78 
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
attained its full strength ; but then the harvest is cer¬ 
tain. This is why it is called the type of prudence. 
Handsome and durable, it keeps its bright red berries 
all winter — a food provided in the midst of the snow 
for the little birds. 
MISTLETOE (Viscum verticillatum ). I surmount everything. 
The following legend has come down to us from the 
days of the Druids. The god Balder having dreamed 
that he should die, his mother, Frigga, conjured fire, 
metals, maladies, water, animals, serpents, and plants, 
not to harm her son, and her conjurations were of such 
power that nothing could resist. Loke, the enemy of 
Balder, wished to know the cause of his invulnerability, 
and disguising himself under the form of an old woman, 
went to ask Frigga. He learned that everything in 
nature was sworn not to hurt Balder, except one little 
plant, which seemed too insignificant to harm, having not 
even a root of its own. It was the mistletoe. Loke 
immediately ran to find some, and, coming where the 
gods were fighting against the invulnerable Balder, 
asks the blind Heder, “ Why dost not thou, too, throw 
arrows at Balder ? ” “I am blind,” replied Heder, 
“ and have no arms.” Loke presented the mistletoe to 
him, and said, “ Balder is before thee.” It is thrown, 
and Balder falls lifeless. Thus the invulnerable son of 
a goddess is slain by a branch of mistletoe thrown by a 
blind enemy. 
