UFSI Yes, time flies brother. How it flies! (about to get up again but suddenly duck down. Because now LOKI flaps across the stage, and out again. He does not see them) HUFSI Stone me! GUFSI Stone me too! (hunches up) Sssh. I think I hear something! HUFSI (points) It came from over there. (TRYM enters in a large, macabre throne wheeled by half-naked troll-maidens. He sits looking at his own reflection while the girls scratch him and run their fingers through his hair. NB naturally, all the negative words in the song are meant as compliments and praise by the singers) TRYM (singing) Who is the strongest troll of them all? THE GIRLS It's Trym! TRYM Who is the ugliest troll of them all? THE GIRLS It's Trym! TRYM Am I hideous, gruesome, foul and grim? THE GIRLS You're bad, you're worse, you're the worst - you're Trym! GUFSI (talks) Trym, there's something I must tell you… TRYM (waves them away;sings) Who is the shiftiest troll of them all? THE GIRLS It's Trym! TRYM Who is the slyest troll of trolls? THE GIRLS It's Trym! HUFSI (spoken) Something has happened. GUFSI (spoken) Something important. TRYM (sings) Am I hideous, gruesome, foul and grim ? THE GIRLS You're bad, you're worse, you're the worst - you're Trym! HUFSI (speaking) Listen a minute Trym! Thor has gone and lost his hammer. GUFSI (speaking) And we thought that if we trolls and undergrounders found it first - TRYM (waves the girls aside and stands up, powerful and pleased with himself. Produces with a gesture of triumph a glinting hammer. Speaking) And what do you think this is? HUFSI & GUFSI (in unison) Have you found it? TRYM (Speaking with dignity) I have in perfectly proper and respectable fashion stolen it! THE GIRLS & HUFSI & GUFSI (sing) Who is the trickiest troll of trolls? TRYM It's Trym! THE GIRLS & HUFSI & GUFSI (sing as they slowly wheel him out) Who is the wickedest troll of trolls? TRYM (sings) It's Trym! THE GIRLS & HUFSI & GUFSI Is he hideous, gruesome, foul and grim? TRYM I'm bad, I'm worse, I'm the worst - I'm Trym! (Throne is wheeled out. LOKI & ANGERBODA appear from another side. She is extremely pregnant! ) ANGERBODA He needs a boot up the arse. That's what he needs! LOKI So you're sure it's Trym? ANGERBODA My sweet little bag of feathers! (Loki still has the wings on) It is Trym and no-one but. Trym has Miolnir. And he's going to hang on to it. Clot that he is! (places Loki's hand on her stomach) Feel how they're the kicking in here! LOKI They? Will there be more than one? ANGERBODA I never give birth to less than three at once! LOKI But Trym…I mean…surely he's willing to do a deal? ANGERBODA Ask him yourself. LOKI (a little anxiously) Angerboda - why are you sneaking on Trym? I thought you and he were - ANGERBODA (interrupts) I am not sneaking on him! But what Trym needs is a kick up the backside, like I said! He's getting above himself. He thinks he's better than me! Ha! (again places Loki's hand on her stomach) Just feel all the wriggling and jiggling going on in here! LOKI Can you think of anything…that Trym might be…interested in acquiring? In return for the hammer? ANGERBODA Trym is a deluded clown. I know exactly what it is he would like! (Light down on Loki and Angerboda. Lights up on HUFSI & GUFSI & TRYM. All three laugh) GUFSI Without his hammer Thor is practically helpless! HUFSI We can charge straight into Asgard! GUFSI And no-one can harm us! HUFSI No on can stop us! (NB Each line followed and surrounded by laughter. TRYM laughs too, though he says nothing. His head turns back and forth between Hufsi and Gufsi as though watching a game of ping-pong…) GUFSI The world lies open! HUFSI The world is ours! TRYM (abruptly stops laughing) The world is mine! I'm the one with the hammer! (he waves it threateningly) GUFSI (afraid) Of course, Trym. HUFSI Naturally, Trym. GUFSI You're the one with the hammer. TRYM Now I'm the one with the power! HUFSI You're the one with the power… GUFSI But when shall we go, Trym? When shall we start the attack? TRYM From now on, everybody is to say 'O mighty Trym' when they speak to me. HUFSI (keenly) Yeah, when are we going to squash 'em, Trym? TRYM (angrily) Oh mighty Trym! HUFSI (meekly) When are we going to squash those stuck-up Aesir…Oh mighty Trym? GUFSI Shall we do it now straightaway? (Trym swings the hammer at him and he hastens to add) Oh mighty Trym? TRYM No. HUFSI No? GUFSI Yes, because now, no-one can stop us - (hastens to correct himself)I mean - stop you, Oh might Trym. TRYM First we're going to play with them a bit. Tease them and torment them. Play with them! HUFSI Do you have something special in mind, Oh mighty Trym? TRYM Not something, but someone - in mind… (Light down on these three) FREYA (cries angrily in the dark) Nooooo! (lights up on her. She stamps with her foot. Thor and Loki in front of her. Loki still wearing the falcon-shape) Have you gone out of your minds? Do you think I'm so man-crazy that I'm willing to jump into bed with anyone at all? Do you really think I'm so hard up I should consider myself lucky if some scabby old troll makes me an offer? THOR But Freya - FREYA Am I so randy and blind and so plain stupid that I should just agree to marry some oaf of an ogre in Giant Land? Never! LOKI No, no. Goodness me no. We were only asking. FREYA As long as I live! LOKI Then we'll put that down as a 'no' for the time being. (He and Thor withdraw from her presence backwards) FREYA (with a toss of her head)I would rather die! HEIMDALL (Has entered) Well it looks as if that's what might happen to us all. TYR (sighs) And sooner than we think! ODIN (to Freya) We can't force you… FREYA (obstinate) Just you try it! LOKI (summing up, for all those who have now arrived) Listen…Trym has the hammer. And he's buried it somewhere secret a hundred miles under the ground. THOR (sighs in resignation) So there's no hope. LOKI Hope and hope…Trym is at least willing to do a deal. THOR I'll give anything. Gold, silver, horses, cows - LOKI (Interrupts) The king of the Giants has more than enough of such things. We know what he wants… (All look at Freya, who stamps her foot angrily and claws in the air at Loki) THOR (sighs) He wants Freya for his bride. HEIMDALL (has an idea) I know - let's disguise Thor! (There is confused muttering) So that he looks like Freya! THOR Uh? HEIMDALL Let's wrap him up in bridal linen, and deck him out with her jewellery. (Aesir look at each other. Is he serious?) With a veil over his face no-one will recognise him! We'll give him a headdress and floor-length women's clothes. And a bunch of household keys to dangle from his belt. SIV (slight shake of her breasts) It'll take a bit more than that won't it? HEIMDALL A couple of boulders up there and he'll have the biggest, lushest breasts any troll has ever seen! LOKI (laughs) Now there's an idea I would have been proud of ! THOR (who has continued to say 'Uh?' several times) It isn't right for a man to go round dressed up as a woman - HEIMDALL (interrupts) But do we have any choice? LOKI (to Thor) You be quiet! Necessity breaks all the rules! And surely if anyoneis capable of getting the hammer back it's going to be the one who owns it himself? (All cry their assent) ODIN (places a hand on Thor's shoulder) If you should fail - in a little while Asgard will be overrun by Giants! (In the meantime the women have already managed to assemble the bridal outfit. Now, to giggling and laughter, Thor is prepared for his journey) THOR Well dang my hide. In this get-up I'm going to look like a swollen water-lilly. FREYA Don't you think we ought to shave off his beard and moustache? THOR (covers his face in alarm) Never! SIV (laughing) But it'll make you look even sweeter! THOR Sweeter shmeeter! LOKI (Has been standing with his back turned for a while;now turns to face Thor) Oh Thor…you look lovely! (claps his hands) Who could wish for a more ravishing bride! THOR I'll ravish you in a minute! (takes a swipe at Loki) LOKI Well, I'll be making the best of myself too, you know. You didn't think I'd let you go on your own, did you? This is one story where I really must see the end in person! THOR Uh? LOKI You need a handmaid don't you? (Loki curtsies) A teensy weensy little handmaid? (blinks as rapidly as he can, with both eyes) (Lights down on them both. Lights up on HUFSI & GUFSI who carry in benches and set up a long table) GUFSI Well, that's the worst part of it over. HUFSI The table's in place. And there's straw on the benches. GUFSI It's so clean and posh here even the shit shines! TRYM (appears, dressed for the wedding) Is the food ready? HUFSI A hundred sows slaughtered and roasted! TRYM And the drink? GUFSI First-class! (pats a barrel and hiccoughs)Pardon me. (Music. TRYM gives a start. Peers up at the sky. Several troll-girls come running it and they too look up into the sky. Some of them are already present, having helped Hufsi and Gufsi with the preparations) TRYM Here she comes! HUFSI I'll say ! TRYM See the radiance of her! How she shines! Oh Freya! My bride! THOR (through the loudspeaker, in falsetto) Yoo-hoo! (We hear the chariot land off-stage and the goats neighing. ) (To celebratory music the guests make their entry. THOR and TRYM link arms and sit down. Thor wants to start eating straightaway, but Loki stops him) LOKI (whispers) Wait until they say start! THOR Yes but - LOKI Remember - you're a lady! (Thor growls irritably) Try to speak as little as possible. THOR (deep-voiced) Why ? LOKI That's why. THOR (deep-voiced) Oh, of course! (And catching himself out now goes falsetto, with a French accent) Yes ov cuurse, ov cuurse… (turns to Trym and strokes his cheek, plucks at his beard and laughs coquettishly) TRYM What a beautiful voice she has! THOR (low and crude to Loki)Ha! TRYM Please - everybody - begin. (All begin to eat. Thor forgets his surroundings and sets about the meal as though he'd never seen food before) LOKI (stands up and steps out of his role as he wanders round and addresses the audience) But it certainly wasn't easy to keep up the pretence. Thor gobbled and chomped away as though he'd never seen food before. For starters he put away a whole ox… THOR (crudely) Oooo! (Belches) Mm, it's good to get a little something inside you! (checks himself and resumes his French falsetto) Oh how lovely this tastes! Mm, my, it really does! (now sets about a whole barrel of ale which he downs in one) TRYM (wide-eyed) I've never seen anything like it! (Thor belches, fills up his plate again) GUFSI (protecting his plate) Every man has to look out for his own here, Hufsi! TRYM I've never seen a bride with an appetite like that! Never seen a woman take such big mouthfuls and drink such deep draughts! LOKI (in bridesmaid's voice) No indeed. But don't forget either that the bride hasn't eaten for eight days! TRYM Eight days? LOKI (in bridesmaid voice) For the last eight days Freya has refused both food and drink. All she could think of was you, and her trip here to Giant Land! TRYM Ah, the poor little thing. (strokes Thor's cheek, but at once withdraws hand) Oouch - the bride bit me! LOKI (to the audience) He certainly doesn't make it easy for us! (bridesmaid's voice to Trym) She's just terribly shy, the poor girl! TRYM Oh the poor poor sweet little thing! But Trym will take care of you. Come, give me a kissy-wissy my little song-bird! (Dips his head down under the veil, but when he looks in Thor's eyes he gets such a shock he jumps back and then takes several more paces back! ) Ow, Oo. Oo oo oo oo! I would never have believed a bride could have such a fiery look and such sharp eyes! LOKI (also takes a peek under Thor's veil) Sharp and sharp…(lowers it) Yes, poor thing, her eyes do seem a little bloodshot… TRYM (approaches cautiously) A little? Phew! Wow! LOKI But that's only because she hasn't slept for eight nights. (nudges Trym in the ribs and winks) TRYM Uh? LOKI For the past eight nights Freya hasn't been able to sleep a wink . All she could think of was you, and her trip to Giant Land! (Loki sighs ecstatically and rolls his eyes heavenward) TRYM (straightens up) Well well well! I've never heard the like of it! (Looks proudly round. The other trolls nod and smile at him. The bride has just downed another barrel and belches loudly) LOKI (to the audience, in a normal voice) How long can we wait? How much longer are we going to be able to keep this up? TRYM Sound the trumpets! Let the wedding ceremony commence! LOKI (to the audience) Praise be! (GUFSI & HUFSI blow out of tune blasts on large horns) TRYM Bring in the hammer! (Four troll-maidens bear in the hammer on a large shield. TRYM picks it up and lifts it high) Here is Miolnir - Thor's hammer - the most powerful weapon on earth! LOKI (in bridesmaid voice) Yes - and soon it will be on its way back to Asgard, won't it? TRYM Never! THOR (in French falsetto) Neverrrr? TRYM The Aesir will never again be able to use this against us! LOKI (bridesmaid's voice) But the promise…? TRYM Means nothing! Or do you deny me the right to tell lies whenever I feel like it? Just who do you think you are? LOKI Only a little bridesmaid. TRYM Precisely! No - instead of returning the hammer to Thor we shall mount an attack! (cries out) We shall smash Asgard! GUESTS Yes! TRYM And kill the gods! GUESTS Yes! TRYM Could a bride ask for a better honeymoon trip? (laughter. He looks directly at the veiled bride as he says this and Thor hurries to nod his head in agreement) I hold here Miolnir - and with this hammer I, Trym, do take thee, Freya, for my bride! (bows to Thor) I lay this in the bride's lap, as a sign that from now on we are man and wife! (THOR stands up. Takes a firm hold of Miolnir. Gives a wild peal of laughter and tears off his veil) TRYM Oh dear. Oh dearie dearie me! THOR Oh dearie dearie you indeed! (upends the table, swinging wildly on all sides) GUFSI & HUFSI It's Thor! THOR With his hammer! (Silent film music and a silent-film melee as all drag tables and benches and food , tear round the stage and exit, at the same time clearing the stage. Finally LOKI alone remains. Light and sound fade down slowly) LOKI (to the audience) There was a brawl that could be heard all round the seven mountains. And the Thunder God laid about him like a whirlwind and every giant's skull was cracked open, every stone-heart was smashed to smithereens and bloody grains of sand. None escaped. That's the last we hear of Trym - the would-be king of the giants and the undergrounders. But that kind of brawling wasn't my style, and I let them get on with the fighting in - if you see what I mean - peace. Nor did I return with Thor to Asgard. Instead I wrapped myself up well in my skirts and continued heading east. Because I was, after all, about to become a father… (Light down on Loki too) (Light up on the Three Norns, humming quietly as they go about their business of watering Yggdrasil. ODIN stands watching them. ) ODIN (to the audience) These are the Norns. The goddesses of past, present and future. They know what will come to pass. They have vision…As for me, I see almost nothing. Just a few short steps ahead of me. Why do I not have their gift too? Am I not Odin? Am I not king of the gods? FRIGG (has entered. Rests her head against his shoulder) What is to be, will be. ODIN Now you sound like them. (Meaning the Norns) FRIGG That's how it is. ODIN Are things really preordained? Is it not possible to make a little change here, a little alteration there? (reaches out a hand and grabs hold of WEIRD, one of the Norns) Does it really make no difference what we do or don't do? (WEIRD smiles and shakes her head) No! It can't be like that! What you Norns see is only one among a thousand possible futures. We can choose! (The Norns go out humming and smiling) FRIGG There, there… ODIN Even you can see further than me. FRIGG Not more than a couple of winters ahead. ODIN For me it's all like fog. (Has a new thought) Actually, I'm glad. FRIGG There, you see. ODIN Because I will run the world. I will fight to get things the way I want them to be. I will believe that the struggle is worthwhile! (points after the Norns) And yet still I have to talk to them. Still I must ask my questions, peer and prod and seek and search …But they're only fortune- tellers, aren't they? Or do the Norns actually decide what happens? Are they not part of my own creation? How is it that they know more than I do? FRIGG (strokes him) I don't know. ODIN I feel responsible for what I have created. I want to rule the world in the best way possible. But how can I when things seem to go their own way? (opens his palms in a gesture of puzzlement. Laughter off-stage. LOKI and several Aesir enter ) LOKI Congratulate me, half-brother of mine. I've just become the father of three wonderful children. FRIGG I didn't know that Sigyn was expecting. LOKI Her name is Angerboda. She lives out east - in the mountains. (to Odin) I've mentioned her before. ODIN (nods)I've heard the name before. And the three children? (Siv, Thor, Sigyn, Tyr, Heimdall and Freya have also arrived by now) LOKI The world has never seen children like them. FREYA Yes, that's what all father's say! (Laughter) THOR Are they boys or girls? LOKI A bit of each. (Laughs) And quite a bit more besides! FREYA (keenly)Tell us! LOKI Well, one of them's a wolf. ALL (in alarm) A wolf? LOKI (enjoying their unease) One is a snake. ALL A snake! ! ODIN And the third? LOKI The third is a girl. One half of her face and body are the colour of normal skin, and the rest of her's black and blue! (All gasp) SIGYN (cautiously)This is a bad omen… LOKI (sarcastically) I wouldn't expect you to see it any other way. SIGYN (goes to him, touches him) But sweetheart…it is a bad omen. (Loki removes her hand) LOKI (tries to lighten the atmosphere with a joke) Which of us doesn't have children in Giant Land! (laughs) ODIN (seriously) Sigyn is right. These are not ordinary children. LOKI (with a hateful glance at Sigyn) Old wives babble! ODIN (hard) It's important that you bring them here to Asgard at once so that we can take a closer look at them. (turns and moves to another part of the stage) LOKI But I can't just… Listen here, we can't just… TYR (interrupting, stands on one side of him) I'll go with you. THOR (stands on the other) So will I. (Lights down on them. Lights up on Odin) ODIN (to the audience) Angerboda and her brothers defended themselves as best they could. But the Giants are no match against Thor and his hammer. The three children were abducted and brought back to Asgard. (Spotlight on FENRIR . A boy about 7-8 years dressed in a wolfskin so that he clearly resembles a miniature version of the grown Fenrir seen at the beginning of both the first and second acts. ) The wolf-cub's name is Fenrir. He's unusually big for his age. His jaws are as strong as iron pincers and his eyes are like treacherous swampholes in a bog. (The wolf-cub snaps at the air. HEL joins him - a girl 7-8 years old) The girl's name is Hel. Never have the Aesir seen a child with such a cold face and such greedy eyes. (LOKI enters, with a large, living snake around his neck) LOKI (laughs) Aren't my children wonderful? (spotlight out on Loki and the children) (the three Norns enter and position themselves silently around Odin) ODIN (To the Norns) There are many who would like to see them killed at once. But I remind them that it is we ourselves who decided that Asgard is to be a sanctuary - for all. There must be some other way to deal with that brood… WEIRD More powerful enemies than these have never yet penetrated the walls of Asgard . One day they will rise up, and gather around them all the powers of darkness. ODIN But what if they never grow up? VERDANDI I see blood. ODIN Mine or theirs? (The Norns are silent. He looks at each one in turn) Answer me? Answer me when I talk to you! Mine or theirs? SKULD (Lowers her gaze) The wolf shall one day swallow you… ODIN (bunches his fists) But what if I kill him now, while he's still a cub? THE THREE NORNS (whisper in unison) None can change his destiny. (Odin turns and walks away from them. They stand still, watching him. The wolf-cub Fenrir comes to meet Odin. Fawns over him. The three Norns whisper once more:) None can change his destiny… (lights out on them and they leave) ODIN (talks to the cub, who understands nothing and dances playfully around him)I know…I know that the Norns look on life as a great tapestry, in which the destiny of each individual is woven like a thread in among all the others. I respect the Norns. I will not openly oppose their will or their advice. For I have learnt to be careful in matters that are beyond my understanding. (reaches out a hand to pat Fenrir) But still I have not abandoned hope that things can be changed and fate turned away…So I shall send Hel far away into the north…to Niflheim, where it's always cold and dark. And the serpent - your brother Jormungard - shall be thrown into the depths of the world ocean. As for you, little wolf-cub…you shall be allowed to remain here in Asgard. (Fenrir enjoys being stroked and scratched, he rolls over onto his back) You may round around, as free as any dog! (throws a stick. Fenrir runs after it) FRIGG (has entered) Why don't you send Fenrir far away too? ODIN (shakes his head) If the wolf is my fate, as the Norns say, then I want him where I can keep my eye on him - all the time! (Fenrir returns with the stick. Fawns, is stroked and patted. Lights down on the group) (Lights up on LOKI and ANGERBODA. She's wearing a macabre mourning dress in black, with long chains winding tightly round her whole body from which tiny skulls dangle . ) ANGERBODA You are a dolt! A clot. A curse on you! A dolt - just like all the others! LOKI But what could I have done? ANGERBODA I thought you were different. I thought that we two - but you betrayed us. You betrayed us! LOKI Angerboda! ANGERBODA I don't ever want to see you again. You are not one of us. LOKI (despairing) Is there nothing I can do to make up for it? ANGERBODA We'll see… LOKI I'll do everything. Everything I can! ANGERBODA Everything is exactly what I shall demand of you! LOKI Now? Soon? ANGERBODA When the right time comes. LOKI Will that be long? ANGERBODA (Hard) Much too long. Thanks to you! (Light out on them. They go out) (The wolf howls in the darkness. Light up on Fenrir. He has grown. From now on it is the adult who must play the part. The wolf runs back and forth. It is evident that those Aesir who cross the stage are a little afraid of it…) SIGYN It's growing so quickly. Getting stronger and more dangerous by the day. Now he laughs at us. He mocks us because we hardly dare pass him alone or unarmed. (TYR comes forward and gives the wolf food. The wolf growls and snaps) Of us all, only Tyr dares to feed him. (LOKI arrives. Takes Sigyn by the arm. Together, arm in arm, they cross the whole stage, both of them evidently in fear of the wolf) FENRIR (His speech still disjointed) Don't go! Don't go! Come here! Stroke Fenrir! (Growls wildly) Ha ha! Stroke Fenrir! Scratch behind the ear! LOKI (to the audience) Is it the father's fault if his children turn out to be unmanageable? (he and Sigyn leave) TYR (as he watches Fenrir eat) Twice we forged strong chains for him. FENRIR First time…you said it was a game! Wanted to see how strong I was! Forrrr fun! And I was strong! TYR You burst your chains instantly. FENRIR Second time. Even thicker links! TYR We wound the chain round your body and your legs. Told you your fame would spread through the whole world if a piece of ironwork like that was unable to hold you. FENRIR But Fenrir…very strong. Fenrir twisted chain to the ground…broke it up with paws. Fenrir…twisted his way loose. TYR Yes, and the fragments of metal went bouncing from wall to wall! FENRIR Stroke Fenrir! TYR (Stroking Fenrir) And in all of Asgard there is no one who can forge a stronger chain… FENRIR Scratch behind ear! TYR (scratching the wolf) And still you're not full-grown… MIMIR'S HEAD (wheeled in by Hugin and Munin) Careful! Watch where you're wheeling me! (All three evidently in fear of Fenrir) That's a charming sight, isn't it? (nods at Fenrir and Tyr) But as you heard - Tyr is the only one who dare go within reach of the monster! Even Odin keeps his distance…because that wolf really is a - (Fenrir makes a little rush at them) man-eater! Even Odin is afraid of him! ODIN (from a safe distance) Is that so surprising? (irritated) Your words are no sharper than your wits! MIMIR'S HEAD Once upon a time you gave your eye for a bit of those wits! ODIN (bows) Please - pay no attention to me. MIMIR'S HEAD (to the audience) There's only one way out for the Aesir. They must turn once more to those who live underground. And the dwarves - the dwarves forge a chain that is wondrous indeed. (The two dwarves we have met before - SINDRE & BROKK - enter carrying between them a thin chain that looks almost like a coloured ribbon) SINDRE It is forged from the beard of a woman…the roots of a mountain…the sinews of a bear…the breath of a fish…the spit of a bird…the sound of a cat's paws. MIMIR'S HEAD Does the chain have a name? BROKK We call it Gleipnir. (holds it out towards Mimir)Feel how smooth and soft it is! (checks himself, realising Mimir has no arms)I'm sorry! (Odin approaches. Takes the chain. The dwarves withdraw, bowing) MIMIR'S HEAD (Looking straight at Odin) And since that day women have been without beards, mountains without roots, and the footsteps of a cat have been soundless…(But Odin's thoughts are elsewhere. He thinks only of Fenrir. Now THOR enters and strolls over to join Odin. Mimir groans quietly and says to Hugin and Munin:) Get me out of here! (They have almost wheeled him off the stage when:) Wait! Now things are starting to happen! (they stop and turn him round so he can see what's going on) Because once the Aesir get this chain they trick the wolf into going with them across the sea to an island called Lyngvir. There they show him Gleipnir. (Odin, Thor and Tyr parade in a ring round Fenrir. They hold out the chain. The wolf swipes at it with his paws) They say: ODIN It's stronger than it looks. MIMIR'S HEAD They say: THOR It's much stronger! MIMIR'S HEAD They try to snap it with their hands. (We see them trying. To Hugin and Munin:) Wheel me closer! (they do so) But they're not strong enough! THOR (red in the face) No! It can't be done! MIMIR'S HEAD They say: ODIN But I'll bet the wolf could do it… MIMIR'S HEAD And in this way they try to tempt and trick the great beast. But Fenrir realises that there's something not quite straightforward about it all. (The wolf growls and snaps) FENRIR I wouldn't win much fame by snapping a thin binding like that. (Now his powers of speech are fully developed) And if it's been made by trickery and magic then there's no way you're going to wrap it round my legs! THOR You're broken every chain before! ODIN And if you really can't manage this one then we've no reason to be afraid of you any more and we'll release you go immediately. FENRIR (Howls with laughter) If you manage to bind me so tightly that I can't free myself it'll be a very long time before one of you comes to release me! THOR No, not at all! FENRIR (goes right up to Thor) But just so that no-one can accuse me of being a coward, what if one of you puts his hand in my mouth as I'm being bound - as a guarantee that it isn't a trick? (Thor hurries to hide both hands behind his back. The wolf smirks) MIMIR'S HEAD (We see what he relates) The Aesir look at each other. Now they've got themselves in a double-bind. No one wants to stick his hand in the wolf's mouth. Odin won't. Thor won't. Finally Tyr steps forward. He is not the strongest of the Aesir, but there is none braver. And in all manner of battles Tyr has shown himself to be a wise warrior. He knows what must be done if the Aesir are to triumph. So Tyr puts one of his hands between the wolf's gaping jaws. And Fenrir allows them to chain him. (Fenrir hops and dances about as he tries to free himself. Tyr's hand is in his mouth the whole time. Thor and Odin laugh, enjoy themselves hugely. Music) ODIN (laughs) Now you can twist and turn all you like! THOR (laughs) The more you twist the tighter it sits ! FENRIR So it was a trick after all! ODIN (laughs) You are well and truly trapped…wolf! THOR (laughter) And we won't be letting you go until the moss has grown between your claws! FENRIR Treachery! I should have know it! Treachery has always been the way of the Aesir! ODIN Everyone has the right to defend themselves. MIMIR'S HEAD (Shouting over the music and the noise) Odinn laughs. Thor laughs. The only one who doesn't laugh is Tyr…because the wolf is biting his hand off… (FENRIR bites TYR'S hand off. The actor may for example have an 'extra hand' over his own like a glove. Blood gushes everywhere. FENRIR shakes the hand between his teeth as a puppy dog shakes a rag-doll. TYR stands there with his bleeding wrist crying out in pain. He raises the stump in the air, then hunches down over it) (Lights go down. Most leave. Spot follows ODIN who goes over to MIMIR'S HEAD) ODIN (to Mimir's head) We dragged the end of the chain through a great boulder and buried it deep beneath the ground. Then on top of that one we rolled an even larger boulder. The wolf Fenrir snapped and snarled like a wild thing. (Odin circles the boulder with Mimir's head as he speaks. Now he is standing behind Mimir. Leans forward and holds the head. Presently, as he speaks, he begins to stroke and pat the head, until the scene almost acquires an erotic tension) Then Thor stepped forward. He wedged his sword between the monster's jaws so that the hilt rested against the gums below and the point pressed against them above. With a gum-shield like that the wolf found it best not to move around too much and he lay down…But his howling is terrible, and he foams at the mouth. (Odin lets go of Mimir's head. Hugin and Munin wheel the pillar out. Mimir is silent and stunned, his mouth open in astonishment. At the same time the three NORNS have entered from the opposite side. Slowly they approach Odin until they form a semi-circle around him) ODIN Have I won? (The three Norns shakes their heads) WEIRD Things turn out as they must turn out. ODIN But the wolf is in chains! VERDANDI One day he will loose his chains. SKULD All is foreordained. Remember the name… ODIN The name? VERDANDI Yggdrasil. The name means Odin's horse. For when you hung yourself from the tree you were riding on it, back and forth, backand forth between the living and the dead… SKULD But the name of the tree was Yggdrasil long before you climbed among its branches. The name was there waiting for your arrival, to give it meaning. ODIN (who has been looking from one to another in fear) Stop! I don't want to hear any more! Just answer me this:if everything is foreordained…then how am I part of it? What is my part in it all? (falls to his knees, bows his head) Who am I? (The Norns move in close around him) WEIRD You are Odin. VERDANDI The one who struggles. SKULD The one who never gives up. ODIN (lifts his head and shouts angrily) The one who will triumph! (The Norns smile, withdraw from him in silence) The one who will triumph! (He stands up;the Norns go out) (Dancers in bright costumes enter. They carry between them - and with their own bodies form - a huge rainbow. HEIMDALL wanders calmly under the rainbow and goes straight to Odin) ODIN Heimdall, from your look-out on Bifrost, from your vantage point high on the rainbow, you see each day the trolls and the giants as they watch us. HEIMDALL They are many . And their numbers grow all the time. ODIN Yet our own number does not increase at the same rate. We are few, we Aesir:What is to become of us on that day the giants feel themselves strong enough to attack? HEIMDALL It will be an evil day for Midgard and Asgard. Nor can we count on the assistance of the humans, for most of them are too weak and afraid… ODIN That is why I have decided to act. I want you to enter Midgard. (puts his hand on Heimdall's shoulder)The blood of gods and humans must run together mingle! Make children with their women! Make warriors for me! Many warriors. Strong and brave fighters! (Heimdall salutes and leaves. Odin now addresses the audience directly) And Heimdall leaves. He travels to Midgard, to found a new and stronger generation of humans. And me? I give orders for the building of a new hall in Asgard - a huge place - to house the warriors I hope Heimdall will bring back with him. (As he speaks the dancers begin to 'build' and to 'carry'. More and more Aesir swarm on and help in this pantomime 'building work'. Music. ODIN calls to the workers:) There are to be 640 doors! And each door wide enough for a line of men 960 wide to march through it side by side. The ceiling is to be plated with golden shields. Andthe hall shall be known as Valhalla… (Some of the Aesir have brought on Odin's throne. He sits as he speaks, and on the word 'Valhalla' the throne is lifted on high and carried round and through the 'building work'. As the chair is slowly borne round the stage he addresses the audience) When I sit in my throne - when I mount Lidskjalv - I can see out across the whole world. I see that Loki's daughter Hel has become queen of the dead, of the rotting and decaying corpses. I see how the spittle that runs from the open jaws of Fenrir has formed a river. And that the serpent Jormungard has grown so vast that he can twist himself round the whole world and bite his own tail. The whole world is ringed round by evil. Trapped in the embrace of the poisonous snake! But far in the distance, far far away, I see Heimdall too. Hurry! We need warriors. For we will never give up. Never give up. (Odin is carried off the stage) (At the same time as Odin is carried off, all those on stage 'freeze' in whatever position they are in. The music takes on a dark, threatening hue. At the same time HUGIN & MUNIN enter. They wander among the 'frozen' builders, wearing grey warehouse coats and red safety-helmets) HUGIN (to the audience) So now when we take a break for the second time, it is on a new and ominous note. (sits down, opens his lunch box and bites ona sandwich) MUNIN (sits beside him) When the Aesir eat their meals, Odin sits at table with the other gods. But he doesn't eat. HUGIN (mouth full of food) Doesn't eat? MUNIN He says he has no need of food. And the only thing he drinks is wine… (opens his thermos and drinks) MUNIN So that's how Odin decides to laugh at fate. Because hasn't it been prophesied that a wolf will one day be the death of him? HUGIN Caw-aw-aw-aw! MUNIN But it's dark laughter. And the other Aesir see only a dark and troubled face. (sighs heavily;has a new thought) Here, didn't we just say there was to be an interval? (Through the loudspeaker a long siren wail. Hugin gives another long croak as all the 'workers' wake from their frozen postures and leave the stage in different directions) LOUDSPEAKER VOICE Twenty minutes please! Twenty minutes !