One morning Thor drove hurriedly out of Asgard in his chariot drawn by
the milk-white goats, and set out on a wonderful journey. He did not
tell Odin where he intended to go, for he knew that the All-Wise One
would try to persuade him to give up the foolish expedition. For
Thor's purpose was to travel all through Jötunheim until he met with
the strongest of the giants, and then challenge him to a combat.
So he left Asgard secretly, and, avoiding the rainbow bridge as he
always did when in his heavy-wheeled chariot, he directed his swift
steeds toward Jötunheim. But though he passed through the gates of
Asgard unseen by Odin, he was not quick enough for Loki, who, thinking
that Thor's haste betokened some unusual adventure, put on his magic
shoes and followed the goats' flying feet. He found Thor quite willing
to take him as a companion, and together the two gods hurried
northward. They had hoped to reach Utgard, the great city of the
giants, before night fell; but by the time they gained the shores of
the ever-frozen sea that marks the boundary of Jötunheim, they found
that it was too dark to travel any farther. So they looked about for
some place to pass the night, and just over the hill they saw a small
hut with a friendly light streaming from the window. When they asked
here for food and shelter, the cottager gladly offered them a lodging
for the night, but he confessed, reluctantly, that he had no food to
give them.
"That trouble is soon remedied," cried Thor; and stepping over to
where his goats stood browsing on the scanty grass, he struck them
dead with one blow of his hammer. Then to the great surprise of the
peasant and his family, he skinned the goats and spread their hides
carefully upon the ground. After this was done, he offered their
bodies to his host, saying: "Here is meat enough to furnish us with a
bountiful dinner. I must beg of you, however, not to break a single
one of the animals' bones, but throw them all on the goatskins."
The peasant and his wife carefully obeyed Thor's instructions, but the
son, Thialfi, was so eager to get at the marrow in his bone that he
broke it. This greedy act was not seen, however, so the boy hoped that
no harm would come from his disobedience. The next morning when the
gods made ready to resume their journey, Thor struck the goatskins
with his hammer, and immediately the bones leaped into place. In a
moment the two animals stood alive and whole before the eyes of the
astonished cottagers; but one of the goats limped badly. When Thor
noticed this he knew that his commands had been disobeyed, and he
questioned the peasants angrily. He looked so terrible in his wrath
that poor Thialfi did not dare to confess that he had broken the bone;
and it was only when Thor threatened to kill the whole family if the
guilt were not acknowledged, that the boy, terrified and trembling,
admitted his deed.
As he seemed so truly sorry for what he had done, Thor relented and
offered to take the lad with him as his servant. So, leaving the goats
and the chariot in care of the peasant, the two gods resumed their
journey. It was impossible to go very fast on foot, as the ground was
frozen hard and covered with sharp bits of ice that cut through the
travellers' light sandals. The difficulty in crossing the river was
increased by the strong wind which blew from the high, bleak hills of
Jötunheim, and seemed to lay an icy hand upon them.
So it was well on into the night before Thor and Loki reached a
desolate stretch of moorland with mountains standing like grim
sentinels all around it. This was the very heart of the frost-giants'
country. There was no protection here that promised a night's rest,
so the travellers kept on till they came to a strange building which,
in the darkness, seemed to be a five-doored house, opening into a
large courtyard. Here the gods built a fire to cook their evening
meal, and then went gladly to bed, each of them taking one of the
long, narrow rooms.
They had just fallen asleep when a great noise like the roaring of an
angry sea filled their ears, and this was accompanied by a sort of
trembling in the ground beneath them. Thinking it was a sudden
earthquake, they waited for it to subside; but the rumbling only
increased, and the strange noise grew almost deafening. This continued
for hours, so that the travellers gave up all hope of sleeping, and at
sunrise they set off again on their journey, after eating a hasty and
sullen meal.
Their road now lay through the thick woods, and here they were soon
halted by the sight of a giant stretched full length upon the ground.
He was so big that even Thor and Loki, accustomed as they were to the
size of the frost-giants, stared at him in surprise. As for Thialfi,
he dropped the bag of provisions he was carrying, and hid behind a
tree. The mystery of the strange noise was now solved, for the gods
saw that it was merely the giant's snoring. The trees around him shook
with his tremendous breathing, and the hills reëchoed to the deafening
roar.
The sight of the giant sleeping so peacefully aroused Thor's anger,
and he determined not to be disturbed any longer by the prodigious
snoring. So he raised his hammer to strike a well-aimed blow at the
sleeper; but just then the giant awoke. He sat up, and, smiling
good-naturedly at the travellers, said, "What brings the mighty Thor
and cunning Loki so far from Asgard?"
As it would be useless to try and deceive any one as wise as a
frost-giant, Thor replied: "I have come to Jötunheim to measure my
strength against the mightiest of your people. Will you show us the
way to the city of Utgard?"
"That I will do very gladly," cried the giant, getting up from the
ground and stretching his huge body until it seemed as if his hands
would touch the clouds. He then picked up a large sack that was lying
near by, and throwing it over his shoulders, bade Thor and Loki follow
him. Before they had gone far, he stopped, saying, "I have forgotten
my glove; it must be somewhere in the forest." As he refused to
proceed any further until it was found, the gods and Thialfi helped
him in his search. Suddenly the giant reached over the tops of the
trees, and picking up the very house in which the travellers had spent
the night, exclaimed, "Here is my glove! I must have dropped it just
before I went to sleep."
Putting the glove into his capacious pocket, and throwing his bag of
provisions again upon his back, the giant started off across the
hills. The gods had great difficulty in keeping within sight of him;
and Thialfi, who was a swift runner, could barely hold to the pace the
giant set as he covered mile after mile with each of his great
strides.
At nightfall they were still far from the city of Utgard, so the giant
proposed that they should eat their evening meal, and then sleep under
the trees. The dinner was soon disposed of, and after the giant had
eaten two roasted sheep and drunk a keg of ale, he stretched himself
full length upon the ground. In a moment he was fast asleep and
snoring louder than ever before.
The two gods knew that it was no use for them to think of sleeping, so
Thor, having nothing better to do, laid hold of the giant's sack and
tried to unfasten the string with which it seemed so loosely tied. But
the more he pulled at it, the tighter drew the cord, and Thor
despaired of seeing what was inside the sack unless he ripped it open.
This failure made him very angry, and his anger was further increased
by the giant's continued snoring. When the gods wished to speak to
each other, they could barely hear their voices above the thunder of
the giant's snores.
At last Thor could restrain his wrath no longer; and, raising Mjölner
high above his head, he dealt the sleeping figure a terrific blow. The
giant opened his eyes, and looked slowly around him. "Did a leaf fall
on my head?" he asked. "I thought that I felt something touch me."
Then he went off to sleep again, and began to snore so heavily that
the gods felt the ground shaking beneath them.
Thor was surprised at the ill-success of his blow, and he grew angrier
than ever at the sight of the giant peacefully sleeping. Then he
looked at the sack with its seemingly simple cord which he could not
untie, and his wrath blazed out afresh. He rushed at the giant like a
charging bull, and the blow which he dealt him made such a noise that
for a moment it drowned the thunderous snoring. The giant roused
himself with a shake and called, "Is any one throwing acorns at me, or
did a twig fall on my head?"
On receiving no answer to his question, he sat up, and looking around
at Thor he smiled pleasantly and said: "Why are you not sleeping, my
friends? If you do not rest, you will be too tired for your journey
to-morrow. But perhaps you are still hungry; so take what you wish
from my sack. There is plenty for us all." He tossed his bag of
provisions nearer to the gods--then lay down again and went to sleep.
Thor was so furious by this time that he could barely wait until the
giant was asleep before he grasped Mjölner in both hands and hurled it
at the giant's head. Thialfi, seeing the god beside himself with rage,
shrank back in fear before the terrible wrath that blazed in the
Thunderer's eyes; and he hid his face in his hands when he heard the
crash that shook the forest when Mjölner sank almost up to the handle
in the giant's forehead.
The sleeper stirred uneasily, then sat up, looking first at the
travellers, then up at the trees. "Are there any birds about here?" he
asked. "I thought I felt one pecking at my forehead." Then he sprang
to his feet, and, taking up his sack of provisions, he opened the bag
very easily and took out half an ox. "It is almost daylight, and we
must have an early start if we wish to reach Utgard by midday," he
continued, smiling pleasantly at his companions, and offering them the
contents of his sack.
Thor was so angry that he could not eat, but Loki and Thialfi made a
good breakfast, and as they ate, the giant told them what they might
expect when they reached the city of Utgard. "You may think that I am
a fairly big fellow," he said, "but when you see those who live at the
court of the king, you will consider me but a puny thing to be called
a giant. If Thor wishes to find a worthy opponent, he will meet his
equal among Utgard-Loke's men."
When the giant finished eating, he shouldered his sack, and laid on
top of it the bag of provisions that the two gods had brought, hoping
thus to lighten their travelling. Then he struck off on a rough path
across the hills, with Thor and Loki hurrying after him, and Thialfi
running at his heels. Soon they came within sight of Utgard, and when
they reached the city gates, the giant said: "I must leave you now,
for my way lies in another direction. I think you will find a kindly
welcome at the court of our king, and you need have no fear of coming
to any harm, for the frost-giants respect the rights of a guest even
if it is their ancient enemy. But I advise Thor not to boast too
loudly of his strength until he is sure that his pride will not be
humbled."
This last remark made Thor very angry, and his fingers closed tightly
upon Mjölner; but he wisely kept his temper. He paid no heed to the
friendly words of caution which the giant added as he said good-by,
but strode on ahead through the great gates that guarded the city of
Utgard.
How Thor's Pride Was Brought Low