Thor’s Tale

One day, little Viking Erik and his mother went out into the field. It needed to be ploughed and widened so that they could harvest even more grain the next year. It was hard work, because the neighbouring meadow was overgrown with weeds and full of stones. Despite that, Erik helped his mother enthusiastically, and when he found a huge stone, he called out to her:

“Look mum, I’m going to pick this stone up and throw it away like a big strong man and an invincible warrior!”

But even when Erik put all of his weight behind the stone, it did not move. After a futile struggle, Erik collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted and annoyed.

His mum, who had been watching him, smiled. Then she found a thick stick, stuck one end of it under the stone from the side, and leaned on the other end. The huge stone rolled away like a bale of straw.

Erik’s eyes widened, then filled with tears: “I will never be strong enough to be an invincible warrior.”

But his mother said to him: “My dear Erik, even the strongest warriors need to use their brains. Today, I’m going to tell you a story about the mighty god Thor, whose strength was greater than anyone’s, but who learned that strength alone is sometimes not enough.

Long ago, in Asgard, the home of all the gods, there lived a strong and powerful god named Thor. Thor was known for his strength and for his magical hammer Mjölnir, which he used to protect people and gods from evil giants.

One day, a giant called Hrungnir arrived in Asgard. He was huge and strong and liked to boast that he was the strongest creature in the whole world. In…