Dextrous the knots to loose;
But vain his skill and efforts prove
Against the mystic noose.
Thor smiled; he rose, and seiz’d the bag,
By hunger gaunt impell’d;
Yet soon his strenuous efforts flag:
Lo! Thor himself hath fail’d!
The God in wrath took up at length
His sword, the knots to cut;
In vain he cut with all his strength;