treasure there, at least before the dawn of day; but his
wits were quick, and his eyes were very sharp.

"One salmon has brought us into this trouble, and another
shall help us out of it!" he cried.

Then, swift as thought, he sprang again into the air; and
the magic shoes carried him with greater speed than before
down the Rhine valley, and through Burgundy-land, and the
low meadows, until he came to the shores of the great North
Sea. He sought the halls of old AEgir, the Ocean-king; but
he wist not which way to go,--whether across the North Sea
towards Isenland, or whether along the narrow channel
between Britain-land and the main. While he paused,
uncertain where to turn, he saw the pale-haired daughters of
old AEgir, the white-veiled Waves, playing in the moonlight
near the shore. Of them he asked the way to AEgir's hall.

"Seven days' journey westward," said they, "beyond the green
Isle of Erin, is our father's hall. Seven days' journey
northward, on the bleak Norwegian shore, is our father's
hall."

And they stopped not once in their play, but rippled and
danced on the shelving beach, or dashed with force against
the shore.

"Where is your mother Ran, the Queen of the Ocean?" asked
Loki.