Prose EddaNorse MythologyAncient Myth / ComparativeOld NorseShareProse Edda 33Anderson - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableAndersonLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Prose Edda 1Prose Edda 2Prose Edda 3Prose Edda 4Prose Edda 5Prose Edda 6Prose Edda 7Prose Edda 8Prose Edda 9Prose Edda 10Prose Edda 11Prose Edda 12Prose Edda 13Prose Edda 14Prose Edda 15Prose Edda 16Prose Edda 17Prose Edda 18Prose Edda 19Prose Edda 20Prose Edda 21Prose Edda 22Prose Edda 23Prose Edda 24Prose Edda 25Prose Edda 26Prose Edda 27Prose Edda 28Prose Edda 29Prose Edda 30Prose Edda 31Prose Edda 32Prose Edda 33Prose Edda 34Prose Edda 35›The Grottesong.Prose Edda 33ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1Now are come To the house of the king The prescient two, Fenja and Menja. There must the mighty Maidens toil For King Frode, Fridleif’s son. 2Brought to the mill Soon they were; The gray stones They had to turn. Nor rest nor peace He gave to them: He would hear the maidens Turn the mill. 3They turned the mill, The prattling stones The mill ever rattling. What a noise it made! Lay the planks! Lift the stones![98] But he[99] bade the maids Yet more to grind. 4They sang and swung The swift mill-stone, So that Frode’s folk Fell asleep. Then, when she came To the mill to grind, With a hard heart And with loud voice Did Menja sing: 5We grind for Frode Wealth and happiness, And gold abundant On the mill of luck. Dance on roses! Sleep on down! Wake when you please! That is well ground. 6Here shall no one Hurt the other, Nor in ambush lie, Nor seek to kill; Nor shall any one With sharp sword hew, Though bound he should find His brother’s bane. 7They stood in the hall, Their hands were resting; Then was it the first Word that he spoke: Sleep not longer Than the cuckoo on the hall, Or only while A song I sing: 8Frode! you were not Wary enough,-- You friend of men,-- When maids you bought! At their strength you looked, And at their fair faces, But you asked no questions About their descent. 9Hard was Hrungner And his father; Yet was Thjasse Stronger than they, And Ide and Orner, Our friends, and The mountain-giants’ brothers, Who fostered us two. 10Not would Grotte have come From the mountain gray, Nor this hard stone Out from the earth; The maids of the mountain-giants Would not thus be grinding If we two knew Nothing of the mill. 11Through winters nine Our strength increased, While below the sod We played together. Great deeds were the maids Able to perform; Mountains they From their places moved. 12The stone we rolled From the giants’ dwelling, So that all the earth Did rock and quake. So we hurled The rattling stone, The heavy block, That men caught it. 13In Svithjod’s land Afterward we Fire-wise women, Fared to the battle, Byrnies we burst, Shields we cleaved, Made our way Through gray-clad hosts. 14One chief we slew, Another we aided,-- To Guthorm the Good Help we gave. Ere Knue had fallen Nor rest we got. Then bound we were And taken prisoners. 15Such were our deeds In former days, That we heroes brave Were thought to be. With spears sharp Heroes we pierced, So the gore did run And our swords grew red. 16Now we are come To the house of the king, No one us pities. Bond-women are we. Dirt eats our feet, Our limbs are cold, The peace-giver[100] we turn. Hard it is at Frode’s. 17The hands shall stop, The stone shall stand; Now have I ground For my part enough. Yet to the hands No rest must be given, ’Till Frode thinks Enough has been ground. 18Now hold shall the hands The lances hard, The weapons bloody,-- Wake now, Frode! Wake now, Frode! If you would listen To our songs,-- To sayings old. 19Fire I see burn East of the burg,-- The warnews are awake. That is called warning. A host hither Hastily approaches To burn the king’s Lofty dwelling. 20No longer you will sit On the throne of Hleidra And rule o’er red Rings and the mill. Now must we grind With all our might, No warmth will we get From the blood of the slain. 21Now my father’s daughter Bravely turns the mill. The death of many Men she sees. Now broke the large Braces ’neath the mill,-- The iron-bound braces. Let us yet grind! 22Let us yet grind! Yrsa’s son Shall on Frode revenge Halfdan’s death. He shall Yrsa’s Offspring be named, And yet Yrsa’s brother. Both of us know it. 23The mill turned the maidens,-- Their might they tested; Young they were, And giantesses wild. The braces trembled. Then fell the mill,-- In twain was broken The heavy stone. 24All the old world Shook and trembled, But the giant’s maid Speedily said: We have turned the mill, Frode! Now we may stop. By the mill long enough The maidens have stood. 25[Footnote 98: These words are spoken by the maidens while they put the mill together.] ‹Previous chapterProse Edda 32Next chapterProse Edda 34›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg