XII. KING OLAF'S CHRISTMAS Ar Drontheim, Olaf the King As he sat in his banquet-hall, Three days his Yule-tide feasts And his horn filled up to the brim; O'er his drinking-horn, the sign As he drank, and muttered his prayers; But the Berserks evermore Made the sign of the Hammer of Thor The gleams of the fire-light dance And laugh in the eyes of the King; "Sing me a song divine, With a sword in every line, And this shall be thy reward." "Quern-biter of Hakon the Good, Wherewith at a stroke he hewed The millstone through and through, And Foot-breadth of Thoralf the Strong, Were neither so broad nor so long, Nor so true." Then the Scald took his harp and sang, And loud through the music rang The sound of that shining word; And the harp-strings a clangor made, As if they were struck with the blade Of a sword. And the Berserks round about Broke forth into a shout That made the rafters ring: They smote with their fists on the board, And shouted, "Long live the Sword, And the King!" But the King said, “O my son, I miss the bright word in one Of thy measures and thy rhymes." And Halfred the Scald replied, "In another 't was multiplied Three times." Then King Olaf raised the hilt And Halfred the Scald said, "This And a shout went round the board, Then over the waste of snows The noonday sun uprose, Through the driving mists revealed, Like the lifting of the Host, By incense-clouds almost On the shining wall a vast And shadowy cross was cast From the hilt of the lifted sword, And in foaming cups of ale XIII. THE BUILDING OF THE LONG SERPENT. THORBERG SKAFTING, master-builder, Near him lay the Dragon stranded, Therefore whistled Thorberg Skafting, Twice the Dragon's size. Round him busily hewed and hammered Workmen laughed and sang and clamored; All this tumult heard the master,- Fancy whispered all the faster, "Men shall hear of Thorberg Skafting For a hundred year!" Workmen sweating at the forges Did the warlocks mingle in it, Thorberg Skafting, any curse? "T was an ill wind that came wafting, After long delays returning Came the master back by night; "Come and see my ship, my darling!" In the ship-yard, idly talking, At the ship the workmen stared: Some one, all their labor balking, Down her sides had cut deep gashes, Not a plank was spared! |