[16]. Then Erp spake forth, | his words were few,
As haughty he sat | on his horse’s back: [[551]]
“To the timid ’tis ill | the way to tell.”
A bastard they | the bold one called.
[17]. From their sheaths they drew | their shining swords,
Their blades, to the giantess | joy to give;
By a third they lessened | the might that was theirs,
The fighter young | to earth they felled.
[18]. Their cloaks they shook, | their swords they sheathed,
The high-born men | wrapped their mantles close.