Egir was a very important god. He showed men how to build ships, and how to manage the sails, and the rudder. And not only did he do this, but, he very obligingly, blew the vessels along with his powerful breath, so that men were not afraid to trust themselves on the rivers in these frail-looking crafts, but even boldly launched out upon the ocean. Widar taught people a most excellent thing—when to hold their tongues. This he did by his example, for he was dumb, and could not talk at all. Balder was called the Bright God. He was the most beloved of them all. He put good thoughts into the hearts of men, and encouraged them to be loving and patient with each other. A beautiful silvery light always shone around him. Now, where do you suppose all these gods lived? You would probably answer that they dwelt up in the sky, or on the tops of high mountains. No. They lived in an ash tree! This wonderful tree bore the name of Ygdrasil. Its branches overshadowed the whole world; its top supported the sky, and its roots went so far down that no one could find the end. This tree was the home of Odin and his gods, and there they stayed, except when business called them elsewhere. This is the way the gods found out what was going on in the world, while they were having a good time in Ygdrasil. Two ravens were always flying to and fro through the Universe, and, once a day, they would perch on Odin’s shoulders and tell him the news. A little squirrel darted swiftly up and down the tree, and picked up all the scraps of gossip it could. Near the top of the tree a great eagle kept perpetual watch, and on the very topmost branch perched a vulture; and these birds, which could see to the horizon on every side cried out, and flapped their wings when any strange thing happened. Besides all these there was the watch-god, Heimdall. His sight and hearing were marvelous. He could hear the grass grow in the fields, and hear the wool grow on the backs of the sheep. He could not only watch a fly from the one end of the world to the other, but could count the spots on its wings, and the joints in its little legs, if it was at the opposite side of the universe from himself. He could see the smallest atom that moved at the bottom of the ocean. And, what was the most astonishing of all, he could see in the darkest night as well as in the brightest day. It is a pity this god is not living now, for he could describe to us the bottom of the ocean, and tell us if there is an open sea at the North Pole, and an icy continent at the South Pole, and a great many things we want very much to know, and have not been able to find out. [Illustration: THE YOUNG GOD JARL.] This Heimdall had golden teeth. He had also a son, named Jarl, who was a very famous god. When he was only a child he could give heavy blows with a great club, and swim like a fish, and ride on horseback as swiftly as the wind. And he understood the language of birds and beasts, and could converse with them.