Various - Myths That Every Child Should Know
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Various >> Myths That Every Child Should Know
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"I am a builder," said the stranger, who was a huge fellow with sleeves
rolled up to show the iron muscles of his arms. "I am a builder of
strong towers, and I have heard that the folk of Asgard need one to help
them raise a fair fortress in their city."
Heimdal looked at the stranger narrowly, for there was that about him
which his sharp eyes did not like. But he made no answer, only blew on
his golden horn, which was so loud that it sounded through all the
world. At this signal all the AEsir came running to the rainbow bridge,
from wherever they happened to be, to find out who was coming to Asgard.
For it was Heimdal's duty ever to warn them of the approach of the
unknown.
"This fellow says he is a builder," quoth Heimdal. "And he would fain
build us a fortress in the city."
"Ay, that I would," nodded the stranger, "Look at my iron arm; look at
my broad back; look at my shoulders. Am I not the workman you need?"
"Truly, he is a mighty figure," vowed Odin, looking at him approvingly.
"How long will it take you alone to build our fortress? We can allow but
one stranger at a time within our city, for safety's sake."
"In three half-years," replied the stranger, "I will undertake to build
for you a castle so strong that not even the giants, should they swarm
hither over Midgard--not even they could enter without your leave."
"Aha!" cried Father Odin, well pleased at this offer. "And what reward
do you ask, friend, for help so timely?"
The stranger hummed and hawed and pulled his long beard while he
thought. Then he spoke suddenly, as if the idea had just come into his
mind. "I will name my price, friends," he said; "a small price for so
great a deed. I ask you to give me Freia for my wife, and those two
sparkling jewels, the Sun and Moon."
At this demand the gods looked grave; for Freia was their dearest
treasure. She was the most beautiful maid who ever lived, the light and
life of heaven, and if she should leave Asgard, joy would go with her;
while the Sun and Moon were the light and life of the AEsir's children,
men, who lived in the little world below. But Loki the sly whispered
that they would be safe enough if they made another condition on their
part, so hard that the builder could not fulfil it. After thinking
cautiously, he spoke for them all.
"Mighty man," quoth he, "we are willing to agree to your price--upon one
condition. It is too long a time that you ask; we cannot wait three
half-years for our castle; that is equal to three centuries when one is
in a hurry. See that you finish the fort without help in one winter, one
short winter, and you shall have fair Freia with the Sun and Moon. But
if, on the first day of summer, one stone is wanting to the walls, or if
anyone has given you aid in the building, then your reward is lost, and
you shall depart without payment." So spoke Loki, in the name of all the
gods; but the plan was his own.
At first the stranger shook his head and frowned, saying that in so
short a time no one unaided could complete the undertaking. At last he
made another offer. "Let me have but my good horse to help me, and I
will try," he urged. "Let me bring the useful Svadilfoeri with me to the
task, and I will finish the work in one winter of short days, or lose my
reward. Surely, you will not deny me this little help, from one
four-footed friend."
Then again the AEsir consulted, and the wiser of them were doubtful
whether it were best to accept the stranger's offer so strangely made.
But again Loki urged them to accept. "Surely, there is no harm," he
said. "Even with his old horse to help him, he cannot build the castle
in the promised time. We shall gain a fortress without trouble and with
never a price to pay."
Loki was so eager that, although the other AEsir did not like this crafty
way of making bargains, they finally consented. Then in the presence of
the heroes, with the Valkyries and Mimer's head for witnesses, the
stranger and the AEsir gave solemn promise that the bargain should be
kept.
On the first day of winter the strange builder began his work, and
wondrous was the way he set about it. His strength seemed as the
strength of a hundred men. As for his horse Svadilfoeri, he did more work
by half than even the mighty builder. In the night he dragged the
enormous rocks that were to be used in building the castle, rocks as big
as mountains of the earth; while in the daytime the stranger piled them
into place with his iron arms. The AEsir watched him with amazement;
never was seen such strength in Asgard. Neither Tyr the stout nor
Thor the strong could match the power of the stranger. The gods began to
look at one another uneasily. Who was this mighty one who had come among
them, and what if after all he should win his reward? Freia trembled in
her palace, and the Sun and Moon grew dim with fear.
Still the work went on, and the fort was piling higher and higher, by
day and by night. There were but three days left before the end of
winter, and already the building was so tall and so strong that it was
safe from the attacks of any giant. The AEsir were delighted with their
fine new castle; but their pride was dimmed by the fear that it must be
paid for at all too costly a price. For only the gateway remained to be
completed, and unless the stranger should fail to finish that in the
next three days, they must give him Freia with the Sun and Moon.
The AEsir held a meeting upon Ida Plain, a meeting full of fear and
anger. At last they realised what they had done; they had made a bargain
with one of the giants, their enemies; and if he won the prize, it would
mean sorrow and darkness in heaven and upon earth. "How did we happen to
agree to so mad a bargain?" they asked one another. "Who suggested the
wicked plan which bids fair to cost us all that we most cherish?" Then
they remembered that it was Loki who had made the plan; it was he who
had insisted that it be carried out; and they blamed him for all the
trouble.
"It is your counsels, Loki, that have brought this danger upon us,"
quoth Father Odin, frowning. "You chose the way of guile, which is not
our way. It now remains for you to help us by guile, if you can. But if
you cannot save for us Freia and the Sun and Moon, you shall die. This
is my word." All the other AEsir agreed that this was just. Thor alone
was away hunting evil demons at the other end of the world, so he did
not know what was going on, and what dangers were threatening Asgard.
Loki was much frightened at the word of All-Father. "It was my fault,"
he cried, "but how was I to know that he was a giant? He had disguised
himself so that he seemed but a strong man. And as for his horse--it
looks much like that of other folk. If it were not for the horse, he
could not finish the work. Ha! I have a thought! The builder shall not
finish the gate; the giant shall not receive his payment. I will cheat
the fellow."
Now it was the last night of winter, and there remained but a few stones
to put in place on the top of the wondrous gateway. The giant was sure
of his prize, and chuckled to himself as he went out with his horse to
drag the remaining stones; for he did not know that the AEsir had guessed
at last who he was, and that Loki was plotting to outwit him. Hardly had
he gone to work when out of the wood came running a pretty little mare,
who neighed to Svadilfoeri as if inviting the tired horse to leave his
work and come to the green fields for a holiday.
Svadilfoeri, you must remember, had been working hard all winter, with
never a sight of four-footed creature of his kind, and he was very
lonesome and tired of dragging stones. Giving a snort of disobedience,
off he ran after this new friend toward the grassy meadows. Off went the
giant after him, howling with rage, and running for dear life, as he saw
not only his horse but his chance of success slipping out of reach. It
was a mad chase, and all Asgard thundered with the noise of galloping
hoofs and the giant's mighty tread. The mare who raced ahead was Loki in
disguise, and he led Svadilfoeri far out of reach, to a hidden meadow
that he knew; so that the giant howled and panted up and down all night
long, without catching even a sight of his horse.
Now when the morning came the gateway was still unfinished, and night
and winter had ended at the same hour. The giant's time was over, and he
had forfeited his reward. The AEsir came flocking to the gateway, and
how they laughed and triumphed when they found three stones wanting to
complete the gate!
"You have failed, fellow," judged Father Odin sternly, "and no price
shall we pay for work that is still undone. You have failed. Leave
Asgard quickly; we have seen all we want of you and of your race."
Then the giant knew that he was discovered, and he was mad with rage.
"It was a trick!" he bellowed, assuming his own proper form, which was
huge as a mountain, and towered high beside the fortress that he had
built. "It was a wicked trick. You shall pay for this in one way or
another. I cannot tear down the castle which, ungrateful ones, I have
built you, stronger than the strength of any giant. But I will demolish
the rest of your shining city!" Indeed, he would have done so in his
mighty rage; but at this moment Thor, whom Heimdal had called from the
end of the earth by one blast of the golden horn, came rushing to the
rescue, drawn in his chariot of goats. Thor jumped to the ground close
beside the giant, and before that huge fellow knew what had happened,
his head was rolling upon the ground at Father Odin's feet; for with one
blow Thor had put an end to the giant's wickedness and had saved Asgard.
"This is the reward you deserve!" Thor cried. "Not Freia nor the Sun and
Moon, but the death that I have in store for all the enemies of the
AEsir."
In this extraordinary way the noble city of Asgard was made safe and
complete by the addition of a fortress which no one, not even the giant
who built it, could injure, it was so wonder-strong. But always at the
top of the gate were lacking three great stones that no one was mighty
enough to lift. This was a reminder to the AEsir that now they had the
race of giants for their everlasting enemies. And though Loki's trick
had saved them Freia, and for the world the Sun and Moon, it was the
beginning of trouble in Asgard which lasted as long as Loki lived to
make mischief with his guile.
CHAPTER XII
HOW ODIN LOST HIS EYE
In the beginning of things, before there was any world or sun, moon, and
stars, there were the giants; for these were the oldest creatures that
ever breathed. They lived in Jotunheim, the land of frost and darkness,
and their hearts were evil. Next came the gods, the good AEsir, who made
earth and sky and sea, and who dwelt in Asgard, above the heavens. Then
were created the queer little dwarfs, who lived underground in the
caverns of the mountains, working at their mines of metal and precious
stones. Last of all, the gods made men to dwell in Midgard, the good
world that we know, between which and the glorious home of the AEsir
stretched Bifroest, the bridge of rainbows.
In those days, folk say, there was a mighty ash tree named Yggdrasil, so
vast that its branches shaded the whole earth and stretched up into
heaven where the AEsir dwelt, while its roots sank far down below the
lowest depth. In the branches of the big ash tree lived a queer family
of creatures. First, there was a great eagle, who was wiser than any
bird that ever lived--except the two ravens, Thought and Memory, who sat
upon Father Odin's shoulders and told him the secrets which they learned
in their flight over the wide world. Near the great eagle perched a
hawk, and four antlered deer browsed among the buds of Yggdrasil. At
the foot of the tree coiled a huge serpent, who was always gnawing
hungrily at its roots, with a whole colony of little snakes to keep him
company--so many that they could never be counted. The eagle at the top
of the tree and the serpent at its foot were enemies, always saying hard
things of each other. Between the two skipped up and down a little
squirrel, a tale bearer and a gossip, who repeated each unkind remark
and, like the malicious neighbour that he was, kept their quarrel ever
fresh and green.
In one place at the roots of Yggdrasil was a fair fountain called the
Urdar-well, where the three Norn maidens, who knew the past, present,
and future, dwelt with their pets, the two white swans. This was magic
water in the fountain, which the Norns sprinkled every day upon the
giant tree to keep it green--water so sacred that everything which
entered it became white as the film of an eggshell. Close beside this
sacred well the AEsir had their council hall, to which they galloped
every morning over the rainbow bridge.
But Father Odin, the king of all the AEsir, knew of another fountain more
wonderful still; the two ravens whom he sent forth to bring him news had
told him. This also was below the roots of Yggdrasil, in the spot where
the sky and ocean met. Here for centuries and centuries the giant Mimer
had sat keeping guard over his hidden well, in the bottom of which lay
such a treasure of wisdom as was to be found nowhere else in the world.
Every morning Mimer dipped his glittering horn Gioell into the fountain
and drew out a draught of the wondrous water, which he drank to make him
wise. Every day he grew wiser and wiser; and as this had been going on
ever since the beginning of things, you can scarcely imagine how wise
Mimer was.
Now it did not seem right to Father Odin that a giant should have all
this wisdom to himself; for the giants were the enemies of the AEsir, and
the wisdom which they had been hoarding for ages before the gods were
made was generally used for evil purposes. Moreover, Odin longed and
longed to become the wisest being in the world. So he resolved to win a
draught from Mimer's well, if in any way that could be done.
One night, when the sun had set behind the mountains of Midgard, Odin
put on his broad-brimmed hat and his striped cloak, and taking his
famous staff in his hand, trudged down the long bridge to where it ended
by Mimer's secret grotto.
"Good-day, Mimer," said Odin, entering; "I have come for a drink from
your well."
The giant was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chin, his long
white beard falling over his folded arms, and his head nodding; for
Mimer was very old, and he often fell asleep while watching over his
precious spring. He woke with a frown at Odin's words. "You want a drink
from my well, do you?" he growled. "Hey! I let no one drink from my
well."
"Nevertheless, you must let me have a draught from your glittering
horn," insisted Odin, "and I will pay you for it."
"Oho, you will pay me for it, will you?" echoed Mimer, eyeing his
visitor keenly. For now that he was wide awake, his wisdom taught him
that this was no ordinary stranger. "What will you pay for a drink from
my well, and why do you wish it so much?"
"I can see with my eyes all that goes on in heaven and upon earth,"
said Odin, "but I cannot see into the depths of ocean. I lack the hidden
wisdom of the deep--the wit that lies at the bottom of your fountain. My
ravens tell me many secrets; but I would know all. And as for payment,
ask what you will, and I will pledge anything in return for the draught
of wisdom."
Then Mimer's keen glance grew keener. "You are Odin, of the race of
gods," he cried. "We giants are centuries older than you, and our wisdom
which we have treasured during these ages, when we were the only
creatures in all space, is a precious thing. If I grant you a draught
from my well, you will become as one of us, a wise and dangerous enemy.
It is a goodly price, Odin, which I shall demand for a boon so great."
Now Odin was growing impatient for the sparkling water. "Ask your
price," he frowned. "I have promised that I will pay."
"What say you, then, to leaving one of those far-seeing eyes of yours at
the bottom of my well?" asked Mimer, hoping that he would refuse the
bargain. "This is the only payment I will take."
Odin hesitated. It was indeed a heavy price, and one that he could ill
afford, for he was proud of his noble beauty. But he glanced at the
magic fountain bubbling mysteriously in the shadow, and he knew that he
must have the draught.
"Give me the glittering horn," he answered. "I pledge you my eye for a
draught to the brim."
Very unwillingly Mimer filled the horn from the fountain of wisdom and
handed it to Odin. "Drink, then," he said; "drink and grow wise. This
hour is the beginning of trouble between your race and mine." And wise
Mimer foretold the truth.
Odin thought merely of the wisdom which was to be his. He seized the
horn eagerly, and emptied it without delay. From that moment he became
wiser than anyone else in the world except Mimer himself.
Now he had the price to pay, which was not so pleasant. When he went
away from the grotto, he left at the bottom of the dark pool one of his
fiery eyes, which twinkled and winked up through the magic depths like
the reflection of a star. This is how Odin lost his eye, and why from
that day he was careful to pull his gray hat low over his face when he
wanted to pass unnoticed. For by this oddity folk could easily recognise
the wise lord of Asgard.
In the bright morning, when the sun rose over the mountains of Midgard,
old Mimer drank from his bubbly well a draught of the wise water that
flowed over Odin's pledge. Doing so, from his underground grotto he saw
all that befell in heaven and on earth. So that he also was wiser by the
bargain. Mimer seemed to have secured rather the best of it; for he lost
nothing that he could not spare, while Odin lost what no man can well
part with--one of the good windows wherethrough his heart looks out upon
the world. But there was a sequel to these doings which made the balance
swing down in Odin's favour.
Not long after this, the AEsir quarrelled with the Vanir, wild enemies of
theirs, and there was a terrible battle. But in the end the two sides
made peace; and to prove that they meant never to quarrel again, they
exchanged hostages. The Vanir gave to the AEsir old Nioerd the rich, the
lord of the sea and the ocean wind, with his two children, Frey and
Freia. This was indeed a gracious gift; for Freia was the most beautiful
maid in the world, and her twin brother was almost as fair. To the
Vanir in return Father Odin gave his own brother Hoenir. And with
Hoenir he sent Mimer the wise, whom he took from his lonely well.
Now the Vanir made Hoenir their chief, thinking that he must be very
wise because he was the brother of great Odin, who had lately become
famous for his wisdom. They did not know the secret of Mimer's well, how
the hoary old giant was far more wise than anyone who had not quaffed of
the magic water. It is true that in the assemblies of the Vanir Hoenir
gave excellent counsel. But this was because Mimer whispered in
Hoenir's ear all the wisdom that he uttered. Witless Hoenir was
quite helpless without his aid, and did not know what to do or say.
Whenever Mimer was absent he would look nervous and frightened, and if
folk questioned him he always answered:
"Yes, ah yes! Now go and consult someone else."
Of course the Vanir soon grew very angry at such silly answers from
their chief, and presently they began to suspect the truth. "Odin has
deceived us," they said. "He has sent us his foolish brother with a
witch to tell him what to say. Ha! We will show him that we understand
the trick." So they cut off poor old Mimer's head and sent it to Odin as
a present.
The tales do not say what Odin thought of the gift. Perhaps he was glad
that now there was no one in the whole world who could be called so wise
as himself. Perhaps he was sorry for the danger into which he had thrust
a poor old giant who had never done him any wrong, except to be a giant
of the race which the AEsir hated. Perhaps he was a little ashamed of the
trick which he had played the Vanir. Odin's new wisdom showed him how
to prepare Mimer's head with herbs and charms, so that it stood up by
itself quite naturally and seemed not dead. Thenceforth Odin kept it
near him, and learned from it many useful secrets which it had not
forgotten.
So in the end Odin fared better than the unhappy Mimer, whose worst
fault was that he knew more than most folk. That is a dangerous fault,
as others have found; though it is not one for which many of us need
fear being punished.
CHAPTER XIII
THE QUEST OF THE HAMMER
One morning Thor the Thunderer awoke with a yawn, and stretching out his
knotted arm, felt for his precious hammer, which he kept always under
his pillow of clouds. But he started up with a roar of rage, so that all
the palace trembled. The hammer was gone!
Now this was a very serious matter, for Thor was the protector of
Asgard, and Mioelnir, the magic hammer which the dwarf had made, was his
mighty weapon, of which the enemies of the AEsir stood so much in dread
that they dared not venture near. But if they should learn that Mioelnir
was gone, who could tell what danger might not threaten the palaces of
heaven?
Thor darted his flashing eye into every corner of Cloud Land in search
of the hammer. He called his fair wife, Sif of the golden hair, to aid
in the search, and his two lovely daughters, Thrude and Lora. They
hunted and they hunted; they turned Thrudheim upside down, and set the
clouds to rolling wonderfully, as they peeped and pried behind and
around and under each billowy mass. But Mioelnir was not to be found.
Certainly, someone had stolen it.
Thor's yellow beard quivered with rage, and his hair bristled on end
like the golden rays of a star, while all his household trembled.
"It is Loki again!" he cried. "I am sure Loki is at the bottom of this
mischief!" For since the time when Thor had captured Loki for the dwarf
Brock and had given him over to have his bragging lips sewed up, Loki
had looked at him with evil eyes; and Thor knew that the red rascal
hated him most of all the gods.
But this time Thor was mistaken. It was not Loki who had stolen the
hammer--he was too great a coward for that. And though he meant, before
the end, to be revenged upon Thor, he was waiting until a safe chance
should come, when Thor himself might stumble into danger, and Loki need
only to help the evil by a malicious word or two; and this chance came
later, as you shall hear in another tale.
Meanwhile Loki was on his best behaviour, trying to appear very kind and
obliging; so when Thor came rumbling and roaring up to him, demanding,
"What have you done with my hammer, you thief?" Loki looked surprised,
but did not lose his temper nor answer rudely.
"Have you indeed missed your hammer, brother Thor?" he said, mumbling,
for his mouth was still sore where Brock had sewed the stitches. "That
is a pity; for if the giants hear of this, they will be coming to try
their might against Asgard."
"Hush!" muttered Thor, grasping him by the shoulder with his iron
fingers. "That is what I fear. But look you, Loki: I suspect your hand
in the mischief. Come, confess."
Then Loki protested that he had nothing to do with so wicked a deed.
"But," he added wheedlingly, "I think I can guess the thief; and because
I love you, Thor, I will help you to find him."
"Humph!" growled Thor. "Much love you bear to me! However, you are a
wise rascal, the nimblest wit of all the AEsir, and it is better to have
you on my side than on the other, when giants are in the game. Tell me,
then: who has robbed the Thunder Lord of his bolt of power?"
Loki drew near and whispered in Thor's ear. "Look, how the storms rage
and the winds howl in the world below! Someone is wielding your thunder
hammer all unskilfully. Can you not guess the thief? Who but Thrym, the
mighty giant who has ever been your enemy and your imitator, and whose
fingers have long itched to grasp the short handle of mighty Mioelnir,
that the world may name him Thunder Lord instead of you. But look! What
a tempest! The world will be shattered into fragments unless we soon get
the hammer back."
Then Thor roared with rage. "I will seek this impudent Thrym!" he cried.
"I will crush him into bits, and teach him to meddle with the weapon of
the AEsir!"
"Softly, softly," said Loki, smiling maliciously. "He is a shrewd giant,
and a mighty. Even you, great Thor, cannot go to him and pluck the
hammer from his hand as one would slip the rattle from a baby's pink
fist. Nay, you must use craft, Thor; and it is I who will teach you, if
you will be patient."
Thor was a brave, blunt fellow, and he hated the ways of Loki, his lies
and his deceit. He liked best the way of warriors--the thundering
charge, the flash of weapons, and the heavy blow; but without the hammer
he could not fight the giants hand to hand. Loki's advice seemed wise,
and he decided to leave the matter to the Red One.
Loki was now all eagerness, for he loved difficulties which would set
his wit in play and bring other folk into danger. "Look, now," he said.
"We must go to Freia and borrow her falcon dress. But you must ask; for
she loves me so little that she would scarce listen to me."
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