The king of the giants turned to Thor. “Most of us can drink the contents of the cup in a single draught. Some take two, but the puniest among us, manage it in three draughts.”
Thor took the cup and had one mighty drink because he was thirsty. He thought he had finished the drink and looked at the cup and was shocked. Instead of being empty, the cup was now not so full that it could not even be moved without the danger of spilling.
Utgard, who was the king of giants, laughed at Thor. “I see that you have been saving your energy for the second pull.”
Thor took another pull from the cup and this time he did not stop till his breath failed. But when Thor put his cup down, the drink had gone down a little from the brim of the cup.
The king of giants laughed at Thor. “Do you mean to take the drink in three draughts? Then you have a very unfair share in the third cup.”
Angrily Thor took a long gulp for the third time, but the drink had not reduced much this time too.
“I will not try to empty the cup anymore.” Thor told the king of giants wearily.
The king of giants then shrugged. “That means that Thor, you are not the kind of man whom we are supposed to be with.”
“Choose another feat.” Thor told the king of giants. “I will try that.”
The king of giants studied Thor. “We have a game that children play.” The king of giants had a sly smile. “It is a childish amusement actually. I would not have suggested this any other time. But now I will. You have to lift my cat from the ground.”
Adapted from Norse Mythology
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