"Drink," said he; "and if one half the power is yours that Odin claims, you will empty the horn at a single draught." Thor seized the horn. One long, deep draught, such as no mortal, no giant, nor even another god could have drawn--and the horn was hardly one drop less full. The king roared till the icicles and the fringes of frost, swaying and rocking beneath the thunder, fell with a crash upon the palace floor. "Can the great god Thor boast no greater power than that? Once more, thou greatest of all the sons of Odin--once more lift the horn in thy mighty hands and show us the greatness of the gods of Asgard." Thor, stung by the sneer of the Utgard-king, raised the horn again to his lips; and calling upon the name of Odin and all the gods of the shining city, drank again. Higher and higher he raised the horn, deeper and deeper drew he the draught. But alas, again, when the horn was lowered, the waters were no lower than before. "You seem not so great as we the frost giants have believed," said the king with a cold sneer. Thor's anger rose. His blood boiled with rage and fury. With a burst of thunder and a flash of lightning that shattered the pillars of the great hall, he seized the horn again. Three long hours passed. Utgard-Loke trembled with fear and dread; for never for one second had the angry god taken the horn from his lips. "The ruin of the Utgard kingdom is come," he groaned. "There is no hope for victory over such a god. The horn--even the magic horn--will fail before the might of this fierce and awful Thor, the god of Thunder." Then Thor lifted the horn from his lips. Defiance flashed from his eye. The king of the Frost giants trembled. Both looked into the horn. Alas for Thor! Even now hardly could it be counted one quarter emptied. Darkness gathered over the strong god's face. Courage sprang into the eyes of the king. "Let not your valor fail you," said the king, taking the horn from the hand of Thor. "You are great--you have proved it, in that you have, even in so small a degree as this, emptied the horn from which none but a god could have quaffed one drop. It is only that your greatness is less than you have boasted, and less than we have believed it to be." "I will not stand defeated," thundered Thor. "Bring before me another challenge. I will not go forth until the giants of Utgard have indeed known and felt the power of Thor, the god whose lightnings rend the skies, and whose thunders rock the very mountains of the earth." "Once more, then, shall you contend for power," said the Utgard-king. "And this time with Elle, the toothless giant of endless years, before whose power bend all the strongest sons of Midgard, and before whom, in some far off day, even the gods of Asgard shall bow as powerless as the children of Midgard."