Fenrir was a giant wolf in Norse mythology, and another of Loki’s strange children. The legends say he started off normal-sized, but he grew so fast and so huge that the gods became frightened of him. They decided he had to be tied up before he could do any damage.
The gods tried two enormous iron chains, but Fenrir snapped them both like dry sticks. Desperate, they asked some clever dwarves to make a magic ribbon called Gleipnir. According to the myth, it was made from six impossible ingredients including the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the roots of a mountain, and the breath of a fish.
The ribbon was thin as silk but stronger than anything. Fenrir suspected a trick and only agreed to be bound if one god put a hand in his mouth. The brave god Tyr did it. When Fenrir realized he was stuck, he bit Tyr’s hand off. The wolf is meant to stay tied up until Ragnarök, when he will break free and swallow Odin.
