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Hymiskvitha

12. "See where under  the gable they sit!Behind the beam  do they hide themselves."The beam at the glance  of the giant broke,And the mighty pillar  in pieces fell.
13.[1] Eight fell from the ledge,  and one alone,The hard-hammered kettle,  of all was whole;Forth came they then,  and his foes he sought,The giant old,  and held with his eyes.
14.[2] Much sorrow his heart  foretold when he sawThe giantess' foeman  come forth on the floor;Then of the steers  did they bring in three;Their flesh to boil  did the giant bid.
15.[3] By a head was each  the shorter hewed,And the beasts to the fire  straight they bore;The husband of Sif,  ere to sleep he went,Alone two oxen  of Hymir's ate.
16.[4] To the comrade hoary  of Hrungnir thenDid Hlorrithi's meal  full mighty seem;"Next time at eve  we three must eatThe food we have  s the hunting's spoil."

  1. Eight: the giant's glance, besides breaking the beam, knocks down all the kettles with such violence that all but the one under which Thor and Tyr are hiding are broken.
  2. Hymir's wrath does not permit him to ignore the duties of a host to his guests, always strongly insisted on.
  3. Thor's appetite figures elsewhere; cf. Thrymskvitha, 24.
  4. The comrade of Hrungnir: Hymir, presumably simply because both are giants; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note.

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