t with tow and tar and turpentine. To this they set fire,
just as Odin flew over the battlements. And the flames shot up and
burnt the wings of the pursuing eagle, so that Suttung tumbled to the
earth and could fly no more.

Odin, exhausted and breathless, was meantime filling the dishes which
the gods held ready for the Magic Mead, but so hurried was he that
some of it was spilt; a few scattered drops fell on to the earth
below.

Men rushed eagerly to catch the precious drops in their mouths; but
none could get enough to be made wise with the true spirit of poesy.
Some caught enough to become makers of rhymes and verses, but this is
a different thing.

The Magic Mead was henceforth kept in Asgard under the charge of
white-haired Bragi, the son of Odin, he who plays so beautifully upon
the harp that it seems to sing of itself.

And once or twice in every hundred years or so, the gods allow some
very favoured babe of mortal man to drink a full draught of the Magic
Mead. Then, when the child grows up, he becomes a great poet, and
people say he is "inspired."

CHAPTER VI

How Loki Made a Wager with the Dwarfs

_This is the tale the Northmen tell of how
Loki once made a Wager with the Dwarfs._

A most mischievous and tricky god was Loki, always on the look-out to
play some wicked prank which was sure to bring trouble upon himself or
others. It was, indeed, a wonder that the other Asas put up with him
so long in Asgard; but then, you see, he was Odin's brother.

One day, when Loki was looking about him for diversions, he saw asleep
in the sunlight Sif, the beautiful wife of Thor the Thunderer.

Now Sif was noted among all the dwellers in Asgard for her glorious
hair, which hung down to her heels and was like a thick web of golden
silk. When she stood up it covered her like a cloak, and when she lay
down it was like a golden coverlet; and Thor, her husband, thought it
was the most beautiful thing in all the habitation of the gods.

Now mischievous Loki saw her sleeping under the gleaming mass of
golden web, and he took a pair of sharp scissors and cut it all off
close to her head, so that she looked quite bald and ugly.

When Thor came home and saw what had happened, he was wild with fury,
and guessing at once who had done the deed, he stamped off to find Red
Loki, vowing that he would break every bone in his body.

Then Loki, when he heard the thunder of Thor's tramp and saw the
lightning flash from