Medieval Icelandic Saga
The Tale of Helgi Thorisson
14th century, Old Norse.
‘I am the daughter of a giant who lives in a region of the Otherworld. Tell me, would you rather sleep with me tonight or sleep alone?’
Helgi and his brother have not long been alone in a forest where they have briefly put in to find timber to repair their longship. Helgi is startled suddenly to see twelve women clothed all in red, mounted upon red horses, riding towards him. They stop a little way away, quickly erect a tent and lay out a table full of delicacies. One of them is more lovely than all the others.
‘Come over here, Helgi,’ she calls suddenly. ‘I am the daughter of Godmund of Glasir Plains, a giant who lives in a region of the Otherworld. Tell me, would you rather sleep with me tonight or sleep alone?’
A modern English translation of the medieval Icelandic saga of Helgi Thorisson can be found in: Pálsson, Hermann, and Edwards, Paul, 1985, reprinted 2005. Seven Viking Romances. Translated from Medieval Icelandic with an introduction. Penguin Books Limited. The tale of Helgi Thorisson. 1. The Woman, pp 276–7.