1.
Long ago
the gods had game in abundance,
Ate their fill,
feasting together,
Scored runes
and relished blood.
In Aegir's hall
there was great plenty.2.
In the hall sat Fell-Dweller,
happy as a child,
Much like the kin
of Miskurblindi,
Till Ygg's son
mockingly met his eye:
'Slave, at our feast
you shall serve for ever.'3.
The taunts of the hero
troubled the giant,
His thoughts were turned
by them to revenge:
'Let Sif's husband
bring in the cauldron
That I may brew ale
for all the gods.'4.
But none of the gods,
none of the powers,
Had such a cauldron;
they could not get one.
Until Tyr,
the trusty warrior,
Counseled Thunderer
with these words:5.
'Away to the east
of Elivagur
At the sky's end
wise Hymir lives,
My savage father:
he possesses a kettle,
A magic cauldron,
miles deep.'
Then said Thunderer:
6.
'Do you think
we can get it?'
Tyr said:
7.
'We can,
if cunning enough.'
8.
Long they drove,
a day's journey
From Asgard,
till to Egil they came:
They left their goats
to graze with him,
And entered the hall
where Hymir lived.
9.
Grandson met grandmother:
grim she looked,
A monster
with nine hundred heads:
But white-browed, golden,
the wife of Hymir
Brought cups of beer
to her son.10.
'Though you be strong
and stout-hearted,
I had better hide you
under the cauldron:
Ungenerous with guests
is my giant husband,
And very often
ill-tempered.'11.
Late to his home
came the evil-doer,
Back from the chase;
the brutal Hymir
Entered the hall;
the icicles clinked
On his chin-forest
as the churl came in.
Frilla said:
12.
'Now greet, Hymir,
with glad mood
Your son who tonight
sits in the hall:
He whom we missed
has made his way back.
The comrade with him
is called Veor.13.
Under the gable
of the hall they sit,
Protecting themselves
with a tall pillar.'
The pillar gave
at the glance of the giant,
The main beam
was broken in pieces.14.
Eight cauldrons,
hard-hammered, fell
One by one
from the wood shelf:
They stepped out,
but the old giant
Held his foe
with a fierce gaze.15.
Hymir was uneasy,
beholding before him
The Peril of Giants
pacing his floor:
Then at his orders
three bulls
Were led away at once
to be boiled.16.
He made each of them
a head shorter,
They were carried thence
to the cooking-fire.
Before sleeping
Sif's husband
Ate two oxen
all by himself.17.
Ample indeed
Hrungnir's friend
Thought the repast
of Thunderer had been:
'If we three are to eat
an evening meal
Of game-meat,
we must go hunting.'18.
Veor said he was ready
to row on the waves
If the villainous giant
would provide bait.
Hymir said:
19.
'Take your pick of my herd
if it pleases you,
Bane of Fell Dwellers,
for the bait you need.20.
There, Veor,
I think you will find
Ox-turds
easy to get.'
Quickly the warrior
went to the field
Where, all-black,
an ox was grazing.21.
The Bane of Giants
broke off
Its two horns
from the high place.
Hymir said:
22.
'Much worse do I deem
your deeds now,
Keel Wielder,
than when you were sitting.'23.
The Goat Lord
bade the Brother of Apes
To steer the ship
a stretch further,
But the giant was weary,
weak already,
And little eager
for a longer row.24.
Fierce Hymir
on his fish hook
Drew up two whales
at one cast:
Aft in the stern,
Odin's son,
Veor, with patience
prepared his line.25.
With an ox-head
his angle he baited,
The slayer of serpents,
the savior of men:
From his hook
gaped the gods' foe,
Who under the seas
encircles the world.26.
Doughty Thor
drew boldly
The hideous serpent
up on board,
Struck with his hammer
the high hair-mountain
Of the writhing Coiler,
Kin of the Wolf.27.
The monster roared,
the mountains echoed,
Middle Earth
was mightily shaken
Then the serpent-fish
sank back.28.
Rueful was the giant
as they rowed back,
Far too angry
and afraid to speak,
As he labored
to catch a lee wind.
Hymir said:
29.
'Now you will have
to do half the work,
If I am to get home
with my whales
And our sea-buck
bring to harbor.'30.
Sif's husband
seized the stern
Of the sea-stallion,
swung it up
With its bilge water,
oars and bailing-can,
And bore the giant's
brim-swine home
Past the boiling springs
and the birch-scrub.31.
Hymir, though,
would not own he was beaten,
But continued still
to contend with Thor:
'Stoutly you row,
but strong you are not
Unless you can break
this beaker of mine.32.
Thunderer took it
and threw it quickly
At a stone column
that cracked in pieces
And fell down,
but the drinking cup,
When they brought it to Hymir,
was undamaged.33.
Then whispered
the beautiful wife of the giant
A secret known
to herself alone:
'Harder than the cup
is Hymir's skull;
If you want to smash it,
smite him there.'34.
The Lord of Goats
got to his feet,
Exerted every ounce
of his strength:
Whole remained
Hymir's helmet-stump,
But the wine cup
was cracked in half.35.
Seeing the shattered shards
on his knees,
The giant lamented:
'Many good things
Are gone from me,
I know I may never say
From now on -
"Ale, be brewed!"36.
It is yet to be proved
that you can bear
Out of this hall
my ale-kettle.'
Tyr tried twice
to budge it,
But still the cauldron stood
where it was.37.
The Father of Modi
seized the rim,
His feet broke through
the floor of the hall:
He lifted to his head
the huge cauldron;
The pot-rings clashed
and clattered at his heels.38.
They had not gone far
before he looked
Round behind him:
Odin's son
Saw, then, coming
from caves in the east,
Hymir with
a many-headed throng.39.
He lifted the kettle,
loosed it from his shoulders,
And swung Mjöllnir:
he slew all
Those wilderness monsters with his murderous hammer.40.
They had not gone far
before he observed
That Thunderer's goat
had gone lame:
The Puller on the Harness
was half dead.
That was malicious
Loki's doing.41.
But you have all heard,
all who are skilled
In the lore of the gods,
what later happened,
How the waste-dweller
was rewarded in return:
Both his sons were the price
he paid for that.42.
The Strong One came
to the Council of gods,
Entered with the cauldron
Hymir had possessed,
And all the gods
from now on could drink
Ale at Aegir's
every winter.