“The sons of Ivaldi have made gifts for you, great
Odin, and for Thor, and for Frey, and so have Eitri and Brokk. It is up to you to
decide which of the six things is the finest treasure. I myself will show you the
gifts made by the sons of Ivaldi.”
He presented Odin with the spear called Gungnir. It was a beautiful spear,
carved with intricate runes.
“It will penetrate anything, and when you throw it, it will always find its
mark,” said Loki. Odin had but one eye, after all, and sometimes his aim could
be less than perfect. “And, just as important, an oath taken on this spear is
unbreakable.”
Odin hefted the spear. “It is very fine,” was all he said.
“And here,” said Loki proudly, “is a flowing head of golden hair. Made of
real gold. It will attach itself to the head of the person who needs it and grow and
behave in every way as if it were real hair. A hundred thousand strands of gold.”
“I will test it,” said Thor. “Sif, come here.”
Sif rose and came to the front, her head covered. She removed her headscarf.
The gods gasped when they saw Sif’s naked head, bald and pink, and then she
carefully placed the dwarfs’ golden wig on her head and shook her hair. They
watched as the base of the wig joined itself to her scalp, and then Sif stood in
front of them even more radiant and beautiful than before.
“Impressive,” said Thor. “Good job!”
Sif tossed her golden hair and walked out of the hall into the sunlight, to
show her new hair to her friends.
The last of the sons of Ivaldi’s remarkable gifts was small, and folded like
cloth. This cloth Loki placed in front of Frey.
“What is it? It looks like a silk scarf,” said Frey, unimpressed.
“It does,” said Loki. “But if you unfold it, you will discover it is a ship,
called Skidbladnir. It will always have a fair wind, wherever it goes. And
although it is huge, the biggest ship you can imagine, it will fold up, as you see,
like a cloth, so you can put it into your pouch.”
Frey was impressed, and Loki was relieved. They were three excellent gifts.
Now it was Brokk’s turn. His eyelids were red and swollen, and there was a
huge insect bite on the side of his neck. Loki thought Brokk looked entirely too
cocky, especially given the remarkable things Ivaldi’s sons had made.
Brokk took the golden arm-ring and placed it in front of Odin on his high
throne. “This arm-ring is called Draupnir,” said Brokk. “Because every ninth
night, eight gold arm-rings of equal beauty will drip from it. You can reward
people with them, or store them, and your wealth will increase.”
Odin examined the arm-ring, then pushed it onto his arm, up high on his
biceps. It gleamed there. “It is very fine,” he said.
Loki recalled that Odin had said the same thing about the spear.
Brokk walked over to Frey. He raised a cloth and revealed a huge boar with
bristles made of gold.
“This is a boar my brother made for you, to pull your chariot,” said Brokk.
“It will race across the sky and over the sea, faster than the fastest horse. There
will never be a night so dark that its golden bristles will not give light and let
you see what you are doing. It will never tire, and will never fail you. It is called
Gullenbursti, the golden-bristled one.”
Frey looked impressed. Still, thought Loki, the magical ship that folded up
like a cloth was every bit as impressive as an unstoppable boar that shone in the
dark. Loki’s head was quite safe. And the last gift Brokk had to present was the
one that Loki knew he had already managed to sabotage.

The Treasures of the Gods