THE SCENE: When Sigmund and his son Sinfjotli discover strangely adorned wolfskins in the forest, they find themselves drawn ever deeper into the animal world.
THE TEXT: Sigmund and Sinfjotli put the skins on and could not get them off. And the weird power was there as before: they howled like wolves, both understanding the sounds. They agreed then that they would risk a fight with as many as seven men, but not with more, and that the one being attacked by more would howl with his wolf’s voice. “Do not break this agreement,” said Sigmung, “because you are young and daring, and men will want to hunt you.”
Now each went his own way. And when they had parted, Sigmund found seven men and howled in his wolf’s voice. Sinfjotli heard him, came at once, and killed them all. They parted again. Before Sinfjotli had traveled very far in the forest, he met with eleven men and fought them. In the end he killed them all. Badly wounded, Sinfjotli went under an oak tree to rest. Then Sigmund came and said: “Why didn’t you call?” Sinfjotli replied: “I did not want to call you for help. You accepted help to kill seven men. I am a child in age next to you, but I did not ask for help in killing eleven men.” Sigmund leapt at him so fiercely that Sinfjotli staggered and fell. Sigmund bit him in the windpipe. That day they were not able to come out of the wolfskins. Sigmund laid Sinfjotli over his shoulder, carried him home to the hut, and sat over him. He cursed the wolfskins, bidding the trolls to take them.
One day Sigmund saw two weasels. One bit the other in the windpipe and then ran into the woods, returning with a leaf and laying it on the wound. The other weasel sprang up healed. Sigmund went out and saw a raven flying with a leaf. The raven brought the leaf to Sigmund, who drew it over Sinfjotli’s wound. At once Sinfjotli sprang up healed, as if he had never been injured.
Then they went to the underground dwelling and stayed there until they were able to take off the wolfskins. They took the skins and burned them in the fire, hoping that these objects would cause no further harm.
– The Saga of the Volsungs, 13th Century AD
