Name: The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe - Iseult Gillespie
Uploaded: 2020-12-01T20:05:08.000Z
Duration: 5 min 29 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Baldur— son of All Father Odin  and Queen Frigg,

husband of Nanna the Peaceful,  and God of truth and light—

was the gentlest and most beloved being  in all of Asgard.

Baldur's soothing presence  eased his subject's woes.

But lately, he was plagued  by troubles of his own.

Every night, Baldur had gruesome visions  foretelling his own imminent death.

Determined to protect her son  from these grim prophecies,

Queen Frigg travelled  across the nine realms,

begging all living things  not to harm Baldur.

Her grace moved each being  she encountered.

Every animal and element, every plague  and plant, every blade and bug

Frigg returned to Breidablik,  and threw a great feast to celebrate.

Wine flowed freely, and soon the gods  took turns testing Baldur's immunity.

Lurking in the corner,  Loki rolled his eyes.

The trickster god had never cared  for Baldur the Bright,

and found his new gift  profoundly irritating.

Loki crept to Frigg's side  and feigned confusion.

Why were the gods attacking sweet Baldur,  whom they all loved so dearly?

Frigg told her of the oaths,  but the old woman pressed on.

Surely you didn't receive a vow  from everything, she asked.

The only being she hadn't visited  was mistletoe.

After all, what god could fear  a trifling weed?

At this, Loki dashed outside  to find a sprig of mistletoe.

When he returned, the festivities  had grown even rowdier.

But not every god was enjoying the party.

Baldur's brother Hodur, who was blind  and weapon-less, sat dejected.

the trickster slyly offered  Hodur a chance to participate.

Loki armed him with mistletoe,  guided his aim towards his brother,

and told Hodur to hurl with all his might.

The mistletoe pierced Baldur's chest  with deadly force.

The god's light quickly flickered out,  and despair swept over the crowd.

Within moments, the impact  of Baldur's death could be felt

But from the weeping masses,  Hermod the Brave stepped forward.

The warrior god believed that with  the help of Odin's mighty steed,

He would travel to halls of Hel herself,  and bring Baldur home.

The god rode for nine days  and nine nights,

past halls of corpses  and over paths paved with bone.

When he finally reached  the Queen of the Underworld,

Hermod begged her to return  Baldur to his family.

Hel considered taking pity, but she wanted to know the extent of the gods' mourning.

She agreed to relinquish Baldur's soul—

if Hermod could prove that every  living thing wept at Baldur's death.

Hermod shot back  to the land of the living.

He met with every creature  that Frigg visited earlier—

all of which cried for Baldur  and begged for his return.

Meanwhile, Loki watched Hermod's  mission with disdain.

He would not let his work  be so easily undone,

but if he interfered too boldly it might  reveal his hand in Baldur's murder.

Disguising himself as a ferocious giant,  he hid himself at Hermod's final stop.

the howling wind and craggy rocks  each declared their love for Baldur.

But the giant within spewed only contempt  for the deceased.

No matter how much Hermod begged,  she would not shed a single tear.

With his last hope dashed, the god began  to mourn Baldur a second time.

But an echo from the cave  rang out above his sobs.

Loki's twisted cackle was well-known  to every Asgardian,

Loki took the form of a salmon  and wriggled into the waterfall.

His escape was guaranteed,  until Thor arrived at the scene.

Dragging Loki back to the cave, the gods  bound him with a poisonous serpent.

Here, Loki would remain chained  until the end of days—

the serpent dripping venom  on his brow as punishment

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The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe - Iseult Gillespie

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