Myths :: Sif's Golden Hair
The sun shone brightly over the forest, its light immediately piercing through the canopy of trees to awaken the man that was lying there. At least he looked like a man- Loki was a
God, actually. One of many, he roamed the Earth doing whatever he wanted, playing tricks on unsuspecting people, causing mischief and pranking people wherever he went. He had been
resting his eyes when the sun had awoken him, and he now needed to do something.
Loki was known by many names, as all Gods were, but the one he preferred the most was the Trickster God. He wouldn’t describe himself as a trickster, but he was. He loved nothing more than playing tricks on his fellow Gods, taking things from them, occasionally even being reprimanded for his actions. But in the end, Loki was just having fun, right?
Loki was busy thinking of what mischief he would cause today when he noticed something- the Sun’s golden rays shining down upon the forest reminded him of something… Sif. Her golden hair was the most beautiful and precious in all of the land, and Loki right then decided that he would take it for himself.
In another forest, Sif was carefully braiding her hair. The Goddess’s hair1 was long, beautiful, as gold as the Sun’s rays and as silky as the ocean. She prided herself on its upkeep, and most everyone, human and God alike, loved it.
She was very delicately braiding the fine strands of hair when Loki appeared a few feet in front of her.
“Hello Sif. How are you this fine, beauty morning?”
Sif just started at Loki. Nine times out of ten, he had an ulterior motive for visiting other Gods, usually to steal from them or trick them, so Sif had her guard up.
“I’m fine, Loki. What can I help you with?”
“Well, nothing. Okay, there is something.”
“Well, tell me. As you can see, I’m very busy.”
Loki just smiled.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for- I want to help you braid your hair.”
Sif scoffed at the suggestion, “I doubt you would ever waste an entire day braiding my hair when you would be out tricking a Giant into destroying a village, or something of the sort.”
Loki laughed, a loud, high pitched sound, “Why, that is a very good idea Sif! But no, to be perfectly honest, your husband was the one who asked me to come here.”
“My husband? Thor? Giant Killer? Son of Odin? Why would he be interested in my hair?”
“He said he wanted it to look as beautiful as ever when he saw you again.”
Sif smiled at the thought of her husband asking his uncle for help in making her look beautiful.
“Alright then, come here, over on this side.” Loki smiled to himself as he settled down on the rock next to her.
It was true though- her hair was as radiant as the sun, its golden length sweeping across both of their laps. As Sif slowly showed him how to braid, Loki hoped that his distraction would come.
And it did. A low, rumbling sound was heard throughout the forest, sending animals running all around them.
“What is that dreadful noise?”
“I have no idea…” Loki, however, knew exactly what the nose was. He had gotten some Giants to wreak havoc on the other side of the forest at the time when the Sun was highest in the sky, thereby creating the diversion he needed.
In one swift motion. Loki reached into his pocket and pulled out an enormous pair of shears- his item of choice for this particular deed, and snipped off her hair. The long golden locks cascaded from their laps and onto the ground.
Sif was visibly shocked, her face a mask of rage and surprise, “Loki! What have you done!”
It was too late, however. Loki quickly grabbed up the hair that had fallen to the ground, and ran off into the forest.
Sif just stared at some pieces of hair left behind. She could not believe she had fallen for that silly villain.
...
Thor had arrived at Asgard, tired, and enraged. He had spent the day killing giants, and was in no mood to deal with anyone but his wife. “Sif? Where are you, wife?”
He walked into the room where his wife usually awaited his return, and what he found did not make him any happier. “SIF! What has happened to you? Your hair? Your golden locks, they are-”
“Gone. Yes, taken by the trickster God himself. Why did you ask him to help me, knowing how treacherous he was?”
“I did no such thing.”
“So… he lied. I was tricked, Thor! And now look- I have no hair to speak of!” She was right. Where before she had had long, beautiful, and impossibly golden hair, she now had a few wisps, but for the most part, Sif was bald.
“I’ll kill him! I shall kill him with my bare hands!”
Sif just watched as her husband stormed out of their room in a rage, “Hopefully he’ll get my hair back…”
Meanwhile, Loki was back in his forest, laughing and giggling as he fiddled with the golden strands of the stolen hair, “That ought to have caused a laugh up in Asgard. Now what do I do…?”
However, Loki was not going to be pondering for long- at that moment, a large man was descending upon him. “Thor!” Loki yelped, jumping up to greet the god.
“Loki! What have you done to my wife, trickster? Where is her hair?” Thor grabbed the smaller God, and threw him on the floor.
Loki groaned. “Ow… Is that any way to treat your elders?”
Thor growled. “Don’t play games with me! I saw what you did to her, telling her I sent you- you’ll pay for that, Loki!”
Loki stood up gingerly, his body aching from the force of the throw.
But Thor wasn’t finished with him- he quickly grabbed Loki again, this time meaning to strangle him to death.
“Uh.. Thor! Let… me… go!”
Thor just continued throttling Loki. “What will you do to fix this? How will you reattach her hair?”
“I.. I’ll have the dwarves make something- a headpiece! Made of gold! I will give you a headpiece made of gold for Sif, so she can wear it- no one will have to know about her hair!”
Thor’s eyes narrowed, suspicious but curious. “You promise to have a headpiece of gold made for my wife?”
“Yes! Yes, I’ll do it! Don’t worry! Now, please, let me go!”
Thor dropped Loki onto the floor of the forest. “If you do not have it in a day, trust me, Loki, I will kill you.” With that, Thor walked away, leaving Loki to ponder how exactly he was going to get the dwarves to make a headpiece of gold for him.
Suddenly, he had it- the dwarfs! “Let’s see how I’ll do this..."
In Nidavellir, the dwarfs were hard at work. Nidavellir was a mountainous region, and deep underground, in almost pitch black caves, the dwarfs worked hard to create masterpieces of iron and steel. It was here that Loki hoped to get the Sons of Ivaldi to create a headpiece for him.
The Sons of Ivaldi were a group of dwarfs who lived in the dark caves, and only live to craft items out of iron. They weren’t accustomed to visitors, much less visits from Gods, so when Loki appeared in the harsh light of the forge, the group let out an audible gasp.
One brave dwarf stepped up, “Oh, Great God, to what do we owe this pleasure?”
Loki smiled. He had been counting on them being eager to please, and as such, had them in the palm of his hand. “I have a proposition for you gentlemen. I need an item- a headpiece, made of gold. It’s for another goddess, I intend on giving it to her as a gift. Now, will you be willing to help me?”
“Of course! We’ll make the headpiece, and more, if you need it!”
Another dwarf spoke up. “We have to make more! These are for the Gods themselves!”
The other dwarfs murmured their agreement.
Loki just smiled. He had only intended getting a headpiece for Sif, now he was going to get more out of it than he had hoped, “So, you will create these items for my fellow Gods?”
The dwarfs yelled their assent.
“Excellent!" Loki watched as the dwarfs began pouring liquid metal into shapes and stuffing them in the forge, obviously preparing to create the items for him. This would definitely put him back in the good graces of his fellow Gods now, he had something for Odin, Thor and Sif.
As the day went on, the dwarfs came to him with their creations, “Look, Oh Great Cunning Master! We have crafted this spear: it will never stop when it is running through a target, and has the ability to run any target cleanly through!” The dwarf handed the spear to Loki. He eyed it appraisingly: it was beautiful. It was made very well, and its abilities proved it was Dwarf-Made.
“Thank you. This will make an excellent gift for Odin.”
The dwarf gasped. “Odin?! You will give him Gungnir, the precious spear? We are most honored!”
The other dwarfs exclaimed in agreement.
Loki just smiled at their poorly lit faces. This was too easy.
Soon after, the dwarfs returned with another gift. It seemed like an ordinary cloth to Loki, “What is this supposed to be?”
The dwarf smiled. “It is a boat, sir.”
“A boat?”
The dwarf took the cloth from Loki, and began unfolding it. Piece by excruciating piece, the boat revealed itself in the cavern.
“It’s… amazing!”
“Indeed- it has the ability to travel over both land and sea, and can carry all of Asgard within it.”
Loki smiled even brighter, “This will make an excellent gift for Freyr!”
The dwarfs, once again, just smiled and continued work.
Eventually, the dwarfs returned with the headpiece: it was wondrous. It was made of true gold, and shone like the sun itself, “This… is even more beautiful than the original hair which adorned her head!”
The dwarfs smiled. “Thank you, Oh Great one! We hope these gifts will suffice, we have toiled all day to create them for you.”
Loki nodded, with the spear, the boat and the headpiece in hand he complimented the Sons on their hard work and smiling, he took the items to another part of the mountainous caverns. “These ought to impress the Gods. But I have yet to finish.”
Coming upon another cavern, with the items in tow, Loki smiled to the dwarves that rested there and said slyly, "Why, look at this! What have I here? It seems that these precious items, gifts for the Gods themselves, are obvious examples of superior craftsmanship by the Sons of Ivaldi! No one will be able to top these creations!”
Two dwarfs came up to Loki. “You say no one can create items better than the Sons of Ivaldi?”
Loki sneered at the dwarfs. “Yes, I did say this. Why?”
“We say, not only can we create items more beautiful than those, but we can also make them more useful.”
Loki smiled, that was just what he wanted to hear, “What are you willing to bet?”
The two dwarfs looked at one another, and said, in unison: “Our heads.”
“Your heads?”
“Yes. Our heads. If the Gods deem our items less beautiful than those, we will allow you to take our heads.”
The second brother spoke up: “But if they deem them more beautiful, we will have your head, Cunning One.”
Loki’s smile grew ever wider in the dim light of the forge. “We’ll see. Fine, we have a del. I will go to Asgard, while you work. I will return in a days time, I expect the items to be finished when I return.”
The dwarfs walked to the forge, where the first brother, Eitri2, placed a pigs skin in the forge.
“Brokkr, blow on the bellows, to ensure that the forge will not get too hot or too cold for my magic. Whatever you do, do not stop blowing. No matter what, continue to blow. Our heads depend on it.”
Brokkr nodded, and began to blow on the bellows.
After a while, a fly flew into the cavern. Eitri, too concerned with his magic, and Brokkr, too busy working the bellows, did not see or hear the fly buzzing around. The fly quickly flew towards Brokkr, where it bit him. Brokkr, ever the professional, just continued blowing.
“Rats! How will I ever get him to stop now?” Loki continued to buzz around Brokr, who did not pay him any attention.
Eventually, the fist item was ready: it was a boar, however, it had gold tipped bristles that illuminated the cavern with their glow. “Gullinbursti, we shall call it.” Eitri allowed the boar to walk away, and put a piece of gold into the forge.
“Once again, Brokkr, I beg you not to stop blowing. No matter what, do not stop.” Brokkr once again nodded and began to blow again.
This time, Loki flew around Brokkr and began to bite him continuously. Despite the painful bites, Brokkr did not stop blowing.
Loki was beginning to get upset: he had bet his own head on this! He had seen the boar with its magic bristles, he had to stop them from winning the bet!
He continued biting, but it was no use. Eitri removed a ring, spectacular in appearance, which was shaped like a snake with its tail in its mouth, “Every ninth night, this ring will drop eight exact copies.”
Loki couldn’t believe it- he was going to lose. This time, he had to ensure his victory- and life.
This time, Eitri put iron in the forge and once again, warned Brokkr: “Do not stop blowing. We are almost finished, but I beg of you: do not stop.” Brokkr nodded once more, and began to blow. Loki continued biting, and buzzing.
When the iron was ready to be taken out, Loki gave one last, desperate attempt: he bit Brokkr on the eyelid with all his might, hoping to stop him, if only for a second. The fire cooled for a bit, before Brokkr began to blow again.
Eitri took the iron out of the forge: it was a hammer, powerful, and deadly. “This hammer, Mjollnir, will never miss its target, and will never stray far from the hand of its owner.”
At that moment, Loki walked into the cavern, “Well, I see you are done. We’ll take these to Asgard, and see whose creations are deemed better.”
A short while later, Loki, Eitri, and Brokkr arrived at Asgard with the gifts: Gungnir, the spear intended for Odin, Skidblandr, the ship intended for Freyr, the golden headpiece for Sif, Gullinbirsti the golden tipped boar, Drapunir, the replicating ring, and Mjollnir, the mighty hammer.
Odin, Thor and Sif were seated in elegant thrones made for judging. “Well, what have we here?” Thor spoke.
“Loki, the trickster that he is, cut off my wife’s hair, so I sent him to retrieve it.” Eyeing the headpiece, he added: “although I can see he returned with something even better. However, I question what trickery you used to get the dwarfs to make all of these gifts.”
Loki smiled, “I simply bet these dwarfs, Eitri and Brokkr, that they could not make items more beautiful than the ones made by the Sons of Ivaldi- we’re here to see whose you like best.”
And so the judging began. Odin loved his spear, Sif loved both the ring and her headpiece, while Thor mightily approved of Mjollnir.
“Due to the superior craftsmanship of Mjollnir, we have to declare Eitri and Brokkr the winners of this bet,” the judges decreed.
Loki looked pale for a second, and then resumed smiling.
“I guess that means we win, Loki,” Eitri and Brokkr walked up to Loki, preparing to behead him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Loki backed away from the advancing pair.
“To behead you- we won the bet fair and square, trickster, what game are you pulling on us now?”
Loki laughed his high pitched laugh again. “Well, yes, you did win, but think about it- you can’t take my head off without injuring my neck, and therefore, I win.”
Eitri and Brokkr looked at one another in surprise. They couldn’t believe that they had been duped by the cunning God, like everyone else. “Well, alright, However, we wouldn’t want you bragging would we?”
Brokkr grabbed a piece of thread and began to sew it onto Loki’s face.
“What are you doing?! Stop!”
But it was too late- Brokkr had sewed Loki’s mouth shut.
“Now, you will be able to speak when the thread runs out.”
Loki glared at the dwarfs angrily before leaving Asgard- it was going to be a long while before he ever pulled another prank like that one.
2 Sindri replaces Eitri in some versions of the myth.
by Joshua Grullon
This is a retelling of the Norse myth and is based on a variety of sources. Artistic license has been taken.
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