The Theft of Mjolnir
theft (n) ËÑÇ¢âÁ HOR’S hammer, Mjolnir, was one of the gods’ hammer (n)ziÙ treasure (n) ÊÁºÑμÔ greatest treasures. It was their guarantee of safety guarantee (n) T ¡²|| from their deadly enemies, the giants. While Thor deadly (adj)iw} enemies (pl ¢Í§ enemy) ÈÑμÃÙ had Mjolnir in his grasp no giant would dare to attack grasp (n)w·Þ dare (v)|} Asgard. Imagine Thor’s horror, then, when he awoke imagine (v)Ù£wÜ horror (n)zÙwh one morning and found the hammer missing. It was not awoke (pt ¢Í§ awake) Þ²ÙÙÙ bbyy hhisis ppillowillow wwherehere he pplacedlaced iitt eeveryvery nnight.ight. missing (adj)® pillow (n)Ù ‘‘MyMy hhammer!ammer! MMyy hhammer!’ammer!’ hhee rraged.aged. ‘Someone place (v)| rage (v)ªÞ hhasas takentaken iit.t. I kknownow – iit’st’s tthathat ssneak-thiefneak-thief LLoki!ok He’s at sneak-thief (n) ¬}h|ª tthehe bbottomottom ooff tthis.’his ’ HHee ffoundound LLoki,oki sseizedeized hhim by the be at the bottom of sthªÙÒ w throat and angrily demanded his hammer back. demand (v)| calm down (v) ‘Calm down,’ gasped Loki when he was able to }ª±Ù gasp (v)} speak. ‘What would I want your hammer for? If it’s stolen (pp ¢Í§ steal) ¢âÁ been stolen you should blame the giants. One of them blame (v)hh ¬ crept in (pp ¢Í§ creep)h|ªxi must have crept in during the night and taken it.’ That’ll be it! i|h«Ùh° ‘That’ll be it!’ roared Thor, switching his rage in roar (v)z· switch (v)ª¢²Ù a new direction. ‘I’ll show those giants they can’t mess direction (n)¡| mess with (v) ZLWKPH,¶PR൵WR*LDQWODQGWRJHWP\KDPPHUEDFN¶ whwÙ
32 Before the Catastrophe ‘Use your brain, Thor,’ said Loki. ‘You can’t just brain (n)| tackle (v)¬}¢ go and tackle the giants unarmed. Without Mjolnir unarmed (adj) ¬®h¢¤ they’ll make mincemeat of you. This calls for some make mincemeat of sbÙÝ« clever thinking.’ x call for sth (v) ‘Well, you’re the one who’s supposed to be so i|i be supposed to z}Ý clever. What do you suggest?’ suggest (v)«ÙÝÙ· leave (v) ‘We need to know who’s got your hammer and inquiries (pl ¢Í§ inquiry)wÞÙ where they’ve put it. Leave it to me. I’ll make some shape-changer (n)Ú¥i¢²«|h|®i inquiries,’ said Loki. The shape-changer transformed transform (v) «|h| himself into a hawk and soared up into the sky. The way hawk (n)ª¢² soar up (v) ZDVORQJEXWKHÀHZZLWKRXWVWRSSLQJXQWLOKHUHDFKHGEXWKHÀHZZLWKRXWVWRSSLQJXQWLOKHUHDFKHG ¡Ù¥|x£³Ù® fortress (n) the fortresss ooff TThrym,hrym, kkinging ooff tthehe ffrostrost ggiants.iants. TThehe ggiantiant ew frost giant (n) was outsidede his hall,hall, combingcombing the manes ooff his horses wÐÙ³·«x±| comb (v)¢ and lookingng ververyy ppleasedleased with himself. Loki swooswoopedped mane (n)«Ú|z swoop (v) ⩺ down beside him and changed to his proper shape. proper (adj)ªÝ greetings (interj) µ*UHHWLQJV/RNL¶VDLG7KU\P+HORRNHGDPXVHG ¢ amused (adj) Ù¤wÙÙ ‘What brings you here? And how are things with the lost (pp ¢Í§ lose) · gods?’ have idea (v)¥i tear (n)Ù³· ‘Things are not good,’ replied Loki. ‘Thor has lost laughter (n) wªÝ his hammer. Have you any idea where it is?’ run down (v)® cheek (n)«wi At this, Thrym began to laugh. He laughed and laugh (n)ª|¢ ªÝ horrible (adj)²i laughed till tears of laughter were running down his like (prep)ªÞÙ cheeks and his laugh was horrible to listen to, like the
Before the Catastrophe 33 cracking (adj) sound of cracking ice. ‘I know where it is,’ he said. ‘I £²|«wi buried (pp ¢Í§ bury) put it there. It’s buried deep in the earth, eight leagues ½˜§ earth (n)¡Ù down, and there it will stay unless...’ league (n)¢w ¢w¢zhÝØ ‘Unless what?’ asked Loki. w¡¬ª unless (conj) ‘Unless I have the beautiful Freyja as my bride. ªiÙ«hh bride (n)ª}i put (v)w «}i| That is the price the gods must pay for getting Mjolnir offer (n)xiªÙ as much… as back.’ wªh°w dignity (n)zx¤ ¤ µ,¶OOSXW\RXUR൵HUWRWKHP¶VDLG/RNLZLWKDVPXFK manage (v)zz¤ enraged (adj) dignity as he could manage, though he knew the gods ªÞ stride (v)ª¡Ùªi would be enraged at the idea. up and down ®°° WhenWhen he gotgot back to AsAsgardgard he found TThorh striding impatiently (adv) h|iÙ} uupp a andnd d downown i impatientlympatiently o outsideutside his hhallall w waiting for terms (n)ª|Þ²Ù®x returning (n)wzÙÞ nnews.ews. O Onn h hearingearing Thrym’s t termserms for retreturningu the grab hold ofzi drag (v)w hhammerammer he ggrabbedrabbed hold of Loki and dradraggedgged him along burst in on (v) ¬Úhªxi®x}|Ý to Freyja’s palace, bursting in on her without waiting to announce (v) Ýw be announced. at onceÙ¢ mad (adj)ª¢¡ mean (v)£| µ 34 Before the Catastrophe marry him.’ gave a shriek (pt ¢Í§ give)w¢i| At this, Freyja gave a great shriek of rage. ‘I have rage (n)zªÞ insult (v)¥¥w never been so insulted in my life. I, a princess of Asgard, lousy (adj)²·i swell (v)wݪÜÞ² marry a lousy frost giant! Never, never, never!’ Her link (n)xi h i equally (adv) chest so swelled with rage that her precious necklace Ü°wÙ worked up (adj) âÁâË %ULVLQJDPHQEXUVWDOLQNDQGIHOOWRWKHÀRRU point of view (n) zz¡ª±Ù Thor was getting equally worked up. He wasn’t tug (v)wݤw tunic (n)ªÞ³z¤ good at seeing other people’s point of view. Loki tugged ª warningly (adv) his tunic warningly. ‘This is a matter that concerns all «wªÞÙ concern (v)wÝ the gods,’ he said. ‘Let Odin decide. Freyja can explain at the mercy of ¥hi·Ù} her point ooff viviewew ttoo him.him.’’ swarm (v) w¬x|wÙ Whenn hhee hheardeard tthathat AAsgardsgard wwasas aatt tthehe mmercyercy ooff at any minute ®iª the giants who m mightight b bee sswarmingwarming oveoverr the walls at summon (v) ª¢wݤ any minute,e, Odin summoned a meetinmeetingg of all the ggods.ods. spoke up (pt ¢Í§ speak)Ü¥ª¢|| ‘We can’t let the giants have Freyja,’ he told them. ‘Has be no use ®h¢Ý¬ÙÐ even if anyone a better suggestion?’ «ih trick (v)wh produce (v)i| The watchman Heimdall spoke up. ‘It’s no use according to (prep)¢² ¿JKWLQJ7KU\P¶KHVDLGµ(YHQLIZHEHDWKLPKH¶GQHYHU custom (n) ªÙ¢ tell us where the hammer is. We need to trick him into traditional (adj) ݪÜØ¢ SURGXFLQJLW$FFRUGLQJWRJLDQWFXVWRPD¿QHKDPPHU bridal gift (n)x| xÖ·ª}i is a traditional bridal gift. Why don’t we dress up Thor bridal veil (n) Úiz¤Ùiª}i to look like Freyja, with a bridal veil to cover all that cover (v) º´ºÑ§ ginger (adj)¢i ginger hair, and send him to Thrym as his bride? When Ù³·hÙ° Before the Catastrophe 35 36 Before the Catastrophe 7KU\PR൵HUVKLPWKHKDPPHU7KRUZLOONQRZZKDWWR except for (prep) wªiÙ do with it!’ not believe your ears®hwªÞ² (YHU\RQHWKRXJKWWKLVZDVDJUHDWLGHDH[FHSWIRU ªÞ²|¢²®i¡Ù laughing stock Thor, who could not believe his ears. Dress as a woman, (n)zÙ¢²¥wzÙÞ²Ù ªÝªÝ never! He’d be a laughing stock. No one would ever point out (v) ¢³iª±Ù maidservant (n) let him forget it. But when the gods pointed out he was i reluctantly (adv) WKHLURQO\KRSHDQGZKHQ/RNLR൵HUHGWRJRGUHVVHGDV h|wÝwwÝhÙ deck out (v)«h| his maidservant and do all the talking, Thor reluctantly pad out (v) ª¡iÙx£³Ù agreed. The gods decked him out in a long skirt down to embroidered (adj) ¢²qw his boots and a top padded out in a womanly shape, with over the lot³| veil (n)Úiz¤Ùi an embroidereddered ttunicunic over thethe lot and a lonlongg white veil. bundle (n) Ü| w¤Ö«} They gavee hhimim a hhousewife’sousewife’s bbundleundle ooff kkeyseys hanhangingging matching (adj) ªxiz¥hwÙ on a chainn from hhisis waiwaist,st, ttwowo matchinmatchingg bbroochesrooches oveoverr brooch (n)ªx±w ŅQDO touch (n) KLVEXVWDQGWKH¿QDOWRXFK)UH\MD¶VIDPRXVQHFNODFHQGWKH¿QDOWRXFK)UH\MD¶VIDPRXVQHFNODFH x³ÙÙ¤i mend (v)h Brisingamen (now mended) that glittered through the mount (v) x£³ÙÙÜÙÝ billy goat (n) veil. Then the ‘bride’ and her ‘maidservant’ mounted «ÜÝÚ¥i rumble (n) Thor’s chariots, drawn by his two strong billy goats, ª¢||hªÙÞ²| thunder (n)ei| DQG ZLWK UXPEOHV RI WKXQGHU DQG ÀDVKHV RI OLJKWQLQJ ņDVK (n)«| lightning (n) 7KRUDQG/RNLVSHGRQWKHLUZD\WR*LDQWODQG e pace (v)ªÙ®ª¡ Ù¡ King Thrym of the ice giants was pacing around coffer (n)w·qsÙ ¢ª±w LQKLVKDOOWKLQNLQJRIDOOWKHJROGKHKDGLQKLVFR൵HUV glossy (adj)ªÙª|Ò Ù cattle (n)z of all the glossy black cattle that were grazing in his graze (v)ª±Öi meadow (n)¤h|Öi PHDGRZVRIKLV¿QHZHDSRQVKLVKRUVHVDQGKLVKXQWLQJ Before the Catastrophe 37 lack (v)x dogs, and it seemed to him that he lacked only one thing distance (n) ÝÝ®w to make his happiness complete. He needed Freyja to call out (v) ݬwÙª¢w be his queen. When he heard the thunder of chariot put up (v)³|¬ÎÝ trestle table (adj) wheels in the distance he called out to his servants to ¬ÎÝ¢²¢xª¢| feast (n) put up the trestle tables and bring in the wedding feast approach (v) wiªxi glimmer (n) for Freyja was approaching; he could see the glimmer ÝwÝ¡Ý throat (n)·z of Brisingamen around her throat. rush out (v) ܤh|Üw® Thrym rushed out to welcome his bride, who was naturally (adv) ¬¡ naturally very shy and tongue-tied. He placed her next shy (adj)ªx¡Ù tongue-tied (adj) to him at the head of the table, with her maidservant at Ü¥®hw place (v)iÙ²| herher sside.ide. He was surprised to see his bride eeata a whole polish off (v) sweetmeat (n) R[R[ D DQGQG H HLJKWLJKW O ODUJHDUJH V VDOPRQDOPRQ D DQGQG WKHQ S SROLVKROLV R൵ WKH Ù meant for (pp ¢Í§ ssweetmeatsweetmeats mmeanteant for all the lladies,adies, as well aas downing mean)¢®i· as well asªhÙwÙ downing sth (n) wªxÞ 38 Before the Catastrophe three whole casks of mead. The maidservant explained cake of mead (n) ªziwªiÙ³·Ú£³| that her mistress had been so excited by the thought explain (v)¡ mistress (n)ÙÖ|¡ of marrying Thrym that she had not been able to eat able to (adj) lift (v)w or drink for eight days. ‘I like the sound of that!’ said corner (n)¤ steal (v) ¢âÁ Thrym and lifted a corner of the bride’s veil to steal kiss (n)w}¥ ņDVKLQJ (adj) « DNLVV7KHÀDVKLQJH\HVWKDWORRNHGRXWDWKLPPDGH draw back (v) w¥ him draw back in a hurry. The maidservant explained hurry (n)z¢ªh| ŅHU\ (adj)¤Ù WKDWWKHEULGH¶VH\HVZHUH¿HU\IURPODFNRIVOHHS6KH lack of sth (n) zx«zÙ hadn’t slept a wink for eight days because she was so not slept a wink (pp ¢Í§ sleep) excited at the thought of the wedding. ÙÙ®h VDWLVŅHG (adj)Ü} 7KU\PZDVYHU\VDWLV¿HGE\WKHVL]HDQGVWUHQJWKPZDVYHU\VDWLV¿HGE\WKHVL]HDQGVWUHQJWK strength (n) z«x±|«| RIKLVEULGH6KHVHHPHGD¿WZLIHIRUDJLDQWµ%ULQJGH6KHVHHPHGD¿WZLIHIRUDJLDQWµ%ULQJ ŅW (adj)ªÝ celebrate (v) in the hammer,’mmer,’ h hee cacalled,lled, ‘and let us c celebrateelebrate ouourr ª~¡~| traditional (adj) wedding inn the traditional waway.’y.’ Servants carried in the ³|ª¡ carried (pt ¢Í§ great hammer, Mjolnir, and ceremoniously laid it in the carry)«w ceremoniously bride’s lap. The moment Thor felt it in his grasp he leapt (adv)|ÙÙh i laid (pt ¢Í§ lay)| lap (n)Ùiw WRKLVIHHWDQGVZLSHGWKHJLDQW¶VKHDGR൵ZLWKDVLQJOH grasp (n)w·Þ leapt to your feet blow. Then he treated the rest of the giant’s household (pt ¢Í§ leap) Ú¤¤wx£³Ù in the same way. swipe (v) ËÇ´ single (adj)z|ª³ ¢ And that is how Thor got his hammer back. blow (n)w¢ |«|h treat (v)wÝ· the rest (n) hÙ¢²ªÞ household (n) zz Before the Catastrophe 39 40 Before the Catastrophe Thor’s Adventures in Utgard HOR hated hanging around with nothing to do. If adventure (n) wÚ}Ö The did not have a job to get on with, he went out to hanging around (n)wÙ²|«wh look for one. ‘There are too many of those pesky giants get on with sth (v)· DERXW¶KHVDLGµ,¶PJRLQJWR*LDQWODQGWRJHWULGRID look for (v)ªÝ pesky (adj)Ùh zÖ· about few.’ He harnessed the two goats that drew his chariot, (adv)°¢² get rid of (v)w·} harness (v) threw a few things into the back of it, and was about to Ú¥w|ª¢Ù drew (pt ¢Í§ draw) VHWR൵ZKHQWKHUHZDVDVKRXWIURPEHKLQGµ7DNHPHHQWKHUHZDVDVKRXWIURPEHKLQGµ7DNHPH w}¥| set off (v)wªÙ|¡ with you,’ calledcalled LLoki.oki. ‘‘ThoseThose ggiantsiants aarere nnotot aass ststupidupid shout (n)ª|ݬwÙ¢ wits (pl)¡qÖÖ as you think.nk. You’You’llll nneedeed ssomeoneomeone wwithith hhisis wwitsits about rode (pt ¢Í§ ride)x¢² i jaunt (n)wª¡Ù| him.’ Ýݳٰ at leasth|Ùi 6R WKH WZR URGH R൵ WRJHWKHU RQ WKHLU VXPPHU trot (n)w¡²|ªÝ° border (n)«Ù jaunt, feeling – for that day at least – the best of friends. spend the night zi|« Thor kept his goats at a quick trot and by evening they building (n) ¡²|¥wi| ZHUHFORVHWR8WJDUGRQWKHERUGHUVRI*LDQWODQGDQG in sightÙÝÝ poor (adj)w}Ù looking for somewhere to spend the night. The only farmhouse (n) iÙ®hÙ look up toÙh ¡ Ð building in sight was a poor farmhouse. ‘It doesn’t look never mind®ªh Ù® Ò h|Ù up to much,’ said Loki. ‘Never mind,’ said Thor. ‘If the owner (n)ª}ix| feed (v)i owner can’t feed us, I will.’ Before the Catastrophe 41