Odin and the Mead of Poetry

High up in a land called Asgard, where a bright rainbow bridge touched the sky, lived a great god named Odin. Odin loved stories more than anything. He loved happy stories and silly stories. One day, Odin heard a whisper on the wind about a magical, sparkly drink that could give anyone the gift of making wonderful stories and songs. This is the story of Odin and the Mead of Poetry. He wanted that sparkly drink very, very much so he could share new tales with everyone.

This special drink was hidden away, deep inside a tall, stony mountain guarded by a giant named Suttungr and his daughter, Gunnlod. Odin traveled a long, long way to find the mountain. When he got there, he saw the mead shimmering in three big bowls. It looked so yummy. Gunnlod was watching over it, and she was very kind. Odin asked her politely, “May I please have three tiny sips?”. Gunnlod smiled and said yes. So Odin took a sip. Slurp. Then another sip. Slurp. Then one more big sip. SLURP. Oh, my. He was so thirsty for stories that he drank it all up. The three big bowls were all empty.

To get home fast, Odin did something amazing. Poof. He turned into a great big eagle with strong wings. He flew up, up, up into the sky, soaring back to Asgard over the rainbow bridge. As he flew, a few little drops of the magical mead fell from his beak. Drip, drop, drip. The drops floated down to the world below, giving people the gift of making poems and singing songs. Odin shared the rest with the other gods, and their home was filled with wonderful new tales. And today, when you hear a pretty song or a fun story, you are sharing a little bit of that magic, too.