in vain for Loki, till Kvasir, one of Odin's sons, famous for his keen
sight, spied out the remains of the fishing-net in the fire; then Odin
knew at once that there was a river near, and that it was there where
Loki had hidden himself. He ordered his sons to make a new net, and to
cast it into the water, and drag out whatever living thing they could
find there. It was done as he desired. Thor held one end of the net,
and all the rest of the gods drew the other through the water. When
they pulled it up the first time, however, it was empty, and they
would have gone away disappointed had not Kvasir, looking earnestly at
the meshes of the net, saw that something living had certainly touched
them. They then added a weight to the net, and threw it with such
force that it reached the bottom of the river, and dragged up the
stones in the pool.

Loki now saw the danger he was in of being caught in the net, and, as
there was no other way of escape, he rose to the surface, swam down
the river as quickly as he could, and leaped over the net into the
waterfall. He swam and leaped quick as a flash of lightning, but not
so quickly but that the gods saw him, knew him through his disguise,
and resolved that he should no longer escape. They themselves divided
into two bands. Thor waded down the river to the waterfall; the other
gods stood in a group below. Loki swam backwards and forwards between
them. First he thought he would dart out into the sea, and then that
he would spring over the net back again into the river. This last
seemed the easiest way of escape, and with the greatest speed he
attempted it. Thor, however, was watching for him, and as soon as Loki
leaped out of the water he stretched out his hand and caught him
while he was yet turning in the air. Loki wriggled his slippery, slimy
length through Thor's fingers; but the Thunderer grasped him tightly
by the tail, and, holding him in this manner in this hand, waded