wander so far from Asgard, and over the trackless waters?"

And Loki answered, "I have heard of the net which you spread
upon the waves, and from which no creature once caught in
its meshes can ever escape. I have found a salmon where the
Rhine-spring gushes from beneath the mountains, and a very
cunning salmon he is for no common skill can catch him.
Come, I pray, with your wondrous net, and cast it into the
stream where he lies. Do but take the wary fish for me, and
you shall have more gold than you have taken in a year from
the wrecks of stranded vessels."

"I dare not go," cried Ran. "A bound is set, beyond which I
may not venture. If all the gold of earth were offered me, I
could not go."

"Then lend me your net," entreated Loki. "Lend me your net,
and I will bring it back to-morrow filled with gold."

"Much I would like your gold," answered Ran; "but I cannot
lend my net. Should I do so, I might lose the richest prize
that has ever come into my husband's kingdom. For three
days, now, a gold-rigged ship, bearing a princely crew with
rich armor and abundant wealth, has been sailing carelessly
over these seas. To-morrow I shall send my daughters and the
bewitching mermaids to decoy the vessel among the rocks. And
into my net the ship, and the brave warriors, and all their
armor and gold, shall fall. A rich prize it will be. No: I
cannot part with my net, even for a single hour."