Whitechapel
Scandinavian Mythology
Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda
13th century, Icelandic: numerous copies in Iceland, Copenhagen.
Thor slaughtered his goats and cooked them to eat. In the morning, Thor gathered the bones and the hides together, waved his hammer over them whilst uttering a spell, and the goats leapt up as lively as they had ever been.
The Scandinavian thunder god Thor always carried a hammer and his principal means of transport was a cart pulled by goats.
One day, he and Loki were travelling and came to a house where they decided to stay for the night. Thor slaughtered his goats and cooked them to eat.
Inviting the household to join in the meal, Thor instructed only that the goats’ bones should be placed on each hide and left undisturbed until morning. Against Thor's instructions, however, the son of the householder pulled out a knife and used it to crush one of the thighbones to extract the bone marrow.
In the morning, Thor gathered the bones and the hides together, waved his hammer over them whilst uttering a spell, and the goats leapt up as lively and as ready to draw the cart as they had ever been.
Except for one, however, who seemed a bit lame.