Gangleri asked, ‘Where did Ymir live, and what did he live on?’
‘Next it happened that as the icy rime dripped, the cow called Audhumla was formed. Four rivers of milk ran from her udders, and she nourished Ymir.’
Then Gangleri asked, ‘On what did the cow feed?’
High replied, ‘She licked the blocks of ice, which were salty. As she licked these stones of icy rime the first day, the hair of a man appeared in the blocks towards the evening. On the second day came the man’s head, and on the third day, the whole man. He was called Buri, and he was beautiful, big and strong. He had a son called Bor, who took as his wife the woman called Bestla. She was the daughter of Bolthorn the giant, and they had three sons. One was called Odin, another Vili and the third Ve. It is my belief that this Odin and his brothers are the rulers of heaven and earth. We know that is his name, and it is what we call the one whom we know to be the greatest and the most renowned, and you too can easily call him that.’