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Baldur · Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology

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  Speaker 1: Chapter eleven of Esgarth Stories. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All libervox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
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  Speaker 1: by Juliu Esgard stories by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings. Order.
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  Speaker 1: Order was the best beloved of all the gods. Odin
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  Speaker 1: was their father and king. To him they turned for
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  Speaker 1: help and wise advice. But it was to bother they
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  Speaker 1: went for loving words and bright smiles. The sight of
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  Speaker 1: his kind face was a joy to the Esha and
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  Speaker 1: to all the people of Midgard. They sometimes called him
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  Speaker 1: the God of Light, a good name for him, because
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  Speaker 1: he truly gave to the world light in strength. Border
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  Speaker 1: was the son of Olden and Frigga. He was the
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  Speaker 1: most gentle and lovely of all the gods. His beautiful
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  Speaker 1: palace in Ascot was bright and spotless. No evil creature
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  Speaker 1: could enter there. No one who had wrong thoughts could
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  Speaker 1: stay in that palace of love and truth. At last,
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  Speaker 1: after the bright summer was over. For many days, Border
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  Speaker 1: had looked sad and troubled. Some of the asures saw it,
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  Speaker 1: but most of all, his loving, watchful mother Frigure Border
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  Speaker 1: could not bear to worry his mother, so he kept
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  Speaker 1: his sorrow to himself, saying nothing about it. But at
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  Speaker 1: last Frigga drew his secret from him, and then his
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  Speaker 1: friends knew that Border had had dreamed which told of
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  Speaker 1: coming trouble, dreams of his leaving all his friends and
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  Speaker 1: going away from Asgard to dwell in another land on
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  Speaker 1: A and Frigga, fearing the dreams might come true and
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  Speaker 1: they must lose their beloved son, began to think what
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  Speaker 1: they could do to prevent it. Then the loving mother said,
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  Speaker 1: I will make all things in the world promise not
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  Speaker 1: to hurt our son. And so Queen Frigga sent out
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  Speaker 1: for everything in the whole world, and everything came trooping
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  Speaker 1: to Asgard to her palace. All living creatures came from
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  Speaker 1: the land, from the water, and from the air. All
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  Speaker 1: plants and trees came, all rocks, stones, and even the
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  Speaker 1: metals under the earth where the busy dwarfs worked, fire,
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  Speaker 1: king and water, as well as all poisons and sickness.
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  Speaker 1: Everything promised not to harm the good Border, except one
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  Speaker 1: little plant called mistletoe, which was so small that Friggure
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  Speaker 1: did not send for it. Feeling sure it could not
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  Speaker 1: do any harm. Now I am happy once more, said
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  Speaker 1: the queen, for our border is safe. And she set
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  Speaker 1: a piece in her beautiful palace, rejoicing that her dear
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  Speaker 1: son was free from all danger. But oldin the wise
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  Speaker 1: old Father still felt uneasy even after all these promises,
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  Speaker 1: fearing what might happen, So he took his eight foot steed, Snipner,
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  Speaker 1: and rode forth from Ascar to the underworld to find Hella,
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  Speaker 1: wise woman who roared over that far of land. She
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  Speaker 1: could tell everything that was going to happen, and she
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  Speaker 1: knew the names of all those who were coming to
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  Speaker 1: dwell with her. Olden was the only one wise enough
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  Speaker 1: to speak with Hella, for no one else knew the
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  Speaker 1: words that would call her forth from her dwelling. But
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  Speaker 1: when Olden caught, she came to answer. Tell me, said
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  Speaker 1: he for whom are you making ready? This costly room?
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  Speaker 1: We make ready for border? The God of light, replied Helen,
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  Speaker 1: Who then will slay border and brings such darkness and sorrow?
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  Speaker 1: To ask God again, said the wise woman. It is
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  Speaker 1: Hotter Borders twin brother, who will slay the son God.
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  Speaker 1: And with thee these words she vanished Sadly, Father Odin
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  Speaker 1: returned to Asgard and told his wife the words of Hella.
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  Speaker 1: But Friga was not troubled in her heart, for she
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  Speaker 1: felt sure that nothing would hurt her dear son. One
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  Speaker 1: beautiful sunny day at the end of summer, the gods
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  Speaker 1: had all gone out to an open field beyond Asgard
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  Speaker 1: to have some sports. As they all knew that nothing
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  Speaker 1: could hurt Border, they placed him at the end of
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  Speaker 1: the field for a target, and then took turns throwing
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  Speaker 1: the darts at him, just for the fun of seeing
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  Speaker 1: them fall off without hurting him. They thought this was
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  Speaker 1: showing great honor to bother, and he was pleased to
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  Speaker 1: join in the sport. Lunki happened to be away when
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  Speaker 1: they began to play, and when he came was angry
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  Speaker 1: in his heart that nothing could borther. Why should he
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  Speaker 1: be so favored? I hate him, said Loki to himself,
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  Speaker 1: and began at once to plan some evil. All this
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  Speaker 1: while Queen Frigga sat in her palace, thinking of all
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  Speaker 1: her dear sons and of how much good they did
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  Speaker 1: to men. As she said us, thinking and spinning with
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  Speaker 1: her hands, there came a knock at the door. The
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  Speaker 1: Queen called come in, and an old woman stood before her.
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  Speaker 1: Friga spoke kindly to her, and soon the old woman
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  Speaker 1: said she had passed by the field where the gods
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  Speaker 1: were playing and throwing sharp weapons aboorder. Oh, yes, said Frigga.
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  Speaker 1: Neither metal nor wood can hurt him. For all things
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  Speaker 1: in the world have given me their promise. What said
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  Speaker 1: the old woman. Do you mean that all things have
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  Speaker 1: really vowed to spare Border? Oh, replied the queen, except
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  Speaker 1: one little plant that grows on the eastern side of Asgard.
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  Speaker 1: It is called mistletoe, and I thought it too small
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  Speaker 1: and soft to do anyhow. Before long the old woman
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  Speaker 1: went away, and when she was quite out of sight
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  Speaker 1: of Frigate's palace, threw off her woman's clothes. And who
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  Speaker 1: do you suppose it was, Why, no woman at all,
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  Speaker 1: but that wicked Loki, of course, who hurried away out
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  Speaker 1: of Asgard to find the poor little plant. They did
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  Speaker 1: not know about Border's danger. When he came to the
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  Speaker 1: place where the plant grew, Loki, cutting off a branch,
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  Speaker 1: quickly made a sharp arrow, which he carried back to
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  Speaker 1: the playground, where the issue was still. At the game,
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  Speaker 1: all but one holder, the god of darkness, Border's blind
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  Speaker 1: twin brother. Then Loki went up to Holder and said
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  Speaker 1: to him in a low voice, why do you not
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  Speaker 1: join the others in doing honor to Border. I cannot
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  Speaker 1: see to take aim, you know, And besides I have
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  Speaker 1: no weapon, said Hodder. Come then, he's a fine new
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  Speaker 1: dut for you, and I will guide your hand, whispered
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  Speaker 1: wicked Loki. Then he slipped the arrow of mistletoe wood
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  Speaker 1: into Holder's hand and aimed it himself at Border, who
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  Speaker 1: stood there so bright and smiling. Then and poor blind
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  Speaker 1: Hoder heard the dreadful cry from all the gods Borther
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  Speaker 1: the beautiful had fallen struck by the arrow. He would
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  Speaker 1: now be taken away from them to live with Hella
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  Speaker 1: in the underworld. Every heart was filled with sorrow for
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  Speaker 1: these dreadful laws, but no one tried to punish him
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  Speaker 1: who had done the wicked deed. For they stood upon
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  Speaker 1: sacred ground, and the field was named the peace stead,
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  Speaker 1: or place of peace, where no one might hurt another. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: the gods did not know it was the fourth Loki,
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  Speaker 1: who hated Border, that had struck him down. When Friga
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  Speaker 1: heard the sad news, she asked who would win her
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  Speaker 1: love by going to the underworld and begging Helea till
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  Speaker 1: ned Border come back to them. Hermod, the swift messenger God,
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  Speaker 1: ready to do his mother's bidding, set forth at once
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  Speaker 1: on the long journey nine days and nights. He traveled
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  Speaker 1: without resting until he came to Hellas underworld. There he
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  Speaker 1: found Borther, who was glad to see him, and sent
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  Speaker 1: messengers to his friends in Asgard. Hellas said Bother might
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  Speaker 1: return to them on one condition that every living creature
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  Speaker 1: and everything in the world must weep for him. So
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  Speaker 1: Hermad hastened back to Asgard, and when the Asha heard
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  Speaker 1: Hella's answer, they sent on messengers over the world to
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  Speaker 1: beat all things weep for Bother their bright some God.
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  Speaker 1: Then did the beasts, the birds, the fishes, the flowers
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  Speaker 1: and trees, even stones and metals weep, as indeed we
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  Speaker 1: can see the tear drops come to all things when
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  Speaker 1: they had changed from heat to cold. As the messengers
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  Speaker 1: were coming back to Asgard, they met an old woman
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  Speaker 1: whom they baite weep, but she replied, let Hella keep
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  Speaker 1: border down below. Why should I care. When the Essure
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  Speaker 1: heard of this, they thought it must have been the
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  Speaker 1: same old woman who went before to Friggre's palace, And
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  Speaker 1: we know who that was, And so borthered the beautiful,
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  Speaker 1: bothered the bright did not come back, and all the
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  Speaker 1: dwellers in Asgard were sad and sorrowful without him. End
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  Speaker 1: of Chapter eleven two Sis