Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble, and for that reason people never called him anything but Gambling Geoffrey, and as he never ceased to gamble, he played away his house and all that he had.

Now the very day before his creditors were to take his house from him, came the one-eyed lord of the wyrd, Odin, wearing his blue cloak and his broad-brimmed hat; keeping him company was Loki, who, when he's in the right mood is very good company. This pair arrived up at his door and asked him to give them shelter for the night.

Gambling Geoffrey said, 'For my part, you may stay the night, but I cannot give you a bed or anything to eat.'

So Lord Odin said, 'Just take us in, and we'll buy ourselves something to eat.'

Gambling Geoffrey made no objection. Thereupon Loki gave him three silver pennies, and told him to go to the baker's and fetch some bread.

So Gambling Geoffrey went, but when he reached the house where the other gambling vagabonds were gathered together, they, although they had won all that he had, greeted him with a rowdy clamour.

'Geoffrey!' they chorused. 'Do come in!'

'Oh, do you want to win three silver pennies too?'

When they heard this they would not let him go. So he went in, and gambled away the three silver pennies.

Meanwhile Loki and Odin were waiting, and as he was so long in coming, they set out to meet him. When Gambling Geoffrey came, however, he pretended that the money had fallen into the gutter, and kept raking about in it all the while to find it, but Odin already knew that he had lost it in play.

Loki again gave him three silver pennies, and now he did not allow himself to be led away once more, but fetched them the loaf.

Odin inquired if he had any wine, and Geoffrey said:

'Alack, sir, the casks are all empty.'

But Odin said he was to go down into the cellar, for the best wine was still there. For a long time Geoffrey would not believe this, but at length he said:

'Well, I will go down, but I know that there is none there.'

When he turned the tap, however, lo and behold, the best of wine ran out. So he took it to them, and the two passed the night there.

Early next day, Odin told Gambling Geoffrey that he might beg three favours. Odin expected that he would ask for a free pass into Valhalla without the 'dying in battle' clause, and not one but two Valkyries to keep him company on the ride up there.

Gambling Geoffrey, however, asked for a pack of cards that would always come up trumps; for dice that would always rolls the result he needed; and for a tree upon which every kind of fruit would grow, and from which no one who had climbed up, could descend until he bade him do so.

Odin, smiling, his one eye twinkling in the shadow of his brim, gave him everything he had asked for, and departed with Loki.

Now Gambling Geoffrey at once set about gambling in real earnest, and before long he had gained half of Midgard. Upon this Loki said to Odin:

'Lord Odin, this thing must not go on. Before we know it, he will win the whole world. We must send my daughter, Hel, to him.'

Odin summoned Hel from her residence in Eljudnir. She was horrible to look upon: down her right side she was living flesh and misery; down her left side she was a gruesome corpse, filled with decay and despair.

Odin looked upon her in horror and said, 'It's just as well I've only one eye to look at her with.'

'She takes after her mother,' replied Loki, apologetically, coughing into his fist.

Odin sent Hel to visit Geoffrey. Hel appeared to him, just as Gambling Geoffrey seated himself at the gaming-table, and Hel said:

'Geoffrey, come out a while.'

Gambling Geoffrey said, 'Just wait a little until the game is done, and in the meantime climb up into that tree out there, and gather a little fruit that we may have something to munch on our way.'

To kill some time, Hel climbed up, but when she wanted to come down again, she could not, and Gambling Geoffrey left her up there for nine years, during which time no one died.

So Loki said to Odin: 'Lord Odin, this thing must not go on. Folk are no longer dying. We must stir ourselves, and go.'

So Odin arose, with Loki traipsing behind and went to visit Gambling Geoffrey.

Odin commanded Geoffrey to let Hel come down from the tree. So Geoffrey went at once to Hel and said to her:

'Come down.'

Hel immediately leapt from the tree and claimed Geoffrey as her own, putting an end to him.

Although Geoffrey's body was dead and carrion for the dogs, his fetch was taken by Hel to her own province - the realm of the dead.

On the way, however, she had to pass several other dwelling halls. The first one they passed was Nidavellir, the land of the dwarfs.

Gambling Geoffrey made straight for the door of Nidavellir, and knocked upon it.

'Who is there?' came a voice as dark as greed.

'Gambling Geoffrey!' he replied.

'Ah, we will have nothing to do with him or his fetch. Begone!'

So Hel dragged him closer to her realm, and presently they came to the door of Svartalfheim, where dwell the dark elves.

Geoffrey went to the door of Svartalfheim, and knocked once more.

'Who is there?' asked a voice as grey as a grave.

'Gambling Geoffrey!'

'Ah, there are quite enough odds against us here without letting his fetch in.'

Presently they came to the door of Muspellheim, and there they let his fetch enter. There was, however, no one at home but old Surtr and his evil-doers or bolverks (2).

No sooner was Geoffrey there than he sat down to gamble again. Surtr, however, had nothing to lose, but his misshapen bolverks, and Gambling Geoffrey won them from him, as with his cards he could not fail to do.

Now Geoffrey was off again with his crooked bolverks. They went to a sacred oak-grove (3) and pulled up an oak-sapling, and with it went to Asgard, to Odin's hall there, Valaskjalf, the Hall of the Slain, and his fetch began to thrust the sapling against it, and Valaskjalf began to crack.

So again Loki said, 'Lord Odin, this thing cannot go on! We must let him in, or his fetch will overthrow the whole of Asgard!'

So they let him in. But Gambling Geoffrey instantly began to play again, and there was such a noise and confusion that there was nobody could hear themselves think.

Therefore Loki once more said, 'Lord Odin, this cannot go on. We must throw him down, or he will make all Asgard rebellious.'

So they went to him at once, and threw Geoffrey down, and his fetch broke into fragments, and went into the gambling vagabonds who are living this very day.

And Loki smiled into his hand, made his excuses and went home to his own hall. (4)


Based on Gambling Hansel



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