Og nu var det engang om Sommeren, at Sigmund sagde til Thorer: "Hvad mon der vel kan flyde af, om vi end gaae hen i den Skov, som ligger her nordenfor Gaarden?" "Det er jeg ikken nysgjerrig efter at vide," svarede Thorer. "Ei gaar det mig saa," sagde Sigmund, "og derud maa jeg." "Du kommer da til at raade," sagde Thorer, "men da overtraede, vi vor Fosterfaders Bud." De gik nu, og Sigmund havde en Vedoexe i Haanden; de kom ind i Skoven, og strax derpaa saae de en meget stor og grum Bjoern, en drabelig Skovejoern, ulvegraa af Farve. De loeb da tilbage ad den samme Sti, ad hvilken de vare komne derhen. Stien var smal og trang; og Thorer loeb forrest, men Sigmund bagerst. Dyret loeb nu efter dem paa Stien, og Stien blev trang for det, og Traeerne broedes i dets. Loeb Sigmund dreiede da nu hurtig ud af Stien, og stillede sig imellem Traeerne, og stod der indtil Dyret kom frem lige for ham. Da fattede han oexen med begge Haender, og hug lige imellem oererne paa Dyret, saa at oexen sank i, og Dyret styrtede fremad, og var doedt paa Stedet. _English._ And now is it a time about the summer, that Sigmund spake to Thorir: "What would become, even if we two go into the wood (shaw), which here is north from the house?" Thorir answers, "Thereto there is to me no curiosity," says he. "So is it not with me," says Sigmund, "and thither shall I go." "Thou mayst counsel," says Thorir, "but we two break the bidding-word of foster-father mine." Now go they, and Sigmund had a wood-axe in his hands; they come into the wood, and into a fair place; and as they had not been there long, they hear a bear, big, fierce, and grim. It was a wood-bear, big, wolf-grey in hue. They run (leap) now back (after) to the path, by which they had gone thither. The path was narrow and strait; and Thorir runs first, and Sigmund after. The beast runs now after them on the path, and the path becomes strait, and broken oaks before it. Sigmund turns then short out of the path among the trees, and bides there till the beast comes even with him. Then cuts he even in between {31} the ears of the beast with his two hands, so that the axe sinks, and the beast falls forward, and is dead. s. 70. The Teutonic branch falls into three divisions:-- 1. The Moeso-Gothic. 2. The High Germanic. 3. The Low Germanic. s. 71. It is in the Moeso-Gothic that the most ancient specimen of any Gothic tongue has been preserved. It is also the Moeso-Gothic that was spoken by the conquerors of ancient Rome; by the subjects of Hermanic, Alaric, Theodoric, Genseric (?), Euric, Athanaric, and Totila. This history of this language, and the meaning of the term by which it is designated, is best explained by the following passages:--