ifeless by his side. Seeing this, the gods reverently
laid her beside her husband, that she might accompany him even in
death; and after they had slain his horse and hounds and twined
the pyre with thorns, the emblems of sleep, Odin, last of the gods,
drew near.

In token of affection for the dead and of sorrow for his loss, all
had lain their most precious possessions upon his pyre, and Odin,
bending down, now added to the offerings his magic ring Draupnir. It
was noted by the assembled gods that he was whispering in his dead
son's ear, but none were near enough to hear what word he said.

These sad preliminaries ended, the gods now prepared to launch the
ship, but found that the heavy load of fuel and treasures resisted
their combined efforts and they could not make the vessel stir an
inch. The mountain giants, witnessing the scene from afar, and noticing
their quandary, now drew near and said that they knew of a giantess
called Hyrrokin, who dwelt in Joetun-heim, and was strong enough to
launch the vessel without any other aid. The gods therefore bade one of
the storm giants hasten off to summon Hyrrokin, and she soon appeared,
mounted upon a gigantic wolf, which she guided by a bridle made of
writhing snakes. Riding down to the shore, the giantess dismounted and
haughtily signified her readiness to give the required aid, if in the
meantime the gods would take charge of her steed. Odin immediately
despatched four of his maddest Berserkers to hold the wolf; but,
in spite of their phenomenal strength, they could not restrain the
monstrous creature until the giantess had thrown it down and bound
it fast.

Hyrrokin, seeing that now they would be able to manage her refractory
steed, strode along the strand to where, high up from the water's edge,
lay Balder's mighty ship Ringhorn.

"Seventy ells and four extended
On the grass the vessel's keel;
High above it, gilt and splendid,
Rose the figure-head ferocious
With its crest of steel."

The Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).

Setting her shoulder against its stern, with a supreme effort she
sent it with a rush into the water. Such was the weight of the mass,
however, and the rapidity with which it shot down into the sea, that
the earth shook as if from an earthquake, and the rollers on which
the ship glided caught fire from the friction. The unexpected shock
almost caused the gods to lose their balance, and this so angered
Thor