n he did that his men shouted. Then
they talked among themselves, saying:

"Surely Harald never knelt before. It is always other people who kneel
to him."

When the bride had tasted the food and touched the mead-horn to her lips
she stood up and walked from the hall. All her women followed her, but
the men stayed and feasted long.

On the next morning at breakfast Gyda sat by Harald's side. Soon the
king rose and said:

"Father-in-law, our horses stand ready in the yard. Work is waiting for
me at home and on the sea. Lead out the bride."

So Eric took Gyda by the hand and led her out of the hall. Harald
followed close. When they passed through the door Eric said:

"With this hand I lead my daughter out of my house and give her to you,
Harald, son of Halfdan, to be your wife. May all the gods make you
happy!"

Harald led his bride to the horse and lifted her up and set her behind
his saddle and said:

"Now this Gyda is my wife."

Then they drank the stirrup-horn and rode off.

"Everything comes to King Harald," his men said; "wife and land and
crown and victory in battle. He is a lucky man."

[Decoration]

[Illustration]

King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas

Now many men hated King Harald. Many a man said:

"Why should he put himself up for king of all of us? He is no better
than I am. Am I not a king's son as well as he? And are not many of us
kings' sons? I will not kneel before him and promise to be his man. I
will not pay him taxes. I will not have his earl sitting over me. The
good old days have gone. This Norway has become a prison. I will go away
and find some other place."

So hundreds of men sailed away. Some went to France and got land and
lived there. Big Rolf-go-afoot and all his men sailed up the great
French River and won a battle against the French king himself. There was
no way to stop the flashing of his battle-axes but to give him what he
wanted. So the king made Rolf a duke, gave him broad lands and gave him
the king's own daughter for wife. Rolf called his country Normandy, for
old Norway. He ruled it well and was a great lord, and his sons' sons
after him were kings of England.

Other Norsemen went to Ireland and England and Scotland. They drew up
their boats on the river banks. The people ran away before them and
gathered into great armies that marched back to meet the vikings in
battle. Sometimes the Norsemen lost, but oftener they won, so that they
got land and lived in