Hero Tales

by James Baldwin

  THE DOOM OF THE MISCHIEF-MAKER.

  You have heard of the feast that old Aegir once made for the Asa-folkin his gold-lit dwelling in the deep sea, and how the feast washindered, through the loss of his great brewing kettle, until Thor hadobtained a still larger vessel from Hymer the giant. It is very likelythat the thief who stole King Aegir's kettle was none other than Lokithe Mischief-maker; but, if this was so, he was not long unpunished forhis meanness.

  There was great joy in the Ocean-king's hall, when at last the banquetwas ready, and the foaming mead began to pass itself around to theguests. But Thor, who had done so much to help matters along, couldnot stay to the merry-making: for he had heard that the Storm-giantswere marshalling their forces for a raid upon some unguarded corner ofthe mid-world; and so, grasping his hammer, he bade his kind hostgood-by, and leaped into his iron car.

  "Business always before pleasure!" he cried, as he hastened away at awonderful rate through the air.

  In old Aegir's hall glad music resounded on every side; and the gleefulWaves danced merrily as the Asa-folk sat around the festal board, andpartook of the Ocean-king's good fare. Aegir's two thralls, thefaithful Funfeng and the trusty Elder, waited upon the guests andcarefully supplied their wants. Never in all the world had two morethoughtful servants been seen; and every one spoke in praise of theirquickness, and their skill, and their ready obedience.

  Then Loki, unable to keep his hands from mischief, waxed very angry,because every one seemed happy and free from trouble, and no onenoticed or cared for him. So, while good Funfeng was serving him tomeat, he struck the faithful thrall with a carving-knife, and killedhim. Then arose a great uproar in the Ocean-king's feast hall. TheAsa-folk rose up from the table, and drove the Mischief-maker out fromamong them; and in their wrath they chased him across the waters, andforced him to hide in the thick greenwood. After this they went backto Aegir's hall, and sat down again to the feast. But they hadscarcely begun to eat, when Loki came quietly out of his hiding place,and stole slyly around to Aegir's kitchen, where he found Elder, theother thrall, grieving sadly because of his brother's death.

  "I hear a great chattering and clattering over there in the feasthall," said Loki. "The greedy, silly Asa-folk seem to be very busyindeed, both with their teeth and their tongues. Tell me, now, goodElder, what they talk about while they sit over their meat."

  "They talk of noble deeds," answered Elder. "They speak of gallantheroes, and brave men, and fair women, and strong hearts, and willinghands, and gentle manners, and kind friends. And for all these theyhave words of praise and songs of beauty; but none of them speak wellof Loki, the thief and the vile traitor."

  "Ah!" said Loki wrathfully, twisting himself into a dozen differentshapes, "no one could ask so great a kindness from such folk. I mustgo into the feast hall, and take a look at this fine company, andlisten to their noisy merry-making. I have a fine scolding laid up forthose good fellows; and, unless they are careful with their tongues,they will find many hard words mixed with their mead."

  Then he went boldly into the great hall, and stood up before thewonder-stricken guests at the table. When the Asa-folk saw who it wasthat had darkened the doorway, and was now in their midst, a painfulsilence fell upon them, and all their merriment was at an end. AndLoki stretched himself up to his full height, and said to them:

  "Hungry and thirsty came I to Aegir's gold-lit hall. Long and roughwas the road I trod, and wearisome was the way. Will no one bid mewelcome? Will none give me a seat at the feast? Will none offer me adrink of the precious mead? Why are you all so dumb? Why so sulky andstiff-necked, when your best friend stands before you? Give me a seatamong you,--yes, one of the high seats,--or else drive me from yourhall! In either case, the world will never forget me. I am Loki."

  Then one among the Asa-folk spoke up, and said, "Let him sit with us.He is mad; and when he slew Funfeng, he was not in his right mind. Heis not answerable for his rash act."

  But Bragi the Wise, who sat on the innermost seat, arose, and said,"Nay, we will not give him a seat among us. Nevermore shall he feastor sup with us, or share our good-fellowship. Thieves and murderers weknow, and we will shun them."

  This speech enraged Loki all the more; and he spared not vile words,but heaped abuse without stint upon all the folk before him. By mainforce he seized hold of the silent Vidar, who had come from the forestsolitudes to be present at the feast, and dragged him away from thetable, and seated himself in his place. Then, as he quaffed thefoaming mead, he flung out taunts and jeers and hard words to all whosat around, but chiefly to Bragi the Wise and Sif, the beautiful wifeof Thor.

  Suddenly a great tumult was heard outside. The mountains shook andtrembled; the bottom of the sea seemed moved; and the waves, affrightedand angry, rushed hither and thither in confusion. All the guestslooked up in eager expectation, and some of them fled in alarm from thehall. Then the mighty Thor strode in at the door, and up to the table,swinging his hammer, and casting wrathful glances at theMischief-maker. Loki trembled; he dropped his goblet, and sank downupon his knees before the terrible Asa.

  "I yield me!" he cried. "Spare my life, I pray you, and I will be yourthrall forever!"

  "I want no such thrall," answered Thor. "And I spare your life on onecondition only,--that you go at once from hence, and nevermore presumeto come into the company of Asa-folk."

  "I promise all that you ask," said Loki, trembling more than ever."Let me go."

  Thor stepped aside; and the frightened culprit fled from the hall, andwas soon out of sight. The feast was broken up. The Asas bade Aegir akind farewell, and favoring winds wafted them swiftly home to Asgard.

  Loki fled to the dark mountain gorges of Mist Land, and sought for awhile to hide himself from the sight of both gods and men. In a deepravine by the side of a roaring torrent, he built himself a house ofiron and stone, and placed a door on each of its four sides, so that hecould see whatever passed around him. There, for many winters, helived in lonely solitude, planning with himself how he might baffle hisenemies and regain his old place in Asgard. Now and then he slippedslyly away from his hiding-place, and wrought much mischief for a timeamong the abodes of men. But when Thor heard of his evil-doings, andsought to catch him, and punish him for his evil deeds, he was nowhereto be found. At last the Asa-folk determined, that, if he could everbe captured, the safety of the world required that he should be boundhand and foot, and kept forever in prison.

  Loki often amused himself in his mountain home by taking upon him hisfavorite form of a salmon and lying listlessly beneath the waters ofthe great Fanander Cataract, which fell from the shelving rocks athousand feet above him. One day while thus lying, he bethoughthimself of former days, when he walked the glad young earth in companywith great Odin. And among other things he remembered how he had onceborrowed the magic net of Ran, the Ocean-queen, and had caught with itthe dwarf Andvari, disguised, as he himself now was, in the form of aslippery salmon.

  "I will make me such a net!" he cried. "I will make it strong andgood; and I, too, will fish for men."

  So he took again his proper shape, and went back to his cheerless homein the ravine. There he gathered flax and wool and long hemp, and spunyarn and strong cords, and wove them into meshes, after the pattern ofQueen Ran's magic net; for men had not, at that time, learned how tomake or use nets for fishing. And the first fisherman who caught fishin that way is said to have taken-Loki's net as a model.

  Odin sat, on the morrow, in his high hall at Asgard, and looked outover all the world, even to the uttermost corners. With his sharp eyehe saw what men-folk were everywhere doing. When his gaze rested uponthe dark line which marked the mountain land of the Mist Country, hestarted up in quick surprise, and cried out:

  "Who is that who sits by the Fanander Falls, and ties strong cordstogether?"

  But none of those who stood around could tell, for their eyes were notstrong enough and clear enough to see so far.

  "Bring
Heimdal!" then cried Odin.

  Now, Heimdal the White dwells among the blue mountains where therainbow spans the space betwixt heaven and earth. He is the son ofOdin, golden-toothed, pure-faced, and clean-hearted; and he ever keepswatch and ward over the mid-world and the homes of frail men-folk, lestthe giants shall break in, and destroy and slay. He rides upon ashining steed named Goldtop; and he holds in his hand a horn withwhich, in the last twilight, he shall summon the world to battle withthe sons of Loki. This watchful guardian of the mid-world is aswakeful as the birds. And his hearing is so keen, that no sound onearth escapes him,--not even that of the rippling waves upon theseashore, nor of the quiet sprouting of the grass in the meadows, noreven of the growth of the soft wool on the backs of the sheep. Hiseyesight, too, is wondrous clear and sharp; for he can see by night aswell as by day, and the smallest thing, although a hundred leaguesaway, cannot be hidden from him.

  To Heimdal, then, the heralds hastened, bearing the words which Odinhad spoken, and the watchful warder of the mid-world came at once tothe call of the All-Father.

  "Turn your eyes to the sombre mountains that guard the shadowy MistLand from the sea," said Odin. "Now look far down into the rocky gorgein which the Fanander Cataract pours, and tell me what you see."

  Heimdal did as he was bidden.

  "I see a shape," said he, "sitting by the torrent's side. It is Loki'sshape, and he seems strangely busy with strong strings and cords."

  "Call all our folk together!" commanded Odin. "The wily Mischief-makerplots our hurt. He must be driven from his hiding place, and put wherehe can do no further harm."

  Great stir was there then in Asgard. Every one hastened to answerOdin's call, and to join in the quest for the Mischief-maker. Thorcame on foot, with his hammer tightly grasped in his hands, andlightning flashing from beneath his red brows. Tyr, the one-handed,came with his sword. Then followed Bragi the Wise, with his harp andhis sage counsels; then Hermod the Nimble, with his quick wit and readyhands; and lastly, a great company of elves and wood-sprites andtrolls. Then a whirlwind caught them up in its swirling arms, andcarried them through the air, over the hilltops and the countryside,and the meadows and the mountains, and set them down in the gorge ofthe Fanander Force.

  But Loki was not caught napping. His wakeful ears had heard the tumultin the air, and he guessed who it was that was coming. He threw thenet, which he had just finished, into the fire, and jumped quickly intothe swift torrent, where, changing himself into a salmon, he lay hiddenbeneath the foaming water.

  When the eager Asa-folk reached Loki's dwelling, they found that hewhom they sought had fled; and although they searched high and low,among the rocks and the caves and the snowy crags, they could see nosigns of the cunning fugitive. Then they went back to his house againto consult what next to do. And, while standing by the hearth, Kwaser,a sharp-sighted elf, whose eyes were quicker than the sunbeam, saw thewhite ashes of the burned net lying undisturbed in the still hotembers, the woven meshes unbroken and whole.

  "See what the cunning fellow has been making!" cried the elf. "It musthave been a trap for catching fish."

  "Or rather for catching men," said Bragi; "for it is strangely like theSea-queen's net."

  "In that case," said Hermod the Nimble, "he has made a trap forhimself; for, no doubt, he has changed himself, as is his wont, to aslippery salmon, and lies at this moment hidden beneath the Fanandertorrent. Here are plenty of cords of flax and hemp and wool, withwhich he intended to make other nets. Let us take them, and weave onelike the pattern which lies there in the embers; and then, if I mistakenot, we shall catch the too cunning fellow."

  All saw the wisdom of these words, and all set quickly to work. In ashort time they had made a net strong and large, and full of finemeshes, like the model among the coals. Then they threw it into theroaring stream, Thor holding to one end, and all the other folk pullingit the other. With great toil, they dragged it forward, against thecurrent, even to the foot of the waterfall. But the cunning Loki creptclose down between two sharp stones, and lay there quietly while thenet passed harmlessly over him.

  "Let us try again!" cried Thor. "I am sure that something besides deadrocks lies at the bottom of the stream."

  So they hung heavy weights to the net, and began to drag it again, thistime going down stream. Loki looked out from his hiding place, and sawthat he would not be able to escape now by lying between the rocks, andthat his only chance for safety was either to leap over the net, andhide himself behind the rushing cataract itself, or to swim with thecurrent out to the sea. But the way to the sea was long, and therewere many shallow places; and Loki had doubts as to how old Aegir wouldreceive him in his kingdom. He feared greatly to undertake sodangerous and uncertain a course. So, turning upon his foes, andcalling up all his strength, he made a tremendous leap high into theair and clean over the net. But Thor was too quick for him. As hefell toward the water, the Thunderer quickly threw out his hand, andcaught the slippery salmon, holding him firmly by the tail.

  When Loki found that he was surely caught, and could not by any meansescape, he took again his proper shape. Fiercely did he struggle withmighty Thor, and bitter were the curses which he poured down upon hisenemies. But he could not get free. Into the deep, dark cavern,beneath the smoking mountain, where daylight never comes, nor thewarmth of the sun, nor the sound of Nature's music, the fallenMischief-maker was carried. The Asas bound him firmly to the sharprocks, with his face turned upwards toward the dripping roof; for theysaid that nevermore, until the last dread twilight, should he be freeto vex the world with his wickedness. Skade, the giant daughter of OldWinter, took a hideous snake, and hung it up above Loki, so that itsvenom would drop into his upturned face. But Sigyn, the loving wife ofthe suffering wretch, left her home in the pleasant halls of Asgard,and came to his horrible prison house to soothe and comfort him; andevermore she holds a basin above his head, and catches in it thepoisonous drops as they fall. When the basin is filled, and she turnsto empty it in the tar-black river that flows through that home ofhorrors, the terrible venom falls upon his unprotected face, and Lokiwrithes and shrieks in fearful agony, until the earth around him shakesand trembles, and the mountains spit forth fire, and fumes of sulphursmoke.

  And there the Mischief-maker, the spirit of evil, shall lie in tormentuntil the last great day and the dread twilight of all mid-world things.