Thor’s Fishing Trip

Ahead of this month’s story, my latest book Trees in the Time of Dinosaurs is now out. It can be ordered online here.

The Norsemen were great fishers and as you may know, fishermen often boast about the size of their catch. This is their story of how Thor, the god of thunder and storms, caught and lost the Midgard Serpent.

“We were all feasting with the god of the sea, Aeger and a very fine feast it was, though a bit too much fish for me, both gods and men need red meat, what?    Anyway, there was plenty to eat…. “Thanks, Aeger,” I kept saying. “This is a great feast.”

We gods like to keep him in good spirits, for then the seas are calm, and the people of the earth can go about their fishing safely. When Aeger loses his temper, how the seas rage!

Mind you, it isn’t only Aeger who gets the seas to rage. There is also the Midgard Serpent. Know about him, do you? No? Well, you couldn’t call him a child, but his parents are that Loki and some nasty giantess. Odin dropped the Serpent in the sea one day when it was obvious he was growing too big. He should have killed him.  Now that serpent encircles the whole world. He’ll fight against us at the End of Days…  Nasty creature… And when it wriggles, oh the storms! It’s best to take shelter in a nice little port…

To carry on about the feast, – of course, a good feast needs plenty of mead, and we all drank so much that Aeger ran out. “Don’t upset yourself,” said my gorgeous wife, “Thor will do what he can to help, won’t you Thor?”

“Would you get me a kettle from the giants?” said Aeger. “Then we can brew all we need.”

My friend Tyr, a brave young god of giant origins, piped up: “We can take my father’s, it’s huge!”  Tyr’s father was a giant who lived in a cold castle.

“But can we get the kettle?” I asked. “He won’t want to give it away. D’you know where it is?”

I set off with Tyr.  He is a good fellow, just what you want in someone on an adventure!

We had a long way to go. The giants’ land is far away, but eventually we got to Tyr’s castle where his parents lived…. Tyr banged on the door and his mother let us in.  “You better hide,” she said. “My Giant doesn’t like strangers. Here, under these kettles.”

“Mother,” said Tyr. “You’re right, we do need to hide. But my friend Thor is our guest, you should kill an ox for him. I’ll get the fire going…” He blew the bellows till there was a roaring fire. His mother came back, threaded the ox on to a huge spit and put it on to roast. Soon there was a wonderful smell… but we heard the thud, thud, thud of a giant coming home.  We hid quickly and Tyr’s father came in. He was much bigger than me, – I’m not used to being the smallest and I don’t like it.

“I’ve news,” said the Giantess. “Our son Tyr has come home, with a friend. Well, it’s Thor himself, and no friend to us giants, but he’s a friend of Tyr’s.

“Hmph,” said Hymer who was not at all glad to see me, “as you’re here, you’d better have some dinner. Where is it? I’m hungry.”  

I was quiet.  No-one spoke. Hymer watched grumpily as I ate. “If you eat like that, it’ll be fish tomorrow,” he said.

“Phew,” I said, to be friendly. “Did you say you are going fishing tomorrow?  Will you take me? I’ve strong and a good rower…”

“I row far out to sea” said Hymer. “A stripling like you might catch your death of cold.”

I was insulted, me, a stripling? and my hand twitched on my hammer. With difficulty, I controlled myself.  “I like rowing,” I said. “What do you use for bait?”

“Hmph,” said Hymer as he always did. “Find your own.”

The next day, as we were going down to the shore, we passed Hymer’s cattle. I picked out a bull, and killed it. “Makes good bait,” I said. “Hmph,” said Hymer who was not pleased.  We got in the boat. Hymer rowed far out to sea, then shipped the oars. I seized them and rowed on twice as fast. Hymer was a good rower, but he’d never seen anyone row like me.

“Steady on, steady on there,” Hymer began to be frightened, “we don’t want to disturb the Midgard-Serpent.”

I carried on. “You get a bigger catch when the water’s deep,” I said, and rowed on. When I thought we were over the dwelling-place of the Midgard-Serpent, I put a huge hook into the bull, checked my line for strength and threw it into the sea. Hymer threw in his line, and it wasn’t long before he landed two whopping whales. But I, – well, what had I caught? …. could it really be the Midgard-Serpent? I summoned my huge strength, as the waters began to heave. I pulled and was pulled, and my heart soared! I, Thor, would slay the dread Midgard-Serpent which the whole world and Odin himself had feared….

I yanked the head of the monstrous reptile out of the water, “Give me my hammer!” I shouted. Tyr did not need to be asked twice and put it in my hand.    “Death to the Serpent,” I cried and was about to strike, but at that very moment, Hymer took fright and cut my line. “You fool,” I cried and thumped him.

“We’ve still got the whales” said Hymer. “Whales, what are whales compared to the Midgard-Serpent?”  I said to myself. Still there was nothing for it, Tyr sniffed the sea air as if he was on a cruise, and I rowed us back to land, working off my anger with the exercise.

Once back in the castle, Hymer thundered. “Wife, I promised you fish, and here are two whales. Bring me my cup and some wine!”  She brough some in a most beautiful goblet.

“Thor,” said the giant, – for he had guessed who I was- “he who would drink my wine, must first break my goblet!”  Tyr whispered to me “Dash it against his forehead!” I seized the goblet and dashed it to smithereens against Hymer’s head.

“Come Tyr, it’s time to go.” I picked up the giant kettle, which is what we came for after all, and marched out of the door while Hymer was still dazed.

We made our way back to Aegir’s hall, where we were eagerly awaited. The kettle was put to make mead, and the Feast carried on……

If you want to listen to the audio version of this story, it is here: