He spoke to Hallgerd: ‘Give me two locks of your hair, and you and your mother twist them into a bowstring for me.’
‘Does anything depend on it?’ she said.
‘My life depends on it,’ he said, ‘for they’ll never be able to get me so long as I can use my bow.’
‘Then I’ll recall,’ she said, ‘the slap you gave me, and I don’t care whether you hold out for a long time or a short time.’
‘Everyone has some mark of distinction,’ said Gunnar, ‘and I won’t ask you again.’
— from Njal’s Saga