of ale in the kettle which Thor
had brought; and, when the guests were seated at the table, the foaming
liquor passed itself around to each, and there was much merriment and
glad good cheer. And old AEgir was so happy in the pleasant company of
the Asa-folk, that men say that he forgot to blow and bluster for a full
six months thereafter.[EN#14]

Such was the story which the wise harper told to Siegfried as they
sailed gayly along the Norwegian shore. And with many other pleasant
tales did they beguile the hours away. And no one ever thought of
danger, for the sky was blue and cloudless. And, besides this, Bragi
himself was on board; and he could charm and control the rudest
elements.

One day, however, the sea became unaccountably ruffled. There was no
wind; but yet the waves rose suddenly, and threatened to overwhelm the
little ship. Quickly the sailors sprang to their oars, and tried by
rowing to drive the vessel away from the shore and into the quieter
waters of the open sea. But all their strength was of no avail: the
swift stream carried the little bark onward in its course, as an autumn
leaf is borne on the bosom of a mighty river. Then the whole surface
of the water seemed lashed into fury. The waves formed hundreds of
currents, each stronger than a mountain torrent, and each seeming to
follow a course of its own. They clashed wildly against each other; they
heaved, and boiled, and hissed, and threw great clouds of spray high
into the air; they formed deep whirlpools, which twisted and twirled,
and broke into a thousand eddies, and then plunged deep down into rocky
caverns beneath, or laid bare the bottom of the sea. The helpless ship
was carried round and round, swiftly and more swiftly still; and vain
were the efforts of the crew to steer her out of the seething caldron
of waters. Then the cheeks of the sailors grew white with fear; and they
dropped their oars, and clung to the masts and ropes, and cried out,--

"Alas, we are lost! This is old AEgir's brewing-kettle!"

But Siegfried stood by the helm, and said,--

"If that be true, then we may sup with him in his gold-lit hall."

And all this time Bragi slept in the hold, and no one dared awaken him.
Faster and faster the ship was carried round the seething pool. The
flying spray was frozen in the air; and it filled the masts with snow,
and pattered like heavy hail upon the deck. The light of the sun seemed
shut out, and darkness closed around. A dismal