After the death of Balder the world grew so dreary that no one had any
heart left for work or play. The Æsir sat about moping and miserable.
They were growing old,--there was no doubt about that. There was no
longer any gladness in Valhalla, where the Valkyries waited on table
and poured the foaming mead. There was no longer any mirth on Ida
Plain, when every morning the bravest of earth-heroes fought their
battles over again. Odin no longer had any pleasure in the daily news
brought by his wise ravens, Thought and Memory, nor did Freia enjoy her
falcon dress. Frey forgot to sail in his ship Skidbladnir, and even
Thor had almost wearied of his hammer, except as he hoped that it would
help him to catch Loki. For the one thought of all of them now was to
find and punish Loki.
Yet they waited; for Queen Frigg had sent a messenger to Queen Hela to
find if they might not even yet win Balder back from the kingdom of
death.
Odin shook his head. "Queen Hela is Loki's daughter," he said, "and she
will not let Balder return." But Frigg was hopeful; she had employed a
trusty messenger, whose silver tongue had won many hearts against their
will.
It was Hermod, Balder's brother, who galloped down the steep road to
Hela's kingdom, on Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Father Odin.
For nine nights and nine days he rode, through valleys dark and chill,
until he came to the bridge which is paved with gold. And here the
maiden Modgard told him that Balder had passed that way, and showed him
the path northward to Hela's city. So he rode, down and down, until
he came to the high wall which surrounded the grim palace where Hela
reigned. Hermod dismounted and tightened the saddle-girths of gray
Sleipnir, whose eight legs were as frisky as ever, despite the long
journey. And when he had mounted once more, the wonderful horse leaped
with him over the wall, twenty feet at least!
Then Hermod rode straight into the palace of Hela, straight up to the
throne where she sat surrounded by gray shadows and spirit people. She
was a dreadful creature to see, was this daughter of Loki,--half white
like other folk, but half black, which was not sunburn, for there was
no sunshine in this dark and dismal land. Yet she was not so bad as she
looked; for even Hela felt kindly towards Balder, whom her father had
slain, and was sorry that the world had lost so dear a friend. So when
Hermod begged of her to let his brother return with him to Asgard, she
said very gently,--
"Freely would I let him go, brave Hermod, if I might. But a queen
cannot always do as she likes, even in her own kingdom. His life must
be bought; the price must be paid in tears. If everything upon earth
will weep for Balder's death, then may he return, bringing light and
happiness to the upper world. Should one creature fail to weep, Balder
must remain with me."
Then Hermod was glad, for he felt sure that this price was easily paid.
He thanked Hela, and made ready to depart with the hopeful message.
Before he went away he saw and spoke with Balder himself, who sat with
Nanna upon a throne of honor, talking of the good times that used to
be. And Balder gave him the ring Draupnir to give back to Father Odin,
as a remembrance from his dear son; while Nanna sent to mother Frigg
her silver veil with other rich presents. It was hard for Hermod to
part with Balder once again, and Balder also wept to see him go. But
Hermod was in duty bound to bear the message back to Asgard as swiftly
as might be.
Now when the Æsir heard from Hermod this news, they sent messengers
forth over the whole world to bid every creature weep for Balder's
death. Heimdal galloped off upon Goldtop and Frey upon Goldbristle, his
famous hog; Thor rumbled away in his goat chariot, and Freia drove her
team of cats,--all spreading the message in one direction and another.
There really seemed little need for them to do this, for already there
was mourning in every land and clime. Even the sky was weeping, and the
flower eyes were filled with dewy tears.
So it seemed likely that Balder would be ransomed after all, and the
Æsir began to hope more strongly. For they had not found one creature
who refused to weep. Even the giants of Jotunheim were sorry to lose
the gentle fellow who had never done them any harm, and freely added
their giant tears to the salt rivers that were coursing over all the
world into the sea, making it still more salt.
It was not until the messengers had nearly reached home, joyful in the
surety that Balder was safe, that they found an ugly old giantess named
Thökt hidden in a black cavern among the mountains.
"Weep, mother, weep for Balder!" they cried. "Balder the beautiful is
dead, but your tears will buy him back to life. Weep, mother, weep!"
But the sulky old woman refused to weep.
"Balder is nothing to me," she said. "I care not whether he lives or
dies. Let him bide with Hela--he is out of mischief there. I weep dry
tears for Balder's death."
So all the work of the messengers was in vain, because of this one
obstinate old woman. So all the tears of the sorrowing world were shed
in vain. Because there were lacking two salty drops from the eyes of
Thökt, they could not buy back Balder from the prison of death.
When the messengers returned and told Odin their sad news, he was
wrathful.
"Do you not guess who the old woman was?" he cried. "It was Loki--Loki
himself, disguised as a giantess. 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."
So they hurried back into the mountains where they had left the
giantess who would not weep. But when they came to the place, the
cave was empty. Loki was too sharp a fellow to sit still and wait for
punishment to overtake him. He knew very well that the Æsir would soon
discover who Thökt really was. And he had taken himself off to a safer
place, to escape the questions which a whole world of not too gentle
folk were anxious to ask him.
The one desire of the Æsir was now to seize and punish Loki. So when
they were unable to find him as easily as they expected, they were
wroth indeed. Why had he left the cave? Whither had he gone? In what
new disguise even now was he lurking, perhaps close by?
The truth was that when Loki found himself at war with the whole world
which he had injured, he fled away into the mountains, where he had
built a strong castle of rocks. This castle had four doors, one looking
into the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west;
so that Loki could keep watch in all directions and see any enemy
who might approach. Besides this, he had for his protection the many
disguises which he knew so well how to don. Near the castle was a river
and a waterfall, and it was Loki's favorite game to change himself into
a spotted pink salmon and splash about in the pool below the fall.
"Ho, ho! Let them try to catch me here, if they can!" he would chuckle
to himself. And indeed, it seemed as if he were safe enough.
One day Loki was sitting before the fire in his castle twisting
together threads of flax and yarn into a great fish-net which was his
own invention. For no one had ever before thought of catching fish with
a net. Loki was a clever fellow; and with all his faults, for this one
thing at least the fishermen of to-day ought to be grateful to him. As
Loki sat busily knotting the meshes of the net, he happened to glance
out of the south door,--and there were the Æsir coming in a body up the
hill towards his castle.
Now this is what had happened: from his lookout throne in Asgard,
Odin's keen sight had spied Loki's retreat. This throne, you remember,
was in the house with a silver roof which Odin had built in the very
beginning of time; and whenever he wanted to see what was going on in
the remotest corner of Asgard, or to spy into some secret place beyond
the sight of gods or men, he would mount this magic throne, whence his
eye could pierce thick mountains and sound the deepest sea. So it was
that the Æsir had found out Loki's castle, well-hidden though it was
among the furthest mountains of the world. They had come to catch him,
and there was nothing left for him but to run.
Loki jumped up and threw his half-mended net into the fire, for he did
not want the Æsir to discover his invention; then he ran down to the
river and leaped in with a great splash. When he was well under water,
he changed himself into a salmon, and flickered away to bask in his
shady pool and think how safe he was.
By this time the Æsir had entered his castle and were poking among the
ashes which they found smouldering on the hearth.
"What is this?" asked Thor, holding up a piece of knotted flax which
was not quite burned. "The knave has been making something with little
cords."
"Let me see it," said Heimdal, the wisest of the Æsir,--he who once
upon a time had suggested Thor's clever disguise for winning back his
hammer from the giant Thrym. He took now the little scrap of fish-net
and studied it carefully, picking out all the knots and twists of it.
"It is a net," said Heimdal at last. "He has been making a net,
and--pfaugh!--it smells of fish. The fellow must have used it to trap
fish for his dinner, though I never before heard of such a device."
"I saw a big splash in the river just as we came up," said Thor the
keen-eyed,--"a very big splash indeed. It seemed too large for any
fish."
"It was Loki," declared Heimdal. "He must have been here but a
moment since, for this fire has just gone out, and the net is still
smouldering. That shows he did not wish us to find this new-fangled
idea of his. Why was that? Let me think. Aha! I have it. Loki has
changed himself into a fish, and did not wish us to discover the means
of catching him."
"Oho!" cried the Æsir regretfully. "If only we had another net!"
"We can make one," said wise Heimdal. "I know how it is done, for I
have studied out this little sample. Let us make a net to catch the
slyest of all fish."
"Let us make a net for Loki," echoed the Æsir. And they all sat down
cross-legged on the floor to have a lesson in net-weaving from Heimdal.
He found hemp cord in a cupboard, and soon they had contrived a goodly
net, big enough to catch several Lokis, if they should have good
fisherman's luck.
They dragged the net to the river and cast it in. Thor, being the
strongest, held one end of the net, and all the rest drew the other
end up and down the stream. They were clumsy and awkward, for they had
never used a net before, and did not know how to make the best of it.
But presently Thor exclaimed, "Ha! I felt some live thing touch the
meshes!"
"So did we!" cried the others. "It must be Loki!" And Loki it was, sure
enough; for the Æsir had happened upon the very pool where the great
salmon lay basking so peacefully. But when he felt the net touch him,
he darted away and hid in a cleft between two rocks. So that, although
they dragged the net to and fro again and again, they could not catch
Loki in its meshes; for the net was so light that it floated over his
head.
"We must weight the net," said Heimdal wisely; "then nothing can pass
beneath it." So they tied heavy stones all along the under edge, and
again they cast the net, a little below the waterfall. Now Loki had
seized the chance to swim further down the stream. But ugh! suddenly he
tasted salt water. He was being swept out to sea! That would never do,
for he could not live an hour in the sea. So he swam back and leaped
straight over the net up into the waterfall, hoping that no one had
noticed him. But Thor's sharp eyes had spied the flash of pink and
silver, and Thor came running to the place.
"He is here!" he shouted. "Cast in the net above the fall! We have him
now!"
When Loki saw the net cast again, so that there was no choice for him
but to be swept back over the falls and out to sea, or to leap the net
once more still further up the river, he hesitated. He saw Thor in the
middle of the stream wading towards him; but behind him was sure death.
So he set his teeth and once more he leaped the net. There was a huge
splash, a scuffle, a scramble, and the water was churned into froth all
about Thor's feet. He was struggling with the mighty fish. He caught
him once, but the salmon slipped through his fingers. He caught him
again, and this time Thor gripped hard. The salmon almost escaped, but
Thor's big fingers kept hold of the end of his tail, and he flapped
and flopped in vain. It was the grip of Thor's iron glove; and that
is why to this day the salmon has so pointed a tail. The next time
you see a salmon you must notice this, and remember that he may be a
great-great-great-grand-descendant of Loki.
So Loki was captured and changed back into his own shape, sullen and
fierce. But he had no word of sorrow for his evil deeds; nor did he ask
for mercy, for he knew that it would be in vain. He kept silent while
the Æsir led him all the weary way back to Asgard.
Now the whole world was noisy with the triumph of his capture. As the
procession passed along it was joined by all the creatures who had
mourned for Balder,--all the creatures who longed to see Loki punished.
There were the men of Midgard, the place of human folk, shouting, "Kill
him! kill him!" at the top of their lungs; there were armies of little
mountain dwarfs in their brown peaked caps, who hobbled along, prodding
Loki with their picks; there were beasts growling and showing their
teeth as if they longed to tear Loki in pieces; there were birds who
tried to peck his eyes, insects who came in clouds to sting him, and
serpents that sprang up hissing at his feet to poison him with their
deadly bite.
But to all these Thor said, "Do not kill the fellow. We are keeping
him for a worse punishment than you can give." So the creatures merely
followed and jostled Loki into Asgard, shouting, screaming, howling,
growling, barking, roaring, spitting, squeaking, hissing, croaking, and
buzzing, according to their different ways of showing hatred and horror.
[Illustration: "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"]
The Æsir met on Ida Plain to decide what should be done with Loki.
There were Idun whom he had cheated, and Sif whose hair he had cut
off. There were Freia whose falcon dress he had stolen and Thor whom he
had tried to kill. There were Höd whom he had made a murderer; Frigg
and Odin whose son he had slain. There was not one of them whom Loki
had not injured in some way; and besides, there was the whole world
into which he had brought sorrow and darkness; for the sake of all
these Loki must be punished. But it was hard to think of any doom heavy
enough for him. At last, however, they agreed upon a punishment which
they thought suited to so wicked a wretch.
The long procession formed again and escorted Loki down, down into a
damp cavern underground. Here sunlight never came, but the cave was
full of ugly toads, snakes, and insects that love the dark. These were
Loki's evil thoughts, who were to live with him henceforth and torment
him always. In this prison chamber side by side they placed three sharp
stones, not far apart, to make an uneasy bed. And these were for Loki's
three worst deeds, against Thor and Höd and Balder. Upon these rocks
they bound Loki with stout thongs of leather. But as soon as the cords
were fastened they turned into iron bands, so that no one, though he
had the strength of a hundred giants, could loosen them. For these were
Loki's evil passions, and the more he strained against them, the more
they cut into him and wounded him until he howled with pain.
Over his head Skadi, whose father he had helped to slay, hung a
venomous, wriggling serpent, from whose mouth dropped poison into
Loki's face, which burned and stung him like fire. And this was the
deceit which all his life Loki had spoken to draw folk into trouble and
danger. At last it had turned about to torture him, as deceit always
will do to him who utters it. Yet from this one torment Loki had some
relief; for alone of all the world Sigyn, his wife, was faithful and
forgiving. She stood by the head of the painful bed upon which the Red
One was stretched, and held a bowl to catch the poison which dropped
from the serpent's jaws, so that some of it did not reach Loki's face.
But as often as the bowl became full, Sigyn had to go out and empty it;
and then the bitter drops fell and burned till Loki made the cavern
ring with his cries.
So this was Loki's punishment, and bad enough it was,--but not too bad
for such a monster. Under the caverns he lies there still, struggling
to be free. And when his great strength shakes the hills so that the
whole ground trembles, men call it an earthquake. Sometimes they even
see his poisonous breath blowing from the top of a mountain-chimney,
and amid it the red flame of wickedness which burns in Loki's heart.
Then all cry, "The volcano, the volcano!" and run away as fast as they
can. For Loki, poisoned though he is, is still dangerous and full of
mischief, and it is not good to venture near him in his torment.
But there for his sins he must bide and suffer, suffer and bide, until
the end of all sorrow and suffering and sin shall come, with Ragnarök,
the ending of the world.
Transcriber's Notes:
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Page 176: "You shall hide" was misprinted as "You shall bide". Corrected
here based on the use of "hiding-place" later in the same sentence.