ing breath, pulled as long and as deeply as he could,
that he might not be obliged to make a second draught of it; but when he
set the horn down and looked in, he could scarcely perceive that the
liquor was diminished.

After taking breath, Thor went to it again with all his might, but when
he took the horn from his mouth, it seemed to him that he had drunk
rather less than before, although the horn could now be carried without
spilling.

"How now, Thor?" said Utgard-Loki; "thou must not spare thyself. If thou
meanest to drain the horn at the third draught thou must pull deeply;
and I must needs say that thou wilt not be called so mighty a man here
as thou art at home if thou showest no greater prowess in other feats
than methinks will be shown in this."

Thor, full of wrath, again set the horn to his lips and did his best to
empty it; but on looking in found the liquor was only a little lower, so
he resolved to make no further attempt, but gave back the horn to the
cup-bearer.

"I now see plainly," said Utgard-Loki, "that thou art not quite so stout
as we thought thee; but wilt thou try any other feat, though methinks
thou art not likely to bear any prize away with thee hence?"

"What new trial hast thou to propose?" said Thor.

"We have a very trifling game here," answered Utgard-Loki, "in which we
exercise none but children. It consists in merely lifting my cat from
the ground; nor should I have dared to mention such a feat to the great
Thor if I had not already observed that thou art by no means what we
took thee for."

As he finished speaking, a large gray cat sprang on the hall floor. Thor
put his hand under the cat's belly and did his utmost to raise him from
the floor, but the cat, bending his back, had, notwithstanding all
Thor's efforts, only one of his feet lifted up, seeing which Thor made
no further attempt.

"This trial has turned out," said Utgard-Loki, "just as I imagined it
would. The cat is large, but Thor is little in comparison to our men."

"Little as ye call me," answered Thor, "let me see who among you will
come hither now I am in wrath and wrestle with me."

"I see no one here," said Utgard-Loki, looking at the men sitting on the
benches, "who would not think it beneath him to wrestle with thee; let
somebody, however, call hither that old crone, my nurse Elli, and let
Thor wrestle with her if he will. She has thrown to the ground many a
man not less strong than this Thor is."

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