n her eggs between the jaws of an
ox, which you call 'biters of straw.' The 'echoing cavern' is
the skull, and the 'building timber,' the nest.

Gestumblindi said:

Four walking, four hanging, two pointing the way, two warding
off the dogs, one, generally dirty, dangling behind! King
Heithrek, read me this riddle!

Heithrek replied:

Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is a cow. She has four feet and four udders, two horns
and two eyes, and the tail dangles behind.

Gestumblindi said:

Who is that solitary one who sleeps in the grey ash and is
made from stone only? This greedy one has neither father nor
mother. There will he spend his life. King Heithrek, read me
this riddle.

Heithrek replied:

Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is a spark struck by a flint and hidden in the hearth.

Gestumblindi said:

I saw a horse standing....

Then the King said:

My retinue shall read this riddle.

They made many guesses, but not particularly good ones. And when the
King saw that they could do nothing he said:

What you call a 'horse' is a piece of linen, and his 'mare' is
the weaver's rod; and the linen is shaken up and down.

Gestumblindi said:

Who are the thanes who ride to the meeting, sixteen of them
together? They send their men far and wide to make homes of
their own. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!

Heithrek replied:

Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.
That is 'King Itrek's game.'

Gestumblindi said:

In summer time at sunset I saw the King's body-guard awake and
very joyful. The nobles were drinking their ale in silence,
but the ale-butts stood screaming. King Heithrek, read me this
riddle!

Heithrek replied:

Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed
it. That is a sow with her litter. When the little pigs are
feeding, she squeals and they are silent.--But I can't imagine
who you are who can compose such things so deftly out of such
unpromising materials!

The King then silently made a sign that the door of the hall was to be
closed.

Gestumblindi said:

I saw maidens like dust. Rocks were their beds. They were
black and swarthy in the sunshine, but the darker it grew, the
fairer they appeared. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!

Heithrek repl