Of old was the age | when Ymir lived; Sea nor cool waves | nor sand there were; Earth had not been, | nor heaven above, But a yawning gap, | and grass nowhere.
4. Then Bur's sons lifted | the level land, Mithgarth the mighty | there they made; The sun from the south | warmed the stones of earth, And green was the ground | with growing leeks.
5. The sun, the sister | of the moon, from the south Her right hand cast | over heaven's rim; No knowledge she had | where her home should be, The moon knew not | what might was his, The stars knew not | where their stations were.
6. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats, The holy ones, | and council held; Names then gave they | to noon and twilight, Morning they named, | and the waning moon, Night and evening, | the years to number. |
7. At Ithavoll met | the mighty gods, Shrines and temples | they timbered high; Forges they set, and | they smithied ore, Tongs they wrought, | and tools they fashioned.
8. In their dwellings at peace | they played at tables, Of gold no lack | did the gods then know,-- Till thither came | up giant-maids three, Huge of might, | out of Jotunheim. [ =the world of the giants.]
9. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats, The holy ones, | and council held, To find who should raise | the race of dwarfs Out of Brimir's blood | and the legs of Blain.
10. There was Motsognir | the mightiest made Of all the dwarfs, | and Durin next; Many a likeness | of men they made, The dwarfs in the earth, | as Durin said. |