Sleipnir: The Eight-Legged Horse
Sleipnir pronounced"SLAYP−nir"or"theslidingone" is an extraordinary eight-legged horse from Norse mythology. This majestic creature is known for its beautiful gray and silver coloring and serves as the personal steed of Odin, the chief of the Norse gods.
The birth story of Sleipnir is quite unusual. He is the son of Loki (who transformed into a mare) and Svadilfari, a stallion. This happened during the building of Asgard's wall, when a mysterious builder made a deal with the gods. The builder demanded the sun, moon, and goddess Freya's hand in marriage in exchange for completing the wall in one season.
When the builder made impressive progress with help from his powerful horse Svadilfari, the worried gods threatened Loki with death if he didn't interfere. Loki cleverly transformed into a mare to distract Svadilfari, luring the stallion away. This resulted in their mating, and later, Loki gave birth to Sleipnir.
Fun Fact: Sleipnir possesses incredible powers including super strength, super speed, durability, and most importantly, the ability to travel between all levels of existence, including the underworld!