Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, who had an only child, a little girl three (2) years old. They were so poor, however, that they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to get food for her.

One morning the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully to his work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head, who said to him:

'I am the goddess Frija, all-mother to the race of northmen. You are poor and needy. Bring your child to me. I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for her.'

The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, and gave her to the all-mother, who took her to Fensalir (3), her stead amongst the Flax Fens, high in the branches of Yggdrasil. There the child fared well, ate honey-cakes, and drank sweet milk from Audumla, the primeval cow, and her clothes were of gold, and the flaxen dolls (4) from the constellation known as Frija's Distaff (5) came down and played with her. And when she was eighteen (6) years of age, the goddess Frija called her one day, and said:

'Dear child, I am about to make a long journey, so take into your keeping the keys of the ten doors of Fensalir. Nine (7) of these you may open, and behold the treasure which is within them, but the tenth, to which this little key belongs, is forbidden you. Take care not to open it, or you will be unhappy.'

The girl promised to be obedient, and when the goddess Frija was gone, she began to examine the dwellings of the Fensalir. Each day she opened one of them, until she had made the round of the nine. In each of them sat one of the treasures of the Aesir (8) in the midst of a great light, and she rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendor, and the little dolls of flax who always accompanied her rejoiced with her. Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she felt a great desire to know what could be hidden behind it, and said to the dolls of flax, 'I will not open it entirely, and I will not go inside, but I will unlock it so that we can see just a little through the opening.'

'Oh, no,' said the little dolls of flax, 'that would be oath-breaking. The goddess Frija has forbidden it, and it might easily cause your unhappiness.'

Then she was silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, but gnawed there and tormented her, and let her have no rest. And once when the dolls of flax had all gone out, she thought:

'Now I am quite alone, and I could peep in. If I do, no one will ever know.'

She sought out the key, and when she had got it in her hand, she put it in the lock, and when she had put it in, she turned it round as well. Then the door sprang open, and she saw there Mundilfari (9), the man who turns the cosmic mill, the father of the sun and the moon, sitting in fire and splendor. She stayed there awhile, and looked at everything in amazement, then she touched the light a little with her finger, and her finger became quite golden. Immediately a great fear fell on her. She shut the door violently, and ran from there.

It was not long before the goddess Frija came back from her journey. She called the girl before her, and asked for the keys of Fensalir. When the maiden gave her the bunch, the goddess looked into her eyes and said:

'Have you not opened the tenth door also?'

'No,' she replied.

Then the goddess Frija laid her hand on the girl's heart, and felt how it beat and beat, and saw right well that she had disobeyed her order and had opened the door. Then she said, 'Are you certain that you have not done it?'

'Yes, I am sure,' said the girl. But her terror would not quit her, let her do what she might, and her heart beat continually and would not be still, the gold too stayed on her finger, and would not go away, let her rub it and wash it never so much.

Then the goddess Frija said once again, 'Are you certain that you have not done it?'

'Yes,' said the girl, for the second time.

Then the goddess Frija perceived the finger which had become golden from touching the fire of Mundilfari, and saw well that the child had sinned, and said for the third time:

'Have you not done it?'

'No,' said the girl for the third time.

Then said the goddess Frija: 'You have not obeyed me, and besides that you have lied, you are no longer worthy to be in Fensalir.'

Then the girl fell into a deep sleep, and when she awoke she lay on Midgard below, and in the midst of a fell wilderness. She wanted to cry out, but she could bring forth no sound. She sprang up and wanted to run away, but wherever she turned, she was continually held back by thick hedges of thorns through which she could not break.

In this wilderness there stood an old hollow tree, and this had to be her dwelling-place. Into this she crept when night came, and here she slept. Here, too, she found a shelter from storm and rain, but it was a miserable life, and bitterly did she weep when she remembered how happy she had been in Fensalir, and how the flax dolls had played with her.

Roots and wild berries were her only food, and for these she sought as far as she could go. In the autumn she picked up the fallen nuts and leaves, and carried them into the hole. The nuts were her food in winter, and when snow and ice came, she crept amongst the leaves like a poor little animal that she might not freeze.

Before long her clothes were all torn, and one bit of them after another fell off her. As soon, however, as the sun shone warm again, she went out and sat in front of the tree, and her long golden hair covered her on all sides like a mantle. Thus she sat for three years, and felt the pain and the misery of the world.

One day, when the trees were once more clothed in fresh green, the king of the country was hunting in the forest, and followed a roe, and as it had fled into the thicket which shut in this part of the forest, he got off his horse, tore the bushes asunder, and cut himself a path with his sword. When he had at last forced his way through, he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under the tree, and she sat there and was entirely covered with her golden hair down to her very feet.

He stood still and looked at her full of surprise, then he spoke to her and said:

'Who are you? Why are you sitting here in the wilderness?' But she gave no answer, for she could not open her mouth.

The king continued: 'Will you go with me to my Halls?'

Then she nodded her head - just a little.

The king took her in his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her, and when he reached the royal Halls he caused her to be dressed in beautiful garments, and gave her all things in abundance.

Although she could not speak, she was still so beautiful and charming that he began to love her with all his heart, and it was not long before he married her.

After a year or so had passed, the queen brought a son into the world. Thereupon the goddess Frija appeared to her in the night when she lay in her bed alone, and said:

'If you will tell the truth and confess that you did unlock the forbidden door, I will open your mouth and give you back your speech; but if you persevere in your obstinate denial, I will take your new-born child away with me.'

Then the queen was permitted to answer, but she remained hard, and said, 'No, I did not open the forbidden door!'

So the goddess Frija took the new-born child from her arms, and vanished with it. Next morning when the child was not to be found, it was whispered among the people that the queen was a man-eater, and had put her own child to death. She heard all this and could say nothing to the contrary, but the king would not believe it, for he loved her so much.

When a year had gone by the queen again bore a son, and in the night the goddess Frija again came to her, and said: 'If you will confess that you opened the forbidden door, I will give you your child back and untie your tongue; but if you continue to deny it, I will take away with me this new child also.'

Then the queen again said: 'No, I did not open the forbidden door.' And the goddess took the child out of her arms, and away with her to Fensalir.

Next morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people declared quite loudly that the queen had devoured it, and the king's earls demanded that she should be brought to justice. The king, however, loved her so dearly that he would not believe it, and commanded the earls under pain of death not to say any more about it.

The following year the queen gave birth to a beautiful little daughter, and for the third time the goddess Frija appeared to her in the night and said: 'Follow me.'

She took the queen by the hand and led her to Fensalir, and showed her there her two eldest children, who smiled at her, and were playing with the ball of the world.

When the queen rejoiced to see them, the goddess Frija said, 'Is your heart not yet softened? If you will own that you opened the forbidden door, I will give you back your two little sons.' But for the third time the queen answered, 'No, I did not open the forbidden door.'

Then the goddess let her sink down to Midgard once more, and took from her likewise her third child.

Next morning, when the loss was reported abroad, all the people cried loudly:

'The queen is a man-eater! She must be judged!'

The king was no longer able to restrain his earls. A trial was held, and as the queen could not answer to defend herself, she was condemned to be burnt at the stake. The wood was got together, and when she was fast bound to the stake, and the fire began to burn round about her, the hard ice of pride melted, her heart was moved by repentance, and she thought:

'If I could but admit before my death that I opened the door...'

Then her voice came back to her, and she cried out loudly: 'Yes, Frija! I did it!'

Straight away, rain fell from the sky and extinguished the flames of fire, and a light broke forth above her, and the goddess Frija appeared with the two little sons by her side, and the new-born daughter in her arms. The goddess Frija spoke kindly to her, and said:

'He who disavows dishonour and acknowledges it, is worthy.'

Then she gave her the three children, untied her tongue, and granted her happiness for her whole life.


Based on Our Lady's Child


ENDNOTES:

These notes have been compiled from more than one on-line source, but for the life of me I can't remember where. I'll post credit as soon as I sort out my bookmarks.