Stories of Norse Gods and Heroes

The great god Odin was the father of all the gods. He and his children dwelt in the city of Asgard at the end of the rainbow. Odin’s palace was as high as the sky and roofed with pure silver. In it was a throne of gold. When Odin sat upon the throne he could see all over the world. Each day he sat upon the throne to see if everything was as it should be on the earth. I le loved the people and the animals, and all the beautiful things of earth because they were the work of his hands. Odin had two ravens which were as swift as thought. Every day he sent the ravens to fly over the oceans and over the land to see if any harm was being done. When they came back they perched upon his shoulders and whispered in his ear all that they had seen. Besides this there was a watchman who never slept. He was called Heim dal, the white god. He stayed always at the foot of the rainbow, which was the bridge of the gods, to see that the frost giants did not come into Asgard, and to listen to the sounds of earth. So sharp were his ears that he could hear the grass and the wool on the sheep’s backs growing.