THOR’S ADVENTURES.
Then said Ganglere: A good ship is Skidbladner, but much black art must
have been resorted to ere it was so fashioned. Has Thor never come where
he has found anything so strong and mighty that it has been superior to
him either in strength or in the black art? Har answered: Few men, I
know, are able to tell thereof, but still he has often been in difficult
straits. But though there have been things so mighty and strong that
Thor has not been able to gain the victory, they are such as ought not
to be spoken of; for there are many proofs which all must accept that
Thor is the mightiest. Then said Ganglere: It seems to me that I have
now asked about something that no one can answer. Said Jafnhar: We have
heard tell of adventures that seem to us incredible, but here sits one
near who is able to tell true tidings thereof, and you may believe that
he will not lie for the first time now, who never told a lie before.
Then said Ganglere: I will stand here and listen, to see if any answer
is to be had to this question. But if you cannot answer my question I
declare you to be defeated. Then answered Thride: It is evident that he
now is bound to know, though it does not seem proper for us to speak
thereof. The beginning of this adventure is that Oku-Thor went on a
journey with his goats and chariot, and with him went the asa who is
called Loke. In the evening they came to a bonde[60] and got there
lodgings for the night. In the evening Thor took his goats and killed
them both, whereupon he had them flayed and borne into a kettle. When
the flesh was boiled, Thor and his companion sat down to supper. Thor
invited the bonde, his wife and their children, a son by name Thjalfe,
and a daughter by name Roskva, to eat with them. Then Thor laid the
goat-skins away from the fire-place, and requested the bonde and his
household to cast the bones onto the skins. Thjalfe, the bonde’s son,
had the thigh of one of the goats, which he broke asunder with his
knife, in order to get at the marrow, Thor remained there over night. In
the morning, just before daybreak, he arose, dressed himself, took the
hammer Mjolner, lifted it and hallowed the goat-skins. Then the goats
arose, but one of them limped on one of its hind legs. When Thor saw
this he said that either the bonde or one of his folk had not dealt
skillfully with the goat’s bones, for he noticed that the thigh was
broken. It is not necessary to dwell on this part of the story. All can
understand how frightened the bonde became when he saw that Thor let his
brows sink down over his eyes. When he saw his eyes he thought he must
fall down at the sight of them alone. Thor took hold of the handle of
his hammer so hard that his knuckles grew white. As might be expected,
the bonde and all his household cried aloud and sued for peace, offering
him as an atonement all that they possessed. When he saw their fear, his
wrath left him. He was appeased, and took as a ransom the bonders
children, Thjalfe and Roskva. They became his servants, and have always
accompanied him since that time.
[Footnote 60: Bonde = peasant.]
46. He left his goats there and went on his way east into Jotunheim,
clear to the sea, and then he went on across the deep ocean, and went
ashore on the other side, together with Loke and Thjalfe and Roskva.
When they had proceeded a short distance, there stood before them a
great wood, through which they kept going the whole day until dark.
Thjalfe, who was of all men the fleetest of foot, bore Thor’s bag, but
the wood was no good place for provisions. When it had become dark, they
sought a place for their night lodging, and found a very large hall. At
the end of it was a door as wide as the hall. Here they remained through
the night. About midnight there was a great earthquake; the ground
trembled beneath them, and the house shook. Then Thor stood up and
called his companions. They looked about them and found an adjoining
room to the right, in the midst of the hall, and there they went in.
Thor seated himself in the door; the others went farther in and were
very much frightened. Thor held his hammer by the handle, ready to
defend himself. Then they heard a great groaning and roaring. When it
began to dawn, Thor went out and saw a man lying not far from him in the
wood. He was very large, lay sleeping, and snored loudly. Then Thor
thought he had found out what noise it was that they had heard in the
night. He girded himself with his Megingjarder, whereby his asa-might
increased. Meanwhile the man woke, and immediately arose. It is said
that Thor this once forbore to strike him with the hammer, and asked him
for his name. He called himself Skrymer; but, said he, I do not need to
ask you what your name is,--I know that you are Asa-Thor. But what have
you done with my glove? He stretched out his hand and picked up his
glove. Then Thor saw that the glove was the hall in which he had spent
the night, and that the adjoining room was the thumb of the glove.
Skrymer asked whether they would accept of his company. Thor said yes.
Skrymer took and loosed his provision-sack and began to eat his
breakfast; but Thor and his fellows did the same in another place.
Skrymer proposed that they should lay their store of provisions
together, to which Thor consented. Then Skrymer bound all their
provisions into one bag, laid it on his back, and led the way all the
day, taking gigantic strides. Late in the evening he sought out a place
for their night quarters under a large oak. Then Skrymer said to Thor
that he wanted to lie down to sleep; they might take the provision-sack
and make ready their supper. Then Skrymer fell asleep and snored
tremendously. When Thor took the provision-sack and was to open it, then
happened what seems incredible, but still it must be told,--that he
could not get one knot loosened, nor could he stir a single end of the
strings so that it was looser than before. When he saw that all his
efforts were in vain he became wroth, seized his hammer Mjolner with
both his hands, stepped with one foot forward to where Skrymer was lying
and dashed the hammer at his head. Skrymer awoke and asked whether some
leaf had fallen upon his head; whether they had taken their supper, and
were ready to go to sleep. Thor answered that they were just going to
sleep. Then they went under another oak. But the truth must be told,
that there was no fearless sleeping. About midnight Thor heard that
Skrymer was snoring and sleeping so fast that it thundered in the wood.
He arose and went over to him, clutched the hammer tight and hard, and
gave him a blow in the middle of the crown, so that he knew that the
head of the hammer sank deep into his head. But just then Skrymer awoke
and asked: What is that? Did an acorn fall onto my head? How is it with
you, Thor? Thor hastened back, answered that he had just waked up, and
said that it was midnight and still time to sleep. Then Thor made up his
mind that if he could get a chance to give him the third blow, he should
never see him again, and he now lay watching for Skrymer to sleep fast.
Shortly before daybreak he heard that Skrymer had fallen asleep. So he
arose and ran over to him. He clutched the hammer with all his might and
dashed it at his temples, which he saw uppermost. The hammer sank up to
the handle. Skrymer sat up, stroked his temples, and said: Are there any
birds sitting in the tree above me? Methought, as I awoke, that some
moss from the branches fell on my head. What! are you awake, Thor? It is
now time to get up and dress; but you have not far left to the burg that
is called Utgard. I have heard that you have been whispering among
yourselves that I am not small of stature, but you will see greater men
when you come to Utgard. Now I will give you wholesome advice. Do not
brag too much of yourselves, for Utgard-Loke’s thanes will not brook the
boasting of such insignificant little fellows as you are; otherwise turn
back, and that is, in fact, the best thing for you to do. But if you are
bound to continue your journey, then keep straight on eastward; my way
lies to the north, to those mountains that you there see. Skrymer then
took the provision-sack and threw it on his back, and, leaving them,
turned into the wood, and it has not been learned whether the asas
wished to meet him again in health.
47. Thor and his companions went their way and continued their journey
until noon. Then they saw a burg standing on a plain, and it was so high
that they had to bend their necks clear back before they could look over
it. They drew nearer and came to the burg-gate, which was closed. Thor
finding himself unable to open it, and being anxious to get within the
burg, they crept between the bars and so came in. They discovered a
large hall and went to it. Finding the door open they entered, and saw
there many men, the most of whom were immensely large, sitting on two
benches. Thereupon they approached the king, Utgard-Loke, and greeted
him. He scarcely deigned to look at them, smiled scornfully and showed
his teeth, saying: It is late to ask for tidings of a long journey, but
if I am not mistaken this stripling is Oku-Thor, is it not? It may be,
however, that you are really bigger than you look For what feats are you
and your companions prepared? No one can stay with us here, unless he is
skilled in some craft or accomplishment beyond the most of men. Then
answered he who came in last, namely Loke: I know the feat of which I am
prepared to give proof, that there is no one present who can eat his
food faster than I. Then said Utgard-Loke: That is a feat, indeed,
if you can keep your word, and you shall try it immediately. He then
summoned from the bench a man by name Loge, and requested him to come
out on the floor and try his strength against Loke. They took a trough
full of meat and set it on the floor, whereupon Loke seated himself at
one end and Loge at the other. Both ate as fast as they could, and met
at the middle of the trough. Loke had eaten all the flesh off from the
bones, but Loge had consumed both the flesh and the bones, and the
trough too. All agreed that Loke had lost the wager. Then Utgard-Loke
asked what game that young man knew? Thjalfe answered that he would try
to run a race with anyone that Utgard-Loke might designate. Utgard-Loke
said this was a good feat, and added that it was to be hoped that he
excelled in swiftness if he expected to win in this game, but he would
soon have the matter decided. He arose and went out. There was an
excellent race-course along the flat plain. Utgard-Loke then summoned a
young man, whose name was Huge, and bade him run a race with Thjalfe.
Then they took the first heat, and Huge was so much ahead that when he
turned at the goal he met Thjalfe. Said Utgard-Loke: You must lay
yourself more forward, Thjalfe, if you want to win the race; but this I
confess, that there has never before come anyone hither who was swifter
of foot than you. Then they took a second heat, and when Huge came to
the goal and turned, there was a long bolt-shot to Thjalfe. Then said
Utgard-Loke: Thjalfe seems to me to run well; still I scarcely think he
will win the race, but this will be proven when they run the third heat.
Then they took one more heat. Huge ran to the goal and turned back, but
Thjalfe had not yet gotten to the middle of the course. Then all said
that this game had been tried sufficiently. Utgard-Loke now asked Thor
what feats there were that he would be willing to exhibit before them,
corresponding to the tales that men tell of his great works. Thor
replied that he preferred to compete with someone in drinking.
Utgard-Loke said there would be no objection to this. He went into the
hall, called his cup-bearer, and requested him to take the sconce-horn
that his thanes were wont to drink from. The cup-bearer immediately
brought forward the horn and handed it to Thor. Said Utgard-Loke: From
this horn it is thought to be well drunk if it is emptied in one
draught, some men empty it in two draughts, but there is no drinker so
wretched that he cannot exhaust it in three. Thor looked at the horn and
did not think it was very large, though it seemed pretty long, but he
was very thirsty. He put it to his lips and swallowed with all his
might, thinking that he should not have to bend over the horn a second
time. But when his breath gave out, and he looked into the horn to see
how it had gone with his drinking, it seemed to him difficult to
determine whether there was less in it than before. Then said
Utgard-Loke: That is well drunk, still it is not very much. I could
never have believed it, if anyone had told me, that Asa-Thor could not
drink more, but I know you will be able to empty it in a second draught.
Thor did not answer, but set the horn to his lips, thinking that he
would now take a larger draught. He drank as long as he could and drank
deep, as he was wont, but still he could not make the tip of the horn
come up as much as he would like. And when he set the horn away and
looked into it, it seemed to him that he had drunk less than the first
time; but the horn could now be borne without spilling. Then said
Utgard-Loke: How now, Thor! Are you not leaving more for the third
draught than befits your skill? It seems to me that if you are to empty
the horn with the third draught, then this will be the greatest. You
will not be deemed so great a man here among us as the asas call you, if
you do not distinguish yourself more in other feats than you seem to me
to have done in this. Then Thor became wroth, set the horn to his mouth
and drank with all his might and kept on as long as he could, and when
he looked into it its contents had indeed visibly diminished, but he
gave back the horn and would not drink any more. Said Utgard-Loke: It is
clear that your might is not so great as we thought. Would you like to
try other games? It is evident that you gained nothing by the first.
Answered Thor: I should like to try other games, but I should be
surprised if such a drink at home among the asas would be called small.
What game will you now offer me? Answered Utgard-Loke: Young lads here
think it nothing but play to lift my cat up from the ground, and I
should never have dared to offer such a thing to Asa-Thor had I not
already seen that you are much less of a man than I thought. Then there
sprang forth on the floor a gray cat, and it was rather large. Thor went
over to it, put his hand under the middle of its body and tried to lift
it up, but the cat bent its back in the same degree as Thor raised his
hands; and when he had stretched them up as far as he was able the cat
lifted one foot, and Thor did not carry the game any further. Then said
Utgard-Loke: This game ended as I expected. The cat is rather large, and
Thor is small, and little compared with the great men that are here with
us. Said Thor: Little as you call me, let anyone who likes come hither
and wrestle with me, for now I am wroth. Answered Utgard-Loke, looking
about him on the benches: I do not see anyone here who would not think
it a trifle to wrestle with you. And again he said: Let me see first!
Call hither that old woman, Elle, my foster-mother, and let Thor wrestle
with her if he wants to. She has thrown to the ground men who have
seemed to me no less strong than Thor. Then there came into the hall an
old woman. Utgard-Loke bade her take a wrestle with Asa-Thor. The tale
is not long. The result of the grapple was, that the more Thor tightened
his grasp, the firmer she stood. Then the woman began to bestir herself,
and Thor lost his footing. They had some very hard tussles, and before
long Thor was brought down on one knee. Then Utgard-Loke stepped
forward, bade them cease the wrestling, and added that Thor did not need
to challenge anybody else to wrestle with him in his hall, besides it
was now getting late. He showed Thor and his companions to seats, and
they spent the night there enjoying the best of hospitality.
48. At daybreak the next day Thor and his companions arose, dressed
themselves and were ready to depart. Then came Utgard-Loke and had the
table spread for them, and there was no lack of feasting both in food
and in drink. When they had breakfasted, they immediately departed from
the burg. Utgard-Loke went with them out of the burg, but at parting he
spoke to Thor and asked him how he thought his journey had turned out,
or whether he had ever met a mightier man than himself. Thor answered
that he could not deny that he had been greatly disgraced in this
meeting; and this I know, he added, that you will call me a man of
little account, whereat I am much mortified. Then said Utgard-Loke: Now
I will tell you the truth, since you have come out of the burg, that if
I live, and may have my way, you shall never enter it again; and this I
know, forsooth, that you should never have come into it had I before
known that you were so strong, and that you had come so near bringing us
into great misfortune. Know, then, that I have deceived you with
illusions. When I first found you in the woods I came to meet you, and
when you were to loose the provision-sack I had bound it with iron
threads, but you did not find where it was to be untied. In the next
place, you struck me three times with the hammer. The first blow was the
least, and still it was so severe that it would have been my death if it
had hit me. You saw near my burg a mountain cloven at the top into three
square dales, of which one was the deepest,--these were the dints made
by your hammer. The mountain I brought before the blows without your
seeing it. In like manner I deceived you in your contests with my
courtiers. In regard to the first, in which Loke took part, the facts
were as follows: He was very hungry and ate fast; but he whose name was
Loge was wildfire, and he burned the trough no less rapidly than the
meat. When Thjalfe ran a race with him whose name was Huge, that was my
thought, and it was impossible for him to keep pace with its swiftness.
When you drank from the horn, and thought that it diminished so little,
then, by my troth, it was a great wonder, which I never could have
deemed possible.. One end of the horn stood in the sea, but that you did
not see. When you come to the sea-shore you will discover how much the
sea has sunk by your drinking; that is now called the ebb. Furthermore
he said: Nor did it seem less wonderful to me that you lifted up the
cat; and, to tell you the truth, all who saw it were frightened when
they saw that you raised one of its feet from the ground, for it was not
such a cat as you thought. It was in reality the Midgard-serpent, which
surrounds all lands. It was scarcely long enough to touch the earth with
its tail and head, and you raised it so high that your hand nearly
reached to heaven. It was also a most astonishing feat when you wrestled
with Elle, for none has ever been, and none shall ever be, that Elle
(eld, old age) will not get the better of him, though he gets to be old
enough to abide her coming. And now the truth is that we must part; and
it will be better for us both that you do not visit me again. I will
again defend my burg with similar or other delusions, so that you will
get no power over me. When Thor heard this tale he seized his hammer and
lifted it into the air, but when he was about to strike he saw
Utgard-Loke nowhere; and when he turned back to the burg and was going
to dash that to pieces, he saw a beautiful and large plain, but no burg.
So he turned and went his way back to Thrudvang. But it is truthfully
asserted that he then resolved in his own mind to seek that meeting with
the Midgard-serpent, which afterward took place. And now I think that no
one can tell you truer tidings of this journey of Thor.
49. Then said Ganglere: A most powerful man is Utgard-Loke, though he
deals much with delusions and sorcery. His power is also proven by the
fact that he had thanes who were so mighty. But has not Thor avenged
himself for this? Made answer Har: It is not unknown, though no wise men
tell thereof, how Thor made amends for the journey that has now been
spoken of. He did not remain long at home, before he busked himself so
suddenly for a new journey, that he took neither chariot, nor goats nor
any companions with him. He went out of Midgard in the guise of a young
man, and came in the evening to a giant by name Hymer.[61] Thor tarried
there as a guest through the night. In the morning Hymer arose, dressed
himself, and busked himself to row out upon the sea to fish. Thor also
sprang up, got ready in a hurry and asked Hymer whether he might row out
with him. Hymer answered that he would get but little help from Thor, as
he was so small and young; and he added, you will get cold if I row as
far out and remain as long as I am wont. Thor said that he might row as
far from shore as he pleased, for all that, and it was yet to be seen
who would be the first to ask to row back to land. And Thor grew so
wroth at the giant that he came near letting the hammer ring on his head
straightway, but he restrained himself, for he intended to try his
strength elsewhere. He asked Hymer what they were to have for bait, but
Hymer replied that he would have to find his own bait. Then Thor turned
away to where he saw a herd of oxen, that belonged to Hymer. He took the
largest ox, which was called Himinbrjot, twisted his head off and
brought it down to the sea-strand. Hymer had then shoved the boat off.
Thor went on board and seated himself in the stern; he took two oars and
rowed so that Hymer had to confess that the boat sped fast from his
rowing. Hymer plied the oars in the bow, and thus the rowing soon ended.
Then said Hymer that they had come to the place where he was wont to sit
and catch flat-fish, but Thor said he would like to row much farther
out, and so they made another swift pull. Then said Hymer that they had
come so far out that it was dangerous to stay there, for the
Midgard-serpent. Thor said he wished to row a while longer, and so he
did; but Hymer was by no means in a happy mood. Thor took in the oars,
got ready a very strong line, and the hook was neither less nor weaker.
When he had put on the ox-head for bait, he cast it overboard and it
sank to the bottom. It must be admitted that Thor now beguiled the
Midgard-serpent not a whit less than Utgard-Loke mocked him when he was
to lift the serpent with his hand. The Midgard-serpent took the ox-head
into his mouth, whereby the hook entered his palate, but when the
serpent perceived this he tugged so hard that both Thor’s hands were
dashed against the gunwale. Now Thor became angry, assumed his asa-might
and spurned so hard that both his feet went through the boat and he
stood on the bottom of the sea. He pulled the serpent up to the gunwale;
and in truth no one has ever seen a more terrible sight than when Thor
whet his eyes on the serpent, and the latter stared at him and spouted
venom. It is said that the giant Hymer changed hue and grew pale from
fear when he saw the serpent and beheld the water flowing into the boat;
but just at the moment when Thor grasped the hammer and lifted it in the
air, the giant fumbled for his fishing-knife and cut off Thor’s line at
the gunwale, whereby the serpent sank back into the sea. Thor threw the
hammer after it, and it is even said that he struck off his head at the
bottom, but I think the truth is that the Midgard-serpent still lives
and lies in the ocean. Thor clenched his fist and gave the giant a box
on the ear so that he fell backward into the sea, and he saw his heels
last, but Thor waded ashore.
[Footnote 61: Called Ymer in the Younger Edda, but the Elder Edda
calls him Hymer.]