visiting a chief of the name of Athalbrand. He was a fierce-looking
man with a great forked beard, from which he was called Athalbrand
Fork-beard. One of his nostrils was larger than the other, and he had a
droop in his left eye, both of which peculiarities came to him from some
wound or wounds that he had received in war. In those days everybody was
at war with everybody else, and it was quite uncommon for anyone to live
until his hair turned grey.

The reason of our visit to this chief Athalbrand was that my elder
brother, Ragnar, might be betrothed to his only surviving child, Iduna,
all of whose brothers had been killed in some battle. I can see Iduna
now as she was when she first appeared before us. We were sitting at
table, and she entered through a door at the top of the hall. She
was clothed in a blue robe, her long fair hair, whereof she had an
abundance, was arranged in two plaits which hung almost to her knees,
and about her neck and arms were massive gold rings that tinkled as she
walked. She had a round face, coloured like a wild rose, and innocent
blue eyes that took in everything, although she always seemed to look
in front of her and see nothing. Her lips were very red and appeared to
smile. Altogether I thought her the loveliest creature that ever I had
looked on, and she walked like a deer and held her head proudly.

Still, she did not please Ragnar, who whispered to me that she was sly
and would bring mischief on all that had to do with her. I, who at the
time was about twenty-one years of age, wondered if he had gone mad to
talk thus of this beautiful creature. Then I remembered that just before
we had left home I had caught Ragnar kissing the daughter of one of our
thralls behind the shed in which the calves were kept. She was a brown
girl, very well made, as her rough robe, fastened beneath her breast
with a strap, showed plainly, and she had big dark eyes with a sleepy
look in them. Also, I never saw anyone kiss quite so hard as she did;
Ragnar himself was outpassed. I think that is why even the great lady,
Iduna the Fair, did not please him. All the while he was thinking of the
brown-eyed girl in the russet robe. Still, it is true that, brown-eyed
girl or no, he read Iduna aright.

Moreover, if Ragnar did not like Iduna, from the first Iduna hated
Ragnar. So it came about that, although both my father, Thorvald, and
Iduna's father, Athalbrand, stormed and threatened, these two declared
that the