“O, it is the young Swaigder,
The son thou lovest dear;
He fain would good advice from thee,
His darling mother, hear.
“For I have now a step-mother,
So harsh she is of mood,
And she upon me Runes has cast
For a maid I ne’er have view’d.”
“I will give thee a noble horse,
Shall bear thee at thy need,
And he will run upon the sea
As on the verdant mead.
“And I will to thee a napkin give,
’Tis of Ager wool entire,
Before thee on the board shall stand,
What meat thou shalt desire.
“I will to thee a deer’s horn give,
Mark well its golden gleam;
All the drink thou wishest for,
From the golden horn shall stream.
“And I will give to thee a sword,
Hardened in Dragon’s blood;
It will glitter like a beam
When thou ridest through the wood.
“I will give to thee a barque,
Its white sails silk shall be;
Shall move as well on the verdant earth
As on the foaming sea.”
Their silken sails on the gilded yard
So wide, so wide they spread;
Away they sailed to the distant land,
Where dwelt the lovely maid.
And they have cast their anchors
Upon the yellow sand;
It was the young Swaigder
Who stepped the first to land.
It was the young Swaigder,
His ship to the shore he steers;
And the first man there that met him,
Was a man of many years.