1832: neither fasting nor full
(scene continued from last chapter: Gunnhild telling the old story of Aslaug Kråke; among the children listening is her half-sister Aslaug, with newborn Aslaug in the cradle)
"The tremendous congregation of crows that had come at Aslaug's command," Gunnhild went on, "at last broke apart. Up high they flew into the sky before scattering in all directions. From that day on, Aslaug knew she was of royal lineage. She dreamed of rising free from the poverty at Spangereid and her slavery under Åke and Grima.
"One day while she tended the flocks on the heights above the fjord, she saw many great ships coming to land not far from Spangereid farm. From the banners flying from the largest, grandest longship, she knew this was the fleet of Ragnar Hairy Breeches, King of Denmark, one of the mightiest kings in all Europe. He was on his way to England, but had turned aside along the way to visit relatives in Agder."
"Where's that?" Bibbi asked.
"The very southern tip of Norway," Åsne said. "You'd better pay more attention to your studies!"
"Well, Aslaug hurried home," Gunnhild said. "In spite of Grima's decree, she bathed, then combed the snarls out of her hair. With golden tresses floating about her like a cape, she walked toward the house.
"While Aslaug was on her way down from the high pastures, King Ragnar had sent his cooks ashore to bake bread. They had approached Grima at Spangereid farm and asked to use her cookhouse. Grima told them she had a daughter who could help them with the baking.
"But the cooks were so stunned at the sight of the lovely girl who came to Grima's call that they forgot their baking and all the bread got burned. When they returned to the ships, the king asked why all the bread was so black. They made the excuse that they had been so enchanted by the beauty of the farm girl that they couldn't take their eyes off her.
"The king, who was a widower, was intrigued and wished to see the lovely maiden. If she was as ravishing as the cooks said, he thought he might take her to be his queen. He summoned the noblest of his men and sent them to the farm with a message for the girl. But he wanted to find out if she was as clever as she was beautiful, and so the message contained a riddle."
"A riddle, a riddle!" Toli yelled. "Tell us, and let us guess!"
"King Ragnar said, 'She shall come to me neither naked nor clothed, neither fasting nor full, and neither alone nor accompanied by a single other person.' While you're thinking," Gunnhild said to children, "someone get me a cup of water, please."
"How can you be not alone and not with anybody, all at the same time?" Bibbi asked.
"I think I know the answer to the not-naked-not-clothed one," half-sister Aslaug said as she watched Gunnhild rewrap the newborn babe.
"I know for sure about not-fasting-not-full," complained Toli. "That's how I feel after every meal."
Gunnhild sighed. When was the last time anyone at Åe had been able to kick back from the table with a full belly?
"What's the answer?" the children begged. "Tell us, tell us!"
"The messengers went up to the farm," Gunnhild said, laying newborn Aslaug in teenage Aslaug's eager arms. "They delivered the message to Aslaug Kråke. She solved the riddle at once, and bade them take her answer back to King Ragnar. The next morning, she told them, she would come to the king's ship in just the manner he wished..."
scene to be continued...
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BEHIND THE SCENES
If you're new to this saga, this might clear up a little confusion: Norwegian naming patterns can result in more than one child in the same family having the same name.
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