Idunn’s Apples

How was Idunn rescued after she was carried away?

While traveling together, Odin, Loki, and Hoenir tried to cook an ox, but the meat would not cook through. An eagle in a tree said he was responsible. He offered to let the meat cook if they would give him as much as he could eat.

When the eagle took the ox’s legs and shoulders, Loki angrily struck him with a pole. The pole stuck fast to the eagle’s back, and Loki’s hands stuck to the pole. As the eagle dragged him along, Loki swore to bring Idunn and her apples out to him in return for his freedom.

Loki lied to Idunn, saying he had found some unusual apples. He persuaded her to come into the forest and bring her own apples to compare. There, the giant Thjazi, in eagle form, carried her away. Without Idunn, the gods grew gray-haired and old.

Threatened by the gods, Loki borrowed Freyja’s falcon cloak and set off to rescue Idunn. He turned her into a nut, grasped her, and flew home. The gods set fire to wood shavings beside the wall. The pursuing eagle’s feathers caught fire, and the gods killed him.

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