So, when he came to the camp of the enemy he heard that three maidens had gone out carrying the secret feast of Balder.

He ran after them (for their footsteps in the dew betrayed their flight), and at last entered their accustomed dwelling.

When they asked him who he was, he answered, a lutanist, nor did the trial belie his profession.
For when the lyre was offered him, he tuned its strings, ordered and governed the chords with his quill, and with ready modulation poured forth a melody pleasant to the ear.

Now they had three snakes, of whose venom they were wont to mix a strengthening compound for the food of Balder, and even now a flood of slaver was dripping on the food from the open mouths of the serpents.

And some of the maidens would, for kindness sake, have given Hother a share of the dish, had not eldest of the three forbidden them, declaring that Balder would be cheated if they increased the bodily powers of his enemy.