ly ornamented helmet.
Then he turned to Hrothgar and spoke a last word to him.

"If the fight go against me, great chieftain, be thou a guardian to my
thanes, my kinsmen and my trusty comrades; and send thou to Higelac
those treasures that thou gavest me, that he may know thy kindness to
me. Now will I earn glory for myself, or death shall take me away."

So saying, he plunged into the gloomy lake, at the bottom of which was
Grendel's mother. Very soon she perceived his approach, and rushing
forth, grappled with him and dragged him down to her den, where many
horrible sea-beasts joined in the fight against him. This den was so
fashioned that the water could not enter it, and it was lit by the light
of a fire that shone brightly in the midst of it.

And now Beowulf drew his sword and thrust at his terrible foe; but the
weapon could not injure her, and he was forced to fling it away and
trust in the powerful grip of his arms as he had done with Grendel.
Seizing the witch, he shook her till she sank down on the ground; but
she quickly rose again and requited him with a terrible hand-clutch,
which caused Beowulf to stagger and then fall. Throwing herself upon
him, she seized a dagger to strike him; but he wrenched himself free and
once more stood upright.

Then he suddenly perceived an ancient sword hanging upon the wall of the
den, and seized it as a last resource. Fierce and savage, but well-nigh
hopeless, he struck the monster heavily upon the neck with it. Then, to
his joy, the blade pierced right through her body and she sank down
dying.

At that moment the flames of the fire leapt up, throwing a brilliant
light over the den; and there against the wall Beowulf beheld the dead
body of Grendel lying on a couch. With one swinging blow of the powerful
sword he struck off his head as a trophy to carry to Hrothgar.

But now a strange thing happened, for the blade of the sword began to
melt away even as ice melts, and soon nothing was left of it save the
hilt. Carrying this and Grendel's head, Beowulf now left the den and
swam upwards to the surface of the lake.

There the thanes met him with great rejoicings, and some quickly helped
him to undo his armor, while others prepared to carry the great head of
Grendel back to Heorot. It took four men to carry it, and ghastly,
though wonderful, was the sight of it.

And now once more the warriors assembled in Heorot, and Beowulf
recounted to Hrothgar the full tale of his ad