It was a bright morning in Asgard, the magical home of the gods. Loki, the god of mischief, was feeling a bit bored. And when Loki was bored, trouble was usually not far behind! He spotted Sif, Thor's wife, sleeping peacefully. Sif had the most beautiful long, golden hair in all of Asgard. "Hmm," thought Loki with a grin, "a little haircut wouldn't hurt, would it?"

So, very quietly, snip, snip, snip, Loki cut off all of Sif's lovely golden hair! When Sif woke up and saw herself, she burst into tears. Thor, the mighty god of thunder, heard her crying. When he saw what Loki had done, his face turned red, and he roared like thunder itself, "LOKI!"

Loki knew he was in big trouble. "Don't worry, Thor! Don't worry, Sif!" he said quickly. "I'll fix it! I'll go to the dwarves, the best craftsmen in the world, and get Sif new hair, even more beautiful than before!"

So Loki hurried down to the dark, underground caves where the dwarves lived. First, he found two clever dwarf brothers known as the Sons of Ivaldi. "Can you make some treasures for the gods?" Loki asked. The dwarves, always eager to show off their skills, got to work. They made three amazing things:
1. A head of hair for Sif, spun from the finest gold, that would grow just like real hair.
2. A fantastic ship called Skidbladnir, which was big enough to hold all the gods but could be folded up so small it fit in a pocket.
3. A powerful spear named Gungnir, which would always hit its target.

Loki was very pleased. But then, being Loki, he got a bit too proud. He went to two other dwarf brothers, Brokkr and his brother Sindri. "Those Sons of Ivaldi are amazing!" Loki boasted. "I bet my own head that you two can't make three treasures as wonderful as theirs!"

Brokkr, who was a bit grumpy but very skilled, said, "Challenge accepted, Loki! My brother Sindri will work at the forge, and I will work the bellows to keep the fire hot. But you must not distract me!"

Sindri put a pig's skin in the fire. "Pump, Brokkr, and don't stop until I say so!" As Brokkr pumped, Loki, wanting to win his bet, turned himself into a tiny, buzzing fly. Bzzzz! The fly landed on Brokkr's hand and bit him hard. But Brokkr didn't stop pumping. Out of the fire came a magnificent boar with bristles of pure gold, called Gullinbursti.

Next, Sindri put gold in the fire. "Pump, Brokkr!" Again, Loki the fly buzzed around and this time bit Brokkr on his strong neck. Ouch! But Brokkr gritted his teeth and kept pumping. Out came a beautiful golden ring called Draupnir. Every ninth night, this ring would create eight more gold rings just like it.

Finally, Sindri put a big lump of iron in the fire. "Pump harder, Brokkr! This will be our best work!" Loki the fly was desperate. He buzzed right up to Brokkr's face and bit him on the eyelid, so hard that blood dripped into Brokkr's eye. For just one tiny second, Brokkr let go of the bellows with one hand to wipe the blood away. When Sindri pulled the treasure out, it was a mighty hammer, Mjolnir. But because Brokkr had flinched for that tiny second, the hammer's handle was a little bit short.

Now it was time for the gods to judge the treasures. Odin, the king of the gods, Thor, and Freyr, the god of sunshine and harvest, sat on their thrones.
Loki presented the gifts from the Sons of Ivaldi:
Sif received the golden hair, and it flowed beautifully, even better than her old hair.
Odin took the spear, Gungnir.
Freyr took the ship, Skidbladnir.

Then Brokkr presented his treasures:
He gave Freyr the golden boar, Gullinbursti, which could run faster than any horse, even through the air or over water.
He gave Odin the ring, Draupnir, a symbol of endless riches.
And finally, he gave Thor the hammer, Mjolnir. Thor gripped it, and even with its short handle, he could feel its immense power. It would always hit its mark and then fly back to his hand.

The gods talked amongst themselves. All the treasures were wonderful. But they decided that Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, was the greatest treasure of all, because it could protect Asgard from giants and monsters.

Loki had lost his bet! Brokkr stepped forward. "Your head, Loki, as you promised!"
Loki gulped. "You can have my head," he said cleverly, "but you promised not to touch my neck. And how can you take my head without touching my neck?"
Brokkr was furious, but he had to admit Loki was tricky. The gods agreed Loki could keep his head. But Brokkr, still angry about Loki's cheating fly-bites and boasting, got permission to punish Loki. He took a needle and strong thread and sewed Loki's lips shut!

So, for a little while at least, Loki couldn't boast or make any more tricky bets. And the gods had their amazing treasures, all thanks to the clever dwarves and, in a roundabout way, Loki's mischief.

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