Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/66

 54 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA IX. around. There also he had a convenient station to defend the country against the Danes, or to make an attack upon Denmark, which he was in the custom of doing often, although he kept no great force on foot. One summer King Harald went from thence with a few light ships and a few men. He steered south- wards out from Viken, and, when the wind served, stood over to Jutland, and marauded ; but the country people collected and defended the country. Then King Harald steered to Lymfiord, and went into the fiord. Lymfiord is so formed that its entrance is like a narrow river ; but when one gets farther into the fiord, it spreads out into a wide sea. King Harald marauded on both sides of the land ; and when the Danes gathered together on every side to oppose him, he lay at a small island which was uncultivated. They wanted drink on board his ships, and went up into the island to seek water ; but finding none, they reported it to the king. He ordered them to look for some long earth-worms on the island, and when they found them they brought them to the king. He ordered the people to bring the worms to a fire, and bake them before it, so that they should be thirsty. Then he ordered a thread to be tied round the tails of the worms, and to let them loose. The worms crept away immediately, while the threads were wound ofi* from the clew as the worms took them away ; and the people followed the worms until they sought downwards in the earth. There the king ordered them to dig for water, which they did, and found so much water that they had no want of it. King Harald now heard from his spies that King Swend was come with a large armament to the mouth of the fiord ; but that it was too late for him to come into it, as only one ship at a time can come in. King Harald then steered with his fleet in through the fiord to where it was broadest, to a place called Lygsbreid. In the