Fiction Excerpt 2: Idun’s Magic Apples

Among all the gods and goddesses who lived in Asgard, there was one god who
was always getting himself and everyone else in trouble. His name was Loki. Once
it happened that all of the gods of Asgard, who had the gift of eternal youth,
became old and weak because of Loki’s mischief. Here is the story of how the gods
lost their immortality—and then got it back again.
One day Odin, who was the father of all the gods, decided to go exploring with
the two gods Loki and Honir. So the three began hiking in the early morning and
continued all day. By nightfall they were very hungry and began to wonder what
they would eat for dinner. Just then, they saw a herd of oxen grazing in a field.
“What luck!” they cried. They killed an ox and cut it into pieces to cook in the fire.
When they thought that the meat was cooked, they pulled it out of the coals and
cut into it. They found that it was still raw.
“Oh, we must be so hungry that time is passing very slowly,” Odin said. “Let’s put it
back into the fire until it is cooked.”
They waited and waited, and got hungrier and hungrier. Finally, they decided that
the meat must be done, and they pulled it out of the fire. The meat was still just
as raw as when they had started! This is when they knew that someone had cast a
spell on the meat.
“Who has done this?” they yelled, looking around into the dark night.
“I did,” said a voice above them. The three gods looked up and saw the yellow eyes
of an eagle perched in the tree above them. Loki was so angry at the eagle that he
stabbed him with his staff. The eagle flew up into the air with the staff still stuck
in his side, and Loki was surprised to find that he couldn’t let go of the staff. It had
been glued to his hands by magic. Now Loki knew that the eagle must actually be
a horrible giant in disguise.
The eagle kept flying with Loki dangling below him. He flew so low over the
ground that Loki was dragged along rocks and bushes. It was very painful, and
Loki begged him to stop.
“I will stop on one condition,” said the eagle. “Bring the goddess Idun out of
Asgard so that I can take her to my home.”
“That would be impossible,” said Loki.

3
 “Very well,” said the eagle and continued flying. Finally, Loki was so tired that he
promised he would do as the eagle-giant asked. Loki’s hands were released, and
he walked back to join Odin and Honir. He didn’t tell them what had happened,
and the next day they all returned to Asgard.
The goddess Idun was very important in Asgard because everywhere she went,
she carried her apples of eternal life. All the gods and goddesses ate these
apples to stay young. Idun was young and, unfortunately for her, always believed
everything that people told her. So when Loki said that he had found a tree in
the forest with apples just like hers, she believed it. Idun agreed to go with him to
find the tree, but as soon as she left Asgard, the eagle-giant swooped down and
carried her away to his home in Jotunheim, the land of the giants.
Without their apples, the gods began to grow slower and more tired. Their skin grew
wrinkled and their hair became white. They no longer had any energy. Finally, Odin
realized that something had to be done, so he called for a meeting of all the gods
and goddesses of Asgard. Once they were all together, they saw that Loki and Idun
were missing. They realized that they were growing old because they no longer had
Idun and her special apples. They also guessed that Loki was responsible.
“We must find Loki,” said Odin in a weak voice, “so that he can tell us where Idun has
gone.” One of the gods went out and brought the troublemaking Loki back to Asgard.
Loki confessed to tricking Idun, which made Odin and the other gods so angry that
they said he must bring the goddess back or else they would kill him. Loki was scared.
“I’ll bring her back,” he agreed, “but it will be difficult. The giant’s home is on a high cliff,
which no one can climb. Lend me the special falcon skin, and I will fly to rescue Idun.”
So Loki borrowed the skin that turned him into a falcon. He flew all the way to
Jotunheim. When he reached the giant’s house, Loki quickly transformed Idun into
an acorn and started back to Asgard, holding the precious acorn in his claw.
When the giant saw that Idun was missing, he turned himself into an eagle and
began chasing the falcon. Loki flew as fast as he could, but the eagle was quicker.
By the time he got to Asgard, the eagle was right on his tail. The gods had been
watching his flight, however, and the second after Loki flew over Asgard’s walls,
the gods lit a fire. The eagle was flying so fast that he couldn’t stop, and he crashed
right into the pile of burning wood.
But Loki and Idun were safe, and everyone in Asgard could eat the goddess’s
magical apples and become young again.