The story of Sif and her golden hair
This story is not as popular as the other ones I have told you but it has a significant place in Norse mythology because it sheds the light on the character of many Gods and gives us a glimpse of the nature of the relationship between each of them.
The story begins a long while ago in Asgard, home of the Gods and Goddesses.
One morning, Sif, who is Thor's wife, woke up to find that all her hair had gone!
Thor loved his wife's hair so much for it was golden and so shiny.
That day Thor was away from Asgard on one of his journeys.
Coming back to his palace in the afternoon, Thor called for his wife but nobody answered.
He went to the hall of the Gods and Goddesses to look for her. He then went to search in the palaces of every God and Goddess but to no avail. Sif was nowhere to be found!
Going back to his place to see what he can do next, Thor heard someone calling him quietly from a corner. He looked around to see a woman with a veil on her head.
As he approached, he realized it was his wife and she started sobbing!
"Thor", said Sif, "I'm so ashamed and can no longer stay in Asgard. For I cannot be seen like this. I shall go to Svartheim to live among the dwarfs. I'm now as ugly as they are."
"Sif!", cried Thor, "What happened?"
"My hair", replied Sif, " I woke up this morning to find that all my golden and shiny hair had gone. The hair you loved the most; and now you will no longer love me."
She then took her veil and Thor saw her bald head for the first time in his life.
"Who did that to you?" screamed Thor in his mighty rage and fury.
“I don’t know”, replied Sif.
"I'm Thor", he added, "I'm the mightiest of all the Gods and creatures and I shall get your hair back to you! Come with me."
Thor took Sif's hand and went to the Council Hall where all the Gods and Goddesses were.
Sif, with her head covered, and Thor with fire and rage in his eyes, stood before the Gods and told them what happened then said: "It must be Loki. When something goes wrong, the first thing I always think is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time."
The Gods and Goddesses quietly whispered to each other saying it must be Loki.
"I must find him and slay him," said Thor.
Odin, the All-father and the wisest of all the Gods, stood and said: "No Thor, no one in Asgard may slay the other. I'll bring Loki before us and it's up to you to make him bring your wife's hair back".
At that moment Odin made his call, a call that goes through all the nine worlds and that every God and creature shall hear and answer to if it is meant for them.
Loki heard the call, knew it was for him, and came to the council. He stood before the Gods and saw rage and fury on Thor's face. He looked to Odin's face and saw the seriousness and direness of his deed.
Without much debate, Odin said, "Loki, there is something you must do now! You shall bring back Sif's hair before sunset!".
Loki knew he shouldn't even try to deny what he did and said, "I shall do as you command, Odin All-Father".
Smart and cunning as he is, Loki quickly thought of a way to bring back Sif's hair and save his life from Thor’s hammer.
He immediately set sails to Svartheim, the land of dwarfs.
The dwarfs were talented master-smiths who could make almost anything! (They were the ones who made Thor's hammer but that's another story for another day).
He stopped at one of the dwarfs' shops and stood there watching. He started praising him and that made the dwarf feel good.
A few moments went by and Loki asked if the dwarf could bring a bar of gold and hammer it into threads so fine that they're identical to Sif's hair.
Flattered by Loki's speech, the dwarf accepted the challenge.
A few hours went by and the dwarf came back to Loki with the most beautiful hair he had ever seen. The hair was as shiny as sunlight and so light a bird couldn't feel its weight.
Loki praised the dwarf a little bit more; then off he went on his way to Asgard.
Arrived at the council in front of the Gods, Loki asked Sif to take off her veil. She closed her eyes and took it off. Loki then took the hair out and put it on her head.
Before Sif opened her eyes, the Gods, Goddesses, and everyone present started clapping and joyfully praising the most beautiful hair they had ever seen; even more beautiful and shinier than the hair she had.
Sif opened her eyes to see fire gone from Thor's eyes and a huge smile on his face.
Thor thanked Loki and warned him to never do something like this.
But it's so hard to change Loki. For Loki is the God of tricks and wit.
Illustrations by: Alessandra Fusi
