Page:Stories of Norse Gods and Heroes.djvu/53

Rh GERD.

No god was allowed to sit on Odin's throne but Odin himself.

One day when Frey was alone in the palace, he sat upon the throne and looked over into Jotunheim.

There he saw a maiden come out of a low, dark house. As she walked down the pathway, the air became clearer and warmer. The earth brightened and grew green. When she went inside and shut the door, the light faded, and the earth grew black again.

Around the low, dark house was a wavering wall of fire, and within the wall fierce dogs kept watch, night and day.

When the door was shut and Frey could no longer see the maiden, he went away sadly. He could neither eat nor sleep for longing to see her.

So sad was he that no one dared ask him his trouble. Skade, his mother, sent Skirner, his faithful friend, to find out what ailed him.

Frey told Skirner of the beautiful maiden, and