A Primary Reader: Old-time Stories, Fairy Tales and Myths Retold by Children
"Now blow as hard as you can." Then Sindre went out. Brok blew and blew. A little fly came in and bit him on the hand. The fly bit him so hard that Brok thought he would have to stop blowing, but he did not. Then Sindre came back. He took out a golden pig from the fire. He next put a lump of gold into the fire. He said to Brok, "Blow and blow and blow, and do not stop." Then Sindre went out again. So Brok blew as hard as he could. Then the same fly came in and bit him again. Brok thought that he could not stand it, but he kept on. When Sindre came back, he took a gold ring from the fire. Then Sindre put a lump of iron into the fire. He said to Brok, "Now blow as hard as you can." And Sindre went out. Brok blew and blew. The same mean fly came again, and bit him on the forehead. It bit so hard that the blood ran into his eyes. Brok put up his hand to brush away the fly. Just then Sindre came back. He took the hammer out of the fire. "There!" he said, "You have almost spoiled it. The handle is too short, but it cannot be helped now."

Brok hurried up to Asgard with his things. All the gods came around to see. Then Loki came up to show his things. He put the crown of gold on Sif's head and it began to grow like real hair. He gave the spear to Odin and said, "This spear will never miss its mark." Then he took out the ship. He said, "This is a wonderful ship. It will sail on any sea, and yet you can fold it up and put it into your pocket." Loki felt very proud, for he thought his things were the best. 

All the gods felt very sorry for little Brok. They thought Loki's things were fine. They were afraid Brok's would not be so nice. They said, "Now, Brok, show your things." Brok took out the gold ring. He said, "Each night this ring will throw off a ring just like it. He gave the ring to Odin." Then Brok took out the golden pig. He said, "This pig can go anywhere, on the ground or in the air. It can go faster than any horse. If the night is dark, the shining pig will make it light."

Then Brok showed the hammer. He said, "This is not a very pretty hammer. When I was making it, Loki turned himself into a fly and made me spoil it. The fly bit me so hard that I had to stop blowing. So the handle is a little short. But it is a wonderful hammer. If you throw it at anything, it will hit the mark and come back to you."The gods picked up the hammer and passed it around. They said, "It will be just the things with which to keep the Frost Giants out of Asgard."

The gods said, "Brok's things are the best." Brok gave the hammer to Thor. That is the way Thor got his wonderful 
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