"I will bring her back if Freia will loan me her falcon dress. The
giant dresses as an eagle. I, too, must guise me as a bird, or we
cannot outwit him."
Then Freia hemmed and hawed. She did not wish to loan her feather
dress, for it was very precious. But all the Æsir begged; and finally
she consented.
It was a beautiful great dress of brown feathers and gray, and in it
Freia loved to skim like a falcon among the clouds and stars. Loki put
it on, and when he had done so he looked exactly like a great brown
hawk. Only his bright black eyes remained the same, glancing here and
there, so that they lost sight of nothing.
With a whirr of his wings Loki flew off to the north, across mountains
and valleys and the great river Ifing, which lay between Asgard and
Giant Land. And at last he came to the palace of Thiasse the giant.
It happened, fortunately, that Thiasse had gone fishing in the sea, and
Idun was left alone, weeping and broken-hearted. Presently she heard a
little tap on her window, and, looking up, she saw a great brown bird
perching on the ledge. He was so big that Idun was frightened and gave
a scream. But the bird nodded pleasantly and croaked: "Don't be afraid,
Idun. I am a friend. I am Loki, come to set you free."
"Loki! Loki is no friend of mine. He brought me here," she sobbed. "I
don't believe you came to save me."
"That is indeed why I am here," he replied, "and a dangerous business
it is, if Thiasse should come back before we start for home."
"How will you get me out?" asked Idun doubtfully. "The door is locked,
and the window is barred."
"I will change you into a nut," said he, "and carry you in my claws."
"What of the casket of apples?" queried Idun. "Can you carry that also?"
Then Loki laughed long and loudly.
"What welcome to Asgard do you think I should receive without the
apples?" he cried. "Yes, we must take them, indeed."
Idun came to the window, and Loki, who was a skillful magician, turned
her into a nut and took her in one claw, while in the other he seized
the casket of apples. Then off he whirred out of the palace grounds and
away toward Asgard's safety.
In a little while Thiasse returned home, and when he found Idun and
her apples gone, there was a hubbub, you may be sure! However, he lost
little time by smashing mountains and breaking trees in his giant rage;
that fit was soon over. He put on his eagle plumage and started in
pursuit of the falcon.
Now an eagle is bigger and stronger than any other bird, and usually in
a long race he can beat even the swift hawk who has an hour's start.
Presently Loki heard behind him the shrill scream of a giant eagle, and
his heart turned sick. But he had crossed the great river, and already
was in sight of Asgard. The aged Æsir were gathered on the rainbow
bridge watching eagerly for Loki's return; and when they spied the
falcon with the nut and the casket in his talons, they knew who it was.
A great cheer went up, but it was hushed in a moment, for they saw the
eagle close after the falcon; and they guessed that this must be the
giant Thiasse, the stealer of Idun.
Then there was a great shouting of commands, and a rushing to and fro.
All the gods, even Father Odin and his two wise ravens, were busy
gathering chips into great heaps on the walls of Asgard. As soon as
Loki, with his precious burden, had fluttered weakly over the wall,
dropping to the ground beyond, the gods lighted the heaps of chips
which they had piled, and soon there was a wall of fire, over which
the eagle must fly. He was going too fast to stop. The flames roared
and crackled, but Thiasse flew straight into them, with a scream of
fear and rage. His feathers caught fire and burned, so that he could
no longer fly, but fell headlong to the ground inside the walls. Then
Thor, the thunder-lord, and Tŷr, the mighty war-king, fell upon him and
slew him, so that he could never trouble the Æsir any more.
There was great rejoicing in Asgard that night, for Loki changed Idun
again to a fair lady; whereupon she gave each of the eager gods a bite
of her life-giving fruit, so that they grew young and happy once more,
as if all these horrors had never happened.
Not one of them, however, forgot the evil part which Loki had played
in these doings. They hid the memory, like a buried seed, deep in their
hearts. Thenceforward the word of Loki and the honor of his name were
poor coin in Asgard; which is no wonder.