"Then you must pay for cutting off my wife's hair," said Thor.
[Illustration: "DID YOU CUT OFF SIF'S HAIR?"]
"All right," said Loki, "I will get you something better than the
hair."
* * * * *
ground thumb beads
dwarfs crooked crown
worked
Loki went down, down into the ground to the home of the dwarfs. It was
very dark down there. The only light came from the dwarfs' fires.
The dwarfs were ugly little black men. They were not any bigger than
your thumb. They had crooked backs and crooked legs. Their eyes looked
like black beads.
[Illustration: LOKI AND THE DWARFS.]
Loki said, "Can you make me a gold crown that will grow like real
hair?"
The dwarfs said, "Yes, we can." So the busy little dwarfs worked all
night.
* * * * *
morning showed laughed
spear wonderful three
ship standing brother
nobody stepped else
When morning came the dwarfs gave Loki his crown of golden hair. They
gave him a spear and a ship, too.
[Illustration: THE DWARFS BRING TO LOKI THE SHIP, THE SPEAR AND THE
CROWN OF HAIR.]
Loki took the things up to Asgard, where the gods all lived.
Then the gods all came up to him. He showed them the things.