irrod. He called upon his
servants to heap up wood around him. They did this. Then the King, with
his own hand, put a blazing torch to the wood and the fagots blazed up
around the Wanderer.

The fagots burned round and round him. But the fire did not burn the
flesh of Odin All-Father. The King and the King's friends stood round,
watching with delight the fires blaze round a living man. The fagots all
burned away, and Odin was left standing there with his terrible gaze
fixed upon the men who were so hard and cruel.

They went to sleep, leaving him chained to the pillars of the hall. Odin
could have broken the chains and pulled down the pillars, but he wanted
to see what else would happen in this King's house. The servants were
ordered not to bring food or drink to him, but at dawn, when there was
no one near, Agnar came to him with a horn of ale and gave it to him to
drink.

The next evening when the King came back from his robberies, and when he
and his friends, sitting down at the tables, had eaten like wolves, he
ordered the fagots to be placed around Odin. And again they stood
around, watching in delight the fire playing around a living man. And
as before Odin stood there, unhurt by the fire, and his steady and
terrible gaze made the King hate him more and more. And all day he was
kept in chains, and the servants were forbidden to bring him food or
drink. None knew that a horn of ale was brought to him at dawn.

And night after night, for eight nights, this went on. Then, on the
ninth night, when the fires around him had been lighted, Odin lifted up
his voice and began to sing a song.

His song became louder and louder, and the King and the King's friends
and the servants of the thing's house had to stand still and harken to
it. Odin sang about Geirrod, the King; how the Gods had protected him,
giving him strength and skill, and how instead of making a noble use of
that strength and skill he had made himself like one of the wild beasts.
Then he sang of how the vengeance of the Gods was about to fall on this
ignoble King.

The flames died down and Geirrod and his friends saw before them, not a
friendless Wanderer, but one who looked more kingly than any King of the
earth. The chains fell down from his body and he advanced toward the
evil company. Then Geirrod rushed upon him with his sword in hand to
kill him. The sword struck him, but Odin remained unhurt.

Thy life runs out,
The Gods they are wrot