ring you shall keep as well as your own, if you will be my
bride."

The maiden could not refuse, and so the two were married, agreeing to
keep their union a secret.

About this time Eigil, the brother of Wayland, came to the court of
Nidung. He was a celebrated man and the most skilful master of the bow
to be found anywhere in the world. The king welcomed him, and he
remained a long time at the court. One day Nidung proposed that, since
he was such a skilful bowman, he should try shooting an apple from the
head of his own son. Eigil agreed.

"You may have only one trial," the king said.

So an apple was placed on the head of Eigil's three-year-old son, and
Eigil, taking his bow, aimed, and with the first arrow struck the
apple in the center, so that it fell from the child's head.

"Why did you have three arrows?" the king asked.

"Sire," replied Eigil, "I will not lie to you. If I had pierced my son
with the first arrow, the other two would have pierced you."

The king, strange to say, did not take offense at this speech, but on
the contrary showed Eigil still greater favor than he had in the past.

The archer frequently visited his brother Wayland, but Badhild came
but seldom to her husband's house. One day the two came together at
Wayland's special request. When they were leaving Wayland embraced
Badhild and said to her:

"You will be the mother of a boy--your child and mine. It may be that
I shall go away from here and never see his face; but you must tell
him that I have made for him worthy weapons and stowed them in safety
in the place where the water enters and the wind goes out (the
forge)."

The next time Wayland saw Eigil he bade him bring to him all kinds of
feathers, large and small.

"I wish to make for myself a doublet of feathers," he explained.

Then Eigil shot many birds of prey and brought their feathers to
Wayland. From them he made a flying shirt, clad in which he looked
more like an eagle than a man.

Eigil admired the workmanship and Wayland asked him to try it.

"How shall I rise, how fly, and how alight?" asked Eigil.

"You must rise against the wind, and fly first low and then high, but
you must alight with the wind."

Eigil did as he was told, and had a good deal of trouble in alighting.
Finally he knocked his head with such force on the ground that he lost
consciousness. When he came to himself Wayland spoke:

"Tell me, brother Eigil, do you like the shirt?"

"If it were