Fafnir is one of the most famous dragons in Norse mythology. According to the legend, he did not start out as a dragon. He was actually a dwarf with a brother and a father. The family came into a huge pile of cursed gold, and Fafnir’s greed grew so strong that he killed his own father to steal it all.
The legend says Fafnir’s greed eventually turned him into something monstrous. He grew scales, claws, wings, and breath of poison, becoming a massive dragon. He took the entire treasure to a wild heath and curled up on top of it. Nobody who tried to take any of it ever came back.
A young hero named Sigurd was sent to defeat him. Sigurd dug a deep pit on the path where Fafnir crawled to drink water, hid inside it, and stabbed up through the dragon’s belly. After Sigurd ate a piece of Fafnir’s heart, he could suddenly understand the language of birds. This legend later inspired J.R.R. Tolkien when he wrote about the dragon Smaug.
