woman loves courage.

While Frithiof roamed the forest for game, Ingeborg, at the loom, wove
beautiful tapestries. Pictures of sea and grove, blue waters and
waving trees, grew under her deft fingers. Then she wove warriors on
horseback, with their shining shields and their bright red lances.
Soon the face of the leader was seen; 'twas the face of her brave
playmate, Frithiof.

In the long winter evenings around the fire, Ingeborg heard the story
of the gods. The light shining upon her fair face made her lovely as
one of the goddesses. Frithiof thought her hair as golden as Freya's
treasure.

When darkness held the quiet earth
They gathered round the welcome hearth,
And Hilding told them stories old
Of gods and kings and heroes bold.

So Frithiof and the lovely Ingeborg grew to love each other. But when
Hilding saw that the viking's son dared to love the daughter of a king,
he said: "Frithiof, my dear foster-son, in vain are your hopes.
Ingeborg is a king's daughter. Your reason should tell you that you
cannot marry her. Proud is King Bele of his family descended from the
great god Odin. He will have his daughter marry a prince, not a
yeoman. Well do I love you; brave and handsome are you and strong as
any prince, but you must forget your love for Ingeborg."

Then the brave youth smiled and said: "I am free-born, and never will I
yield. I killed the forest chief, and honour is mine for the deed.
All power is noble--Thor who hurls the thunderbolts is noble, although
Odin is king of the gods. So free-born men shall never yield though
kings are on the throne. In Thor's kingdom, where all strength is,
worth is king, not lineage. The sword always speaks with power; never
will I forget Ingeborg, but will fight all the world for her."

The free-born man will never yield,
He owns the world's unconquered field;
Where worth and not descent is leader
The sword is e'er a valiant pleader.

King Bele and Thorsten

The words by an old man spoken should not be slighted

In the great palace stood the old King Bele and his friend, Thorsten
the faithful. Both had lived brave lives and longed for Valhalla, the
home of heroes.

"The evening of life comes over me," said King Bele, "but as death
draws nearer, the glory of heaven seems brighter. I have called our
sons to the throne room, dear friend, to speak words of warning and
help. To-morrow it may be that I shall sleep in de