Legends of the Norse Kings: The Saga of King Ragnar Goatskin and The Dream of King Alfdan by Wyatt Isabel

Author:Wyatt, Isabel [Wyatt, Isabel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780863159756
Publisher: Floris Books
Published: 2013-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

The Dream of King Alfdan

An Old Norse Hero Tale

1. How Haki Was Made a Wolf’s Head

King Sigurd the Hart was king of Ringrik in Norway. At the birth of his son he held a splendid feast. At the feast, King Sigurd sat in his high seat, and the newborn prince was laid at his feet. And King Sigurd gave the boy the name of Guthorm.

To this birth feast came the two kings of the lands next to Ringrik. They sat next to King Sigurd, at the top of the long table that ran the length of the hall. Next to the kings sat lords, in red furs and gold arm rings. And next to the lords sat the men, in coats of mail.

The lords drank lots of wine from golden wine cups. The men drank lots of ale, from ale horns bound with silver. And the king’s hall rang with songs and jokes and laughter. Soon men who had drunk too much began to sprawl and to brawl. They began to shout and to brag, and to pluck at their daggers and sword hilts.

Ragnild, the new prince’s sister, came in to bring the king’s wine in a special cup. She was only six years old, but even then she had the nickname of Ragnild the Golden, because her hair was such a rich gold colour.

She gave the special cup first to the king next to her father. This was the young king Alfdan the Black. As he drank from it, she lifted her head to gaze at his black hair.

“I’ve never seen black hair before,” she said. “In Ringrik, our hair is golden.”

“Ah,” said King Alfdan the Black, “but I have a golden roof, the only one in all Norway. My hall is by a lake, and in the sun you can see its roof flash like gold fire over the water.”

“My father’s grave mound will be by a lake,” said the little princess. “A wise man told him that it must be by a lake, and that it might help me in my hour of need.”

King Alfdan gave her back the special cup. She gave it to the next king, King Eric the Merry. King Eric had red hair and his eyes were full of fun.

“What roofs do kings with red hair have?” asked the little princess.

“Roofs of straw, that birds can nest in,” King Eric told her. “And the birds sing, to tell the kings with red hair things what will happen.”

King Eric was joking, but what he said was true. He had a special gift of seeing into the future, and it was when the birds sang in his hall thatch that the gift was strongest.

“What do the birds sing about King Alfdan?” asked the little princess.

“They sing,” said King Eric, “that he will dream a dream in a pigsty. The dream will only be a dream about his own hair, but it will signify a new fate for all of Norway.”

“What do the birds sing about me?” asked the little princess.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.