Þá hló marbendill
The Marbendill is a sea-dwarf. There is an old saying in this country: "Then the merman laughed." Here is the story of where that saying comes from.
It is said that a farmer once caught a sea-dwarf who called himself Marbendill. He had a large head and long arms, but from the waist down, he looked like a seal. The merman refused to speak or teach the farmer anything, so the farmer forced him to come to land with him.
When they arrived, the farmer's wife, who was young and full of energy, ran to the shore to greet him. She kissed him and hugged him. The farmer was happy and praised her warmly. However, when his dog ran up to greet him just as happily as the wife, the farmer hit the dog.
When the merman saw this, he laughed. The farmer asked, "Why did you laugh?" The merman answered, "At foolishness."
As the farmer walked home from the sea, he stumbled and fell over a mound of earth (a tussock) in the field. He cursed the mound loudly, asking why it was ever created to stand on his land. The merman laughed again—for he was being carried along against his will—and said, "The farmer is not wise."
The farmer kept the merman at his house for three nights. During this time, traveling merchants came to the farm to sell goods. The farmer looked at their shoes but complained that none were good enough. He wanted shoes with many thick soles. The merchants showed him their best pairs, but the farmer said they would wear out instantly and were too thin. The merman laughed and said, "Many people get lost, even those who think they are wise."
The farmer could not get any more information from the merman, no matter if he was kind or mean. Finally, the merman made a deal: the farmer had to take him back out to sea, to the exact fishing spot where he was caught. The merman said he would sit on the blade of the oar and answer all the farmer's questions there, but nowhere else.
The farmer agreed. After three nights, he took the merman back to the ocean. Once the merman was sitting on the oar-blade, the farmer asked him how fishermen should prepare their gear if they wanted to catch fish.
The merman answered with this advice: "Use soft iron for hooks, and make them in a place where you can hear the waves. Harden the hook in the sweat of a horse. Use a gray bull's hide for the line and raw horse-skin for the leader. For bait, use a bird's gizzard or flounder, but if you put human flesh on the hook, you are doomed to die if you don't catch anything."
Then the farmer asked the big question: "What foolishness were you laughing at before?"
The merman explained: "I laughed at your foolishness, farmer. You hit your dog, but he loves you as much as his own life. You praised your wife, but she wants you dead and is cheating on you. "You cursed the mound of earth you tripped over, but it is full of money—a treasure is buried there. That is why you were unwise, and that is why I laughed. "And regarding the merchants: You complained about the shoes, but those black shoes will last you for the rest of your life. You do not have many days left to live. In fact, they will last you for the three days you have remaining."
With that, the merman dove off the oar-blade and disappeared into the sea. Everything turned out exactly as the merman had said.
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Original text
(Eptir „Tydfordryf“ Jóns Guðmundssonar lærða.)
Marbendill er sjódvergur. Gamall málsháttur einn hèr í landi er, svo sem margur segir í dæmisögum: „Þá hló marbendill.“ En hvar af það er komið, hefir sagt verið, að bóndi nokkur dró þann sjódverg, sem sig nefndi marbendil, með stóru höfði og höndum síðum, en líkastur sel niður frá nafla. Hann vildi á eingum vísindum fræða bónda, því flutti hann hann nauðugan í land með sèr. Húsfrú bóndans, úng og lystug, kom til sjávar og fagnaði bónda, kyssandi og klappandi. Bóndi gladdist og lagði henni prís og lof, en sló sinn hund fyrir sèr, sem honum fagnaði með hústrúnni. Þá hló marbendill, er hann sá þetta. Bóndi spyr, því hann hló. Marbendill svaraði: „Að heimskunni.“ Sem bóndinn gekk heimleiðis frá sjónum, rasaði hann og datt um þúfu nokkra. Hann bölvaði þúfunni mikillega, og hvar fyrir hún hefði nokkurn tíma sköpuð verið, að standa í sínu landi. — Þá hló marbendill; því hann var í ferðinni nauðugur borinn, og sagði: „Misvitur er bóndi.“
Svo hèlt bóndi marbendil hjá sèr III nætur. Kaupmanna sveinar komu þar með varníng til sölu. Bóndi hafði aldrei feingið svo margsólaða og þykkva svarta skó, sem honum líkaði. En þessir kaupsveinar þóktust hafa þá beztu. Bóndi mátti velja af hundrað pörum, og sagði þá strax slítast og alla of þunna. — Þá hló marbendill og sagði: „Margur villist, þó vís þykist.“
Hverki fèkk bóndinn af marbendli með blíðu nè stríðu meiri fróðleik, en nú var greint, utan með þeim skilmála, að bóndi skyldi flytja hann út aptur, rètt á það sama mið, sem hann var uppdreginn, og skyldi húka á árarblaði bónda, þá skyldi hann úrleysa öllum hans spurníngum, en með eingum kosti ellegar. Bóndi gjörði og svo eptir III nætur. Og sem hann var kominn á árarblaðið, spurði bóndi, hvern tilbúníng fiskimenn skyldi hafa, ef þeir vildu fisknir vera. Marbendill svaraði: „Tuggið járn og troðið skal til aungla hafa, og setja aunglasmiðju, þar sem heyra má til ár og lár, og herða aungul í jóra mæði, hafa gráan griðúngsvað og hráan hrossskins taum. Til beitu [skal] hafa fugls fóarn og flyðrubeitu, en mannskjöt í miðjan bug, og muntu feigur, ef þú fiskar ei. Fráleitur skal fiskimanns aungull.“
Þá spurði bóndi, að hverri heimsku hann hefði hlegið, þegar hann lofaði hústrú sína, en sló hundinn. Marbendill svaraði: „Að þinni heimsku, bóndi; því hundur þinn elskar þig eingu síður en líf sitt, en kona þín vill þig dauðan, og er hin mesta hóra. En þúfan, sem þú bölvaðir, er þín fèþúfa, og nógur ríkdómur undir; því varstu misvitur, bóndi, og því hló eg þar að. En svarta skórnir duga þèr þína æfi; því þú átt ekki marga daga eptir ólifað, þeir duga þèr þá III daga.“ Og í því steyptist hann af árarblaðinu, og skildi þar með þeim. En alt reyndist eptir því, sem marbendill hafði sagt.
Opt leysir marbendill aungla af fiskimönnum, þar sem hann býr nærri miðum, utan í kross liggi hnúturinn.
