ace in
which to live; and these are not dead, but live in the grateful
memories of those whom they loved and saved.

THE HOARD OF THE ELVES

REGIN'S STORY[1]

When the earth was still very young, and men were feeble and few, and
the Dwarfs were many and strong, the Asa-folk were wont oft-times to
leave their halls in heaven-towering Asgard in order to visit the
new-formed mid-world, and to see what the short-lived sons of men were
doing. Sometimes they came in their own god-like splendor and might;
sometimes they came disguised as feeble men folk, with all man's
weaknesses and all his passions. Sometimes Odin, as a beggar, wandered
from one country to another, craving charity; sometimes, as a warrior
clad in coat of mail, he rode forth to battle for the cause of right;
or as a minstrel he sang from door to door, and played sweet music in
the halls of the great; or as a huntsman he dashed through brakes and
fens, and into dark forests, and climbed steep mountains in search of
game; or as a sailor he embarked upon the sea, and sought new scenes in
unknown lands. And many times did men folk entertain him unawares.

Once on a time he came to the mid-world in company with Hoenir and
Loki; and the three wandered through many lands and in many climes,
each giving gifts wherever they went. Odin gave knowledge and
strength, and taught men how to read the mystic runes; Hoenir gave
gladness and good cheer, and lightened many hearts with the glow of his
comforting presence; but Loki had naught to give but cunning deceit and
base thoughts, and he left behind him bitter strife and many aching
breasts.

At last, growing tired of the fellowship of men, the three Asas sought
the solitude of the forest, and as huntsmen wandered long among the
hills and over the wooded heights of Hunaland. Late one afternoon they
came to a mountain stream at a place where it poured over a ledge of
rocks and fell in clouds of spray into a rocky gorge below. As they
stood, and with pleased eyes gazed upon the waterfall, they saw near
the bank an otter lazily making ready to eat a salmon which he had
caught. Then Loki, ever bent on doing mischief, hurled a stone at the
harmless beast, and killed it. And he boasted loudly that he had done
a worthy deed. He took both the otter and the fish which it had
caught, and carried them with him as trophies of the day's success.

Just at nightfall the three huntsmen came to a lone farmhouse in the