question each other as to their past feats, with occasional
threats from Thor and taunts from Odin, until the former goes off
vowing vengeance on the ferryman:

_Thor_. "Thy skill in words would serve thee ill if I waded across
the water; I think thou wouldst cry louder than the wolf, if thou
shouldst get a blow from the hammer."

_Odin_. "Sif has a lover at home, thou shouldst seek him. That is a
task for thee to try, it is more proper for thee."

_Thor_. "Thou speakest what thou knowest most displeasing to me;
thou cowardly fellow, I think that thou liest."

_Odin_. "I think I speak true; thou art slow on the road. Thou wouldst
have got far, if thou hadst started at dawn."

_Thor_. "Harbard, scoundrel, it is rather thou who hast delayed me."

_Odin_. "I never thought a shepherd could so delay Asa-Thor's journey."

_Thor_. "I will counsel thee: row thy boat hither. Let us cease
quarrelling; come and meet Magni's father."

_Odin_. "Leave thou the river; crossing shall be refused thee."

_Thor_. "Show me the way, since thou wilt not ferry me."

_Odin_. "That is a small thing to refuse. It is a long way to go: a
while to the stock, and another to the stone, then keep to the left
hand till thou reach Verland. There will Fjoergyn meet her son Thor,
and she will tell him the highway to Odin's land."

_Thor_. "Shall I get there to-day?"

_Odin_. "With toil and trouble thou wilt get there about sunrise,
as I think."

_Thor_. "Our talk shall be short, since thou answerest with mockery. I
will reward thee for refusing passage, if we two meet again."

_Odin_. "Go thy way, where all the fiends may take thee."

_Lokasenna_ also is in dialogue form. A prose introduction tells
how the giant Oegi, or Gymi, gave a feast to the Aesir. Loki was
turned out for killing a servant, but presently returned and began to
revile the Gods and Goddesses, each one in turn trying to interfere,
only to provoke a taunt from Loki. At last Thor, who had been absent
on a journey, came in and threatened the slanderer with his hammer,
whereupon Loki said, "I spoke to the Aesir and the sons of the Aesir
what my mind told me; but for thee alone I will go away, for I know
thou wilt strike." Some of the poem is rather pointless abuse, but
much touches points already suggested in the other poems.

_Hyndluljod_ is much later than the others, probably not before
1200. The style is late, and the form imitated from _Voeluspa_. It
describes a visi