Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

The Saga of Redhead

As much work as the fami ly holding demanded, twice that much he would perform. Soon there were farmers in Sudurnes who thought he would make a good match for their daughters. And those daughters themselves regarded his red hair as an indication that he would keep the fires of love wel l l it during the night. Now it was the custom of the men of Sudurnes to visit a lorn scrap of rock cal led Geirfugla Skerry in early summer. Once there, they would cl imb the cl iffs in search of auks and their eggs. The chief of fowlers, Thorolf Twist-Foot, had seen Thorgeir cl imbing hi l ls to bring back lost sheep, a sheep himself, and asked him to join his fowl ing crew. Thorgeir accepted. For he was pleased to be among such adventuring men. Before her son left, Gudrun gave him a magic charm made from a bird’s spittle, a quahog shel l , the skin of a sti l lborn chi ld, and a piece of fox dung. This charm would protect him from al l harm, she said. After the twelve-oar ship managed a landing on the skerry, a few of the fowlers stayed on board to keep a watch on the sea, and the others cl imbed to the cl iffs. Ahead of them al l was Thorgeir, leaping from pinnacle to pinnacle, a mountainy ram among old ewes. Soon he was taking his spoi l even as the others were tying their ropes to get onto the cl iffs. Ropes, he yel led down at the others, are for weakl ings.

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