London Bridge

London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady.

Build it up with wood and clay.

Wood and clay will wash away, My fair lady.

Build it up with bricks and mortar.

Bricks and mortar will not stay, My fair lady.

Build it up with iron and steel.

Iron and steel will bend and bow, My fair lady.

Build it up with silver and gold.

Silver and gold will be stolen away, My fair lady.

Set a man to watch all night.

Suppose the man should fall asleep, My fair lady?

Give him a pipe to smoke all night.

Hringhorni, the greatest of all ships, burned with the twilight sun and sailed forth delivering to the sea of shadows the burning bodies of the most beloved god, Baldur, his melancholic wife Nanna, his mighty steed Sigrdrifa, his blind brother Hod and his servant dwarf Litr. The five souls were freed from their earthly bodies and descended to the cold realms of Nifleheim. For nine days, they had seen nothing in that valley so deep and dark, until they heard the ululation of the noisy river called Gjoll. There was a bridge named Gjallarbru and the ghostly maiden, Modgud, guarded it. She smirked at the arrival of the tragic god, "Alas, the god of light hath surrendered to darkness."

The five souls looked beyond the bridge and perceived the moaning halls of the goddess Hel and the grimaces of the dead. In fear and disgust, Baldur refused to cross Gjallarbru. Modun said, "There is no turning back, Baldur. The bridge stands to take you to my fair Lady." It was the code of the dead and Baldur could not do anything about it. He and Nanna mounted Sigrdrifa, Litr cavorted forth and Hod followed from behind. Upon their step, the bridge echoed from beneath them. At once, it began to fall apart. The five souls returned to the entrance just in time. Baldur mocked Modgud, "There's no more bridge to cross. We cannot go to Hel after all."

Amused, Modgud then commanded the wooden planks of coffins and the clay of the dug graves to form a new bridge. Litr jumped down the roaring Gjoll and skipped about. He created waves that were strong enough to wash away the wood and clay. Annoyed, Modgud beckoned the bricks of fallen fortresses and battle-ridden mortar to form a larger bridge. The blind Hod threw an arrow made of mistletoe, the very stem that killed his immortal brother. With luck, it hit the weakest point of the bridge. Gjallarbru didn't stay long. Angered, Modgud summoned the blood-covered swords of iron and steel to form a stronger bridge. With one mighty stamp of Sigrdrifa's hoofs, the metallic bridge bent and bowed.

Suddenly, they heard high above the realm of Asgard the laments of the goddess of beauty, Freya, for the death of Baldur. She cried tears as red as blood dripping down to the earth where they turned to gold. Modgud called the sobbing souls of Hel to rise up to the air and catch the red gold. With Freya's tears, she formed a stronger, larger and more magnificent Gjallarbru. Then, she took the hellhound, Garm, by its chain, and threatened the five souls to cross the golden bridge. And soon, Litr, Hod, Sigrdrifa, Nanna and Baldur entered the sad gates of the fair Lady.

If you know Norse Mythology, you'll recognize that this was inspired by Baldur's death and based on Hermod's travel to Hel.