Lífsteinar
Once, while traveling on official business, Bishop Oddur Einarsson spent the night at the Kalmanstunga estate. It happened to be the eve of Jónsmessa (Midsummer Night)—a time when the veil between the ordinary world and the magical realm is famously thin in Iceland.
Early the next morning, well before the sun had even risen, the bishop's horseboy set out to gather the horses. His search led him north across the meadows, over the freezing Norðlingafljót river, and high up onto the ridge east of Fljótstunga.
There, he stumbled upon a flat slab of rock holding a truly bizarre sight. Several small stones were resting on top of the slab, and they were moving on their own. The tiny rocks were in constant, frantic motion, leaping over one another and running in circles, exactly like playful lambs frolicking in a sheepfold. They were mostly pinkish in hue, though they shimmered in various colors and came in different sizes.
The boy stood completely spellbound by this marvel. After watching the magical display for a short while, he reached down, plucked up one of the very smallest stones, and hurried back to the farm to show his master.
Bishop Oddur was absolutely thrilled when he saw the object. He declared it to be a lífsteinn—a "life-stone"—and explained that the boy had discovered a legendary life-stone slab. To prove just how incredibly valuable this rare stone was, the bishop rewarded the boy on the spot with a massive, wealthy estate.
However, the bishop also sighed and let it be known that if the boy had only managed to bring back the entire slab with all the stones still dancing upon it, the treasure would have been so great that he could have asked the King for absolutely any favor he desired, and it would have been granted.
Hearing this, the eager young boy immediately offered to run back out to the ridge to fetch the rest of the slab. But the bishop shook his head, explaining that the trip would be completely useless. Because the boy had broken the set by taking one of the stones, the magical slab would have instantly vanished and relocated itself. Furthermore, the bishop warned, a true life-stone slab only ever reveals itself to human eyes in the fleeting dawn of a Jónsmessa morning.
Original text
(Eptir handriti Þ. Árnasonar bónda á Bjarnastöðum.)
Oddur biskup Einarsson var einu sinni á vísitazíuferð nótt í Kalmannstúngu, en það var á aðfaranótt Jóns messu skírara. Um morguninn fyrir sól fór hestadreingur hans að smala hestum þeirra biskups. Hann fór norður á eingjar, og norður yfir Norðlíngafljót, og upp í hálsinn fyrir austan Fljótstúngu. Þar varð fyrir honum hellusteinn. Á hellusteininum voru nokkrir smásteinar, sem voru á sífeldum hlaupum um helluna. Þeir ýmist hoppuðu hver yfir annan, eða hlupu hver í kríng um annan, eins og þegar lömb leika sèr um stekk. Þeir voru bleikleitir, en þó með ýmsum litum og á ýmsri stærð. Piltinum varð starsýnt á þetta furðuverk. Þegar hann hafði horft á það stundarkorn, tók hann einhvern minnsta steininn, fór með hann heim og sýndi biskupi. Biskupi þókti vænt mjög um steininn og sagði það væri „lífsteinn,“ og hellan „lífsteinahella.“ En þar af má marka, hvað biskupi þókti vænt um steininn, að hann gaf piltinum fyrir hann tuttugu hundraða jörð, og lèt á sèr heyra, að sèr hefði þókt vænt um, ef hann hefði fært sèr helluna með öllu saman. Þá hefði hann mátt biðja konúng einhverrar bænar, hverrar helzt, sem hann hefði viljað. Vildi þá pilturinn fara aptur á stað og sækja helluna, en það sagði biskup að mundi verða til einkis; því nú væri hellan með steinunum sjálfsagt horfin og búin að flytja sig, þar eð hún hefði mist einn steininn. Þar að auki sagði hann, að lífsteinahella sæist ekki nema á Jónsmessumorgun.
