midday
There was no sound of the swineherds ' horn , though the evening was coming on , and but for the frost it was time for their charges to be taken homeward , and the woodmen 's axes were idle . Even the scream of some hawk high overhead had been welcome to me , and the harsh cry of a jay that I scared was like the voice of a friend . It was the fault of none but myself that I was lost . I had planned to go hunting alone in the woods while the old nurse , whose care I was far beyond , slept after her midday meal before the fire . So , over my warm woollen clothing I had donned the deerskin short cloak that was made like my father 's own hunting gear , and I had taken my bow and arrows , and the little seax -LCB- i -RCB- that a thane 's son may always wear , and had crept away from the warm hall without a soul seeing me . I had thought myself lucky in this , but by this time I began to change my mind in all truth . Well it was for me that there was no wind , so that I was spared the worst of the cold .