Skaði lived high up in the mountains where the snow never melts. She was a giant's daughter, strong and brave and used to the cold. Barefoot she could walk in snow. Icy cliffs she climbed without hesitating. Nothing frightened her.
One day she went to Asgard, the home of the gods. Her father had died, and the gods wanted to make it up to her. They offered to let her choose a husband from among them. "You may choose whoever you like," said Odin, the oldest of the gods. "There is one rule," he added. "You may only see their feet."
Skaði thought it sounded strange. Choose a husband by looking at feet? Odin nodded seriously. The gods lined up behind a large cloth that hung down to the floor. In front of the cloth, twelve pairs of feet stuck out. Big feet and small feet. Broad feet and narrow feet. Clean feet and dirty feet.
Skaði walked along the row. She looked carefully. Thor had big, muddy feet with dirt between the toes. Freyr had narrow feet with neatly trimmed nails. Loki had feet that could not stand still, the toes wiggling and moving all the time. Skaði smiled. You can learn a lot about a person by looking at their feet.
At the far end of the row she saw the most beautiful feet. Clean and fine with straight toes and soft skin. "Those," said Skaði. "I choose those feet." She was certain. Feet that beautiful must belong to Baldr, the most beautiful of all the gods.
The cloth fell down. Behind the beautiful feet stood Njörðr. The god of the sea, a kind man with grey hair and dimples in his cheeks. Everything about him smelled of salt and ocean. With a warm smile he looked at Skaði. "Hello," he said. Skaði blinked in surprise. She had expected Baldr. She had got the god of the sea instead.
They tried living together. First they lived in Skaði's mountains. But Njörðr could not sleep. The wolves howled at night and the wind whistled around the mountaintops. "I miss the sea," he whispered. Then they lived by Njörðr's sea. But Skaði could not sleep. The gulls screamed all night and the waves crashed against the rocks. "I miss the mountains," she whispered.
In the end they made up their minds. Njörðr belonged by the sea. Skaði belonged in the mountains. They hugged each other, said goodbye, and went home to their own places. Njörðr went to his beach and listened to the waves. Skaði went to her mountain and listened to the wind. Sometimes, on clear nights, they both looked up at the same stars, and then they were not so far apart after all.
Skaði learned something the day she chose feet. The finest outside does not always match what fits best on the inside. Njörðr was a good and kind man. Skaði was a good and brave woman. They just did not fit together, and it was neither of their fault. Sometimes it is simply that way.