458 SUPERSTITION*. DREAMS. 



as if three oxen again came up from the sea ; all were red, 

 with large horns ; they bit off the grass as closely as the 

 previous ones, after which they returned. 



" ' In the third dream, which was like the others, I saw 

 three oxen come up again ; they were all black, and much 

 larger horned than the others ; after a while they returned to 

 the water. After that I heard such a terrible crash that 

 I thought it must be heard all over Denmark, and I saw that 

 it was caused by the sea returning toward the shore. Now,' 

 he said, ' I want thee, queen, to interpret the dream for the 

 entertainment of those present, and thus show thy wisdom.' 

 She consented, and interpreted the dream as follows : ' When 

 three white oxen went up out of the sea on the land, that 

 must mean three severe winters, when so much snow will fall 

 that the season will be bad. When thou sawest three other 

 red oxen, that means there will come three snowless winters, 

 but yet not good ones, for they bite the grass off the ground. 

 The three black oxen signify that there will come three 

 winters, which will be so bad that none have ever seen the 

 like, and such a black and bad season and famine will 

 come over the land that it will be unexampled. That thou 

 sawest them' with large horns means there will be many 

 outcasts who will lose all their property ; that they went again 

 into the sea means that the bad season will leave the land 

 like they did ; and that thou heardest a loud crash when the 

 sea again came back on the shore means the war of powerful 

 men, who shall meet here in Denmark, and have fights and 

 great battles. It seems to me likely that some of the men in 

 some of the wars will be near kinsmen to thee. If thou hadst 

 first dreamt those things that were last, then these wars would 

 have taken place in thy time, but now this will do no harm; 

 and I would then not have gone with thee if thou hadst dreamt 

 as I have before said. I can hinder all these dreams about 

 the famine from being fulfilled.' After this feast King Gorm 

 and Queen Thyri went home to Denmark, and had many ships 

 loaded with corn and other food, and transported this to 

 Denmark ; the same was kept up every year until the arrival 

 of those severe years which she had foretold. When the hard 

 time came they wanted for nothing on account of their 

 preparations, and there was no want in Denmark, for they 

 distributed much grain among the people. Thyri was thought 

 to be the wisest woman that had ever been in Denmark, and 

 was called Thyri Danmarkarbot (Denmark's helper, saver)" 

 (Flateyjarbok, vol. i.). 



People were often forewarned of death in their dreams : 



