is large, but Thor is little in comparison to our men.'

"'Little as ye call me,' answered Thor, 'let me see who amongst you
will come hither now I am in wrath, and wrestle with me.'

"'I see no one here,' said Utgard-Loki, looking at the men sitting on
the benches, 'who would not think it beneath him to wrestle with thee;
let somebody, however, call hither that old crone, my nurse Elli,[136]
and let Thor wrestle with her if he will. She has thrown to the
ground many a man not less strong and mighty than this Thor is.'

53. "A toothless old woman then entered the hall, and was told by
Utgard-Loki to take hold of Thor. The tale is shortly told. The more
Thor tightened his hold on the crone the firmer she stood. At length,
after a very violent struggle, Thor began to lose his footing, and was
finally brought down upon one knee. Utgard-Loki then told them to
desist, adding that Thor had now no occasion to ask any one else in
the hall to wrestle with him, and it was also getting late. He
therefore showed Thor and his companions to their seats, and they
passed the night there in good cheer.

54. "The next morning, at break of day, Thor and his companions
dressed themselves and prepared for their departure. Utgard-Loki then
came and ordered a table to be set for them, on which there was no
lack either of victuals or drink. After the repast Utgard-Loki led
them to the gate of the city, and, on parting, asked Thor how he
thought his journey had turned out, and whether he had met with any
men stronger than himself. Thor told him that he could not deny but
that he had brought great shame on himself. 'And what grieves me
most,' he added, 'is that ye will call me a man of little worth.'

55. "'Nay,' said Utgard-Loki, 'it behooves me to tell thee the truth
now thou are out of the city which so long as I live, and have my way,
thou shalt never re-enter. And by my troth, had I known beforehand
that thou hadst so much strength in thee, and wouldst have brought me
so near to a great mishap, I would not have suffered thee to enter
this time. Know then that I have all along deceived thee by my
illusions; first, in the forest, where I arrived before thee, and
there thou wert not able to untie the wallet, because I had bound it
with iron wire, in such a manner that thou couldst not discover how
the knot ought to be loosened. After this, thou gavest me three blows
with thy mallet; the first, though the least, would have ended my days
ha