he wished. Then he gave the golden hair to Thor, who
placed it upon the head of fair Sif; and it grew there, and was a
thousand-fold more beautiful than the silken tresses she had worn
before.

After the Asas had carefully looked at these treasures, and talked of
their merits, little Brok came humbly forward and offered his gifts. To
Odin he gave the precious ring Draupner, already dropping richness. To
Frey he gave the boar Golden Bristle, telling him that wherever he chose
to go this steed would serve him well, and would carry him faster than
any horse, while his shining bristles would light the way on the darkest
night or in the gloomiest path. At last he gave to Thor the hammer
Mjolner, and said that it, like Odin's spear, would never miss the mark,
and that whatever it struck, it would crush in pieces, and whithersoever
it might be hurled, it would come back to his hand again.

Then the Asas declared at once that Thor's hammer was the best of all
the gifts, and that the dwarf had fairly won the wager. But, when
Brok demanded Loki's head as the price of the wager, the cunning
Mischief-maker said,--

"My head is, by the terms of our agreement, yours; but my neck is my
own, and you shall not on any account touch or harm it."[EN#26]

So Brok went back to his brother and his smithy without the head of
Loki, but he was loaded with rich and rare presents from the Asa-folk.

Adventure XVI. How Brunhild Was Welcomed Home.

When the next morning's sun arose, and its light gilded the mountain
peaks, and fell in a flood of splendor down upon the rich uplands and
the broad green fields of Nibelungen Land, Siegfried, with his earls and
mighty men, rode through the valley, and down to the seashore. There a
pleasant sight met his eyes: for the little bay was white with the sails
of a hundred gold-beaked vessels which lay at anchor; and on the sandy
beach there stood in order three thousand island warriors,--the bravest
and the best of all the Nibelungens,--clad in armor, and ready to hear
and to do their master's bidding. And Siegfried told them why he had
thus hastily called them together; and he gave to each one rich gifts
of gold and jewels and costly raiment. Then he chose from among them
one thousand of the most trustworthy, who should follow him back to
Isenland; and these went aboard the waiting vessels, amid the cheers
and the farewells of their comrades who were left behind. And when every
thing was in