Captured Volsunga Saga

“The beginning of this story is that my father was named Hreiđmar, and
he was an important and wealthy man. He had a son named Fáfnir, and
a second one named Otter, and I was the third and the least of all three
in terms of achievements and reputation. But I knew how to work with
iron and silver and gold, and I made something new out of everything.

“My brother Otter had different habits and traits. He was a great
fisherman, much better than other men, and he spent his days in the
form of an otter, always in the river catching fish in his mouth. He
would take his catch to his father, which was a great help to him.
He was much like an otter, coming home late and always eating alone
and with his eyes closed because he could not stand to see his food
becoming less.

“And Fáfnir was by far the biggest of us and the cruelest, and he
wanted to claim everything that there was for himself.

“There was also a dwarf named Andvari,” continued Regin, “he was
always in the waterfall that is called Andvari’s Falls, in the form of a
pikefish. He fed himself there, as there was an abundance of fish near
the waterfall. My brother Otter often went to Andvari’s Falls and caught
fish in his mouth and set each one afterwards on the land.

“One day Óđin, Loki, and Hǿnir were traveling and they came to
Andvari’s Falls. Otter had caught a salmon, and he was eating it on the
riverbank with his eyes closed. Loki threw a stone and killed him. The
Æsir felt very lucky about this and skinned the otter and made a bag
out of the skin. That same evening they came as guests to Hreiđmar’s
house and showed him what they had caught. We captured them and
threatened their lives if they did not fill that bag with gold, and cover
it on the outside with gold as well. Then the Æsir sent Loki to acquire
the gold. He came to Rán and borrowed her net, and went back to
Andvari’s Falls and threw the net in front of the pikefish, and the fish
jumped in. Then Loki said:

“‘What kind of fish is this
swimming in the water,
that doesn’t know to avoid a net?
You head will stay
on your body, if you
can get me some gold.’

“‘I am named Andvari,
son of Óin,
I have been in many waterfalls.
A cruel Norn
shaped my fate at the beginning,
cursed me to live in the water.’

“Loki saw all the gold that Andvari owned. And after he had taken
all of it, Andvari still had one single ring, and Loki took that from him
as well. The dwarf then hid inside a stone and said that this ring and the
gold would cause the death of everyone who owned it.

“The Æsir gave Hreiđmar the gold. They filled the otter-skin with
gold and set the skin on its feet, so that they could cover it with
gold from the outside. And when this was done, Hreiđmar reached
forward and saw one whisker that was still visible, and told the Æsir
to cover it. Óđin took the ring Andvaranaut and covered the whisker
with it. Then Loki said:

“‘The gold is delivered.
We’ve paid a huge price
for my head.
I do not foresee
happiness for your son.
This gold will be the death of you both.’

“Then Fáfnir killed his own father,” continued Regin, “in cold blood,
and I got none of the treasure. He became so evil that he slept outside
and allowed no one to enjoy the treasure except himself.


- Volsunga Saga, Chapter 14