The king, strange to say, did not take offense at this speech, but on the contrary showed Eigil still greater favor than he had in the past.
The archer frequently visited his brother Wayland, but Badhild came but seldom to her husband's house. One day the two came together at Wayland's special request. When they were leaving Wayland embraced Badhild and said to her:
“You will be the mother of a boy—your child and mine. It may be that I shall go away from here and never see his face; but you must tell him that I have made for him worthy weapons and stowed them in safety in the place where the water enters and the wind goes out (the forge).”
The next time Wayland saw Eigil he bade him bring to him all kinds of feathers, large and small.
“I wish to make for myself a doublet of feathers,” he explained.
Then Eigil shot many birds of prey and brought their feathers to Wayland. From them he made a flying shirt, clad in which he looked more like an eagle than a man.
Eigil admired the workmanship and Wayland asked him to try it.
“How shall I rise, how fly, and how alight?” asked Eigil.
“You must rise against the wind, and fly first low and then high, but you must alight with the wind.”
Eigil did as he was told, and had a good deal of trouble in alighting. Finally he knocked his head with such force on the ground that he lost consciousness. When he came to himself Wayland spoke: