Burplefrog!

Let me tell you about Yggdrasil, the World Tree.

There is a worm/snake/dragon thing called Nidhogg chewing on one of its roots.

In the tree there are four stags running around on the branches eating the foliage. (Their names, by the way, are Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathror. Yes, clearly Tolkien was really into Nordic mythology.)

On top of the tree there is an eagle. On the eagle's head, between its eyes, is a hawk.

There is also a squirrel called Ratatosk, who runs up and down the tree delivering insults between the eagle and Nidhogg.

Seriously, I need to draw a picture of this awesome tree.

In the same reading for my Nordic mythology class there is also a story about a god Tyr who put his hand into the Fenris wolf's mouth as a noble/self-sacrificing gesture. Obviously, it got bitten off, and: "Then they all laughed except for Tyr. He lost his hand."

You can't make this stuff up, man.