'In The Days of Giants' Summary

In the Days of Giants is a collection of stories from the Northern lands, where summer is brief and winter is harsh. The stories are full of giants and dwarfs, spirits of the mountains and caverns, and the hero Thor, who dwells in the happy heaven of Asgard. The tales tell of the Beginning of Things, when cold and heat battled for supremacy, and of the good Aesir, who brought warmth and sunshine to the world. One of the most popular stories in the collection is "The Theft of Thor's Hammer." In this story, the giant Thrym steals Thor's hammer, Mjollnir, and demands the goddess Freya as his bride in exchange for its return. Thor, disguised as Freya, goes to Thrym's castle to retrieve his hammer. He eats an entire ox and eight salmon in one sitting, and drinks three barrels of mead. When Thrym tries to kiss his "bride," Thor reveals his true identity and kills the giant with Mjollnir. Another popular story in the collection is "The Story of Balder the Beautiful." Balder is the son of Odin and Frigg, and he is the most beautiful of all the gods. However, he is also very vulnerable, and his mother fears for his safety. She goes to all the creatures in the world and makes them promise not to harm Balder. However, she forgets to ask the mistletoe, and the evil god Loki tricks the blind god Hodr into shooting Balder with an arrow made of mistletoe. Balder dies, and his death brings great sorrow to the gods and all the creatures of the world.