h men could make was strong enough to hurt Grendel; but he seized
him with his strong hands, and the two struggled together in the palace.
And they fought till the benches were torn from the walls, and
everything in the hall was smashed and broken. The brave men, springing
up all round, seized their swords and would gladly have helped their
lord, but there was no one but Beowulf could harm Grendel.

"So they fought, till at last Beowulf tore away Grendel's hand and arm,
and the monster fled away howling into the darkness. Over the moor he
rushed till he came to his bog, and there he sank down into the middle
of the bog, wailing and shrieking like one whose last hour was come.
Then there was great rejoicing at Heorot, the palace, and King Hrothgar,
when he saw Grendel's hand which Beowulf had torn away, embraced him and
blessed him, and he and all his friends were laden with splendid gifts.

"But all was not over yet. When the next night came, and Hrothgar's men
and Beowulf's men were asleep together in the great hall, Grendel's
horrible mother, half a woman and half a wolf, came rushing to the
palace and while they were all asleep she carried off one of Hrothgar's
dearest friends--a young noble whom he loved best of all his nobles. And
she killed him, and carried his body back to the bog. Then the next
morning there was grief and weeping in Heorot; but Beowulf said to the
king, 'Grieve not, O king! till we have found out Grendel's mother and
punished her for her evil deeds. I promise you she shall give an account
for this. She shall not be able to hide herself in the water, nor under
the earth, nor in the forest, nor at the bottom of the sea; let her go
where she will, I will find a way after her.'

"So Beowulf and his friends put on their armour and mounted their
horses, and set out to look for her. And when they had ridden a long and
weary way over steep lonely paths and past caves where dragons and
serpents lived, they came at last to Grendel's bog--a fearful place
indeed. There in the middle of it lay a pool of black water, and over
the water hung withered trees, which seemed as if they had been poisoned
by the air rising from the water beneath them. No bird or beast would
ever come near Grendel's pool. If the hounds were hunting a stag, and
they drove him down to the edge, he would sooner let them tear him to
pieces than hide himself in the water. And every night the black water
seemed to burn and flame, and it hi