upon Jotunheim and seen the beautiful maiden like a sunbeam among shadows, like a sudden coming of summer when snows are deep, and that he could never be happy again until he had won her for himself. 58 The Wooing of Gerd " If that is all, it is easily managed," said Skirner when he had heard the story. " Give me your swiftest horse that can ride through fire and flame, and the sword which swings itself when giants are opposed, and I will go to Jotunheim." Frey was too glad to get the desire of his heart to delay about giving up the horse and the sword, and Skirner was soon mounted and riding like the wind on his dreary journey. Night came on, the black shadows of the mountains lay across the fjords as he passed, and one by one the endless procession of the stars moved along the summits of the hills as if they would bear him company. All night the hard hoofs rang on the stony way, scattering showers of sparks at every step. Faster and faster the daring rider drove the faithful horse until 59 Norse Stories his flight was like the flash and roar of the thunderbolt. " Rush on, brave horse," shouted Skirner; "we shall return with the prize or the mighty giant will keep us both." At last the long journey was over and the gloomy house reached. It was the home of the frost-giant Gymer, and the beautiful maiden who stood at the door when Frey was on Odin's throne was Gerd, the giant's daughter. Fierce dogs were chained about the gate and rushed savagely upon Skir- ner, barking furiously as if they would tear him limb from limb. So he turned aside and rode up to a shepherd sitting on a mound near by. " Shepherd, how shall I quiet these dogs and speak with Gymer's daugh- ter ? " he asked. 60 The Wooing of Gerd The shepherd looked at him with wonder in his eyes. "Who are you," he answered, " and whence do you come ? Are you doomed to die, or are you a ghost already? Whoever you are, you will never get speech with Gymer's daughter." "I am not afraid," said Skirner proudly ; " fate has already fixed the day of my death, and it cannot be changed." Skirner's voice rang clear and strong above the howling of the dogs, and Gerd in her chamber heard the brave words. " What noise is that ? " she called to her maidens. "The very earth shakes and the foundations tremble." One of the maidens looked out and saw Skirner. "A warrior stands without the 61 Norse Stories wall," she answered; "and while he waits, his horse eats the grass before the gates." " Bid him enter at once and quaff the pleasant mead, for I fear the slay- er of my brother has come." Skirner needed no second invita- tion, and, quickly springing to the ground, walked through the stony halls and stood before the beautiful Gerd. She looked keenly at him for a moment and knew from his bright- ness and beauty that he was from Asgard. "Are you god, or elf ? " she ask- ed ; " and why have you come through night and flame to visit Gymer's halls?" " I am neither elf nor god," said Skirner ; " and yet I have come to your home through night and flame. Frey, beautiful among the gods and loved 62 The Wooing of Gerd of all the earth, has seen your beauty and can never be happy again until he has won you for himself. I bring you eleven beautiful apples if you will go back with me." " I will not go," was Gerd's quick answer. " This wonderful ring, which every ninth night drops eight other rings as rich as itself, shall be yours," said Skirner, holding Draupner in his hand and gently urging her. Gerd frowned angrily. " I will not take your wondrous ring. I have gold enough in my father's house." " Then," said Skirner, casting aside his gentleness, " look at this flashing sword ! If you will not return I will strike your fair head from your body." Gerd drew herself up to her full height and answered, with flashing eyes, " I will never be won by force. 63 Norse Stories As for your threats, my father will meet you sword for sword." " I will quickly slay him," said Skirner angrily. But Gerd only smiled scornfully ; she was too cold to be won by gifts and too proud to be moved by threats. Skirner's face suddenly changed. He drew out a magic wand, and with eyes fixed upon her and in a solemn voice, as he waved it over her, he chanted an awful mystic curse. There was breathless silence in the room while Skirner with slow move- ments of the wand wove about Gerd dread enchantments and breathed over her the direful incantation : " If you refuse, may you sit in ev- erlasting darkness on some dreary mountain top ; may terrors crowd round you in awful shapes and tears never cease to fall from your 64 The Wooing of Gerd eyes ; hated of gods and men, may you pass your life in solitude and des- olation ! " 'T is done ! I wind the mystic charm ; Thus, thus I trace the giant form ; And three fell characters below, Fury, and Lust, and Restless Woe. E'en as I wound, I straight unwind This fatal spell, if you are kind." * Skirner stopped, and an awful still- ness followed. Gerd, trembling under the terrible curse, stood quivering with bowed head and clasped hands. Her pride could not yield, but some- thing told her that to live with a god was better than to stay in the home of a frost-giant. A gentle warmth seemed to steal through and melt her icy coldness. She raised her face, and it was so softened that they hard- ly knew her. i Andersen's Norse Mythology 5 65 Norse Stories " I greet you," she said, " with this brimming cup of mead, but I did not think that I should ever love a god." When Skirner pressed her to go back with him, she promised to meet Frey nine days hence and become his bride in the groves of Bar-isle. Skirner was soon mounted and rid- ing homeward as fast as his horse could carry him. He was so happy in the thought of Frey's happiness that the distance seemed short, and as he drew near he saw Frey standing be- fore his father's halls, looking anxious- ly for his coming. " She is yours ! " he shouted, urg- ing his horse into swifter flight. " When ? " said Frey eagerly. " Nine days hence, in the groves of Bar-isle," joyfully replied Skirner, who expected to be loaded with 66 The Wooing of Gerd thanks. Frey, however, was so eager that he forgot what night and flame his friend had ridden through for love of him. " One day is long ; long, indeed, are two. How shall I wait for three ? " was all the thanks Skirner got. The days that followed were long enough for Frey ; but even the long- est day comes to an end, and at last the ninth day came. Never sun shone so brightly or south wind blew so musically as on the morning when at Bar-isle, under the branches of the great trees, Frey found the beautiful Gerd waiting for his com- ing, far lovelier than when she stood before her father's door. And the whole earth was happy in them, for while they stood with clasped hands the skies grew soft, the trees put on 67 Norse Stories a tender green, the flowers blossomed along the mountain side, the ripening grain swayed in the fields, and sum- mer lay warm and fragrant over the land. 68 Chapter VI The Making of the Hammer ONE day as Sif, Thor's beautiful wife, was sitting in the palace Bilskirner in Thrudvang, or thunder- world, she fell asleep, with her long hair falling about her shoulders like a shower of gold. She made a very pretty picture as she sat there in the sunlight ; at least Loke thought so as he passed by and saw her motion- less, like the statue of a goddess in a great temple, instead of a living god- dess in her own palace. Loke never saw anything beautiful without the wish that somehow he might spoil it ; and when he noticed that Sif was asleep he thought it was a good time to carry off her golden hair, and so 69 Norse Stories rob her of that of which Thor was most proud. As noiselessly as he could, and more like a thief than a god, he stole into the palace, cut off the golden locks and carried them away, without leaving one behind as a trace of his evil deed. When Sif awoke and found her beautiful hair gone, she went and hid herself, lest Thor coming home should miss the beauty which had always been like light to his eyes. And presently Thor came ; but no Sif was there to meet him, mak- ing him forget with one proud look from her tender eyes the dangers and labours of his life. She had never failed to greet him at the threshold before ; and the strong god's heart, which had never beat a second quicker at sight of the great- est giant in the world, grew faint 70 The Making of the Hammer with fear that in his absence some mishap had befallen her. He ran quickly from room to room in the palace, and at last he came upon Sif, hidden behind a pillar, her shorn head in her hands, weeping bitterly. In a few broken words she told Thor what had happened, and as she went on, Thor's wrath grew hotter and hotter until he was ter- rible to behold. Lightnings flashed out of his deep-set eyes, the palace trembled under his angry strides, and it seemed as if his fury would burst forth like some awful tempest uprooting and destroying everything in its path. " I know who did it," he shouted, when Sif had ended her story. " It was that rascally Loke, and I'll break every bone in his thievish body ; " and without as much as saying good- 7' Norse Stories by to his sobbing wife, he strode off like a thunder-cloud to Asgard, and there, coming suddenly upon Loke, he seized him by the neck and would have killed him on the spot had not Loke confessed his deed and prom- ised to restore the golden hair. " I '11 get the swarthy elves to make a crown of golden hair for Sif more beautiful than she used to wear," gasped Loke, in the iron grasp of the angry Thor ; and Thor, who cared more for Sif's beauty than for Loke's punishment, let the thief go, having bound him by solemn pledges to fulfil his promise without delay. Loke lost no time, but went far underground to the gloomy smithy of the dwarfs, who were called Ivald's sons, and who were wonder- ful workers in gold and brass. 72 The Making of the Hammer " Make me a crown of golden hair," said Loke, " that will grow like any other hair, and I will give you whatever you want for your work." The bargain was quickly made, and the busy little dwarfs were soon at their task, and in a little time they had done all that Loke asked, and more too ; for in addition to the shining hair they gave Loke the spear Gungner and the famous ship Skidbladner. With these treasures in his arms Loke came into Asgard and began boasting of the wonderful things he had brought from the smithy of Ivald's sons. " Nobody like the sons of Ivald to work in metal ! " he said. " The other dwarfs are all stupid little knaves compared with them." 73 Norse Stories Now it happened that the dwarf Brok was standing by and heard Loke's boasting ; his brother Sindre was so cunning a workman that most of the dwarfs thought him by far the best in the world. It made Brok angry, therefore, to hear the sons of Ivald called the best workmen, and he spoke up and said, " My brother Sindre can make more wonderful things of gold and iron and brass than ever the sons of Ivald thought of." "Your brother Sindre," repeated Loke scornfully. " Who is your brother Sindre ? " " The best workman in the world," answered Brok. Loke laughed loud and long. " Go to your wonderful brother Sindre," said he, "and tell him if he can make three such precious 74 The Making of the Hammer things as the spear, the ship, and the golden hair, he shall have my head for his trouble." And Loke laughed longer and louder than before. Brok was off to the underworld before the laugh died out of his ears, determined to have Loke's head if magic and hard work could do it. He went straight to Sindre and told him of the wager he had laid with Loke, and in a little while Sindre was hard at work in his smithy. It was a queer place for such wonder- ful work as was done in it, for it was nothing but a great cavern under- ground, with tools piled up in little heaps around its sides, and thick darkness everywhere when the fur- nace fire was not sending its glow out into the blackness. If you had looked in now, you would have seen a broad glare of light streaming out 75 Norse Stories from the furnace, for Brok was blow- ing the bellows with all his might, and the coals were fairly blazing with heat. When all was ready Sindre took a swine-skin, put it into the furnace, and telling Brok to blow the bellows until his return, went out of the smithy. Brok kept steadily at work, although a gad-fly flew in, buzzed noisily about, and, finally settling on his hand, stung him so that he could hardly bear it. After a while Sindre came back and took out of the furnace a won- derful boar with bristles of pure gold. Then Sindre took some gold, and placing it in the furnace bade Brok blow as if his life depended on it, and went out a second time. Brok had no sooner begun blowing than the troublesome gad-fly came 76 The Making of the Hammer back, and fastening upon his neck stung him so fiercely that he could hardly keep his hands away from his neck ; but Brok was a faithful dwarf, who meant to do his work thoroughly if he died for it, and so he blew away as if it were the easiest thing in the world, until Sindre came back and took a shining ring from the fire. The third time Sindre put iron into the fire, and bidding Brok blow without ceasing, went out again. No sooner had he gone than the gad-fly flew in, and settling between Brok's eyes stung him so sharply that drops of blood ran down into his eyes, and he could not see what he was doing. He blew away as bravely as he could for some time, but the pain was so keen, and he was so blind, that at last he raised his hand quickly to brush the fly 77 Norse Stories away. That very instant Sindre returned. " You have almost spoiled it," he said, as he took out of the glowing furnace the wonderful hammer Mjol- ner. " See how short you have made the handle ! But you can't lengthen it now. So carry the gifts to Asgard, and bring me Loke's head." Brok started off with the golden boar, the shining ring, and the terri- ble hammer. When he came through the great gate of Asgard the gods were very anxious to see the end of this strange contest, and taking their seats on their shining thrones they appointed Odin, Thor, and Frey to judge be- tween Loke and Brok, as to which had the most wonderful things. Then Loke brought out the spear Gungner, which never misses its 78 The Making of the Hammer mark, and gave it to Odin ; and the golden hair he gave to Thor, who placed it on Sif's head, and straight- way it began to grow like any other hair, and Sif was as beautiful as on the day when Loke saw her in Thor's palace, and robbed her of her tresses ; and to Frey he gave the marvellous ship Skidbladner, which always found a breeze to drive it wherever its master would go, no matter how the sea was running, nor from what quarter the wind was blowing, and which could be folded up and carried in one's pocket. Then Loke laughed scornfully. " Bring out the trinkets which that wonderful brother of yours has made," he said. Brok came forward, and stood be- fore the wondering gods with his treasures. 79 Norse Stones