Loki Buys His Quilt

Loki, the god of tricks, mischief and cunning. It is no coincidence that he is known in this way, his reputation haunted him everywhere, but deservedly so. Like when he jokingly decided to disfigure the head of Thor’s wife, Sif. Thor’s wife was beautiful, with long blond hair in golden curls. But Loki, bored, decided to climb into her bedroom while she slept one night and cut her golden hair. At that time, only slaves were short haired, and yet it was Sif – a goddess. In the morning, when Sif realized that someone had mocked her so cruelly, Thor immediately thought of only one that could afford to do such a thing.

He found Loki, grabbed him by the throat and threatened to smash him to pieces for his dirty deed. However, Loki, the god of cunning, began to persuade him – he can return his wife’s hair. But Thor tightened his grip on his neck. And Loki added that not only would return her hair but he would also bring gifts to the gods, the most wonderful and magical gifts. Loki had one day to keep his promise.

Sons of Ivaldi and the Three Gifts

Talented craftsmen were the dwarves known as the Sons of Ivaldi. It was to them that Loki went and persuaded them to do Sif’s hair, as well as make more gifts, to keep the promise he had made.

Sons of Ivaldi were really admirable, forging Sif’s new hair out of pure gold. It grew like a real one, and its brilliance was comparable only to the sun.

The second miracle gift from the dwarves was the ship Skidbladnir. Amazing ship – catching direction immediately, catching the wind in whose way it is supposed to sail. The best part was that the ship was made of small particles, so that wherever it coasted, it could easily be folded in the form of a scarf, put in a bag, or carried as desired.

The third gift was the spear Gungnir. It was made by Sons of Ivaldi, and the dwarf Dvalin observed and gave directions on how to do it. Beautiful runes inscribed on its blade, the same runes that Odin later read in enlightenment when he hung from the Tree of Life Yggdrasil. The handle of the spear, so skillfully made that anyone who threw the spear, whether a good spearman or not, always hit the target and hit his enemy.

The Bet – Sindry and Brok

Sif’s new hair, the magnificent ship Skidbladnir, and the spear Gungnir were truly masterpieces. And the dwarves were very proud of their creations. Loki noticed this and bet that he’d bet another dwarf named Brock that his brother Sindry wouldn’t be able to compete with the Sons of Ivaldi. Loki was so sure that Sindry is going to fail, that he put his head in the bet – if he loses, to be beheaded. He struck Brock and Sindry’s pride and bet with Loki.

Immediately, Sindry threw pigskin into the oven, and Brok blew with the bellows. A fly came from somewhere, buzzing and biting Brok on the arm, but that didn’t disrupt his work. It wasn’t long before Sindry pulled a gold-bristled boar named Gullinbursti out of the furnace. The boar could race in the air, on water, faster than any horse, and its golden bristles illuminated every dark place and every dark forest.

Brok and Sindry’s second gift was the Draupnir ring. When the dwarves made it, a fly flew in again and bit Brok on the neck harder than before. He did not interrupt the dwarf, and it was not long before the Draupnir gold ring was taken out of the furnace. Its magical property was every nine nights, eight beautiful gold rings will drop from it.

For the third gift, Sindry threw a piece of iron into the furnace, and Brok worked on the bellows. This time the insect his eyelids pricked, Brok covered his eye with his hand, blood blinded him. In making the gift, the work was disrupted, the rhythm distorted, and the handle broken. The third gift was the incredible hammer Mölnir, but because of the annoying insect, its handle was shorter. However, Mölnir was still an incredible work of art – it always hits enemies and always returns to his master when thrown.

Judging the Winner

Loki won, but the dwarves disagreed and appeared before the council of the gods to judge the true winner. The first were the Sons of Ivaldi, who presented the new golden hair to the goddess Sif, the miraculous ship Skidbladnir to the god Frey and to Odin – the spear Gungnir with the runes written on the blade.

It was Brok and Sindry’s turn. Frey was given the boar Gullinbursti to drive away any darkness; Odin’s ring, from which dripped more beautiful rings – Draupnir; and to Thor, the omnipotent hammer Mölnir, for whom his power is so great that it was even indescribable.

However, the Aesir ruled in favor of Brok and Sindry. Thor grabbed Loki by the neck to cut off his head with the axe, Loki raised a finger sarcasticly and explained that the bet was on his head, not his neck. Thus, decapitation is impossible. Loki was unharmed, but despite all the incredible gifts, he remained the god of mischief and cunning. Because of this, the dwarf Brok, angry that he had been deceived by Loki, sewed his lips together.