saw this, so they once more dragged the stream, while Thor waded in the
middle of it. So they went to the sea.

Then Loki saw in what a dangerous situation he was. He must risk his
life if he swam out to sea. The only other alternative was to leap over
the net. That he did, jumping as quickly as he could over the top cord.

Thor snatched at him, and tried to hold him, but he slipped through his
hand, and would have escaped, but for his tail, and this is the reason
why salmon have their tails so thin.

Loki being captured, they took him to a certain cavern, and they took
three rocks, through each of which they bored a hole. Then they took
Loki's sons Vali and Nari, and having changed Vali into a wolf, he tore
his brother Nari into pieces. Then the gods took his intestines and
bound Loki with them to the three stones, and they changed the cord into
bands of iron. Skadi then took a serpent and suspended it over Loki's
head so that the venom drops from it on to his face. Siguna, Loki's
wife, stands near him, and holds a dish receiving the venom as it falls,
and when the dish is full she goes out and pours its contents away.
While she is doing this, however, the venom falls on Loki, and causes
him such intense pain that he writhes so that the earth is shaken as if
by an earthquake.

There he lies till Ragnarök (the twilight of the gods).




ORIGIN OF TIIS LAKE.