Norse Mythology

Thor, Loki, and Hoenir—the god who gave humans the gift of reason—travel together through desolate mountains, growing hungrier and hungrier. They find a green valley and attempt to cook oxen, but the fire will not cook their food. A mighty eagle watches, laughing; they ask it why the oxen will not cook. The eagle fans the flames in exchange for some of their meal. When it cooks, the eagle takes so much that Loki attacks it. His spear sticks in the eagle’s side, and Loki is carried off, unable let go due to some sort of magic out of his control.

Loki begs to be set down. The eagle agrees to do so in exchange for Idunn, a goddess, and the apples of immortality. These apples are responsible for the gods’ eternal youth. The eagle drops Loki in the field next to Thor and Hoenir.

Loki visits Idunn; he asks her for an apple, feigning that he feels old age coming on. Loki tells her that he saw nicer apples growing in the forest; he thinks they may provide a better kind of immortality. Idunn is dubious, and the two set out to find the apples.

They come upon the eagle, who reveals himself to be the giant, Thiazi, in disguise. Thiazi grabs Idunn and her box of apples and flies off. Loki returns home, hoping nobody will notice.

Time passes; the gods are now old, and furious with Loki. Odin prepares to have Loki tortured and killed. Loki talks his way out of the situation: He borrows Freya’s cloak again and flies off to search for Idunn, instructing Thor to create an immense pile of wood shavings. He heads for the land of the frost giants. He finds Idunn locked up, transforms her into a green hazelnut, and heads back to Asgard.

Thiazi checks on Idunn and realizes who has taken her. He flies off in hot pursuit of Loki. Loki makes it behind the wall of Asgard. Freya and Thor set fire to the wood shavings. Thiazi’s feathers burn up, and Thor, though elderly, makes quick work of him. The gods eat the golden apples, and their youth is restored.

Thiadi’s daughter, Skadi, comes for revenge. The gods bargain for compensation, because “in those days, each life had a price on it, and Thiazi’s life was priced highly” (194). First, she will be given a husband. Second, the “gods would make her laugh again” (194). Finally, they will make it so Thiazi will never be forgotten.

Instead of Baldur, who Skadi had her eyes on, she accidentally picks Njord, the father of Frey and Freya. They make it Loki’s responsibility to make Skadi laugh. Loki ties a rope from his genitals to a goat’s beard, and the two tug back and forth, Loki screaming in pain. The gods roar with laughter. The rope snaps and Loki lands in Skadi’s lap. She “laughed like an avalanche in mountain country” (196).

Odin makes Thiadi’s eyes into stars and flings them into the sky, where they shine still.

Frey feels “he was missing something in his life,” despite his magical possessions and the worship he receives from the mortals of Midgard (201). He rides off with his light elf servant, Skirnir, in his chariot pulled by his magical golden boar. They visit Valhalla, home of the dead slain in battle, presided over by Odin.

They watch the men of Valhalla fight until death, only to be resurrected when the day ends. Valhalla is “an enormous hall. I had 540 doors, and each door allowed 800 soldiers to walk abreast” (205). They feast on the flesh of the boar, Saerimnir, which is reborn each day, and always provides enough meat for the countless warriors. They drink mead that comes from the udders of a goat that eats from the leaves of Yggdrasil.

Frey confirms Odin’s presence in Valhalla and he and Skirnir set off. He sits on Odin’s throne, from which he can see all of the nine worlds. When he looks north, he “saw the thing he was missing in his life” (205).

Frey returns to his father’s hall but speaks to nobody. Njord is worried about him and sends for Skirnir to find out what is wrong. Frey thinks he is being punished for sitting on the all-father's throne. In the North, he had spied Gerd, daughter of the giantess Aurboda and the earth giant Gymir. He was enraptured with her beauty, but quickly lost sight of her. Frey asks Skirnir to go to Gerd and ask for her hand in marriage for him. Skirnir is uncertain. He agrees, if Frey will give him his magic sword in return. Frey agrees.

Skirnir meets with Gerd. He tells her of his master’s power, wisdom, and beauty. Gerd agrees to marry Frey in nine days. The interval feels like eternity to Frey. He and Gerd are married, and their wedding was said to be blessed. Legend has it, their son was the first King of Sweden, who “would drown in a vat of mead late one night, hunting in the darkness for a place to piss” (209).

Frey does not miss his sword, but he should not have given it away: He will wish he had it when Ragnarok comes.

The gods arrive at the house of Aegir, the greatest sea giant, and demand a feast. Aegir reluctantly assents, on the condition that Thor brings him a cauldron big enough to brew ale for all the gods—an impossible task. Tyr suggests visiting his stepfather, Hymir, and his mother—giants who have a cauldron three miles deep.

Tyr’s 900-headed grandmother disturbs Thor. Tyr introduces Thor to his mother as Veor—an enemy to the giants. She hides them under a kettle as her husband, in a bad mood, approaches. Hymir is less than pleased at having guests, even his son, and smashes up the place. When he calms down, Thor and Tyr come out.

Dinner is served. Hymir is shocked that “Veor” eats two whole oxen. Thor asks to go fishing with Hymir the next day. Hymir, who is proud of his fishing skills, readily agrees. Thor, who has never fished before, boasts he is a fine fisherman.

Hymir warns Thor that there is a good chance that he will die of cold on their excursion. He tells Thor to gather maggots from ox dung for bait; instead, Thor kills an ox and puts its head in his bait sack. Hymir launches his boat without him, and Thor swims through the freezing water to catch up and board the boat. Thor rows them into deeper water, until Hymir tells him to stop: They are too near the Midgard serpent. Thor watches as Hymir catches several whales.

Hymir is shocked to see Thor take the head of his favorite ox from the bait bag and attach it to the line. The Midgard serpent takes the bait. It threatens to pull their boat under; Hymir is horrified. Thor begins to haul it onto the deck. He whispers to the serpent that one of them will kill the other. Thor nearly pulls the serpent in, when Hymir cuts the line.

They struggle to row the sinking boat to shore. Thor carries Hymir, the boat, and the whales back to Hymir’s house. In return, Thor asks to borrow the cauldron. Hymir agrees, but only if Thor can break his drinking cup. If Thor fails, Hymir will kill him. The cup fails to break. Hymir pours them beer made from the cauldron. Hymir’s wife tells Thor that Hymir’s head is hard enough to break any cup. Hymir agrees. The cup shatters against his forehead. He weeps when he realizes he has lost his magic cauldron and the ale it produces.

Though it takes a dozen giants to carry the cauldron, Thor lifts it easily. They take it in Thor’s chariot, but they are hindered by Grinder’s lame leg. The giants pursue them, and Grinder stumbles and falls. Thor laughs; slaying a hundred giants will almost make up for the loss of the Midgard serpent. He and Tyr slay all of their pursuers. Tyr is glad that Hymir is not among their number.

They take the cauldron back to Aegir, who now must host the gods at a banquet each fall.