How the Fenris Wolf was Chained
_This is the tale the Northmen tell of
how the Fenris Wolf was chained._
Fair as were the meads of Asgard, we have seen that the Asa folk were
fond of wandering far afield in other regions. Most restless of all
was Red Loki, that cunning fellow who was always bringing trouble upon
himself or upon his kindred. And because he loved evil, he would often
betake himself to the gloomy halls of Giantland and mingle with the
wicked folk of that region.
Now one day he met a hideous giantess named Angur-Boda. This creature
had a heart of ice, and because he loved ugliness and evil she had a
great attraction for him, and in the end he married her, and they
lived together in a horrible cave in Giantland.
Three children were born to Loki and Angur-Boda in this dread abode,
and they were even more terrible in appearance than their mother. The
first was an immense wolf called Fenris, with a huge mouth filled with
long white teeth, which he was constantly gnashing together.
The second was a wicked-looking serpent with a fiery-tongue lolling
from its mouth.
The third was a hideous giantess, partly blue and partly flesh-colour,
whose name was Hela.
No sooner were these three terrible children born than all the wise
men of the earth began to foretell the misery they would bring upon
the Asa folk.
In vain did Loki try to keep them hidden within the cave wherein
their mother dwelt. They soon grew so immense in size that no dwelling
would contain them, and all the world began to talk of their frightful
appearance.
It was not long, of course, before All-Father Odin, from his high seat
in Asgard, heard of the children of Loki. So he sent for some of the
Asas, and said:
"Much evil will come upon us, O my children, from this giant brood, if
we defend not ourselves against them. For their mother will teach them
wickedness, and still more quickly will they learn the cunning wiles
of their father. Fetch me them here, therefore, that I may deal with
them forthwith."
So, after somewhat of a struggle, the Asas captured the three
giant-children and brought them before Odin's judgment-seat.
Then Odin looked first at Hela, and when he saw her gloomy eyes, full
of misery and despair, he was sorry, and dealt kindly with her,
saying: "Thou art the bringer of Pain to man, and Asgard is no place
for such as thou. But I will make thee ruler of the Mist Home, and
there shalt thou rule over that unlighted world, the Region of the
Dead."
Forthwith he sent her away over rough roads to the cold, dark region
of the North called the Mist Home. And there did Hela rule over a grim
crew, for all those who had done wickedness in the world above were
imprisoned by her in those gloomy regions. To her came also all those
who had died, not on the battlefield, but of old age or disease. And
though these were treated kindly enough, theirs was a joyless life in
comparison with that of the dead warriors who were feasting and
fighting in the halls of Valhalla, under the kindly rule of All-Father
Odin.
Having thus disposed of Hela, Odin next turned his attention to the
serpent. And when he saw his evil tongue and cunning, wicked eyes, he
said:
"Thou art he who bringest Sin into the world of men; therefore the
ocean shall be thy home for ever."
Then he threw that horrid serpent into the deep sea which surrounds
all lands, and there the creature grew so fast that when he stretched
himself one day he encircled all the earth, and held his own tail fast
in his mouth. And sometimes he grew angry to think that he, the son of
a god, had thus been cast out; and at those times he would writhe with
his huge body and lash his tail till the sea spouted up to the sky.
And when that happened the men of the North said that a great tempest
was raging. But it was only the Serpent-son of Loki writhing in his
wrath.
Then Odin turned to the third child. And behold! the Fenris Wolf was
so appalling to look upon that Odin feared to cast him forth, and he
decided to endeavour to tame him by kindness so that he should not
wish them ill.
But when he bade them carry food to the Fenris Wolf, not one of the
Asas would do so, for they feared a snap from his great jaws. Only the
brave Tyr had courage enough to feed him, and the wolf ate so much and
so fast that the business took him all his time. Meantime, too, the
Fenris grew so rapidly, and became so fierce, that the gods were
compelled to take counsel and consider how they should get rid of him.
They remembered that it would make their peaceful halls unholy if they
were to slay him, and so they resolved instead to bind him fast, that
he should be unable to do them harm.
So those of the Asa folk who were clever smiths set to work and made a
very strong, thick chain; and when it was finished they carried it out
to the yard where the wolf dwelt, and said to him, as though in jest:
"Here is a fine proof of thy boasted strength, O Fenris. Let us bind
this about thee, that we may see if thou canst break it asunder."
Then the wolf gave a great grin with his wide jaws, and came and stood
still that they might bind the chain about him; for he knew what he
could do. And it came to pass that directly they had fastened the
chain, and had slipped aside from him, the great beast gave himself a
shake, and the chain fell about him in little bits.
At this the Asas were much annoyed, but they tried not to show it, and
praised him for his strength.
Then they set to work again upon a chain much stronger than the last,
and brought it to the Fenris Wolf, saying:
"Great will be thy renown, O Fenris, if thou canst break this chain as
thou didst the last."
But the wolf looked at them askance, for the chain they brought was
very much thicker than the one he had already broken. He reflected,
however, that since that time he himself had grown stronger and
bigger, and moreover, that one must risk something in order to win
renown.
So he let them put the chain upon him, and when the Asas said that all
was ready, he gave a good shake and stretched himself a few times, and
again the fetters lay in fragments on the ground.
Then the gods began to fear that they would never hold the wolf in
bonds; and it was All-Father Odin who persuaded them to make one more
attempt.
So they sent a messenger to Dwarfland bidding him ask the Little Men
to make a chain which nothing could possibly destroy.
Setting at once to work, the clever little smiths soon fashioned a
slender silken rope, and gave it to the messenger, saying that no
strength could break it, and that the more it was strained the
stronger it would become.
It was made of the most mysterious things--the sound of a cat's
footsteps, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath
of fishes, and other such strange materials, which only the dwarfs
knew how to use.
With this chain the messenger hastened back over the Rainbow Bridge to
Asgard.
By this time the Fenris Wolf had grown too big for his yard, so he
lived on a rocky island in the middle of the lake that lies in the
midst of Asgard. And here the Asas now betook themselves with their
chain, and began to play their part with wily words.
"See," they cried, "O Fenris! Here is a cord so soft and thin that
none would think of it binding such strength as thine."
And they laughed great laughs, and handed it to one another, and tried
its strength by pulling at it with all their might, but it did not
break.
Then they came nearer and used more wiles, saying:
"We cannot break the cord, though 'tis stronger than it looks, but
thou, O mighty one, will be able to snap it in a moment."
But the wolf tossed his head in scorn, and said:
"Small renown would there be to me, O Asa folk, if I were to break yon
slender string. Save, therefore, your breath, and leave me now alone."
"Aha!" cried the Asas. "Thou fearest the might of the silken cord,
thou false one, and that is why thou wilt not let us bind thee!"
"Not I," said the Fenris Wolf, growing rather suspicious, "but if it
is made with craft and guile it shall never come near my feet."
"But," said the Asas, "thou wilt surely be able to break this silken
cord with ease, since thou hast already broken the great iron
fetters."
To this the wolf made no answer, pretending not to hear.
"Come!" said the Asas again, "why shouldst thou fear? For even if thou
couldst not break the cord we would immediately let thee free again.
To refuse is a coward's piece of work."
Then the wolf gnashed his teeth at them in anger, and said:
"Well I know you Asas! For if you bind me so fast that I cannot get
loose you will skulk away, and it will be long before I get any help
from you; and therefore am I loth to let this band be laid upon me."
But still the Asas continued to persuade him and to twit him with
cowardice, until at length the Fenris Wolf said, with a sullen growl:
"Have it your own way then. But, as a pledge that this is done without
deceit, let one of you lay his hand in my mouth while you are binding
me, and afterwards while I try to break the bonds."
Then the Asa folk looked at one another in dismay, for they knew very
well what this would mean.
And while they consulted together the wolf stood gnashing his teeth at
them with a horrid grin.
At length Tyr the Brave hesitated no longer. Boldly he stalked up to
the wolf and thrust his arm into his enormous mouth, bidding the Asas
bind fast the beast. Scarce had they done so when the wolf began to
strain and pull, but the more he did so the tighter and suffer the
rope became.
The gods shouted and laughed with glee when they saw how all his
efforts were in vain. But Tyr did not join in their mirth, for the
wolf in his rage snapped his great teeth together and bit off his hand
at the wrist.
Now when the Asas discovered that the animal was fast bound, they took
the chain which was fixed to the rope and drew it through a huge
rock, and fastened this rock deep down in the earth, so that it could
never be moved. And this they fastened to another great rock which was
driven still deeper into the ground.
When the Fenris Wolf found that he had been thus secured he opened his
mouth terribly wide, and twisted himself right and left, and tried his
best to bite the Asa folk. He uttered, moreover, such terrible howls
that at length the gods could bear it no longer. So they took a sword
and thrust it into his mouth, so that the hilt rested on his lower,
and the point against his upper jaw. And there he was doomed to remain
until the end of All Things shall come, when he
"Freed from the Chain
Shall range the Earth."