As we enter this year’s changing of the seasons, we present a series of stories from our storytellers, Tales From The Hearth. Between now and 2022 Beltane night, they will be telling tales and poems and singing songs connected to different aspects of our fire festival, sharing them with you online.

Tales of the Norse Gods are told all over Northern Europe since at least the 9th Century CE. In this story the hammer, which belongs to Thor the God of Thunder, has been stolen by his enemies, the Giants. The Giants say they will only give the hammer back if the Goddess Freya marries the King of the Giants. Freya refuses.

But luckily Loki, the Trickster, has a plan…

VIdeo Credits

Storyteller : Ross Atkinson
All Father : Neil James Rhind
Thor : Jamie Prentice
Loki : Chris Gimby
Costumes : Ross Atkinson and Nicky Saunders
Video and sound: Ludwing Perez
Editing and transcript: Nicky Saunders
Sound effects :
https://freesound.org/people/BiancaBothaPure/sounds/365707/ Bianca Botha
https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/553843/ Klankbeeld

Video Transcript

Does any of youse want to hear a story?

Aye
Yeah
Aye
Erm, I got one

One day, Thor wakes up. He wakes up in his bed and you know he gives a big huge yawn
and he rubs the sleep out of his eyes and kind of reaches over at the bed and to reach for
his hammer. But it’s not there. You know he’s sort of “Huh?”. And he kind of thinks for a
moment. He thinks, he thinks, I’ll ask Loki. You know he’s pft Loki. So he goes and he wanders over to Loki : “Where’s my hammer?” And he’s like “I dunno, but you know I’ve got an idea. Let’s go speak to Freya.”

So they go, they go to Freya’s Hall and they ask and Loki sidles up to her and he says:
“Can I borrow your your falcon cloak?”
And she goes “Why?”
And he’s like “Can I borrow it? I’ll give you it back, I promise.”
Right okay so she gives him the falcon cloak and with a hop, skip and a jump and a cheeky wee wink he turns into a falcon and he flies out of the window.

And eventually he comes to Jotunheim. And he’s travelling across and he sees a great hall and he sees a lot of things going on, a lot of people kind of bustling about.
And the king of the giants sees him: “Oi you, Loki!”
And he’s like “What?”

“You tell Thor that if he ever wants to see his hammer again he needs… I want to marry
Freya. And she’d better marry me cause I’ve buried that hammer nine miles under the
ground and there’s no way he’s going to get it.”
So he turns himself back into a falcon and he flies back to Asgard. And he flies into
Freya’s Hall

And he says “Freya you’d better get your wedding dress on. Get yourself ready. You’re
getting married.”
And she sort of looks at him like “What?”

“You’re getting married. You’re getting married to the King of the Giants”

And her face goes beetroot and her chest starts to heave and the Necklace of the Brisings
breaks into a thousand pieces. Beads and diamonds scatter across the floor.
“I’m not getting married to that ugly, toad faced, wart ridden giant. I’m not doing it. He’s
ugly, he’s old and he’s miserable. I’m no. I’m not doing it.”

Loki, cheeky wee look on his face said “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we dress Thor up as
Freya?”

Ah. Get on with it
I I can’t do this. It’s ridiculous. I mean could you not please talk to Freya? And see if she
could you know? If it came from you…
No, I am not going to talk to Freya. You can talk to Freya again.

Fine. I’ll do it. Oh. Do we really need this hammer back?
We really need this hammer back. If the giants invade and you don’t have your hammer,
we are doomed.
Loki!
Loki!
What are you doing in that get up?
Reporting for bridesmaids duty. You ready to feel beautiful?

Erm. Hff. You had better solve this problem Loki. This is all your doing, I’m sure of it.
Well, we’ll we’ll sort the problem. You’re enjoying this far too much.
Oh, I am having the best time.
Well, what are we going to do about this then?
I have just the thing.
Okay… Oh yes… Yep…
I..I can’t wear this!
Yes you can.
No, it’s ridiculous!
Life is ridiculous but this is how we get your hammer back. You pop this on.
Fine.
You’ll feel a freedom that you’ve never felt before, Brother.
Well, that’s good. That’s it then.
No, this is only the beginning. Oh yes. Yep.

Oh Allfather.
This is the one. Oh my. Thrym is a lucky giant.
I will… when I get my hammer back…
Oh, this is how you get the hammer back. Let’s get this on you Brother.
So wrong.
Well, wrong is only a couple of shades away from right. And this feels oh so right. Thor is a
girl.

Ah well, you see, it’s not going to work. No, no. Time to back out.
No, no, no. Yep, it’s all coming together. Does it not just feel right?
Well… Let’s see how it goes.
Yep.
Great, well, okay, off we go then.
No.
No?

No, you still… you look like Thor in a dress. There’s more.
What could possibly be more? Oh, a necklace.
A necklace. Ah yep.
Okay.
Brings out your eyes.
There? Oh no. Oh, this is so wrong.

This is how Freya would wear it. So this is how Thor must wear it on his wedding night. On
her wedding night, sorry. We’re going to have to do something about that face though.
That face. I have just the thing. Oh yes Brother. That is the look. Congratulations. I hope
the two of you are so happy together.

I will never forgive you for this.
There we go.
Oh well, I suppose it does look quite good.
Mmm hmm
Oh no. No. Allfather please…
Get on with it.

So then they get the chariot out and they get the two goats ready and they go riding off
across the Bridge of Bifrost to Jotunheim.And in the hall the King of the Giants is sitting.
He’s sitting on his mighty throne and all miserable and grim and grizzley and one of his
servants comes round and is like “Freya’s coming. Freya’s coming. You’re getting
married.”

And the giant jumps out of his seat and is like “Quick! New straw onto the ground. Erm.
Strike up the band. Get the food ready. Brew some ale. I’m getting married to Freya!” and
he’s doing a happy dance around the table. Which is making the ground shake. And eventually the the chariot arrives with Thor and Loki dressed up as Freya and a handmaiden.

And eventually so the giant he’s so… the king of the Giants is so excited that he peeks
under the veil and he sees the blazing red eyes of angry Thor and he jumps back the
whole length of the hall and makes the ground shake. And the giant’s like “Never before have I seen a woman with such fierce and scary eyes!”

And Loki, quick thinking, says “Aye, yes, you know Freya, she hasn’t slept in nine days and nine nights because she is so excited for her wedding night. She hasn’t been able to think of anything else. And she hasn’t been able to sleep.”

And the giant’s like “Okay, that’s fair enough.”

So then they get all the food out and they’re all sitting down and they’re having their feast.
And Thor, he’s eating all the truffles and things for all the lady folk and he eats nine oxen,
nine sheep, nine pigs, nine chickens, nine barrels of ale, nine barrels of mead.

And again the giant’s like “Never before in my life have I ever seen a woman a woman with
such a fearsome appetite.”

And Loki again says “Yeah, yeah, she hasn’t eaten. Freya hasn’t eaten in nine days and
nine nights because she’s been so excited about her wedding. For her whole life she’s
been dreaming about this and so she hasn’t been able to eat and she’s hungry.”

And eventually the giant’s like “A deal’s a deal. Fetch the hammer!” He clicks his fingers
and the servants bring it out and they place the hammer between Thor dressed as Freya’s
legs. And as soon as Thor sees it he can’t resist anymore and he rips the veil off and he
grabs the hammer up and it starts to glow and he stoves in the giant’s head and his head
splatters across the floor. And he starts setting about all the other giants. Starts stoving
their heads in and crushing their bones. And then he gets his hammer back and they get
back into the chariot, after they’ve finished all the food. And they travel back to Asgard.

The end.