Chapter xxxv.

The Dreams of the Wives of the Giukings.

So when men had drunk their fill, they fared to sleep; then falls Kostbera to beholding¹ the runes, and spelling over the letters, and sees that beneath were other things cut, and that the runes are guileful², yet because of her wisdom she had skill to read them aright. So then she goes to bed by her husband; but when they awoke, she spake unto Hogni —

“Thou art minded to wend away from home — ill-counselled is that; abide³ till another time! Scarce a keen reader of runes art thou, if thou deemest thou hast beheld⁴ in them the bidding of thy sister to this journey: lo, I read them the runes, and had marvel⁵ of so wise a woman as Gudrun is, that she should have miscut them; but that which lieth underneath⁶ beareth your bane with it, — yea, either she lacked a letter, or others have dealt guilefully⁷ with the runes.

“And now hearken to my dream; for therein methought there fell in upon us here a river exceeding strong, and brake up the timbers of the hall.”

He answered, “Full oft are ye evil of mind, ye women, but for me, I was not made in such wise as to meet men with evil who deserve no evil; belike he will give us good welcome.”

She answered, “Well, the thing must ye yourselves prove, but no friendship follows this bidding:— but yet again I dreamed that another river fell in here with a great and grimly rush, and tore up the dais of the hall, and brake the legs of both you brethren; surely that betokeneth somewhat.”

He answers, “Meadows along our way, whereas thou didst dream of the river; for when we go through the meadows, plentifully⁹ doth the seeds of the hay hang about our legs.”

“Again I dreamed,” she says, “that thy cloak was afire, and that the flame blazed up above the hall.”

Says he, “Well, I wot what that shall betoken⁸; here lieth my fair-dyed raiment, and it shall burn and blaze, whereas thou dreamedst of the cloak.”

“Methought a bear came in,” she says, “and brake up the king’s high-seat, and shook his paws in such a wise that we were all adrad thereat, and he gat us all together into the mouth of him, so that we might avail us naught¹⁰, and thereof fell great horror on us.”

He answered, “Some great storm will befall, whereas thou hadst a white bear in thy mind.”

“An erne methought came in,” she says, “and swept adown the hall, and drenched¹¹ me and all of us with blood, and ill shall that betoken, for methought it was the double of King Atli.”

He answered, “Full oft do we slaughter¹² beasts freely, and smite¹³ down great neat for our cheer, and the dream of the erne has but to do with oxen; yea, Atli is heart-whole toward us.”

And therewithal they cease this talk.

1 beholding   

v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• Beholding, besides love, the end of love,/Hearing oblivion beyond memory! 我看见了爱，还看到了爱的结局，／听到了记忆外层的哪一片寂寥！ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

2 guileful   

adj.狡诈的，诡计多端的

参考例句：

• Being cruel, guileful and unscrupulous, the terrorist committed all manners of crimes including murder and arson. 那个恐怖分子残酷、奸诈、肆无忌惮，杀人放火，无恶不做。 来自互联网

3 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

4 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

5 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 guilefully   

adj.狡诈的，诡计多端的

参考例句：

• Being cruel, guileful and unscrupulous, the terrorist committed all manners of crimes including murder and arson. 那个恐怖分子残酷、奸诈、肆无忌惮，杀人放火，无恶不做。 来自互联网

8 betoken   

v.预示

参考例句：

• He gave her a gift to betoken his gratitude.他送她一件礼物表示感谢。
• Dark clouds betoken a storm.乌云予示着暴风雨的来临。

9 plentifully   

adv. 许多地，丰饶地

参考例句：

• The visitors were plentifully supplied with food and drink. 给来宾准备了丰富的食物和饮料。
• The oil flowed plentifully at first, but soon ran out. 起初石油大量涌出，但很快就枯竭了。

10 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

11 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

13 smite   

v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿

参考例句：

• The wise know how to teach,the fool how to smite.智者知道如何教导，愚者知道怎样破坏。
• God will smite our enemies.上帝将击溃我们的敌人。