The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1981, Qupperneq 37

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
35
minn,” the mother would say as she
touched the boy’s cheek or wiped away his
tear, “It looks as though some mischief
maker has been busy with your yam.” And
the two of them would struggle to unknot the
woolen threads, the mother kneeling on the
floor, the boy sitting upon the high bed with
his legs hanging free.
The two women and the boy worked, but
the old man sat silent and close by the lamp,
reading the literature that the man of God
had left with him. And because there was no
one reading aloud, Grandmother Ingibjorg,
as she stitched a pair of skin-shoes for the
boy, began to tell the tale .of the Hidden-
Folk, how the Hidden-Folk had been
created by God. The boy had heard this tale
many times, but he listened closely, letting
the needles fall unused to his lap.
‘ ‘This happened a short time after Adam
and Eve had been tossed out of Eden,”
Grandmother Ingibjorg began.
“Mother Eve had spent a very busy day
putting her new home to order, a very tire-
some business for any poor body, but espe-
cially for one who came straight from Eden,
a place where work was unknown. It was
coming on evening, with a nice breeze
blowing in from the grove to trees that grew
down near the side of the sea. Adam was
dawdling down by the well, possibly at-
tempting to find a new road back to para-
dise, but most likely admiring his newly
grown beard. There was no help to be had
from him. And there were the children, all
of them unwashed and dirty, all of them
except Cain and Abel that is. They, to be
sure, had their faces all scrubbed and sat on
bright new chairs, swinging their legs,
proud before all the world.
“Just at that moment, poor Eve looked
down toward the grove of trees, and she saw
that the Lord was out walking, taking in
some air. ‘Oh! What’s to be done,’ thought
poor Eve. So frightened she was. She did
not want to be found a bad mother, as she
had once been found a mischievous maid.
The Lord God was coming to call. She knew
that deep down in her bones. And there sat
all of her little wretches, all except Cain and
Abel that is, covered with bramble scratches,
berry stains and plain old dirt to boot.
“ ‘Quick, little ones of mine!’ Mother
Eve spoke sharply and waved her broom.
‘Run and hide. And for goodness sake, keep
quiet! ’
“So the Lord God found a tidy house and
a tidy woman, and Cain and Abel, very
politely, jumped down so that He could
have one of their chairs.
“ ‘How goes the struggle, Mother Eve?’
the Lord God asked very kindly.
“ ‘Not too badly,’ says Eve. ‘Nottoobad
at all. Except that Adam tends to lean too
long on his hoe, to my way of thinking. ’
“ ‘Hmm,’ said the Lord, surprised, but
still very gentle. ‘And are these all of the
children, Mother Eve?’
“Eve hung her head. How could she
bring those dirty little wretches into the
presence of the Lord God, He who was
dressed in splendid robes of purple and
gold? How could she show those dirty little
children to Him, He who held the power of
life and death in His hands?
“ ‘Lord God, these are all,’ she said.
‘Yes, only these.
“And the Lord God rose, and His robes
made a sweeping sound, as of many winds,
and His voice was as terrible as the thunder.
“ ‘Hear me then Eve. What thou hast
hidden from God, God shall hide from
man.’
“And these unwashed children,” Grand-
mother Ingibjorg ended her tale, “the
Hidden-Folk, took up their dwelling in the
mounds and the hills and the rocks. No man
can ever see them, not ever, lest they, the
Hidden-Folk themselves, wish to be seen.”
Einar was nearly asleep, the needles lay
idle upon his lap, and his head rested on the
shoulders of his grandfather. The voices
sounded farther and farther away.
Grim put aside his reading.