He thought he could reach that
point only by sea, but being tired of the water decided to travel on the
wings of an eagle. A raven told him better, however, for the nights are
months long in the far Northland and the eagle loves the sunlight.
Then this man, who was a king, gave orders to fell the greatest oak tree
in his three kingdoms. Olaf the Brave undertook this task. The oak tree
was very large and neither sun, moon, nor stars could shine between its
leaves, they were so close together. The king commanded that deep-sea
sailing ships should be made from its trunk, warships from its crown,
merchant ships from its branches, children's boats from the splinters,
and maidens' rowing boats from the chips.
But the wise men of Norway and Finland assembled and gave the king
advice. They told him that it was no use building a wooden ship, for the
spirits of the Northern Lights would set it on fire. Then the king made
a ship of silver. The whole of the ship--planking, deck, masts, and
chains--was of silver, and he named his vessel "The Flyer."
Then--for this was ages ago--he provided golden armor for himself,
silver armor for his nobles, iron for the crew, copper for the old men,
and steel for the wise men.
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