The Three Hiding Places

Long, long ago, the old Norsemen believed the gods lived in their home of Asgard, far above the Earth. At the end of the world, in Jotenheim, the land of ice and snow, lived the giants, who were the enemies of the gods.

One day, one of the giants paid a visit to a peasant who lived in a small cottage by the seashore with his wife and young son. The peasant was very poor and worked hard from dawn to sunset just to provide enough food for his family. But when he had a moment to rest in the evening, his one delight was to play chess.

The giant challenged the peasant to a game of chess, and the peasant agreed. They decided that the stakes would be that “Whichever of us wins may take from the other the possession he most desires.” The peasant, having little to lose, agreed and the game began. The two were well-matched, and the game went on all day and all night. Finally, at dawn, the giant won.

“Now give me my reward,” the giant demanded. “I will take your son, for, according to our bargain, he is mine.”

The horrified peasant begged the giant to change his mind and take something else, but the giant roared with laughter. Eventually, the giant agreed to let the boy stay with his parents for the night. “If, when I return tomorrow morning, you have hidden your son so well that I cannot find him, you may keep him,” the giant said before leaving.

The parents spent the entire night trying to think of a place to hide their son, but they found nowhere. Finally, in desperation, they called upon Odin, the king of all the gods. Odin heard their pleas and came to the cottage. “Give me your son, and I will hide him for you,” Odin said. He transformed the boy into a grain of wheat and hid him in a nearby wheatfield.

The next morning, the giant returned. He carefully searched the wheatfield, throwing aside armfuls of wheat until he found the single grain that was the boy. The peasant and his wife wept in despair. Seeing their sorrow, Odin took pity on them and blew like a gust of wind, knocking the grain from the giant’s fingers and returning it to the parents, transforming it back into the boy. “I have done my best; now you must help yourselves,” said Odin.

The giant, unimpressed, strode back to the cottage. “That was clever,” he said, “but you must do better than that if you wish to keep your son. I will return tomorrow to try again.” Then he left.

The parents, terrified, decided to call upon another god for help. This time, they turned to Honir, Odin’s brother. When Honir came to the cottage, he transformed the boy into a feather and hid him on the breast of a swan swimming on a nearby river.

The next morning, the giant returned. He went to the river, caught the swan, and plucked it feather by feather until he found the one that was the boy. The parents were heartbroken. Honir, seeing their despair, blew the feather into the cottage, where it transformed back into the boy. “I have done all I can,” said Honir. “Now you must help yourselves.”

Again, the giant came to the cottage and declared their efforts inadequate. “That is not enough,” he said. “I will give you one last chance. Tomorrow, I will return.”

In desperation, the parents called upon Loki, the cunning god of fire. That night, as they sat by their fireplace, Loki appeared from the flames. “Give me your son,” he said, “and I will do my best to ensure the giant does not find him this time.” Loki transformed the boy into the tiny egg of a haddock and hid him among the other haddock eggs in the depths of the sea.

The next morning, the giant returned. He hurried to fetch his boat and set out to sea. Loki, disguised as a fisherman, asked to join him. The giant agreed, and the two fished together. The giant caught fish after fish until he finally caught the haddock. He carefully opened it and searched through the eggs until he found the one that was the boy.

“What have you there?” Loki asked.

“Only a haddock’s egg,” the giant replied.

“I don’t believe it,” said Loki. “No one would take such care to find a single haddock’s egg. Let me see it.”

The giant held it out to Loki. As he did, Loki snatched the egg, transformed it back into the boy, and shouted, “Run and hide in the cottage!” The boy dashed from the shore to the cottage, slamming the door behind him.

The furious giant followed and wrenched the door open. As he thrust his head into the cottage, he forgot how small the house was and struck his head hard on the low beams, knocking himself out. Loki seized the opportunity and killed the giant with a single blow from the fishing knife. Then he returned the boy to his grateful parents.

From that day forward, the parents considered Loki the greatest of all the gods. While others had given up, saying, “Now you must help yourselves,” Loki had stayed with them and tricked the giant to the very end.