The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1900-06-13

The Story OF Wednesday.
The story Of Wednesday Is the story
of 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 Wednes-
day.
Odin was the greatest of all the
Scandinavian gods and Is often called
the ALI Father.
lie lived in beautiful gold and
silver palace called Valhalla. In this
palace he had great throne, and
when he was seated on that he could
look over heaven and earth.
But even that did not seem TO be
enough for Odin, for on his shoulders
he kept two ravens. They were named
Hugiu and Munin.
And what do you suppose was their
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 lie ate nothing himself.
All he ever took by way Of refrehment
was drink called mead
There was another strange thing
about Odin's feasts. No one could be
invited unless he had been killed in
battle.
He said they we're only for heroes;
but some of us think TINT 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 il. 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 rs he never
ate it, it was given always TO two
wolves who lay at his feet.
Do you wonder how they got their
guests? in the palace of Odin lived
many maidens called Valkyrior.
They have beautiful horses 10 ride
and are armed with shields and he'll
NETS and spears just as if they we're
soldiers. But they are not.
Still whenever there was battle on
earth Odin sent these maidens down
to choose which men should he 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 you have been told that il was
the Aurora Borealis; or Northern
Lights, and your papa CT teacher has
tried to explain to you what causes
them.
If you understand you are much
wiser than the Norsemen, for when
they used to see it, they thought il
was made by the light shining on the
armor of these maidens as they star ted
on their journey.
Even to this day, il 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
Odin never lived.
Not long ago the people really had
mauy little sticks called RuDes. When
they wanted to know what was about
to happen, they used to shake the
sticks up together much as We dc
when we play Iack-straws. I 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
eciss we're no more likely to come true
than these OF the Roman augur.
l suppose you are each thinking tc
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 suct
things.
So perhaps that is the reason yor
are so much wiser aud more sensibl,
than the people of long ago. The
| Favo.ite.
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