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‘Such fever in my blood!’ cried Odin. ‘I so long to range far and wide.’ Allfather prowled up and down Valaskjalf as if he were caged. ‘What do you think, Frigg? I’ve a mind to visit Vafthrudnir in his high hall.’
‘I would rather the Father of Warriors stayed in Asgard, home of the gods,’ said Frigg. ‘So far as I know, Vafthrudnir has no equal amongst the giants.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know,’ replied Odin. ‘I want to match my wits against the riddle- master, the wise giant Vafthrudnir.’
‘Go safely then,’ said Frigg. ‘Return safely. And may the way you’re taking be safe. Father of Men, your mind must be needle-sharp when you pit yourself against that giant.’
Then Odin left Asgard to plumb the wisdom of the giant. He ferried himself across the wild and the wide and the whispering rivers and made his way over the trembling rainbow. He pulled down his wide- brimmed hat so that no one would see he lacked one eye, smiled grimly, and walked into Jotunheim.
The further Odin went, the colder it grew. He strode over a ribbed and silent plain, bright with snow, and past plumes of steam that issued from whistling fissures. And at the mouth of a valley, surrounded on three sides by the purple mountains, Odin found the hall of Im’s father, Vafthrudnir. The Terrible One entered it.
‘Greetings, Vafthrudnir!’ Odin called out. ‘I’ve heard so much about you that I wanted to meet you. Is it true that you’re wise? Can it possibly be true that there’s nothing you do not know?’
‘Who are you?’ demanded Vafthrudnir. ‘What man thinks he can slight me in my own high hall? You’ll not leave this place alive unless you’re wiser than I am.’
‘My name is Gagnrad,’ said Odin. ‘A bringer of fortune; a walking charm! It has been a hard journey to your hall, and I’m thirsty. I must say I had hoped for a warmer welcome after such a haul.’
‘What are you standing there for?’ said the giant. ‘There’s no need
to hold the floor. Choose a seat, make yourself at home. Then we’ll soon find out who knows more — the guest or his time-proven host.’
‘A poor man does best to speak to the point or to say nothing at all in a rich man’s hall,’ Gagnrad said. ‘Tough-minded men brook little brag¬ging.’
‘All right, Gagnrad,’ said Vafthrudnir, ‘answer from the floor if you can answer at all. What’s the name of the stallion that, every morning, draws Day across the world?
‘That is Skinfaxi. He is the stallion who draws shining Day to gladden the eyes of men. To heroes he seems the very best of horses, and his mane is fiery.’
‘All right, Gagnrad,’ Vafthrudnir said, ‘answer from the floor if you can answer at all. What’s the name of the stallion that, over and over again, brings Night from the East for the noble gods?
‘Hrimfaxi is the name of the stallion that, over and again, brings Night for the noble gods. Foam falls from his bit at dawn, and that’s the source of dew in the dales.’
‘All right, Gagnrad,’ said Vafthrudnir, ‘answer from the floor if you can answer at all. What’s the name of the river that divides the world of the gods from the world of the giants?’
‘lying is the river that divides the world of the gods from the world of the giants. In time past it has never frozen, in time to come it will flow freely. ‘
‘All right, Gagnrad,’ said Vafthrudnir, ‘answer from the floor if you can answer at all. What’s the name of the plain where Surt and the fine gods will meet and fight?’
‘Vigrid is the plain where Surt and the fine gods will meet and fight. It’s a hundred miles long and a hundred miles wide.’
Vafthrudnir stared at his guest. ‘You know much,’ he said. ‘Sit here at my bench and let us talk further. Here and now, my guest, in this hall, we’ll wager our heads — your life or my life — on the outcome of this contest.’
Then Odin sat down and began to pose his questions.
‘First tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if in your wisdom you know the answer: at the beginning of time, wise giant, where did the earth and the sky come from?’
‘The earth was shaped from Ymir’s flesh, and the mountains were built from his bones. The sky was made from that frost giant’s skull and the salt seas were streams of his blood.’
‘Second, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if in your wisdom you know the
answer: where did the moon and the burning sun come from, those travelers over the world of men?’
‘Mundilfari fathered the moon and the burning sun. Each day they run along the arc of heaven to tell the time for men.’
“Third, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: where does Day come from, and from where does Night come with its waning moon, travellers over the world of men?’
‘Delling is Day’s father and Nor the father of Night. New moon and old moon were shaped by the gods to tell the time for men.’
‘Fourth, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: where did winter and warm summer first come from for the fine gods?’
‘Vindsval the Wind Cold was winter’s father, and gentle Svosud fathered summer.’
‘Fifth, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: who was the first of the giants and what were the names of the first-born?’
‘Bergelmir was born countless winters before the making of the earth. That mighty giant was Thrudgelmir’s son and Aurgelmir’s grandson.’
‘Sixth, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: where, wise giant, did Aurgelmir and his issue come from, so long ago?’
‘Venom dropped from the stormy waves of Elivagar. It clotted and rose until it was a giant. That is how the race of giants began, and that’s why we’re all so fierce.’
Seventh, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: how did the grim giant conceive children since he never slept with a giantess?’
‘It’s said that a boy and a girl grew in the frost giant’s armpits. And with one leg and the other leg that wise giant begat and bore a son with six heads.’
‘Eighth, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: what is your first memory? There can be nothing you do not know!’
‘Bergelmir was born untold winters before the making of the earth. My first memory is of that wise giant in a boat’s rocking cradle.’
‘Ninth, tell me then, Vafthrudnir, if you’re so wise and know the answer: from where does the wind come that travels over the waves and yet is never seen?’
‘The eagle Hraesvelg, the Corpse Eater, is said to sit at the end of the world. When he flaps his wings, wind moves over the world of men.’
‘Tenth, tell me now, if you know everything, about the fates of the gods. How can Njord be one of their number — for he presides over many temples and wayside shrines — although he was not begotten by gods?’
‘The Vanir created him in Vanaheim. At the end of the world he’ll return to his own people.’
‘Eleventh, tell me then, if you know everything, about the fates of the gods. Who are the men in Odin’s hall who go out to fight each day?’
‘All the dead heroes in Odin’s hall go out to fight each day. They fell each other, and then soon return healed from the fight, to sit at the feast.’
‘Twelfth, tell me now how you know all about the fates of the gods. You are indeed able to read the runes of the gods and the runes of the giants.’
‘I am indeed able to read the runes of the gods and the runes of the giants, because I know and have visited the nine worlds and Niflheim below, the place where dead men dwell.’
Then Odin said: ‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: what will survive when, at the end, the terrible winter afflicts men?’
‘Lif and Lifthrasir will hide themselves in Hoddmimir’s Wood. The dew each dawn will be their food; that will be their meat then.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: from where will the sun come back to the smooth sky after Fenrir has torn her apart?’
‘Alfrothul, the Elf Beam, will bear a fair daughter before Fenrir tears her apart. This maid will walk in her mother’s ways after the gods have been destroyed.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: who are the wise maidens who will wing over the sea?’
‘Three times three maidens will fly over Mogthrasir’s Hill. And although they have giants’ blood, they will guard the children of men.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: who will rule over the world of the gods when Surt’s fire dies out?’
‘Vidar and Vali will live in the home of the gods when Surt’s fire has abated. Modi the Wrathful and Magni the Mighty will own the hammer Mjollnir after Vingnir the Hurler has fallen in the fight.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: what will cause Odin’s death when the gods fight at Ragnarok?’
‘The wolf will swallow the Father of Men. Vidar will avenge him. He will tear apart those terrible jaws and Fenrir will be slain.’
‘I’ve roamed far and I’ve learned much and all that the gods know I know: what did Odin himself whisper in the ear of his son Balder before he burned on the pyre?’
Vafthrudnir looked long at his guest, and recognized him. He said in a low voice, `No one can tell what, long ago, you whispered in the ear of your son. Before I told of the first giants and the doom of the gods, I was already fated.’ The giant spoke his final words in this life. ‘I’ve pitted myself against Odin. You will always be wiser and wisest.’