While Queen Ragnhild was with child she dreamed marvellous dreams. Once
she seemed to be standing in the garden, trying to take a thorn out of
her chemise, but the thorn grew in her hand until it was like a long
spindle--the one end of which struck root in the earth, while the other
shot up into the air. Presently it looked like a big tree, and it grew
bigger and bigger and taller and taller, until she stood in its shade
and her eye could scarcely reach to the top of it. The lower part of the
tree was red as blood; further up the trunk was green and fair, and the
branches were radiantly white like snow. They were, however, of very
unequal size, and it seemed to her that they spread out over the whole
kingdom of Norway.
King Halfdan was much puzzled at hearing this dream, and perhaps a
little jealous too. Why was it that his wife had such remarkable dreams,
while he had none? He consulted a wise man as to the cause of this, and
was by him advised to sleep in a pig-sty; then he would be sure to have
remarkable dreams. The king did as he had been told, and dreamed that
his hair was growing very long and beautiful. It fell in bright locks
about his head and shoulders, but the locks were of unequal length and
color; some seemed like little curly knots just sprouting from his
scalp, while others hung down over his back, even unto the waist. But
one lock there was that was brighter and more beautiful than all the
rest.
The king related this dream to his sage friend, who interpreted it to
mean that a mighty race of kings should spring from him, and that his
descendants, though some of them should attain to great glory, should be
unequal in fame. But one of them should be greater and more glorious
than all the rest. The longest and brightest lock, says Snorre, was
supposed to indicate Olaf the Saint.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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