One day, as he sat in his house by the fire, to pass away the time he took twine and knotted it into a net, such as Ran, Aegir's wife, was wont to catch the sailors in. But suddenly he looked down into the valley and saw how Odin and Thor and others of the gods were climbing up the mountain side. 'Odin will have spied me from Hlidskialf,' he thought. 'But they will not find me here when they come.' And throwing his net into the fire, he went out from the house and leapt into the stream, changing himself into a salmon.

When the gods reached the house, they found it empty. 'He has gone,' said Thor angrily.

But Odin picked out from the ashes of the fire a half-burned net. 'He has been here but a short while ago,' he said. 'See, he has made himself a net for fishing.' And the gods looked out to where the stream flowed, and wondered if Loki had hidden himself in the water.

So they too made a net, and going to the stream, cast it into the water, and with Thor holding one side, and all the reamaining gods the other, they dragged it up the stream. But Loki lay still between two stones on the bed of the stream, and the net went over him. A second time they cast the net into the water, having weighted it so that nothing might remain beneath it, and this time Loki leapt high out of the stream and the net passed under him.

The gods all called out to one another that they had seen him. 'He will try to swim down to the sea where he will be safe,' they said. And they went back again and divided into two groups, one on either side of the river, and so dragged the net along, down towards the sea, while Thor waded out into the middle of the stream, between Loki and the river mouth, and watched and waited.

And Loki saw that there were but two things left for him to do, to attempt to swim past Thor, down to the sea, or to jump once more over the net and swim back up the stream. And having little hope of evading Thor, he jumped again; but he was weary and he jumped not far enough, and Thor caught him by the tail; which is why, to this day, the salmon has a tail that is thinner than that of any other fish.

Loki struggled, but when he saw how all escape was hopeless, he took his own shape once again, that he might face whatever judgement the other gods put on him.

They took him to a cavern beneath the earth, and there they bound him to a rock, so that he should remain there until the end of all things came. And Skadi, in her spite, now that Loki was powerless against her, bought a venomous serpent and fastened it above him, that the poison which trickled through its fangs might drip upon his face. 'So shall my father be avenged at last,' she said, and laughed.

But when all the gods were gone and had left him to his torments, Loki saw Sigyn come forward from the shadows. 'Why do you not go with the others?' he asked her.

She smiled through her tears and stroked his red hair. 'I would rather be with you,' she said. And she remained with him in the cavern, holding a cup above him to catch the drops of venom, so that it was only when she turned away to empty the cup that any of the poison touched him, and then he struggled so greatly that the whole earth trembled, and men called it an earthquake.

Tales of the Norse Gods and Heroes p 147-149.

LOKI (LODER, LOKE, LOKKJU, LOPTER, LOPTl) In Norse mythology brother of Odin and Hoener. With them he composed the trinity which made the world from Ymir's body, ruled heaven and earth, and formed the first man, Ask, and the first woman, Embla. His gifts to the first human pair were desires, longings, passions. Originally, he was a fire-demon, later a storm or lightning god. Handsome and beguiling, he was cunning, fickle, foul-mouthed, jealous, a mischiefmaker, slanderous, and a thief. By Angerboda he was the father of the Fenrir wolf; Hel, queen of the dead; the Midgard serpent. By Sigyn his son was Narfi. He was an instrument of destruction among gods and men, and his evil ways led the gods into troubles, from which he extricated them by cunning, thus, though destructive, he also exercised his powers to set things right. For eight winters he had a female form, gave birth to a sea-serpent, and milked a cow. This legend signifies subterranean fire produced vegetation. The eight winters represented the eight months of frost in the north, during which warmth retreats into the earth and works in secret. See Androgynous deities. The cows he milked were warm springs. He also transformed himself into a bird, flea, fly, giantess, mare, milkmaid, salmon, seal, to work his cunning. Except for Freyja, he was the only Asa god able to assume bird guise, and he assumed it by stealing the feathers of Freyja. By directing the hand of the blind Hoder, who held the mistletoe dart, he became the slayer of Balder. He further angered the gods with evil speech, and to escape them transformed himself into a salmon and plunged into the Fraanangerforce.- He was caught behind the waterfall and bound to a rock with the bowels of his son Narfi, which turned into iron. Skade, hating him because he had caused the death of her father Thjasse, placed a snake over his head which dropped venom on him., Sigyn, remaining faithful, held a goblet over him to catch the poison. When the cup was full she emptied it and during,those moments, Loki, writhing; under the burning poison, shook his bonds -and caused earthquakes. At Ragnarok he freed himself, and he and Heimdal battled until both were dead. He is known as Asa- Loki as distinguished from Utgard-Loki. The same evil principle was manifested in both, but Asa-Loki was seductive and handsome, whereas Utgard-Loki was hideous. One tortured on a rock, Loki resembles Prome- theus; a celestial deity who invented mischief and destruction, he resembles Lucifer and, Mephistopheles. His slaying of Balder is analogous to that of Cain slaying Abel and Set slaying Horus. His name, means allure, fire, or to close.

Jobes, 1962:1010-1011.