The Original Viking Cat

While Thor was fishing one day, he fell asleep to the sound of beautiful singing. A horrible noise woke him up, and the annoyed god set out to discover who had disturbed his wonderful nap. 

Thor soon found the source of the noise.   Bayun the Cat was singing to his two slumbering kittens, the one a white boy, the other a black girl.

When Thor asked Bayun if the kittens were his offspring, he said yes.  Their mother had gone on a journey and left her kittens with him.  Bayun asked Thor to help him take care of the kittens, and Thor offered instead to take the kittens to Freyja, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and the hearth.  

Thor wrapped the kittens in his cloak and brought them to Freyja, who named them Bygul and Trjegul.  

The kittens grew into enormous cats with long and beautiful tails. They pulled Freyja's golden chariot across the heavens when she went on her journeys.

Farmers worshipped Freyja, who was the goddess of sunshine and rain.  They left bowls of milk out for stray cats, and Freyja blessed the farmers with bountiful harvests.

Pictures of the goddess Freyja often show her with cats playing at her feet.