Baldur's days were the happiest of all in Asgard, but when he slept his dreams were so strange that his nights were often unhappy. He feared danger. So Frigga, his mother, who was the wife of Woden, went to the sea and made it promise that no water should drown Baldur. She went to the stones and made them promise not to harm her son. Everything promised to let no evil come upon Baldur the Beautiful. Iron and all the other metals, rocks, and trees all promised. Birds, beasts, and creeping things all agreed to help and never to hurt Frigga's youngest son. Woden, his father, went to ask a wise old woman what his son's dreams meant. She was dead, and Woden had to go to the center of the universe to find her. She gave him what help she could, and Woden and Frigga felt that now nothing could hurt their child. The other gods that lived in Asgard knew that Baldur was safe from all harm. But to prove this and to have a little fun among themselves, they would sometimes use him as a mark at which to throw their spears or darts. Setting Baldur in the middle of the ring, these gods of Asgard would each throw something at him. If a stone struck him it would only glance off and never hurt. No arrow could pierce his skin. Nothing harmed him, and Baldur would smile as they played their rough play, for he knew that no one of them would work him any ill. But Loki was different from all the others in Asgard. He could not endure to have Baldur so loved, and wished that some one could harm him. At last Loki dressed himself up as an old woman and went to Frigga's palace. Kind Frigga took the old woman by the hand and brought her into Fensalir. Loki, in the shape of the old woman, pretended to be very friendly. "Do you know what the gods are doing to Baldur when you are not by?" Loki asked. "Yes, they are proving that all things have kept their promise not to hurt my boy." "What!" said the old woman, "have all things promised not to hurt Baldur?" "All things," said Frigga. "All but one little plant that grows on the eastern side of Valhalla. It is called the mistletoe. It is so weak and small that I did not ask it to join with the others. I thought it could harm no one." The old woman left Fensalir. In a few moments Loki appeared on the eastern side of Valhalla and plucked a bit of mistletoe from an old oak that shaded Woden's palace. No one saw him, for he was as sly as a fox and as tricky. Hiding the mistletoe in his hand, he hurried back to the circle of gods who were seated around Baldur. One god who was blind sat outside the ring. "Why don't you join in the sport?" asked the wicked Loki. "I cannot see where Baldur is; and nothing could or would harm anyone so good," said the blind god. "I will show you where to sit and you shall have this little sprig that is in my hand to throw. You must not be left out of the sport because you are blind," and Loki handed the mistletoe to him.