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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 made
If 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 up
From 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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