Thord approved of his proposal.  He rode home soon after and kept very quiet about it.  And now was proved what has often been said, that:  Off in the woods is a listener nigh.  Men who were friends of Bjorn in Hitardal overheard their conversation and reported it accurately to him.  Bjorn told Grettir of it when they met, and said now he should see how to encounter him.  “It would be no bad joke,” he said, “if you were to injure him in some way without killing him if you can.”

Grettir grinned but said little.  Towards the time of gathering in the cattle Grettir went down to Flysjuhverfi to get some sheep and got four wethers.  The bondis heard of his having come and went after him.  They came up just at about the moment when he reached the foot of his mountain and wanted to drive the sheep away from him.  But they would not attack him with weapons.  There were six of them and they stood across his path to bar his way.  He was concerned about his sheep, got angry, seized three of them and threw them down the hill so that they lay senseless.  The others when they saw it went at him, but rather halfheartedly.  Grettir took the sheep, fastened them together by the horns, threw two over each shoulder and carried them off.  Then he went up into his den.  The bondis turned back feeling they had had the worst of it, and were more discontented with their lot than ever.

Gisli stayed with his ship that autumn until she was ready to be hauled up.  Several things happened to delay him, so that he was late in getting away and rode off very little before the winter nights.  Then he rode North and stayed at Hraun on the south bank of the Hitara.  Next morning before he rode out he said to his servants:  “Now we will ride in red clothes and let the forest-man see that we are not like the other travellers who beat about here every day.”

There were three of them and they did as he bade.  When they had crossed the river he said:  “Here I am told dwells the forest-man, up in that peak; but the way is not an easy one.  Would it not please him to come to us and see our array?” They said this was always his habit.

That morning Grettir had got up early.  The weather was cold, it was freezing and some snow had fallen, but very little.  He saw three men riding from the South across the Hitara, and the light shone from their apparel and from their enamelled shields.  It occurred to Grettir who it might be, and he thought he would relieve them of some of their accoutrements.  He was very curious to meet a man who went about so ostentatiously.  So he took his weapons and hurried down the hillside.  Gisli when he heard the clattering of the stones said:  “A man, rather tall, is coming down the hill and wants to meet us.  Let us act boldly and we shall have good sport.”  His men said that this fellow had great confidence in himself to run into their hands; but that he who asked should have.  Then they got off their horses.  Grettir came up to them and laid hold of a bag of clothes which Gisli had behind him on his saddle, saying: