It is told how, once on a time, he warred against the Hundings, whohad done his people an injury, and how he sailed against them in a longdragon-ship of a hundred oars. When he was far out in the mid-sea, andno land was anywhere in sight, a dreadful storm arose. The lightningsflashed, and the winds roared, and threatened to carry the ship todestruction. Quickly the fearful sailors began to reef the sails, butSiegfried bade them stop.
"Why be afraid?" he cried. "The Norns have woven the woof of every man'slife, and no man can escape his destiny. If the gods will that we shoulddrown, it is folly for us to strive against fate. We are bound to theshore of the Hundings' land, and thither must our good ship carry us.Hoist the sails high on the masts, even though the wind should tear theminto shreds, and split the masts into splinters!"
The sailors did as they were bidden; and the hurricane caught the shipin its mighty arms, and hurried it over the rolling waves with the speedof lightning. And Siegfried stood calmly at the helm, and guided theflying vessel. Presently they saw a rocky point rising up out of thewaters before them; and on it stood an old man, his gray cloak streamingin the wind, and his blue hood tied tightly down over his head.
"Whose ship is that which comes riding on the storm?" cried the man.
"King Siegfried's ship," answered the man at the prow. "There lives nobraver man on earth than he."
"Thou sayest truly," came back from the rock. "Lay by your oars, reefthe sails, and take me on board!"
"What is your name?" asked the sailor, as the ship swept past him.
"When the raven croaks gladly over his battle-feast, men call me Hnikar.But call me now Karl from the mountain, Fengr, or Fjolner. Reef, quick,your sails, and take me in!"
The men, at Siegfried's command, obeyed. And at once the wind ceasedblowing, and the sea was calm, and the warm sun shone through the riftedclouds, and the coast of Hundings Land lay close before them. But whenthey looked for Fjolner, as he called himself, they could not find him.
One day Siegfried sat in his sun-lit hall in Nibelungen Land; andKriemhild, lovely as a morning in June, sat beside him. And they talkedof the early days when alone he fared through the mid-world, and alonedid deeds of wondrous daring. And Siegfried bethought him then of theglittering Hoard of Andvari, and the cave and the mountain fortress,where the faithful dwarf Alberich still guarded the measurelesstreasure.
"How I should like to see that mountain fastness and that glitteringhoard!" cried Kriemhild.
"You shall see," answered the king.
And at once horses were saddled, and preparations were made for amorning's jaunt into the mountains. And, ere an hour had passed,Siegfried and his queen, and a small number of knights and ladies,were riding through the passes. About noon they came to Alberich'sdwelling,--a frowning fortress of granite built in the mountain-side.The gate was opened by the sleepy giant who always sat within, and theparty rode into the narrow court-yard. There they were met by Alberich,seeming smaller and grayer, and more pinched and wan, than ever before.
"Hail, noble master!" cried he, bowing low before Siegfried. "How canAlberich serve you to-day?"
"Lead us to the treasure-vaults," answered the king. "My queen wouldfain feast her eyes upon the yellow, sparkling hoard."
The dwarf obeyed. Through a narrow door they were ushered into a long,low cavern, so frowning and gloomy, that the queen started back inaffright. But, re-assured by Siegfried's smiling face, she went forwardagain. The entrance-way was lighted by little torches held in the handsof tiny elves, who bowed in humble politeness to the kingly party. But,when once beyond the entrance-hall, no torches were needed to show theway; for the huge pile of glittering gold and sparkling jewels, whichlay heaped up to the cavern's roof, lighted all the space around with aglory brighter than day.
"There is the dwarf's treasure!" cried Siegfried. "Behold the Hoard ofAndvari, the gathered wealth of the ages! Henceforth, fair Kriemhild, itis yours--all yours, save this serpent-ring."
"And why not that too?" asked the queen; for she admired its glitteringgolden scales, and its staring ruby eyes.
"Alas!" answered he, "a curse rests upon it,--the curse which Andvarithe ancient laid upon it when Loki tore it from his hand. A miser'sheart--selfish, cold, snaky--is bred in its owner's being; and hethenceforth lives a very serpent's life. Or, should he resist itsinfluence, then death through the guile of pretended friends is sure tobe his fate."
"Then why," asked the queen,--"why do you keep it yourself? Why do yourisk its bane? Why not give it to your sworn foe, or cast it into thesea, or melt it in the fire, and thus escape the curse?"
Siegfried answered by telling how, when in the heyday of his youth, hehad slain Fafnir, the keeper of this hoard, upon the Glittering Heath;and how, while still in the narrow trench which he had dug, the blood ofthe horrid beast had flown in upon him, and covered him up.
"And this I have been told by Odin's birds," he went on to say, "thatevery part of my body that was touched by the slimy flood was madeforever proof against sword and spear, and sharp weapons of every kind.Hence I have no cause to fear the stroke, either of open foes or oftraitorous false friends."
"But was all of your body covered with the dragon's blood? Was there nosmall spot untouched?" asked the queen, more anxious now than she hadever seemed to be before she had known aught of her husband's strangesecurity from wounds.
"Only one very little spot between the shoulders was left untouched,"answered Siegfried. "I afterwards found a lime-leaf sticking there, andI know that the slimy blood touched not that spot. But then who fears athrust in the back? None save cowards are wounded there."
"Ah!" said the queen, toying tremulously with the fatal ring, "thatlittle lime-leaf may yet bring us unutterable woe."
But Siegfried laughed at her fears; and he took the serpent-ring, andslipped it upon his forefinger, and said that he would wear it there,bane or no bane, so long as Odin would let him live.
Then, after another long look at the heaps of glittering gold andpriceless gem-stones, the company turned, and followed Alberich back,through the gloomy entranceway and the narrow door, to the open airagain. And mounting their steeds, which stood ready, they startedhomewards. But, at the outer gate, Siegfried paused, and said to thedwarf at parting,--
"Hearken, Alberich! The Hoard of Andvari is no longer mine. I have madea present of it to my queen. Hold it and guard it, therefore, as hersand hers alone; and, whatever her bidding may be regarding it, that do."
"Your word is law, and shall be obeyed," said the dwarf, bowing low.
Then the drowsy gate-keeper swung the heavy gate to its place, and thekingly party rode gayly away.
On their way home the company went, by another route, through the narrowmountain pass which led towards the sea, and thence through a rockygorge between two smoking mountains. And on one side of this road agreat cavern yawned, so dark and deep that no man had ever dared to stepinside of it. And as they paused before it, and listened, they heard,away down in its dismal depths, horrid groans, sad moanings, and faintwild shrieks, so far away that it seemed as if they had come from thevery centre of the earth. And, while they still listened, the groundaround them trembled and shook, and the smoking mountain on the otherside of the gorge smoked blacker than before.
"Loki is uneasy to-day," said Siegfried, as they all put spurs to theirhorses, and galloped swiftly home.
It was the Cavern of the Mischief-maker which the party had visited;and that evening, as they again sat in Siegfried's pleasant hall, theyamused themselves by telling many strange old tales of the mid-world'schildhood, when the gods, and the giants, and the dwarf-folk, had theirdwelling on the earth. But they talked most of Loki, the flame, therestless, the evil-doer. And this, my children, is the story that wastold of the Doom of the Mischief-maker.[EN#30]
The Story.
You have heard of the feast that old AEgir once made for the Asa-folk inhis gold-lit dwelling in the deep sea; and how the feast was hindered,through the loss of his great brewing
-kettle, until Thor had obtaineda still larger vessel from Hymer the giant. It is very likely thatthe thief who stole King AEgir's kettle was none other than Loki theMischief-maker; but, if this was so, he was not long unpunished for hismeanness.
There was great joy in the Ocean-king's hall, when at last the banquetwas ready, and the foaming ale began to pass itself around to theguests. But Thor, who had done so much to help matters along, could notstay to the merry-making: for he had heard that the Storm-giants weremarshalling their forces for a raid upon some unguarded corner of themid-world; and so, grasping his hammer Mjolner, he bade his kind hostgood-by, and leaped into his iron car.
"Business always before pleasure!" he cried, as he gave the word to hisswift, strong goats, and rattled away at a wonderful rate through theair.
In old AEgir's hall glad music resounded on every side; and the gleefulWaves danced merrily as the Asa-folk sat around the festal-board, andpartook of the Ocean-king's good fare. AEgir's two thralls, the faithfulFunfeng and the trusty Elder, waited upon the guests, and carefullysupplied their wants. Never in all the world had two more thoughtfulservants been seen; and every one spoke in praise of their quickness,and their skill, and their ready obedience.
Then Loki, unable to keep his hands from mischief, waxed very angry,because every one seemed happy and free from trouble, and no one noticedor cared for him. So, while good Funfeng was serving him to meat, hestruck the faithful thrall with a carving-knife, and killed him. Thenarose a great uproar in the Ocean-king's feast-hall. The Asa-folk roseup from the table, and drove the Mischief-maker out from among them; andin their wrath they chased him across the waters, and forced him to hidein the thick greenwood. After this they went back to AEgir's hall, andsat down again to the feast. But they had scarcely begun to eat, whenLoki came quietly out of his hiding-place, and stole slyly around toAEgir's kitchen, where he found Elder, the other thrall, grieving sadlybecause of his brother's death.
"I hear a great chattering and clattering over there in the feast-hall,"said Loki. "The greedy, silly Asa-folk seem to be very busy indeed, bothwith their teeth and their tongues. Tell me, now, good Elder, what theytalk about while they sit over their meat and ale."
"They talk of noble deeds," answered Elder. "They speak of gallantheroes, and brave men, and fair women, and strong hearts, and willinghands, and gentle manners, and kind friends. And for all these they havewords of praise, and songs of beauty; but none of them speak well ofLoki, the thief and the vile traitor."
"Ah!" said Loki wrathfully, twisting himself into a dozen differentshapes, "no one could ask so great a kindness from such folk. I must gointo the feast-hall, and take a look at this fine company, and listen totheir noisy merry-making. I have a fine scolding laid up for those goodfellows; and, unless they are careful with their tongues, they will findmany hard words mixed with their ale."
Then he went boldly into the great hall, and stood up before thewonder-stricken guests at the table. When the Asa-folk saw who it wasthat had darkened the doorway, and was now in their midst, a painfulsilence fell upon them, and all their merriment was at an end. And Lokistretched himself up to his full height, and said to them,--
"Hungry and thirsty come I to AEgir's gold lit hall. Long and rough wasthe road I trod, and wearisome was the way. Will no one bid me welcome?Will none give me a seat at the feast? Will none offer me a drink of theprecious mead? Why are you all so dumb? Why so sulky and stiff-necked,when your best friend stands before you? Give me a seat among you,--yes,one of the high-seats,--or else drive me from your hall! In either case,the world will never forget me. I am Loki."
Then one among the Asa-folk spoke up, and said, "Let him sit with us.He is mad; and when he slew Funfeng, he was not in his right mind. He isnot answerable for his rash act."
But Bragi the Wise, who sat on the innermost seat, arose, and said,"Nay, we will not give him a seat among us. Nevermore shall he feastor sup with us, or share our good-fellowship. Thieves and murderers weknow, and will shun."
This speech enraged Loki all the more; and he spared not vile words,but heaped abuse without stint upon all the folk before him. And by mainforce he seized hold of the silent Vidar, who had come from the forestsolitudes to be present at the feast, and dragged him away from thetable, and seated himself in his place. Then, as he quaffed the foamingale, he flung out taunts and jeers and hard words to all who sat around,but chiefly to Bragi the Wise. Then he turned to Sif, the beautiful wifeof Thor, and began to twit her about her golden hair.
"Oh, how handsome you were, when you looked at your bald head in themirror that day! Oh, what music you made when your hands touched yoursmooth pate! And now whose hair do you wear?"
And the wretch laughed wickedly, as he saw the tears welling up in poorSif's eyes.
Then suddenly a great tumult was heard outside. The mountains shookand trembled; and the bottom of the sea seemed moved; and the waves,affrighted and angry, rushed hither and thither in confusion. All theguests looked up in eager expectation, and some of them fled in alarmfrom the hall. Then the mighty Thor strode through the door, and upto the table, swinging his hammer, and casting wrathful glances at theMischief-maker. Loki trembled, and dropped his goblet, and sank downupon his knees before the terrible Asa.
"I yield me!" he cried. "Spare my life, I pray you, and I will be yourthrall forever!"
"I want no such thrall," answered Thor. "And I spare your life on onecondition only,--that you go at once from hence, and nevermore presumeto come into the company of Asa-folk."
"I promise all that you ask," said Loki, trembling more than ever. "Letme go."
Thor stepped aside; and the frightened culprit fled from the hall, andwas soon out of sight. The feast was broken up. The folk bade AEgir akind farewell, and all embarked on Frey's good ship Skidbladner; andfair winds wafted them swiftly home to Asgard.
Loki fled to the dark mountain gorges of Mist Land, and sought for awhile to hide himself from the sight of both gods and men. In a deepravine by the side of a roaring torrent, he built himself a house ofiron and stone, and placed a door on each of its four sides, so that hecould see whatever passed around him. There, for many winters, he livedin lonely solitude, planning with himself how he might baffle the gods,and regain his old place in Asgard. And now and then he slipped slylyaway from his hiding-place, and wrought much mischief for a time amongthe abodes of men. But when Thor heard of his evil-doings, and soughtto catch him, and punish him for his evil deeds, he was nowhere to befound. And at last the Asa-folk determined, that, if he could ever becaptured, the safety of the world required that he should be bound handand foot, and kept forever in prison.
Loki often amused himself in his mountain home by taking upon him hisfavorite form of a salmon, and lying listlessly, beneath the watersof the great Fanander Cataract, which fell from the shelving rocks athousand feet above him. One day while thus lying, he bethought himselfof former days, when he walked the glad young earth in company withthe All-Father. And among other things he remembered how he had onceborrowed the magic net of Ran, the Ocean-queen, and had caught with itthe dwarf Andvari, disguised, as he himself now was, in the form of aslippery salmon.
"I will make me such a net!" he cried. "I will make it strong and good;and I, too, will fish for men."
So he took again his proper shape, and went back to his cheerless homein the ravine. And he gathered flax and wool and long hemp, and spunyarn and strong cords, and wove them into meshes, after the pattern ofQueen Ran's magic net; for men had not, at that time, learned how tomake or use nets for fishing. And the first fisherman who caught fish inthat way is said to have taken Loki's net as a model.
Odin sat, on the morrow, in his high hall of Hlidskialf, and lookedout over all the world, and saw, even to the uttermost corners, whatmen-folk were everywhere doing. When his eye rested upon the dark linewhich marked the mountain-land of the Mist Country, he started up inquick surprise, and cried out,
"Who is that who sits by the Fanander Force, and ties strong cord
stogether?"
But none of those who stood around could tell, for their eyes were notstrong enough and clear enough to see so far.
"Bring Heimdal!" then cried Odin.
Now, Heimdal the White dwells among the blue mountains of sunnyHimminbjorg, where the rainbow, the shimmering Asa-bridge, spans thespace betwixt heaven and earth. He is the son of Odin, golden-toothed,pure-faced, and clean-hearted; and he ever keeps watch and ward over themid-world and the homes of frail men-folk, lest the giants shall breakin, and destroy and slay. He rides upon a shining steed named Goldtop;and he holds in his hand a horn called Gjallar-horn, with which, inthe last great twilight, he shall summon the world to battle withthe Fenris-wolf and the sons of Loki. This watchful guardian of themid-world is as wakeful as the birds. And his hearing is so keen, thatno sound on earth escapes him,--not even that of the rippling waves uponthe seashore, nor of the quiet sprouting of the grass in the meadows,nor even of the growth of the soft wool on the backs of sheep. And hiseyesight, too, is wondrous clear and sharp; for he can see by night aswell as by day, and the smallest thing, although a hundred leagues away,cannot be hidden from him.