Utgard-Loki

“ Thor," said Utgard-Loki: "Thou must not spare thyself more, in performing a feat, than befits thy skill; but if thou meanest to drain the horn at the third draught thou must pull deeply; and I must needs say that thou wilt not be called so mighty a man here as thou art among the Æsir, if thou showest no greater powers in other feats than methinks will be shown in this." ”

“ Then Utgard-Loki said—
"Well, Thor, you should not spare yourself more than befits you in such drinking. If now you mean to drink off the horn the third time it seems to me you must drink more than you have done. You will never be reckoned so great a man amongst us as the Æsir make you out to be if you cannot do better in other games than it appears to me you will do in this."
Thor, angry, put the horn to his mouth and drank the best he could and as long as he was able, but when he looked into the horn the liquor was only a little lower. ”

“ Then he gave the horn to the cup-bearer, and would drink no more.
Then said Utgard-Loki—
"It is plain that you are not so mighty as we imagined. Will you try another game? It seems to me there is little chance of your taking a prize hence."
"I will try more contests yet," answered Thor. "Such draughts as I have drunk would not have seemed small to the Æsir. But what new game have you?"
Utgard-Loki answered—
"The lads here do a thing which is not much. They lift my cat up from the ground. ”

“ The cat is large, but Thor is little in comparison to our men."
"Little as ye call me," answered Thor, "let me see who among you will come hither now that I am in wrath and wrestle with me."
"I see no one here," said Utgard-Loki, looking at the men sitting on the benches, "who would not think it beneath him to wrestle with thee; let somebody, however, call hither that old crone, my nurse Elli, and let Thor wrestle with her if he will. She has thrown to the ground many a man not less strong than this Thor is." ”

“ Utgard-Loki saw that they were bountifully provided with food and drink. He himself conducted them to the gate of the city.
"Well, Asa-Thor," said he, as they were about to separate, "are you satisfied with your visit to Utgard? Have you seen more powerful rulers elsewhere on your journeys?"
"Truly," replied honest Thor, "I have brought great shame upon the Æsir. Justly will ye say that I am one of little worth."
"Hardly that," said the giant king. "Now that you [86] are outside of my city—which with my consent you will never enter again—I must tell you the truth. ”

“ Perhaps," he added, addressing himself to Thor, "thou mayest be taller than thou appearest to be. But what are the feats that thou and thy fellows deem yourselves skilled in? for no one is permitted to remain here who does not in some feat or other excel all men."
"The feat I know," replied Loki, "is to eat quicker than any one else; and in this I am ready to give a proof against any one here who may choose to compete with me."
"That will indeed be a feat," said Utgard-Loki, "if thou performest what thou promisest ”

“ Then they ran a second and a third time, but Thialfi met with no better success.
Utgard-Loki then asked Thor in what feats he would choose to give proofs of that prowess for which he was so famous. Thor answered that he would try a drinking-match with any one. Utgard-Loki bade his cupbearer bring the large horn which his followers were obliged to empty when they had trespassed in any way against the law of the feast. The cupbearer having presented it to Thor, Utgard-Loki said, "Whoever is a good drinker will empty that horn at a single draft, though most men make two of it ”

“ Thor had been looking on gloomily at Loki’s failure; but the king’s tone roused up all his anger, and he stepped boldly forward, saying, “I will undertake to empty in one draught any drinking horn that you can place before me.” So Utgard-Loke commanded his men to bring out a great drinking horn, and as he handed it to Thor the king said: “Here is a cup which the youngest [Pg 103] among us can empty in three draughts. A strong man needs to quaff it twice, but a mighty warrior such as you should finish it all at one drinking.” ”

“ As we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation of man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood to circulate freely through his veins and inspire him with passions. As personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki (lightning) is often seen with Thor (thunder) , whom he accompanies to Jötun-heim to recover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki’s castle, and to Geirrod’s house. It is he who steals Freya’s necklace and Sif’s hair, and betrays Idun into the power of Thiassi ”

“ Where Logi had eaten, nothing was left: bones as well as meat were consumed, and all the plates were left bare.
"We are beaten," said Thor to Loki.
"Tomorrow, Thor," said Loki, "you must show all your strength or the Giants will cease to dread the might of the Dwellers in Asgard."
"Be not afraid," said Thor. "No one in Jötunheim will triumph over me."
The next day Thor and Loki came into the great hall of Utgard. The Giant King was there with a throng of his friends. Thor marched into the hall with Miölnir, his great hammer, in his hands. ”

“ Thor was so angry that he could not eat, but Loki and Thialfi made a good breakfast, and as they ate, the giant told them what they might expect when they reached the city of Utgard. “You may think that I am a fairly big fellow,” he said, “but when you see those who live at the court of the king, you will consider me but a puny thing to be called a giant. If Thor wishes to find a worthy opponent, he will meet his equal among Utgard-Loke’s men.” ”

“ At last there was another pause in their merriment, and the King added: "However, we are willing to give the strangers a fair trial in order to prove the truth of what their spokesman, whom I take to be the god Thor, says. How say you? What can this one do?" And he pointed to Loki.
"Please your Majesty, I am very great at eating," returned Loki.
"Nay," answered Utgarda Loke, "you must grow a little before you are great at anything."
At which speech the courtiers again shouted with laughter; but Utgarda Loke, turning to his servants, bade them make trial of Loki's powers. ”

“ Then spoke the one who came last, 'Who was called Loki: 'I know such a trick, which I am ready to try: that there is no one within here who shall eat his food more quickly than I.' Then Útgarda-Loki answered: 'That is a feat, if thou accomplish it; and this feat shall accordingly be put to the proof.' He called to the farther end of the bench, that he who was called Logi should come forth on the floor and try his prowess against Loki. Then a trough was taken and borne in upon the hall-floor and filled with flesh ”

“ He listened eagerly to everything, but could not endure to have his own god unfavorably spoken of. So terribly did it distress him to hear Utgarda-Loki reproached because of his uncleanly surroundings, and so indignant was he to hear of the god's misfortunes that he fell down dead then and there even as I proceeded with my tale. Thus while he was so zealous in the worship of a false god, he came to the gates of the true prison of sorrows. And many of the bystanders died from the effects of the hair I had plucked from the Giant's beard by way of gaining renown. ”

“ How fare the elves? Why come you alone to Jotunheim?” he asked.
Loki answered sternly, “Ill fare the mighty ones. Ill fare the elves. Have you concealed the hammer of Thor?”
The giant’s grin broadened until the mouth looked like a wide crack across his face. It was evident that he thought he had played a very clever trick. He answered promptly, “I have concealed the hammer of Thor eight lengths beneath the ground. No man brings it back unless he gives me Freyja as my bride.”
Freyja the Lovely the bride of such a hoary old monster! Loki burst out laughing. ”

“ He left Muspelheim as he had left Jötunheim and he came to live in the World of Men. He knew that he had now come into a place where the wrath of the Gods might find him, and so he made plans to be ever ready for escape. He had come to the River where, ages before, he had slain the otter that was the son of the Enchanter, and on the very rock where the otter had eaten the salmon on the day of his killing, Loki built his house. ”

“ Since it was impossible to think of yielding Freya to a giant even to recover Mjölner, the gods tried to form some other plan, and again they turned to Loki for help, for he alone was clever enough to outwit the giant.
“There is no way to get the hammer,” said Loki, “except by giving Thrym a bride; and since we cannot send any of the goddesses to the cold northland, we must find the giant another wife. Let us dress up Thor like a woman and send him instead.” ”

“ Now, at this time certain men who wished me ill came and told Gorm that he should ask the gods about such matters, as they were questions too difficult for human minds to answer, and too hard for mortals to find out. And to do this they said that Utgarda-Loki must be appeased, and that none could appease him better than I. Others spoke evil about me and declared I was guilty of treachery and wished to take the king's life. So, seeing that I was obliged to suffer in some way, I asked that my accusers should accompany me on my journey. ”

“ Hreidmar and the two young men agreed to Odin's offer; and, lots being cast, it fell to Loki to go and fetch the treasure. When he had been loosed from the cords which bound him, Loki donned his magic shoes, which had carried him over land and sea from the farthest bounds of the mid-world, and hastened away upon his errand. And he sped with the swiftness of light, over the hills and the wooded slopes, and the deep dark valleys, and the fields and forests and sleeping hamlets, until he came to the place where dwelt the swarthy elves and the cunning dwarf Andvari. ”

“ When you met the first giant in the forest you would have killed him with your hammer, if he had not put a mountain between himself and you. Loki was a wonderful eater, but we matched him against fire, and who can devour more than fire? The boy was a swift runner, and I had to make him race against thought, in order to beat him; what [49] can be swifter than thought? The horn, from which you drank, was the ocean, and you took such a mighty draught, that the people in Midgard saw the tide ebb. ”

“ Then the Heroes decided that of all the gifts the hammer was the best, and that, therefore, Loki had lost his wager and must lose his head. Loki offered to give all sorts of things to save himself, but the dwarf would not listen to any of them. “Catch me, then!” cried the mischievous one; but when Brok stretched his hand upon him Loki had gone, for he wore shoes which would carry him over the sea or through the air.
“Catch him!” cried the ugly little dwarf piteously to Thor, and in an instant Loki stood before them, trembling in Thor’s strong grasp. ”

“ Then the gods sat down in their judgment seats, and sought means of evasion, and asked one another who had advised giving Freyja into Jötunheim, or so destroying the air and the heaven as to take thence the sun and the moon and give them to the giants. The gods agreed that he must have counselled this who is wont to give evil advice, Loki Laufeyarson, and they declared him deserving of an ill death, if he could not hit upon a way of losing the wright his wages; and they threatened Loki with violence. ”

“ Now Loki knew a place where some wonderful workmen lived, so he went off, as fast as he could go, to Niflheim, the home of the dwarfs, under the earth, and asked one of them to make quickly some golden hair for Sif. Besides this, he asked for two gifts to carry to the gods Odin and Frey, so that they might be on his side if Thor should bring his complaint before the Æsir.
Loki did not have to wait long before the dwarf brought him a quantity of beautiful hair, spun from the finest golden thread. It had the wonderful power of growing just like real hair, as soon as it touched any one’s head. ”

“ THE DWARF'S GIFTS Red Loki had been up to mischief again! Loki, who made quarrels and brought trouble wherever he went. He had a wicked heart, and he loved no one. He envied Father Odin his wisdom and his throne above the world. He envied Balder his beauty, and Tŷr his courage, and Thor his strength. He envied all the good Æsir who were happy; but he would not take the trouble to be good himself. So he was always unhappy, spiteful, and sour. And if anything went wrong in Asgard, the kingdom of the gods, one was almost sure to find Loki at the bottom of the trouble. ”

“ As the otter-skin developed the property of stretching itself to a fabulous size, no ordinary treasure could suffice to cover it, and the plight of the gods, therefore, was a very bad one. The case, however, became a little more hopeful when Hreidmar consented to liberate one of their number. The emissary selected was Loki, who lost no time in setting off to the waterfall where the dwarf Andvari dwelt, in order that he might secure the treasure there amassed. ”

“ He has tricked us once more, and for a second time has slain Balder for us; for it is now too late,—Balder can never return to us after this. But it shall be the last of Loki's mischief. It is now time that we put an end to his deeds of shame."
"Come, my brothers!" shouted Thor, flourishing his hammer. "We have wept and mourned long enough. It is now time to punish. Let us hasten back to Thökt's cave, and seize Loki as quickly as may be." ”

“ You were told that there were high rocks looking over the sea near Loki's house. One of these, higher than the rest, had midway four projecting stones, and to these the gods resolved to bind Loki so that he should never again be able to torment the inhabitants of Manheim or Asgard by his evil-doings. Thor proposed to return to Asgard, to bring a chain with which to bind the prisoner; but Odin assured him that he had no need to take such a journey. "Loki," he said, "has already forged for himself a chain stronger than any you can make. ”