Tales out of school

by Frank R. Stockton

It is no great wonder that with all these things to help him Thor succeeded in killing off Ymer, and his race of giants, for he did most of this work.

THE GOD THOR.

But, you remember, in the account given of the destruction of the giants, and the land and sea monsters, that one giant escaped, and the wolf Fenris, and the great sea-serpent, Iormungandur. And, by these three, after a great number of years, Odin and his gods came to grief.

The gods all understood that their fates depended upon the god of love, the bright and beautiful Balder. If he died they must die. Think then how troubled they must have been, when, one day, they heard a great cry ringing through the earth, and up to the very top of the ash tree, where was placed their highest heaven, called Walhalla. This piercing cry was: “Balder, fair Balder is going to die!” They had never thought before that their beloved Balder could die, but now they were sore afraid, not only for him, but for themselves. They were told by some wise woman that Balder would surely die unless all substances that could inflict death were made powerless. Upon hearing this his mother, Frigg, travelled over the whole world, and asked the rocks, and the pebbles, frost and rain, and wood and iron; everything, in short, to spare her son. And they all promised not to hurt him.

There was great joy among the gods when Frigg returned with this good news. So Balder was not to die, after all. And there was a great feast held in Walhalla to celebrate the glad tiding. In the midst of the merriment it was proposed to try some of these things that had promised not to hurt Balder, to see how they would avoid injuring him. One of the gods threw a clod of earth at Balder, and it broke into a cloud of dust before it reached him. Another poured a pitcher of water over him, and the water formed a cascade over him without wetting his clothes. Then they tried more dangerous weapons; a rock; a club; a sword; and Vali shot an arrow at him. All passed by him, or fell harmless. Even Thor’s mighty hammer refused to hit Balder.

At last a brother of Balder’s approached, holding in his hand a small bunch of leaves. All laughed at the sight of this harmless weapon. But alas! when the leaves struck Balder’s breast he fell, and died instantly. They were mistletoe leaves, and when Frigg had asked the oak tree to spare her son, she forgot to ask the mistletoe, which grows upon the oak. So the mistletoe had given no promise; and now Balder was dead. The brother who had thrown the leaves was greatly distressed, and all Walhalla was filled with mourning.

Balder being dead, the other gods must die. The giant, who had escaped Thor’s hammer, killed some of them, and others died in various ways. Finally Thor was killed by the sea-serpent; and the great Odin was torn in pieces by the wolf Fenris.

And that was the end of the Scandinavian gods.

Then the Druid priests brought their religion into the country; and, after many years, the Romans came, and taught the Scandinavians the gospel of Jesus Christ.