Types of Children's Literature: A Collection of the World's Best Literature for Children, For Use in Colleges, Normal Schools and Library Schools
General
Types of Children's Literature: A Collection of the World's Best Literature for Children, For Use in Colleges, Normal Schools and Library Schools
Children's literature
"Of course I will," was his quick reply, "only tell me where
to get one."
That, however, was no easy thing to do. Kettles big enough to
brew ale for Asgard were not to be picked up at a moment's notice.
Everybody wanted more ale, but nobody could tell Thor where to
find a kettle, until Tyr, the god of courage, spoke up: "East of
the river Elivagar lives my father, Hymer, who has a kettle mar-velously
strong and one mile deep."
That was large enough even for the gods.
"Do you think we can get it?" asked Thor, who always wanted
to succeed in his undertakings.
"If we cannot get it by force, we can by stratagem," answered
Tyr, and they started off at once, Thor taking the disguise of a
young man. The goats drew them swiftly to Egil, with whom Thor
left them while he and Tyr pushed on to finish the journey afoot.
It was rough and perilous traveling, but they reached Hymer's hall
without accident, and there Tyr found his grandmother, a frightfully
ugly giantess, and his mother, a wonderfully beautiful woman, with
fair hair, and a face so radiant that the sun seemed to be always
shining upon it. The latter advised them to hide under the great
kettles in the hall, because when Hymer came home in bad temper
he was sometimes cruel to strangers.
Late in the evening Hymer came home from his fishing. A cold
wind swept through the hall as he entered, his eyes were piercing
as the stars on a winter's night, and his beard was white with frost.
"I welcome you home," said Tyr's beautiful mother; "our son,
for whom we have been looking so long, has come home, bringing
with him the enemy of giants and the protector of Asgard. See how
they hide themselves behind that pillar yonder."
She pointed to a pillar at the farther end of the hall. Hymer
turned, and looked at it with his piercing, icy glance, and in an
instant it snapped into a thousand pieces; the beam overhead broke,
and eight kettles fell with a crash on the stone floor. Only one out
of the eight remained unbroken, and from it Thor and Tyr came
forth. Hymer was not glad to see Thor standing there under his
own roof, but he could not turn him out, so he made the best of it
and ordered three oxen to be served for supper. Thor had traveled
a long distance and was very hungry, and ate two of the oxen before
he was satisfied.
"If you eat like that," said Hymer, "we will have to live on fish
tomorrow."
Early the next morning, before the sun was up, Thor heard Hymer
getting ready for a day of fishing. He dressed himself quickly and
went out to the giant. "Good morning, Hymer," he said pleasantly.
"I am fond of fishing; let me row out to sea with you."
"Oho," answered the giant scornfully, not at all pleased with the
idea of having his powerful enemy in the boat with him, "such a
puny young fellow can be of no use to me, and if I go as far out to
sea as I generally do, and stay as long, you will catch a cold that
will be the death of you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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