"The elves of light were his messengers, and he sent them flying
about all day,--shaking pollen out of the willow tassels, filling the
flower-cups with nectar, sowing the seeds, and threading the grass with
beads of dew.

"But in the winter, when the frost giants ruled the earth, Frey was idle
and lonely; and he rode up and down in Odin's hall on the back of his
boar, Golden Bristles, longing for something to do.

"One morning, as he wandered restlessly through the beautiful city of
Asgard, the home of the gods, he stood before the throne of Odin, the
All-father, and saw that it was empty. 'Why should I not sit upon that
throne, and look out over all the world?' he thought; and although no one
but Odin was ever allowed to take the lofty seat, Frey mounted the steps
and sat upon the All-father's throne.

"He looked out over Asgard, shining in the morning light, and saw the
gods busy about their daily tasks. He gazed down upon the earth, with its
rugged mountains and raging seas, and saw men hurrying this way and that,
like tiny ants rushing out of their hills.

"Last of all he turned his eyes toward distant Jötunheim, the dark,
forbidding home of the frost giants; but in that gloomy land of ice and
snow he could see no bright nor beautiful thing. Great black cliffs stood
like sentinels along the coast, dark clouds hung over the hills, and cold
winds swept through the valleys.

"At the foot of one of the hills stood a barren and desolate dwelling,
alone in all that dark land of winter; and as Frey gazed, a maiden came
slowly through the valley and mounted the steps to the entrance of the