hread
at the end of the sewing.

For a time after this there was peace in Asgard, and this would have
lasted for long had not Loki managed at length to cut the string, when
he became as talkative as ever.

And this is the end of the tale of How Loki made a Wager with the
Dwarfs.

CHAPTER VII

The Apples of Youth

_This is the tale which the Northmen tell of how the Apples
of Youth were once very nearly lost to Asgard._

Sweetest of all the Asa folk was Idun, the fair young goddess of
Springtime and Youth, and dearly loved was she by the other Asas, both
for herself and for her magic apples.

Fast locked in a golden casket were her apples, ripe and sweet and
rosy. And each day, at dawn, Idun came to the table where the gods
sat and feasted together, and gave those who wished a taste of the
fruit.

And it came to pass that everyone who ate the magic fruit grew fresh
and young again, however old and weary he had been before. For even
the gods of Asgard grew old and weary sometimes; and then nothing
would make them young again but the Apples of Youth.

So Idun treasured the fruit with the greatest care, and never let it
out of her charge for a moment. And however many she took out of her
casket wherewith to feed the gods, there always remained just the same
number as before.

"Bright Iduna, maid immortal!
Standing at Valhalla's portal,
In her casket has rich store
Of rare apples, gilded o'er;
Those rare apples, not of earth,
To ageing Asas gave new birth."

It was only to be expected, of course, that the fame of this magic
fruit should spread, and as nobody liked to grow old, many of the
giants, as well as the little dwarf people, used to come to the gates
of Asgard and beg that Idun would give them a taste of her apples. But
this, though they offered her the richest gifts they could think of,
she never would do.

Now one day it so fell out that Odin grew weary of watching his heroes
feast and fight in Valhalla, and determined to go forth and seek an
adventure elsewhere.

So he called for his brother Hoenir, the clear-eyed Asa who first
gave hope to the heart of man, and Loki, the mischievous fellow who
yet by reason of his fun and gaiety was no bad travelling companion,
and bade them accompany him on a journey.

Speeding over the Rainbow Bridge they came down to the world below,
and presently found themselves in a desolate region of mountain and
moorland, through whic