Arnes. I should like to read your fate all day long.
Halla. Then you might tell me things I did not care to hear. But I must get to work.
(Halla goes into the hut. Arnes looks after her. She comes out bringing wool, a spindle, and a sheep's skin.)
Halla. If you are not too tired after the hunt, this skin can stand a little more.
Arnes. Give it to me. (Takes a large ring made of a ram's horn. From the ring hangs a loop of rope, in which he puts his foot. He draws the skin through the ring and keeps pulling it back and forth. Halla sits down, turning her spindle. They are silent.)
Halla. It is queer about the sound of the waterfall. Most of the time I don't hear it at all, but if it were to stop, I should miss it. Is it the same with you?
Arnes. Yes.
Halla. At first I was almost afraid of it. Then I began to love it, and now I should only miss it if it were not there any more. We mortals are strange.
(They are silent again.)
Arnes. Can you tell me why some people should be happier than others?