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InNorse mythology,Otr (Old Norse:[ˈotz̠]; alternately:Ott,Oter,Ottar,Ottarr,Otter) is adwarf. He is the son of the kingHreidmar and the brother ofFafnir andRegin.
According to theProse Edda, Otr couldchange into any form and used to spend his days in the shape of anotter, greedily eating fish. In this form, he was slain byLoki, who wanted his pelt. Initially, Hreiðmarr demanded a life for a life, but with the argument that the murder had been an accident when no one involved knew that Otr was a dwarf, he settled for receiving a largeweregild for Otr's death, namely to fill Otr's skin with yellow gold and to then cover it entirely with red gold. When the skin was covered, one whisker still protruded, forcing Loki to give up the ringAndvaranaut to hide it. The ring had been stolen from, and cursed by, the dwarfAndvari. It is suggested that this story was meant to show the benefits of not only adhering to theletter of the law (repayment for manslaughter) but sticking to the spirit of the law as well (not demanding an exorbitant ransom).[1] Greed for this cursed treasure ultimately caused the deaths of Hreiðmarr and his two surviving sons: Hreiðmarr was killed by Fáfnir, who transformed into adragon, and the other two were slain bySigurðr's swordGramr.
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