“Silence, thou impure being!
My mighty hammer, Miöllnir,
Shall stop thy prating.
I will thy head
From thy neck strike;
Then will thy life be ended.”
Ægir’s Compotation, or Loki’s Altercation (Thorpe’s tr.).
Knowing that he had now lost all hope of ever being admitted into Asgard again, and that sooner or later the gods, seeing the ripening of the crop of evil he had sown, would regret having permitted him to roam about the world, and would try either to bind or slay him, Loki withdrew to the mountains, where he built himself a hut with four doors, which he always left wide open to permit his hasty escape. Carefully laying his plans, he decided that if the gods ever came in search of him he would rush down to the neighboring cataract which is said to have been the Fraananger force or stream, and, changing himself into a salmon, would escape all pursuit. He reasoned, however, that, although he could easily avoid any hook, it would be difficult for him to effect an escape were the gods to fashion a net like that of the sea-goddess Ran.
Haunted by this thought, he wondered if such an implement could be manufactured, and began to make one out of twine. He had not quite finished his work when Odin, Kvasir, and Thor suddenly appeared in the distance; and knowing they had discovered his retreat, and were about to come and make him a prisoner, Loki threw his half-finished net into the fire, and, rushing out, jumped into the waterfall, where, in the shape of a salmon, he hid among the stones.
The gods, finding the hut empty, were about to depart, when Kvasir perceived the remains of the burned net on the hearth, and, examining them closely, advised the gods to weave a similar implement and use it in searching for their foe in the neighboring stream. This advice was immediately followed, and, the net finished, the gods proceeded to drag the stream. Loki eluded them the first time by hiding at the bottom of the river between two stones; but when the gods weighted the net and tried a second time, he effected his escape by jumping up stream. A third attempt to secure him proved successful, however, for, as he once more tried to get away by a sudden leap, Thor caught and held him so fast, that he could not escape. The salmon, whose slipperiness has become proverbial in the North, is noted for its remarkably slim tail, which the people attribute to Thor’s tight grasp upon his foe.