The farmer gazed with horror upon the lifeless body of the otter and cried out, “This creature which you mistook for an otter, and which you have robbed and killed, is my son, Oddar, who for mere pastime had taken the form of the furry beast.  You are but thieves and murderers!”

Then he called loudly for help:  and his two sons, Fafnir and Regin, sturdy and valiant kin of the dwarf-folk, rushed in, and seized upon the huntsmen, and bound them hand and foot; for the three Asas, having taken upon themselves the forms of men, had no more than human strength, and were unable to withstand them.

Then Odin and his fellows bemoaned their ill fate.  And Loki said, “Wherefore did we foolishly take upon ourselves the likenesses of puny men?  Had I my own power once more, I would never part with it in exchange for man’s weaknesses.”

And Hoenir sighed, and said, “Now, indeed, will darkness win:  and the frosty breath of the Northern giants will blast the fair handiwork of the sunlight and the heat; for the givers of life and light and warmth are helpless prisoners in the hands of these cunning and unforgiving jailers.”

“Surely,” said Odin, “not even the highest are free from obedience to heaven’s behests and the laws of right.  I, whom men call the Preserver of Life, have debased myself by being found in evil company; and, although I have done no other wrong, I suffer rightly for the doings of this mischief-maker with whom I have stooped to have fellowship.  For all are known, not so much by what they are as by what they seem to be, and they bear the bad name which their comrades bear.  Now I am fallen from my high estate.  Eternal right is higher than I.”

Then the Asas asked Hreidmar, their jailer, what ransom they should pay for their freedom; and he, not knowing who they were, said, “I must first know what ransom you are able to give.”

“We will give you anything you may ask,” hastily answered Loki.

Hreidmar then called his sons, and bade them strip the skin from the otter’s body.  When this was done, they brought the furry hide and spread it upon the ground; and Hreidmar said, “Bring shining gold and precious stones enough to cover every part of this otter skin.  When you have paid so much ransom, you shall have your freedom.”

“That we will do,” answered Odin.  “But one of us must have leave to go and fetch it:  the other two will stay fast bound until the morning dawns.  If, by that time, the gold is not here, you may do with us as you please.”

Hreidmar and the two young men agreed to Odin’s offer; and, lots being cast, it fell to Loki to go and fetch the treasure.  When he had been loosed from the cords which bound him, Loki donned his magic shoes, which had carried him over land and sea from the farthest bounds of the mid-world, and hastened away upon his errand.  And he sped with the swiftness of light, over the hills and the wooded slopes, and