The Truth Behind the Contests

Who were their opponents really?

In the morning, after Thor left the castle, Utgard-Loki revealed the tricks he had used. He had placed a mountain in the path of Thor’s hammer. The deep valleys in the mountain were the marks left by its blows.

Loki’s opponent in the eating contest had been fire, which burned up the trough along with the meat. Thjalfi had raced Utgard-Loki’s own thought. The far end of the drinking horn had been connected to the sea. Utgard-Loki explained that Thor had lowered the sea by drinking from it, causing the tides to ebb.

The cat Thor had lifted was really the great serpent that encircles the earth. Everyone watching had been terrified when its paw left the ground. The old woman he had wrestled was Old Age. As people grow old, no one can escape being brought down by her.

Thor raised his hammer, but Utgard-Loki had vanished. He turned to destroy the castle, only to find a wide, empty plain. Thor set off for home, determined to find another chance to meet the great serpent.

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