The greatest was Woden.
When little children looked at the moon and stars, they were told that
Woden made them. When they asked about the clouds, everyone said, 'Woden
made them.'
[Illustration: WODEN]
"In the spring they were told that Woden made the leaves come and the
flowers open. No one knew the true God then. Everyone said that Woden
lived in a beautiful city in the sky, north of our own Northland. All
the houses there were gold and silver, and the most splendid one was
Woden's royal palace. This was called Valhalla. To reach it one had to
ride or walk the whole length of the rainbow, as it arched from land to
land. But there was a sharp-eyed watchman at the gate who stopped anyone
who had no right to cross that seven-hued bridge.
"In Valhalla, Woden's people were always happy. They were never sick;
they never died. There were no little girls and no little boys in this
golden palace, only soldiers; and some of these were women! Woden
often sent his shield-maidens, as they were called, to battlefields to
carry to Valhalla the souls of brave men. When the choosers of the
slain rode through the air, their glittering, shining robes and
spears, and their swift horses made a strange, bright light in the
North.
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