"And who art thou,
I pray thee, and where is thy native place, for city, I wot, thou hast
none?"
Then the mighty man, swinging his great stone axe in a rhythmic motion,
began to chant a rude lay, and this was the manner of the singing--
"Laestrygons men
And Cimmerians call us
Born of the land
Of the sunless winter,
Born of the land
Of the nightless summer:
Cityless, we,
Beneath dark pine boughs,
By the sea abiding
Sail o'er the swan's bath.
_Wolf_ am I hight,
The son of Signy,
Son of the were-wolf.
Southwards I sailed,
Sailed with the amber,
Sailed with the foam-wealth.
Among strange peoples,
Winning me wave-flame,[*]
Winning me war-fame,
Winning me women.
Soon shall I slay thee,
Sacker of Cities!"
[*] Gold.
With that, and with a cry, he rushed on the Wanderer, his great axe
swung aloft, to fell him at a blow.
But while the giant had been singing, the Wanderer had shifted his place
a little, so that the red blaze of the setting sun was in his face. And
as the mighty man came on, the Wanderer lifted up his golden shield and
caught the sunlight on it, and flashed it full in the giant's eyes,
so that he was dazzled, and could not see to strike. Then the Wanderer
smote at his naked right arm, and struck it on the joint of the elbow;
with all his force he smote, and the short sword of Euryalus bit deep,
and the arm fell, with the axe in the hand-grip.
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