One day Odin, Loki, and Hoenir were traveling together as they often chose to do. They had left Asgard without carrying any food with them, and their journey over snow-capped mountains and arid deserts had tired them out. As they descended from the hills into a lush valley, they saw a herd of oxen and suddenly realized that they were very hungry.
"One of those cattle, well-roasted, will provide excellent fare for hungry travelers!" Loki exclaimed. "Look them over, choose a well-built ox, and I will prepare the meat."
The gods slaughtered a fine-looking animal and prepared to roast it upon a fire. They cooked the meat until it looked done, put out the fire, and sat down to eat it. To their great surprise, the meat was completely raw. They built a second fire, put the meat upon a second spit, and roasted it. They cooked the meat until it looked done, put out the fire, and sat down to eat it. Yet, the meat was still completely raw.
"What could possibly be wrong with this meat?" Odin asked his companions.
"Something sitting upon the branches of the oak tree is preventing your meat from cooking!" a voice exclaimed.
The gods immediately looked toward the oak tree and saw the Frost Giant Thjazi in the form of a great eagle sitting upon one of its branches.
"Let me eat as much as I want of your ox," the eagle told them, "and I will permit your meat to cook."
When the gods agreed, the eagle flew down from its perch, landed upon the meat, grabbed the two shoulder pieces and two thighs, and gobbled them up in a flash.
Furious at the eagle's greed, Loki picked up a sturdy stick and with all his might plunged it into the eagle's body. Before Loki could let go of the stick, the eagle flew up into the air, carrying him with it.
Loki found that the stick would not budge from the eagle and that he could not let go of the stick. The eagle dragged him along, flying low enough so that Loki's feet crashed over the surface of the earth, slamming against the stones and bushes in their path. "Let me go," he cried, "before you pull my arms from their sockets!"
"That I will agree to do, Loki," the eagle replied, "if you promise to bring me Idun and her golden apples. You must lure Idun out of Asgard and into the nearby forest so I can capture her. I shall meet you there two days from now. Swear a sacred oath that you will keep your word!"
"I swear that I shall do as you ask!" Loki exclaimed.
With that, the eagle released him and Loki returned to his companions. He did not disclose the promise he made to the eagle. When the three gods returned to Asgard, Loki approached Idun and said, "I have found some beautiful golden apples in the forest. They look as lovely as yours. Bring your own basket of apples to compare them, and come with me. You will want to add the ones I have found to your collection."
Idun's eyes sparked at the prospect. Smiling with pleasure, the goddess took her basket of apples and set out with Loki for the forest. When they had wandered deep into the woods, the eagle suddenly swooped down upon them. Before Idun was aware if what was happening, the great bird snatched her in his claws and flew away with her.
The gods in Asgard knew that Idun was missing when she did not bring them her golden apples to eat. No matter where they looked, they could find neither her nor the apples, and no one could imagine what had happened to her. Of course, Loki appeared to be as surprised as the other gods.
Idun's disappearance was a very serious matter, for it was only by regularly eating her apples that the gods remained young. As the days pa**ed and still Idun did not return, the gods became older and older. Their hair became gray, their faces and hands became wrinkled, and their walk became slow and hesitating.
Odin called the other gods together to discuss the problem. They learned that the last time Idun had been seen, she was walking with Loki away from Asgard. The gods immediately grabbed Loki and bound him. Odin announced, "We will torture you to d**h unless you tell us what has happened to Idun!"
Loki, realizing that his life was in great danger, replied, "I will see if Idun is in Jotunheim (giants' home). I will search for her there if you, Freya, will lend me your falcon-feathered cloak."
"I will lend you whatever you wish!" Freya exclaimed.
So Loki put Freya's falcon-cloak upon his back and flew north to Jotunheim. When he arrived at Thjazi's house, the giant was rowing upon the sea and Idun was home alone. Loki immediately changed the goddess and her golden apples into a nut and quickly flew off with her, holding her firmly in his claws.
When Thjazi returned, he looked everywhere but could not find Idun.Expecting that trouble had arrived in his absence, he changed himslef into an eagle and flew off to learn what he could. Seeing the falcon, he flew after it.
The gods, who were waiting and watching in Asgard, saw Loki flying toward them bearing a nut in his claws. Approaching him quickly from behind was a huge eagle. The gods immediately gathered bags of wood shavings and set to work placing them around the walls of Asgard. As soon as the falcon flew over the wall into safety, the gods set fire to the shavings, causing roaring flames to rise high into the heavens.
The eagle was pursuing the falcon at too great a speed to change its course. It flew into the flames and its feathers caught fire. In agony, it dropped to the ground by the gates, and the gods k**ed it.
Skadi, Thjazi's daughter, was obliged to avenge her father's murder. She put on a full coat of armor, grabbed a weapon in each hand, and headed for Asgard.
When she arrived, Odin said, "It is customary to offer the relative of a dead man wergild (man-price) as compensation for his d**h. Therefore, we offer you the husband of your choice from among us. There is one condition. You must choose him based solely upon his feet."
Skadi agreed. She loved Odin's son Balder because he was so good. "I shall choose Balder as my husband!" she announced. "I am certain that I can find him, for everything about him must be beautiful, even his feet! Therefore, I choose... these feet!" she exclaimed.
The gods tried to hide their smiles as the owner of the feet appeared, for it was Njord, not Balder, who possessed them.
Odin then said, "Our payment will not be sufficient unless we can make you laugh."
Skadi gave him a dark look and replied, "I would like to see the one among you who can succeed. Given my choice of husband, I do not feel like laughing!"
However, Loki was a god of many talents. He became a trickster and waged a tug-of-war with a billy goat. When the god fell into her lap, Skadi laughed at his silly antics in spite of herself.
Odin then took Thjazi's two eyes and tossed them into the heavens to become bright stars. Skadi was honored by this tribute to her father. Satisfaction replaced her anger, and she made her peace with the gods.