"You may have only one trial," the king said.
So an apple was placed on the head of Eigil's three-year-old son, and Eigil, taking his bow, aimed, and with the first arrow struck the apple in the center, so that it fell from the child's head.
"Why did you have three arrows?" the king asked.
"Sire," replied Eigil, "I will not lie to you. If I had pierced my son with the first arrow, the other two would have pierced you."
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.