“Suppose we pretend that we are in the feast hall of one of the old guest houses of the Norsemen long, long ago,” said one teacher to her children after they had visited an open-air museum.

Then as the teacher told the children about an evening in a guest house such as they had seen at the museum, they imagined people seated around the long table eating from the rude bowls and drinking from an old drinking horn, while they listened to a tale told by a wandering story-teller.

A story-teller in those northlands was an important person in the old days before stories had been written in books for people to read for themselves. In those days, story-tellers went about from place to place telling tales. They were always welcome guests in any home, for people had little entertainment.

In the very earliest days, people knew little about why things happen as they do on the earth. They did not know why we have day and night, or summer and winter. They did not know why the rains fall, or the lightning and thunder come. Since they did not know the true reasons for these things, they made up stories to tell why they happen as they do. They said that many gods ruled over the earth. One god, called Wodin, caused the day. Since day has but one sun, Wodin had but one eye. The god Thor caused the lightning and thunder. Another god ruled over the summer, bringing the warm days when plants could grow. He was called Frey. And the god Tye ruled over war and brought victory in battle.

We use the names of the four gods, Tye, Wodin, Thor, and Frey, even today. From them we got the names for four of the days of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—Tye’s day, Wodin’s day, Thor’s day, and Frey’s day.

Those early people believed, too, that huge giants lived on the mountaintops and tiny dwarfs lived under the ground. The old story-tellers told many tales about fights between the gods and the giants. One of the favorite tales was about Thor, the god of thunder and lightning. The tale that Norwegian teacher told her pupils was about Thor and his Hammer. Her pupils listened almost as eagerly as those old Viking families had listened around the feast table hundreds of years ago.

Thor lived in a beautiful palace in the valley of the gods which lay between two mountains. Thor had a beautiful wife with long golden hair. She was called Sif.

One day when Sif was sitting in the sunshine with her long hair hanging down over her shoulders she fell asleep. Loke, the god of mischief, passed by and saw her. Now Loke liked to play tricks on Thor, and when he saw Sif asleep, he thought, “Thor loves Sif’s beautiful hair. He will be very angry if anything happens to it.” Then he stole up, cut off Sif’s hair, and carried it away with him.

When Sif awoke, she was very unhappy. She ran and hid herself. She did not want Thor to see her without her hair.

Soon Thor came. Sif was not there to meet him. The strong god’s heart was filled with fear. What was wrong with Sif? He ran quickly about the palace to look for her. He found her weeping bitterly. When he saw what had happened he was very angry. Fire, like lightning, flashed from his eyes. The floors of the palace trembled under his angry footsteps.

“This is the work of that rascal, Loke,” he cried. Then, like a thundercloud, he strode away from the palace.

He soon found Loke, and, no doubt, would have choked him had not Loke promised to give back Sif’s hair as beautiful as it had ever been.

Now Loke knew some skillful dwarfs who lived far underground. They made wonderful things of gold. He hurried away to find them.

When he came to their smithy, he asked, “Can you make me a crown of golden hair which will grow just as any natural hair grows?”

These dwarfs were very clever. Of course they could make such a crown. They set their fire ablaze and began pounding with their hammers. In a short time they had Loke’s treasure ready for him. But that was not all they gave him. Two other gifts were his. One was a magical spear; and the other a ship that was more wonderful than any other ship the dwarfs ever had made.

Loke went back to the land of the gods carrying his three gifts. When he reached that valley he began bragging about the fine work the dwarfs had done. “No other dwarfs can do such wonderful work,” he said. “All other dwarfs are stupid compared with these.”

A dwarf named Brok heard Loke’s boasts. Now Brok had a brother who was a clever workman too. Many of the gods thought him the best workman of all the dwarfs. Brok was angry when he heard Loke’s bragging. He said, “My brother can make more wonderful things of gold and iron and brass than your dwarfs have made.”

At that Loke laughed and laughed. “Go to your brother,” he said; “if he can make three such precious gifts as the golden hair, the spear, and the ship, I will give him my head.”

Brok at once went down to the underworld where his brother lived. He declared that he would get Loke’s head if any magic could be worked. He told his brother what Loke had said. Soon that dwarf was hard at work. In a few hours Brok started off with a golden boar, a shining ring, and a mighty hammer as his three gifts to the gods.

When he reached the land of the gods he found all the gods waiting to see what his gifts would be. The gods appointed three judges to decide whether Loke or Brok had the more wonderful gifts.

Loke brought forth the golden hair and gave it to Thor. Thor placed the hair upon Sif’s head. Behold it began to grow, and again Sif was the beautiful maiden she had been. Then Loke brought out the spear and gave it to the judges. It was a spear that never missed its mark. Then he gave the gods the wonderful ship which would sail wherever its master wished to go no matter which way the water ran or what direction the wind blew.

Loke was very proud of his gifts. Brok would not have any treasures so fine.

Then Brok came before the judges. He brought out the shining ring. “This ring,” he said, “will throw off many other rings as bright and shiny as this one.” Next he brought out the boar, saying, “This animal can run faster than the fastest horse. On dark nights its bristles will shine so that the night will be as light as day.” Then he gave Thor the hammer. “This hammer,” he said, “will crush whatever it strikes, and it will never fail to come back to your hand no matter where you throw it.”

Thor took the hammer and swung it round his head. Lightning flashed through the skies and peals of thunder filled the air. The gods gathered round to see the hammer. Surely such a hammer would be the greatest protection against the giants. So they said that the hammer was the greatest gift of all. Brok had won.

But how was Brok to get Loke’s head! He started toward that young braggart. Loke growled, “I will give you whatever you want, but not my head.”

“You promised your head, and your head I will have,” answered the angry dwarf.

“Come and get it,” shouted Loke as he ran away. But when Brok told Thor what had happened, Thor went and brought Loke back, for Thor always saw to it that the gods did as they promised.

“Cut off my head if you will,” said Loke, “but you must not touch my neck. I did not promise you any of my neck.”

Then Brok saw that he could not take Loke’s head after all. For how could he get the head without touching the neck! But still he was determined to punish the rascally Loke. So he sewed his lips together, saying, “I cannot have your head, but I can close your mouth so that you can no longer go about boasting.”

From that day on the gods felt safe from the frost-giants who were always trying to get into the valley of the gods. Those giants for more than half of the year kept the world covered with ice and snow. They hushed the flowing of the waters and the singing of the birds. They hated the warm sunshine which made the flowers bloom, and covered the mountains with grass, and brought the songs from the birds. They hated the god of the sun. They hated Thor, for it was Thor’s hammer that kept them from the land of the gods.

Then a morning came when Thor awoke to find that his hammer was gone. He searched and searched, but the hammer could not be found. Then in great fear he thought, “The giants have stolen the hammer while I slept.” At that thought he was very angry. Fire flashed from his eyes and the earth trembled under his angry voice. “Come, Loke,” he called, “we must be off at once to the land of the giants. The gods can never be safe if the hammer is in the hands of our enemies.”

Loke thought of a way to get into the home of the giants. He dressed himself like a huge bird and on its magical wings flew straight to that high mountaintop where the giants lived.

The giants were surprised to see Loke, but they gave him welcome. Loke soon learned that the giants did have the hammer, but search as he would, he could not find it. At last the mighty giant who was greatest of all the giants said, “Thor may have his hammer when the gods bring me a beautiful goddess to be my wife.”

Loke returned to tell Thor what he had heard. Thor was puzzled, for what goddess would ever consent to be the bride of a giant? Then Thor thought of a plan to outwit the giant. He would dress as a maiden and go to the land of the giants with Loke. Perhaps he could trick the giants.

Soon the broad wings of the huge bird were again carrying Loke to the home of the giants. With Loke, this time, rode Thor dressed as a maiden, wearing a heavy veil over his face.

They entered the land of the giants and were greeted by the mighty giant, who was pleased that a goddess had come to be his wife. He said to his servants, “Make a great feast and invite all the giants to come to see my bride.”

The giants came and the feast was spread. But all the time, the maiden kept the veil over her face. The mighty giant begged to look upon the face of his bride. Then Loke said, “The hammer must be ours before I can take the veil from the maiden’s face.”

So the mighty giant brought the hammer and placed it on the maiden’s lap. At that moment, Loke took the veil from the face and the giants saw before them the mighty Thor with the powerful hammer in his hands. They ran away in fear, as Thor whirled the hammer round and round and balls of fire flashed through the sky and peals of thunder filled the air.

Thor and Loke lost no time in getting back to the land of the gods. All the gods were out to greet them, and great was their joy to see the wonderful hammer. Once more the gods were safe from the wicked giants.