Riddles for King Heidrek

How did the final riddle reveal the stranger's identity?

Gestumblindi poses riddles to King Heidrek. The king orders him to continue until he runs out of riddles or the king cannot solve one. What makes a great noise, has two mouths and walks over gold? The king answers that it is a goldsmith's hammer.

Another riddle describes something with four things that walk and four that hang down. The king answers that it is a cow. Besides its legs and teats, its horns, eyes and tail are hidden in the riddle too. Finally, the man asks what Odin whispered in Baldr's ear before his cremation.

The king retorts that only the stranger himself knows those words. The stranger is Odin. When the king strikes at him with Tyrfing, he turns into a hawk and flies out through the hall's window. The sword clips the hawk's tail. Odin is angry with the king. That night, King Heidrek is killed.

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