A Norse legend to show that sorrow follows in the footsteps of pride and vanity.

You will remember that Freyja was the sister of Frey, and that her other name was Beauty. Everybody loved Freyja and liked to look at her beautiful face and listen to her sweet voice. She had a wonderful husband named Odur whom she loved very dearly and of whom she was very proud.

Now, it happened that all the gods and their wives were to dine at Valhalla one day, and Freyja was greatly distressed because she had no jewels to wear.

“You are more beautiful without jewels,” said her husband; but Freyja thought of the other women and shook her head.

She went out to ask Frey to get her some flowers at least, but her steps took her down into the heart of the earth where the dwarfs were digging gold and diamonds. Four little dwarfs were tugging at something heavy and very beautiful. Freyja saw it was a diamond necklace of wonderful charm.

“Oh, give it to me!” she cried, shielding her eyes from its dazzling light.

“All right,” said the dwarfs, “but you had better let it alone.” Freyja did not heed them but seized the necklace and hastened back home. She put the brilliant ornament around her neck, looked at her lovely face in a pool of water and went to find her husband. But Odur was not in his room. Odur had gone to the home of the immortals for he and the dwarf’s necklace could not live in the same house. But Freyja did not know this.

Nobody spoke to her nor admired the necklace. They all went to the feast while Freyja sat at the door of the palace and mourned. The necklace sparkled in the sun and her tears dropped down and looked like jewels themselves. She arose and went to Odin and said:

“Let me go find my husband.” And Odin answered:

“Go, Freyja, and good fortune attend you.”

Freyja sprang into her chariot and began her search for her husband. She went to the houses in the big cities, and to the homes of the poor and destitute. “Is my husband here?” she asked everywhere. But all looked at the necklace and shook their heads.

“The necklace is very fair, but it is so heavy, and it makes my heart like lead,” she said.

She went to the Iron Wood and asked the old witch, but the old witch was cross and drove her away. She drove up to the Vedar on the mountain side, but he was like a tree and merely shook his branches. And so she went on and on always with her necklace, but she never found her husband. And sometimes she stops to weep, and then people say: “The summer rain is falling on the flowers.”