The ship sailed around Scandinavia
until it reached the great Arctic Sea
But days grew longer as they travelled North
Soon there were no stars to guide their way
aimlessly the ship drifted without wind
until it reached a deserted island
tired of a diet of fish they had caught
the crew went ashore in search of food
The island is barren
except for thorn bushes
bearing strange purple berries
The crew is hungry
they pick the berries
and devour as many as they can find
Suddenly everything changes
Before their very eyes
The ground is covered with green pasture
A herd appears
fat oxlike beasts
the crew wants to slaughter them for food
Thorkel warns his men
not to kill the herd
lest they evoke the wrath of a deity
They disregard
his every warning
and kill as many beasts as they can catch.
After they feasted
Gorm's men grew tired
They fell asleep
there on the ground
When they awoke
they were surrounded
by warrior maidens
dressed in white fur
Each of the maidens
had in her hands
a bow and arrow
aimed at Gorm's men
The warrior maidens
threatened to kill them
if they did not attone
for slaughtering their herd
One of their number
chosen by lot must
submit to be hanged
from the gallows they'd made
Helpless to resist
Gorm's men drew lots
Gorm's brother Vitkar
was chosen by chance
King Gorm objected
the maidens insisted
Either he be hanged
or they would all die
So a noose was put
around Vitkar's neck
and he was hanged
by the maidens in white.
As Vitkar's body swung back and forth
like a pendulum from the gallows
his brother's men watched helplessly
as their bodies grew heavy
One by one they grew sleepy
and began to collapse on the ground
There they remained in deepest slumber
for how long no one knew
When they awoke the island was barren
no green pasture or blooming trees
only thornbushes but no berries
Vitkar's corpse lay on the ground
King Gorm's men used the thornbushes
to erect a pyre for the corpse
Once it was burned they went back
to their ship and sailed away