The myth of Loki and the master builder - Alex Gendler

Prevodilac: Stefan Vesić Lektor: Ivana Korom

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

Azgard, carstvo čuda, dom je nordijskih bogova.

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

Tu se Odinova velika dvorana Valhala uzdizala iznad planina,

and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, anchored itself.

a Bajfrost, most duga, počinjao.

But though their domain was magnificent,

Međutim, iako je njihovo carstvo bilo veličanstveno

it stood undefended from the giants and trolls of Jotunheim,

ono je bilo nezaštićeno od napada džinova i trolova Jotunhajma,

who despised the gods and sought to destroy them.

koji su prezirali bogove i želeli da ih unište.

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

Jednog dana kada je Tor, najjači od bogova otišao u borbu protiv ovih neprijatelja,

a stranger appeared, riding a powerful gray horse.

pojavio se stranac koji je jahao na moćnom sivom konju.

The visitor made the gods an astonishing offer.

Posetilac je dao bogovima neverovatnu ponudu.

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

On bi napravio najveći zid koji su ikad videli,

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

viši od bilo čega što bi džinovi mogli da pređu

i čvršći od bilo čega što bi trolovi mogli da probiju.

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

Sve što je tražio zauzvrat bila je ruka prelepe boginje Freje -

along with the sun and moon from the sky.

kao i sunce i mesec sa neba.

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

Bogovi su odmah odustali od njegovog predloga i spremali su se da ga oteraju.

But the trickster Loki concocted a devious plan.

Međutim, prevarant Loki smislio je lukav plan.

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

Rekao je bogovima da treba da prihvate strančevu ponudu,

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

ali da postave tako stroge uslove da neće uspeti da završi zid na vreme.

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

Tako ne bi izgubili ništa, a većina zida bila bi izgrađena besplatno.

Freya didn’t like this idea at all,

Freji se ova ideja uopšte nije dopala,

but Odin and the other gods were convinced

ali Odin i drugi bogovi bili su ubeđeni

and came to an agreement with the builder.

i sklopili su dogovor sa graditeljem.

He would only have one winter to complete the wall.

Imaće samo jednu zimu da završi zid.

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

Ako i jedan jedini deo ostane nezavršen do prvog dana leta

he would receive no payment.

neće dobiti nikakvu nagradu.

And he could have no help from any other people.

Takođe, niko mu ne sme pomagati.

The gods sealed the deal with solemn oaths

Bogovi su zaključili dogovor svetom zakletvom

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

i zakleli se da zidaru niko neće nauditi u Azgardu.

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

Ujutru, stranac je počeo da kopa temelje neverovatnom brzinom

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

i uveče se uputio ka planinama kako bi prikupio kamenje za gradnju.

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

Međutim, već sutra ujutru, kada su ga videli kako se vraća

that the gods began to worry.

bogovi su krenuli da brinu.

As agreed, no other people were helping the mason.

Kao po dogovoru, niko nije pomagao zidaru.

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

Međutim, njegov konj Svadilfari vukao je tovar toliko teškog kamenja

it left trenches in the ground behind them.

da je ostavljao rovove za njima.

Winter came and went.

Zima je došla i prošla.

The stranger kept building, Svadilfari kept hauling,

Stranac je nastavljao da gradi, Svadilfari je nastavljao da vuče

and neither snow nor rain could slow their progress.

i ni sneg ni kiša nisu mogli da ih uspore.

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

Samo tri dana pre početka leta, zid je stajao uspravno i neprobojno

with only the gate left to be built.

i samo je još kapija ostala da bude sagrađena.

Horrified, the gods realized that not only would they lose

Užasnuti, bogovi su shvatili da će zauvek ostati,

their fertility goddess forever,

ne samo bez svoje boginje plodnosti,

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

već će bez sunca i meseca svet progutati večna tama.

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

Pitali su se zašto su pristali na tako besmislen dogovor -

and then remembered Loki and his terrible advice.

onda su se setili Lokija i njegovog užasnog saveta.

Suddenly, Loki didn’t feel so clever.

Odjednom, Loki se nije više osećao tako pametno.

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

Svi bogovi pretili su mu nezamislivo bolnom smrću

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

ako ne nađe način da spreči graditelja da dobije svoju nagradu.

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

Loki je obećao da će rešiti problem i zatim odjurio.

Outside, night had fallen,

Napolju je pala noć

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

i graditelj se pripremao da krene da prikupi poslednji tovar kamenja.

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

Međutim, kako je pozvao Svadilfarija, kobila se pojavila u polju.

She was so beautiful that Svadilfari ignored his master

Bila je toliko lepa da je Svadilfari ignorisao poziv svog gospodara

and broke free of his reins.

i oslobodio se svojih uzdi.

The mason tried to catch him,

Zidar je pokušao da ga uhvati,

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

ali kobila je otrčala duboko u šumu i Svadilfari ju je pratio.

The stranger was furious.

Stranac je bio van sebe.

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

Znao je da su bogovi stajali iza ovoga i suprotstavio im se:

no longer as a mild-mannered mason,

ovog puta ne kao blagonamerni zidar,

but in his true form as a terrifying mountain giant.

već u svom pravom obliku kao zastrašujući planinski džin.

This was a big mistake.

To je bila velika greška.

Thor had just returned to Asgard,

Tor se nedavno vratio u Azgard

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

i sada kada su bogovi znali da je džin bio u njihovoj blizini

they disregarded their oaths.

zanemarili su svoje zakletve.

The only payment the builder would receive—

Jedinu nagradu koju će graditelj dobiti -

and the last thing he would ever see—

i poslednju stvar koju će ikad videti -

was the swing of Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir.

bio je udarac Torovog moćnog čekića Mjolnira.

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

Nakon što su ugradili poslednje kamenje u zid, bogovi su proslavili svoju pobedu.

Loki was not among them, however.

Međutim, Loki nije bio među njima.

Several months would pass before he finally returned,

Proći će nekoliko meseci pre nego što će se konačno vratiti,

followed by a beautiful gray foal with eight legs.

u pratnji prelepog sivog ždrebeta sa osam nogu.

The foal would grow into a magnificent steed named Sleipnir

Ždrebe će porasti u veličanstvenog konja po imenu Slejpnir

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

i biće samo Odinov, konj koji trči brže od samog vetra.

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

Međutim, odakle tačno je on došao bilo je nešto o čemu Loki nije želeo da razgovara.