The Gefion Fountain
near the Little Mermaid statue, Copenhagen, Denmark. This statue depicts
the creation of Zealand, the largest island in the country of Denmark.
It is not only a great sight, but also commonly used as a wishing well,
as the many coins at the bottom of the basin indicate. It is told that
the goddess Gefion was allowed by the Swedish King Gylfe to plow an area
in Sweden, and the land she managed to plow within one day and one night,
she could use in any way she wanted. In order to get the most out of the
opportunity she turned her four sons into oxen and put them in front of
a great plough, and off they went. After that one day and one night was
over, they had managed to get the earth needed to create Zealand in its
present size. Where the earth was taken, the lake Vänern lies today.
(Its shape is somewhat like that of Zealand.) All the earth Gefion put
into Øresund, and lo and behold: Zealand rose out of the sound.