s robber as the robber went
by. Freya, no longer an omnipotent goddess, but a frightened wife,
trembled before his wrath, and begged the dwarfs to help her. And when
one of them--the most hideous of all--promised that he would prevent
the statue from speaking if Freya would but deign to smile upon him,
the queen of the gods, who had no dread of ugly things, and whose
heart was full of love and of pity, smiled her gentle smile on the
piteous little creature who had never known looks of anything but
horror and disgust from any of the deathless gods. It was for him a
wondrous moment, and the payment was worth Death itself. That night a
deep sleep fell on the guards of Odin's statue, and, while they slept,
the statue was pulled down from its pedestal and smashed into pieces.
The dwarf had fulfilled his part of the bargain.

When Odin next morning discovered the sacrilege, great was his anger,
and when no inquiry could find for him the criminal, he quitted Asgard
in furious wrath. For seven months he stayed away, and in that time
the Ice Giants invaded his realm, and all the land was covered with a
pall of snow, viciously pinched by black frosts, chilled by clinging,
deadening, impenetrable mists. But at the end of seven dreary months
Odin returned, and with him came the blessings of light and of
sunshine, and the Ice Giants in terror fled away.

Well was it for woman or for warrior to gain the favour of Freya, the
Beloved, who knew how to rule even Odin, the All Father, himself. The
Winilers who were warring with the Vandals once sought her aid, and
gained her promise of help. From Hlidskialf, the mighty watch-tower,
highest point in Asgard, from whence Odin and his queen could look
down and behold what was happening all the world over, amongst gods
and men, dwarfs, elves, and giants, and all creatures of their
kingdom, Freya watched the Vandals and the Winilers making ready for
the battle which was to decide forever which people should rule the
other.

Night was descending, but in the evening light the two gods beheld the
glitter of spears, the gleam of brass helmets and of swords, and heard
from afar the hoarse shouts of the warriors as they made ready for the
great fight on the morrow. Knowing well that her lord favoured the
Vandals, Freya asked him to tell her which army was to gain the
victory. "The army upon which my eyes shall first rest when I awake at
the dawning," said Odin, full well knowing that his couch was