Hermod grinned at Bragi’s response to the surprise. He knew his brother would like the horse. Bragi liked to find neat things like this. Hermod wondered if Bragi would tell a story about the eight-legged horse.
“His name is Sleipnir,” he said. “Sleip, this is my brother Bragi. He’s real nice and can tell you stories. Bragi, this is Sleipnir. He’s Dad’s horse and he’s really special and smart.” He knew Sleipnir was so much smarter than the average horse. “He runs really fast. Almost as fast as I do. You can pet him, but we’re not allowed to ride him. He’s still too young for that.”
It was all going really great. He and Bragi were going to have such a good time with Sleipnir. But then Tyr came in, looking all grumpy and mad. Hermod did not understand why he was so upset. He and Bragi could play and Tyr could go try to get that girl to like him. That was kind of silly, anyway. Everyone knew horses were better than any girl.
Tyr seemed really mad. He called Sleipnir a thing and an animal. That made Hermod a little cranky. Sleip was his friend, not just some horse. Hermod knew his father wouldn’t mind if he brought Sleipnir inside. As long as he cleaned up any mess. He knew Sleipnir was smart enough to know you didn’t poo on the floor.
“Bragi hasn’t had a chance to pet him yet. I’ll take him back when we’re finished.” Hermod tried to sound like Baldr. Baldr always got his way when he talked like that. He would be just like his brother and Tyr would let Sleipnir stay.