Be not silent, vala! I will question thee Until all I know: I will yet know Who are the maids That weep at will And heavenward cast Their neck-veils. Tell me that; Till then thou sleepest not. THE VALA: Not Vegtam art thou, As I before believed; Rather art thou Odin, Lord of men. ODIN: Thou art no vala, Nor wise woman; Rather art thou the mother Of three thurses (giants). THE VALA: Home ride thou, Odin! And exult. Thus shall never more Man again visit me Until Loke free From his bonds escapes, And Ragnarok All-destroying comes. When it had been made known that nothing in the world would harm Balder, it became a favorite pastime of the gods, at their meetings, to get Balder to stand up and serve them as a mark, some hurling darts at him, some stones, while others hewed at him with their swords and battle-axes; for whatever they did none of them could harm him, and this was regarded by all as a great honor shown to Balder. But when Loke Laufeyarson beheld the scene he was sorely vexed that Balder was not hurt. Assuming, therefore, the guise of a woman he went to Fensal, the mansion of Frigg. That goddess, seeing the pretended woman, inquired of her whether she knew what the gods were doing at their meetings. The woman (Loke) replied that they were throwing darts and stones at Balder, without being able to hurt him. Ay, said Frigg, neither metal nor wood can hurt Balder, for I have exacted an oath from all of them. What! exclaimed the woman, have all things sworn to spare Balder? All things, replied Frigg, except one little shrub that grows on the eastern side of Valhal, and is called mistletoe, and which I thought too young and feeble to crave an oath from. As soon as Loke heard this he went away, and, resuming his natural form, pulled up the mistletoe and repaired to the place where the gods were assembled. There he found Hoder standing far to one side without engaging in the sport, on account of his blindness. Loke going up to him said: Why do not you also throw something at Balder? Because I am blind, answered Hoder, and cannot see where Balder is, and besides I have nothing to throw with. Come then, said Loke, do like the rest, and show honor to Balder by throwing this twig at him, and I will direct your arm toward the place where he stands.