accepts no rebuffs, but leaving his followers, enters the house, slays
the guardian Bear and Dog, thrusting one through with a spear and
throttling the other with his hand. The lady is won and wed, and two
daughters and a son (Frithlaf) duly begotten. The story of Alf and
Alfhild combines several types. There are the tame snakes, the baffled
suitors' heads staked to terrify other suitors, and the hero using
red-hot iron and spear to slay the two reptiles.

The "Proud Lady", (cf. Kudrun and the Niebelungen, and Are's story
of the queen that burnt her suitors) appears in Hermintrude, Queen of
Scotland, who battles and slays her lovers, but is out-witted by the
hero (Hamlet), and, abating her arrogance, agrees to wed him. This seems
an obvious accretion in the original Hamlet story, and probably owing
not to Saxo, but to his authority.

The "Beggar that stole the Lady" (told of Snio Siwaldson and the
daughter of the King of the Goths), with its brisk dialogue, must have
been one of the most artful of the folk-tales worked on by Saxo or his
informants; but it is only half told, unfortunately.

The "Crafty Soaker" is another excellent comic folk-tale. A terrible
famine made the king (Snio) forbid brewing to save the barley for
bread, and abolished all needless toping. The Soaker baffled the king by
sipping, never taking a full draught. Rebuked, he declared that he never
drank, but only sucked a drop. This was forbidden him for the future, so
he sopped his bread in ale, and in that inconvenient manner continued to
get drunk, excusing himself with the plea that though it was forbidden
to drink or sip beer, it was not forbidden to eat it. When this was in
turn prohibited, the Soaker gave up any pretence, and brewed and
drank unabashed, telling the angry king that he was celebrating his