Hverr er sá, kominn ór Manheimum,
ungr at aldri, oss at kveðja?
Berr þú, inn ungi, ormfrán augu;
mun ek við brögðum búaz mega.
Hverr er sá, kominn ór Manheimum, ungr at aldri, at kveðja oss? Þú, inn ungi, berr ormfrán augu; ek mun mega búaz við brögðum.
Who is he, come from Manheimar, young in age, to greet us [me]? You, young one, have snake-flashing eyes; I will be able to prepare myself for tricks.
[7-8] ek mun mega búaz við brögðum ‘I will be able to prepare myself for tricks’: Kock (NN §3298) questions what reason the king would have to anticipate tricks from the bright-eyed young man, noticing that ormfránn is used elsewhere suggestive of ambition and vigour. Rather than translating brögðum as ‘tricks’, Kock prefers a more positive anticipation, of ‘feats’ or ‘exploits’. Against this, the meaning of bragð as ‘cunning, tricks’ is well attested (cf. LP: bragð 3), and the prose saga indicates that Hundingi has the power to understand the inner motivation of an apparently polite young man like Hjálmþér.