The myth of Loki and the master builder - Alex Gendler

Translator: Sanne Yvonne Nordbø Østbø Reviewer: Thomas Bedin

Asgard, a realm of wonders, was where the Norse Gods made their home.

Åsgård var det fantastiske riket til de norrøne gudene.

There Odin’s great hall of Valhalla towered above the mountains

Der ruvet Odins digre hall, Valhall, over fjellene,

and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, anchored itself.

-hvor også regnbuebroen, Bifrost, hadde sitt holdepunkt.

But though their domain was magnificent,

Men selv om deres rike var storslått,

it stood undefended from the giants and trolls of Jotunheim,

-var det sårbart mot kjempene og trollene fra Jotunheim,

who despised the gods and sought to destroy them.

-som foraktet gudene og ønsket å knuse dem.

One day when Thor, strongest of the gods, was off fighting these foes,

En dag Tor, den sterkeste guden, kjempet mot disse fiendene,

a stranger appeared, riding a powerful gray horse.

-kom en fremmed ridende på en kraftig, grå hest.

The visitor made the gods an astonishing offer.

Gjesten ga gudene et forbløffende tilbud:

He would build them the greatest wall they’d ever seen,

Han kunne bygge den største muren de noensinne hadde sett,

higher than any giant could climb and stronger than any troll could break.

-høyere enn noen kjempe kunne klatre og sterkere enn noe troll kunne knuse.

All he asked in return was the beautiful goddess Freya’s hand in marriage—

Alt han ba om til gjengjeld, var den vakre gudinnen Frøya til brud—

-samt sola og månen på himmelen.

along with the sun and moon from the sky.

The gods balked at this request and were ready to send him away.

Gudene avslo forespørselen hans og ville kaste ham på dør.

But the trickster Loki concocted a devious plan.

Men luringen Loke klekket ut en slu plan:

He told the gods they should accept the stranger’s offer,

Gudene skulle godta avtalen med fremmedkaren,

but set such strict conditions that he would fail to complete the wall in time.

-men gi ham så strenge vilkår at han var dømt til å mislykkes.

That way, they would lose nothing, while getting most of the wall built for free.

Slik skulle gudene få en nesten ferdigbygget mur helt gratis.

Freya didn’t like this idea at all,

Frøya likte ikke denne planen overhodet,

but Odin and the other gods were convinced

-men Odin og de andre gudene var overbevist,

and came to an agreement with the builder.

-og inngikk avtalen med byggeren.

He would only have one winter to complete the wall.

Kun én vinter skulle han få til å bygge ferdig muren.

If any part was unfinished by the first day of summer,

Dersom den minste del stod uferdig på første sommerdag,

he would receive no payment.

-ville han ikke få noen betaling.

And he could have no help from any other people.

Og han fikk ikke ha hjelp fra noen andre folk.

The gods sealed the deal with solemn oaths

Gudene forseglet avtalen høyt og hellig, og ga mureren fritt leide i Åsgård.

and swore the mason would come to no harm in Asgard.

In the morning, the stranger began to dig the foundations at an astonishing speed,

Neste morgen gravde fremmedkaren ut grunnmuren i en forbløffende fart.

and at nightfall he set off towards the mountains to obtain the building stones.

Om kvelden dro han til fjellene for å skaffe byggesteinene.

Først da han kom tilbake på morgenkvisten,

But it was only the next morning, when they saw him returning,

that the gods began to worry.

-ble gudene urolige.

Som avtalt var det ingen folk som hjalp mureren.

As agreed, no other people were helping the mason.

But his horse Svadilfari was hauling a load of stones so massive

Men hesten hans, Svadilfare, trakk på et steinlass så digert-

it left trenches in the ground behind them.

-at det lagde renner i bakken.

Winter came and went.

Vinteren kom og gikk.

The stranger kept building, Svadilfari kept hauling,

Den fremmede fortsatte å bygge, Svadilfare fortsatte å trekke,

and neither snow nor rain could slow their progress.

-og verken snø eller regn kunne sinke fremgangen.

With only three days left until summer, the wall stood high and impenetrable,

Da sommeren var tre dager unna, stod muren høy og ugjennomtrengelig,

with only the gate left to be built.

-og manglet bare porten.

Horrified, the gods realized that not only would they lose

Gudene var skrekkslagne,

-for ikke bare ville de miste fruktbarhetsgudinnen for alltid,

their fertility goddess forever,

but without the sun and moon the world would be plunged into eternal darkness.

-men uten verken sola eller månen, ville verden slukes av evig mørke.

They wondered why they’d made such a foolish wager—

Hvorfor hadde de ha gått med på et så tåpelig veddemål?

and then remembered Loki and his terrible advice.

Så husket de på Loke og hans forferdelige forslag.

Suddenly, Loki didn’t feel so clever.

Brått følte Loke seg ikke fullt så lur.

All of his fellow gods threatened him with an unimaginably painful death

De andre gudene lovet ham en smertefull død-

if he didn’t find some way to prevent the builder from getting his payment.

-om han ikke pønsket ut noe så de slapp å betale byggeren.

So Loki promised to take care of the situation, and dashed away.

Så Loke lovet å rydde opp, og hastet av sted.

Outside, night had fallen,

Utenfor hadde natten senket seg,

and the builder prepared to set off to retrieve the final load of stones.

-og byggeren var i ferd med å hente det siste steinlasset.

But just as he called Svadilfari to him, a mare appeared in the field.

Men idet han kalte på Svadilfare, kom en hoppe ut på enga.

She was so beautiful that Svadilfari ignored his master

Hun var så vakker at Svadilfare overhørte eieren sin-

and broke free of his reins.

-og slet seg løs fra tømmene.

The mason tried to catch him,

Mureren forsøkte å fange ham inn,

but the mare ran deep into the woods and Svadilfari followed.

-men hoppa løp dypt inn i skogen, med Svadilfare hakk i hæl.

The stranger was furious.

Fremmedkaren ble rasende.

He knew that the gods were behind this and confronted them:

Bare gudene kunne stå bak dette, så han konfronterte dem—

no longer as a mild-mannered mason,

-ikke lenger som en godmodig murer,

but in his true form as a terrifying mountain giant.

-men i sin sanne skikkelse, som en grufull fjellkjempe.

This was a big mistake.

Det var en stor tabbe.

Thor had just returned to Asgard,

Tor var akkurat kommet hjem til Åsgård,

and now that the gods knew a giant was in their midst,

-og nå som gudene visste at en kjempe var blant dem,

they disregarded their oaths.

-opphevet de løftene sine.

The only payment the builder would receive—

Den eneste betalingen byggeren skulle få—

and the last thing he would ever see—

-og det siste han noensinne ville få se—

was the swing of Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir.

-var Tor idet han svingte sin mektige hammer, Mjølner.

As they set the final stones into the wall, the gods celebrated their victory.

Gudene la den siste steinen i muren og feiret sin seier.

Loki was not among them, however.

Men Loke var ikke blant dem.

Several months would pass before he finally returned,

Flere måneder skulle det gå før han endelig vendte tilbake,

followed by a beautiful gray foal with eight legs.

-sammen med et nydelig, grått føll med åtte bein.

The foal would grow into a magnificent steed named Sleipnir

Dette føllet vokste siden opp til den praktfulle hingsten Sleipner,

and become Odin’s mount, a horse that could outrun the wind itself.

-Odins hest, som var raskere enn selve vinden.

But exactly where he had come from was something Loki preferred not to discuss.

Men nøyaktig hvor han kom fra, var noe Loke unngikk å snakke om.