e about peace-bands on page 199.

[Illustration]

Leif and His New Land

Now Eric had lived in Greenland for fifteen years. His sons Thorstein
and Leif had grown up to be big, strong men. One spring Leif said to his
father:

"I have never seen Norway, our mother land. I long to go there and meet
the great men and see the places that skalds sing about."

Eric answered:

"It is right that you should go. No man has really lived until he has
seen Norway."

So he helped Leif fit out a boat and sent him off. Leif sailed for
months. He passed Iceland and the Faroes and the Shetlands. He stopped
at all of these places and feasted his mind on the new things. And
everywhere men received him gladly; for he was handsome and wise. But at
last he came near Norway. Then he stood up before the pilot's seat and
sang loudly:

"My eyes can see her at last,
The mother of mighty men,
The field of famous fights.
In the sky above I see
Fair Asgard's shining roofs,
The flying hair of Thor,
The wings of Odin's birds,
The road that heroes tread.
I am here in the land of the gods,
The land of mighty men."

For a while he walked the land as though he were in a dream. He looked
at this and that and everything and loved them all because it was
Norway.

"I will go to the king," he said.

He had never seen a king. There were no kings in Iceland or in
Greenland. So he went to the city where the king had his fine house. The
king's name was Olaf. He was a great-grandson of Harald Hairfair; for
Harald had been dead a hundred years.

Now the king was going to hold a feast at night, and Leif put on his
most beautiful clothes to go to it. He put on long tights of blue wool
and a short jacket of blue velvet. He belted his jacket with a gold
girdle. He had shoes of scarlet with golden clasps. He threw around
himself a cape of scarlet velvet lined with seal fur. His long sword
stuck out from under his cloak. On his head he put a knitted cap of
bright colors. Then he walked to the king's feast hall and went through
the door. It was a great hall, and it was full of richly-dressed men.
The fires shone on so many golden head-bands and bracelets and so many
glittering swords and spears on the wall, and there was so much noise of
talking and laughing, that at first Leif did not know what to do. But at
last he went and sat on the very end seat of the bench near him.

As the feast went on, King Olaf