son, and Bera, the carle's daughter, were wont
as children to play together, and they loved
each other well. King Hring was often absent
from his kingdom, harrying foreign shores
according to the manners of his time, and Hvit
remained at home and governed the land. She
was not liked of the people, nor of Björn, though
she was always very pleasant with him, and
spake him fair and friendly. For all that, he
could not answer her in like manner, for he had
no love for her. King Hring once went abroad,
leaving Hvit to govern the land as usual; but leaving
his son this time as well, telling him that he
was to rule the land with the queen. Björn
remonstrated and protested, saying that he had no
love for the queen, and that he disliked the
plan; but the old king was inflexible, and left
the land with a great following. Björn walked
home after his conversation with the king, and
went up to his place ill pleased and as red as
blood. The queen came to speak with him and
to cheer him, and spake friendly with him, but
he bade her be off. She obeyed him this time.
She often came to talk with him, and said how
much pleasanter it was for them to be together
than to have an old fellow like Hring in the
house. Björn resented this speech, and struck
her a box on the ear, and he bade her depart,
and he turned her from him. She taunted him
with his love for Bera; then striking him with
a wolf-skin glove, she said that he should
become a rabid and grim wild bear, eating only
her father's sheep, which he should slay for his
food. After this, Björn disappeared, and men
sought but found him not. In the mean time
much havoc was wrought among the king's
flocks, and it was all the work of a grey bear,
both huge and grimly. One evening it chanced
that Bera, the carle's daughter, saw this savage
bear coming towards her, looking tenderly at
her, and she fancied that she recognised the eyes
of Björn, the king's son, so she made a slight
attempt at escape. The bear retreated; she
following, until he reached a cave, and when she
entered the cave, there stood before her a man,
who greeted Bera, the carle's daughter; and she
recognised him, for he was Björn, the king's
son. So she stayed with him in the cave; and
by day he was a beast, and by night a man.
When Hring returned from his harrying he was
told these two bits of news, how that Björn had
disappeared, and how that a grey bear, huge
and grimly, was devouring his herds and flocks.
And after a time he gathered together his men
and dogs; and the dogs and the king's men came
upon Björn in the shape of a bear and slew him;
and poor Bera was made to eat of his (bear's)
flesh, to her anguish and torture and despair.

Another saga, telling how Katla, Odd's
mother, is able to hoodwink, and blind by her
glamour the pursuers of her son, is also very
curious. When first Arnkill and Thorarinn,
with their companions, enter Katla's dwelling to
find Odd, whom they intend to slay for his
misdeeds, all they see is Katla spinning yarn from
off her distaff. They search the house, but find
no Odd, so they depart. But when they had
gone a little way from the garth, Arnkill stood
still and said: "How know we but that Katla
has hoodwinked us, and that the distaff in her
hand was nothing but Odd?" "Not
impossible," said Thorarinn; "let us turn back."
They did so; and when they came to the door
they found Katla in the porch stroking her goat
and smoothing its hair and wool. Her distaff
lay against the bench; so they thought it could
not have been Odd; and they went away.

Then Arnkill stopped again, and said: "Think
you not that Odd may have been in the goat's
form?" "There is no saying," replied Thorarinn.
So they turned back to try their luck
again, sure that Katla could not deceive them
this time. But all they saw now was a huge pig
lying on the ash-heap; and though they chopped
up the distaff, yet they found not Odd. But
when they got the help of the old troll Geirrid
and her blue cloak, then was Katla unable to
throw glamour over their eyes again. "She
started up from the place and lifted the cushion
off the seat, and there was a hole and a cavity
beneath; into this she thrust Odd, clapped the
cushion over him, and sat down, saying she felt
sick at heart. Now when they came into the
room there were small greetings; Geirrid cast
off her cloak and went up to Katla, and took
the sealskin bag which she had in her hand, and
drew it over the head of Katla. Then Geirrid
bade them break up the seat. They did so, and
found Odd. Him they took and carried to
Berland's head, where they hanged him; but
Katla they stoned to death under the headland."

Of course all this time the distaff was Odd,
and the goat in the porch was Odd, and the pig
lying on the ash-heap was Odd; Katla bewitching
the eyes of the searchers so that they
believed they saw such forms as she desired—an
achievement like those of Gilpin Horner's in
the Lay of the Last Minstrel, when

     Seemed to the boy some comrade gay
     Led him forth to the woods to play;
     On the drawbridge the warders stout
     Saw a terrier and lurcher passing out.

And again, or rather before, when

     He lifted up the living corse
     And laid it on the weary horse;
     He led him into Branksome Hall,
     Before the beards of the warders all;
     And each did after swear and say,
     There only passed a wain of hay.

This was the kind of thing that Katla did
with her guilty son Odd, when Arnkill and
Thorarinn were to be hoodwinked and deceived.
The berserkir, of whom every one has heard,
are assumed to have been men who wore bear or
wolf skins over their mailed coats. "The word
berserkir, used of a man possessed of
superhuman powers, and subject to accesses of
diabolical fury, was originally applied to one of
those doughty champions who went about in
bear-sarks, or habits made of bear-skins over
their armour." A wolf or bear skin would
make a warm and comfortable dress for a man
out in all weathers, and ramping about in all