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006 - Thor's Wonderful Journey · Asgard Stories- Tales from Norse Mythology

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  Speaker 1: Chapter six of Esgard's stories. This is a Libervox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All Liberfox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit libervox dot org. Read
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  Speaker 1: by Juliu Esgar's Stories by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Convince.
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  Speaker 1: Thor's Wonderful Journey. One morning, Thor asked Loki, the fire god,
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  Speaker 1: if he would like to go forth with him to
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  Speaker 1: you God, the stronghold of the Giants, where he was
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  Speaker 1: going to try with his mighty hammer to conquer those
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  Speaker 1: fierce enemies of Esgard. Loki was glad to go with him,
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  Speaker 1: and the two gods started forth in Thor's chariot, drawn
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  Speaker 1: by two goats. Thor often went on the journey, so
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  Speaker 1: the dwellers in Asgard did not wander to see him
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  Speaker 1: getting ready for long drive, and Loki drove along. The
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  Speaker 1: heavy chariot rattled and made the thunder echo among the hills.
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  Speaker 1: People in our world down below in my guard heard
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  Speaker 1: the rumbling and said, what a heavy thunderstorm. How the
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  Speaker 1: thunder crashes and rumbles. Toward evening, the travelers stopped at
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  Speaker 1: the peasant's hut, and Thor, alighting from his chariot went
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  Speaker 1: to the door of the house to ask shelter for
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  Speaker 1: the night. I will gladly give you a room, but
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  Speaker 1: I have no food in the house, said the man
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  Speaker 1: who opened the door. Oh never mind that, said Thor.
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  Speaker 1: I will provide the food. So Thor and Loki stopped
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  Speaker 1: for the night at the peasant's hut. They found the
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  Speaker 1: family within. The man, his wife and two children, a
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  Speaker 1: boy and a girl. All looked on in great surprise
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  Speaker 1: to see Thor killed his two goats and cook them
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  Speaker 1: for the evening meal. Eat all you wish of the meat,
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  Speaker 1: said Thor, but be careful not to break any of
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  Speaker 1: the bones. Throw them all into the two skins, which
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  Speaker 1: I have spread upon the floor. Now, the boy, whose
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  Speaker 1: name was thigh Off, wondered why Thor should say this,
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  Speaker 1: and as he happened to have a piece of the
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  Speaker 1: lake bone, he thought there could be no harm in
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  Speaker 1: breaking it open to get out the soft marrow to eat.
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  Speaker 1: Thor was just then talking to Loki and did not
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  Speaker 1: notice what had been done. But next morning the boy
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  Speaker 1: learned the lesson that he never forgot. When Thor was
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  Speaker 1: ready to start off again next day, he held his
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  Speaker 1: magic hammer over the skins in which laid the bones.
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  Speaker 1: All at once, the goats became whole again and stood
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  Speaker 1: there just the same as before that one of them
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  Speaker 1: limped with his hind leg. Then the young Thioff knew
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  Speaker 1: why Thor had told them not to break the bones.
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  Speaker 1: At first, when he saw Thor's angry face and how
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  Speaker 1: he grasped his hammer, the boy was frightened and wanted
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  Speaker 1: to run away, but soon he remembered it would be
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  Speaker 1: cowardly to do that, so he went to Thor and
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  Speaker 1: asked his forgiveness. Now, the mighty thunder God, though often angry,
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  Speaker 1: was always just and kind. After scolding the boy as
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  Speaker 1: he deserved, he freely forgave him and said that he
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  Speaker 1: and his sister might go along with Loki and himself
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  Speaker 1: on their journey. The four started off after saying goodbye
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  Speaker 1: to the peasant and his wife living in their charge
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  Speaker 1: the chariot and goats, for it seemed best to finish
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  Speaker 1: the journey on foot. At nightfall, they entered a thick
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  Speaker 1: forest through which they wandered on for miles, when all
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  Speaker 1: at once they came upon a house and a strange
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  Speaker 1: looking house. It was the wide front door opened into
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  Speaker 1: a big room. At the left was a small room,
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  Speaker 1: and just opposite the front door were four long, narrow rooms.
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  Speaker 1: The travelers wandered to find a house in the depths
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  Speaker 1: of a forest, but they were glad to have sheltered
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  Speaker 1: for the night, and all lay down for good rest.
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  Speaker 1: Soon after midnight, they were awakened by groans and strange sounds,
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  Speaker 1: and the earth began to tremble. Thor sent his companions
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  Speaker 1: into the farthest room, grasped his hammer, and stood on
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  Speaker 1: guard by the door. At daybreak, he started forth to
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  Speaker 1: find out what hack caused the noise. He had not
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  Speaker 1: gone far when he came upon a huge giant lying
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  Speaker 1: on the ground asleep, and Thor found that he was
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  Speaker 1: making the earth tremble with his snoring, which must have
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  Speaker 1: been the sound they heard in the night. While Thor
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  Speaker 1: was looking at the giant, he awoke and spoke to
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  Speaker 1: the guard. Oh, I think you, little fellow, must be Thor,
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  Speaker 1: of whom I have often heard. But really I did
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  Speaker 1: not think you were quite so small. Now the sun
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  Speaker 1: is up and I must be off. But where is
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  Speaker 1: my other glove? Oh? Here it is on the ground.
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  Speaker 1: And the giant stooped and picked up his glove, which
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  Speaker 1: was the very house in which our four travelers had
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  Speaker 1: spent the night, with the big front door where the
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  Speaker 1: head went in the thumb for the one side room,
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  Speaker 1: and the four narrow finger rooms opposite the door. If
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  Speaker 1: you're going my way, you may come along with me,
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  Speaker 1: said the giant. So they jennied together for one day,
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  Speaker 1: but even mighty Thor could hardly keep up with the
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  Speaker 1: giant's long strides. When night came, the giant stopped under
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  Speaker 1: a large oak tree and said, I'm going to sleep.
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  Speaker 1: You may eat your supper if you wish. Here is
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  Speaker 1: a bag full of things. Saying this, he fell asleep
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  Speaker 1: and was soon snoring. But when Thor tried to open
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  Speaker 1: the back of food, he could not untie the cord.
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  Speaker 1: This made him angry, for the giant had tied up
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  Speaker 1: their food with his own. He looked at the huge
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  Speaker 1: figure lying before him asleep, and when he thought what
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  Speaker 1: a mean tree the giant had played upon them, Thor
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  Speaker 1: seized the magic hammer and threw it at him. Did
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  Speaker 1: a leaf fall on me? Said the giant, slippingly. Haven't
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  Speaker 1: you eaten your supper yet? Well, I'm going to sleep again,
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  Speaker 1: and soon he was snoring louder than before, Thor grasped
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  Speaker 1: his hammer tighter than ever and threw it with such
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  Speaker 1: strength that it seemed as though it must surely have
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  Speaker 1: killed the giant. But again he rubbed his eyes and said,
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  Speaker 1: I thought that acorn fell on my head. He had
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  Speaker 1: hardly spoken when he was asleep again. Then the third time,
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  Speaker 1: Thor hurled his hammer with all his strength, and it
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  Speaker 1: seemed to hit his enemy in the forehead and was
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  Speaker 1: buried out of sight. But the giant only said, I
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  Speaker 1: think there must be birds overhead in this tree. I
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  Speaker 1: thought a feather dropped down on me. Are you awake, Thor?
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  Speaker 1: I think we'd better be going on without Jenny. And
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  Speaker 1: if you are bound to go to Yogad, I will
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  Speaker 1: show you the way, but I'll advise you to go
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  Speaker 1: home instead. You will find bigger fellows than I in
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  Speaker 1: you Goad. But Thor had made up his mind to
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  Speaker 1: go on, and nothing could make him change. At noontime,
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  Speaker 1: the four friends left their giant guide, whose path led
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  Speaker 1: another way. They had not traveled far when Thor spied
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  Speaker 1: a large city looming up before them, and soon they
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  Speaker 1: came to you Goad, the home of the fierce giants.
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  Speaker 1: Although it was surrounded by high walls, Thor and his
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  Speaker 1: friends were able to creep through the boughs of the
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  Speaker 1: great gate. When they came to the palace and find
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  Speaker 1: this door open. They went in, and there, said all
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  Speaker 1: the giants with the king, you got Loki at the head.
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  Speaker 1: A quite different Loki was this giant king from the
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  Speaker 1: mischievous fire god, the Loki from Asgard, who now stood
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  Speaker 1: before him. Upon seeing the four strangers, the king of
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  Speaker 1: the giants said, why this must be the god thought,
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  Speaker 1: I really did not suppose that you were such a
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  Speaker 1: little fellow, Thor. But probably you are stronger than you look. Now,
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  Speaker 1: before you sit down at our table, you must each
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  Speaker 1: show some proof of your strength. Then Loki, who was
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  Speaker 1: very hungry, said he was sure he could eat more
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  Speaker 1: than anyone else. So the king called one of the
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  Speaker 1: giants to come forth, saying to Loki, if you can
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  Speaker 1: indeed eat more than one of my men, you will
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  Speaker 1: perform a great feet. A huge trough full of meat
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  Speaker 1: was brought in, and Loki began eating at one end,
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  Speaker 1: while the giant began at the other. They reached the
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  Speaker 1: center together, but Loki had eaten only the meat, while
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  Speaker 1: the giant had devoured meat bones trough and all five
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  Speaker 1: of the peasant boy took his turn next and boasted
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  Speaker 1: that he was the fastest runner of them all. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: said the King, it will be a most wonderful feat
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  Speaker 1: if you can win a race against one of my men.
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  Speaker 1: The first time thigh of rander, cause he kept a
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  Speaker 1: head until near the end and was beaten by only
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  Speaker 1: a few yards. The second time he came off worse,
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  Speaker 1: and the third time he was only halfway around when
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  Speaker 1: the giant had reached the gold. Thor, however, was not
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  Speaker 1: at all cast down by the failure of the others,
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  Speaker 1: and he proposed to try a drinking match. So the
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  Speaker 1: King brought forth a long drinking horn, saying, my man
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  Speaker 1: usually emptied this in one draft if they were very thirsty,
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  Speaker 1: though sometimes they have to take it in two swallows,
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  Speaker 1: or even three. Then Thor put his lips to the
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  Speaker 1: drinking horn and took one long, deep pull, thinking he
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  Speaker 1: had surely emptied it. But to his surprise the water
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  Speaker 1: had lowered only a few inches. Again, he lifted the horn,
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  Speaker 1: feeling sure he should empty it this time. Yet he
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  Speaker 1: did know better than before. The King said, you have
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  Speaker 1: left a great deal for your last drink. This made
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  Speaker 1: Thor try his very best, but it was of no use.
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  Speaker 1: He could not empty the horn. So you are not
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  Speaker 1: as strong as you seemed. After all. Do you care
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  Speaker 1: to try anything else? Said the King of the giants,
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  Speaker 1: in a mocking tone. Oh, certainly anything you like, replied Thor. Well,
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  Speaker 1: said the king, I will give you something easy this time,
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  Speaker 1: since I see you are not as strong as I expected.
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  Speaker 1: You may try to lift this cat from the floor.
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  Speaker 1: It should be me a child's play for one of
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  Speaker 1: my men. Thor put out his hand to lift the cat,
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  Speaker 1: but he could raise only one paw, so he used
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  Speaker 1: all his strength. Well, it is no more than I expected,
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  Speaker 1: said the king. You boast of your strength, but you
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  Speaker 1: do not show it to us. By this time, Thor
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  Speaker 1: was getting very angry, and he spoke fiercely. I will
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  Speaker 1: challenge any one of you to fight with me. The
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  Speaker 1: king looked about the hole to find someone small enough
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  Speaker 1: to wrestle with Thor. Then he said, oh, my men
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  Speaker 1: are too large. I shall have to send for one
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  Speaker 1: of the women. Soon a band old woman came hobbling in,
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  Speaker 1: and Thor thought it would be nothing to overcome her.
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  Speaker 1: But The longer they wrestled, the stronger the old woman became.
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  Speaker 1: And at last, when it was plain that she was
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  Speaker 1: going to win and Thor had been thrown down upon
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  Speaker 1: the floor, the king called to them to stop. Thor
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  Speaker 1: and his friends were then invited to sit down at
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  Speaker 1: the feast, and the next morning, after good breakfast, they
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  Speaker 1: started on their journey homeward. You got Loki. The giant.
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  Speaker 1: King went with them to the city gate, and when
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  Speaker 1: he was about to leave them, said, do you find
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  Speaker 1: it as easy as you expected to overthrow the giant? No,
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  Speaker 1: said Or, who was too honest to hide his shame.
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  Speaker 1: I am waxed that I have done so little, and
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  Speaker 1: I know that after this failure, you will all laugh
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  Speaker 1: at my weakness. No, indeed, replied the king. Since you
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  Speaker 1: are now well outside our stronghold, I will tell you
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  Speaker 1: the truth about what you saw there, and I will
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  Speaker 1: take good care and not to let you get in again.
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  Speaker 1: You have greatly surprised us all, for we did not
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  Speaker 1: dream that you were so strong, and I have had
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  Speaker 1: to use magic to hold out against you. When you
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  Speaker 1: met the first giant in the forest, you would have
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  Speaker 1: killed him with your hammer if he had not put
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  Speaker 1: the mountain between himself and you. Loki was a wonderful eater,
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  Speaker 1: but we matched him against fire, and who can devour
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  Speaker 1: more than fire? The was a swift runner, and I
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  Speaker 1: had to make him raise against thought in order to
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  Speaker 1: beat him. What can be swifter than thought? The horn
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  Speaker 1: from which you drank was the ocean, and you took
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  Speaker 1: such a mighty draft that the people in me God
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  Speaker 1: saw the tide abp. It was really not a cat
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  Speaker 1: you tried to live, but the meat god serpent, and
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  Speaker 1: you put him so far that we feared he would
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  Speaker 1: let go his hold. Then you wrestled with old age,
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  Speaker 1: And who is dead that can overcome old age? With
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  Speaker 1: these words, the giant king vanished, and Thought, upon looking around,
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  Speaker 1: saw the city of Yogad was also gone. Then suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: but with many thoughts of these strange things, Thought and Loki,
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  Speaker 1: with the boy and the girl, made their way back
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  Speaker 1: to Asgard end of chapter six