“When we came o’er the wave, you cub, when we came o’er the wave, To me one ring, to thee two rings, the mighty Canute gave; One mark to me, Four marks to thee, A sword, too, fine and brave. Now God knows well, And skalds can tell, What justice here would crave.” When Sigvat came back to Norway and presented himself before Olaf, who some time before had made him his marshal, the King was about to sit down to table. Sigvat saluted him, but Olaf only looked at him, and said not a word. Then Sigvat and those who were standing by saw that Olaf knew well that Sigvat had been in England and had been received by King Canute. As the old proverb says, “Many are the ears of a king.” The King said to Sigvat the skald: “I do not know if thou art my marshal or if thou hast become one of Canute’s followers.” Then Sigvat answered the King in verse, telling him that Canute had invited him to stay with him, but that he preferred to be at home with Olaf. After that King Olaf gave Sigvat the same seat close to himself that he had had before, and the skald was in as high favour as ever with the King. Things went on for some time in this way, Canute passing backward and forward between England and Denmark, and ever gathering more ships for the final struggle with Olaf and the Swedish King. He himself had a dragon ship, said to have had sixty banks of rowers, and the head gilt all over. Earl Hakon had another dragon ship of forty banks, with a gilt figure-head. The sails of both were in stripes of blue, red, and green, and the vessels were painted from above the water-line, and all that belonged to their equipment was most splendid. They had a vast number of men sailing in the ships. On the other side the Kings of Norway and Sweden set out also, but as soon as it was noised that Canute the Old was on the seas no one thought of going into the service of these two kings. When the Kings heard that Canute was coming against them they held a council as to what they should do. They were then lying with their fleet in the Helga River, in the south of Sweden, and Canute was coming straight upon them with a war-force one-half greater than that of both of them put together. King Olaf, who was very skilful in making plans, went with his people up the country into the forest. The river flowed out of a lake in the forest, and he set his men to cut down trees and dam up the lake where the river emerged with logs and turf, at the same time turning all the surrounding streams into the lake, so that it rose very high. All along the river-bed they laid large logs of timber. Then they waited till they got tidings from the Swedish King (who had moved his fleet into concealment round the cliffs not far from the mouth of the river) that King Canute’s ships were close at hand. Canute arrived with his fleet toward the close of