Page 78 - Red Feather Book 2

world and supported the universe. Yggdrasil had three roots going to the 3 levels of the world that had nine different worlds. In the Upper level there was Asgard (the land of the gods), Alfheim (elves) and Vanaheim (Vanir). In the Middle level there were Midgard (the land of men), Jotunheim (giants), Svartalfaheim (dark-elves) and Nithavellir (dwarves). In the Lower Level there were Muspelheim (the land of fire, a bright, flaming, hot world in the southern region), and Niflheim (the land of the dead, the lowest level).
Odin created the first man and woman from a pair of logs he had found while walking along the seashore. They were known as Ask and Embla. Odin had given them life, but Vili gave them intelligence and emotion, and Ve gave them the senses of sight and hearing. They lived in Midgard in relative peace, producing many offspring. The people of Midgard were protected by the gods of Asgard. Between the two worlds there was a beautiful bridge called Bifrost or rainbow. This rainbow bridge was guarded by Heimdal. It was his job to keep a lighted fire at one end of the bridge to discourage the frost giants from crossing it and destroying the earth and Asgard.
Every morning the gods of Asgard would cross the Rainbow Bridge, Bifrost, to convene and discuss the matters of the day. One god, however, could not cross the bridge. It was Thor, the Hammer-God of thunder and lightning, agriculture, craftsmanship, defense and strength. Thor was a size-shifter. He was terribly heavy and hot, and he could not cross the Rainbow Bridge for danger of breaking it or melting it, so he had to wade through the North Sea and come around through the long way.
The Aesir 75 Norse Mithology