In the morning Odin mounted Air Throne, and looked over the whole
earth, whilst the Æsir stood all round waiting to hear what he
thought about it.
"The earth is very beautiful," said Odin, from the top of his throne,
"very beautiful in every part, even to the shores of the dark North
Sea; but, alas! the men of the earth are puny and fearful. At this
moment I see a three-headed giant striding out of Jötunheim. He
throws a shepherd-boy into the sea, and puts the whole of the flock
into his pocket. Now he takes them out again one by one, and cracks
their bones as if they were hazel-nuts, whilst, all the time, men
look on, and do nothing."
"Father," cried Thor in a rage, "last night I forged for myself a
belt, a glove, and a hammer, with which three things I will go forth
alone to Jötunheim."
Thor went, and Odin looked again.
"The men of the earth are idle and stupid," said Odin. "There are
dwarfs and elves, who live amongst them, and play tricks which they
cannot understand, and do not know how to prevent. At this moment I
see a husbandman sowing grains of wheat in the furrows, whilst a
dwarf runs after him, and changes them into stones. Again, I see two
hideous little beings, who are holding under water the head of one,
the wisest of men, until he dies; they mix his blood with honey; they
have put it into three stone jars, and hidden it away."
Then Odin was very angry with the dwarfs, for he saw that they were
bent on mischief; so he called to him Hermod, his Flying Word, and
despatched him with a message to the dwarfs and light elves, to say
that Odin sent his compliments, and would be glad to speak with them,
in his palace of Gladsheim, upon a matter of some importance.
When they received Hermod's summons the dwarfs and light elves were
very much surprised, not quite knowing whether to feel honoured or
afraid. However, they put on their pertest manners, and went
clustering after Hermod like a swarm of ladybirds.
When they were arrived in the great city they found Odin descended
from his throne, and sitting with the rest of the Æsir in the
Judgment Hall of Gladsheim. Hermod flew in, saluted his master, and
pointed to the dwarfs and elves hanging like a cloud in the doorway
to show that he had fulfilled his mission. Then Odin beckoned the
little people to come forward. Cowering and whispering they peeped
over one another's shoulders; now running on a little way into the
hall, now back again, half curious, half afraid; and it was not until
Odin had beckoned three times that they finally reached his
footstool. Then Odin spoke to them in calm, low, serious tones about
the wickedness of their mischievous propensities. Some, the very
worst of them, only laughed in a forward, hardened manner; but a
great many looked up surprised and a little pleased at the novelty of
serious words; whilst the light elves all wept, for they were
tender-hearted little things. At length Odin spoke to the two dwarfs
by name whom he had seen drowning the wise man. "Whose blood was it,"
he asked, "that you mixed with honey and put into jars?"
"Oh," said the dwarfs, jumping up into the air, and clapping their
hands, "that was Kvasir's blood. Don't you know who Kvasir was? He
sprang up out of the peace made between the Vanir and yourselves, and
has been wandering about these seven years or more; so wise he was
that men thought he must be a god. Well, just now we found him lying
in a meadow drowned in his own wisdom; so we mixed his blood with
honey, and put it into three great jars to keep. Was not that well
done, Odin?"
"Well done!" answered Odin. "Well done! You cruel, cowardly, lying
dwarfs! I myself saw you kill him. For shame! for shame!" and then
Odin proceeded to pass sentence upon them all. Those who had been the
most wicked, he said, were to live, henceforth, a long way
underground, and were to spend their time in throwing fuel upon the
great earth's central fire; whilst those who had only been
mischievous were to work in the gold and diamond mines, fashioning
precious stones and metals. They might all come up at night, Odin
said; but must vanish at the dawn. Then he waved his hand, and the
dwarfs turned round, shrilly chattering, scampered down the
palace-steps, out of the city, over the green fields, to their
unknown, deep-buried earth-homes. But the light elves still lingered,
with upturned, tearful, smiling faces, like sunshiny morning dew.
"And you," said Odin, looking them through and through with his
serious eyes, "and you----"
"Oh! indeed, Odin," interrupted they, speaking all together in quick,
uncertain tones; "Oh! indeed, Odin, we are not so very wicked. We
have never done anybody any harm."
"Have you ever done anybody any good?" asked Odin.
"Oh! no, indeed," answered the light elves, "we have never done
anything at all."
"You may go, then," said Odin, "to live amongst the flowers, and play
with the wild bees and summer insects. You must, however, find
something to do, or you will get to be mischievous like the dwarfs."
"If only we had any one to teach us," said the light elves, "for we
are such foolish little people."
Odin looked round inquiringly upon the Æsir; but amongst them there
was no teacher found for the silly little elves. Then he turned to
Niörd, who nodded his head good-naturedly, and said, "Yes, yes, I
will see about it;" and then he strode out of the Judgment Hall,
right away through the city gates, and sat down upon the mountain's
edge.
After awhile he began to whistle in a most alarming manner, louder
and louder, in strong wild gusts, now advancing, now retreating; then
he dropped his voice a little, lower and lower, until it became a
bird-like whistle--low, soft, enticing music, like a spirit's call;
and far away from the south a little fluttering answer came, sweet
as the invitation itself, nearer and nearer until the two sounds
dropped into one another. Then through the clear sky two forms came
floating, wonderfully fair--a brother and sister--their beautiful
arms twined round one another, their golden hair bathed in sunlight,
and supported by the wind.
"My son and daughter," said Niörd, proudly, to the surrounding Æsir,
"Frey and Freyja, Summer and Beauty, hand in hand."
When Frey and Freyja dropped upon the hill Niörd took his son by the
hand, led him gracefully to the foot of the throne, and said, "Look
here, dear brother Lord, what a fair young instructor I have brought
for your pretty little elves."
Odin was very much pleased with the appearance of Frey; but, before
constituting him king and schoolmaster of the light elves, he desired
to know what his accomplishments were, and what he considered himself
competent to teach.
"I am the genius of clouds and sunshine," answered Frey; and as he
spoke, the essences of a hundred perfumes were exhaled from his
breath. "I am the genius of clouds and sunshine, and if the light
elves will have me for their king I can teach them how to burst the
folded buds, to set the blossoms, to pour sweetness into the swelling
fruit, to lead the bees through the honey-passages of the flowers, to
make the single ear a stalk of wheat, to hatch birds' eggs, and teach
the little ones to sing--all this, and much more," said Frey, "I
know, and will teach them."
Then answered Odin, "It is well;" and Frey took his scholars away
with him to Alfheim, which is in every beautiful place under the
sun.