Now came harvest rich and full, a bountiful year; men worked hard in
the fields, the women too, and at night sleep was sound. There came a
morning when it was found that Cragness had been entered at night and
the whole hall ransacked, its passages, lofts, and store-rooms. Goods
were taken from their places and laid aside; chests had been moved,
opened, and emptied; and there was scarce a corner of the place but
had been searched. Yet gold and silver, whether in money, rings, or
vessels, were left behind, nor were they even gathered together for
booty. So it was seen that no common thief had been there, and men
wondered wherefore that had been done.
But Grani sent all his men to work in the field, and the women to
righting the house; then he took the bow from under the settle where
it was hid with its arrows, and he thrust it within the dais whereon
were the seats of honor.
Now a night passed again, and no one heard the dogs bark; but in the
morning it was seen that the thief had come again, and all the settles
were out of their places, as if one had searched beneath them. No
other places were searched, and nothing had been taken; all thought it
strange that the dogs had not barked. Then another day passed, and men
came home to sleep as tired as before; so then Grani took the bow and
hid it up under the thatch, when all had gone to their beds.
In the morning nothing had happened save that the seats on the dais
had all been moved, and the dais was found set up against the wall.
Now the dais was heavy, and that work had been done with much
strength. While men were marvelling the neatherd came in, and said he
had been awake early in the byre, with a sick calf. Before sunrise he
looked out of the window; the light was not strong, but he could see a
little way. There he saw the crone Thurid standing, near the house;
but when he ran out to speak with her, she had moved toward the
cliffs. Whether she saw or heard him he could not say, but suddenly
she began to go with long strides. A little mist hung above the crags;
into that mist she went, seeming to walk upon the air; and while he
stood astonished the mist wreathed around her, and she was lost from
sight. He said to himself that was the end of the old woman; but in an
hour, looking toward the upland, he saw her walking to the hut of
Asdis, and that matter he could not explain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account