Asgard, a realm of wonders, was where the Norse Gods made their home. There Odin’s great hall of Valhalla towered above the mountains and Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, anchored itself. But though their domain was magnificent, it stood undefended from the giants and trolls of Jotunheim, who despised the gods and sought to destroy them.
阿斯加德是驚異的國度, 也是北歐眾神的家。 那裡奧丁的瓦爾哈拉殿堂 比山岳還高聳, 還有彩虹橋也屹立在此。 雖然他們的領土很壯麗, 卻無法抵禦來自 約頓海姆的巨人和巨怪, 他們看不起眾神, 且企圖摧毀他們。
One day when Thor, strongest of the gods, was off fighting these foes, a stranger appeared, riding a powerful gray horse. The visitor made the gods an astonishing offer. He would build them the greatest wall they’d ever seen, higher than any giant could climb and stronger than any troll could break. All he asked in return was the beautiful goddess Freya’s hand in marriage— along with the sun and moon from the sky.
有一天,當最強壯的神索爾 在對抗這些敵人時, 一名陌生人出現了, 騎著一匹強大的灰馬。 這位訪客向眾神提出了 一個驚人的提議。 他會為他們建造 前所未見的最偉大城牆, 高聳到任何巨人也無法攀爬, 堅固到任何巨怪也無法擊破。 他要的回報只是 和美麗的女神芙蕾亞結婚—— 外加天上的太陽和月亮。
The gods balked at this request and were ready to send him away. But the trickster Loki concocted a devious plan. He told the gods they should accept the stranger’s offer, but set such strict conditions that he would fail to complete the wall in time. That way, they would lose nothing, while getting most of the wall built for free. Freya didn’t like this idea at all, but Odin and the other gods were convinced and came to an agreement with the builder. He would only have one winter to complete the wall. If any part was unfinished by the first day of summer, he would receive no payment. And he could have no help from any other people. The gods sealed the deal with solemn oaths and swore the mason would come to no harm in Asgard.
眾神推諉掉了這個請求, 準備將他打發走。 但喜愛惡作劇的洛基 策劃出了一個狡詐的計畫。 他告訴眾神,他們應該 接受這個陌生人的提議, 但設下非常嚴苛的條件, 讓他無法在時間內完成城牆。 這麼一來,他們就沒有損失, 還能免費得到大半部分的城牆。 芙蕾亞一點也不喜歡這個點子, 但奧丁和其他神都被說服了, 和這位建造者達成了協議。 他只有一個冬天的時間完成城牆。 如果在夏天的第一天, 有任何一部分還沒有完成, 他就得不到報酬。 他不能向其他人求助。 眾神立下鄭重的誓言, 達成這項協議, 並發誓這位石匠在阿斯加德 不會受到任何傷害。
In the morning, the stranger began to dig the foundations at an astonishing speed, and at nightfall he set off towards the mountains to obtain the building stones. But it was only the next morning, when they saw him returning, that the gods began to worry. As agreed, no other people were helping the mason. But his horse Svadilfari was hauling a load of stones so massive it left trenches in the ground behind them.
早上,這位陌生人 以驚人的速度開始挖地基, 晚上,他前往山上取得石頭建材。 但就只是隔天早上,眾神看到 他返回時,便開始擔心了。 這位石匠依約定 沒有找任何人幫忙。 但他的馬斯瓦迪爾法利 能夠搬運非常重的石頭, 重到在他們身後還會 留下一條拖行的溝。
Winter came and went. The stranger kept building, Svadilfari kept hauling, and neither snow nor rain could slow their progress. With only three days left until summer, the wall stood high and impenetrable, with only the gate left to be built. Horrified, the gods realized that not only would they lose their fertility goddess forever, but without the sun and moon the world would be plunged into eternal darkness. They wondered why they’d made such a foolish wager— and then remembered Loki and his terrible advice.
冬天到來,冬天過去, 陌生人持續建造著, 斯瓦迪爾法利持續搬運著, 不論下雪或下雨,都無法 讓他們的進度慢下來。 只剩三天夏天就要到來, 城牆高高屹立著,堅固不破, 只剩下大門還沒完成。 眾神嚇壞了,驚覺他們不僅會 永遠失去他們的生育女神, 而且若沒有了太陽和月亮, 世界就會陷入永恆的黑暗。 他們很納悶當初怎麼會 下這麼蠢的賭注—— 接著,想起了洛基 和他那糟糕的建議。
Suddenly, Loki didn’t feel so clever. All of his fellow gods threatened him with an unimaginably painful death if he didn’t find some way to prevent the builder from getting his payment. So Loki promised to take care of the situation, and dashed away.
突然,洛基似乎不那麼聰明了。 他的眾神夥伴都威脅他 要死於無法想像的痛苦 除非他能想辦法避免 這位建造者取得報酬。 洛基保證他會處理此事 之後便匆匆離開。
Outside, night had fallen, and the builder prepared to set off to retrieve the final load of stones. But just as he called Svadilfari to him, a mare appeared in the field. She was so beautiful that Svadilfari ignored his master and broke free of his reins. The mason tried to catch him, but the mare ran deep into the woods and Svadilfari followed.
在外面,夜幕低垂, 建造者準備要再跑一趟, 去取得最後一批石頭。 但當他呼叫斯瓦迪爾法利過來時, 田野上出現了一匹母馬。 母馬美麗到讓斯瓦迪爾法利 無視了自己的主人, 爭脫了韁繩。 石匠試圖抓住牠, 但母馬奔向樹林深處, 斯瓦迪爾法利則跟了過去。
The stranger was furious. He knew that the gods were behind this and confronted them: no longer as a mild-mannered mason, but in his true form as a terrifying mountain giant. This was a big mistake. Thor had just returned to Asgard, and now that the gods knew a giant was in their midst, they disregarded their oaths. The only payment the builder would receive— and the last thing he would ever see— was the swing of Thor’s mighty hammer Mjolnir.
陌生人非常憤怒。 他知道是眾神在背後搞鬼, 因此去找他們對質: 不再以態度溫和的石匠形式出現, 而採用他的真實形態: 駭人的山巨人。 這真是大錯特錯。 索爾才剛返回阿斯加德, 而現在,眾神知道 他們之中有一個巨人了, 他們不再理會他們的誓言。 建造者唯一能得到的報酬—— 和他最後看到的—— 就是索爾揮舞他的 雷神之槌妙爾尼爾。
As they set the final stones into the wall, the gods celebrated their victory. Loki was not among them, however. Several months would pass before he finally returned, followed by a beautiful gray foal with eight legs. The foal would grow into a magnificent steed named Sleipnir and become Odin’s mount, a horse that could outrun the wind itself. But exactly where he had come from was something Loki preferred not to discuss.
眾神補上最後幾塊石頭, 完成了城牆,並慶祝他們的勝利。 不過,洛基並沒有加入他們。 幾個月之後他才回來, 背後跟著一匹美麗的 八腳灰色小馬。 這匹小馬長大後成為駿馬, 叫做斯雷普尼爾, 成為奧丁的座騎,跑得比風還快。 至於這匹馬是從哪裡來的, 這就是洛基不想談的議題了。