THOR'S HAMMER

Loki, the mischief-maker, was uncomfortable in Thor's writhing iron grip. He snuck up on Thor's wife, Sif, when the other gods slept last night and shaved her beautiful hair. At the time, it looked like a harmless prank, but now Thor would break every bone in his body.

Loki had to think of a way to remedy what he had done. Yet who could replace Sif's matchless hair, golden like a summer wheat field? The dwarves! – Their legendary smiths could make anything. And so, deep beneath the mountains of Earth, Loki was rushing to their realm. Loki had already planned how he would do it before he arrived to get the dwarves to do his bidding. He decided his best bet was to pit two families against each other.

He initially went to see Ivaldi's skilled sons. He'd told them about their rivals, the Brokk and Eitri brothers, who claimed to be the finest craftsmen in the world and were determined to prove it in a competition. Each household was required to make three presents for the gods, including golden hair for the Ivaldis. Then Loki went to Brokk and Eitri and told them the same thing, except this time stating that Ivaldi's sons issued the challenge. But Brokk and Eitri couldn't be fooled so quickly and only agreed to participate if Loki put his head on the line. Loki's head would be forfeited to Brokk and Eitri if they won. Loki was forced to comply to rescue himself. He had to find a way to ensure that the sons of Ivaldi emerged victorious. Both sets of dwarves got to work. Eitri sent Brokk to operate the bellows and warned him not to stop for any reason, or the riches would be destroyed.

Soon, a strange black fly flew into the room. The fly stung Brokk's hand when a piece of pigskin was placed in the forge, but he didn't react. The fly stung Brokk's hand when a piece of pigskin was placed in the forge, but he didn't respond. The dwarf carried on. Finally, Eitri inserted an iron piece into the furnace. This time, the fly landed on Brokk's eyelid and bit as hard as possible. And for just a split second, Brokk's hand left the bellows. That's all it took; their final treasure had yet to stay in the fire long enough.

Loki emerged in his usual form, ecstatic over their defeat, and joined the dwarves to give their gifts to the gods. Loki had shown the treasures of Ivaldi's sons first. They'd tied their golden hair to Sif's head and continued to grow, leaving her even more luminous than before. Then, there was an excellent spear that could penetrate everything for Odin, the Allfather. Finally, a small piece of cloth that had fallen into the great ship was built for Freyr, God of the Harvest. And then, Brokk and his brother presented the treasure they had made. For Freyr, they'd forged a golden-bristled boar who'd pull Freyr's chariot across the sky faster than any mount.

For Odin, a golden arm ring would make eight more identical rings on every ninth night. And a hammer with the name Mjolnir for Thor. The handle was too short, and Loki smirked at the apparent defect. Apparent defect. But then Brokk revealed its abilities. Mjolnir would never shatter, miss its mark, and always return to Thor's hand when thrown. It was considered by all gods to be the greatest gift, even if it had a small handle. Loki tried to escape as he remembered what was at stake, but Thor caught him first. But clever Loki reminded them, before the dwarves could have their say, that they'd won rights to the head rather than the neck, and this did not give them any right to chop it. Not his neck, and thus had no right to cut it.

All begrudgingly admitted the truth, but Brokk would have the last laugh. He took his brother's awl, cut it through Loki's lips, and closed his mouth to stop the trickster god from spreading his evil lies. The gods, however, did not lose their irony. Because Loki's trickery brought them these unique treasures, he gave Thor the hammer for which he is still known.