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Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar

20.[1] "Thou wouldst neigh, Atli,  but gelded thou art,See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;In thy hinder end  is thy heart, methinks,Though thy speech is a stallion's cry."
  Atli spake:21. "A stallion I seem  if thou seekest to try me,And I leap to land from the sea;I shall smite thee to bits,  if so I will,And heavy sinks Hrimgerth's tail."
  Hrimgerth spake:22.[2] "Go ashore then, Atli,  if sure of thy might,Let us come to Varin's cove;Straight shall thy rounded  ribs be madeIf thou comest within my claws."
  Atli spake:23. "I will not go  till the warriors wake,Again their chief to guard;I should wonder not,  foul witch, if upFrom beneath our keel thou shouldst come."
  Hrimgerth spake:24. "Awake now, Helgi,  and Hrimgerth requite,That Hati to death thou didst hew;

  1. Apparently Hrimgerth has assumed the form of a mare.
  2. Varin's cove: the name of Varin appears twice in place names in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I (stanzas 27 and 39). The sagas mention a mythical King Varin who lived at Skorustrond in Rogaland (Norway).

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