Publisher's Synopsis
THE oldest stories of every race of people tell about the Beginning ofThings. But the various folk who first told them were so very different, the tales areso very old, and have changed so greatly in the telling from one generation toanother, that there are almost as many accounts of the way in which the worldbegan as there are nations upon the earth. So it is not strange that the people of theNorth have a legend of the Beginning quite different from that of the Southern, Eastern, and Western folk.This book is made of the stories told by the Northern folk, -the people who livein the land of the midnight sun, where summer is green and pleasant, but winter isa terrible time of cold and gloom; where rocky mountains tower like huge giants, over whose heads the thunder rolls and crashes, and under whose feet are mines ofprecious metals. Therefore you will find the tales full of giants and dwarfs, -spiritsof the cold mountains and dark caverns.You will find the hero to be Thor, with his thunderbolt hammer, who dwells inthe happy heaven of Asgard, where All-Father Odin is king, and where Balder thebeautiful makes springtime with his smile. In the north countries, winter, cold, andfrost are very real and terrible enemies; while spring, sunshine, and warmth arenear and dear friends. So the story of the Beginning of Things is a story of cold andheat, of the wicked giants who loved the cold, and of the good Æsir, who basked inpleasant warmth.
