Post by Mysti on Jul 8, 2007 8:01:08 GMT -5
The Building of The Wall
Always there had been a war between the Giants & the Gods-between the Giants who would have destroyed the world & the race of men, & the Gods who would have protected the race of men & would have made the wrold more beautiful.
There are many stories to be told about the Gods, but the first one that shall be told to you is the one about the buidling of their City.
The Gods had made their way up to the top of a high mountain & there they decided to build a great City for themselves that the Giants could never overthrow. The City they would call "Asgard", which means the Place of the Gods. They would build it on a beautiful plain that was on the top of that high mountain. And they wanted to reaise round their City the highest & strongest wall that had ever been built.
Now one day when they were beginning to build their halls & their palaces a strange being came to them. Odin, the Father of the Gods, went & spoke to him. "What dost thou want on the Mountain of the Gods?" he asked of the stranger.
"I know what is in the mind of the Gods" the Stranger said. "They would build a City here. I cannot build palaces, but I can build great walls that can never be overthrown. Let me build the wall round your City."
"How long will it take you to build a wall that will go round our City?" said the Father of the Gods.
"A year, O Odin" said the Stranger.
Now Odin knew that if a great wall could be built around it the Gods would not have to spend all thier time defending their City, Asgard, from the Giants, & he knew that if Asgard were protected, he himself could go amongst men & teach them & help them. He thought that no payment the Stranger could ask would be too much for the building of that wall.
That day the Stranger came to the Council of the Gods, & he swore that in a year he would have the great wall built. Then Odin made oath that the Gods would give him what he asked in payment if the wall was finished to the last stone in a year from that day.
The Stranger went away & came back on the morrow. It was the first day of Summer when he started work. He brought no one to help him except a great horse.
Now the Gods thought that this horse would do no more than drag blocks of stone for the building of the wall. But the horse did more than this. He set stones in their places & mortared them together. And day & night and by light & dark the horse worked, & soon a great wall was rising round the palaces that the Gods themselves were building.
"What reward will the Stranger ask for the work he is doing for us?" the Gods asked one another.
Odin went to the Stranger. "We marvel at the work you & your horse are doing for us," he said. "No one can doubt that the great wall of Asgard will be built up by the first day of Summer. What reward do you claim? We would have it ready for you."
The Stranger turned from the work he was doing, leaving the great horse to pile up the blocks of stone. "O Father of the Gods, " he said, "O Odin, the reward I shall ask for my work is the Sun & the Moon, & Freya, who watches over the flowers & grasses, for my wife."
Now when Odin heard this he was terribly angered, for the price the Stranger asked for his work was beyond all prices. He went amongst the other Gods who were then building the shining palaces within the great wall & he told them what reward the Stranger had asked. The Gods said, "Without the Sun & the Moon the world will wither away." And the Goddesses said, "Without Freya all will be gloom in Asgard."
They would have let the wall remain unbuilt rather than let the Stranger have the reward he claimed for the building it. But one who was in the company of the Gods spoke. He was Loki, a being who only half belonged to the Gods; his father was the Wind Giant. "Let the Stranger build the wall round Asgard," Loki said, "and I will find a way to make him give up the hard bargain he has made with the Gods. Go to him & tell him that the wall must be finished by the first day of Summer, & that if it is not finished to the last stone on that day the price he asks will not be given to him."
The Gods went to the Stranger & they told him that if the last stone was not laid on the wall on the first day of the Summer not Sol or Mani, the Sun and the Moon, nor Freya would be given him. And now they knew the Stranger was one of the Giants.
The Giant & his great horse piled up the wall more quickly than before. At night, while the Giant slept, the horse worked on & on, hauling up stones & laying them on the wall with his great forefeet. And day by day the wall around Asgard grew higher & higher.
But the Gods had no joy in seeing the great wall rising higher & higher around their palaces. The Giant & his horse would finish the work by the first day of Summer, & then he would take the Sun & the Moon, Sol & Mani, & Freya away with him.
But Loki was not disturbed. He kept telling the Gods that he would find a way to prevent him from finishing his work, & thus he would make the Giant forfeit the terrible price he had led Odin to promise him.
It was three days to Summer time. All the wall was finished except for the gateway. Over the gateway a stone was still to be placed. And the Giant, before he went to sleep, bade is horse haul up a great block of stone so that they might finish the work two full days before Summer.
It happened to be a beautiful moonlit night. Svadilfare, the Giant's great horse, was hauling the largest stone he ever hauled when he saw a little mare come galloping towards him. The great horse had never seen so pretty a little mare & he looked at her with surprise.
"Svadilfare, slave", said the little mare to him & went frisking past.
Svadilfare put down the stone he was hauling & called to the little mare. She came back to him. "Why do you call me 'Svadilfare, slave'?" said the great horse.
"Because you have to work night & day for your master." said the little mare. "He keeps you working, working, working & never lets you enjoy yourself. You dare not leave that stone down & come & play with me."
"Who told you I dare not do it?" said Svadilfare.
"I know you daren't do it," said the little mare, & she kicked up her heels & ran across the moonlit meadow.
Now the truth is that Savdilfare was tired of working day & night. When he saw the little mare go galloping off he became suddenly discontented. He left the stone he was hauling on the ground. He looked round & he saw the little mare looking back at him. He galloped after her.
He did not catch up on the little mare. She went swiftly before him. On she went over the moonlit meadow, turning & looking back now & again ar the great Svadilfare, who came heavily after her. Down the mountain-side the mare went, & Svadilfare, who now rejoiced in his liberty & in the freshness of the wind & the smell of the flowers, still followed her. With the morning's light they came near a cave & the little mare went into it. They went through the cave. Then Svadilfare caught up on the little mare & the two went wandering together, the little mare telling Svadilfare stories of the Dwarfs & the Elves.
They came to a grove & they stayed together in it, the little mare playing so nicely with him that the great horse forgot all about time passing. And while they were in the grove the Giant was going up & down, searching for his great horse.
He had come to the wall in the morning, expecting to put the stone over the gateway & so finish his work. But the stone that was to be lifted up was not near him. He called for Svadilfare, but his great horse did not come. He went to search for him, & he searched all down the mountain-side & he searched as far across the earth as the realm of the Giants. But he did not find Svadilfare.
The Gods saw the first day of Summer come & the gateway of the wall stand unfinished. They said to each other that if it were not finished by the evening they need not give Sol & Mani to the Giant, nor the maiden Freya to be his wife. The hours of the summer day went past & the Giant did not raise the stone over the gateway. In the evening he came before them. "Your work is not finsihed," Odin said. "You forced us to a hard bargain & now we need not keep it with you. You shall not be given Sol & Mani nor the maiden Freya."
"Only the wall I have built is so strong I would tear it down." said the Giant. He tried to throw down one of the palaces, but the Gods laid hands on him & thrust him outside the wall he had built. "Go, & trouble Asgard no more." Odin commanded.
Then Loki returned to Asgard. He told the Gods how he had transformed himself into a little mare & had led away Svadilfare, the Giant's great horse. And the Gods sat in their golden palaces behind the great wall & rejoiced that their City was now secure, & that no enemy could ever enter it or overthrow it. But Odin, the Father of the Gods, as he sat upon his throne was sad in his heart, sad that the Gods had got their wall built by a trick; that oaths had been broken, & that a blow had been struck in injustice in Asgard.
Derived from "Nordic Gods & Heroes" by Padraic Colum
Always there had been a war between the Giants & the Gods-between the Giants who would have destroyed the world & the race of men, & the Gods who would have protected the race of men & would have made the wrold more beautiful.
There are many stories to be told about the Gods, but the first one that shall be told to you is the one about the buidling of their City.
The Gods had made their way up to the top of a high mountain & there they decided to build a great City for themselves that the Giants could never overthrow. The City they would call "Asgard", which means the Place of the Gods. They would build it on a beautiful plain that was on the top of that high mountain. And they wanted to reaise round their City the highest & strongest wall that had ever been built.
Now one day when they were beginning to build their halls & their palaces a strange being came to them. Odin, the Father of the Gods, went & spoke to him. "What dost thou want on the Mountain of the Gods?" he asked of the stranger.
"I know what is in the mind of the Gods" the Stranger said. "They would build a City here. I cannot build palaces, but I can build great walls that can never be overthrown. Let me build the wall round your City."
"How long will it take you to build a wall that will go round our City?" said the Father of the Gods.
"A year, O Odin" said the Stranger.
Now Odin knew that if a great wall could be built around it the Gods would not have to spend all thier time defending their City, Asgard, from the Giants, & he knew that if Asgard were protected, he himself could go amongst men & teach them & help them. He thought that no payment the Stranger could ask would be too much for the building of that wall.
That day the Stranger came to the Council of the Gods, & he swore that in a year he would have the great wall built. Then Odin made oath that the Gods would give him what he asked in payment if the wall was finished to the last stone in a year from that day.
The Stranger went away & came back on the morrow. It was the first day of Summer when he started work. He brought no one to help him except a great horse.
Now the Gods thought that this horse would do no more than drag blocks of stone for the building of the wall. But the horse did more than this. He set stones in their places & mortared them together. And day & night and by light & dark the horse worked, & soon a great wall was rising round the palaces that the Gods themselves were building.
"What reward will the Stranger ask for the work he is doing for us?" the Gods asked one another.
Odin went to the Stranger. "We marvel at the work you & your horse are doing for us," he said. "No one can doubt that the great wall of Asgard will be built up by the first day of Summer. What reward do you claim? We would have it ready for you."
The Stranger turned from the work he was doing, leaving the great horse to pile up the blocks of stone. "O Father of the Gods, " he said, "O Odin, the reward I shall ask for my work is the Sun & the Moon, & Freya, who watches over the flowers & grasses, for my wife."
Now when Odin heard this he was terribly angered, for the price the Stranger asked for his work was beyond all prices. He went amongst the other Gods who were then building the shining palaces within the great wall & he told them what reward the Stranger had asked. The Gods said, "Without the Sun & the Moon the world will wither away." And the Goddesses said, "Without Freya all will be gloom in Asgard."
They would have let the wall remain unbuilt rather than let the Stranger have the reward he claimed for the building it. But one who was in the company of the Gods spoke. He was Loki, a being who only half belonged to the Gods; his father was the Wind Giant. "Let the Stranger build the wall round Asgard," Loki said, "and I will find a way to make him give up the hard bargain he has made with the Gods. Go to him & tell him that the wall must be finished by the first day of Summer, & that if it is not finished to the last stone on that day the price he asks will not be given to him."
The Gods went to the Stranger & they told him that if the last stone was not laid on the wall on the first day of the Summer not Sol or Mani, the Sun and the Moon, nor Freya would be given him. And now they knew the Stranger was one of the Giants.
The Giant & his great horse piled up the wall more quickly than before. At night, while the Giant slept, the horse worked on & on, hauling up stones & laying them on the wall with his great forefeet. And day by day the wall around Asgard grew higher & higher.
But the Gods had no joy in seeing the great wall rising higher & higher around their palaces. The Giant & his horse would finish the work by the first day of Summer, & then he would take the Sun & the Moon, Sol & Mani, & Freya away with him.
But Loki was not disturbed. He kept telling the Gods that he would find a way to prevent him from finishing his work, & thus he would make the Giant forfeit the terrible price he had led Odin to promise him.
It was three days to Summer time. All the wall was finished except for the gateway. Over the gateway a stone was still to be placed. And the Giant, before he went to sleep, bade is horse haul up a great block of stone so that they might finish the work two full days before Summer.
It happened to be a beautiful moonlit night. Svadilfare, the Giant's great horse, was hauling the largest stone he ever hauled when he saw a little mare come galloping towards him. The great horse had never seen so pretty a little mare & he looked at her with surprise.
"Svadilfare, slave", said the little mare to him & went frisking past.
Svadilfare put down the stone he was hauling & called to the little mare. She came back to him. "Why do you call me 'Svadilfare, slave'?" said the great horse.
"Because you have to work night & day for your master." said the little mare. "He keeps you working, working, working & never lets you enjoy yourself. You dare not leave that stone down & come & play with me."
"Who told you I dare not do it?" said Svadilfare.
"I know you daren't do it," said the little mare, & she kicked up her heels & ran across the moonlit meadow.
Now the truth is that Savdilfare was tired of working day & night. When he saw the little mare go galloping off he became suddenly discontented. He left the stone he was hauling on the ground. He looked round & he saw the little mare looking back at him. He galloped after her.
He did not catch up on the little mare. She went swiftly before him. On she went over the moonlit meadow, turning & looking back now & again ar the great Svadilfare, who came heavily after her. Down the mountain-side the mare went, & Svadilfare, who now rejoiced in his liberty & in the freshness of the wind & the smell of the flowers, still followed her. With the morning's light they came near a cave & the little mare went into it. They went through the cave. Then Svadilfare caught up on the little mare & the two went wandering together, the little mare telling Svadilfare stories of the Dwarfs & the Elves.
They came to a grove & they stayed together in it, the little mare playing so nicely with him that the great horse forgot all about time passing. And while they were in the grove the Giant was going up & down, searching for his great horse.
He had come to the wall in the morning, expecting to put the stone over the gateway & so finish his work. But the stone that was to be lifted up was not near him. He called for Svadilfare, but his great horse did not come. He went to search for him, & he searched all down the mountain-side & he searched as far across the earth as the realm of the Giants. But he did not find Svadilfare.
The Gods saw the first day of Summer come & the gateway of the wall stand unfinished. They said to each other that if it were not finished by the evening they need not give Sol & Mani to the Giant, nor the maiden Freya to be his wife. The hours of the summer day went past & the Giant did not raise the stone over the gateway. In the evening he came before them. "Your work is not finsihed," Odin said. "You forced us to a hard bargain & now we need not keep it with you. You shall not be given Sol & Mani nor the maiden Freya."
"Only the wall I have built is so strong I would tear it down." said the Giant. He tried to throw down one of the palaces, but the Gods laid hands on him & thrust him outside the wall he had built. "Go, & trouble Asgard no more." Odin commanded.
Then Loki returned to Asgard. He told the Gods how he had transformed himself into a little mare & had led away Svadilfare, the Giant's great horse. And the Gods sat in their golden palaces behind the great wall & rejoiced that their City was now secure, & that no enemy could ever enter it or overthrow it. But Odin, the Father of the Gods, as he sat upon his throne was sad in his heart, sad that the Gods had got their wall built by a trick; that oaths had been broken, & that a blow had been struck in injustice in Asgard.
Derived from "Nordic Gods & Heroes" by Padraic Colum