Then the gods began to fear that they would never hold the wolf in bonds; and it was All-Father Odin who persuaded them to make one more attempt.
So they sent a messenger to Dwarfland bidding him ask the Little Men to make a chain which nothing could possibly destroy.
Setting at once to work, the clever little smiths soon fashioned a slender silken rope, and gave it to the messenger, saying that no strength could break it, and that the more it was strained the stronger it would become.
It was made of the most mysterious things—the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of fishes, and other such strange materials, which only the dwarfs knew how to use.
With this chain the messenger hastened back over the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard.
By this time the Fenris Wolf had grown too big for his yard, so he lived on a rocky island in the middle of the lake that lies in the midst of Asgard.
And here the Asas now betook themselves with their chain, and began to play their part with wily words.
“See,” they cried, “O Fenris! Here is a cord so soft and thin that none would think of it binding such strength as thine.”
And they laughed great laughs, and handed it to one another, and tried its strength by pulling at it with all their might, but it did not break.
Then they came nearer and used more wiles, saying: