THE SCENE: A grumpy heathen grumpily rejects Christianity in a manner than one might say begs politeness.
THE TEXT: Time went by until Christmas Day. Glam got up that day and called out for his food.
The farmer’s wife answered, “it is not the Christian custom to eat on this day, because tomorrow is the first day of Christmas. It is our duty to fast today.”
Glam replied, “you have all sorts of superstitions that I dismiss as worthless. People don’t strike me as being any better off now than they were in the days when they didn’t practice such things. I prefer the way people were when they were called heathens. I want my food and don’t try any tricks.”
The farmer’s wife said, “I know that you’ll suffer for it today if you go ahead with this evil act.”
Glam told her to bring some food immediately otherwise she would be the worse off. She did not dare to disobey, and when he had eaten his fill he went outside in a rather stormy mood.
– The Saga of Grettir the Strong, 14th Century AD
