Story time: Thor and Loki go wandering in Midgard.

Dear Reader,

The story I tell you happened not so long ago that it qualifies as ancient history but it might as well be. One day, an expectant mother was feeling restless and decided to go for a walk. The skies were clear and the weather was fine. It was remarkably mild for a late summer afternoon. She put on her sandals and set out from her front door step, blinking at the light from the sun. She looked east. It was a gentle slope down the hill to the bustling market. It would have been a short walk to the market. 

The mother, however, didn't feel like enduring the company of nosy neighbors and the busy-bodies that were at the market at that time of day. So, she turned and started to walk west. After a time, she came to an intersection. A road lead north. The mother remembered that this road connected with another not far from her home and decided to follow it, not entirely sure if she was correct about how close she was to the cross street that would lead her back home.

The sun climbed higher in the sky as she walked and she could see dark clouds piling up in the west. She had walked almost a mile down the dirt road and not yet met her cross street. Concerned that she was going to be caught in the storm, she called out, "Ah, Gods, I am tired. I was foolish." A cloud of dust appeared ahead of her on the road out of a shimmering bit of air. A battered old pick-up truck came into view, blue as the sunny sky, except for the red rust that stood out in patches over it.

The driver of the truck stopped beside the mother. He smiled kindly at her, waiving his great paw of a hand at her to come over. His lean companion sat forward and asked the mother if she was lost. She explained that she had set out for a walk and gone too far. The driver's companion moved over to the center seat of the old truck and helped the mother in. The pair spoke about the storm brewing and how the crops were in dire need of rain. The mother agreed with them. After a few moments, they dropped her off at the market. As the driver tipped his hat to her before pulling away, his companion said, "I told you this was better than a pair of goats."

The mother walked back up the hill to her little home and went inside. She marveled at the situation. She said, "Dear Thor, did that really happen? Did I hear that right?" And a massive peal of thunder shook the building, somehow sounding like the great booming of laughter as rain began to fall outside.