expand, would hold all the gods in Asgard and
their horses, would sail through air as well as on water, and would
always get a favourable wind directly it hoisted canvas.

Loki was immensely pleased with these gifts, and went away, declaring
loudly that his dwarf friends were the cleverest smiths in all the
world.

Now it so fell out that his words were heard by another dwarf, named
Brock, who came and stood in his way and looked with scorn at the ship
and the spear and the golden web which he carried in his hands.

"A clumsy lot of things you have there!" he jeered. "Why, my brother
Sindri could make gifts that are far more wonderful than those."

"My head against yours that he could not!" said Loki, getting angry.

"Done!" chuckled Brock with a leer, and forthwith they made their way
to the underground cave where Sindri was at work in his forge.

Now Sindri was quite ready to take up the challenge, but only on
condition that Brock would blow the bellows for him. Loki now began to
feel uneasy, for he had hoped the dwarf would decline to compete when
he heard what were the gifts he had to improve upon. But Sindri only
wagged his long beard at them contemptuously, and Loki's head began to
tremble for the result of his wager.

So he determined to try and hinder the work.

Meantime Sindri had thrown a pigskin into the furnace, and had gone
outside to find a magic charm, saying as he went:

"Blow, brother, blow with all thy might till I return, and stay not
thy hand for an instant."

Directly Loki heard this he changed himself into a great stinging fly,
and lighting on Brock's hand, he stung him with all his might. But the
dwarf never stopped blowing, though he stamped and roared with pain.
Then Sindri returned, and going to the furnace drew from it a golden
boar of great size, which had the power of flying through the sky and
scattering light from his golden bristles as he flew. But Brock did
not know all this, and looked somewhat scornfully at the gift, saying:

"I thought you could do better than this."

"Wait a bit," said Sindri, and with that he threw a lump of gold upon
the fire and went out, charging his brother not to stop blowing for an
instant.

Then in flew Loki again, still disguised as a gadfly, and lighted on
Brock's neck and stung him so that the blood flowed. But though the
dwarf yelled with pain he did not cease blowing.

When Sindri returned he pulled out of the fire a fine gold ring. And