345 



•' O poisons, and plagues, and creeping things, hurt not Balder ! " 



And there came a voice as before, and Freyga was content. But she spake 



yet again — 



"O beasts, and birds, and trees of the forest, hurt not Balder ! " 



And there came a voice as before, and Freyga was content. So that she spake 



no further from Lidskialf. 



" I think," said she to herself, "that will do very well indeed." 



But just as she was gathering her garments around her to step down from 



Lidskialf, which was nine hundred and ninety-nine golden steps to it, she heard 



once more what seemed to be the sound of distant laughter. 



"It is only Lok again," said Freyga; "he is always laughing." Andlooking 

 forth upon the east of Asgard, where she had seen the little mistletoe, she saw 

 Lok, whose sides were shaking with mirth. "I thought it was a mistletoe- 

 bush," said she, "but it seems to be Lok." 



So she came back to the Asir, and told them Balder's dream would come 

 to nothing, for she had made all things in heaven and earth make oath not 

 to hurt him. 



Alter this the gods used to make much sport with Balder of an afternoon, for 

 he was very good-natured. It was their manner to make a target of him, some 

 throwing darts, some slinging stones, and some hewing at him with their swords 

 and battle-axes ; but there was nothing that hurt him. Nanna, his wife, was 

 very pleased with this, and it was great amusement for the other gods, all except 

 Lok, who was not only on tip-toe, as he always was, for mischief, but was very 

 jealous that less regarcf was paid now than formerly to his antics, because the 

 Asir found so much entertainment in throwing things at Balder. Now Lok had 

 his suspicions about the mistletoe, and, putting on the shape and attire of a 

 woman, he went to Freyga's house, which was on the sea shore, and said — 



"I have noticed of late that the Asir are in the habit of standing in a circle 

 around Balder and trying to hurt him, and yet none of the things they use seem 

 to do him any harm. How is that ? " 



Now Freyga was proud of what she had done when she had ascended 

 Lidskialf, and she said to Lok, taking him for the woman he seemed to be — 



" You must be very ignorant not to know that nothing can harm Balder, for 

 all things in heaven and earth have sworn never to do him ill." 



" What ! " said Lok, " all things ? " 



"Wh)-, yes," said Freyga, "you may well say all things, for who would 

 call the mistletoe a thing ? I did not think it worth while to ask so insignificant 

 an affair for an oath." 



This was just what Lok wanted to hear, and what he expected to hear. So 

 the next time the gods were having sport with Balder, he took with him a sprig 

 ot the mistletoe, and went up with it to Hoder, who, being blind, was standing 

 sadly apart from the rest. 



