Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-06-21
The Story of Wednesday.

national calamity.
The Story of Wednesday.
The story of Wednesday is the story
of a Scandinavian god. His name is
Wooden, or as he is more often called,
Odin.
Wednesday used to be called
Woden's day, and from that has
gradually been changed into Wedres
day.
Odin was the greatest of all the
Scandinavian gods and is often called
the ALL Father.
He lived in beautiful gold and
silver palace called Valhalla. In this
palace he had great throne, and
when he was seated on that he coulc
look over heaven and earth.
But even that did not seem to ba
enough for Odin, for on his shoulders
he kept two ravens. They were named
Hugiu and Munin.
And what do you suppose was theii
duty. Every day they were obliged
to fly over the world. And when they
came back they had to tell all they had
seen and heard.
So you see there is nothing that
went on that Odin did not know.
Like the Romans, Odin was very
fond of giving feasts. That seemed
odd, too, for he ate nothing himself.
All he ever took by way of refrehment
was q drink called mead.
There was another strange thing
about Odins feasts. No one could be
invited unless he had been killed in
battle.
He said they were only for heroes;
but some OF US think that it is possible
to be hero without going to war;
They always had the same thing
for dinner at these feasts, the boar
Schrimmir.
This is hard for US to understand,
for when we have meat cooked and
eaten that is the end of it. But though
this animal was roasted and served up
every morning, it grew again every
night.
TO be polite they woald offer some
of the meat to Odin, but as he neve,
ate it, it was given always to two
wolves who lay at his feet.
Do you wonder how they got thei,
guests? In the palace of Odin lived
many maidens called Valkyrior.
They have beautiful horses to ride
and are armed with shields and hel,
NETS and spears just as if they were
soldiers. But they are not.
Still whenever there was a battle on
earth Odin sent these maidens down
to choose which men should be killed
and to bring them to him in the Val.
halla.
Sometimes, perhaps, you have seen
bright light in the sky. You have
wondered what it could be for it was
quite too late for the sunset.
Then vou have been told that it was
the Aurora Borealis, or Northern
Lights, and your papa CT teacher has
tried to explain to you what causes
them.
ii you understand you are much
wiser than the Norsemen, for when
they used to see it, they thought it
was made by the light shining on the
armor of these maidens as they started
on their journey
Even to this day, if you should go
to Denmark, or Sweden, or Norway,
you would see stones covered with
curious little letters that look like
sticks.
These are called Runic letters, and
the people once thought they were
made by Odin. Of course now they
have grown wise enough to know that
OGin never lived.
Not long ago the people really had
many little sticks called Runes. When
they wanted to know what was about
to happen, they used to shake the
sticks up together much as we do
when we play .ack-straws, fancy.
They would study the sticks as they
fell, and think they formed letters and
words that told what was going to
happen. And yet think their proph-
ecies were no more likely to come true
than these of the Roman augur.
l suppose you are each thinking to
yourself that they were very stupid
to try to make words of sticks, and
that you know much better than that
To be sure you do little lads and
lasses, but your parents have always
been taught not to believe such
things.
So perhaps that is the reason YOU
are so much wiser and more sensible
than the people OF long ago. The
Favorite.
An Apple Eater.