Page:Stories of Norse Gods and Heroes.djvu/17

Rh had great strength. So the gods could not have the heart to kill him.

But they put it off too long. One day they found Fenrer had grown so strong that it was almost too late to do anything with him.

All the gods worked day and night until they had forged a chain they thought strong enough to hind the wolf.

Knowing they could not bind Fenrer against his will, all the gods came together for games. Thor crushed mountains with his hammer. The other gods showed their strength by lifting, and leaping, and wrestling.

Then they brought out the chain and told Fenrer to let them bind him with it, so that he might show his strength by breaking it.

Fenrer knew that he could break the chain, so he allowed himself to be bound. He only drew in a deep breath and the chain dropped into pieces.

Then the gods forged a chain twice as strong as the first. Fenrer saw that this chain would be hard to break. But breaking the first chain had made him stronger. So he allowed this one to he put on him.

This, too, he broke, and the gods were in despair. They knew they could never make a stronger chain, and they feared the wolf more than ever.