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Asgard, a realm of wonders, was where [br]the Norse Gods made their home.

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There Odin’s great hall of Valhalla [br]towered above the mountains

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and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, [br]anchored itself.

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But though their domain was magnificent,

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it stood undefended from the giants [br]and trolls of Jotunheim,

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who despised the gods and [br]sought to destroy them.

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One day when Thor, strongest of the [br]gods, was off fighting these foes,

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a stranger appeared, [br]riding a powerful gray horse.

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The visitor made the gods [br]an astonishing offer.

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He would build them the greatest [br]wall they’d ever seen,

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higher than any giant could climb [br]and stronger than any troll could break.

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All he asked in return was the beautiful [br]goddess Freya’s hand in marriage—

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along with the sun and moon from the sky.

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The gods balked at this request [br]and were ready to send him away.

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But the trickster Loki [br]concocted a devious plan.

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He told the gods they should [br]accept the stranger’s offer,

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but set such strict conditions that he [br]would fail to complete the wall in time.

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That way, they would lose nothing, while [br]getting most of the wall built for free.

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Freya didn’t like this idea at all,

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but Odin and the other [br]gods were convinced

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and came to an agreement [br]with the builder.

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He would only have one winter [br]to complete the wall.

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If any part was unfinished by [br]the first day of summer,

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he would receive no payment.

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And he could have no help [br]from any other people.

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The gods sealed the deal with solemn oaths

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and swore the mason would come [br]to no harm in Asgard.

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In the morning, the stranger began to dig [br]the foundations at an astonishing speed,

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and at nightfall he set off towards the [br]mountains to obtain the building stones.

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But it was only the next morning, [br]when they saw him returning,

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that the gods began to worry.

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As agreed, no other people [br]were helping the mason.

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But his horse Svadilfari was hauling [br]a load of stones so massive

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it left trenches in the ground [br]behind them.

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Winter came and went.

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The stranger kept building, [br]Svadilfari kept hauling,

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and neither snow nor rain could [br]slow their progress.

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With only three days left until summer, [br]the wall stood high and impenetrable,

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with only the gate left to be built.

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Horrified, the gods realized that not [br]only would they lose

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their fertility goddess forever,

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but without the sun and moon the world [br]would be plunged into eternal darkness.

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They wondered why they’d made [br]such a foolish wager—

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and then remembered Loki [br]and his terrible advice.

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Suddenly, Loki didn’t feel so clever.

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All of his fellow gods threatened him [br]with an unimaginably painful death

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if he didn’t find some way to prevent [br]the builder from getting his payment.

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So Loki promised to take care of the [br]situation, and dashed away.

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Outside, night had fallen,

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and the builder prepared to set off [br]to retrieve the final load of stones.

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But just as he called Svadilfari to him, [br]a mare appeared in the field.

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She was so beautiful that [br]Svadilfari ignored his master

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and broke free of his reins.

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The mason tried to catch him,

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but the mare ran deep into the [br]woods and Svadilfari followed.

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The stranger was furious.

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He knew that the gods were behind [br]this and confronted them:

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no longer as a mild-mannered mason,

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but in his true form as a terrifying [br]mountain giant.

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This was a big mistake.

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Thor had just returned to Asgard,

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and now that the gods knew [br]a giant was in their midst,

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they disregarded their oaths.

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The only payment the [br]builder would receive—

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and the last thing he would ever see—

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was the swing of Thor’s [br]mighty hammer Mjolnir.

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As they set the final stones into the [br]wall, the gods celebrated their victory.

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Loki was not among them, however.

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Several months would pass [br]before he finally returned,

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followed by a beautiful gray [br]foal with eight legs.

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The foal would grow into a magnificent [br]steed named Sleipnir

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and become Odin’s mount, a horse [br]that could outrun the wind itself.

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But exactly where he had come from was [br]something Loki preferred not to discuss.