The Goat That Came Back to Life

Why did the goat limp after coming back to life?

Thor set out on a journey with Loki and his goats. That evening, they stayed at a farmhouse. Thor killed both goats and boiled their meat, inviting the farmer, his wife, and their children to share the meal.

Thor spread the goatskins out away from the fire and told everyone to throw the bones onto them when they had finished eating. But the farmer’s son Thjalfi split a goat’s thighbone to eat the marrow inside.

Before dawn, Thor blessed the goatskins with Mjolnir. The goats stood up, but one was limping on a hind leg. Thor realized that its thighbone was broken. He gripped the hammer’s handle so fiercely that his knuckles turned white.

The frightened family begged Thor to accept everything they owned as compensation. Seeing their terror, his anger faded. He took the children, Thjalfi and Roskva, as compensation, and they became his servants.

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