From a far distance Mani now heard a terrible rumble, as if huge rocks were rolled near. The trees around Mani and Sol began to stir. With their large, knotty roots they stepped forth from the ground and began to err about, as if they were looking for better, calmer places to live in.

Even the grass and all the bushes followed their example and, leaving the grip of the ground, ran about in chaos.
The rumble drew nearer and nearer, and the noise filled the air that was roused by the wind so much already.

The halo of the moon trembled, forming a black-white-red shivering wreath, and uttered a shrill tone as it darkened.

Now the ground started to shake, and as the roar increased the rocks began to shiver under the forest that was roaming about, and they uttered grumbling noises.

Mani saw three huge ugly women trotting along; clad in old rough rags they threw three rocks, big as mountains, at each other as if they were playing with balls.
And each time one of the colossi flew too near a tree, the latter ran away quickly on stalky roots as if for its life.

But when the rock fell down on the ground because one of the throwers did not catch it, the grass ran away to all sides, worms and bugs crept forth from the earth in panic and fled from the plunging colossus which finally crashed on the earth-covered rocks with a deafening noise and split the ground.

Animals of all kinds ran about in panic looking for cover from these primordial forces.
The three ugly giant hags, however, did not at all seem to be impressed by the turmoil they created in their environment.

Their eyes sitting oblique in their thickly haired skulls they hardly ever squinted at those who fled in the wildest panic, but were always directed at the immense rocks which they amused themselves with.

Sometimes also the one or the other of the giantesses took one of these mountains and put it on her head, or hid it in her apron, so that the three of them threw only one or two rocks, upsetting nature in that way.

Also each of the three hags had a big spindle with her, on which she continuously spun with one hand; the three threads they tied together into a black-white-red rope.
The rope they put around everything that came in their way - around trees, bushes, beasts, birds, even around the grass, beatles and ants, indeed even around the minutest plant or animal, but also around all stones, heaps of earth, and around the moon and the stars as if they wanted to hamper and control their free course.

In that manner everything around the giantesses was fastened, fettered and tightly tethered; because they even wove together the many threads that crisscrossed nature. To this purpose they used a big loom which they also carried with them.