Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
These are eider duck laying their eggs. The eggs are not made with hammer or hands, and the hand-maidens put the ale into the egg-sh.e.l.l.
Gestumblindi said:
He who has got but a little sword and is very short of learning has to look out for help. I would like to talk still further.--Who are those ladies of the lofty mountain? A woman begets by a woman; a maid has a son by a maid; and these good-wives have no husbands. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
They are two Angelicas joined together, and a young angelica shoot is growing between them.
Gestumblindi said:
Who are the girls who fight without weapons around their lord?
The dark red ones always protect him, and the fair ones seek to destroy him. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is a game of chess. The pieces smite one another without weapons around the king, and the red a.s.sist him.
Gestumblindi said:
Who are the merry-maids who glide over the land for their father"s pleasure? They bear a white shield in winter and a black one in summer. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
Those are ptarmigan.
Gestumblindi said:
Who are the damsels who go sorrowing for their father"s pleasure? These white-hooded ladies have shining hair, and are very wide awake in a gale. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
Those are the billows, which are called aegir"s maidens.
Gestumblindi said:
Who are the maidens who go about many together for their father"s pleasure? They have brought trouble to many; and these good-wives have no husbands. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
Those are billows like the last.
Gestumblindi said:
Who are the brides who go about the reefs and trail along the firths? These white-hooded ladies have a hard bed and do not play much when the weather is calm. King Heithrek read me this riddle.
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
Those again are aegir"s maidens; but your pleading has now become so weak that you will have to stand trial by the judges.
Gestumblindi said:
I am loath to do so; and yet I fear that it will very soon come to that. I saw a barrow-dweller pa.s.s by, a corpse sitting on a corpse, the blind riding on the blind towards the ocean-path. Lifeless was the steed. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
It is that you came to a river; and an ice-floe was floating along the stream, and on it a dead horse was lying, and on the horse was a dead snake; and thus the blind was carrying the blind when they were all three together.
Gestumblindi said:
What is that beast which slays people"s flocks and is girt around with iron? It has eight horns, yet no head, and it runs when it can. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is the _Hunn_ in chess. It has the same name as a bear.
It runs as soon as it is thrown.
Gestumblindi said:
What is that beast which protects the Danes? Its back is b.l.o.o.d.y, but it shields men, encounters spears and saves men"s lives. Man fits his hand to its body. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is a shield. It protects many people and often has a b.l.o.o.d.y back.
Gestumblindi said:
A "nose-goose" (i.e. duck) in former days had grown very big when eager for young. She gathered together her building timber: "biters of straw" sheltered her, and "drink"s echoing cavern" was above her. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!
Heithrek replied:
Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
There a duck was sitting on her eggs between the jaws of an ox, which you call "biters of straw." The "echoing cavern" is the skull, and the "building timber," the nest.
Gestumblindi said:
Four walking, four hanging, two pointing the way, two warding off the dogs, one, generally dirty, dangling behind! King Heithrek, read me this riddle!