is set on his table to these two wolves; for he himself stands in no need of food. Wine is for him both meat and drink. Thus the Elder Edda, in Grimner's lay:
Gere and Freke
Feeds the war-faring,
Triumphant father of hosts;
For 'tis with wine only
That Odin in arms renowned
Is nourished forever.
To meet a wolf is a good omen. Odin amusing himself with his wolves is an exquisite theme for the sculptor.
Odin had a ring called Draupner. We find its history in the conversations of Brage, the second part of the Younger Edda. Loke had once out of malice cut all the hair off Sif, the wife of Thor. But when Thor found this out he seized Loke and would have crushed every bone in him if he had not sworn to get the elves of darkness to make golden hair for Sif, that would grow like other hair. Then went Loke to the dwarfs, that are called Ivald's sons, and they made the hair, and Skidbladner (Frey's ship), and the spear that Odin owned and is called Gungner. Then Loke wagered his head with the dwarf, whose name is Brok, that his brother, Sindre, would not be able to make three more treasures as good as those three just named. The brothers went to the smithy. Sindre put a pig-skin in the furnace and bade Brok blow the bellows and not stop before Sindre took that out of the furnace which he had put into it. A fly set itself on Brok's hand and stung him, but still he continued blowing the bellows, and that which Sindre took out was a boar with golden bristles. Then Sindre put gold into the furnace. This time the fly set itself on Brok's neck, and stung him worse, but he continued blowing the bellows, and that which the smith took out
