Thor's hand shut tight upon the handle of his hammer. It was hard to believe that a blow from the hammer would not slay the wicked creature. For an instant Thor's face grew black. Then forcing a smile, and showing to the wolf the mass of gold, he said, "Come Fenris; come with me into the hall. There the gods are to meet and test our strength upon this magic coil. Whoever breaks it, and so proves himself the strongest, is to win a prize from the great All-father Odin." The wolf stretched back his cruel lips, and showed his sharp fangs of teeth. He did not speak; but his wicked grin said, "You do not deceive the Fenris-wolf." Together Thor and the Fenris-wolf entered the presence of Odin and the gods and goddesses. "I have," said Thor, "a magic coil. It is very strong. The dwarfs made it for me; and Odin has promised a great prize to the one who shall be strong enough to break its links. Come, let us try." Then the gods--for they all understood what Thor was about to do--sprang forward, seizing the coil, pulling and twisting it in every way and in every direction, coiling it about the pillars of the hall, and hanging by it from the arches; until at last, tired out and breathless, they sank exhausted upon the golden floors. "Fenris," called Thor. "Now is your time to prove to us what you have so often said--that you are stronger than we. Try if you can break this golden thread which, small as it is, has proved too strong for the strength of the gods." The wolf growled. He did not care to risk even his strength in a magic coil. He growled and slunk away. "What! Fenris, are you a coward? After all your boasted strength, why is it that you shrink from a contest in which the gods have willingly taken part? Do you mean to say that, because the gods have been defeated, you fear that you, too, may be defeated?" The wolf halted. He looked back at the gods and growled a long, low growl. The words of Thor had stung his pride. Thor laughed. "O Fenris, Fenris! this is your boasted strength! your boasted courage! To slink away in a contest with the gods--the gods at whose strength you have always sneered and scoffed." "Fenris is a coward!" cried all the gods; and the heavens echoed with their laughter. This was more than the wolf could bear. Back he sprang into the hall. "I hear your sneers," he snarled. "I hear you call me coward. Give me the cord; bind me with it round and round; fasten me to the strongest pillar of this great hall. If the coil is an honest coil, Fenris can break it. There is no chain he cannot break. But if you are blinding me--if you have here a cord woven with magic such as no power can break--how am I to know? I put this test to you. Some one of you shall place your hand between my jaws. As long as that hand is there, you may coil and coil the thread about me. Then, if I find the cord a magic cord, Fenris shall set his teeth upon the hand and crush it."