Thor

Thor was the Thunder god. His enemy was the World Serpent, another one of Loki's horrible children. It was an enormous snake which wrapped itself round the whole world, and bit its own tail. Thor meets the serpent three times.

The first time was at a giant's hall. The giant sneered at Thor for being weak, and challenged him to pick up the old cat sitting in front of the fire. Thor, who was the strongest of the gods, grabbed the cat by the middle and tried to lift him. The cat didn't budge. So Thor tried as hard as he could, and managed to lift the cat a few inches from the floor. The giant gasped, and hastily told Thor to drop the cat. It was really the World Serpent in disguise, as big as the world, and Thor had lifted it up.

Another time, another giant and Thor went out fishing in a boat, using an ox's head as bait. The World Serpent took the bait, and Thor nearly hauled it aboard. The frightened giant cut the line, and the World Serpent escaped.

The last time Thor and the Serpent will meet is at Ragnarok.

In both these pictures, Thor is holding his famous hammer, although in the small picture, it looks as if it's connected to his beard!

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