How Thor got his hammer

Loki, who likes to play tricks, was feeling very uncomfortable because Thor was holding him very tightly.

The night before, while the other gods were sleeping, Loki sneaked up to Thor's wife Sif and cut off her beautiful hair. At that time, it seemed like a funny prank, but now Thor was really angry and was going to hurt Loki badly. So, Loki needed to figure out a way to fix what he had done. But replacing Sif's unique, golden hair was a big challenge.

Loki had an idea. He knew about the legendary dwarves who were skilled at making things. He decided to go to their home deep within the mountains. Even before he reached them, Loki was already planning how to make the dwarves do what he wanted. He thought it would be best to make two dwarf families compete against each other.

First, Loki went to the sons of Ivaldi and told them that their rivals, two brothers named Brokk and Eitri, had claimed to be the best craftsmen in the world. He said they wanted to prove it in a competition. Each family had to create three gifts for the gods, including golden hair for Sif.

Then, Loki visited Brokk and Eitri and told them the same story but switched it around, saying that the sons of Ivaldi had challenged them. However, Brokk and Eitri were not easily fooled. They agreed to participate only if Loki put his own head on the line – meaning, if they won, Loki would lose his head to them.

Loki had no choice but to agree, and he had to make sure the sons of Ivaldi would win to save himself. Both dwarf families got to work on creating the gifts.

As they worked, a troublesome black fly appeared. It stung Brokk on the hand while he was working the bellows, but he didn't stop. Then it bit Brokk on the neck as Eitri worked on a block of gold, but Brokk carried on. Finally, the fly landed on Brokk's eyelid and bit hard, causing him to briefly leave the bellows. This made their final treasure not perfect.

Loki then revealed himself, happy about their failure, and took the dwarves to present their treasures to the gods. The sons of Ivaldi had made golden hair for Sif, a powerful spear for Odin, and a magical cloth that turned into a ship for Freyr.

Brokk presented the treasures made by him and his brother: a speedy golden boar for Freyr, a ring that multiplies for Odin, and a seemingly flawed hammer called Mjolnir for Thor. However, the hammer had amazing powers, which made it the most prized gift.

Loki tried to run away, but Thor caught him. Before the dwarves could take Loki's head, Loki pointed out that they had only won the right to his head, not his neck. So, they couldn't cut it off. However, Brokk had the last laugh. He used an awl to pierce Loki's lips and sew his mouth shut to stop him from spreading lies.

The gods realized that it was Loki's trickery that had brought them these amazing gifts, especially Thor's famous hammer.

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