"
_How Queen Hiordis is known; and how she abideth in the house of
Elf the son of the Helper._
Then Elf asked of the two women where they would go, and they prayed
that he would take them to his land, where they dwelt for long in all
honour.
But the old queen, the mother of Elf, was indeed a woman wise above
many, and fain would she know why the less noble of the two was
dressed the more richly and why the handmaid gave always wiser
counsel than her mistress. So she bade her son to speak suddenly and
to take them unawares.
Then he asked the gold-clad one how she knew in the dark winter night
that the dawn was near. She answered that ever in her youth she awoke
at the dawn to follow her daily work, and always was she wont to
drink of whey, and now, though the times were changed, she still woke
athirst near the dawning.
To Elf it seemed strange that a fair queen in her youth had need to
arise to follow the plough in the dark of the winter morning, and
turning to the handmaid he asked of her the same question. She
replied that in her youth her father had given her the gold ring she
still wore, and which had the magic power of growing cold as the
hours neared daybreak, and such was her dawning sign.
Then did Elf know of their exchange, and he told Hiordis that long
had he loved her and felt pity for her sorrow, and that he would make
her his wife.
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