In the magical land of Asgard, where gods and goddesses lived, there was one god who was always up to something. His name was Loki, and he loved playing tricks!

One sunny morning, Loki saw Sif, who was Thor's wife. Sif had the most beautiful, long, golden hair, like sunshine turned into threads. Loki, feeling extra mischievous, had a naughty idea. While Sif was napping under a tree, Loki tiptoed over with a pair of scissors. Snip, snip, snip! He cut off all of Sif's lovely golden hair!

When Sif woke up and saw her hair gone, she cried! Thor, the mighty god of thunder, heard her. He stomped over, his eyes flashing like lightning. "LOKI!" he boomed. "Did you do this?"

Loki, looking a little bit scared but still a bit cheeky, gulped. "Uh, yes," he admitted. "But don't worry, Thor! I'll fix it! I'll get Sif new hair, even better than before! Real golden hair that will grow!"

So, Loki hurried down to the dark, underground caves where the clever dwarves lived. Dwarves were the best craftsmen in all the worlds. First, he found some dwarves called the Sons of Ivaldi. "Please," Loki begged, "you must make Sif new golden hair, and perhaps a few other amazing things too?"

The Sons of Ivaldi got to work. They spun threads of pure gold into beautiful, flowing hair for Sif. They also made a fantastic ship called Skidbladnir, which could sail anywhere and then fold up small enough to fit in a pocket! And they made a spear named Gungnir, which would always hit its target.

Loki was very pleased. But then, being Loki, he got another idea. He went to two other dwarf brothers, Brokkr and Sindri. "Those treasures from the Sons of Ivaldi are amazing," Loki boasted, "but I bet my head that you two can't make anything better!"

Brokkr and Sindri looked at each other. "A bet? We accept!" said Brokkr.
Sindri started working at the fiery forge, while Brokkr pumped the bellows to keep the fire super hot. "Don't stop pumping, Brokkr," Sindri warned, "no matter what happens!"

Loki, worried he might lose his head, turned himself into a tiny, buzzing fly.
As Sindri put a pig's skin into the fire, Loki the fly buzzed over and bit Brokkr hard on the hand. "Ouch!" thought Brokkr, but he kept pumping. Out came a magnificent golden boar with bristles that glowed in the dark, called Gullinbursti.

Next, Sindri put gold into the fire. Bzzzz! Loki the fly bit Brokkr on his strong neck. "Yowch!" thought Brokkr, but he gritted his teeth and kept pumping. Out came a magical golden ring called Draupnir. Every ninth night, eight more identical rings would drop from it!

Finally, Sindri put a big lump of iron into the fire. "This will be the best one!" he grunted. Loki the fly, getting desperate, buzzed right up and bit Brokkr on the eyelid! Brokkr couldn't see! He flinched and stopped pumping for just one tiny second to wipe the blood from his eye.
Out came a mighty hammer, Mjolnir. But because Brokkr had stopped pumping for that tiny moment, the hammer's handle was a little bit short.

Loki and the dwarves took all the treasures up to Asgard. The great gods Odin, Thor, and Freyr would be the judges.
Loki gave Sif her new golden hair, and it shimmered beautifully. She was so happy!
Odin received the spear Gungnir and the ring Draupnir.
Freyr received the ship Skidbladnir and the glowing boar Gullinbursti.
Then Brokkr presented the hammer, Mjolnir, to Thor. "Even with its short handle," Brokkr said, "this hammer will always hit what you throw it at and always return to your hand. It is the best weapon against the giants!"

All the gods agreed. Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, was the greatest treasure of all!
"We win!" shouted Brokkr, pointing at Loki. "Your head is ours!"
Loki’s eyes went wide. "Oh dear," he thought. Then he said quickly, "You can have my head, yes, but you are not allowed to touch my neck!"

Brokkr was very annoyed. How could he take Loki's head without touching his neck? It was impossible! So, instead of cutting off Loki's head, Brokkr decided to stop Loki's tricky talk for a while. He took a needle and strong thread and sewed Loki's lips shut!
Ouch! Loki couldn't boast or play word tricks for some time after that. It was a good lesson for the god of mischief, at least for a little while.

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