FAIRY TALES

REFERENCE
E91603
Baldwin
Story of Siegfried

PUBL C L BRAHY THE BRANCH LIBRARIES

3 3333 08575 3727

fcU'JTG 3
 HEROES OF THE OLDEN TIME.

A STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by Howard

Pyle. i2mo $1.50
THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED. Illustrated by Howard Pyle.
izmo 1.50

THE STORY OF ROLAND. Illustrated by Reginald B. Birch.

xamo 1.5^

The Set, 3 vols., in a box, $4.00.

THE FORGING OF BALMUNG
 HEROES OF THE OLDEN TIME

THE

STORY OF SIEGFRIED

BY

JAMES BALDWIN

Illustrated by Howard Tyle

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1899
 COPYRIGHT, 1882, 1888,

BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S oONS.

THE NEW YORK

PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR LENOX AND

TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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 TO MY CHILDREN,

WINFRED, LOUIS, AND NELLIE,

IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.
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 THE FORE WORD.

WHEN the world was in its childhood, men looked

upon the works of Nature with a strange kind of awe.

They fancied that every thing upon the earth, in the

air, or in the water, had a life like their own, and that

every sight which they saw, and every sound which

they heard, was caused by some intelligent being. All

men were poets, so far as their ideas and their modes

of expression were concerned, although it is not likely

that any of them wrote poetry. This was true in

regard to the Saxon in his chilly northern home, as

well as to the Greek in the sunny southland. But,
while the balmy air and clear sky of the south tended

to refine men's thoughts and language, the rugged

scenery and bleak storms of the north made them

uncouth, bold, and energetic. Yet both the cultured
Greek and the rude Saxon looked upon Nature with
vi The Fore Word.

much the same eyes, and there was a strange resem-

blance in their manner of thinking and speaking.

They saw, that, in all the phenomena which took place

around them, there was a certain system or regularity,
as if these were controlled by some law or by some

superior being ;
and they sought, in their simple poet-

ical way, to account for these appearances. They had

not yet learned to measure the distances of the stars,

nor to calculate the motions of the earth. The chan-

ging of the seasons was a mystery which they scarcely
sought to penetrate. But they spoke of these occur-

rences in a variety of ways, and invented many charm-

ing stories with reference to them, not so much with

a view towards accounting for the mystery, as towards

giving expression to their childlike but picturesque

ideas.

Thus, in the south, when reference was made to the

coming of winter and to the dreariness and discomforts

of that season of the year, men did not know nor care

to explain it all, as our teachers now do at school ;

but

they sometimes told how Hades had stolen Persephone

(the summer) from her mother Demetre (the earth),

and had carried her, in a chariot drawn by four coal-

black steeds, to the gloomy land of shadows ;

and how,
 The Fore Word. vii

in sorrow for her absence, the Earth clothed herself in

mourning, and no leaves grew upon the trees, nor flow-

ers in the gardens, and the very birds ceased singing,

because Persephone was no more. But they added,
that in a few months the fair maiden would return for

a time to her sorrowing mother, and that then the

flowers would bloom, and the trees would bear fruit,

and the harvest-fields would again be full of golden

gram.
In the north a different story was told, but the

meaning was the same. Sometimes men told how

Odin (the All-Father) had become angry with Brunhild

(the maid of spring), and had wounded her with the

thorn of sleep, and how all the castle in which she

slept was wrapped in deathlike slumber until Sigurd

or Siegfried (the sunbeam) rode through flaming fire,

and awakened her with a kiss. Sometimes men told

how Loki (heat) had betrayed Balder (the sunlight),

and had induced blind old Hoder (the winter months)

to slay him, and how all things, living and inanimate,

joined in weeping for the bright god, until Hela (death)

should permit him to revisit the earth for a time.

So, too, when the sun arose, and drove away the
darkness and the hidden terrors of the night, our an-
viii The Fore Word.

cestors thought of the story of a noble young hero

slaying a hideous dragon, or taking possession of the

golden treasures of Mist Land. And when the spring-

time came, and the earth renewed its youth, and the
fields and woods were decked in beauty, and there was
music everywhere, they loved to tell of Idun (the

spring) and her youth-giving apples, and of her wise

husband Bragi (Nature's musician). When storm-clouds

loomed up from the horizon and darkened the sky,

and thunder rolled overhead, and lightning flashed on

every hand, they talked about the mighty Thor riding

over the clouds in his goat-drawn chariot, and battling

with the giants of the air. When the mountain-mead-

ows were green with long grass, and the corn was

yellow for the sickles of the reapers, they spoke of Sif,

the golden-haired wife of Thor, the queen of the pas-

tures and the fields. When the seasons were mild, and

the harvests were plentiful, and peace and gladness

prevailed, they blessed Frey, the giver of good gifts to

men.
To them the blue sky-dome which everywhere hung

over them like an arched roof was but the protecting

mantle which the All-Father had suspended above the

earth. The rainbow was the shimmering bridge which
 The Fore Word. ix

stretches from earth to heaven. The sun and the moon

were the children of a giant, whom two wolves chased

forever around the earth. The stars were sparks from

the fire-land of the south, set in the heavens by the

gods. Night was a giantess, dark and swarthy, who

rode in a car drawn by a steed the foam from whose

bits sometimes covered the earth with dew. And Day

was the son of Night ;
and the steed which he rode

lighted all the sky and the earth with the beams which

glistened from his mane.

It was thus that men in the earlier ages of the

world looked upon and spoke of the workings of

Nature ;
and it was in this manner that many myths, or

poetical fables, were formed. By and by, as the world

grew older, and mankind became less poetical and more

practical, the first or mythical meaning of these stories

was forgotten, and they were regarded no longer as

mere poetical fancies, but as historical facts. Perhaps
some real hero had indeed performed daring deeds, and
had made the world around him happier and better. It

was easy to liken him to Sigurd, or to some other myth-

ical slayer of giants ;
and soon the deeds of both were

ascribed to but one. And thus many myth-stories

 The Fore Word.

probably contain some historical facts blended with

the mass of poetical fancies which mainly compose
them ; but, in such cases, it is generally impossible
to distinguish what is fact from what is mere fancy.
All nations have had their myth-stories ; but, to my
mind, the purest and grandest are those which we have
received from our northern ancestors. They are par-

ticularly interesting to us ;
because they are what our
fathers once believed, and because they are ours by

right of inheritance. And, when we are able to make

them still more our own by removing the blemishes
which rude and barbaious ages have added to some of

them, we shall discover in them many things that are

beautiful and true, and well calculated to make us

wiser and better.

It is not known when or by whom these myth-stories

were first put into writing, nor when they assumed the

shape in which we now have them. But it is said, that,

about the year noo, an Icelandic scholar called Sac-

mund the Wise collected a number of songs and poems

into a book which is now known as the "Elder Edda;"
and that, about a century later, Snorre Sturleson,
another Icelander, wrote a prose-work of a similar

character, which is called the "Younger Edda." And

 The Fore Word. xi

it is to these two books that we owe the preservation

of almost all that is now known of the myths and the
strange religion of our Saxon and Norman forefathers.

But, besides these, there are a number of semi-mytho-

logical stories of great interest and beauty, stories

partly mythical, and partly founded upon remote and

forgotten historical facts. One of the oldest and finest

of these is the story of Sigurd, the son of Sigmund.

There are many versions of this story, differing from
each other according to the time in which they were

written and the character of the people among whom

they were received. We find the first mention of

Sigurd and his strange daring deeds in the song of

" Elder Edda." "
Fafnir, in the Then, in the Younger
Edda," the story is repeated in the myth of the Niflungs

and the Gjukungs. "

It is told again in the Volsunga
Saga" of Iceland. It is repeated and re-repeated in
various forms and different languages, and finally ap-
"
pears in the Nibelungen Lied," a grand old German
poem, which may well be compared with the Iliad of

the Greeks. In this last version, Sigurd is called Sieg-

fried ; and the story is colored and modified by the

introduction of many notions peculiar to the middle

ages, and unknown to our Pagan fathers of the north.

xii The Fore Word.

In our own time this myth has been woven into a vari-

ety of forms. William Morris has embodied it in his

noble poem of "Sigurd theVolsung;" Richard Wag-

ner, the famous German composer, has constructed
from it his inimitable drama, the "Nibelungen Ring;"
W. Jordan, another German writer, has given it to the
"
world in his " Sigfrid's Saga ;
and Emanuel Geibel
has derived from it the materials for his " Tragedy of

Brunhild."

And now I, too, come with the STORY OF SIEGFRIED,

still another version of the time-honored legend. The
story as I shall tell it
you is not in all respects a

literal rendering of the ancient myth ;

but I have taken
the liberty to change and recast such portions of it as

I have deemed advisable. Sometimes I have drawn

materials from one version of the story, sometimes

from another, and sometimes largely from my own
imagination alone. Nor shall I be accused of impro-

priety in thus reshaping a narrative, which, although

hallowed by an antiquity of a thousand years and more,

has already appeared in so many different forms, and

been clothed in so many different garbs ; for, however

much I may have allowed my fancy or my judgment
to retouch and remodel the immaterial portions of the
 The Fore Word. xiii

legend, the essential parts of this immortal myth re-

main the same. And, if I succeed in leading you to

a clearer understanding and a wiser appreciation of the

thoughts and feelings of our old northern ancestors, I

shall have accomplished the object for which I have

written this Story of Siegfried.
 CONTENTS.
PAGB
THE FORE WORD v

ADVENTURE
I. MIMER, THE MASTER i

II. GREYFELL 19

III. THE CURSE OF GOLD 35

IV. FAFNIR, THE DRAGON 55

V. IN Bern's KINGDOM 68

VI. BRUNHILD . 87

VII. IN NlBELUNGEN LAND 96

VIII. SIEGFRIED'S WELCOME HOME 109

IX. THE JOURNEY TO BURGUNDY-LAND .... 115

X. KRIEMHILD'S DREAM 122

XI. How THE SPRING-TIME CAME 125

XII. THE WAR WITH THE NORTH-KINGS . . .

.137
XIII. THE STORY OF BALDER 152

XIV. HOW GUNTHER OUTWITTED BRUNHILD . . .167

XV. IN NlBELUNGEN LAND AGAIN 183

XVI. How BRUNHILD WAS WELCOMED HOME . . .

205

XVII. How SIEGFRIED LIVED IN NIBELUNGEN LAND 226

XV
xvi Contents.

ADVENTURE PAGE

XVIII. How THE MISCHIEF BEGAN TO BREW .... 248

XIX. HOW THEY HUNTED IN THE ODENWALD . .

269

XX. How THE HOARD WAS BROUGHT TO BURGUNDY. .

283

THE AFTER WORD . .

291

NOTES ... . . . . .
294
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Engraved by Frank French, J. P. Davis, E. Clement, and John Karsf,

FROM DRAWINGS BY HOWARD PYLE.

PACK
THE FORGING OF BALMUNG . . . Frontispiece

THE DEATH OF FAFNIR 62

THE AWAKENING OF BRUNHILD. ,

94

THE TRIAL OF STRENGTH . . . i8c

THE QUARREL OF THE QUEENS 25*

THE DEATH OF SIEGFRIED ...,,, a?'

THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED.
 ADVENTURE I.

MIMER, THE MASTER.

AT Santen, Lowlands, there once lived a young
in the

prince named Siegfried. His father, Siegmund, was

king of the rich country through which the lazy Rhine
winds its wayjust before reaching the great
North Sea;
and he was known, both far and near, for his good deeds
and his prudent thrift. And Siegfried's mother, the

gentle Sigelind, was loved by all for her goodness

of

heart and her kindly charity to the poor. Neither king

nor queen left aught undone that might make the

young prince happy, or fit him for life's usefulness.

Wise men were brought from far-off lands to be his
teachers and every day something was added to his
;

store ofknowledge or his stock of happiness. And

very skilful did he become in warlike games
and in

manly feats of strength. No other youth could throw

the spear with so great force, or shoot the arrow with
surer aim. other youth could run more swiftly, or
No
ride with more becoming ease. His gentle mother took

delight in adding to the beauty of his

matchless form

by clothing him in cosily garments decked

with the
 The Story of Siegfried.

rarest jewels. The old, the young, the rich, the poor,
the high, the low, all praised the fearless Siegfried,
and all vied in friendly strife to win his favor. One
would have thought that the life of the young prince
could never be aught but a holiday, and that the
birds would sing, and the flowers would bloom, and
the sun would shine forever for his sake.
But the business of man's life is not mere pastime ;

and none knew this truth better than the wise old king,
Siegmund.
"All work is noble," said he to Siegfried; "and he
who yearns to win fame must not shun toil. Even
princes should know how to earn a livelihood by the
labor of their hands."
And while Siegfried was still -a young lad, his
so,
father sent him to live with a smith called Mimer,
whose smithy was among the hills not far from the
great forest. For in those early times the work of
the smith was looked upon as the most worthy of all
trades, a trade which the gods themselves were not
ashamed to follow. And this smith Mimer was a won-
derful master, the wisest and most cunning that the
world had ever seen. Men said that he was akin to
the dwarf-folk who had ruled the earth in the early

days, and who were learned in every lore, and skilled

in every craft ;
and they said that he was so exceeding
old that no one could remember the day when he came
to dwell in the land of Siegmund's fathers. And some
said, too, that he was the keeper of a wonderful well,
 Mimer, the Master.

which imparted wis-

or flowing spring, the waters of
dom and far-seeing knowledge to all who drank of
them.
To Mimer's where he would be taught
school, then,
to workskilfully andthink
to wisely, Siegfried was
sent, to be in all respects like the other pupils there.
A coarse blue blouse, and heavy leggings, and a leath-
ern apron, took the place of the costly clothing which
he had worn in his father's dwelling. His feet were
incased in awkward wooden shoes, and his head was
covered with a wolf-skin cap. The dainty bed, with
its downy pillows, wherein every night his mother had

been wont, with gentle care, to see him safely covered,

was given up for a rude heap of straw in a corner of
the smithy. And the rich food to which he had been
used gave place to the coarsest and humblest fare.
But the lad did not complain. The days which he
passed in the smithy were mirthful and happy and ;

the sound of his hammer rang cheerfully, and the

sparks from his forge flew briskly, from morning till
night.
And a wonderful smith he became. No one could
do more work than he, and none wrought with greater
skill. The heaviest chains and the strongest bolts, for
prison or for treasure-house, were but as toys in his
stout hands, so easily and quickly did he beat them
into shape. And he was alike cunning in work of the
most delicate and brittle kind. Ornaments of gold ami
silver, studded with the rarest jewels, were fashioned
 The Story of Siegfried.

into beautiful forms by his deft fingers. And among

all of Mimer's apprentices none learned the master's
lore so readily, nor gained the master's favor more. 1

One morning the master, Mimer, came to the smithy

with a troubled look upon his face. It was clear that

something had gone amiss and what it was the ap- ;

prentices soon learned from the smith himself. Never,

until lately, had any one questioned Mimer's right to be
called the foremost smith in all the world ;
but now
a rival had come forward. An unknown upstart one
Amilias, in Burgundy-land had made a suit of armor,
which, he boasted, no stroke of sword could dint, and
no blow spear could scratch
of and he had sent a ;

challenge to all other smiths, both in the Rhine coun-

try and elsewhere, to equal that piece of workmanship,
or else acknowledge themselves his underlings and vas-
sals. For many days had Mimer himself toiled, alone
and vainly, trying to forge a sword whose edge the
boasted armor of Amilias could not foil and now, in ;

despair, he came to ask the help of his pupils and

apprentices.
" Who skilful to forge such a
among you is enough
"
oword ? he asked.
One after the pupils shook f heir heads.
another,
And Veliant, the foreman of the apprentices, said, "I
have heard much about that wonderful armor, and its
extreme hardness, and T doubt if any skill can make a
oword with edge so sharp and true as to cut into it.
The best that can be done is to try to make another
1 end of
See Note i at the this volume.
 Mimer, the Master.

war-coat whose temper shall equal that of Amilias's

armor."
Then the lad Siegfried quickly said, " I will make
such a sword as you want, a blade that no war-coat
"
can foil. Give me but leave to try !

The other pupils laughed in scorn, but Mimer checked

them. "You hear how this boy can talk we will see :

what he can do. He is the king's son, and we know

that he has uncommon talent. He shall make the
sword ;
but if, upon trial, it fail, I will make him rue
the day."
Then Siegfried went to his task. And for seven days
and seven nights the sparks never stopped flying from
his forge ;
and the ringing of his anvil, and the hissing
of the hot metal as he tempered it, were heard contin-
uously. On the eighth day the sword was fashioned,
and Siegfried brought it to Mimer.
The smith felt the razor-edge of the bright weapon,
and "
said,This seems, indeed, a fair fire-edge. Let us
make a trial of its keenness."
Then a thread of wool as light as thistle-down was
thrown upon water, and, as it floated there, Mimer
struck it with the sword. The glittering blade cleft
the slender thread in twain, and the pieces floated
undisturbed upon the surface of the liquid.
"Well done !" cried the delighted smith. "Never
have I seen a keener edge. If its temper is as true as
its sharpness would lead us to believe, it will indeed
serve me well."
 The Story of Siegfried.

But Siegfried took the sword again, and broke it into

many pieces and for three days he welded it in a white-
;

hot fire, and tempered it with milk and oatmeal. Then,

in sight of Mimer and the sneering apprentices, he cast
a light ball of fine-spun wool upon the flowing water of
the brook and it was caught in the swift eddies of the
;

stream, and whirled about until it met the bared blade

of the sword, which was held in Mimer's hands. And
it was parted as easily and clean as the rippling water,
and not the smallest thread was moved out of its place.
Then back smithy Siegfried went again
to the and ;

his forge glowed with a brighter fire, and his hammer

rang upon the anvil with a cheerier sound, than ever

before. But he suffered none to come near, and no

one ever knew what witchery he used. But some

of his fellow-pupils afterwards told how, in the dusky
twilight, theyhad seen a one-eyed man, long-bearded,
and clad in a cloud-gray kirtle, and wearing a sky-blue
hood, talking with Siegfried at the smithy door. And
they said that the stranger's face was at once pleasant
and fearful to look upon, and that his one eye shone in

the gloaming like the evening star, and that, when he

had placed in Siegfried's hands bright shards, like pieces
of a broken sword, he faded suddenly frorr their sight,
and was seen no more.
For seven weeks the lad wrought day and night at

his forge and then, pale and haggard, but with

;
a

pleased smile upon his face, he stood before Mimer,

with the gleaming sword in his hands. " It is finished,"
 Mimer, the Master. 7

" Behold the the blade

tie said. glittering terror !

Balmung. Let us try its edge, and prove its temper

once again, that so we may know whether you can
place your trust in it."

And Mimer looked long at the ruddy hilts of the

weapon, and at the mystic runes that were scored upon

its sides, and at the keen edge, which gleamed like a ray

of sunlight in the gathering gloom But

of the evening.

no word came from his lips, and his eyes were dim and
dazed ;
and he seemed as one lost in thoughts of days
long past and gone.
Siegfried raised the blade high over his head and ;

the gleaming edge flashed hither and thither, like the

lightning's play when Thor rides over the storm-clouds.

Then suddenly it fell upon the master's anvil, and the

great block of iron was cleft in two but the bright ;

blade was no whit dulled by the stroke, and the line of

lightwhich marked the edge was brighter than before.

to the flowing brook they went
Then and a great ;

pack of wool, the fleeces of ten sheep, was brought, and

thrown upon the swirling water. As the stream bore
the bundle downwards, Mimer held the sword in its

way. And the whole was divided as easily and as

clean as the woollen ball or the slender woollen thread
had been cleft before.
" " no longer fear to
Now, indeed," cried Mimer, I

meet that upstart, Amilias. If his war-coat can with-

stand the stroke of such a sword as Balmung, then I
shall not be ashamed to be his underling. But, if this
8 The Story of Siegfried.

good blade is what it seems to be, it will not fail me ;

and I, Mimer the Old, shall still be called the wisest

and greatest of smiths."
And he sent word at once to Amilias, in Burgundy-

land, to meet him on a day, and settle forever the ques-

tion as to which of the two should be the master, and

which the underling. And heralds proclaimed it in every

town and dwelling. When the time which had been
set drew near, Mimer, bearing the sword Balmung, and
followed by all his pupils and apprentices, wended his

way towards the place of meeting. Through the forest

they went, and then along the banks of the sluggish
river, for many a league, to the height of land which
marked the line between King Siegmund's country and
the country of the Burgundians. It was in this place,

midway between the shops of Mimer and Amilias, that

the occreat trial of metal and of skill was to be made.
And here were already gathered great numbers of peo-
ple from the Lowlands and from Burgundy, anxiously
waiting for the coming of the champions. On the one
side were the wise old Siegmund and his gentle queen,
and their train of knights and courtiers and fair ladies.
On the other side were the three Burgundian kings,
Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher, and a mighty retinue of
of the kings,
warriors, ledby grim old Hagen, the uncle
and the wariest chief in all Rhineland.
When every thing was in readiness for the contest,
Amilias, clad in his boasted war-coat, went up to the
top of the hill, and sat upon a great rock, anci waited
 Mimer, the Master.

for Mimer's coming. As he sat there, he looked, to the

people below, like some great castle-tower for he was ;

almost a giant in size, and his coat of mail, so skilfully

wrought, was so huge that twenty men of common mould
might have found shelter, or hidden themselves, within
it. As the smith Mimer, so dwarfish in stature, toiled

up the steep hillside, Amilias smiled to see him for he ;

feltno fear of the slender, gleaming blade that was to

try the metal of his war-coat. And already a shout
of expectant triumph went up from the throats of the

Burgundian hosts, so sure were they of their champion's

success.
But Mimer's friends waited in breathless silence, hop-

ing, and yet fearing. Only King Siegmund whispered

"
to his queen, and said, Knowledge is stronger than
brute force. The who
smallest dwarf has drunk from
the well of the Knowing One may safely meet the
stoutest giant in battle."
When Mimerreached the top of the hill, Amiiias
folded his huge arms, and smiled again ;
for he felt

that this contest was mere play for him, and that

Mimer was already as good as beaten, and his thrall.

The smith paused a moment to take breath, and as
he stood by the side of his foe he looked to those
Lelow like a mere black speck close beside a steel-gray
castle-tower.
" "
Are you ready ? asked the smith.
" " Strike "
Ready," answered Amilias. !

Mimer raised the beaming blade in the air, and for a

IO The Story of Siegfried.

moment the lightning seemed to play around his head.

The muscles on his short, brawny arms, stood out like
great ropes and then Balmung, descending, cleft the
;

air from right to left. The waiting lookers-on in the

plain below thought to hear the noise of clashing steel ;

but they listened in vain, for no sound came to their

ears, save a sharp hiss like that which red-hot iron gives
when plunged into a tank of cold water. The huge
Amilias sat unmoved, with his arms still folded upon his
breast ; but the smile had faded from his face.
" How do "
you feel now ? asked Mimer in a half-
mocking tone.
"
Rather strangely, as if cold iron had touched me,"
faintly answered the upstart.
"
"Shake thyself ! cried Mimer.
Amilias did so, and, lo ! he fell in two halves ;
for the
sword had cut sheer through the vaunted war-coat, and
cleft intwain the great body incased within. Down
tumbled the giant head and the still folded arms, and
they rolled with thundering noise to the foot of the hill,
and fell with a fearful splash into the deep waters of
the river and there, fathoms down, they may even
;

now be seen, when the water is clear, lying like great

gray rocks among the sand and gravel below. The rest
of the body, with the armor which incased it, still sat

upright in its place and to this day travellers sailing

;

down the river are shown on moonlit evenings the

lucklessarmor of Amilias on the high hill-top. In the
dim, uncertain light, one easily fancies it to be the ivy
covered ruins of some old castle of feudal times.
 Mimer, the Master. n
The master, Mimer, sheathed his sword, and walked
slowlydown the hillside to the plain, where his friends
welcomed him with glad cheers and shouts of joy.
But the Burgundians, baffled, and feeling vexed, turned
silently homeward, nor cast a single look back to the
scene of their disappointment and their ill-fated cham-
pion's defeat.
And Siegfried went again with the master and his

fellows to the smoky smithy, to his roaring bellows and

ringing anvil, and to his coarse fare, and rude, hard bed,
and to a life of labor. And while all men praised Mimer
and his knowing skill, and the fiery edge of the sun-
beam blade, no one knew that it was the boy Siegfried
who had wrought that piece of workmanship.
But was whispered around that not
after a while it

Mimer, but one of his pupils, had forged the sword.

And, when the master was asked what truth there was
eyes twinkled, and the corners of his
in this story, his

mouth twitched strangely, and he made no answer.

But Veliant, the foreman of the smithy, and the great-
" It was who
est of boasters said, I forged the fire-edge
of the blade Balmung." Ai d, although none denied
the truth of what he said, but few who knew what sorf

of a man he was believed his story. And this is the

reason, my children, that, in the ancient songs and
stories which tell wondrous sword, it is said by
of this
most that Mimer, and by a few thnt Veliant, forged its
blade. But I prefer to believe that it was made by
Siegfried, the hero who afterwards wielded it in so
12 71ie Story of Siegfried.

many adventures. i
Be this as it
may, however, blind
hate and jealousy were from this time uppermost in
the coarse and selfish mind of Veliant and he sought ;

how he might away from the smithy in

drive the lad

disgrace. "This boy has done what no one else could

" He may
do," said he. yet do greater deeds, and set
himself up as the master smith of the world, and then
we shall all have to humble ourselves before him as his

underlings and thralls."

And he nursed this thought, and brooded over the
hatred which he felt towards the blameless boy but he ;

did not dare to harm him, for fear of their master, Mimer.
And Siegfried busied himself at his forge, where the
sparks flew as briskly and as merrily as ever before,
and his bellows roared from early morning till late at
evening. Nor did the foreman's unkindness trouble
him for a moment, for he knew that the master's heart
was warm towards him.
Oftentimes, when the day's work was done, Siegfried
sat with Mimer by the glowing light of the furnace-fire,
and listened to the sweet tales which the master told
of the deeds of the early days, when the world was

young, and the dwarf-folk and the giants had a name

and a place upon earth. And one night, as they thus
sat, the master talked of Odin the All-Father, and of
the gods who dwell with him in Asgard, and of the

puny men-folk whom they protect and befriend, until

his words grew full of bitterness, and his soul of a fierce

longing for something he dared not name. And the

1
Se Note 3 at the end of this volume.
 Mimer, the Master. 13

lad's heart was stirred with a strange uneasiness, and h?

said,
"Tell me, I
pray, dear master, something about my
own kin, my those mighty kings, who,
father's fathers,
I have heard said, were the bravest and best of men."
Thenthe smith seemed pleased again. And his eyes
grew brighter, and lost their far-away look and a smile ;

played among the wrinkles of his swarthy face, as he

told a talc of old King Volsung and of the deeds of the

Volsung kings :

"
Long years ago, before the evil days had dawned,

King Volsung ruled over all the land which lies between
the sea and the country of the Goths. The clays were
golden and
;
the good Frey dropped peace and plenty
everywhere, and men went in and out and feared no
wrong. King Volsung had a dwelling in the midst
of fertile fields and fruitful gardens. Fairer than any
dream was that dwelling. The roof was thatched with
gold, and red turrets and towers rose above. The great
feast-hall was long and high, and its walls were hung

with sun-bright shields and the door-nails were of sil-

;

ver. In the middle of the hall stood the pride of the

Volsungs, a tree whose blossoms filled the air with

fragrance, and whose green branches, thrusting them-

selves through the ceiling, covered the roof with fair

foliage. It was Odin's tree, and King Volsung had

planted it there with his own ha pds.
"On a day in winter King Volsung held a great
feast in his hall in honor of Siggeir, the King of the
14 The Story of Siegfried.

Goths, who was his guest. And the fires blazed bright
in the broad chimneys, and music and mirth went round.

But in the midst of the merry-making the guests were

startled by a sudden peal of thunder, which seemed to
come from the cloudless sky, and which made the shields

upon the walls rattle and In wonder they looked

ring.
around. Astrange man
stood in the doorway, and

laughed, but said not a word. And they noticed that

he wore no shoes upon his feet, but that a cloud-gray
cloak was thrown over his shoulders, and a blue hood
was drawn down over his head. His face was half-

hidden by a heavy beard and he had but one eye,

;

which twinkled and glowed like a burning coal. And

allthe guests sat moveless in their seats, so awed were

they in the presence of him who stood at the door for ;

they knew was none other than Odin the All-

that he

Father, the king of gods and men. He spoke not

a word, but straight into the hall he strode, and he

paused not until he stood beneath the blossoming

branches of the tree. Then, forth from beneath his
cloud-gray cloak, he drew a gleaming sword, and struck
the blade deep into the wood, so deep that nothing
but the hilt was left in sight. And, turning to the

awe-struck guests, he said,

'
A
blade of mighty worth
have I hidden in this tree. Never have the earth-folk
wrought better steel, nor has any man ever wielded a
more trusty sword. Whoever there is among you brave
enough and strong enough to draw it forth from the
wood, he shall have it as a gift from Odin.' Then
 Mimer, the Master. 15

slowly to the door he strode again, and no one saw

him any more.
"And he had gone, the Volsungs and their
after

guests sat a long time silent, fearing to stir, lest the

vision should prove a dream. But at last the old king
arose, and cried, Come, guests and kinsmen, and set
'

your hands to the ruddy hilt Odin's gift stays, waiting

!

for its fated owner. Let us see which one of you is

the favored of the All-Father.' First Siggeir, the King
of the Goths, and his earls, the Volsungs' guests,
tried their hands. But the blade stuck fast and the;

stoutest man among them failed to move it. Then

King Volsung, laughing, seized the hilt, and drew with
all his strength ;
but the sword held still in the wood
of Odin's tree. And one by one the nine sons of Vol-
sung tugged and strained in vain and each was greeted ;

with shouts and laughter, as, ashamed and beaten, he

wended to his seat again. Then, at last, Sigmund,
the youngest son, stood up, and laid his hand upon the

ruddy hilt, scarce thinking to try what all had failed to

do. When, lo ! the blade came out of the tree as if

therein it had all

along lain loose. And Sigmund raised
it high over his head, and shook it, and the bright flame

that leaped from its edge lit up the hall like the light-

ning's gleaming; and the Volsungs and their guests

rent the air with cheers and shouts of gladness. For
no one among all the men of the mid-world was
more worthy of Odin's gift than young Sigmund the
brave."
1 6 7 he Story of Siegfried.

But the rest of Mimer's story would be too long to

tell you now ;
for he and his young apprentice sat for
hours by the dying coals, and talked of Siegfried's kin-
folk, the Volsung kings of old. And he told how
Siggeir, theGoth king, was wedded to Signy the fair,
the only daughter of Volsung, and the pride of the old

king's heart and how he carried her with him to his

;

home in the land of the Goths ;

and how he coveted
Sigmund's sword, and plotted to gain it by guile and ;

how, through pretence of friendship, he invited the Vol-

sung kings to visit him in Gothland, as the guests of
himself and Signy and how he betrayed and slew them,
;

save Sigmund alone, who escaped, and for long years

lived an outlaw in the land of his treacherous foe. And
then he toldhow Sigmund afterwards came back to his
own country of the Volsungs and how his people wel-
;

comed him, and he became a mighty king, such as the

world had never known before and how, when he had ;

grown old, and full of years and honors, he went out

with his earls and fighting-men to battle against the
hosts of King Lyngi the Mighty; and how, in the midst
of the fight, when his sword had hewn down numbers of

the foe, and the end of the strife and victory seemed
near, an old man, one-eyed and bearded, and wearing a
cloud-gray cloak, stood up before him in the din, and his
sword was broken in pieces, and he fell dead on the
heap of the slain. And, when Mimer had finished his
1

tale, his dark face seemed to grow darker, and his twin-

1
See Note 4 at the end of this volume.
 Mimer, the Master. 17

kling eyes grew brighter, as he cried out in a tone of

-
despair and hopeless yearning,
"
Oh, past are those days of old and the worthy deeds
of the brave And these are the days of the home-
!

stayers,
- - of the wise, but feeble-hearted. Yet the
Norns have spoken and it must be that another hero
;

shall arise of the Volsung blood, and he shall restore

the name and the fame of his kin of the early days.
And he shall be my bane and in him shall the race of
;

heroes have an end." I

Siegfried's heart was strangely stirred within him as

he hearkened to this story of ancient times and to the
fateful words of the master, and for a long time he sat

in silent thought and neither he nor Mimer moved, or

;

spoke again, until the darkness of the night had begun

to fade,and the gray light of morning to steal into the
smithy. Then, as if moved by a sudden impulse, he
turned to the master, and said,
" You
speak of the Norns, dear master, and of their
foretelling ;
but your words are vague, and their mean-

ing very broad. When shall that hero come ? and who
"
shall he be ? and what deeds shall be his doing ?
" "
"Alas ! answered Mimer, I know not, save that he
shall be of the Volsung race, and that my fate is linked

with his."
" "
And why
do you not know ? returned Siegfried.
"Are you not that old Mimer, in whom it is said the

garnered wisdom of the world is stored ? Is there

1
See Note 7 at the end of this volume.
1 8 The Story of Siegfried.

not truth in the old story that even Odin pawned one
of his eyes for a single draught from your fountain
of knowedge ? And is the possessor of so much wis-
dom unable to look into the future with clearness and
"
?
certainty
"
"Alas ! answered Mimer again, and his words came
hard and slow, "I am not that Mimer, of whom old
stories tell, who gave wisdom to the All-Father in ex-

change for an eye. He is one of the giants, and he

still watches his fountain I claim
1
in far-off Jotunheim.
kinship with the dwarfs, and am sometimes known as
an elf, sometimes as a wood-sprite. Men have called
me Mimer because of my wisdom and skill, and the
learning which I impart to my pupils. Could I but
drink from the fountain of the real Mimer, then the
wisdom of the world would in truth be mine, and the
secrets of the future would be no longer hidden. But I
must wait, as I have long waited, for the day and the
deed and the doom that the Norns have foretold."
Andthe old strange look of longing came again into
his eyes, and the wrinkles on his swarthy face seemed
to deepen with agony, as he arose, and left the smithy.
And Siegfried sat alone before the smouldering fire, and
pondered upon what he had heard.
1
See Note 2 at the end of this volume.
 Greyfell. 1
9

ADVENTURE II.

GREYFELL.

MANY were the pleasant days that Siegfried spent in

Mimer's smoky smithy and if he ever thought of his
;

father's stately dwelling, or of the life of ease which he

might have enjoyed within its halls, he never by word or
deed showed signs of discontent. For Mimer taught
him all the secrets of his craft and all the lore of the
wise men. To beat hot iron, to shape the fire-edged
sword, to smithy war-coats, to fashion the slender brace-
let of gold and jewels, all this he had already learned.
But there were many other things to know, and these
the wise master showed him. He told him how to carve
the mystic runes which speak to the knowing ones with
silent, unseen tongues he told him of the men of other
;

lands,and taught him their strange speech he showed ;

him how to touch the harp-strings, and bring forth

bewitching music and the heart of Siegfried waxed
:

very wise, while his body grew wondrous strong. And

the master loved his pupil dearly.
But the twelve apprentices grew more jealous day by
day, and when Mimer was away they taunted Siegfried
2O The Story of Siegfried,

with cruel jests, and sought by harsh threats to drive

him from the smithy but the lad only smiled, and
;

made the old shop ring again with the music from his
anvil. On a clay when Mimer had gone on a journey,
Veliant, the foreman, so far forgot himself as to strike
the boy. For a moment Siegfried gazed at him with
withering scorn ;
then he swung his hammer high in

air,and brought it swiftly down, not upon the head of

Veliant, who was trembling with expectant fear, but
upon the foreman's anvil. The great block of iron was
shivered by the blow, and flew into a thousand pieces.
Then, turning again towards the thoroughly frightened
foreman, Siegfried said, while angry lightning-flashes
darted from his eyes,
" "
What if I were you thus ?
to strike

Veliant sank upon the ground, and begged for mercy.

"You are safe," said Siegfried, walking away. "I
"
would scorn to harm a being like you !

The apprentices were struck dumb with amazement

and fear; and when Siegfried had returned to his anvil
they one by one dropped their hammers, and stole away
from the smithy. In a secret place not far from the

shop, they met together, to plot some means by which

they might rid themselves of him whom they both hated
and feared.
The next morning Veliant came to Siegfried's forge,
with a sham smile upon his face. The boy knew
that cowardice and base deceit lurked, ill concealed,
beneath that smile; yet, as he was wont to do, h.:

welcomed the foreman kindly.

 Greyfell. 2 1

"Siegfried," said Veliant, "let us be friends again.

I sorry that I was so foolish and so rash yesterday,
am
and I promise that I will never again be so rude and
unmanly as to become angry at you. Let us be friends,

good Siegfried ! Give me your hand, I pray you, and

with it
your forgiveness."
Siegfried grasped the rough palm of the young smith
with such a gripe, that the smile vanished from Veliant's
face, and his muscles writhed with pain.
" " and
I give you my hand, certainly," said the boy,
I -will give you my forgiveness when I know that you
are worthy of it."
As soon as Veliant's aching hand allowed him speech,
he said,
"
Siegfried, you know that we have but little charcoal
left forour forges, and our master will soon return from
his journey. It will never do for him to find us idle,

and the fires cold. Some one must go to-day to the

and bring home a fresh supply of charcoal.
forest-pits,
How would you like the errand ? It is but a pleasant
day's journey to the pits and a ride into the green-
;

wood this fine summer day would certainly be more

agreeable than staying in the smoky shop."
" I should like the drive
very much," answered Sieg-
" but I have never been to the
fried ; coal-pits, and I

might l3se my way in the forest."

"No danger of that," said Veliant. "Follow the

road that goes straight into the heart of the forest,
and you cannot miss your way. It will lead you to the
22 The Story of Siegfried.

house of Regin, the master, the greatest charcoal-man

in all Rhineland. He will be right glad to see you for
Mimer's sake, and you may lodge with him for the
night. In the morning he will fill your cart with the
choicest charcoal, and you can drive home at your leis-
ure ; and, when our master comes again, he will find
our forges flaming, and our bellows roaring, and our
anvils ringing, as of yore."

Siegfried, after some further parley, agreed to under-

take the errand, although he felt that Veliant, in urging
him to do so, wished to work him some harm. He har-

nessed the donkey to the smith's best cart, and drove

merrily away along the road which led towards the
forest. 1 The day was
bright and clear; and as Sieg-
fried rode through the flowery meadows, or betwixt the
fields of corn, a thousand sights and sounds met him,
and made him glad. Now and then he would stop to

watch the reapers in the fields, or to listen to the song

of some heaven-soaring lark lost to sight in the blue
sea overhead. Once he met a company of gayly dressed
youths and maidens, carrying sheaves of golden grain,
-for it was now the harvest-time, and singing in
praise of Frey, the giver of peace and plenty.
" Whither "
away, young prince ? they merrily asked.
"To
Regin, the coal-burner, in the deep greenwood,"
he answered.
"Then may the good Frey have thee in keeping!"
" It is a long and lonesome journey." And
they cried.
each one blessed him as they passed.
1
See Note 5 at the end of this volume.
 Greyfell. 23

was nearly noon when lie drove into the forest,

It

and left the blooming meadows and the warm sunshine

behind him. And now
he urged the donkey forwards
with speed he knew that he had lost much precious
;
for

time, and that many miles still lay between him and

Regin's charcoal-pits. And there was nothing here

amid the thick shadows of the wood to make him wish
to linger for the ground was damp, and the air was
;

chilly, and every thing was silent as the grave. And

not a living creature did Siegfried see, save now and
then a gray wolf slinking across the road, or a doleful owl
sitting low down in some tree-top, and blinking at him
in the dull but garish light. Evening at last drew on,
and the shadows in the wood grew deeper and still no ;

sign of charcoal-burner, nor of other human being, was

seen. Night came, and thick darkness settled around ;

and all the demons of the forest came forth, and clam-
ored and chattered, and shrieked and howled. But
Siegfried was not afraid. The bats and vampires came
out of their hiding-places, and flapped their clammy

wings in his face and he thought that he saw ogres and

;

many fearful creatures peeping out from behind every

tree and shrub. But, when he looked upwards through
the overhanging tree-tops, he saw the star-decked roof
ofheaven, the blue mantle which the All-Father has
hung as a shelter over the world and he went bravely ;

onwards, never doubting but that Odin has many good

things in store for those who are willing to trust him.
And by and by the great round moon arose in the
24 The Story of Siegfried.

east, and the fearful sounds that had made the forest
hideous began to die away and Siegfried saw, far down
;

the path, a red light feebly gleaming. And he was

glad, for he knew that it must come from the charcoal-
burners' pits. Soon he came out upon a broad, cleared
space ;
and the charcoal-burners' fires blazed bright
before him and some workmen, swarthy and soot-
;

begrimed, came forwards to meet him.

" Who are " " and
you ? they asked why do you come ;

"
through the forest at this late hour ?

" "
I am Siegfried," answered the boy ;
and I come
from Mimer's smithy. I seek Regin, the king of char-
coal-burners ;
for I must have coal for my master's
smithy."
" men "
Come with me," said one of the : I will lead

you to Regin."
Siegfried alighted from his cart, and followed the
man to a low-roofed hut not far from the burning pits.
As they drew near, they heard the sound of a harp, and
strange, wild music within and Siegfried's heart was
;

stirred with wonder as he listened. The man knocked

softly at the door, and the music ceased.
"Who comes to break into Regin's rest at such a
"
time as this ? said a rough voice within.
"A youth who calls himself Siegfried," answered the
"
He says that he comes from Mimer's smithy,
man.
and he would see you, my master."
"Let him come in," said the voice.

Siegfried passed through the low door, and into the

 Greyfell 25

room beyond and so strange was the sight that met him
;

that he stood for a while in awe, for never in so lowly

a dwelling had treasures so rich been seen. Jewels
the
sparkled from the ceiling; rare tapestry covered
walls and on the floor were heaps of ruddy gold and
;

silver, still unfashioned. And in the midst of all this

wealth stood Regin, the king of the forest, the great-
est of charcoal-men. And a strange old man he was,
wrinkled and gray and beardless but out of his eyes
;

sharp glances gleamed was not human,

of a light that

and his heavy brow and broad forehead betokened wis-

dom and shrewd cunning. And he welcomed Siegfried
kindly for Mimer's sake, and set before him a
rich repast

of venison, and wild honey, and fresh white bread, and

luscious grapes. And, when the meal was finished, the

boy would have told his errand, but Regin stopped him.
"
Say nothing of your business to-night," said he ;

"
for the hour is already late, and you are weary. Better
lie down, and rest until the morrow and then we will
;

talk of the matter which has brought you hither."

And Siegfried was shown to a couch of the fragrant
leaves of the myrtle and hemlock, overspread with soft
white linen, such as is made in the far-off Emerald Isle;
and he was by sweet strains of music
lulled to sleep

from Regin's harp, music which told of the days when

the gods were young on the earth. And as he slept

he dreamed. He dreamed
that he stood upon the crag
of a high mountain, and that the eagles flew screaming
around him, and the everlasting snows lay at his feet,
26 The Story of Siegfried.

and the world in all its beauty was stretched out like a
map below him ;
and he longed to go forth to partake
of its abundance, and to make for himself a name among
men. Then came the Norns, who spin the thread, and
weave the woof, of every man's life and they held in ;

their hands the web of his own destiny. And Urd, the
Past, sat on the tops of the eastern mountains, where
the sun begins to rise at dawn while Verdanda, the ;

Present, stood in the western sea, where sky and water

meet. And
they stretched the web between them, and
its ends were hidden in the far-away mists. Then with
all their might the two Norns span the purple and golden

threads, and wove the fatal woof. But as it

began to

grow in beauty and in strength, and to shadow the earth

with its gladness and its glory, Skuld, the pitiless Norn
of the Future, seized it with rude fingers, and tore it
into shreds, and cast it down at the feet of Hela, the
white queen of the dead. And the eagles shrieked,
1

and the mountain shook, and the crag toppled, and

Siegfried awoke.
The next morning, at earliest break of day, the

youth sought Regin, and made known his errand.

"I have come for charcoal for my master Mimer's
forges. My cart stands ready outside ;
and I pray you
to have it filled at once, for the way is long, and I must
be back betimes."
Then a strange smile stole over Regin 's wrinkled
face, and he said,
1
See Note 6 at the end of this volume.
 27
Greyfell.

"Does Siegfried the prince come on such a lowly

errand ? Does he come to me through the forest, driv-
I have
ing a donkey, and riding in a sooty coal-cart ?
known the day when his kin were the mightiest kings
of earth, and they fared through every land the noblest
men of men-folk."
The taunting word, the jeering tones, made Sieg-
fried's anger rise. The blood boiled in his veins but ;

he checked his tongue, and mildly answered,

"
It is true that I am a prince, and my father is the
wisest of kings ;
and it is for this reason that I come
thus to you. Mimer my master, and my father early
is

taught me that even princes must obey their masters'

behests."
" How
Then Regin laughed, and asked, long art thou
to be Mimer's thrall ? Does no work wait for thee but
"
at his smoky forge ?

"When Mimer gives me leave, and Odin calls me,"

answered the lad, " then I, too, will go faring over the
world, like my kin of the earlier days, to carve me a
name and great glory, and a place with the noble of
earth."

Regin said not a word but he took his harp, and ;

smote the strings, and a sad, wild music filled the room.
And he sang of the gods and the dwarf-folk, and of the
deeds that had been in the time long past and gone.
And a strange mist swam before Siegfried's eyes; and
so bewitching were the strains that fell upon his ears,
and filled his soul, that he forgot about his errand, and
28 The Story of Siegfried.

his master Mimer, and his father Siegmund, and his

lowland home, and thought only of the heart-gladdening

sounds. By and by the music ended, the spell was
lifted, and Siegfried turned his eyes towards the musi-
cian. A wonderful change had taken place. The little
old manstill stood before him with the harp in his

hand but his wrinkled face was hidden by a heavy

;

beard, and his thin gray locks were covered with a long
black wig, and he seemed taller and stouter than before.
As Siegfried started with surprise, his host held out his
hand, and said,
"You need not be alarmed, my boy. It is time for
you to know that Regin and Mimer are the same per-
son, or rather that Mimer is Regin disguised.
1
The
day has come for you to go your way into the world,
and Mimer gives you leave."
Siegfried was so amazed he could not say a word.
He took the master's hand, and gazed long into his
deep, bright eyes. Then the two sat down together,
and Mimer, or Regin as we shall now call him, told the
prince many tales of the days that had been, and of his
bold, wise forefathers. And the lad's heart swelled
within him and he longed to be like them,
;
to dare

and do and suffer, and gloriously win at last. And ho

turned to Regin and said,
" Tell what do to win
me, wisest of masters, I shall

fame, and to make myself worthy to rule the fair land

which my fathers held."

1
See Note S at the end of this volume.
 Greyfell. 29

"Go forth in your own strength, and with Odin's

answered --
help," Regin, "go forth to right the wrong,
to help the weak, to punish evil, and come not back to

your father's kingdom until the world shall know your

noble deeds."
" "
But whither shall I
go ? asked Siegfried.
"I will tell you," answered Regin. "Put on these
garments, which better befit a prince than those soot-
begrimed clothes you have worn so long. Gird about
you this sword, the good Balmung, and go northward.
When you come to the waste landswhich border upon
the sea, you will find the ancient Gripir, the last of the
kin of the giants. Ask of him a war-steed, and Odin
will tell you the rest."

So, when the sun had risen high above the trees,

Siegfried bade Regin good-by, and went forth like a

man, to take whatsoever fortune should betide. He
went through the great forest, and across the bleak
moorland beyond, and over the huge black mountains
that stretched themselves across his came
way, and to
a pleasant country all dotted with white farmhouses,
and yellow with waving corn. But he tarried not here,
though many kind words were spoken to him, and all
besought him to stay. Right onwards he went, until
he reached the waste land which borders the sound-
ing sea. And there high mountains stood, with snow-
crowned crags beetling over the waves and a great ;

river, all foaming with the summer floods, went rolling

through the valley. Ami in the deep dales between

30 The Story of Siegfried.

the mountains were rich meadows, green with grass,

and speckled with thousands of flowers of every hue,
where herds of cattle and deer, and noble elks, and
untamed horses, fed in undisturbed peace. And Sieg-
fried, when he saw, knew that these were the pastures
of Gripir the ancient.

High up among the gray mountain-peaks stood Gripir's

dwelling, a mighty house, made of huge bowlders

brought by giant hands from the far north-land. And

the wild eagles built their nests around it, and the
mountain vultures screamed about its doors. But Sieg-
fried was not afraid. He climbed the steep pathway
which the feet of men had never touched before, and,
without pausing, walked straightway into the high-built
hall. The room was so dark that at first he could see
nothing save the white walls, and the glass-green pillars
which upheld the roof. But the light grew stronger
soon and Siegfried saw, beneath a heavy canopy of
;

stone, the ancient Gripir, seated in a chair made from

the sea-horse's teeth. 1 And the son of the giants held in
his hand an ivory staff and a purple mantle was thrown
;

over his shoulders, and his white beard fell in sweeping

waves almost to the sea-green floor. Very wise he
seemed, and he gazed at Siegfried with a kindly smile.
"Hail, Siegfried!" he cried. "Hail, prince with
the gleaming eye I know thee, and I know the woof
!

that the Norns have woven for thee. Welcome to my

lonely mountain home ! Come and sit by my side in the
1
See Note 9 at the end of this volume.
 Greyfell. 3 1

high-seat where man has never sat, and I will tell thee

of things that have been, and of things that are yet

to be."

Then Siegfried fearlessly went and sat by the side of

the ancient wise one. And long hours they talke.l
together, strong youth and hoariest age and each ;

was glad that in the other he had found some source of

hope and comfort. And they talked of the great mid-
world, and of the starry dome above it, and of the seas
which gird it, and of the men who live upon it. All
night long they talked, and in the morning Siegfried
arose to go.
"Thou hast not told me of thy errand," said Gripir;
"but I know what it is. Come first with me, and see
this greatmid-world for thyself."
Then
Gripir, leaning on his staff, led the way out of
the great hall, and up to the top of the highest moun-

tain-crag. And the wild eagles circled in the clear,

cold air above them ;
and far below them the white
waves dashed against the mountain's feet and the ;

frosty winds swept around them unchecked, bringing

to their ears the lone lamenting of the north giants,

moaning days that had been and for the glories

for the

that were
past. Then Siegfried looked to the north,
and he saw the dark mountain-wall of Norway trending
away in solemn grandeur towards the frozen sea, but

broken here and there by sheltering fjords, and pleasant,

sunny dales. He looked to the east, and saw a great
forest stretching away and away until it faded to sight
32 The Story oj Siegfried.

in the blue distance. He

locked to the south, and saw
a pleasant land, with farms and vineyards, and towns
and strong-built ar.d through it wound the
castles ;

River Rhine, like a great white serpent, reaching from

the snow-capped Alps to the northern sea. And he
saw his father's little kingdom of the Netherlands lying
like a green speck on the shore of the ocean. Then he
looked to the west, and nothing met his sight but a
wilderness of rolling, restless waters, save, in the far
distance, a green island half hidden by sullen mists
and clouds. And Siegfried sighed, and said,
"The world is so wide, and the life of man so short !"
" The world is all before
thee," answered Gripir.
"Take what the Norns have allotted thee. Choose
from my pastures a battle-steed, and ride forth to win
for thyself a name and fame among the sons of men."
Then Siegfried ran down the steep side of the moun-
tain to the grassy dell where the horses were feeding.
But the beasts were all so fair and strong, that he knew

not which to choose. While he paused, uncertain what

to do, a strange man stood before him. Tall and hand-
some was the nan, with one bright eye, and a face
beaming like the Jawn in summer; and upon his head
he wore a sky-blue hood bespangled with golden stars,
and over his shoulder was thrown a cloak of ashen gray.
" Would "
you choose a horse, S'r Siegfried ? asked
the stranger.
" Indeed I "But
would," answered he. it is hard to
make a choice among so many."
 Greyfell. 33

"There is one in the meadow," said the man, "far

better than all They say that he came from
the rest.
Odin's pastures on the green hill-slopes of Asgard, and
that none but the noblest shall ride him."
" "
Which is he ? asked Siegfried.
"Drive the herd into the river," was the answer,
''and then see you can pick him out."
if

And Siegfried and the stranger drove the horses

down the sloping bank, and into the rolling stream but ;

the flood was too strong for them. Some soon turned
back to the shore while others, struggling madly, were
;

swept away, and carried out to the sea. Only one

swam safely over. He shook the dripping water from
his mane, tossed his head in the air, and then plunged

again into the stream. Right bravely he stemmed the

torrent the second time. He clambered up the shelving
bank, and stood by Siegfried's side.
"What need to tell you that this is the horse?" said
the stranger. "Take him: he is yours. He is Grey-
fell, the shining hope that Odin sends to his chosen

heroes."
And then Siegfried noticed that the horse's mane
glimmered and flashed like a thousand rays from the
sun, and that his coat was as white and clear as the
fresh-fallen snow on the mountains. He turned t
speak to the stranger, but he was nowhere to be seen
and Siegfried bethought him how he had talked w:0
Odin unawares. Then he mounted the noble Greyfell
and rode with a light heart across the flowery meadows.
34 The Story of Siegfried.

"
"Whither ridest thou ? cried Gripir the ancient,
trom his doorway among the crags.
"I ride into the wide world," said Siegfried; "but
I know not whither. I would right the wrong, and

help the weak, and make myself a name on the earth,

as did my kinsmen of yore. Tell me, I pray you,
where I shall go for you are wise, and you know the
;

things which have been, and those which shall befall."

" Ride back to
Regin, the master of masters," an-
"
swered Gripir. He will tell thee of a wrong to be
righted."
And the ancient son of the giants withdrew into his

lonely abode and Siegfried, on the shining Greyfell,

;

rode swiftly away towards the south.

 The Curse of Gold. 35

ADVENTURE III.

THE CURSE OF GOLD.

FORTH then rode Siegfried, upon the beaming Grey-
fell, out into the broad mid-world. And the sun shone
bright above him, and the air was soft and pure, and
the earth seemed very lovely, and life a gladsome thing.
And his heart was big within him as he thought of
the days to come, of the deeds of love and daring, of the

righting of many wrongs, of the people's praise, and

the glory of a life well lived. And he wended his way
back again toward the south and the fair lands of the
Rhine. He left the barren moorlands behind him, and
the pleasant farms and villages of the fruitful country-
side, and after many days came once more to Regin's
woodland dwelling. For he said to himself, "My old
master is very wise and he knows of the deeds that
;

were done when yet the world was young, and my kin
were the mightiest of men. I will go to him, and learn
what grievous evil it is that he has so often vaguely
hinted at."

Regin, when he saw the lad and the beaming Grey-

fellstanding like a vision of light at his door, welcomed
36 The Story of Siegfried.

them most gladly, and led Siegfried into the inner

room, where they sat down together amid the gold, and
the gem-stones, and the fine-wrought treasures there.

"Truly," said the master, "the days of my long

waiting are drawing to a close, and at last the deed
shall be done."
And the old look of longing came again into his

eyes, and his pinched face seemed darker and more

wrinkled than before, and his thin lips trembled with
emotion as he spoke.
" What is that deed of which "
you speak ? asked
Siegfried.
" It is
the righting of a grievous wrong," answered

Regin, "and the winning of treasures untold. Lo,

many years have I waited for the coming of this day ;

and now my heart tells me that the hero so long hoped

for is here, and the wisdom and the wealth of the world
shall be mine."
"But what is the wrong to be righted ?" asked Sieg-
"
fried. And what is this treasure that you speak of as
'

your own ?

"Alas!" answered Regin, "the treasure is indeed

mine ;
and yet wrongfully has it been withheld from me.
But a while to a tale of the early days, and thou
lister,

shalt know what the treasure is, and what is the wrong
to be righted."
He took his harp and swept the strings, and played
a soft, low melody which told of the dim past, and of

blighted hopes, and of a nameless, never-satisfied

 The Curse of Gold. 37

yearning for that which might have been. And then

he told Siegfried this story :

REGIN'S STORY.

When the earth wasvery young, and men were

still

feeble and few,and the Dwarfs were many and strong,

the Asa-folk were wont oft-times to leave their halls in

heaven-towering Asgard in order to visit the new-formed

mid-world, and to see what the short-lived sons of men
were doing. Sometimes they came in their own god-
like splendor and might sometimes they came disguised
;

as feeble men-folk, with all man's weaknesses and all his

passions. Sometimes Odin, as a beggar, wandered from

one country to another, craving charity sometimes, as ;

a warrior clad in coat of mail, he rode forth to battle

for the cause of right or as a minstrel he sang from
;

door to door, and played sweet music in the halls of the

great or as a huntsman he dashed through brakes and
;

fens, and into dark forests, and climbed steep mountains

in search of game ;
or as a sailor he embarked upon
the sea, and sought new scenes in unknown lands. And
many times did men-folk entertain him unawares.
Once on a time he came to the mid-world in com-
pany with Hoenir and Loki ;
and the three wandered
through many lands and in many climes, each giving
gifts wherever they went. Odin gave knowledge and
strength, and taught men how to read the mystic runes ;

Hoeriir gave gladness and good cheer, and lightened

many hearts with the glow of his comforting presence ;
38 The Story of Siegfried.

'outLoki had nought to give but cunning deceit and

base thoughts, and he left behind him bitter strife and

many aching breasts. At last, growing tired of the

fellowship of men, the three Asas sought the solitude

of the forest,and as huntsmen wandered long among
the hills and over the wooded heights of Hunaland.
Late one afternoon they came to a mountain-stream at
a place where it poured over a ledge of rocks, and fell
in clouds of spray into a rocky gorge below. As they
stood, and with pleased eyes gazed upon the waterfall,

they saw near the bank an otter lazily making ready

salmon which he had caught. And Loki, ever
to eat a
bent on doing mischief, hurled a stone at the harmless
beast, and killed it. And he boasted loudly that he had
done a worthy deed. And he took both the otter, and
the fish which it had caught, and carried them with him
as trophies of the day's success.

Just at nightfall the three huntsmen came to a lone

farmhouse the valley, and asked for food, and for
in

shelter during the night.

"
Shelter you shall have," said the fanner, whose
name was Hreidmar, "for the rising clouds foretell a
storm. But food I have none to give you. Surely
huntsmen of skill should not want for food since the ;

forest teems with game, and the streams are full of

fish."

Then Loki threw upon the ground the otter and the
fish, and
said, "We
have sought in both forest and
strean, and we have taken from them at one blow both
 The Curse of Gold. 39

flesh and fish. Give us but the shelter you promise,

and we will not trouble you for food."

The farmer gazed with horror upon the lifeless body

of the otter, and cried out, "This creature which you
mistook for an otter, and which you have robbed arid
killed, is my son Oddar, who for mere pastime had
taken the form of the furry beast. You are but thieves
"
and murderers !

Then he called loudly for help : and his two sons

Fafnir and Regin, sturdy and valiant kin of the dwarf-
folk, rushed in, and seized upon the huntsmen, and
bound them hand and foot for the three Asas, having
;

taken upon themselves the forms of men, had no more

than human strength, and were unable to withstand
them.
Then Odin and his fellows bemoaned their ill fate.
And Loki said, "Wherefore did we foolishly take upon
ourselves the likenesses of puny men ? Had I
my own
power once more, I would never part with it in exchange
for man's weaknesses."

And Hoenir and "

sighed, said, Now, indeed, will
darkness win and the frosty breath
: of the Reimthursen
giants will blast the fair handiwork
of the sunlight and
the heat for the givers of life and light and warmth
;

are helpless prisoners in the hands of these cunning

and unforgiving jailers."

"Surely," said Odin, "not even the highest are free

from obedience to heaven's behests and the laws of
right. I, whom men call the Preserver of Life, have
4O The Story of Siegfried.

demeaned myself by being found in evil company ; and,

although I have done no other wrong, I surfer rightly
for the doings of this mischief-maker with whom I have

stooped to have fellowship. For all are known, not so

much by what they are as by what they seem to be,
and they bear the bad name which their comrades bear.
Now I am fallen from my
high estate. Eternal right
is higher than I. And in the last Twilight of the gods
I must needs meet the dread Fenris-wolf, and in the
end the world will be made new again, and the shining
Balder will rule in sunlight majesty forever."
Then the Asas asked Hreidmar, their jailer, what
ransom they should pay for their freedom and he, not
;

" I must first know what

knowing who they were, said,
ransom you are able to give."
"
We will give any thing you may ask," hastily an-
swered Loki.
Hreidmar then called his sons, and bade them strip
the skin from the otter's body. When this was done,
they brought the furry hide and spread it upon the
"
ground ;
and Hreidmar Bring shining gold and
said,

precious stones enough to cover every part of this otter-

skin. When you have paid so much ransom, you shall
have your freedom."
"That we will do," answered Odin. "But one of us
must have leave to go and fetch it the other two will:

stay fast bound until the morning dawns. If, by that

time, the gold is not here, you may do with us as you

please."
 The Curse of Gold. 41
.
_

Hreidmar and the two young men agreed to Odin's

offer; and, lots being cast, it fell to Loki to go and
fetch the treasure. When he had been loosed from the
cords which bound him, Loki donned his magic shoes,
which had carried him over land and sea from the far-
thest bounds of the mid-world, and hastened away upon
his errand. And he sped with the swiftness of light,
over the hills and the wooded slopes, and the deep dark

valleys, and the and forests and sleeping hamlets,

fields

until he came to the place where dwelt the swarthy

elves and the cunning dwarf Andvari. There the River
Rhine, no larger than a meadow-brook, breaks forth
from beneath a mountain of ice, which the Frost
giants and blind old Hoder, the Winter-king, had built
long years before for they had vainly hoped that they
;

might imprison the river at its fountain-head. But the

baby-brook had eaten its way beneath the frozen mass,
and had sprung out from its prison, and gone on, leap-
ing and smiling, and kissing the sunlight, in its ever-
widening course towards Burgundy and the sea.
Loki came to this place, because he knew that here
was the home of the elves who had laid up the greatest
hoard of treasures ever known in the mid-world. He
scanned with careful eyes the mountain-side, and the
deep, rocky caverns, and the dark gorge through which
the little river rushed ;
but in the dim moonlight not a
living being could he see, save a lazy salmon swimming
in the quieter eddies of the stream. Any one but Loki
would have lost all hope of finding treasure there, at
I
42 The Story of Siegfried.

least before thedawn of day but his wits were quick,

;

and his eyes were very sharp.

"One salmon has brought us into this trouble, and
"
another shall help us out of it he cried.
!

Then, swift as thought, he sprang again into the air ;

and the magic shoes carried him with greater speed

than before down the Rhine valley, and through Bur-
gundy-land, and the low meadows, untilhe came to the
shores of the great North Sea. He sought the halls
of old yEgir, the Ocean-king ;
but he wist not which way
to go, -- whether across the North Sea towards Isen-
land, or whether along the narrow channel between
Britain -land and the main. While he paused, uncertain
where to turn, he saw the pale-haired daughters of old
^Egir, the white-veiled Waves, playing in the moonlight
near the shore. Of them he asked the way to yEgir's
hall.

"Seven days' journey westward," said they, "beyond

the green Isle of Erin, is our father's hall. Seven days'

journey northward, on the bleak Norwegian shore, is our

father's hall."
And they stopped not once in their play, but rippled
and danced on the shelving beach, or dashed with force
against the shore.
"Where is
your mother Ran, the Queen of the
Ocean?" asked Loki."
And they answered,
 The Citrse of Gold. 43

'
In the deep sea-caves

By the sounding shore,

In the dashing waves
When the wild storms roar,
In her cold green bowers
In the northern fiords,
She lurks and she glowers,
She grasps and she hoards,
And she spreads her strong net for her prey."

Loki waited to hear no more but he sprang into

;

the and the magic shoes carried him onwards over

air,

the water in search of the Ocean-queen. He had not

gone when his sharp eyes espied her, lurking near a
far

rocky shore against which the breakers dashed with

frightful fury. Half hidden in the deep dark water,
she lay waiting and watching and she spread her cun-
;

ning net upon the waves, and reached out with her long
greedy fingers to seize whatever booty might come near
her.
When the wary queen saw Loki, she hastily drew in
her net, and tried to hide herself in the shadows of an
overhanging rock. But Loki called her by name, and
said,
"
Sister Ran, fear not ! I am your friend Loki,
whom once you served as a guest in ^Egir's gold-lit
halls."

Then the Ocean-queen came out into the bright

moonlight, and welcomed Loki to her domain, and

"
asked, Why does Loki thus wander so far from As-
"
gard, and over the trackless waters ?
44 Th e Story of Siegfried.

And Loki answered, "

I have heard of the net which

you spread upon the waves, and from which no creature

once caught in its meshes can ever escape. I have
found a salmon where the Rhine-spring gushes from
beneath the mountains, and a very cunning salmon he
is, for no common skill can catch him. Come, I
pray,
with your wondrous net, and cast it into the stream
where he lies. Do but take the wary fish for me, and
you shall have more gold than you have taken in a year

from the wrecks of stranded vessels."

"I dare not go," cried Ran. "Abound is set, be-

yond which I may not venture. If all the gold of earth

were offered me, I could not go."
"Then lend me your net," entreated Loki. "Lend
me your net, and I will bring it back to-morrow rilled

with gold."
"Much I would like your gold," answered Ran;
"but I cannot lend my net. Should I do so, I might
lose the richest prize that has ever come into my hus-
band's kingdom. For three days, now, a gold-rigged
ship, bearing a princely crew with rich armor and
abundant wealth, has been sailing carelessly over these
seas. To-morrow I shall send my daughters and the
bewitching mermaids to decoy the vessel among the
rocks. And into my net the ship, and the brave war-

riors, and all their armor and gold, shall fall. A rich

prize it will be. No : I cannot part with my net, e /en

for a single hour."

But Loki knew the power of flattering words.

 The Curse of Gold. 45

"Beautiful queen," said he, "there is no one on earth,

nor even in Asgard, who can equal you in wisdom and
foresight. Yet I promise you, that, if you will but lend
me your net until the morning dawns, the ship and the
crew of which you speak shall be yours, and all their
golden treasures shall deck your azure halls in the deep
1

sea.'

Then Ran carefully folded the net, and gave it to

Loki.
"
Remember your promise," was all that she said.
"An Asa never forgets," he answered.
And
he turned his face again towards Rhineland ;
and
the magic shoes bore him aloft, and carried him in a

moment back to the ice-mountain and the gorge and the

infant river, which he had so lately left. The salmon
still rested in his place, and had not moved during Loki's
short absence.
Loki unfolded the net, and cast it into the stream.
The cunning fish hard to avoid being caught
tried
in its meshes ;
which way he would, he met
but, dart
the skilfully woven cords, and these drew themselves
around him, and held him fast. Then Loki pulled the
net up out of the water, and griped the helpless fish
in his right hand. But, lo as he held the struggling
!

creature high in the air, it was no longer a fish, but the

cunning dwarf Andvari.

"Thou King the Elves," cried Loki, "thy cun-
of

ning has not saved thee. Tell me, on thy life, where
"
thy hidden treasures lie !
46 The Story of Siegfried.

The wise dwarf knew who it was that thus held him
as in a vise; and he answered frankly, for it was his only

hope of escape, "Turn over the stone upon which you

stand. Beneath it you will find the treasure you seek."
Then Loki put his shoulder to the rock, and pushed
with allhis might. But it seemed as firm as the moun-
tain, and would not be moved.
" "
Help us, thou cunning dwarf," he cried, help
"
us, and thou shalt have thy life !

The dwarf put his shoulder to the rock, and it turned

over as by magic, and underneath was disclosed a
if

wondrous chamber, whose walls shone brighter than the

sun, and on whose floor lay treasures of gold and glit-

tering gem-stones such as no man had ever seen. And

Loki, in great haste, seized upon the hoard, and placed
itin the magic net which he had borrowed from the

Ocean-queen. Then he came out of the chamber and ;

Andvari again put his shoulder to the rock which lay at

the entrance, and it swung back noiselessly to its place.
" "
What upon thy finger ? suddenly cried Loki.
is that
"
Wouldst keep back a part of the treasure ? Give me
"
the ring thou hast !

But the dwarf shook his head, and made answer, " I

have given thee all the riches that the elves of the
mountain have gathered since the world began. This
ring I cannot give thee, for without its help we shall
never be able to gather more treasures together."
And Loki grew angry at these words of the dwarf;
and he seized the ring, and tore it
by force from And-
 The Curse of Gold. 47

vari's fingers. It was a wondrous little piece of mechan-

ism shaped like a serpent, coiled, with its tail in its
mouth and its scaly sides glittered with many a tiny
;

diamond, and its ruby eyes shone with an evil light.

When the dwarf knew that Loki really meant to rob
him of the ring, he cursed it and all who should ever
possess it, saying,
"
May the ill-gotten treasure that you have seized to-

night be your bane, and the bane of all to whom it may

come, whether by fair means or by foul ! And the ring
which you have torn from my hand, may it entail upon
the one who wears it sorrow and untold ills, the loss of

friends, The Norns have spoken,

and a violent death!
and thus must be."it

Loki was pleased' with these words, and with the

dark curses which the dwarf pronounced upon the
gold he loved wrong-doing for wrong-doing's sake,
;
for
and he knew that no curses could ever make his own
lifemore cheerless than it always had been. So he
thanked Andvari for his curses and his treasures and, ;

throwing the magic net upon his shoulder, he sprang

again into the air, and was carried swiftly back to
Hunaland ; and, just before the dawn appeared in the

east, he alighted at the door of the farmhouse where

Odin and Hoenir lay bound with thongs, and
still

guarded by Fafnir and Regin.

Then the farmer, Hreidmar, brought the otter's skin,
and spread it upon the ground and, lo it grew, and ;
!

spread out on all sides, until it covered an acre of

48 77ie Story of Siegfried.

ground. And he cried out, " Fulfil now your promise !

Cover every hair of this hide with gold or with pro

cious stones. If you fail to do this, then your by
lives,

your own agreement, are forfeited, and we shall do with

you as we list."
Odin took the magic net from Loki's shoulder ; and,
opening it, he poured the treasures of the mountain-
elves upon the otter-skin. And Loki and Hoenir spread
the yellow pieces carefully and evenly over every part
of the furry hide. But, after every piece had been laid
in its place, Hreidmar saw near the otter's mouth a

single hair uncovered and he declared, that unless this

;

hair, too, were covered, the bargain would be unfulfilled,

and the treasures and lives of his prisoners would be
forfeited. And the Asas looked at each other in dis-

may ;
for not another piece of gold, and not another
precious stone, could they find in the net, although they
searched with the greatest care. At last Odin took
from his bosom the ring which Loki had stolen from
the dwarf he had been so highly pleased with its
;
for
form and workmanship, that he had hidden it, hoping
that it would not be needed to complete the payment
of the ransom. And they laid the ring upon the un-
covered hair. And now no portion of the otter's skin
could be seen. And Fafnir and Regin, the ransom
being paid, loosed the shackles of Odin and Hoenir,
and bade the three huntsmen go on their way.
Odin and Hoenir at once shook off their human
disguises, and, taking their own forms again, hastened
 The Curse of Gold. 49

with all speed back to Asgard. But Loki tarried a

little while, and said to Hrcidmar and his sons,
"
falsehood you have won for
By your greediness and
yourselves the Curse of the Earth, which lies before
It shall be your bane. It shall be the bane of
you.
every one who holds it. It shall kindle strife between
father and son, between brother and brother. It shall

make you mean, selfish, beastly. It shall transform

you into monsters. The noblest king among men-folk

shall feel its curse. Such isgold, and such it shall
ever be to its worshippers. And the ring which you
have gotten shall impart to its possessor its own na-

ture. Grasping, snaky, cold, unfeeling, shall he live ;

and death through treachery shall be his doom."

Then he turned away, delighted that he had thus left

the curse of Andvari with Hreidmar and his sons, and

hastened northward toward the sea ;
for he wished to
redeem the promise that he had made to the Ocean-
queen, to bring back her magic net, and to decoy the
richly laden ship into her clutches.
No sooner were the strange '&* huntsmen well out of
sight than Fafnir and Regin began to ask their father
to di ide the glittering hoard* with them.
r

"
By our strength and through our advice," said they,
" Let us
this great store has corrie into your hands.

place it in three equal heaps, and then let each take his
share and go way." his
At this the farmer waxed very angry and he loudly ;

declared that he would keep all the treasure for himself,

50 The Story of Siegfried.

and that his sons should not have any portion of it

whatever. So Fafnir and Regin, nursing their disap-
pointment, went to the fields to watch their sheep ; but
their father sat downguardto his new-gotten treasure.
And he took in his hand the glittering serpent-ring,
and gazed into its cold ruby eyes and, as he gazed, all
:

his thoughts were fixed upon his gold and there was ;

no room in his heart for love toward his fellows, nor for
deeds of kindness, nor for the worship of the All-Father.
And behold, as he continued to look at the snaky ring,
a dreadful change came over him. The warm red
blood, which until that time had leaped through his
veins, and given him life and strength and human feel-
ings, became purple and cold and sluggish and selfish- ;

ness, like serpent-poison, took hold of his heart. Then,

as he kept on gazing at the hoard which lay before him,
he began to lose his human shape ;
his body lengthened
into many scaly folds, and he coiled himself around his
loved treasures, the very likeness of the ring upon
which he had looked so long.
When the clay drew near its close, Fafnir came back
from the with his herd of sheep, and thought to
fields

find his father guarding the treasure, as he had left him

in the morning ;
but instead he saw a glittering
snake, fast asleep, encircling the hoard like a huge
scaly ring of gold. His first thought was that the
monster had devoured his father and, hastily drawing
;

his sword, with one blow he severed the serpent's head

from its body. And, while yet the creature writhed in
 The Curse of Gold. 5 1

the death-agony, he gathered up the hoard, and fled

with it
beyond the hills of Hunaland, until on the
seventh day he came to far from the a barren heath
homes of men. There he placed the treasures in one
glittering heap and he clothed himself in a wondrous
;

mail-coat of gold that was found among them, and he

put on the Helmet of Dread, which had once been the
terror of the mid-world, and the like of which no man
had ever seen and then he gazed with greedy eyes
;

upon the fateful ring, until he, too, was changed into a
cold and slimy reptile, a monster dragon. And he
coiled himself about the hoard ; and, with his restless
eyes forever open, he gloated day after day upon his
loved gold, and watched with ceaseless care that no one
should come near to despoil him of it. This was ages
and ages ago and still he wallows
; among his treasures
on the Glittering Heath, and guards as of yore the
garnered wealth of Andvari.
1

When I, Regin, the younger brother, came back in

the late evening to my father's dwelling, I saw that the
treasure had been carried away and, when I beheld ;

the dead serpent lying in its place, I knew that a part of

Andvari's curse had been fulfilled. And a strange
o fear
came over me ;
and
every thing behind me, and
I left

fled from that dwelling, never more to ret urn. Then I

came to the land of the Volsungs, where your father's
fathers dwelt, the noblest king-folk that the world
has ever seen. But a longing for the gold and the
1
See Note 10 at end of this volume.
52 TJie Story of Siegfried.

treasure, a hungry yearning that would never be

satisfied, filled my soul. Then for a time I sought to
forget this craving. I spent my days in the getting of

knowledge and in teaching men-folk the ancient lore of

my kin, the Dwarfs. I taught them how to plant and

to sow, and to reap the yellow grain. showed them
I

where the precious metals of the earth lie hidden, and

how to smelt iron from its ores, how to shape the
ploughshare and the spade, the spear and the battle-
axe. I taught them how to tame the wild horses of

the meadows, and how to train the yoke-beasts to the

plough ;
how to build lordly dwellings and mighty
strongholds, and how to sail in ships across old ^Egir's
watery kingdom. But they gave me no thanks for
what I had done and as the years went by they
;

forgot who had been their teacher, and they said that it
was Frey who had given them this knowledge and skill.
And I taught the young maidens how to spin and
weave, and to handle the needle deftly, to make rich

garments, and to work in tapestry and embroidery.

But they, too, forgot me, and said that it was Freyja
who had taught them. Then I showed men how to
read the mystic runes aright, and how to make the
sweet beverage of poetry, that charms hearts, and
all

enlightens the world. But they say now that they had
these gifts from Odin. I taught them how to fashion

the tales of old into rich melodious songs, and with

music and sweet-mouthed eloquence to move the minds
of their fellow-men. But they say that Bragi taught
 77/6' Curse of Gold. 53

them this ; and they remember me only as Regin, the

elfin schoolmaster, or at best as Mimer, the master
of smiths. At length my heart grew bitter because
of the neglect and ingratitude of men and the old ;

longing for Andvari's hoard came back to me, and I

forgot much
of my cunning and lore. But I lived on
and on, and generations of short-lived men arose
and passed, and still the hoard was not mine for I ;

was weak, and no man was strong enough to help

me.
Then I sought wisdom of the Norns, the weird women
who weave the woof of every creature's fate. 1

"How long," asked T, "must t hope and wait in

weary expectation of that day when the wealth of the
world and the garnered wisdom of the ages shall be
"
mine ?

And the witches answered, " When a prince of the

Volsung race shall come who shall excel thee in the

smithying craft, and to whom the All-Father shall give

the Shining Hope as a helper, then the days of thy

weary watching shall cease."

"How long," asked I, "shall I live to enjoy this

wealth and this wisdom, and to walk as a god among
men ? Shall I be long-lived as the Asa-folk, and dwell
"
on the earth until the last Twilight comes ?

"It is written," answered Skuld, "that a beardless

youth shall see thy death. But go thou now, and bide
thy time."
1
See Notes 6 and y at the end of this volume.
54 The Story of Siegfried.

Here Regin ended his story, and both he and Sieg-

fried sat for a long time silent and thoughtful.
" know
what
I you wish," said Siegfried at last.
" You think that I am the prince of whom the weird
sisters spoke and you would have me slay the dragon
;

Fafnir, and win for you the hoard of Andvari."

"
It is even so," answered Regin.
" But the hoard is accursed," said the lad.
"
Let the curse be upon me," was the answer. " Is
not the wisdom of the ages mine ? And think you that
I cannot escape the curse ? Is there aught that can
prevail against him who has all knowledge and the
"
wealth of the world at his call ?
"
Nothing but the word of the Norns and the will of

the All-Father," answered Siegfried.

" But will you help me?" asked Regin, almost wild
" Will
with earnestness. you help me to win that
which is rightfully mine, and to rid the world of a hor-
"
ribie evil ?

"Why is the hoard of Andvari more thine than

"
Fafnir's ?
"
He is a monster, and he keeps the treasure but to

gloat upon its glittering richness. I will use it to make

myself a name upon the earth. I will not hoard it

But I am weak, and he is strong and terrible

away.
"
Will you help me ?

"To-morrow," said Siegfried, "be ready to go with

me to the Glittering Heath. The treasure shall be

thine, and also the curse."

"And also the curse," echoed Regin.
 Fafnir, the Dragon. 55

ADVENTURE IV.

FAFNIR, THE DRAGON.

REGIN took up his harp, and his fingers smote the
strings ;
and the music which came forth sounded like
the wail of the winter's wind through the dead tree-
tops of the forest. And the song which he sang was
and wild hopeless yearning for the things
full of grief

which were not to be. When he had ceased, Siegfried

said,
"
That was indeed a sorrowful song for one to sing
who sees his hopes so nearly realized. are you so Why
sad ? Is it because you fear the curse which you have
taken upon yourself ? or is it because you know not
what you will do with so vast a treasure, and its posses-
"
sion begins already to trouble you ?
"
Oh, many are the things I will do with that treas-
ure I" answered Regin and his eyes flashed wildly,
;

and his face grew red and pale. " I will turn winter
into summer ;
I will make the desert-places glad ;
I will

bring back the golden age I will make

myself a god
; :

for mine shall be the wisdom and the gathered wealth

of the world. And yet I fear"
56 TJie Story of Siegfried,
"What do you fear ? "
"The ring, the ring it is accursed! The Norns,
too, have spoken, and my doom is known. I cannot
escape it."

"The Norns have woven the woof of every man's

Jife,"answered Siegfried. "To-morrow we fare to the
Glittering Heath, and the end shall be as the Norns
have spoken."
And so, early the next morning, Siegfried mounted

Greyfell, and rode out towards the desert-land that lay

beyond the forest and the barren mountain-range and ;

Regin, his eyes flashing with desire, and his feet never
tiring, trudged by his side. For seven days they
wended their way through the thick greenwood, sleeping
at nighton the bare ground beneath the trees, while the
wolves and other wild beasts of the forest filled the air
with their hideous bowlings. But no evil creature dared
come near them, for fear of the shining beams of light
which from Grcyfell's gleaming mane. On the eighth
fell

day they came to the open country and to the hills,

where the land was covered with black bowlders and
broken by yawning chasms. And no living thing was
seen there, not even an insect, nor a blade of grass ;

and the silence of the grave was over all. And the
earth was dry and parched, and the sun hung above
them like a painted shield in a blue-black sky, and there
was neither shade nor water anywhere. But Siegfried
rode onwards in the way which Regin pointed out, and
faltered not, although he grew faint with thirst and
 tJie Dragon. 57
Fafnir,

with the overpowering heat. Towards the evening

of the next day they came to a dark mountain-wall
which stretched far out on either hand, and rose high
above them, so steep that it seemed to close up the way,
and to forbid them going farther.

"This is the wall!" cried Regin. "Beyond this

mountain is the Glittering Heath, and the goal of all

my hopes."
And the little old man ran forwards, and scaled the

rough side of the mountain, and reached its summit,

while Siegfried and Greyfell were yet toiling among the
rocks at its foot. Slowly and painfully they climbed
the steep ascent, sometimes following a narrow path
which wound along the edge of a precipice, some-
times leaping from rock to rock, or over some deep

gorge, and sometimes picking their way among the

crags and cliffs. The sun at last went down, and
one by one the stars came out and the moon ;

was rising, round and red, when Siegfried stood by

Regin's side, and gazed from the mountain-top down
upon the Glittering Heath which lay beyond. And a
strange, weird scene was that met his sight. At the
it

foot of the mountain was a river, white and cold and

still and beyond it was a smooth and barren plain,
;

lying silent and lonely in the pale moonlight. But in

the distance was seen a circle of flickering flames, ever
-- now
changing, growing brighter, now fading away,
and now shining with a dull, cold light, like the glim-
mer of the glow-worm or the fox-fire. And as Siegfried
58 The Story of Siegfried.

gazed upon the scene, he saw the dim outline of some

hideous monster moving hither and thither, and seem-
ing all the more terrible in the uncertain light.
" It is he "
!
whispered Regin, and his lips were ashy
and his knees trembled beneath him. " It is
pale,
Fafnir, and he wears the Helmet of Terror ! Shall we
not go back to the smithy by the great forest, and to
the life of ease and safety that may be ours there ? Or
will you rather dare to go forwards, and meet the
"
Terror in its abode ?
" None but cowards give up an undertaking once
"
begun," answered Siegfried. Go back to Rhineland
yourself, if
you are afraid ;
but you must go alone.
You have brought me thus far to meet the dragon of
the heath, to win the hoard of the swarthy elves, and
to rid the world of a terrible evil. Before the setting
of another sun, the deed which you have urged me to

do will be done."
Then he dashed down the eastern slope of the moun-
tain, leaving Greyfell and the trembling Regin behind
him. Soon he stood on the banks of the white river,
which lay between the mountain and the heath but ;

the stream was deep and sluggish, and the channel was

very wide. He paused a moment, wondering how he

should cross and the air seemed heavy with deadly
;

vapors, and the water was thick and cold. While he

thus stood in thought, a boat came silently out of the
mists, and drew near and the boatman stood up and
;

called to him, and said,

 Fafnir, the Dragon. 59

" What man are you who dares come into this land
of loneliness and fear?"
"I am Siegfried," answered the lad; "and I have
come to slay Fafnir, the Terror."
"Sit in my boat," said the boatman, "and I will

carry you across the river."

And Siegfried sat by the boatman's side ; and with-
out the use of an oar, and without a breath of air to
drive it forwards, the little vessel turned, and moved
silently towards the farther shore.
" In "
what way will you fight the dragon ? asked the
boatman.
"With my trusty sword Balmimg I shall slay him,"
answered Siegfried.
" But he wears
the Helmet of Terror, and he breathes
deathly poisons, and his eyes dart forth lightning, and
no man can withstand his strength," said the boatman.
"I will find some way by which to overcome him."
"Then be wise, and listen to me," said the boatman.
"As you go up from the river you will find a road, worn
deep and smooth, starting from the water's edge, and
winding over the moor. It is the trail of Fafnir, adown
which he comes at dawn of every day to slake his thirst
at the river. Do you dig a pit in this roadway, a

pit narrow and deep, and hide yourself within it. In

the morning, when Fafnir passes over it, let him feel

the edge of Balmung."

As the man
ceased speaking, the boat touched the
shore, and Siegfried leaped out. He looked back to
 TJie Story of Siegfried.

thank his unknown friend, but neither boat nor boat-

man was to be seen. Only a thin white mist rose
slowly from the cold surface of the stream, and floated
upwards and away towards the mountain-tops. Then
the lad remembered that the strange boatman had worn
a blue hood bespangled with golden stars, and that a

gray kirtle was thrown over his shoulders, and that his
one eye glistened and sparkled with a light that was
more than human. And he knew that he had again
talked with Odin. Then, with a braver heart than be-
fore, he went forwards, along the river-bank, until lie
came to Fafnir's trail, a deep, wide farrow in the
earth, beginning at the river's bank, and winding far

away over the heath, until it was lost to sight in the

darkness. The bottom of the trail was soft and slimy,
and its sides had been worn smooth by Fafnir's frequent
travel through it.

In this road, at a point not far from the river, Sieg-

fried, with his trusty sword Balmung, scooped out a

deep and narrow pit, as Odin had directed. And
when the gray dawn began to appear in the east he hid
himself within this trench, and waited for the coming
of the monster. He had not long to wait for no ;

sooner had the sky begun to redden in the light of the

coming sun than the dragon was heard bestirring him-
self. Siegfried peeped warily from his hiding-place,
and saw him coming far down the road, hurrying with
allspeed, that he might quench his thirst at the slug-
gish river, and hasten back to his gold and the sound ;
 Fafnir, the Dragon. 61

which he made was like the trampling of many feet and

many chains. With bloodshot eyes, and
the jingling of

gaping mouth, and flaming nostrils, the hideous creature

came rushing onwards. His sharp, curved claws dug
deep into the soft earth and his bat-like wings, half
;

trailing on the ground, half flapping in the air, made a

sound like that which is heard when Thor rides in his

goat -drawn chariot over the dark thunder-clouds. It

was a terrible moment for Siegfried, but still he was

not afraid. He crouched low down in his hiding-place,
and the bare blade of the trusty Balmung glittered in
the morning light. On came the hastening feet and
the flapping wings the red gleam from the monster's
:

flaming nostrils lighted up the trench where Siegfried

lay. He heard a roaring and a rushing like the sound
of a whirlwind in the forest ;
then a black, inky mass
rolled above him, and all was dark.
was Sieg- Now
fried's opportunity. The
bright edge Balmung of

gleamed in the darkness one moment, and then it

smote the heart of Fafnir as he passed. Some men
say that Odin sat in the pit with Siegfried, and
strengthened his arm and directed his sword, or else
he could not thus have slain the Terror. But, be this
as may, the victory was soon won. The monster
it

stopped short, while but half of his long body had

glided over the pit for sudden death had overtaken
;

him. His horrid head fell lifeless upon the ground ;

his cold wings flapped once, and then lay, quivering

and helpless, spread out on either side ;
and streams
62 The Story of Siegfried.

of thick black blood flowed from his heart, through

the wound beneath, and filled the trench in which Sieg-
fried was hidden, and ran like a mountain-torrent clown
the road towards the river. Siegfried was covered from
head to foot with the slimy liquid, and, had he not

quickly leaped from his hiding-place, he would have

been drowned in the swift-rushing stream. 1

The bright sun rose in the east, and gilded the

mountain-tops, and fell upon the still waters of the river,
and lighted up the treeless plains around. The south
wind played gently against Siegfried's cheeks and
iji his long hair, as he stood gazing on his fallen
foe. And the sound of and rippling
singing birds,
waters, and gay insects, --such as had not broken
the silence of the Glittering Heath for ages, came
to his ears. The Terror was dead, and Nature had
awakened from her sleep of dread. And as the lad
leaned upon his sword, and thought of the deed he
had done, behold the shining Greyfell, with the beam-
!

ing, hopeful mane, having crossed the now bright river,

stood by his side. And Regin, his face grown won-
drous cold, came trudging over the meadows and ;

his heart was full of guile. Then the mountain vultures

came wheeling downwards to look upon the dead dragon ;

and with them were two ravens, black as midnight.

And when Siegfried saw these ravens he knew them to
be Odin's birds, -- Hugin, thought, and Munin, memory.
And they alighted on the ground near by ;
and the lad
1
See Note 1 1 at the end of this volume.
THE DEATH OF l-'Al'MK.
 Hir, tJic Dragon. 63

listened to hear what they would say. Then Hugin

flapped his wings, and said,
"
"The deed is done. Why tarries the hero ?

And Munin said,

"The world is wide. Fame waits for the hero."
And Hugin answered, -

"What if he win the Hoard of the Elves ? That is

not honor. Let him seek fame by nobler deeds."

Then Munin flew past his ear, and whispered,
" Beware of the master His heart is
Regin, !

poisoned. He
would be thy bane."
And the two birds flew away to carry the news to
Odin in the happy halls of Gladsheim.
When Regin drew near to look upon the dragon,
Siegfried kindly accosted him but he seemed not to:

hear; and a snaky glitter lurked in his eyes, and his

mouth was set and dry, and he seemed as one walking

in a dream.
"It mine now," he murmured: "it is all mine,
is

now, --the Hoard of the swarthy elf-folk, the garnered

wisdom of ages. The strength of the world is mine.
I will keep, I will save, I will heap up; and none shall

have part or parcel of the treasure which is mine

alone."
Then upon Siegfried and
his eyes fell ;
his cheeks
grew dark with wrath, and he cried out,
" am
Why are you here in my way ? I the lord of
the Glittering Heath : I am the master of the Hoard,
I am the master, and you are my thrall."
64 The Story of Siegfried.

Siegfried wondered at the change which had taken

place in his old master ;

but he only smiled at his

strange words, and made no answer.

" "
You have slain my brother !
Regin cried and his
;

face grew fearfully black, and his mouth foamed with

rage.
"
It was my deed and yours," calmly answered Sieg-
fried. "I have rid the world of a Terror I have righted :

a grievous wrong."
"You have slain my brother," said Regin; "and a
"
murderer's ransom you shall pay !

"Take the Hoard for your ransom, and let us each

wend his way," said the lad.
"The Hoard is mine by rights," answered Regin still

more " I am
wrathfully. the master, and you are my
"
thrall. Why
stand you in my way ?
Then, blinded with madness, he rushed at Siegfried
as if to strike him down but his foot slipped in a
;

puddle of gore, and he pitched headlong against the

sharp edge of Balmung. So sudden was this move-
ment, and so unlocked for, that the sword was twitched
out of Siegfried's hand, and fell with a dull splash into
the blood-filled pit before him while Regin, slain by ;

his own rashness, sank dead upon the ground. Full of

horror, Siegfried turned away, and mounted Greyfell. 1

"This is a place of blood," said he, "and the way to

glory leads not through it. Let the Hoard still lie on
the Glittering Heath : I will go my way from hence ;

and the world shall know me for better deeds than this."
1
See Note 12 at the end of this volume.
 Fafuir, the Dragon. 65

And he turned his back on the fearful scene, and rode

away ;
and so swiftly did Greyfell carry him over the
desert land and the mountain waste, that, when night
came, they stood on the shore of the great North Sea,
and the white waves broke at their feet. And the
upon the warm white sand
lad sat for a long time silent
of the beach,and Greyfell waited at his side. And he
watched the stars as they came out one by one, and the
moon, as it moved like a queen
rose round and pale, and
across the sky. And
the night wore away, and the
stars grew pale, and the moon sank to rest in the wil-
derness of waters. And
day-dawn Siegfried looked
at

towards the west, and midway between sky and sea he

thought he saw dark mountain-tops hanging above a
land of mists that seemed to float upon the edge of the
sea.

While he looked, a white ship, with sails all set, came

speeding over the waters towards him. It came nearer
and nearer, and the sailors rested upon their oars as it

glided into the quiet harbor. A minstrel, with long

white beard floating in the wind, sat at the prow and ;

the sweet music from his harp was wafted like incense
to the shore. The vessel touched the sands its white :

sails were reefed as if

by magic, and the crew leaped
out upon the beach.
" "
Hail, Siegfried the Golden ! cried the harper
" "
Whither do you fare this summer clay ?

"
I have come from a land of horror and dread,"
answered the lad; " and I would fain fare to a brighter."
66 The Story of Siegfried.

" Then go with me awaken the earth from

to its slum-
ber, and to robe the fields in their garbs of beauty,"
said the harper. And
he touched the strings of his
harp, and strains of the softest music arose in the still
morning air. And Siegfried stood entranced, for never
before had he heard such music.
" Tell me who "
you are he cried, when the sounds
!

" Tell me who

died away. you are, and I will go to the
ends of the earth with you."
" I am
Bragi," answered the harper, smiling. And
Siegfried noticed then that the ship was laden with
flowers of every hue, and that thousands of singing
birds circled around and above it, filling the air with
the sound of their glad twitterings.
Now, Bragi was the sweetest musician in all the
world. It was said by some that his home was with
the song-birds, and that he had learned his skill from
them. But this was only part of the truth for wher- :

ever there was loveliness or beauty, or things noble and

pure, there was Bragi and his wondrous power in

;

music and song was but the outward sign of a blame-

less soul. When he touched the strings of his golden
harp, all Nature was charmed with the sweet harmony :

the savage beasts of the wood crept near to listen the ;

birds paused in their flight ;

the waves of the sea were
becalmed, and the winds were hushed the leaping ;

waterfall was still, and the rushing torrent tarried in

its bed ;
the elves forgot their hidden treasures, and

joined in silent dance around him; and the strom-karls

 Fafnir, the Dragon. 67

and the musicians of the wood vainly tried to imitate

him. And he was as fair of speech as he was skilful in
song. His words were so persuasive that he had been
known to call the fishes from the sea, to move great
lifeless rocks, and, what
harder, the hearts of kings.
is

He understood the voice of the birds, and the whisper-

ing of the breeze, the murmur of the waves, and the
roar of the waterfalls. He knew
the length and breadth
of the earth, and the secrets of the sea, and the lan-

guage of the stars. And every day he talked with

Odin the All-Father, and with the wise and good in the
sunlit halls of Gladsheim. And once every year he
went to the North-lands, and woke the earth from its
long winter's sleep, and scattered music and smiles
and beauty everywhere. 1

Right gladly did Siegfried agree to sail with Bragi

over the sea for he wot that the bright Asa-god
;

would be a very different guide from the cunning, evil-

eyed Regin. So he went on board with Bragi, and the
gleaming Greyfell followed them, and the sailors sat at
their oars. And Bragi stood in the prow, and touched
the strings of his harp. And, as the music arose, the
white sails leaped up the masts, and a warm south
breeze began to blow and the little vessel, wafted by
;

sweet sounds and the incense of spring, sped gladly

away over the sea.

1
See Note 13 at the end of this volume.
68 77te Story of Siegfried.

ADVENTURE V.

IN ^GIR'S KINGDOM.
THE vessel in which Siegfried sailed was soon far
out at sea ;
for the balmy south wind, and the songs
of the birds, and the music from Bragi's harp, all urged
it
cheerily on. And Siegfried sat at the helm, and

guided it in its course. By and by they lost all sight

of land, and the sailors wist not where they were ;

but
they knew that Bragi, the Wise, would bring them
safely into some haven whenever it should so please
him, and they felt no fear. And the fishes leaped up
out of the water as the white ship sped by on woven

wings; and the monsters of the deep paused, and listened

to the sweet music which floated down from above.

After a time the vessel began to meet great ice-moun-

tains in the sea, mountains which the Reifriesen, and
old Hoder, the King of the winter months, had sent

drifting down from the frozen land of the north. But

these melted at the sound of Bragi's music and at
the sight of Siegfried's radiant armor. And the cold
breath of the Frost-giants, which had driven them in
their course, turned, and became the ally of the south

wind.
 In sEgir's Kingdom. 69

At length they came in sight of a dark shore, which

stretched on either hand, north and south, as far as the

eye could reach and as they drew nearer they saw a

;

line of huge mountains, rising, as it were, out of the

water, and stretching their gray heads far above the

clouds. And the overhanging cliffs seemed to look
down, half in anger, half in pity, upon the little white-

winged vessel which had dared thus to sail through

these unknown waters. But the surface of the sea
was smooth as glass; and the gentle breeze drove the
ship slowly forwards through the calm water, and along
the rock-bound coast, and within the dark shadows of
the mountain-peaks. Long ago the Frost-giants had
piled great heaps of snow upon these peaks, and built

huge fortresses of ice between, and sought, indeed, to

clasp in their cold embrace the whole of the Norwegian
land. But the breezes of the South-land that came
with Bragi's ship now played among the rocky steeps,
and swept over the frozen slopes above, and melted the
snow and ice and thousands of rivulets of half-frozen
;

water ran down the mountain-sides, and tumbled into

rocky gorges, or plunged into the sea. And the grass
began to grow on the sunny slopes, and the flowers
peeped up through the half-melted snow, and the music
of springwas heard on every side. Now and then the
little vessel passed by deep, dark inlets enclosed be-
tween high mountain-walls, and reaching many leagues
far into land. But the sailors steered clear of these
shadowy fjords ;
for they said that Ran, the dread
70 TJic Story of Siegfried.

Ocean-queen, lived there, and spread her nets in the

deep green waters to entangle unwary seafaring men.
And the sound of Bragi's harp awakened all sleeping
things ;
was carried from rock to rock, and from
and it

mountain-height to valley, and was borne on the breezs

far up the fjords, and all over the land.
One day, as they were sailing through these quiet
waters, beneath the overhanging cliffs, Bragi tuned his

harp, and sang a song of sea. And then he told Sieg-

fried a story of ^Egir and his gold-lit hall.

Old ^Egir was the Ocean-king. At most times he

was rude and rough, and his manners were uncouth
and boisterous. But when Balder, the Shining One,
smiled kindly upon him from above, or when Bragi
played his harp by the seashore, or sailed his ship on
the waters, the heart of the bluff old king was touched
with a kindly feeling, and he tried hard to curb his

ungentle passions, and to cease his blustering ways.

He was one of the old race of giants and men believe ;

that he would have been a very good and quiet giant,

had it not been for the evil ways of his wife, the
crafty Queen Ran. For, however kind at heart the

king might good intentions were almost always

be, his
thwarted by the queen. Ran could never be trusted ;

and no one, unless it were Loki, the Mischief-maker,

could ever say any thing in her praise. She was
always lurking among hidden rocks, or in the deep sea,
or along the shores of silent fjords, and reaching out
with her long lean fingers, seeking to clutch in hei
 hi sgir 's Kingdom. 7 1

greedy grasp whatever prey might unwarily come near

her. And many richly-laden vessels, and many bravo
seamen and daring warriors, had she dragged down to

her blue-hung chamber in old ^gir's hall.

And this is the story that Bragi told of

THE FEAST IN ^GIR*S HALL.

It happened long ago, when the good folk at Glad-

sheim were wont to visit the mid-world oftener than

now. On a day in early autumn Queen Ran, with her
older daughters, Raging Sea, Breaker, Billow, Surge,
and Surf, --went out to search for plunder. But old
vEgir staid at home, and with him his younger daugh-
ters, fair Purple-hair, gentle Diver, dancing Ripple,

and smiling Sky-clear. And as they played around

him, and kissed his old storm-beaten cheeks, the heart
of the king was softened into gentleness, and he began
to think kindly of the green earth which bordered his
kingdom, and of the brave men who lived there but ;

most of all did he think of the great and good Asa-folk,

who dwell in Asgard, and overlook the affairs of the
world. Then he called his servants, Funfeng and
Elder, and bade them prepare a feast in his gold-lit
hall. And he sent fleet messengers to -invite the Asa-
folk tocome and partake of the good cheer. And his
four young daughters played upon the beach, and
smiled and danced in the beaming sunlight. And the
hearts of many seafaring men were gladdened that

day, as they spread their sails to the wind ; for they

72 The Story of Siegfried.

saw before them a pleasant voyage, and the happy

issue ofmany an undertaking.
Long before the day had begun to wane, the Asa-
folk arrived in a body at ^Egir's hall for they were ;

glad to answer the bidding of the Ocean-king. Odin

came, riding Sleipner, his eight-footed steed Thor
;

rode in his iron chariot drawn by goats ;

Frey came
with Gullinburste, his golden-bristled boar. There, too,
was the war-like Tyr, and blind Hoder, and the silent
Vidar, and the sage Forsete, and the hearkening Heim-
dal, and Niord, the Ruler of the Winds, and Bragi,
with his harp; and lastly came many elves, the thralls
of the Asa-folk, and Loki, the cunning Mischief-maker.
In his rude but hearty way old yEgir welcomed them ;

and they went down into his amber hall, and rested
themselves upon the sea-green couches that had been
spread for them. And a thousand fair mermaids stood
around them, and breathed sweet melodies through
rainbow hue, while the gentle white-veiled
sea-shells of

daughters of the Ocean-king danced to the bewitching

music.
Hours passed by, and the sun began to slope towards
the west, and the waiting guests grew hungry and ill
at ease; and then they began to wonder why the feast

was so long in getting ready. At last the host himself

became impatient; and he sent out in haste for his ser-
vants, Funfeng and Elder. Trembling with fear, they
came and stood before him.
" " we know that you are angry
Master," said they,
 In sEgir's Kingdom. 73

because the feast is not yet made ready but we beg ;

that your anger may not fall upon us. The truth is, that
some thief has stolen your brewing-kettle, and we have
no ale for your guests."
Then old yEgir's brow grew dark, and his breath
came quick and fast ; and, hail not Niord held the winds

tightly clutched in his hand, there would have been a

great uproar in the hall. Even as it was, the mermaids
fled away in great fright, and the white-veiled Waves
stopped dancing, and a strange silence fell upon all the

company.
" "
Some enemy has done this ! cried /Egir, as soon
as he could speak. " Some enemy has taken away my
brewing-kettle ; and, unless we can find it, I fear our
feast will be but a dry one."

Then Thor said,

"
If any one knows where this kettle is, let him speak,
and I will bring it back and I promise you you shall
;

not wait long for the feast."

But not one in all this company knew aught about the

missing kettle. At Tyr stood up and said,

last
" If we cannot find the same vessel that our host has
mayhap we may find another as good. I know a
lost,

dogwise giant who lives east of the Rivers EHvagar, and

who has a strong kettle, fully a mile deep, and large
enough to brew ale for all the world."
"That is the very kettle we want!" cried Thor.
" "
Tli ink you that we can get it ?

"
If we are cunning enough, we may," answered Tyr.
'But old Ilymer will never give it
up willingly."
74 The Story of Siegfried.

" Is "
it
Hymer of whom you speak ? asked Thor.
"Then I know him well ; and, willingly or not willingly,
he must let us have his kettle. For what is a feast
without the gladsome ale?"
Then Thor and Tyr set out on their journey towards
the land of Elivagar and they travelled many a league
;

northwards, across snowy mountains and barren plains,

until they came to the shores of the frozen sea. And
there the sun rises and sets but once a year, and even
in summer the sea is full of ice. On the lonely beach,
stood Hymer's dwelling, --a dark and gloomy abode.

Tyr knocked at the door and it was opened by Hymer's

;

wife, a strangely handsome woman, who bade them

come in. Inside the hall they saw Hymer's old mother,

sitting in the chimney-corner, and crooning over the

smouldering fire. She was a horribly ugly old giantess,

with nine hundred heads but every head was blind and
;

deaf and toothless. Ah, me ! what a wretched old age

that must have been !

" Is home?" asked Thor, speaking

your husband at
woman who had opened the door.
to the pretty
" He is " He is
not," was the answer. catching fish
in the warm waters of the sheltered bay or, mayhap, ;

he is tending his cows in the open sea, just around the

headland."
For the great icebergs that float down from the
frozen sea are called old Hymer's cows.
"Wehave come a very long journey," said Tyr.
"Will you not give two tired strangers food and lodging
"
until they shall have rested themselves ?
 In sEgir's Kingdom. 75

The woman seemed in nowise loath to do this ;

and
she set before the two Asa-folk a plentiful meal of the
best that she had in the house. When they had eaten,
she told them that it would be far safer for them to
hide themselves under the great kettles in the hall ;

for, she said, her husband would soon be home, and he

might not be kind to them. So Thor and Tyr hid

themselves, and listened for Hymer's coming. After a
time, the great hall-door opened, and they heard the
heavy steps of the giant.
" "
Welcome home ! cried the woman, as Hymer shook
the frost from his hair and beard, and stamped the snow
" I am
from his feet. so glad that you have come for !

there arc two strangers in the hall, and they have asked
for you. One of them I know is Thor, the foe of the
giants, and the friend of man. The other is the one-
armed god of war, the brave Tyr. What can be their
"
errand at Hymer's hall ?

" "
Where are they ? roared Hymer, stamping so

furiously, that even his deaf old mother seemed to hear,

and lifted up her heads.
"They are under the kettles, at the gable-end of the
hull," answered the woman.

Hymer a wrathful glance towards the place.

cast
The post end of the hall was shivered in pieces
at the

by his very look the beam that upheld the floor of the
;

loft was broken, and all the kettles tumbled down with

a fearful crash. Thor and Tyr crept out from among

the rubbish, and stood before old Hymer. The giant
70 The Story of Siegfried.

was not well pleased at the sight of such guests come

thus unbidden to his hall. But he knew that his rude
strength would count as nothing if matched with their
skilland weapons hence he deemed it wise to treat
:

Ihe two Asas as his friends, and to meet them with

cunning and strategy.

"Welcome to my hall!" he cried. "Fear no hurt
from Hymer, for he was never known to harm a guest."
And Thor and Tyr were given the warmest seats at
the fireside. And the giant ordered his thralls to kill the
fatted oxen, and tomake ready a great feast in honor of
his guests. And, while the meal was being got ready,
he sat by Thor's side, and asked him many questions
about what was going on in the great South-land.
And Thor answered him pleasantly, meeting guile with
guile. When the feast was in readiness, all sat down
at the table, which groaned beneath its weight of meat
and drink ;
for Hymer's thralls had killed three fat

oxen, and baked them whole for this meal, and they
had filled three huge bowls with ale from his great

brewing-kettle. Hymer ate and drank very fast, and

wished to make his guests fear him, because he could
eat somuch. But Thor was not to be taken aback in
this way; once ate two of the oxen, and
for he at

quaffed a huge bowl of ale which the giant had set

aside for himself. The giant saw that he was outdone,
and he arose from the table, saying,
" Not two guests so
all my cows would serve to feed

hungry as these. We shall be obliged to live on fish

now."
 In sEgir's Kingdom.

He strode out of the hall without another word, and

began getting his boat ready for a sail. But Thor

followed him.
" It
is a fine day for fishing," said Thor gayly,
" "
How I should like to go out with you !

"Such little fellows as you would better stay at

home," growled Hymer.

"But me go with you," persisted Thor. "I can
let

certainly row the boat while you fish."

" I
have no need of help from such a stunted pygmy,"
muttered the giant. "You could not be of the least
use to me
you would only be in
:
my way. Still, if

you are bent on doing so, you may go, and you shall
take all the risks. If I go as far as I do sometimes,
and stay as long as I often do, you may make up your
mind never to see the dry land again for you will cer- ;

tainly catch your death of cold, and be food for the

fishes if, indeed, they would deign to eat such a
"
scrawny scrap !

These taunting words made Thor so angry, that he

grasped his hammer, and was sorely tempted to crush
the giant's skull. But he checked himself, and coolly
said,
"I
pray you not to trouble yourself on my account.
I have set my head on going with you, and go I will
Tell me where can find something that I can use for
I

bait, and be ready in a trice."

I will
"
I have no bait for you," roughly answered Hyme:
"You must look for it
yourself."
78 The Story of Siegfried.

Half a dozen oxen, the very finest and fattest of

Hymer's herd, were grazing on the short grass which
grew on the sunnier scopes of the hillside for not all of ;

the giant's cattle had yet taken to the water. When

Thor saw these great beasts, he ran quickly towards
them, and seizing the largest one, which Hymer called
the Heaven-breaker, he twisted off his head as easily as
he would that of a small fowl, and ran back with it to
the boat. Hymer looked at him in anger and amaze-
ment, but said nothing and the two pushed the boat
;

off from the shore. The little vessel sped through the
water more swiftly than it had ever done before, for

Thor plied the oars.

In a moment the long, low beach was out of sight ;

and Hymer, who had never travelled so fast, began to

feel frightened.
" " "
Stop ! he cried. Here is the place to fish : I have
often caught great store of flat-fish here. Let us out
"
with our lines !

" "
No, no ! answered Thor ;
and he kept on plying
the oars. "We are not yet far enough from shore.
The best fish are still many leagues out."
And the boat skimmed onwards through the waters,
and the white spray dashed over the prow and Hymer, ;

now very much frightened, sat still, and looked at his

strange fellow-fisherman, but said not a word. On and
on they went and the shore behind them first grew
;

dim, and then sank out and the high moun-

of sight ;

tain-tops began to fade away in the sky, and then were

 In ^Egiy's Kingdom. 79

seen no more. And when at last the fishermen were

so far out at sea that nothing was in sight but the
rolling waters on every side, Thor stopped his rowing.
"
"We have come too far cried the giant, trembling
!

" The
in every limb. great Midgard snake lies here-
"
abouts. Let us turn back !

"Not yet," answered Thor quietly. "We will fish

here a little while."

Without loss of time he took from his pocket a strong
hook, wonderfully made, to which he fastened a long

line as strong as ten ships' cables twisted together ;

then he carefully baited the hook with the gory head

of the Heaven-breaker ox, and threw it into the water.
As the giant had feared, they were now right over the
head of the great Midgard snake. The huge beast
looked upward with his sleepy eyes, and saw the tempt-

ing bait falling slowly through the water but he did ;

not see the boat, it was so far

Thinking above him.
of no harm, he opened his leathern jaws, and greedily
gulped the morsel down but the strong iron hook stuck
;

fast in his throat. Maddened by the pain, he began to

lash his tail against the floor of the sea ;
and he twisted
and writhed until the ocean was covered with foam, and
the waves ran mountain-high. But Thor pulled hard
upon the line above, and strove to the reptile's head
lift

out of the water ;

then the snake darted with lightning

speed away, pulling the boat after him so swiftly, that,

had not Thor held on to the oar-locks, he would have
been thrown into the sea. Quickly he tightened his
80 The Story of Siegfried.

magic girdle around him, and, standing up

of strength
in the boat, he pulled with all his might. The snake
would not be lifted. But the boat split in two and Thor ;

slid into the water, and stood upon the bottom of the
sea. He seized the great snake in his hands, and raised
his head clean above the water. What a scene of fright-
ful turmoil was there then ! The earth shook the ;

mountains belched forth the lightnings flashed

fire ; ;

the caves howled ;

and the sky grew black and red.
Nobody knows what the end would have been, had not

Hymer reached over, and cut the strong cord. The

slippery snake glided out of Thor's hands, and hid him-
self in the deep sea ;
and every thing became quiet again.
Silently Thor and Hymer sat in the broken boat, and

rowed swiftly back towards land. Thor felt really

ashamed of himself, because he had gained nothing by
his venture. And the giant was not at all happy.
When they reached the frozen shore and Hymer's
cheerless castle again, they found Tyr there, anxiously

waiting for them. He felt that they were tarrying too

long in this dreary place ;
and he wished to be back
among his fellows in old ^Egir's hall. Hymer felt very
cross and ugly because his boat had been broken ;
and.
when they came into the hall, he said to Thor,
"You may think that you are very stout, you who
dared attack the Midgard snake, and lifted him out oi
the sea. Yet there are many little things that you
cannot do. For instance, here is the earthen goblet
from which I drink my ale. Great men, like myself,
 In sEgir's Kingdom. 81

can crush such goblets between their thumbs and

but such puny fellows as
you will find that
fingers ;

they cannot break it

by any means."
" Let me "
try cried Thor.
!

He took the great goblet in his hands, and threw it

with all his strength against a stone post in the middle
of the hall. The post was shattered into a thousand
pieces, but the goblet
was unharmed.
" " "
" ha
Ha, laughed the giant.
!
Try again !

Thor did so. This time he threw it against a huge

a mountain near the sea-

granite rock that stood like
shore. The rock crumbled in pieces and fell, but the
sroblet was whole
O as ever.
"What a very stout fellow you are!" cried Hymer
" Go home
in glee. now, and tell the good Asa-folk
"
that you cannot even break a goblet !

"
Let me try once more," said Thor, amazed, but not
disheartened.
" Throw against Hymer's forehead," whispered some
it

one over his shoulder. "It is harder than any rock."

Thor looked, and saw that it was the giant's hand-
some wife who had given him this kind advice. He
took the goblet, and hurled it quickly, straight at old

Hymer's head. The giant had no time to dodge. The

vessel struck him squarely between the eyes, and was
shattered into ten thousand little pieces. But the
giant's forehead was unhurt.
" That drink was rather hot "
! cried Hymer, trying
" But doesn't take a very
to joke at his ill luck. it
82 The Story of Siegfried.

great man to break a goblet. There is one thing, how-

ever, that you cannot do. Yonder is my great
brewing-
kettle, a mile deep. No man has ever lifted it. Now,
if
you will carry it out of the hall, where it
sits, you

may have it
your own."
for

"Agreed!" cried Thor. "It is a fair bargain and, ;

if I fail, I will go home and never trouble

you again."
Then he took hold of the edge of the great kettle,
and lifted it with all his might. The floor of Hymer's
hall broke under him, and the walls and roof came
tumbling down but he turned the kettle over his head,
;

and walked away with it, the great rings of the vessel
clattering at his heels. Tyr went before him, and
cleared theway and liymer gazed after him in utter
;

amazement. The two Asa-folk had fairly won the

brewing-kettle.
In due time they reached old yEgir's hall, where
the guests were still waiting for them. Some said that
they had been gone three days, but most agreed that
it was Be that as it may, /Egir's
only three hours.
thralls,Funfeng and Elder, brewed great store of ale
in Thor had brought and, when the
the kettle which ;

guests were seated at the table, the foaming liquor

passed itself around to each, and there was much mer-

riment and glad good cheer. And old /Egir was so
happy in the pleasant company of the Asa-folk, that
men say that he forgot to blow and bluster for a full

six months thereafter. 1

1
Sec Note 14 at the end of this volume.
 wise harper told to
Such was the story which the
as
Sie-fried sailed gayly along the Norwegian
they
And with many other pleasant talcs did they
shore
beo-uile the hours away. And no one ever thought of
and cloudless,
clan-er, for the sky was blue
besides this, Bragi himself
was on board and he cc ;

elements.
charm and control the rudest
sea became unaccountably
One day, however, the
the waves rose
ruffled There was no wind but yet ;

to overwhelm the little ship.

suddenly, and threatened
to their oars, and tried by
Quickly the sailors sprang
from the shore and
rowin- to drive the vessel away
of the open sea. But all their
into the quieter waters
carried
strength
& was of no avail the swift stream
:

in its course, as an autumn leaf is

little bark onward
river. Then the whole
borne on the bosom of a mighty
lashed into fury,
surface of the water seemed
than
waves formed hundreds of currents, each stronger
a mountain torrent, and each seeming to follow a course
each other ;
of its own. They dashed
wildly against
and hissed, and threw great
they heaved, and boiled,
clouds of spray high
into the air they formed deep
;

into a
twisted and twirled, and broke
whirlpools, which
down into
thousand eddies, and then plunged deep
the bottom of the
rocky caverns beneath, or laid bare
sea The was carried round and round,
helpless ship
were the efforts
swiftly and more swiftly still and vain;

of the crew to steer her out of the seething caldron of

Then the cheeks of the sailors grew white

waters.
84 The Story of Siegfried.

with fear ;
and they dropped their oars, and clung to

the masts and ropes, and cried out,

" we are lost This is old ^gir's brewing-
Alas, !

kettle !"
But Siegfried stood by the helm, and said,
"If that be true, then we may sup with him in his

gold-lit hall."
And all this time Bragi slept in the hold, and no one
dared awaken him. Faster and faster the ship was
carried round the seething pool. The flying spray was
frozen in the air ;
and it filled the masts with snow, and

pattered like heavy hail upon the deck. The light of

the sun seemed shut out, and darkness closed around.
A dismal chasm yawned deep before them, and in

the gray gloom the ship's crew saw many wondrous

things. Great sea-monsters swam among the rocks,

and seemed not to heed the uproar above them.

Lovely mermaids sat in their green-and-purple caves,

and combed their tresses of golden hair; and thought-

ful mermen groped among searching the seaweeds,
hopefully for lost or hidden treasures. Then Siegfried
caught a glimpse of the mighty /Egir, sitting in his
banquet-room ; and, as he quaffed his foaming ale, he
called aloud to his daughters to leave their play, and
come to their father in his gold-lit hall. And the
white-veiled Waves answered
names, and came to their

at his call. First, Raging Sea entered the wide hall,

and sat by the Ocean-king's side then Billow, then ;

Surge, then Surf, and Breakers then came the Purple- ;

 In SEg?r\s Kingdom. 85

haired, and the Diver ;

but /Egir's two youngest
daughters, Laughing Ripple and Smiling Sky-clear,
came not at their father's beck, but lingered to play
among the rocks and in the open sea.
So deeply engaged was Siegfried in watching this
scene, that he did not notice Bragi, who now came upon
the deck with his harp in his hand. And sweet music
arose from among the dashing waves, and was heard far
down in the deep sea-caverns, and even in ^Egir's hall.

And, when Siegfried looked up again, the eddying

whirlpools, and the threatening waves, and the flying
spray, were no more but the ship was gliding over the
;

quiet waters of a deep blue sea, and the sun was

shin-

ing brightly in the clear sky above. Then an east wind

filled the sails ; and, as Bragi's music rose sweeter and
higher, they glided swiftly away from the coast, and
soon the snow-capped mountain-peaks grew dim in the
distance, and then sank from sight.

Many days they sailed over an unknown sea, and

towards an unknown land and none but Bragi knew
;

what the end of their voyage would be. And yet no one
doubted or was afraid, for the secrets of the earth and
the sea were known to the sweet singer. After a time,
the water became as smooth as glass not a ripple :

moved upon its surface, and not the slightest breath of

air stirred among the
idly-hanging sails. Then the
sailors went to their oars but they seemed overcome
;

with only when Bragi

languor and sleepiness, and
played upon his harp did they move their oars with
86 The Story of Siegfried.

their wonted strength and quickness. And at last they

came in sight of a long, low coast, and a shelving
beach up which the tide was slowly creeping in drowsy
silence. And not half a league from the shore was a
grand old castle, with a tall tower and many turrets,
and broad and high battlements and in the light
halls ;

of the setting sun every thing was as green as emerald

or as the fresh grass of early spring. And a pale
flickering light gleamed on the castle-walls, and the
moat seemed filled with a glowing fire.

Theship glided silently up to the sandy beach, and

the sailors moored it to the shore. But Siegfried heard
no sound upon the he see any moving,
land, nor could

living thing. Silence brooded everywhere, and the

castle and its inmates seemed to be wrapped in
slumber. The sentinels could be seen upon the ram-
parts, standing like statues of stone, and showing no
signs of life ;
while above the barbacan gate the
watchman was at his post, motionless and asleep.
 Brunhild. 87

ADVENTURE VL

BRUNHILD.

SIEGFRIED and the harper sat together in the little

ship as it lay moored to the sandy shore and their ;

eyes were turned towards the sea-green castle and its

glowing walls, and they looked in vain for any move-
ment, or any sign of wakeful life. Every thing was
still. Not a breath of air was stirring. The leaves of
the trees hung motionless, as if
they, too, were asleep.
The great green banner on the tower's top clung
around the flagstaff as if it had never fluttered to the
breeze. No song of birds, nor hum of insects, came
to their ears. There was neither sound nor motion
anywhere.
"
Play your harp, good Bragi, and awaken all these

sleepers," said Siegfried.

Then the harper touched the magic strings, and
strains of music, loud and clear, but sweet as a baby's
breath, rose up in the still air, and floated over the
quiet bay, and across the green meadows which lay
around the castle-walls and it was borne upward over
;

the battlements, and among the shining turrets and

88 1'ke Story of Siegfried.

towers, and was carried far out over the hills, and
among the silent trees of the plain. And Bragi sung
of the beginning of all things, and of whatsoever is
beautiful on the land, or in the sea, or in the sky. And
Siegfried looked to see every thing awakened, and
quickened into life, as had oft been done before by
Bragi's music but nothing stirred.
;
The sun went
down, and the gray twilight hung over sea and land,
and the red glow in the castle-moat grew redder still ;

and yet every thing slept. Then Bragi ended his

song, and the strings of his harp were mute.
" Music has no charms to waken from like
sleep
that," he said.

And then he told Siegfried what it all meant and, ;

to make the story plain, he began by telling of Odin's

bright home at Gladsheim and of the many great halls
that were there.
One of the halls in Gladsheim is called Valhal. This
hall is so large and wide, that all the armies of the earth

might move within it. Outside, it is covered with gold

and with sun-bright shields. A fierce wolf stands guard
before and a mountain-eagle hovers over it. It has
it,

five hundred and forty doors, each large enough for

eight hundred heroes to march through abreast. Inside,
every thing is glittering bright. The rafters are made
of spears, and the ceiling is covered with shields, and
the walls are decked with war-coats. In this hall Odin
sets daily a feast for all the heroes that have been slain
in battle. These sit at the great table, and eat of the
 Brunhild. 89

food which Odin's servants have prepared, and drink of

the heavenly mead which the Valkyries, Odin's hand-
maids, bring them.
But the Valkyries have a greater duty. When the
battle rages, and swords clash, and shields ring, and the
air filled with shouts and groans and all the din of
is

war, then these maidens hover over the field of blood

and death, and carry the home to Valhal.
slain heroes 1

One of Odin's Valkyries was named Brunhild, and

she was the most beautiful of all the maidens that
chose heroes for his war-host. But she was wilful

too, and did not always obey the All-Father's behests.

And when Odin knew that she had sometimes snatched
the doomed from death, and sometimes helped her
chosen friends to victory, he was very angry. And he
drove her away from Gladsheim, and sent her, friend-
less and poor, to live among the children of men, and to

be in ways like them. But, as she wandered weary

all

and alone over the earth, the good old King of Isen-
land saw her beauty and her distress, and pity and
love moved his heart ; and, as he had no children of his
own, he took her for his daughter, and made her his
heir. And not long afterward he died, and the match-
less Brunhild became queen of all the fair lands of
Isenland and the hall of Isenstein. When Odin heard
of this, he was more angry still and he sent to Isen- ;

stein, and caused Brunhild to be stung with the thorn

of Sleep. And he said,
1
See Note 15 at the end of this volume.
9O The Story of Siegfried.

" She shall sleep until one shall come who is brave

enough to ride through fire to awaken her."

And all Isenland slept too, because Brunhild, the
Maiden of Spring, lay wounded with the Slcepful thorn.

When Siegfried heard this story, he knew that the

land which lay before them was Isenland, and that
the castle was Isenstein, and that Brunhild was sleeping
within that circle of fire.
"
My songs have no power to awaken such a sleep-
er," said Bragi.
*J
" A
hero strong and brave must ride v_>

through the flame to arouse her. It is for this that 1

have brought you hither; and here I will leave you, while

I sail onwards to brighten other lands with my music."

Siegfried's heart leaped up with gladness for he ;

thought that here, at last, was a worthy deed for him to

do. And he bade his friend Bragi good-by, and stepped
ashore ;
and Greyfell followed him. And Bragi sat at
the prow of the ship, and played his harp again and ;

the sailors plied their oars and the little vessel moved
;

swiftly out of the bay, and was seen no more. And

Siegfried stood alone on the silent, sandy beach.
As he thus stood, the full moon rose white and drip-
ping from the sea ;
and its light fell on the quiet water,
and the sloping meadows, and the green turrets of the

castle. And the last notes of Bragi's harp came float-

ing to him over the sea.

Then a troop of fairies came down to dance upon the
sands. It was the first sign of Hfe that Siegfried had
 Brunhild. 9 1

seen. As the little creatures drew near, he hid himself

among reeds which grew close to the shore for

the tall ;

he wished to see them at their gambols, and to listen to

their songs. At first, as if half afraid of their own tiny
shadows, they danced in silence ; but, as the moon rose

higher, they grew bolder, and began to sing. And their

music was so sweet and soft, that Siegfried forgot almost
every thing else for the time :
they sang of the pleasant
summer days, and of cooling shades, and still fountains,
and silent birds, and peaceful slumber. And a strange
longing for sleep took hold of Siegfried ;
and his eyes

grew heavy, and the sound of the singing seemed dim

and far away. But just as he was losing all knowledge
of outward things,
O and his senses seemed moving
' O in a
dream, the fairies stopped dancing, and a little brown
elf came up from the sea, and saluted the queen of the

tiny folk.
" What
news bring you from the great world beyond
"
the water ? asked the queen.
"
The prince is on his way hither," answered the elf,
" "
And what will he do ?

" If
he is brave enough, he will awaken the princess,
and arouse the drowsy people of Isenstein for the ;

NT orns have said that such a prince shall surely come."

"
But he must be the bravest of men ere he can enter
the enchanted castle," said the queen " for the
;
wide
rnoat is filled with flames, and no faint heart will ever
dare battle with them."
" "
But I will dare ! cried Siegfried ;
and he sprang
92 The Story of Siegfried.

from his hiding-place, forgetful of the little folk, who

suddenly flitted away, and left him alsne upon the beach.
He glanced across the meadows at the green turrets
glistening in the mellow moonlight, and then at the
flickering flames around the castle- walls, and he re-

solved that on the morrow he would at all hazards per-

form the perilous feat.

In the morning, as soon as the gray dawn appeared,

he began make
to ready for his difficult undertaking.
But, when he looked again at the red flames, he began
to hesitate. He
paused, uncertain whether to wait for
a sign and for help from the All-Father, or whether to
go straightway to the castle, and, trusting in his good
armor alone, try to pass through the burning moat.
While he thus stood in doubt, his eyes were dazzled by
a sudden flash of light. He looked up. Greyfell came
dashing across the sands and from his long mane a
;

thousand sunbeams gleamed and sparkled in the morn-

ing light. Siegfried had never seen the wondrous crea-
ture so radiant and as the steed stood by him in all
;

his strength and beauty he felt new hope and courage,

as if Odin himself had spoken to him. He hesitated
no longer, but mounted the noble horse; and Greyfel!
here him swiftly over the plain, and paused not until
iie had reached the brink of the burning moat.

Now, indeed, would Siegfried's heart have failed him,

had he not been cheered by the sunbeam presence of
Greyfell. For filling the wide, deep ditch, were angry,
hissing flames, which, like a thousand serpent-tongues,
 Brunhild. 93

reached out, and felt here and there, for what they
might devour ;
and ever and anon they took new
forms, and twisted and writhed like fiery snakes, and
then they swirled in burning coils high over the castle-
walls. Siegfried stopped not a moment. He spoke
the word, and boldly the horse with his rider dashed
into the fiery lake and the vile flames fled in shame
;

and dismay before the pure sunbeam flashes from Grey-

fell's mane. And, unscorched and unscathed, Siegfried
rode through the moat, and through the wide-open

gate, arid into the castle-yard.

The gate-keeper sat fast asleep in his lodge, while
the chains and the heavy key with which, when awake,
he was wont to make the great gate fast, lay rusting
at his feet ;
and neither he, nor the sentinels on the

ramparts above, stirred or awoke at the sound of Grey-

fell's clattering hoofs. As Siegfried passed from one
part of the castle to another, many strange sights met
his eyes. In the stables the horses slumbered in their
stalls,and the grooms lay snoring by their sides. The
birds sat sound asleep on their nests beneath the eaves.
The watch-dogs, with fast-closed eyes, lay stretched at
full-length before the open doors. In the garden the
fountain no longer played, the half-laden bees had gone
to sleep among the blossoms of the apple-trees, and
the flowers themselves had forgotten to open their
petals to the sun. In the kitchen the cook was dozing
over the half-baked meats in front of the smouldering
fire ; the butler was snoring in the
pantry the dairy.
;
94 The Story of Siegfried.

maid was quietly napping among the milk-pans and ;

even the house-flies had gone to sleep over the crumbs

of sugar on the table. In the great banquet-room a
thousand knights, overcome with slumber, sat silent at
the festal board and their chief, sitting on the dais,
;

slept, with his half-emptied goblet at his lips.

Siegfried passed hurriedly from room to room and

from hall to hall, and cast but one hasty glance at the
strange sights which met him at every turn for he ;

knew that none

the drowsy ones in that spacious
of

castle could be awakened until he had aroused the

Princess Brunhild. In the grandest hall of the palace
he found her. The peerless maiden, most richly dight,
reclined upon a couch beneath a gold-hung canopy ;

and her attendants, the ladies of the court, sat near and
around her. Sleep held fast her eyelids, and her
breathing was so gentle, that, but for the blush upon
her cheeks, Siegfried would have thought her dead.
For long, long years had her head thus lightly rested
on that gold-fringed pillow and in all that time neither
;

her youth had faded, nor her wondrous beauty waned.

Siegfried stood beside her. Gently he touched his

lips to that matchless forehead softly he named her
;

name,
" Brunhild "
!

The charm was broken. Up

rose the peerless prin-
cess in all her queen-like beauty; uprose the courtly
ladies round her. All over the castle, from cellar to

belfry-tower, from the stable to the banquet-hall, there

2:
w

*:
<
w
a
 Brunhild. 95

was a sudden awakening, a noise of hurrying feet

and mingled voices, and sounds which had long been
strangers to the halls of Isenstein. The watchman on
the tower, and the sentinels on the ramparts, yawned,
and would not believe they had been asleep the porter ;

picked up his keys, and hastened to lock the long-forgot-

ten gates the horses neighed in their stalls the watch-
; ;

dogs barked at the sudden hubbub the birds, ashamed ;

at having allowed the sun to find them napping, hastened

to seek their food in the meadows ; the servants hur-

ried here and there, each intent upon his duty ;
the
warriors in the banquet-hall clattered their knives and

plates,and began again their feast and their chief ;

dropped his goblet, and rubbed his eyes, and wondered

that sleep should have overtaken him in the midst of
such a meal. 1
And Siegfried, standing at an upper window, looked
out over the castle-walls and he saw that the flames
;

no longer raged in the moat, but that it was filled with

clear sparkling water from the fountain which played in
the garden. And
the south wind blew gently from the
sea, bringing from afar the sweetest strains of music from

Bragi's golden harp ;

and the breezes whispered among
the trees, and the flowers opened '"heir petals to the sun,
and birds and insects made the air melodious with their
glad voices. Then Brunhild, radiant with smiles, stood
by the hero's side, and welcomed him kindly to Isen-
and to her green-towered castle of Isenstein,,
1
See Note 16 at the end of this volume.
96 TJie Story oj Siegfried.

ADVENTURE VII.

IN NIBELUNGEN LAND.
EVERY one in the castle of Isenstein, from the prin-

young hero
cess to the kitchen-maid, felt grateful to the
for what he had done. The best rooms were fitted up
for his use, and a score of serving men and maidens
were set apart to do his bidding, and ordered to be
mindful of his slightest wish. And all the earl-folk and
brave men, and all the fair ladies, and Brunhild, fairest
of them all, besought him to make his home there, nor
ever think of going back to Rhineland.
Siegfried
yielded to persuasions, and for six months he
their
tarried in the enchanted land in one long round of

merry-making and gay enjoyment. But his thoughts

were ever turned toward his father's home in the Low-
lands across the sea, and he longed to behold again his

gentle mother Sigelind. Then he grew tired of his

life of idleness and ease, and he wished that he might

go out again into the busy world of manly action and

worthy deeds. And day by day this feeling grew
stronger, and filled him with unrest.
One morning, as he sat alone by the seashore, and
 In Nibelungen Land. 97

watched the lazy tide come creeping up the sands, two

ravens lighted near him. Glad was he to see them, for
he knew them to be Hugin and Munin, the sacred
birds of Odin, and he felt sure that they brought him
words of cheer from the All-Father. Then Hugin
flapped his wings, and said, "In idleness the stings of
death lie hidden, but in busy action are the springs
of life. For a hundred years fair Brunhild slept, but
why should Siegfried sleep ? The world awaits him,
but it waits too long."
Then Munin flapped his wings also, but he said

nothing. And
busy memory carried Siegfried back to
his boyhood days and he called to mind the wise words
;

of his father Siegmund, and the fond hopes of his gentle

mother, and he thought, too, of the noble deeds of his

kinsfolk of the earlier days. And he rose in haste, and
" Life of I go where
cried, ease, farewell duty leads.!

To him who wills to do, the great All-Father will send

strength and help."
While he spoke, his eyes were dazzled with a flash of

light. He looked and the beaming Greyfell, his long

;

mane sparkling like a thousand sunbeams, dashed up

the beach, and stood beside him. As the noble steed in
all his strength and beauty stood before him, the youth
felt f-csh courage ; for, in the presence of the shining

hope which the All-Father had given him, all hinder-

anccs seemed to vanish, and all difficulties to be already
overcome. He looked toward the sea again, and saw
in the blue distance a white-sailed ship drawing swiftly
98 The Story of Siegfried.

near, its golden dragon-stem ploughing through the

waves like some great bird of the deep. And as with
straining, eager eyes, he watched its coming, he felt that

Odin had sent it, and that the time had come wherein
he must be up and doing. The hour for thriving action
comes to us once if not seized upon and used, it
:
may
never come again.
The ship drew near the shore. The sailors rested on
their oars. Siegfried and the steed Greyfell sprang
upon the deck then the sailors silently bent again to
;

their rowing. The flapping sails were filled and tight-

ened by the strong west wind and the light vessel ;

leaped from wave to wave like a thing of life, until

Isenstein, with its tall towers and itsgreen marble halls,
sank from sight in the distance and the mist. And
Siegfried and his noble steed seemed to be the only liv-

ing beings on board for the sailors who plied the oars
;

were so silent and phantom-like, that they appeared to

be nought but the ghosts of the summer sea-breezes.
As the ship sped swiftly on its way, all the creatures in
the sea paused to behold the sight. The mermen rested
from their weary search for hidden treasures, and the
mermaids forgot to comb their long tresses, as the
radiant vessel and its hero-freight glided past. And
even old King ^Egir left his brewing-kettle in his great
hall, and bade his daughters, the white-veiled Waves,
cease playing until the vessel should safely reach its

haven.
When, at length, the day had passed, and the evening
 In Nibelungen Land, 99

twilight had come, Siegfried saw that the ship was

land; but it was a strange land. Like a 1
neannsr
^5 * *

it appeared to rest above the waves, mid-

fleecy cloud
way between the earth and the sky a dark mist hung ;

upon it, and it seemed a land of dreams and shadows.

The ship drew nearer and nearer to the mysterious
shore, and as it touched the beach the sailors rested
from their rowing. Then Siegfried and the horse
Greyfell leaped ashore but, when they looked back,
;

the fair vessel that had carried them was nowhere to

be seen. Whether it had suddenly been clutched by
the greedy fingers of the Sea-queen Ran, and dragged
down into her deep sea-caverns, or whether, like the
wondrous ship Skidbladner, it had -been folded up, and
made invisible to the eyes ofmen, Siegfried never
knew. The thick mists and the darkness of night closed
over and around both hero and horse and they dared ;

not stir, but stood long hours in the silent gloom, waiting
for the coming of the dawn.

At length the morning came, but the light was not

strong enough to scatter the fogs and thick vapors that

rested upon the land. Then Siegfried mounted Grey-
felland the sunbeams began to flash from the horse's
;

mane and from the hero's glittering mail-coat and ;

the hazy clouds fled upward and away, until they were

caught and held fast by great mist-giants, who stood

like sentinels on the mountain-tops. As the shining
air came up from the sea, and passed through the
1
See Note 17 at the end of this volume.
ioo 77ie Story of Siegfried.

woods and valleys of the Nibelungen Land, there-

streamed over all that region such a flood of sunlight

as had never before been seen.
In every leafy tree, and behind every blade of grass,
elves and fairies were hidden and under every rock ;

and every crevice lurked cunning dwarfs.

in But Sieg-
fried rode straight forward until he came to the steep

side of a shadowy mountain. There, at the mouth of

a cavern, a strange sight met his eyes. Two young
men, dressed in princes' clothing, sat upon the ground :

their features haggard and gaunt, and pinched

were all

with hunger, and their eyes wild with wakefulness and

fear and all around them were heaps of gold and pre-
;

cious stones, more than a hundred wagons could carry

away. And neither of the two princes would leave the
shining hoard for food, nor close his eyes in sleep, lest
the other might seize and hide some part of the treasure.
And thus they had watched and hungered through many

long days and sleepless nights, each hoping that the

other would die, and that the whole inheritance might
be his own.
When they saw Siegfried riding near, they called out
"
to him, and said, Noble stranger, stop a moment !

Come and help us divide this treasure."

"Who are you?" asked Siegfried; "and what treas-
"
ure is it that lies there ?

" We are the sons of Niblung, who until lately was

king of this Mist Land. Our names are Schilbung and
the young Niblung," faintly answered the princes.
 In Nibelungen Land. 101

"And what are you doing here with this gold and
"
these glittering stones ?

"
This is the great Nibelungen Hoard, which our
father not long ago brought from the South-land. It is

not clear just how he obtained it.

1
Some say that he
got unjustly from his brother, whose vassals had
it

digged it from the earth. Others say that he found it

lying on the Glittering Heath, where Fafnir the Dragon
had guarded it
zealously for ages past, until he was slain
by a hero who cared nought for his gold. But, be this
as it
may, our father is now dead, and we have brought
the hoard out of the cavern where he had hidden it, in

order that we may share it between us equally. But

we cannot agree, and we pray you to help us divide it."
Then Siegfried dismounted from the horse Greyfell,
and came near the two princes.
"I will gladly do as you ask," said he; "but first I
must know more about your father, who he was,
and whether this is really the Hoard of the Glittering
Heath."
Then Niblung answered, as well as his feeble voice
would allow, " Our father was, from the earliest times,
the ruler of this land, and the lord of the fog and the
mist Many strongholds, and many noble halls, had he
in this land ;
and ten thousand brave warriors were
ever ready tc dc his bidding. The trolls, and the
swarthy elves of the mountains, and the giants of the
cloudy peaks, were his vassals. But he did more than
1
See Note 18 at the end of this volume.
iO2 The Story of Siegfried.

rule over the Nibelungen Land. Twice every year ho

crossed the sea and rambled through the Rhine valleys,
or loitered in the moist Lowlands and now and then ;

he brought rich trophies back to his island home

The last time, he brought this treasure with him but, ;

as we have said, it is not clear how he obtained it. We

have heard men say that it was the Hoard of Andvari,
and that when Fafnir, the dragon who watched it, was
slain, the hero who slew him left it to be taken again by
the swarthy elves who had gathered it but because of ;

a curse which Andvari had placed upon it, no one

would touch it, until some man would assume its own-
ership, and take upon himself the risk of incurring the
curse. This thing, it is said, our father did. And the
dwarf Alberich undertook to keep it for him and he, ;

with the help of the ten thousand elves who live in these
caverns, and the twelve giants whom you see standing
on the mountain-peaks around, guarded it faithfully so
long as our father lived. But, when he died, we and
our thralls fetched it forth from the cavern, and spread
ithere on the ground. And, lo ! for many days we
have watched and tried to divide it equally. But we
cannot agree."
" "
What hire will you give me if I divide it for you ?

asked Siegfried.
"Name what you will have," answered the princes.
"Give me the sword which lies before you on the
littering heap."
Then Niblung handed him the sword, and said,
 In Nibclungcn Land. 103

"
Right gladly will we give it. It is a worthless blade
that our father brought from the South-land. They say
that he found it also on the Glittering Heath, in the
trench where Fafnir was slain. And some will have it

that it was forged by Regin, Fafnir's own brother. But

how thai is, I do not know. At any rate, it is of no use
to us ;
for it turns against us whenever we try to use it."

Siegfried took the sword. It was his own Balrrumg,

0>

that had been lost so long.

Forthwith he began the task of dividing the treas-
ure and the two brothers, so faint from hunger and
;

want of sleep that they could scarcely lift their heads,

watched him with anxious, greedy eyes. First he

placed a piece of gold by Niblung's side, and then

a

piece of like value he gave to Schilbung. And this

he did again and again, until no more gold was left.

Then, in the same manner, he divided the precious
gem-stones until none remained. And the brothers
were much pleased and they hugged their glittering
;

treasures, and thanked Siegfried for his kindness, and

for the fairness with which he had given to each his

own. But one thing was left which had not fallen to

the lot of either brother. It was a ring of curious

vsorkmanship, a serpent coiled, with its tail in its

mouth, and with ruby eyes glistening and cold.

"What shall I do with this ring?" asked Siegfried.
" "
Give it to me ! cried Niblung.
" Give "
it to me ! cried Schilbung.
And both tried to snatch it from Siegfried's hand.
 IO4 The Story of Siegfried.

But the effort was too great for them. Their arms
fell helpless at their sides, their feet slipped beneath
them, their limbs failed :
they sank fainting, each upon
his pile of treasures.

"O my dear, dear gold!" murmured Niblung, try-

ing to clasp it all in his arms, "my dear, dear gold!

Thou art mine, mine only. No one shall take thee
from me. Here thou art, here thou shalt rest. O
my dear, dear gold!" And then, calling up the last
spark of life left in his famished body, he cried out to
" Give "
Siegfried, me the ring - - the ring, I say
! !

He hugged his cherished gold nearer to his bosom ;

he ran his thin fingers deep down into the shining yel-
low heap he pressed his pale lips to the cold and
;

"
senseless metal he whispered
; faintly, My dear, dear
"
gold
cu
! and then he died.
"
O precious, precious gem-stones," faltered Schil-
"
bung, how beautiful you are ! And you are mine, all

mine. I will keep you safe. Come, come, my bright-

eyed beauties No one but me shall touch you. You
!

"
are mine, mine, mine And he chattered and laughed
!

as only madmen laugh. And he kissed the hard stones,

and sought to hide them in his bosom. But his hands
trembled and failed, dark mists swam before his eyes ;

he fancied that he heard the black dwarfs clamoring

for his treasure; he sprang up quickly, he shrieked
and then fell lifeless upon his hoard of sparkling gems.
A strange, sad sight it was, boundless wealth, and
miserable death ;
two piles of yellow gold and sun-
 In Nibelungen Land. 105

bright diamonds, and two thin, starved corpses stretche;!

upon them. Some stories relate that the brothers were
slain by Siegfried, because their foolish strife and
greediness had angered him. But I like not to think
1

so. It was the gold, and not Siegfried, that slew them.

"O gold, gold !" cried the hero sorrowfully, "truly

thou art the mid-world's curse ;
thou art man's bane.
But when the bright spring-time of the new world
shall come, and Balder shall reign in his glory, then

will the curse be taken from thee, and thy yellow

brightness will be the sign of purity and enduring

worth and then thou wilt be a blessing to mankind,
;

and the precious plaything of the gods."

But Siegfried had little time for thought and speech.
A strange sound was heard upon the mountain-side.
The twelve great giants who had stood as watchmen
upon the peaks above were rushing down to avenge
their masters, and to drive the intruder out of Nibelun-

gen Land. Siegfried waited not for their onset but he ;

mounted the noble horse Greyfell, and, with the sword

Balmung in his hand, he rode forth to meet his foes,

who, with fearful threats and hideous roars, came

striding toward him. The sunbeams flashed frorr

Greyfell's mane, and dazzled the dull eyes of the giants,

unused as they were to the full light of day. Doubt-
ful, they paused, and then again came forward. But
they mistook every tree in their way for an enemy, and
every rock they thought a foe and in their fear they
;

1
See Note 19 at the end of this volume.
io6 TJie Story of Siegfried.

fancied a great host to be before them. Did you evei

see the dark and threatening storm-clouds on a sum-
mer's day scattered and put to flight by the bright
beams of the sun ? It was thus that Siegfried's giant
foes were routed.One and all, they dropped their
heavy and
clubs, stood ashamed and trembling, not
knowing what to do. And Siegfried made each one
swear to serve him faithfully and then he sent them
;

back to the snow-covered mountain-peaks to stand

again as watchmen at their posts.
And now another danger appeared. Alberich the
dwarf, the master of the swarthy elves who guarded
the Nibelungen Hoard, had come out from his cavern,
and seen the two princes lying dead beside their treas-
ures, and he thought that they had been murdered by

Siegfried ; and, when he beheld the giants driven back

to the mountain-tops, he lifted a little silver horn to his

lips, and blew a shrill bugle-call. And the little brown

elves came trooping by thousands from under
forth :

every rock, from the nooks and crannies and crevices

in the mountain-side, from the deep cavern and the

narrow gorge, they came at the call of their chief.

Then, at Alberich's word, they formed in line of battle,
and stood in order around the hoard and the bodies
of their late masters. Their little golden shields and
their sharp-pointed spears were thick as the blades of

grass in aRhine meadow. And Siegfried, when he saw

them, was pleased and surprised ;
for never before had
such a host of pygmy warriors stood before him.
 In Nibelungen Land. 107

While he paused and looked, the elves became sud-

denly silent, and Siegfried noticed that Alberich stood
no longer at their head, but had strangely vanished
from sight.
" "
Ah, Alberich ! cried the hero. "Thou art indeed
cunning. I have heard of thy tricks.Thou hast
donned the Tarnkappe, the cloak of darkness, which
hides thee from sight, and makes thee as strong as
"
twelve common men. But come on, thou brave dwarf !

Scarcely had he spoken, when he felt a shock which

almost sent him reeling from his saddle, and made

Greyfell plunge about with fright. Quickly, then, did

Siegfried dismount, and, with every sense alert, he
waited for the second onset of the unseen dwarf. It

was plain that Alberich wished to strike him unawares,

for many minutes passed in utter silence. Then a
brisk breath of wind passed by Siegfried's face, and he
felt another blow but, by a quick downward movement
;

caught the plucky elf-king, and tore off

of his hand, he
the magic Tarnkappe, and then, with firm grasp, he
held him, struggling in vain to get free.
" "
Ah, Alberich he cried, " now I know thou art
!

cunning. But the Tarnkappe I must have for my own.

What wilt thou give for thy freedom ?"
''Worthy prince," answered Alberich humbly, "you
have fairly overcome me in fight, and made me your
prisoner. I and all mine, as well as this treasure,
right-
fully belong to you. We are yours, and you we shall

obey."
io8 The Story of Siegfried.

"
"Swear it!" said Siegfried. S wear it, ard thou
shalt live, and be the keeper of my treasures."
And Alberich made a sign to his elfin host, and

every spear was turned point downwards, and every

tiny shield was thrown to the ground, and the ten
thousand little warriors kneeled, as did also their chief,
and acknowledged Siegfried to be their rightful master,
and the lord of the Nibelungen Land, and the owner of
the Hoard of Andvari.

Then, by Alberich's orders, the elves carried the

Hoard back into the cavern, and there kept faithful
watch and ward over it. And they buried the starved
bodies of the two princes on the top of the mist-veiled
mountain and heralds were sent to all the strongholds
;

in Nibelungen Land, proclaiming that Siegfried, through

his wisdom and might, had become the true lord and

king of the land. Afterwards the prince, riding on

the beaming Greyfell, went from place to place, scatter-

ing sunshine and smiles where shadows and frowns had

been before. And
the Nibelungen folk welcomed him

everywhere with glad shouts and music and dancing ;

and ten thousand warriors, and many noble earl-folk,

came to meet him, and plighted their faith to him.
And the pure brightness of his hero-soul, and the
gleaming sunbeams from Greyfell's mane, the light of

hope and faith, lifted the curtain of mists and fogs that
had so long darkened the Ian 1, and let in the glorious
glad light of day and the genial warmth of summer.
 Siegfried's Welcome Home. 109

ADVENTURE VIII.

SIEGFRIED'S WELCOME HOME.

IN Santen Castle, one day, there was a strange up-
roar and confusion.
Everybody was hurrying aimlessly
about, and no one seemed to know just what to do.
On every side there were restless whisperings, and
hasty gestures, and loud commands. The knights and
warriors were busy donning their war-coats, and buck-

ling on their swords and helmets. Wise King Sieg-

mund and the knowing men
sat in his council-chamber,
of the kingdom stood around him and the minds of
;

all seemed troubled with doubt, if not with fear.

What could have caused so great an uproar in the
once quiet old castle ? What could have brought per-
plexity to the mind of the wisest king in all Rhine-
land ? was this: a herald had just come from the
It

seashore, bringing word that a strange fleet of a

hundred white-sailed vessels had cast anchor off the
coast, and that r n army of ten thousand fighting men
1
had landed, anc were making ready to march
against
Santen. Nobody had ever heard of so large a fleet
before ; and no one could guess who the strangers
f 10 The Story of Siegfried.

wight be, nor whence they had come, nor why they
should thus, without asking leave, land in the country
of a peace-loving king.
The news spread quickly over all the land. People
from every part came hastening to the friendly shelter
of the castle. The townsmen, with their goods and
cattle, hurried within the walls. The sentinels on the
ramparts paced uneasily to and fro, and scanned with
watchful eye every stranger that came near the walls.
The warders stood ready to hoist the drawbridge, and
close the gate, at the first signal given by the watchman
above, who was straining his eyes to their utmost in
order to see the approach of the foe.
first

Aheavy mist hung over the meadow-lands between

oanten and the sea, and nothing was visible beyond the
gates of the town. The ten thousand strange warriors
might be within half a league of the castle, and yet the
sharpest eagle-eye could not see them.
All at once a clatter of horse's hoofs was heard ;
the
dark mist rose up from the ground, and began to roll
away, like a great cloud, into the sky and then strange
;

sunbeam-flashes were seen where the fog had lately

rested.
" " "
They come ! cried one of the sentinels. I see
the glitter of their shields and lances."
" Not
so," said the watchman from his place on the
tower above. " I see but one man, and he rides with
the speed of the wind, and lightning flashes from the
mane of the horse which carries him."
 Siegfried's Welcome Home. 1 1 1

The drawbridge was hastily hoisted. The heavy

gates were quickly shut, and fastened with bolts and
bars. Every man in the castle was at his post, ready
to defend the fortress with his life. In a short time
the horse and his rider drew near. All who looked out
upon them were dazzled with the golden brightness oi

the hero's armor, as well as with the lightning gleams

that flashed from the horse's mane. And some whis-
pered,
"This is no man who thus comes in such kingly
splendor. More
likely Odin on one of his jour-
it is

neys, or the Shining Balder come again to earth."

As the stranger paused on the outer edge of the
moat, the sentinels challenged him,
"Who are you who come thus, uninvited and un-
"
heralded, to Santen ?

"
One who has the right to come," answered the
" am have come to see
stranger. Siegfried and
I ;
I
my
father, the good Siegmund, and my mother, the gentle
Sigelind."
It was indeed Siegfried ;
and he had come from his

kingdom Nibelungen Land, with his great fleet,

in the

and the noblest of his warriors, to see once more his

boyhood's home, and to cheer for a time the hearts of
his loving parents. For he had done man); noble
deeds, and had ruled wisely and well, and he felt that
he was now not unworthy to be called the son of Sieg-
mund, and to claim kinship with the heroes of the
earlier days.
1 1 2 The Story of Siegfried.

As soon as it was surely known that he who stood

before the castle-walls was the young prince who had
been gone so many years, and about whom they had
heard so many wonderful stories, the drawbridge was

hastily let down, and the great gates were thrown wide
open. And Siegfried, whose return had been so long
wished for, stood once again in his father's halls. And
the fear and confusion which had prevailed gave place
to gladness and gayety and all the folk of Santen
;

greeted the returned hero with cheers, and joyfully

welcomed him home. And in the whole world there
was no one more happy than Siegmund and Sigelind.
On the morrow the ten thousand Nibelungen war-
riors came to Santen and Siegmund made for them a
;

great banquet, and entertained them in a right kingly

way, as the faithful liegemen of his son. And Sieg-
fried, when he had given them rich gifts, sent them
with the fleet back to Nibelungen Land for he meant ;

to stay for a time with his father and mother at Santen.

When
the harvest had been gathered, and the fruit
was turning purple and gold, and the moon rode round
and full in autumn sky, a gay high-tide was
the clear
'ield and everybody in the Low-
for Siegfried's sake ;

!and country, whether high or low, rich or poor, was

*.sked to come to the feast. For seven days, nought
hut unbridled
gayety prevailed in Siegmund's halls.
On every hand were sounds of music and laughter,
and sickness and poverty and pain were for the time
forgotten. A mock-battle was fought on the grassy
 Siegfried's Welcome Home. 113

plain not farfrom the town, and the young men vied
with each other in feats of strength and skill. Never
before had so many beautiful ladies nor so many brave
men been seen in Santen. And, when the time of

jollity and feasting had drawn to an end, Siegmund

called together all his guests, and gave to each choice

gifts, a festal garment, and a horse with rich trap-

pings. And Queen Sigelind scattered gold without

stint amongthe poor, and many were the blessings
she received. Then all the folk went back to their
homes with light hearts and happy faces. 1

The autumn days passed quickly by, and Siegfried

began grow weary of the idle, inactive life in his
to
father's halls and Greyfell in his stall pined for the
;

fresh, free air, and his mane lost all its brightness.

When Siegmund saw how full of unrest his son had

become, he said to him,
" I have grown old and feeble, and have no
Siegfried,
longer the strength of my younger days. My kingdom
would fare better were a younger ruler placed over it.
Take my crown, I pray you, and let me withdraw from
kingly cares."
But Siegfried would not listen to such an offer. He
had his ">wn kingdom of the Nibelungens, he said; and,
besides, he would never sit on his father's throne while

yet that father lived. And although he loved the

pleasant companionship of his mother, and was de-
lighted to listen to the wise counsels of his father, the
1
See Note 20 at the end of this volume.
H4 The Story of Siegfried.

craving for action, and the unrest which would not be

satisfied, grew greater day by day. At last he said,
" I will ride out into the world again. Mayhap I may
find some other wrong to right, or some other kingdom
to win. It was thus that my kin, in the golden age long

past, went faring over the land and sea, and met their
doom at last. They were not home-abiders, nor tillers
of the soil but the world was their abiding-place, and
;

they the hearts of men."

tilled

And, when his father and mother heard this, they

tried no longer to keep him with them for they knew ;

that it would be more cruel than the keeping of a caged

bird away from the sunlight.
" "The
Only go not into Burgundy," said his father.

kings of that country are not friendly to us, and they

may do you harm. Hagen, the kinsman of the kings,
and the chief of their fighting-men, is old and crafty,
and he cannot brook a greater hero than himself."
Siegfried laughed.
"That is all the better reason why I should go to

Burgundy-land," he said.

"Then take ten thousand of my warriors," said his

father, "and make yourself master of the land."
"No, no!" cried Siegfried. "One kingdom is

enough for me. My own Nibelungen Land is all I want.

I will take twelve Nibelungen knights that I have
my
with me here, and we will fare forth to see the world
and its beauties, and men's work and, when we have ;

tired with riding, we will sail across the sea to our Nibe
lungen home."
 TJie Journey to Burgundy- Land. 115

ADVENTURE IX.

THE JOURNEY TO BURGUNDY-LAND.

FOR many days before Siegfried's departure, the

queen, and all the women of the household, busily

plied their needles and many suits of rich raiment

;

made they for the prince and his worthy comrades. At

length the time for leave-taking came, and
all the in-

mates of the castle went out to the gate to bid the

heroes God-speed. Siegfried sat upon his noble horse

Greyfell, and his trustysword Balmung hung at his

side. And his Nibelungen knights were mounted on

lordly steeds, with gold-red saddles and

silver trappings

chased with gold and their glittering helmets, and

;

burnished shields, and war-coats of polished steel, when

added to their noble bearing and manlike forms, made
up a picture of beauty and strength such as no one in
Santen had ever seen before, or would ever see again.
"
Only go not into Burgundy-land," were the parting
words of Siegmund.
And allwho had come to bid them farewell wept
bitterly as the young men rode out of the city, and
were lost to sight in the distance.
r 1 6 The Story of Siegfried.

" "
Only go not into Burgundy-land These words !

of his father sounded still in Siegfried's ears and he ;

turned his horse's head towards the west and south ;

and they rode through the level country, and among the
fields, from which the corn had already been gathered ;

and at night they slept in the open air, upon the still
warm ground. Thus for many days they travelled.

And they left the Lowlands far behind them, and Bur-

gundy far to the left of them and by and by they ;

came to a country covered with high hills, and moun-

tains that seemed to touch the sky. The crags and
all summer
peaks were covered with snow, and ice lay
in the dales and in the deep gorges cleft long time ago
Here that the rivers take their
by giant hands. it is

and
beginning. And here it is that the purple grapes
the rare fruits of milder climes are found for the sun ;

shines warm in the valleys and upon the plains, and the

soil is exceeding rich. It is said that these mountains

are midway between the cold regions of Jotunheim and
the glowing gardens of Muspelheim, and that, in ages
of many battles between the
past, they were the scene
giants who would overwhelm the earth, these with
o
ice, and those with fire. Here and there were frown-
mountain-side while
ing caves dug out of the solid ;

with ashes, where,

higher up were great pits, half-filled
it is said, the dwarf-folk, when they were mighty on

earth, had their forges.

of
Siegfried stopped not long in this land. Thoughts
the Nibelungen Land, and of his faithful liegemen who
 The Journey to Burgundy -Land. 1 1
7

waited for his return, began to fill his mind. Then the
heroes turned their horses' heads, and rode back to-

wards the north, following the course of the River

Rhine, as it wound, here and there, between hills and
mountains, and through meadows where the grass was
springing up anew, and by the side of woodlands, now
beginning to be clothed in green again for the winter ;

was well over, and spring was hastening on apace.

And as they rode down the valley of the Rhine they

came, ere they were aware, into the Burgundian Land,

and the high towers of King Gunther's castle rose up
before them. Then Siegfried remembered again his
father's words,

"Only go not into Burgundy-land."

But it was now too late to go back, and they deter-
mined tostop few days with the Burgundian
for a

kings. They rode onwards through the meadows and

the pleasant farming-lands which lay around the city ;

and they passed a wonderful garden of roses, said to

belong to Kriemhild, the peerless princess of the Rhine

country ;
and at last they halted before the castle-gate.

So lordly was their bearing, that a company of knights

came out to meet them, and offered, as the custom
was, to take charge of their horses and their shields.
But Siegfried asked that they be led at once to King
Gunther and his brothers and, as their stay would
;

not be long, they said they would have no need to

part with horses or with shields. Then they followed

their guides, and rode through the great gateway, and
r 1 8 The Story of Siegfried.

into the open court, and halted beneath the palace-

windows.
And the three kingsGunther, Gernot, and Gisel
her and their young the matchless Kriemhild,
sister,
looked down upon them from above, and hazarded
many guesses as to who the lordly strangers might be.
And all the inmates of the castle stood at the doors and
windows, or gathered in curious groups in the court-
yard, and gazed with open-mouthed wonder upon the
rich armor and noble bearing of the thirteen heroes.
But eyes were turned most towards Siegfried and
all

the wondrous steed Greyfell. Some of the knights

whispered that this was Odin, and some that it was
Thor, the thunderer, making a tour through Rhincland.
But others said that Thor was never known to ride on
horseback, and that the youth who sat on the milk-
white steed was little like the ancient Odin. And the
ladies who looked down upon the heroes from the pal-
ace windows said that this man could be no other than
the Sunbright Balder, come from his home in Breida-

blik, to breathe gladness and sunshine into the hearts

and lives of men.
Only one among all the folk in the castle knew who
the hero was who had ridden thus boldly into the heart
of Burgundy-land. That one was Hagen, the uncle
of the three kings, and the doughtiest warrior in all
Rhineland. With a dark frown and a sullen scowl he
looked out upon the little party, and already plotted in

his mind how he might outwit, and bring to grief, the

 The Journey to Burgundy -Land. 119

youth whose name and fame were known the whole

world over. For his evil mind loved deeds of dark-
ness, and hated the pure and good. By his side, at
an upper window, stood Kriemhild, the peerless maiden
of the Rhine but her thoughts were as far from his
;

thoughts as the heaven-smile on her face was unlike

the sullen scowl on his grim visage. As the moon in
her calm beauty is sometimes seen in the sky, riding

gloriously by the side of a dark thunder-cloud, the

one more lovely, the other more dreadful, by their very
nearness, -so seemed Kriemhild standing there by the
side of Hagen.
"Think you not, dear uncle," she said, "that this is
"
the Shining Balder come to earth again ?

"The gods have forgotten the earth," answered

" But
Hagen in surly tones. if, indeed, this should
be Balder, we shall, without doubt, find another blind

archer, who, with another sprig of mistletoe, will send

him back again to Hela."
" "
What do you mean ? asked Kriemhild earnestly.
But old Hagen said not a word in answer. He
quietly withdrew from the room, and left the maiden
and her mother, the good dame Ute, alone.
" What does uncle Hagen mean by his strange
words ? and why does he look so sullen and angry ? "
asked Kriemhild.
"
Indeed, I know not," answered the queen-mother.
" His ways are dark, and he is cunning. I fear that
evil will yet come to our house through him."
i 20 The Story of Siegj. icd.

Meanwhile the three kings and their chiefs had gone

into the courtyard to greet their unknown guests.
Very kindly did Gunther welcome the strangers to his
home and then he courteously asked them whence
;

they came, and what the favors they wished.

"I have heard," answered Siegfried, "that many
knights and heroes live in this land, and that they are
the bravest and the proudest in the world. I, too, am

a knight and some time, if I am worthy, I shall be a

;

king. But would make good my right to rule

first I

over land and folk; and for this reason I have come
hither. indeed, you are as brave as all the world
If,

says you are, ride now to the meadows with us, and let
us fight man to man ;
and he who wins shall rule over

the lands of both. We will wager our kingdom and

our heads against yours."
King Gunther and his brothers were amazed at this

unlooked-for speech.
" "
Such is not the way to try where true worth lies !

" We
have no cause of quarrel with you,
they cried.
neither have you any cause of quarrel with us. Why,
"
then, should we spill each other's blood ?

Again Siegfried urged them to fight with him ;

but

they flatly refused. And Gernot said,

"The Burgundian kings have never wished to rule
over folk that are not their own. Much less would
they gain new lands at the cost of their best heroes'
blood. And they have never taken part in needless

quarrels. Good men in Burgundy are worth more than

 77ie Journey to Burgundy-Land. 121

the broadest lands, and we will not hazard the one for
No, we will not fight.
the sake of gaining the other.
But we greet you most heartily as our friends and
guests."
All the others joined in urging Siegfried and his
comrades dismount from their steeds, and partake
to
of the cheer with which it was their use to entertain

strangers. And at last he yielded to their kind wishes,

and alighted from Greyfell, and, grasping King Gun-
ther's hand, he made himself known. And there was
all the
great rejoicing in the castle and throughout
land ;
and the most sumptuous rooms were set apart
for the use of Siegfried and his Nibelungen knights ;

and a banquet was at once made ready and no pains

;

were spared in giving the strangers a right hearty wel-

come to the kingly halls of Burgundy. But Hagen,
dark-browed and evil-eyed, stood silent and alone in

his chamber and waited his time.

122 TJie Slory of Siegfried.

ADVENTURE X.

KRIEMHILD'S DREAM.
EARLY on the morrow morning, ere the sun had
risen high, the peerless Kriemhild walked alone amid
the sweet-scented bowers of her rose-garden. The
dewdrops still hung thick on flower and thorn, and the
wild birds carolled their songs of merry welcome to the
new-born day. Every thing seemed to have put on its

handsomest colors, and to be using its sweetest voice,

on purpose to gladden the heart of the maiden. But
Kriemhild was not happy. There was a shadow on
her face and a sadness in her eye that the beauty and
the music of that morning could not drive away.
"What ails thee, my child?" asked her mother,
"
Queen Ute, who met her. Why so sad, as if thy
heart were heavy with care ? Has any one spoken
"
unkindly, or has aught grievous happened to thee ?
"Oh, no, dearest mother!" said Kriemhild. "It
is nothing that saddens me, nothing but a foolish
dream. I cannot forget it."
"Tell me the dream," said her mother: "mayhap it
betokens something that the Norns have written for
thee."
 Kriemhild' $ Dream. 123

"
dreamed that I sat at
Then Kriemhild answered, I

my window, high up in the eastern tower and the sun ;

shone bright in the heavens, and the air was mild and
warm, and I thought of nought but the beauty and the
gladness of the hour. Then in the far north I saw a
falcon flying. At first he seemed but a black speck in
the sky but swiftly he drew nearer and nearer, until
;

at last he flew in at the open window, and I caught him

in my arms. Oh, how strong and beautiful he was !

His wings were purple and gold, and his eyes were as
bright as the sun. Oh, a glorious prize I thought him !

and I held him on my wrist, and spoke kind words to

him. Then
suddenly, from out of the sky above, two
eagles dashed in at the window, and snatched my

darling from me, and they tore him in pieces before

my eyes, and laughed at my distress."
"Thydream," said Queen Ute, "is easy to explain.
A king shall come from the north-land, and a mighty
king shall he be. And he shall seek thee, and love
thee, and wed thee, and thy heart shall overflow with
bliss. The two eagles are the foes who shall slay him ;

but who they may be, or whence they may come, is

known only to the Noras."
"But I slept, and I dreamed again," said Kriemhild.
" This time I sat in the
meadow, and three women
came to me. And
they span, and they wove a woof
more fair than any I have ever seen. And methought
that another woof was woven, which crossed the first,
and yet it was no whit less beautiful. Then the women
124 Th e Story of Siegfried.

who wove the woofs cried out, Enough And a fair

'
!
'

white arm reached out and seized the rare fabrics, and
tore them into shreds. And then the sky was over-
cast, and the thunder began to roll and the lightning
to flash, and red fires gleamed, and fierce wolves
howled around me, and I awoke."
"This dream," said Queen Ute, "is more than I can-

understand. Only this I can see and explain, that in

the dim future the woof of another's fate shall cross

thy own. But trouble not thyself because of that

which shall be. While yet the sun shines for thee,
and the birds sing, and the flowers shed their sweet
perfume, it is for thee to rejoice and be light-hearted.
What the Norns have woven is woven, and it cannot
be undone." l

1
See Note 21 at the end of this volume.
 How the Spring-Titte came. 125

ADVENTURE XL

HOW THE SPRING-TIME CAME.

SIEGFRIED, when he came to Gunther's castle,

thought of staying there but a few days only. But

the king and his brothers made every thing so pleas-
ant for their honored guest, that weeks slipped by un-
noticed, still the hero remained in Burgundy.
and
Spring had fairly come, and the weeping April
clouds had given place to the balmy skies of May.
The young men and maidens, as was their wont, made
ready for the May-day games and Siegfried and his
;

knights were asked to take part in the sport.

On the smooth greensward, which they called
Nanna's carpet, beneath the shade of ash-trees and
elms, he who played Old Winter's part lingered with
his These were clad in the dull gray
few attendants.
garb which becomes the sober season of the year, and
were decked with yellow stiaw, and dead, brown leaves.
Out of the wood came the May-king and his followers,
clad in the gayest raiment, and decked with evergreens
and flowers. With staves and willow-withes they fell
upon Old Winter's champions, and tried to drive them
126 The Story of Siegfried.

from the sward. In friendly fray they fought, and

many mishaps fell to both parties. But at length the
May-king won and grave Winter, battered and bruised,
;

was made prisoner, and his followers were driven from

the field. Then, in merry sport, sentence was passed
on the luckless wight, for he was found guilty of killing
the flowers, and of covering the earth with hoar-frost ;

and he was doomed to a long banishment from music

and the sunlight. The laughing party then set up a
wooden likeness of the worsted winter-king, and pelted
it with stones and turf and when they were tired they
;

threw it down, and put out its eyes, and cast it into the
river. And then a pole, decked with wild-flowers and
fresh green leaves, was planted in the midst of the

sward, and all joined in merry dance around it. And

they chose the most beautiful of all the maidens to be
the Queen ofMay, and they crowned her with a wreath
of violets and yellow buttercups and for a whole day
;

all yielded fealty to her, and did her bidding.

It was thus that May Day came in Burgundy. And
in the evening, when
the party were seated in King
Gunther's hall, Siegfried, at the command of the May-
queen, who was none other than Kriemhild the peer-
less, amused them by telling the story of

IDUN AND HER APPLES.

It is a story that Bragi told while at the feast in

9

/Egir's hall. Idun is Bragi's wife. Very handsome

is she; but the beauty of her face is by no means
 How the Spring- Time came. 127

greater than the goodness of her heart. Right atten-

tive is she to every duty, and her words and thoughts

are always worthy and wise. A long time ago the

good Asa-folk who dwell in heaven-towering Asgard,
knowing how trustworthy Idun was, gave into her
keeping a treasure whieh they would not have placed
in the hands of any other person. This treasure was
a box of apples, and Idun kept the golden key safely
fastened to her girdle. You ask me why the gods
should prize a box of apples so highly ? I will tell

you.
Old age, you know, spares none, not even Odin
and his Asa-folk. They all grow old and gray and, if ;

there were no cure for age, they would become feeble

and toothless and blind, deaf, tottering, and weak-
minded. The apples which Idun guarded so carefully
were the priceless boon of youth. Whenever the gods
felt old age coming on, they went to her, and she gave
them of her fruit ; and, when they had tasted, they

grew young and strong and handsome again. Once,

however, they came near losing the apples, or losing
rather Idun and her golden key, without which no one
could ever open the box.
In those early days Odin delighted to come down
now and then from his high home above the clouds,
and to wander, disguised, among the woods and moun-

tains,and by the seashore, and in wild desert places.

For nothing pleases him more than to commune with
N:iture as she is found in the loneliness of vast soli-
128 The Story of Siegfried.

tudes, or in the boisterous uproar of the elements

Onee on a time he took with him his friends Hoenir
and Loki and they rambled many days among the icy
;

cliffs, and along the barren shores, of the great frozen

sea. In that country there was no game, and no fisl;
was found in the cold waters ;
and the three wander-
ers, as they had brought no food with them, became

very hungry. Late in the afternoon of the seventh

day, they reached some pasture-lands belonging to the

giant Hymer, and saw a herd of the giant's cattle

browsing upon the short grass which grew in the shel-
tered nooks among the hills.
"Ah!" cried Loki: "after fasting for a week, we
shall now have food in abundance. Let us kill and
eat."
So saying, he hurled a sharp stone at the fattest of
Hymer's cows, and killed her and the three quickly ;

dressed the choicest pieces of flesh for their supper.

Then Loki gathered twigs and dry grass, and kindled a
blazing fire ;
Hoenir filled the pot with water from
melted ice ;
and Odin threw into it the bits of tender

meat. But, make the fire as hot as they would, the

water would not boil, and the flesh would not cook.
All night long the supperless three sat hungry around
the fire and, every time they peeped into the kettle, the
;

meat was as raw and gustlcss as before. Morning came,

but no breakfast. And all day Loki kept stirring the
fire,and Odin and Hoenir waited hopefully but impa-
tiently. When the sun again went down, the flesh
 How lite
Spring-Time came.

'was uncooked, and their supper seemed no nearer

still

ready than it was the night before. As they were

about yielding to despair, they heard a noise overhead ;

and, looking up, they saw a huge gray eagle sitting on

the dead branch of an oak.

"Ha, ha!" cried the bird.

are pretty fellows "You
indeed ! To sit a night and a day,
hungry by the fire

rather than eat raw flesh, becomes you well. Do but

give me my it as it is, and I warrant
share of you the
and you shall have a fat supper."
rest shall boil,

"Agreed," answered Loki eagerly. "Come down

and get your share."
The eagle waited for no second asking. Down he
swooped right over the blazing fire, and snatched not
only the eagle's share, but also what the Lybians call
the lion's share ;
that is, he grasped in his strong
talons the kettle, with all the meat in it, and, flapping
his huge wings, slowly rose into the air, carrying his
booty with him. The three gods were astonished. Loki
was with anger.
filled He seized a long pole, upon the
end which a sharp hook was fixed, and struck at the
of

treacherous bird. The hook stuck fast in the eagle's

back, and Loki could not loose his hold of the other
end of the pole. The great bird soared high above the
tree-tops, and over the hills, and carried the astonished
mischief-maker with him.
But it was no
was no bird that had thus
eagle. It

outwitted the hungry gods it was the giant Old Win- :

ter, clothed in his eagle-plumage. Over the lonely

130 The Story of Siegfried.

woods, and the snow-crowned mountains, and the frozen

sea, he flew, dragging the helpless Loki through tree-
tops, and over jagged rocks, scratching and bruising his

body, and almost tearing his arms from his shoulders.

At last he alighted on the craggy top of an iceberg,

where the storm-winds shrieked, and the air was filled

with driving snow. As soon as Loki could speak, he

begged the giant to carry him back to his comrades,

Odin and Hoenir.
"
On one condition only will I carry you back," an-
"
swered Old Winter. Swear me
that you will betray
to

into my hands dame Idun and her golden key."

Loki asked no questions, but gladly gave the oath;
and the giant flew back with him across the sea, and
dropped him, torn and bleeding and lame, by the side of
the fire, where Odin and Hoenir still lingered. And
the three made all haste to leave that cheerless place,
and returned to Odin's glad home in Asgard.
Some weeks after this, Loki, the Prince of Mischief-

makers, went to Bragi's house to see Idun. He found

her busied with her household cares, not thinking of a
visit from any of the gods.
" I have come, good dame," said " to taste
he, your
apples again ;
for I feel old age coming on apace."
Idun was astonished,
"You are not looking old," she answered. "There
is not a single gray hair upon your head, and not a
wrinkle on your brow. If it were not for that scar upon

your cheek, and the arm which you carry in a sling, you
 How the Spring-Time came. 131

would look as stout and as well as I have ever seen

you. Besides, I remember that it was only a year ago

when you last tasted of my fruit. Is it possible that a
"
single winter should make you old ?
"A single winter has made me very lame and feeble,
at least," said Loki. "I have been scarcely able to walk
about since my return from the North. Another winter
without a taste of your apples will be the death of me."
Then the kind-hearted Idun, when she saw that Loki
was really lame, went to the box, and opened it with her

golden key, and gave him one of the precious apples to

taste. He took the fruit in his hand, bit it, and gave it
back to the good dame. She put it in its place again,
closed the lid, and locked it with her usual care.
"
Your apples are not so good as they used to be,"
"
said Loki, making a very wry face. Why don't you
"
your box with fresh fruit ?
fill

Idun was amazed. Her apples were supposed to be

by far than any that grow now-
- - fresher
always fresh,
adays. None of the gods had ever before complained
about them ;
and she told Loki so.
"
I see you do not believe me,
"Very well," said he.
and that you mean to feed us on your sour, withered
apples, when we might as well have golden
fruit. If

you were not so bent on having your own way, I could

tell you where you might fill your box with the choicest

of apples, such as Odin loves. I saw them in the forest

over yonder, hanging ripe on the trees. But women

will always have their own way ;
and you must have
132 77/6' Story of Siegfried.

yours, even though you do feed the gods on withered

apples."
So saying, and without waiting to hear an answer, he
limped out at the door, and was soon gone from sight.
Idun thought long and anxiously upon the words
which Loki had spoken and, the more she thought,
;

the more she felt troubled. If her husband, the wise

Bragi, had been at home, what would she not have

given ? He would have understood the mischief-
maker's cunning. But he had gone on a long journey
to the South, singing in Nature's choir, and painting

Nature's landscapes, and she would not see him again

until the return of spring. At length she opened the
box, and looked at the fruit. The apples were cer-

:ainly fair and round : she could not sec a wrinkle or

a blemish on any of them their color was the same
;

golden-red, like the sky at dawn of a summer's day;

yet she thought there must be something wrong about

them. She took up one of the apples, and tasted it.
She fancied that it really was sour, and she hastily put
it back, and locked the box again.

" He said that he had seen better apples than these

"
growing in the woods," said she to herself. I half

believe he told the truth, although everybody

that
knows that he is not always trustworthy. I think I
shall go to the forest and see for myself, at any rate."
So she donned her cloak and hood, and, with a bas-

ket on her arm, left the house, and walked rapidly away,
along the road which led to the forest. It was much
 How the Spring- Time came. 133

farther than shehad thought, and the sun was almost

clown when she reached the edge of the wood. But no
apple-trees were there. Tall oaks stretched their bare
arms up towards the sky, as if praying for help. There
were thorn-trees and brambles everywhere but there ;

was no fruit, neither were there any flowers, nor even

green leaves. The Frost-giants had been there.
Idim was about to turn her footsteps homewards,
when she heard a wild shriek in the tree-tops over her
head ; and, before she could look up, she felt herself
seized in the eagle-talons of Old Winter. Struggle as
she would, she could not free herself. High up, over
wood and stream, the giant carried her ;
and then he
flew swiftly away with her, towards his home in the
chill North-land and, when morning came, poor Idun
;

found herself in an ice-walled castle in the cheerless

country of the giants. But she was glad to know that
the precious box was safely locked at home, and that
the golden key was still at her girdle.
Time passed ;
and I fear that Idun would have been
forgotten by all, save her husband Bragi, had not the

gods begun to feel the need of her apples. Day after

day they came to Idun's house, hoping to find the good
dame and her golden key at home and each day they ;

went away some hours older than when they had come.
Bragi was beside himself with grief, and his golden
harp was unstrung and forgotten. No one had seen
the missing Idun since the day when Loki had visited
her, and none could guess what had become of her.
134 The Story of Siegfried.

The heads of all the folk grew white with age ; deep
furrows were ploughed in their faces ;
their eyes grew
dim, and their hearing failed their hands trembled
; ;

their limbs became palsied; their feet tottered; and all

feared that Old Age would bring Death in his train.
Then Bragi and Thor questioned Loki very sharply ;

and when he felt that he,was growing old and

too,

feeble, he regretted the mischief he had done, and told

them how he had decoyed Idun into Old Winter's
clutches. The gods were very angry ;
and Thor threat-
ened to crush Loki with his hammer, if he did not at
once bring Idun safe home again.
So Loki borrowed the falcon-plumage of Freyja, the
goddess of love, and with it flew to the country of
the giants. When he reached Old Winter's castle, he
found the good dame Idun shut up in the prison-tower,
and bound with fetters of ice but the giant himself
;

was on the frozen sea, herding old Hymer's cows.

And Loki quickly broke the bonds that held Idun, and
led her out of her prison-house ;
and then he shut her
up ina magic nut-shell which he held between his
claws, and flew with the speed of the wind back towards
the South-land and the home of the gods. But Old
Winter coming home, and learning what had been
done, donned his eagle-plumage and followed swiftly
in pursuit.
Bragi and Thor, anxiously gazing into the sky, saw
Loki, in Freyja's falcon-plumage, speeding homewards,
with the nut-shell in his talons, and Old Winter, in
 How the Spring-Time came. 135

his eagle-plumage, dashing after in sharp pursuit.

Quickly they gathered chips and slender twigs, and

placed them high upon the castle-wall and, when ;

Loki with his precious burden had flown past, they

touched the dry heap, and the flames blazed up
fire to

to the sky, and caught Old Winter's plumage, as, close

behind the falcon, he blindly pressed. And his wings

were scorched in the flames and he ;
fell helpless to the

ground, and was slain within the castle-gates. Loki

slackened his speed and, when he reached Bragi's house,
;

he dropped the nut-shell softly before the door. As it

touched the ground, it gently opened, and Idun, radiant
with smiles, and clothed in gay attire, stepped forth, and
greeted her husband and the waiting
C5 tJ gods.
CJ
And the
heavenly music of Bragi's long-silent harp welcomed
her home and she took the golden key from her girdle,
;

and unlocked the box, and gave of her apples to the

aged company ; and, when they had tasted, their youth
was renewed. 1

It is thus with the seasons and their varied changes.

The gifts of Spring are youth and jollity, and renewed

strength ;
and the music of air and water and all

things, living and lifeless, follow in her train. The

desolating Winter plots to steal her from the earth, and
the Summer-heat deserts and betrays her. Then the
music of Nature is hushed, and all creatures pine in
sorrow for her absence, and the world seems dying of
white Old Age. But at length the Summer-heat re-

1
See Note 22 at the end of this volume.
136 The Story of Siegfried.

pents, and frees her from her prison-house and the icy
;

fetters with which Old Winter jound her are melted

in the beams of the returning sun, and the earth is

young again.
 The War with tJte North-Kings. 137

ADVENTURE XII.

THE WAR WITH THE NORTH-KINGS.

So swiftly and so pleasantly the days went by, that
weeks lengthened into months, and the spring-time
passed, and the summer came, and still Siegfried
lin-

gered in Burgundy with his kind friends. The time

was spent in all manner of joyance, --in hunting the
deer in the deep oak-woods, in riding over the daisied
meadows or among the fields of corn, in manly games
and sports, in music and dancing, in feasting and in

pleasant talk. And of all the noble folk who had ever
sat at Gunther's table, or hunted
the Burgundian
in

woods, nom~ were so worthy or so fair as the proud

young lord o_ the Nibelungens.
One day in early autumn a party of strange knights

rode up to the castle, and asked to speak with the

Burgundian kings. They were led straightway into

Lhe great hall and Gunther and his brothers welcomed
;

them, as was their wont, right heartily, and asked them

from what country they had come, and what was their

errand.
"We come," they answered, "from the Noith coun-
138 The Story of Siegfried.

try and we bring word from our lords and kings, Leu-
;

diger and Leudigast."

"And what would our kingly neighbors say to us?"
asked Gunther.
Then the strangers said that their lords had become

very angry with the Burgundian kings, and that they

meant, within twelve weeks from that day, to come with
a great army, and lay the country waste, and besiege
their city and castle. All this they had sworn to do
unless the Burgundians would make peace with them
upon such terms as Leudiger and Leudigast should
please to grant.
When Gunther and his brothers heard this, they were
struck with dismay. But they ordered the messengers
to be well cared for and handsomely entertained within

the palace until the morrow, at which time they should

have the Burgundians' answer. All the noblest knights
and earl-folk were called together, and the matter was
laid before them.
"What answer shall we send to our rude neighbors
"
of the North ? asked Gunther.
Gernot and the young Giselher declared at once for
war. Old Hagen and other knights, whose prudence
was at least equal to their bravery, said but little. It
was known, that, in the armies of the North-kings, there
were at least forty thousand soldiers but in Burgundy
;

there were not more than

thirty thousand fighting-men,
all told. The North-kings' forces were already equipped,
and ready to march ;
but the Burgundians could by no
 The War with the North-Kings.

means and arm any considerable body of men in

raise

the short space of twelve weeks. It would be the part

of wisdom to delay, and to see what terms could best

be made with their enemies. Such were the prudent

counsels the older knights, but Gernot and the
of

young chief Volker would not listen to such words.

The Burgundians are not cowards," said they. "We
"

have never been foiled in battle never have we been

;

the vassals of a stranger. Why, then, shall we cringe

"
and cower before such men as Leudiger and Leudigast ?
" Let us ask our friend and
Then Hagen answered,
suest Siegfried.
O O Let us learn what he thinks about
this business. Everybody knows that he is as wise in

council as he is brave in the field. We will abide by

what he says."
But Gunther and Gernot and the young Giselher
were unwilling to do this for it was not their custom
;

to annoy their guests with questions which should be

allowed to trouble themselves alone. And the kings and
their counsellors went out of the council-chamber, each

toponder in silence upon the troublesome question.

As
Gunther, with downcast head and troubled brow,
walked thoughtfully through the great hall, he unex-
pectedly met Siegfried.
" "
What evil tidings have you heard ? asked the

prince, surprised at the strange mien of the king.

"What has gone amiss, that should cause such looks
of dark perplexity?"
"That is a matter which I can tell only to friend*
long tried and true," answered Gunther.
140 The Story of Siegfried.

Siegfried was surprised and hurt by these words ;

and he cried out,

"
What more would Gunther ask of me that I might
prove my friendship Surely ? I have tried to merit his
esteem and trust. Tell me what troubles you, and I
will further show myself to be
your friend both tried
and true."
Then Gunther was ashamed of the words he had
spoken guest and he took Siegfried into his own
to his ;

chamber, and told him all and he asked him what

;

answer they should send on the morrow to the over-

bearing North-kings.
"Tell them we will fight," answered Siegfried. "I
myself will lead your warriors to the fray. Never shall
it be said that my friends have suffered wrong, and I

not tried to help them."

Then he and Gunther talked over the plans which

they would follow. And the clouds fled at once from

the brow of the king, and he was no longer troubled
or doubtful ;
for he believed in Siegfried.
The
next morning the heralds of the North-kings
were brought again before Gunther and his brothers ;

and they were told to carry this word to their mas-

ters,
"The Burgundians will fight. They will make no
terms with their enemies, save such as they make of
their own free-will."
Then the heralds were loaded with costly presents,
and a company of knights and warriors went v\ th them :
 The War with the North- Kings. 141

to the border-line of Burgundy ; and, filled with wonder

at what they had seen, they hastened back to their liege
lords, and told all that had happened to them. And
Leudiger and Leudigast were very wroth when they
heard the answer which the Burgundians had sent to
them but, when they learned that the noble Siegfried
;

was Gunther's castle, they shook their heads, and

at

seemed to feel more doubtful of success.

Many and busy were the preparations for war, and
in a very few days all things were in readiness for the
march northwards. It was settled that Siegfried with
his twelve Nibelungen chiefs, and a thousand picked
men, should go forth to battle against their boastful
enemies. The dark-browed Hagen, as he had always
done, rode at the head of the company, and by his side
was Siegfried on the noble horse Greyfell. Next came
Gernot and the bold chief Volker, bearing the standard,
upon which a golden dragon was engraved then fol- ;

lowed Dankwart and Ortwin, and the twelve worthy

comrades of Siegfried and then the thousand warriors,
;

the bravest in Rhineland, mounted on impatient

all

steeds, and clad in bright steel armor, with broad

shields, and plumed helmets, and burnished swords,
and sharp-pointed spears. And all rode proudly out
through the great castle-gate. And Gunther and the
young Giselher and all the fair ladies of the court bade
them God-speed.
The little army passed through the forest, and went
northwards, until, on the fifth day, they reached the
f4 2 The Story of Siegfried.

boundaries of Saxon Land. And Siegfried gave spur to

his horse Greyfell, and, leaving the little army behind
him, hastened forwards to see where the enemy was
encamped. As he reached the top of a high hill, he
saw the armies of the North-kings resting carelessly in
the valley beyond. Knights, mounted on their horses,
rode hither and thither the soldiers sauntered lazily
:

among the trees, or slept upon the grass arms were ;

thrown about in great disorder, or stacked in piles near

the smoking camp-fires. No one dreamed of danger ;

but all supposed that the Burgundians were still at

home, and would never dare to attack a foe so numer-
ous and so strong.
For it was, indeed, a mighty army which Siegfried
saw before him. Full forty thousand men were there ;

and they not only filled the valley, but spread over the
hills beyond, and far to the right and left.

While he stood and gazed upon

at the top of the hill,

this sight, a warrior, who had spied him from below,

rode up, and paused before him. Like two black thun-
der-clouds, with lightning flashing between, the two
knights stood facing each other, and casting wrathful
glances from beneath their visors. Then each spurred
his horse,and charged with fury upon the other and ;

the heavy lances of both were broken in shivers upon

the opposing shields. Then, quick as thought, they
turned and drew their swords, and hand to hand they
fought. But soon Siegfried, by an unlooked-for stroke,
sent his enemy's sword flying from him, broken in a
 77/6' War with t/ie North- Kings. 143

dozen pieces, and by a sudden movement he threw

him from his horse. The heavy shield of the fallen
knight was no hinderance to the quick strokes of Sieg-
fried's sword ;
and by the
his glittering armor, soiled

rnud into which he had been thrown, held him down.

He threw up his hands, and begged for mercy.
" " "
I am Leudigast the king ! he cried. Spare my
life. I am your prisoner."

Siegfried heard the prayer of the discomfited king ;

and, lifting him from the ground, he helped him to

remount his charger. But, while he was doing this,

thirty warriors, who had seen the combat from below,

came dashing up the hill to the rescue of their liege-

lord. Siegfried faced about with his horse Greyfell,

and quietly waited for their onset. But, as they drew
near, they were so awed by the noble bearing and
grand proportions of the hero, and so astonished at
sight of the sunbeam mane of Greyfell, and the cold
glitter of the blade Balmung, that in sudden fright
they stopped, then turned, and fled in dismay down
the sloping hillside, nor paused until they were safe

among their friends.

In the mean while Leudiger,
the other king, seeing
what was going on at the top of the hill, had caused an
alarm to be sounded and all his hosts had hastily
;

arranged themselves in battle-array. At the same time

Hagen and Gernot, and their little army of heroes,

hovein sight, and came quickly to Siegfried's help,
and the dragon-banner was planted upon the crest of
144 Ttie Story of Siegfried.

the hill. The captive king, Leudigast, was taken to the

rear, and a guard was placed over him. The cham-
pions of the Rhine formed in line, and faced their foes.
The great army of the North-kings moved boldly up
the hill :
and, when they saw how few were the Bur*
gundians, they laughed and cheered most lustily for ;

they felt that the odds was in their favor and forty
to one is no small odds.

Then Siegfried and his twelve comrades, and Hagen

and the thousand Burgundian knights, dashed upon
them with the fury of the whirlwind. The lances flew
so thick in the air, that they hid the sun from sight ;

swords flashed on every side the sound of clashing

;

steel, and horses' hoofs, and soldiers' shouts, filled

earth and sky with a horrid din. And soon the boast-
ful foes of the Burgundians were everywhere, worsted,

and thrown into disorder. Siegfried dashed hither and

thither, from one part of the field to another, in search
of King Leudiger. Thrice he cut his way through the
ranks, and at last he met face to face the one for whom
he sought.
Leudiger saw the flashing sunbeams that
King
glanced from Greyfell's mane, he saw the painted
crown upon the hero's broad shield, and then he felt
the fearful stroke of the sword Balmung, as it clashed

against his own, and cut it clean in halves. He

dropped his weapons, raised his visor, and gave him-
self up as a prisoner.
"Give up the fight, my brave fellows," he cried.
 The War with the North- Kings. 145

"This is Siegfried the brave, the Prince of the Low-

lands, and the Lord of Nibelungen Land. It were fool

ishriess to fight against him. Save yourselves as best

you can."
This was the signal for a frightful panic. All turned
and fled. Each thought of nothing but his own safety ;

and knights and warriors, horsemen and foot-soldiers,

in one confused mass, throwing shields and weapons
here and there, rushed wildly down the hill, and

through the valley and ravines, and sought, as best

they could, their way homeward. The Burgundian

heroes were the masters of the field, and on the morrow
they turned their faces joyfully towards Rhineland.
And all joined in saying that to Siegfried was due the
praise for this wonderful victory which they had gained.
Heralds had been sent on the fleetest horses to carry

the glad news to Burgundy and when, one morning,

;

they dashed into the court-yard of the castle, great was

the anxiety to know what tidings they brought. And
King Gunther, and the young Giselher, and the peer
less Kriemhild, came out to welcome them, and eagerly
to inquire what had befallen the heroes. With breath-
less haste the heralds told the story of all that had
happened.
"And how fares our brother Gernot?" asked Kriem-
hild.
"
There is no happier man on earth," answered the
" In
herald. truth, there was not a coward amom;
them all ;
but the bravest of the brave was Siegfried.
146 The Story of Siegfried.

He it was who took the two kings prisoners ;

and
everywhere in the thickest of the fight there was
Siegfried. And now our little army is on homeward its

march, with a thousand prisoners, and large numbers

of enemy's wounded. Had it not been for the
the
brave Siegfried, no such victory could have been won."
In a few days the Rhine champions reached their
home. And gayly were the castle and all the houses in
the city decked in honor of them. And all those who
had been left behind went out to meet them as they
came down from the forest-road, and drew near to the
castle. And the young girls strewed flowers in their

path, and hung garlands upon their horses and music ;

and song followed the heroes into the city, and through
t^e castle-gate.
vVhen they reached the palace, the two prisoner
kings, Leudiger and Leudigast, were loosed from their
bonds, and handsomely entertained at Gunther's table.
And the Burgundian kings assured them that they
should be treated as honored guests, and have the free-
dom of the court and castle, if they would pledge
themselves not to try to escape from Burgundy until
terms of peace should be agreed upon. This pledge
they gladly gave, and rich apartments in the palace
were assigned for their use. Like favors were shown
according to their rank and the
to all the prisoners, ;

wounded were kindly cared for. And the Burgundians

made ready for a gay high-tide, a glad festival of

rejoicing, to be held at the next full moon.

 The War with the North- Kings. 147

When the day drew near which had been set for this
of Rhineland began
high-tide, the folk from all parts
to flock towards the city. They came in companies,

with music and laughter, and the glad songs of the

spring-time. And all the knights were mounted on

gallant horses caparisoned with gold-red saddles,
from
which hung numbers of tinkling silver bells. As they
rode up the sands towards the castle-gate, with their

dazzling shields upon their saddle-bows, and their gay

and many-colored banners floating in the air, King
Gernot the young Giselher, with the noblest
and
knights of the fortress, went courteously out to meet
them and the friendly greetings which were offered
;

by the two young kings won the hearts of all. Thirty

and two princes and more than five thousand warriors
came as bidden guests. The city and castle were
decked in holiday attire, and all the people in the land
gave themselves up to enjoyment. The sick and the
wounded, who until now had thought themselves at
death's door, forgot their ailments and their pains as
of music
they heard the shouts of joy and the peals
in the streets.
In a green field outside of the city walls, arrange-
ments had been made for the games, and galleries and
high stages had been built for the lookers-on. Here
jousts and tournaments were held, and the knights and
warriors engaged in trials of strength and skill. When
King Gunther saw with what keen enjoyment both his
awn people and his guests looked upon these games,
148 The Story of Siegfried.

and took part in the gay festivities, he asked of those

around him,
"
What more can we do to heighten the pleasures of
"
the day ?

And one of his counsellors answered,

"
My lord, the ladies of the court, and the little

children, pine in silence in the sunless rooms of the

palace, while we enjoy the free air and light of heaven,

the music, and the gay scenes before us. There is
nothing wanting to make this day's joy complete, save
the presence of our dear ones to share these pleasures
with us."
Gunther was delighted to hear these words and he ;

sent a herald to the palace, and invited all the ladies of

the court and all the children to come out and view the
games, and join in the general gladness.
When Dame Ute heard the message which the
herald brought from her kingly son, she hastened to
make ready rich dresses and costly jewels wherewith to
adorn the dames and damsels of the court. And, when
all were in readiness, the peerless Krienmild, with her
mother at her side, went forth from the castle ;
and a
hundred knights, all sword in hand, went with her as a
body-guard, and a great number of noble ladies dressed
in rich attire followed her. As the red dawn peers
lorthfrom behind gray clouds, and drives the mists and
shadows away from earth, so came the lovely one. As
the bright full moon
in radiant splendor moves in

queen-like beauty before her train of attendant stars,

 The War with the North- Kings. 149

and outshines them all, so was Kriemhild the most

glorious among all the noble ladies there. And

the thousand knights and warriors paused in their

games, and greeted the peerless princess as was due

to one so noble and fair. Upon the highest platform,
under a rich canopy were made
of cloth-of-gold, seats

ready for the maiden and her mother and the

fair

ladies ia their train; the most worthy princes

and all

in Rhineland sat around, and the games were begun

again.
For twelve days the gay high-tide lasted, and nought
was left undone whereby the joy might be increased.
And of all the heroes and princes who jousted in the
tournament, or took part in the games, none could
equal the unassuming Siegfried and his praises were
;

heard on every hand, and all agreed that he was the

most worthy prince that they had ever seen.
When at last the festal days came to an end, Gun-
ther and his brothers called their guests and vassals
around them, and loaded them with costly gifts, and
bade them God-speed. And tears stood in the eyes of
all at parting.

The captive kings, Leudiger and Leudigast, were not

forgotten.
" What "
will ye give me for your freedom ? asked

King Gimther, half in jest.

They answered,
" If
you will allow us without further hinderance to
jjo back to our people, we pledge our lives and our
 The Story of Siegfried.

honor that we will straightway send you gold, as much

as half a thousand horses can
carry."
Then Gunther turned to Siegfried, and said,
"
What think you, friend Siegfried, of such princely
"
ransom ?
" "
Noble lord," said Siegfried, I think you are in need
of no such ransom. Friendship is worth much more
than gold. If your kingly captives will promise, on their
honor, never more to come towards Burgundy as ene-
mies, let them go. We have no need of gold."
"'Tis well said," cried Gunther highly pleased.
And Leudiger and Leucligast, with tears of thankful-
ness, gladly made the asked-for promise, and on the
morrow, with light hearts and costly gifts, they set out
on their journey homewards.
When all the guests had gone, and the daily routine
of idle palace-life set in again, Siegfried
began to talk of
going back to Nibelungen Land. But young Giselher,
and the peerless Kriemhild, and King Gunther, be-
sought him to stay yet a little longer. And he yielded
to their kind wishes. And autumn passed away with
its fruits and itsvintage, and grim old winter came
howling down from the north, and Siegfried was still
in Burgundy. And then old Hoder, the king of the
winter months, came blustering through the Rhine val-

ley and with him were the Reifriesen,

; the thieves
that steal the daylight from the earth and the warmth
from the sun. And
they nipped the flowers, and with-
ered the grass, and stripped the trees, and sealed up
 TJic War with the North- Kings. 151

the rivers, and covered the earth with a white mantle

of sorrow.

But within King Gunther's wide halls there was joy

and good cheer. And the season of the Yule-feast
came, and still Siegfried tarried in Burgundy-land.
152 The Story of Siegfried.

ADVENTURE XIII.

THE STORY OF BALDER.

THERE was mirth in King Gunther's dwelling, for the
time of the Yule-feast had come. The bioad banquet-
hall was gayly decked with cedar and spruce and sprigs
of the mistletoe and the fires roared in the great chim-
;

neys, throwing warmth and a ruddy glow of light into

every corner of the room. The long table fairly groaned
under its weight of good cheer. At its head sat the
kings and the earl-folk and before them, on a silver
;

platter of rare workmanship, was the head of a huge

wild boar, --the festal offering to the good Prey, in
honor of whom the Yule-feast was held. For now the
sun, which had been driven by the Frost-giants far away
towards the South-land, had begun to return, and Frey
was on his way once more to scatter peace and plenty
over the land.
The harp and the wassail-bowl went round and each ;

one of the company sang a song, or told a story, or in

some way did his part to add to the evening's enjoy-
ment. And a young sea-king who sat at Siegfried's
side told most bewitching tales of other lands which
 77/6' Story of Balder. 153

lie beyond Old ^Egir's kingdom. Then, when the harp

came to him, he sang the wondrous song of the shap-

ing of the earth. And all who heard were charmed

with the sweet sound and with the pleasant words.
He sang of the sunlight and the south winds and the
summer-time, of the storms and the snow and the
sombre shadows of the North-land. And he sang of
the dead Ymir, the giant whose flesh had made the
solid earth, and whose blood the sea, and whose bones

the mountains, whose teeth the cliffs and crags, and

whose skull the heavens. And he sang of Odin, the
earth's preserver, the Giver of life, the Father of all ;

and of the Asa-folk who dwell in Asgard ;

and of
the ghostly heroes in Valhal. Then he sang of the
heaven-tower of the thunder-god, and of the shimmer-
ing Asa-bridge, or rainbow, all afire; and, lastly, of the
four dwarfs who
hold the blue sky-dome above them,
and of the elves of the mountains, and of the wood-
sprites and the fairies. Then he laid aside his harp,

and told the old but ever-beautiful story of the death

of Balder the Good.

THE STORY.

was Odin's son and he was the

Balder, as you know, ;

brightest and best of all the Asa-folk. Wherever he

went, there were gladness and light-hearted mirth, and
blooming flowers, and singing birds, and murmuring
waterfalls. Balder, too, was a hero, but not one of the
blustering kind, like Thor. He slew no giants ;
he never
154 The Story of Siegfried.

went into battle ;

he never tried to make for himself a
name among the dwellers of the mid-world ;
and yet
he was a hero of the noblest type. He dared to do
right, and to stand up for the good, the true, and the
beautiful. There are still some such heroes, but the
world does not always hear of them.
Hoder, the blind king of the winter months, was
Balder's brother, and as unlike him as darkness is un-
like daylight. While one and was merry and
rejoiced,
cheerful, the other was low-spirited and sad. While
one scattered sunshine and blessings everywhere, the
other carried with him a sense of cheerlessness and

gloom. Yet the brothers loved each other dearly.

One night Balder dreamed a strange dream, and when
he awoke he could not forget it. All day long he was
thoughtful and sad, and he was not his own bright,
happy self. His mother, the Asa-queen, saw that some-
thing troubled him and she asked,
;

"
Whence comes that cloud upon your brow ? Will
you suffer itchase away all your sunshine? and
to

will you become, like your brother Hoder, all frowns

"
and sighs and tears ?

Then Balder told her what he had dreamed ;

and she,
too, was sorely troubled, for it was a frightful dream,
and foreboded dire disasters. Then both she and Balder
went to Odin, and to him they told the cause of their

uneasiness. And the All-Father also was distressed ;

forhe knew that such dreams, dreamed by Asa-folk,

were the forewarnings of evil. So he saddled his eight-
 The Story of Balder. 155

footed steed Sleipner and, without telling any one where

;

he \vas going, he rode with the speed of the winds down

into the Valley of Death. The dog that guards the
gateway to that dark and doleful land came out to meet
him. Blood was on the fierce beast's breast, and he
barked loudly and angrily at the All-Father and his
wondrous horse. But Odin sang sweet magic songs as
he drew near and the dog was charmed with the sound,
;

and Sleipner and his rider went onward in safety. And

they passed the dark halls of the pale-faced queen, and
came to the east gate of the valley. There stood the
low hut of a witch who lived in darkness, and, like
the Norns, spun the thread of fate for gods and men.
Odin stood before the hut, and sang a wondrous song
of witchery and enchantment ;
and he laid a spell upon
the weird woman, and forced her to come out of her

dark dwelling, and to answer his questions.

"Who is this stranger ? " asked the witch. " Who is

this unknown who calls me from my narrow home, and

sets an irksome task for me Long have I been left
?

alone in my quiet house ;

nor recked I that the snow
sometimes covered with its cold white mantle both me
and my resting-place, or that the pattering rain and the
gently falling dew often moistened the roof of my dwell-
ing. Long have I rested quietly, and I do not wish
now to be aroused."
" " and
I am Valtam's son," said Odin ;
I come to
learn of thee. Tell me, I pray, for whom are the soft
couches prepared that I saw in the broad halls of
156 The Story of Siegfried.

Death ? For whom are the jewels, and the rings, and
the rich clothing, and the shining shield?"
"All are for Balder, Odin's son," sh< answered.
"And the mead which has been brewed for him is

hidden beneath the shining shield."

Then Odin asked who would be the slayer of Balder,
and she answered that Hoder was the one who would
send the shining Asa to the halls of Death.
"Who will avenge Balder, and bring distress upon
"
his slayer ? asked Odin.
"
Ason of Earth but one day old shall be Balder's

avenger. Go thou now home, Odin for I know thou ;

art not Valtam's son.Go home and none shall again

;

awaken me, nor disturb me at my task, until the new

day shall dawn, and Balder shall rule over the young
world in its purity, and there shall be no more Death."
Then Odin rodesorrowfully homeward but he told ;

no one of his journey to the Dark Valley, nor of what

the weird witch had said to him.
Balder's mother, the Asa-queen, could not rest be-
cause of the ill-omened dream that her son had had ;

and in her distress she called all the Asa-folk together

to consider what should be done. But they were
speechless with sorrow and alarm ;
and none could offer

adv ice, nor set her mind at ease. Then she sought out

every living creature, and every lifeless thing, upon the

earth, and asked each one to swear that it would not on

any account hurt Balder, nor touch hin to do him

harm. And this oath was willingly mz.de by fire and
 Story of Balder. 157

water, earth and air, by all beasts

creeping ind
things and birds and fishes, by the rocks and by
the trees and all metals for every thing loved Balder
;

the Good.
Then the Asa-folk thought that great honor was
shown to Balder each time any thing refused to hurt
him and to show their love for him, as well as to
;

amuse themselves, they often hewed at him with their

battle-axes, or struck at him with their sharp swords,
or hurled toward him their heavy lances. For every
weapon turned aside from its course, and would neither
mark nor bruise the shining target at which it was
aimed and Balder's princely beauty shone as bright
;

and as pure as ever.

When Loki the Mischief-maker saw how all things
loved and honored Balder, his heart was filled with
jealous hate, and he sought all over the earth for some
beast or bird or tree or lifeless thing, that had not
taken the oath. But he could find not one. Then,
disguised as a fair maiden, he went to Fensal Hall,
where dwelt Balder's mother. The fair Asa-queen was
busy at her distaff, with her golden spindles, spinning
flax to be woven into fine linen for the gods. And her
maid-servant, Fulla of the flowing hair, sat on a stool
beside her. When the queen saw Loki, she asked,
" Whence come
you, fair stranger ? and what favor
"
would you ask of Odin's wife ?
"I come," answered the disguised Loki, "from the
plains of Ida, where the gods meet for pleasant pastime,
158 The Story of Siegfried.

as well as to talk of the weightier matters of their

kingdom."
" "
And how do they while away their time to-day ?

asked the queen.

"
They have a pleasant game which they call Balder's
Honor," was the answer. "The shining hero stands
before them as a target, and each one tries his skill at

hurling some weapon toward him. First Odin throws

at him the spear Gungner, which never before was
known to miss its mark but it passes harmlessly over
;

Balder's head. Then Thor takes up a huge rock, and

hurls it full at Balder's breast ;
but it turns in its course,
and not smite the sun-bright target. Then Tyr
will

seizes a battle-axe, and strikes at Balder as though he

would hew him down but the keen edge refuses to
;

touch him : and in this way the Asa-folk show honor

to the best of their number."
The Asa-queen smiled in the glad pride of her
mother-heart, and said, "Yes, every thing shows
honor to the best of Odin's sons ;
for neither metal
nor wood nor stone nor fire nor water will touch
Balder to do him harm."
"Is it true, then," asked Loki, "that every thing has
made an oath to you, and promised not to hurt your
"
son ?

And the queen, not thinking what harm an un-

"
guarded word might do, answered, Every thing has
promised, save a little feeble sprig that men call
the mistletoe. So small and weak it is, that Iknew it
 The Story of Balder, 159

could never harm any one ;

and so I passed it by, and
did not ask it to take the oath."
Then Loki went out of Fensal Hall, and left the

Asa-queen at her spinning. And he walked briskly

away, and paused not until he came to the eastern side
of Valhal, where, on the branches of an old oak, the
mistletoe grew. Rudely he tore the plant from its
supporting branch, and hid it under his cloak. Then
he walked leisurely back to the place where the Asa-
folk were wont to meet in council.
The next day the Asas went out, as usual, to engage
in pleasant pastimes on the plains of Ida. When they
had tired of leaping and foot-racing and they tilting,

placed Balder before them as a target again and, as ;

each threw his weapon toward the shining mark, they

laughed to see the missile turn aside from its course,
and refuse to strike the honored one. But blind
Hoder stood sorrowfully away from the others, and did
not join in any of their sports. Loki, seeing this,

went to him and said,

" Brother of the
gloomy brow, why do you not take
"
part with us in our games ?
" I am "I can neither leap,
blind," answered Hoder.
nor run, nor throw the lance."
"
But you can shoot arrows from your bow," said
Loki.
" " "
Alas ! said Hoder, that can do only as some
I

one shall direct my aim, for I can see no target."

" " "
Do you hear that laughter ? asked Loki. Thor
160 The Story of Siegfried.

has hurled the straight trunk of a. pine-tree at your

brother and, rather than touch such a glorious mark;
;

it has turned aside, and been shivered to pieces upon

the rocks over there. It is thus that the Asa-folk, and

all things living and lifeless, honor Balder. Hoder is

the only one who hangs his head, and fears to do his
part. Come, now, let me fit this little arrow in your
bow, and then, as I point it, do you shoot. When you
hear the gods laugh, you will know that your arrow has
shown honor to the hero by refusing to hit him."
And Hoder, thinking no harm, did as Loki wished.
And the deadly arrow sped from the bow, and pierced
the heart of shining Balder, and he sank lifeless upon
the ground. Then the Asa-folk who saw it were
struck speechless with sorrow and dismay and, had it ;

not been that the Ida plains where they then stood
were sacred peace, they would have
to seized upon
Loki, and put him to death.
Forthwith the world was draped in mourning for
Balder the Good the birds stopped singing, and flew
;

with drooping wings to the far South-land the beasts ;

sought to hide themselves in their lairs and in the holes

of the ground ;
the trees shivered and sighed until their
leaves fell withered to the earth the flowers closed their
;

eyes, and died the rivers stopped flowing, and dark

;

and threatening billows veiled the sea even the sun ;

shrouded his face, and withdrew silently towards the

south.
When Balder's good mother heard the sad news, she
 The Story of Balder. 161

lefther golden spindle in Fensal Hall, and with her

maidens hastened to the Ida-plains, where the body of
her son still lay. Nanna, the faithful wife of Balder,
was already there ;
and wild was her grief at sight of
the lifeless loved one. And all the Asa-folk save

guilty Loki, who had fled for his life stood about
them in dumb amazement. But Odin was the most
sorrowful of all ;
for he knew, that, with Balder, the
world had lost its most gladsome life.
They lifted the body, and carried it down to the sea,
"
where the great ship Ringhorn," which Balder himself
had built, lay ready to be launched. And a great com-
pany followed, and stood upon the beach, and bewailed
the untimely death of the hero. First came Odin, with
his grief-stricken queen, and then his troop of hand-

maidens, the Valkyrien, followed by his ravens Hugin

and Munin. Then came Thor in his goat-drawn car,
and Heimdal on his horse Goldtop then Frey, in his ;

wagon, behind the boar Gullinbruste of the golden

bristles.Then Freyja, in her chariot drawn by cats,
came weeping tears of gold. Lastly, poor blind Hoder,
overcome with grief, was carried thither on the back
of one of the Frost-giants. And Old ^Egir, the Ocean-

king, raised his dripping head above the water, and

gazed with dewy eyes upon the scene and the waves, ;

as if affrighted, left off their playing, and were still.

High on the deck they built the funeral-pile and ;

they placed the body upon it, and covered it with costly
garments, and with woods of the finest scent and the ;
1 62 The Story of Siegfried.

noble horse which had been Balder's they slew, and

placed beside him, that he might not have to
walk to
the halls of Death. And Odin
took from his finger the

ring Draupner, the earth's enricher,

and laid it on the
pile. Then Nanna, the faithful wife, was overcome
with grief, and her gentle heart was broken, and she fell

the feet of the Asa-queen.

lifeless at And they carried
her upon the ship, and laid her by her husband's side.
When all things were in readiness to set fire to the
pile,the gods tried to launch the ship but it was so ;

heavy that they could not move it. So they sent in

haste to Jotunheim for the stout giantess Hyrroken;
and she came with the speed of the whirlwind, and
riding on a wolf, which she guided with a bridle
of

writhing snakes.
"
"What will you have me do ? she asked.
" We
would have you launch the great ship
'

Ring
"
horn,' answered Odin.
"That I will do!" roared the grim giantess. And,
giving the vessel a single push, she sent it sliding with

speed into the deep waters of the bay. Then she gave
the word to her grisly steed, and she flew onwards and

away, no one knew whither.

"
The " Ringhorn floated nobly upon the water,
a worthy bier for the body which it bore. The fire was
set to the funeral-pile, and the red flames shot upwards
to the sky ;
but their light was but a flickering beam
when matched with the sun-bright beauty of Balder,

whose body they consumed.

 The Story of Balder. 163

Then the sorrowing folk turned away, and went back

to their homesa. cheerless
:
gloom rested heavily where
light gladness had ruled before. And, when they reached
the high halls of Asgard, the Asa-queen spoke, and

said,
"Who now, for the love of Balder and his stricken
mother, undertake an errand ? Who will go down
will

into the Valley of Death, and seek for Balder, and

ransom him, and bring him back to Asgard and the
"
mid-world ?

Then Hermod the Nimble, the brother of Balder, an-

"
swered, I will go. I will find him, and, with Hela's
leave, will bring him back."
And he mounted Sleipner, the eight-footed steed, and
galloped swiftly away. Nine days and nine nights he
rode through strange valleys and mountain gorges,
where the sun's light had never been, and through
gloomy darkness and fearful silence, until he came to
the black river, and the glittering, golden bridge which
crosses it. Over the bridge his strong horse carried

him although it shook and swayed and threatened to

;

throw him into the raging, inky flood below. On the

other side a maiden keeps the gate, and Hermod

stopped to pay the toll.

"What is thy name?" she asked.

" am
My name is Hermod, and I called the Nimble,"

he answered.
"What thy father's
is name?"
" His name is Odin. Mayhap you have heard of

him."
164 The Story of Siegfried.

"Why ridest thou with such thunderous speed?

Five kingdoms of dead men passed over this bridge

yesterday, and it shook not with their weight as it did

with thee and thy strange steed. Thou art not of the
pale multitude that are wont to pass this gate. What
is thy errand ? and why ridest thou to the domains of the
"
dead ?
" brother Balder," answered Hermod.
I go to find my
"It but a short time since he unwillingly came down
is

into these shades."

" Balder
"Three days ago," said the maiden, passed
this way, and by his side rode the faithful Nanna.
So bright was his presence, even here, that the whole
valley was lighted up as it had never before been
lighted. The black river glittered like a gem ;
the

frowning mountains smiled for once ;

and Hela her-

self,the queen of these regions, slunk far away into

her most distant halls. But Balder went on his way,
and even now he sups with Nanna in the dark castle
over yonder."
Then Hermod rode forward till he came to the castle-

walls. These were built of black marble and the iron ;

gate was barred and bolted, and none who went in

had ever yet come out. Hermod called loudly to the
porter to open the gate and let him in but no one ;

seemed to hear nor heed him, for the words of the

living are unknown in that place. Then he drew the
saddle-girths more tightly around the horse Sleipner,
and urged him forward. High up, the great horse
 The Story of Balder. 165

leaped and he sprang clear over the gates, and landed

;

at the open door of the great hall. Leaving his steed,

Hermod went boldly in and ;
there he found his

brother Balder and the faithful Nanna seated at the

festal board, and honored as the most worthy of all

the guests. With Balder, Hermod staid until the

night had passed and many were the pleasant words

;

they spoke. When morning came, Hermod went into

the presence of Hela, and said,
"O mighty queen! I come to ask a boon of thee.
Balder the Good, whom both gods and men loved,
has been sent to dwell with thee here in thy darksome
house and all the world weeps for him, and has donned
;

the garb of mourning, and cannot be consoled until his

bright light shall shine upon them again. And the gods
have sent me, his brother, to ask thee to let Balder ride
back with me to Asgard, to his noble, sorrowing mother,
the Asa-queen for then will hope live again in the
;

hearts of men, and happiness will return to the earth."

The Death-queen was silent for a moment and then ;

she said in a sad voice, " Hardly can I believe that any
being is so greatly loved by things living and lifeless ;

for surely Balder is not more the friend of earth than

I am, and yet men love me not. But go thou back to

Asgard ; and, if
every thing shall weep for Balder, then
I willsend him to you. But, if
any thing shall refuse

to weep, then I will keep him in my halls."

So Hermod made ready to return home and Balder ;

gave him the ring Draupner to carry to his father as a

1 66 The Story of Siegfried.

keepsake; and Nanna sent to the queen-mother a rich

carpet of purest green. Then the nimble messenger
mounted and rode swiftly back over the dark
his horse,

river, and through the frowning valleys, until he at last

reached Odin's halls.

When the Asa-folk learned upon what terms they

might have Balder again with them, they sent heralds
allover the world to beseech every thing to mourn for
him. And men and beasts, and creeping things, and
birds and fishes, and trees and stones, and air and water,
-all things, living and lifeless, joined in weeping for

the lost Balder.

But, as the heralds were on their way back to Asgard,
they met a giantess named Thok, and they asked her to

join in the universal grief. And she answered, "What

good thing did Balder ever do for Thok ? What glad-
ness did he ever bring her ? If she should weep for
him, it would be with dry tears. Let Hela keep him
in her halls." 1

"And yet the day shall come," added the story-teller,

" the words of the weird woman to Odin shall prove
when
true ;
and Balder shall come again to rule over a new-
born world in which there shall be no wrong-doing and
no more death."
\
1
See Note 23 at the end of this volume.
 How Gunther outwitted Byu.-ihild. 167

ADVENTURE XIV.

HOW GUNTHER OUTWITTED

BRUNHILD.
WHILE still the festivities were at their height, an
oldman of noble mien, and with snow-white beard and
hair, came into the great hall, and sang for the gay
company. And some whispered that this must be
Bragi, for surely such rare music could not be made
by any other. But he sang not of spring, as Bragi does,
nor yet of youth nor of beauty, nor like one whose
home is with the song-birds, and who lives beside the
babbling brooks and the leaping waterfalls. His song
was a sorrowful one, of dying flowers, and falling

leaves, and the wailing winds of autumn, of forgotten

joys, of blasted hopes, of a crushed ambition, of gray
hairs, of tottering footsteps, of old age, of a lonely

grave. And, as he sang, all were moved to tears by

the mournful melody and the sad, sad words.
"Good friend," said Siegfried, "thy music agrees not
well with this time and place ; for, where nothing but
mirth and joy are welcome, thou hast brought sorrowful

thoughts and gloomy forebodings. Come, now, and

1 68 The Story of Siegfried.
L T _.
.____ ^

undo the harm thou hast done, by singing a song which

shall tell only of mirth and gladness."

The old man shook and answered, " Were 1

his head,

Bragi; as some think I am, or were I even a strolling

harper, I might do as you ask. But I am neither, and
I know no gladsome songs. Men have called me a
messenger of ill omen ;
and such, indeed, I have some-
times been, although through no wish of my own. I

come as a herald from a far-off land, and I bear a mcs

sage to all the kings and the noblest chiefs of Rhineland.
If King Gunther will allow me, I will now make lliat

message known."
"
Let the herald speak on," said Gunther graciously.
"Far over the sea," said the herald, "there lies a

dreamy land called Isenland ;

and in that land there is

a.
glorious castle, with six and eighty towers, built of
purest marble, green as grass. In that castle there
Earth's daughters, Brunhild, the
lives the fairest of all

maiden of the spring-time. In the early days she was

one of Odin's Valkyrien and with other heavenly
;

maidens it was her duty to follow, unseen, in the wake

of armies, and when they met in battle to hover over

the field, and with kisses to waken the dead heroes, and
Icaa their souls away to Odin's glad banquet-hall. But
upon a day she failed to do the All-Father's bidding,
and he, in anger, sent her to live among men, and like
them to be short-lived, and subject to old age and death.
But the childless old king of Isenland took pity upon
the friendless maiden, and called her his daughter, and
 How Gunther outwitted Brunliild. 169

made her bis heir. Then Odin, still more angered, sent
the thorn of sleep to wound the princess. And sleep
seized upon every creature in Isenland, and silence

reigned in the halls of the marble palace. For Odin

Thus sleep until the hero comes,
'

said, shall they all

who will ride through fire, and awaken Brunhild with a

kiss.'

"At the hero so long waited for came.

last He
passed the fiery barrier safe, and awoke the slumbering
maiden and all the castle sprang suddenly into life
;

again. And Brunhild became known once more as the

most glorious princess in this mid-world. But the sun-
bright hero who freed her from her prison of sleep van-
ished from Isenland, and no one knew where he went ;

but men
say that he rides through the noble world, the
fairest and the best of kings. And Brunhild has sought
for him in many lands ; and, although all folk have heard
of his deeds, none know where he dwells. And so, as

a last resort, she has sent heralds into every land to

challenge every king to match his skill with hers in three

of -- in casting the spear, in hurling
games strength,
the heavy stone, and in leaping. The one who can
equal her in these feats shall be king of Isenland, and
share with her the throne of Isenstein. And by this

means she hopes to find the long-absent hero ;

for she

believes that there is no other prince on earth whose

strength and skill are equal to her own. Many men have

already risked their lives in this adventure, a:id all

have failed.
1
70 The Story of Siegfried.

" I
"Andnow, King Gunther," continued the herald,
have come by her orders into Rhineland, and I deliver
the challenge to you. If you accept, and are beaten,
your life is forfeited. you succeed, the fairest king-
If

dom and the most beautiful queen in the world arc

yours ;
for you will have proved that you are at least
the equal of the hero whom she seeks. What reply
"
shall carry back to Isenland ?
I

King Gunther answered hastily, and as one dazed

and in a dream, " Say that I accept the challenge,
and that when the spring-time comes again, and the
waters in the river are unlocked, I shall go to Isenland,
and match my skill and strength with that of the fair

and mighty Brunhild."

All who stood around were greatly astonished at
Gunther's reply for, although his mind was somewhat
;

weak, he was not given to rash and hazardous under-

takings. And Siegfried, who was at his side, whis-
pered, "Think twice, friend Gunther, ere you decide.
You do not know the strength of this mighty but
lovely warrior-maiden. Were your strength four times
what it is, you could not hope to excel her in those
feats. Give up this hasty plan, I pray you, and recall
your answer to the challenge. Think no more of

such an undertaking, for it surely will cost you your

life."

But these warnings, and the words of others who

tried to dissuade him, only made Gunther the more
determined ;
and he vowed that nothing should hinder
 How Gunther outwitted Brunhild. 171

him from undertaking the adventure. Then the dark-

browed Hagen said,
"Our friend Siegfried seems to know much about
Isenland and its maiden-queen. And indeed, if there
is any truth in hearsay, he has had the best of means
for learning.Now, if our good King Gunther has set
hismind on going upon this dangerous enterprise,
mayhap Siegfried would be willing to bear him com-
pany."
Gunther was pleased with Hagen's words ;
and he
"
said to Siegfried, My best of friends, go with me to
Isenland, and help me. If we do well in our under-

taking, ask of me any reward you wish, and I will give

it
you, so far as in my power lies."
" You
know, Gunther," answered Siegfried,
kind
"that for myself I have no fear; and yet again I
would warn you to shun the unknown dangers with
which this enterprise is fraught. But if, after
all, your

heart is set upon it, make ready to start as soon as the

warm winds shall have melted the ice from the river.

I will go with you."

The king grasped Siegfried's hand, and thanked him
heartily.
"We must build a fleet," said he. "A thousand
fighting-men shall go with us, and we land in will

Isenland with a retinue such as no other prince has

had. A
number of stanch vessels shall be built at
once, and in the early spring they shall be launched
upon the Rhine."
172 The Story of Siegfried.

Siegfried was amused at Gunther's earnestness, and

he answered, "Do not thin'k. of taking such a fellow

ing. You would waste twelve months in building and

victualling such a iieet. You would take from Bur-
gundy its only safeguard against foes from without ;

and, after you should reach Isenland, you would find

such a large force to be altogether useless. Take my
advice : have one small vessel built and rigged and
victualled for the long and dangerous voyage and, ;

when the time come, you and I, and your kins-

shall

men Hagen and Dankwart, we four only, will

undertake the voyage and the emprise you have

decided upon."
Gunther knew that his friend's judgment in this

matter was better than his own, and he agreed readily

to all of Siegfried's plans.

When, at length, the winter months began to wane,

many hands were busy making ready for the voyage.

The peerless Kriemhild called together thirty of her
maidens, the most skilful seamstresses in Burgundy-

land, and began the making of rich clothing for her

brother and his friends. With her own fair hands she
1

cut out garments from the rarest stuffs, from the

silky skins brought from the sunny lands of Lybia;
from the rich cloth of Zazemang, green as clover ;

from the silk that traders bring from Araby, white as

the drifted snow. For seven weeks the clever maidens
1
See Note 24 at the end of this volume.
 How Gunther outwitted BrunJiild. 173

and their gentle mistress plied their busy needles, and

twelve suits of wondrous beauty they made for each of
the four heroes. And the princely garments were cov-
ered with fine needle-work, and with curious devices
all studded with rare and
costly jewels; and all were
wrought with threads of gold.
Many carpenters and ship-builders were busy with
axes and hammers, and flaming forges, working day
and night to make ready a vessel new and stanch, to
carry the adventurers over the sea. And great stores
of food, and of all things needful to their
safety or
comfort, were brought together and put on board.
Neither were the heroes themselves idle for ;
when
not busy in giving directions to the workmen, or in

overseeing the preparations that were elsewhere going

on, they spent the time in polishing their armor (now
long unused), in looking after their weapons, or in pro-
viding for the management of their business while
away. And Siegfried forgot not his trusty sword Bal-
mung, nor his cloak of darkness the priceless Tarn-
kappe, which he had captured from the dwarf Alberich
in the Nibelungen Land.

Then the twelve suits of garments which fair fingers

had wrought were brought. And when the men tried
them on, so faultless was the fit, so rare and perfect
was every piece in richness and beauty, that even the
wearers were amazed, and all declared that such daz-
zling and kingly raiment had never before been seen..
At last the spring months had fairly vanquished all
174 The Story of Siegfried,

the forces of the cold North-land. The warm breezes

had melted the snow and ice, and unlocked the river ;

and the time had come for Gunther and his comrades
to embark. The little ship, well victualled, and made
stanch and stout in every part, had been launched upon
the Rhine and she waited with flying streamers and
;

impatient sails the coming of her crew. Down the

sands at length they came, riding upon their steeds ;

and behind them followed a train of vassals bearing

garments and their gold-red shields. And
their kingly
on the banks stood many of the noblest folk of Bur-
gundy, Gernot and the young Giselher, and Ute the
queen-mother, and Kriemhild the peerless, and a num-
ber of earl-folk, and warriors, and fair dames, and
blushing damsels. And the heroes bade farewell to
their weeping friends, and went upon the waiting ves-
sel, taking their steeds with them. And Siegfried
seized an oar, and pushed the bark off from the
shore.
" I
myself will be the steersman, for I know the
way," he said.

And the sails were unfurled to the brisk south wind,

ind the vessel sped swiftly toward the sea; and many
faireyes were filled tears as they watched it until it
could be seen no more. And with sighs and gloomy

forebodings the good people went back to their homes,

and but few hoped ever again to see their king and his
brave comrades.
Driven by favorable Avinds, the trusty little vessel
 ffozv Gunther outwitted Brunhild. 175

sailed gayly down the Rhine, and, ere many days had
passed, was out in the For a long time
boundless sea.

the heroes sailed and rowed through Old ^Egir's

watery kingdom. But they kept good cheer, and their

hearts rose higher and higher for each day they drew
;

nearer the end of their voyage and the goal of their

hopes. At length they came in sight of a far-reaching
coast and a lovely land ;
and not far from the shore
they saw a noble fortress, with a number of tall towers

pointing toward the sky.

"What land is that?" asked the king. 1

And Siegfried answered that it was Isenland, and

that the fortress which they saw was the Castle of
Isenstein and the green marble hall of the Princess
Brunhild. But he warned his friends to be very wary
when they should arrive at the hall.
" "
Let all tell this story," said he
say that Gunther :

is the king, and that I am his faithful vassal. The

success of our undertaking depends on this." And his
three comrades promised to do as he advised.
As the neared the shore, the whole castle
vessel
seemed to be alive. From every tower and turret -
window, from every door and balcony, lords and ladies,
fighting-men and serving-men, looked out to see what
strangers these were who came thus unheralded to
Isenland. The heroes went on shore with their steeds,
leaving the vessel moored to the bank and then ;

they rode slowly up the beach, and across the narrow

1
See Note 25 at the end of this volume.
176 The Story of Siegfried.

plain, and came to the drawbridge and the great

gateway, where they paused.
The matchless Brunhild in her chamber had been
told of the coming of the strangers ;
and she asked the
maidens who stood around,
"Who, think you, are the unknown warriors who
thus come boldly to Isenstein without asking leave ?
What is their bearing ? Do they seem to be worthy of
our notice ? or are they some straggling beggars who
"
have lost their way ?

And one of the maidens, looking through the case-

ment, answered, "The first is a king, I know, from his
noble mien and the respect which his fellows pay to
him. But the second bears himself with a prouder
grace, and seems the noblest of them all. He reminds
me much young Siegfried of former days.
of the brave

Indeed, must be
it Siegfried for he rides a steed with ;

sunbeam mane, which can be none other than Greyfell.

The third is a dark and gloomy man he wears a sullen :

frown upon his brow, and his eyes seem to shoot quick
glances around. How nervously he grasps his sword-
hilt, as if ever guarding against surprise I think his !

temper must be grim and fiery, and his heart a heart of

flint. The fourth and last of the company is young and
fair, and of gentle port. Little business has he with
rude warriors ;
and many tears, mcthinks, would be
shed for him at home should harm overtake him.
Never before have I seen so noble a company of

strangers in Iscnland. Their garments are of dazzling

 How Gunther outwitted Brunhild. 177

lustre ;
their saddles are covered with gem-stones ;

their weapons are of unequalled brightness. Surely

they are worthy of your notice."
When Brunhild heard that Siegfried was one of the
company, she was highly pleased, and she hastened to
make ready to meet them in the great hall. And she
sent ten worthy lords to open the gate, and to welcome
the heroes to Isenland.
When Siegfred and his comrades passed through the
great gateway, and came into the castle-yard, their
horses were led away to the stables, and the clanging
armor and the broad shields and swords which they
carried were taken from them, and placed in the castle

armory. Little heed was paid to Hagen's surly com-

plaint at thus having every means of defence taken
away. He was told that such had always been the
rule at Isenstein, and that he, like others, must submit.
After a short delay the heroes were shown into the
great hall, where the matchless Brunhild already was
awaiting them. Clad in richest raiment, from every
fold of which rare jewels gleamed, and wearing a
coronet of pearls and gold, the warrior-maiden sat
on a throne of snow-white ivory. Five hundred earl-

folk and warriors, the bravest in Isenland, stood around

her with drawn swords, and fierce, determined looks.
Surely men of mettle less heroic than that of the four

knights from Rhineland would have quaked with fear

in such a presence.

King Gunther and his comrades went forward to

178 The Story of Siegfried.

salute the queen. With a winning smile she kindly

greeted them, and then said to Siegfried, "Gladly do
we welcome you back to our land, friend Siegfried.
We have ever remembered you as our best friend.
May we ask what is your will, and who are these war-
"
riors whom you
have with you ?
"Most noble queen," answered he, "right thankful
am I that you have not forgotten me, and that you
should deign to notice mewhile in the presence of this

my liege lord," and he pointed towards King Gunther.

"
The king of all Burgundy-land, whose humble vassal
I am, has heard the challenge you have sent into differ-
ent lands, and he has come to match his strength with

yours."
" "
Does he know the conditions ? asked Brunhild.
" He " In
does," was the answer. case of success,
the fairest of women for his queen : in case of failure,

death."
" Yet scores of men have made
worthy trial, and all
"
warn your liege lord to
have failed," said she. I

pause, and weigh well the chances ere he runs so great

a risk."
Then Gunther stepped forward and spoke :

" The
chances, fairest queen, have all been weighed,
arid nothing can change our mind. Make your own
terms, arrange every thing as pleases you best. We
accept your challenge, and ask to make a trial of our
strength."
The warrior-maiden, without more words, bade her
 How GuntJier outwitted Brunhild. 179

servants help her to make ready at once for the contest.

She donned a rich war-coat, brought long ago from the
far-offLybian shores, an armor which, it was said, no
sword could dint, and upon which the heaviest stroke
of spear fell harmless. Her hemlet was edged with
golden and sparkled all over with rich gem-stones.
lace,
Her wondrous length, a heavy weight for three
lance, of
stout men, was brought. Her shield was as broad and
as bright as the sun, and three spans thick with steel
and gold.
While the princess was thus arming herself, the
heroes looked on with amazement and fear. But Sieg-
fried,unnoticed, hastened quietly out of the hall, and
through the open castle-gate, and sped like the wind
to the seashore and to their little ship. There he ar-

rayed himself in the Tarnkappe, and then, silent and

unseen, he ran back to his friends in the great hall.
"Be of good cheer," he whispered in the ears of
the trembling Gunther.
But the king could not see who it was that spoke to
him, so well was the hero hidden in the cloak of dark-
ness. Yet he knew that it must be Siegfried and he
felt greatly encouraged.
Hagen's frowning face grew darker, and the uneasy
glances which shot from beneath his shaggy eyebrows
were not those of fear, but of anger and deep anxiety.
Dankwart gave up all as lost, and loudly bewailed their

folly.
"
Must we, unarmed, stand still and see our liege lord
180 The Story of Siegfried.

" "
slain for a woman's whim ? he cried. Had we only
our good swords, we might defy this maiden-queen and
all her Isenland."

Brunhild overheard his words. Scornfully she called

"
to her servants, Bring to these boasters their armor,
and let them have
their keen-edged swords. Brunhild
has no fear of such men, whether they be armed or
unarmed."
When Hagen and Dankwart felt their limbs again
enclosed in steel,and when they held their trusty
swords in hand, their uneasiness vanished, and hope
returned.
In the castle-yard a space was cleared, and Brun-
hundred warriors stood around as umpires.
hild's five

The unseen Siegfried kept close by Gunther's side.

"Fear " Do my
not," he said. bidding, and you are
safe. Let me take your shield. When the time comes,
make you the movements, and trust me to do the
work."
Then Brunhild threw her spear at Gunther's shield.
The mighty weapon sped through the air with the swift-
ness of lightning and, when it struck the shield, both
;

Gunther and the unseen Siegfried fell to the ground,

borne down by its weight and the force with which it
was thrown. Blood gushed from the nostrils of both ;

and sad would have been their fate if the friendly

Tarnkappe had not hidden Siegfried from sight, and
given him the strength of twelve giants. Quickly
they rose. And Gunther seemed to pick up the heavy
ri

I
-i
a!

fc.

o
<
2
H
W
 How Gunther outwitted Brun]did. 181

shaft, was really Siegfried who raised it from

but it

the ground. For one moment he poised the great

beam in the air, and then, turning the blunt end fore-
most, he sent it back more swiftly than it had
flying
come. It struck the huge shield which Brunhild held
before her, with a sound that echoed to the farthest
cliffs of Isenland. The warrior-maiden was dashed to
the earth ; but, rising at once, she cried,
"That was a noble blow, Sir Gunther. I confess

myself fairly outdone. But there are two chances yet,

and you will do well you equal if me in those. We
will now
try hurling the stone, and jumping."
Twelve men came forward, carrying a huge rough
stone in weight a ton or more. And Brunhild raised
this mass of rock in her white arms, and held it high
above her head ;
then she swung it backwards once,
and threw it a dozen fathoms across the castle-yard.
Scarcely had it reached the ground when the mighty
maiden leaped after, and landed just beside it. And
the thousand lookers-on shouted in admiration. But
old Hagen bit his unshorn lip, and cursed the day that
had brought them to Isenland.
Gunther and the unseen Siegfried, not at all dis-

heartened, picked up the heavy stone, which was half

buried in the ground, and, lifting it with seeming ease,
threw it swiftly forward. Not twelve, but twenty, fath-
oms it flew ;
and Siegfried, snatching up Gunther in
his arms, leaped after, and landed close to the castle-
wall. And Brunhild believed that Gunther alone had
1 82 The Story of Siegfried.

done these great feats through his own strength and

skill and she at once acknowledged herself beaten in
;

the games, and bade her vassals do homage to Gunther

as their rightful liege lord.
Alas that the noblest of men-folk should Ijave

stooped to such deed of base deception ! The punish-

ment, although long delayed, came surely at last for ;

not even the highest are exempt from obedience lo

Heaven's behests and the laws of right.
When the contest was ended, the unseen Siegfried
ran quickly back to the little ship, and hastily doffed
the rnagic Tarnkappe. Then, in his own form, he re-
turned to the castle, and leisurely entered the castle-

yard. When he met his pleased comrades and the

vanquished maiden-queen, he asked in careless tones
when the games would begin. All who heard his ques-
tion laughed and Brunhild said, -
;

"
Surely, Sir Siegfried, the old sleep-thorn of Isen-
must have caught you, and held you
stein in your ship.
The games are over, and Gunther, your liege lord, is

the winner."
At news Siegfried seemed much delighted, as
this

indeed he was. And all went together to the great

banquet-hall, where a rich feast was served to OUT
heroes and to the worthy earl-folk and warriors of

Isenland.
 In Nibelmigen Land Again. 183

ADVENTURE XV.

IN NIBELUNGEN LAND AGAIN.

WHEN the folk of Isenland learned that their queen
had been outwitted and won by a strange chief from
a far-off and unknown land, great was their sorrow and

dismay for they loved the fair maiden-queen, and they

;

feared to exchange her mild reign for that of an untried

foreigner. Nor was the queen herself at all pleased

with the issue of the late contest. She felt no wish to

leave her loved people, and her pleasant home, and the
fair island which was her kingdom, to take up her abode

in a strange land, as the queen of one for whom she

could feel no respect. And
every one wondered how it
was that a man like Gunther, so commonplace, and so
feeble in his every look and act, could have done such

deeds, and won the wary warrior-maiden.

" "
If it had only been Siegfried I
whispered the
maidens among themselves.
" "
If it had only been Siegfried ! murmured the

knights and the fighting-men.

" If "
had only been Siegfried
it thought the queen,
!

away down in the most secret corner of her heart

184 The Story of Siegfried.

And she shut herself up in her room, and gave wild

vent to her feelings of grief and disappointment.
Then heralds mounted the swiftest horses, and hur-
riec to every village and farm, and to every high-
towered castle, in the land. And they carried word to
all of Brunhild's kinsmen and liegemen, bidding them
to come without delay to Isenstein. And every man
arose as with one accord, and hastened to obey the call
of their queen. And the whole land was filled with
the notes of busy preparation for war. And day by
day to the castle the warriors came and went, and the
sound of echoing horse-hoofs, and the rattling of ready
swords, and the ringing of the war-shields, were heard
on every hand.
" "
What means this treason ? cried Gunther in dis-
"
may. The coy warrior-maiden would fain break her
plighted word ; and we, here in our weakness, shall
perish from her wrath."
And even old Hagen, who had never felt a fear when
meeting a host in
open battle, was troubled
the at

thought of the mischief which was brewing.

"'Tis true, too true," he said, and the dark frown

deepened on his face, "that we have done a foolish

thing. For we four men have come to this cheerless
land upon a hopeless errand; and, if we await the gather

ing of the storm, our ruin will be wrought." And

he grasped his sword-hilt with such force, that his
knuckles grew white as he paced fiercely up and down
the hall.
 In Nibehmgen Land Again. 185

Dankvvart, too, bewailed the fate that had driven them

into this net,from which he saw no way of escape. And
both the warriors besought King Gunther to take ship
at once, and to sail for Rhineland before it was too late.

But Siegfried said,

"Whataccount will you give to the folk at home,
if
you thus go back beaten, outwitted, and ashamed ?
Brave warriors, indeed we should be called. Wait a
!

few days, and trust all to me. When Brunhild's war-

riors shall be outnumbered by our own, she will no

longer hesitate, and our return to Rhineland shall be

a triumphant one ;
for we shall carry the glorious
warrior-queen home with us."
"
Yes," answered Hagen, mocking, "we will wait until
her warriors are outnumbered by our own. But how
long shall that be ?Will the lightning carry the word
to Burgundy ? and will the storm-clouds bring our
brave men from across the sea ? Had you allowed

King Gunther's plans to be followed, they would have

been here with us now, and we might have quelled this
treason at the first."

And Dankwart " this time the fields of the

said, By
South-land are green with young corn, and the mead-
ows are full of sweet-smelling flowers, and the summer
comes on apace. Why should we stay longer in this
chilly and fog-ridden land, waiting upon the whims of
a fickle maiden, as fickle as the winds themselves?
Better face the smiles and the jeers of the folk at home
than suffer shameful shipwreck in this cold Isenland.."
1 86 The Story of Siegfried.

But Siegfried would not be moved by the weak and

wavering words of his once valiant comrades.
"Trust me," he said, "and all will yet be well. Wait
here but a few days longer in quietness, while
I go

aboard ship, and fare away. Within three days I will

bring to Isenstein a host of warriors such as you have
never seen. And then the fickle fancies of Brunhild
will flee, and she will no longer refuse to sail with us to
the now sunny South-land."
Hagen frowned still more deeply ;
and as he strode
"
away he muttered, He only wants to betray us, and
leave us to die in this trap which he himself has doubt-
less set for us."

But Gunther anxiously grasped the hand of Siegfried,

" Go I trust
and said, !
you, and believe in you. But be
sure not to linger, for no one knows what a day may
bring forth in this uncertain and variable clime."
Without saying a word in reply, Siegfried turned, and
hastened down to the shore. Without any loss of time
he unmoored the little ship, and stepped aboard. Then
he donned his Tarnkappe, spread the sails, and seized
the helm and the vessel, like a bird with woven wings,
;

sped swiftly out of the bay, and Isenstein, with its wide
halls and glass-green towers, was soon lost to the sight
of the invisible For four and twenty hours
helmsman.
did Siegfried guide the flying vessel as it leaped from
wave to wave, and sent the white foam dashing to left
and right like flakes of snow. And late on the morrow
he came to a rock-bound coast, where steep cliffs and
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 187

white mountain-peaks rose up, as it were, straight out

of the blue sea. Having found a safe and narrow inlet,
he moored his little bark ; and, keeping the
Tarnkappe
well wrapped around him, he stepped ashore. Briskly
he walked along the rough shore, and through a dark
mountain-pass, until he came to a place well known to
nim, a place where, years before, he had seen a
cavern's yawning mouth, and a great heap of shining
treasures, and two princes dying of hunger. But now,
upon the selfsame spot there stood a frowning fortress,
dark and gloomy and strong, which Siegfried himself
had built in after-years and the iron gates were barred
;

and bolted fast, and no living being was anywhere to be

seen.
Loud and long did Siegfried, wrapped in his cloak of

darkness, knock and call outside. At last a grim old

giant, who sat within, and kept watch and ward of the
gate, cried out,
" "
Who knocks there ?

Siegfried, angrily and in threatening tones, an-

swered,
" the gate at once, lazy laggard, and ask no
Open
questions. A
stranger, who has lost his way among
ihe mountains, seeks shelter from the storm which is

coming. Open the gate without delay, or I will break

it down upon your dull head."
Then the giant in hot anger seized a heavy iron beam,
and flung the gate wide open, and leaped quickly out to
throttle the insolent stranger. Warily he glanced around
1 88 The Story of Siegfried.

on every side but Siegfried was clad in the magic

;

Tarnkappe, and the giant could see no one. Amazed

and ashamed, he turned to shut the gate, and to go
again to his place for he began to believe that a fool-
;

ish dream had awakened and deceived him. Then the

unseen Siegfried seized him from behind and though ;

he struggled hard, and fought with furious strength,

our hero threw him upon the ground, and bound him
with cords of sevenfold strength.
The unwonted noise at the gate rang through the
castle, and awakened the sleeping inmates. The dwarf
Alberich, who kept the fortress against Siegfried's
return, and who watched the
Nibelungen treasure,
which was stored in the hollow hill, arose, and donned
his armor, and hurried to the giant's help. right A
stout dwarf was Alberich and, as we have seen in a
;

former adventure, he was as bold as stout. Armed in a

war-coat of steel, he ran out to the gate, flourishing
a seven-thonged whip, on each thong of which a heavy

golden ball was hung. Great was his amazement and

his wrath when he saw the giant lying bound and help-
les upon the ground and with sharp, eager eyes he
;

peerad warily around to see if, perchance, he might

espy his hidden foe. But, when he could find no one,
his anger grew hotter than before, and he swung his
golden scourge fiercely about his head. Well was it for
Siegfried then, that the Tarnkappe hid him from sight ;

for the dwarf kept pounding about in air so sturdily

and strong, that, even as it was, he split the hero's

 In Nibelungen Land Again. 189

shield from the centre to the rim. Then Siegfried

rushed quickly upon the doughty little fellow, and
seized his long gray beard, and threw him so
him by
roughly upon the ground, that Alberich shrieked with
pain.
" " I know
Spare me, I pray you," he cried. that

you are no mean knight and, if I had not

; promised
to serve my master Siegfried until death, I fain would

acknowledge you as my lord."

But Siegfried bound the writhing dwarf, and placed
him, struggling and helpless, by the side of the giant.
"
Tell me, now, your name, I pray," said the dwarf ;

" for I must

give an account of this adventure to my
master when he comes."
" "
Who is your master ?

" His
name is Siegfried and he is king of the Nibe-
;

lungens, and lord, by right, of the great Nibelungen

Hoard. To me and to my fellows he long ago intrusted
the keeping of this castle and of the Hoard that lies

deep hidden in the hollow hill ;

and I have sworn to
keep it safe until his return."
Then Siegfried threw off his Tarnkappe, and stood
in his own proper person before the wonder-stricken
dwarf.
" Noble cried the
Siegfried," delighted Alberich,
" am
right glad I that you have come again to claim

your own. Spare my life, and pardon me, I pray, and

let me know what is your will. Your bidding shall be
done at once."
 The Story of Siegfried.

"
Hasten, then," said Siegfried, loosing him from his
bonds, -- "hasten, and arouse my Nibelungen hosts.
Tell them that their chief has come again to Mist
Land, and that he has work for them to do."
Then Alberich, when he had set the giant gate-
keeper every town and castle in
free, sent heralds to
the land to make known the words and wishes of Sieg-
fried. And the gallant Nibelungen warriors, when
they heard that their liege lord had come again, sprang
up joyously, and girded on their armor, and hastened to
obey his summons. And soon the strong-built castle
was full of noble men, of earls, and the faithful liege-
men who had known Siegfried of old. And joyful and
happy were the words of greeting.
In the mean while, Alberich had busied himself in

preparing a great feast for his master and his master's

chieftains. In the long low hall that the dwarfs had
hollowed out within the mountain's heart, the table was
spread, and on was placed every delicacy that could
it

be wished. There were fruits and wines from the

sunny South-land, and snow-white loaves made from the
wheat of Gothland, and fish from Old ^Egir's kingdom,
and venison from the king's wild-wood, and the flesh of
many a fowl most delicately baked, and, near the head
of the board, a huge wild boar roasted whole. And
the hallwas lighted by a thousand tapers, each held in
the hands of a swarthy elf; and the guests were served

by the elf-women, who ran hither and thither, obedient

to every call. But Alberich, at Siegfried's desire, sat
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 191

upon the dais at his lord's right hand. Merriment

ruled the hour, and happy greetings were heard on
every side. And, when the feast was at its height, a
troop of hill-folk came dancing into the hall and a ;

hundred little perched in the niches of the

fiddlers,

wall, made merry music, and kept time for the busy,
clattering little feet. And when the guests had tired
of music and laughter, and the dancers had gone away,
and the tables no longer groaned under the weight of
good cheer, Siegfried and his earls still sat at their
places,and beguiled the hours with pleasant talk and
with stories of the earlier days. And Alberich, as the
master of the feast, told a tale of the dwarf-folk, and
how once they were visited in their hill-home by Loki
the Mischief-maker.

ALBERICH'S STORY.

My story begins with the Asa-folk, and has as much

to do with the gods as with my kinsmen the dwarfs.
It happened long ago, when the world was young, and
the elf-folk had not yet lost all their ancient glory.
Sif, as you all know, is Thor's young wife, and she is

very fair. It is said, too, that she is gentle and

as
lovable as her husband is rude and strong and that
;

while he rides noisily through storm and wind, furiously

fighting the foes of the mid-world, she goes quietly

about, lifting up the down-trodden, and healing the
broken-hearted. In the summer season, when the
Thunderer has driven the Storm-giants back to their
192 The Story of Siegfried.

mist-hidden mountain homes, and the black clouds have

been rolled away, and piled upon each other in the far
east, Sif comes
gleefully tripping through the meadows,
raising up the bruised flowers, and with smiles calling
the frightened birds from their hiding-places to frolic
and sing in the fresh sunshine again. The growing
fields and the grassy mountain slopes are hers and the ;

rustling green leaves, and the sparkling dewdrops, and

the sweet odors of spring blossoms, and the glad songs
of the summer-time, follow in her footsteps.

Sif, as I have said, is very fair ; and, at the time of

my story, there was one thing of which she was a trifle

vain. That was her long silken hair, which fell in
glossy waves almost to her feet. On calm, warm days,
she liked to sit by the side of some still pool, and gaze
at her own beauty pictured in the water below, while,

like the sea-maidens of old ./Egir's kingdom, she

combed and braided her flowing tresses.
rich, And in
all the mid-world nothing has ever been seen so like
the golden sunbeams as was Sif's silken hair.
At that time the cunning Mischief-maker, Loki, was
still living with the Asa-folk.
And, as you well know,
this evil worker was never pleased save when he was
plotting trouble for those who were better than himself.
He meddle with business which was not his
liked to

own, and was always trying to mar the pleasures of

others. His tricks and jokes were seldom of the harm-
less kind, and yet great good sometimes grew out of

them.
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 193

When Loki saw how proud Sif was of her long hair,
and how much time she spent in combing and arran-
ging it, he planned a very cruel piece of mischief. He
hid himself in a little rocky cavern, near the pool where
Sif was wont to sit, and slily watched her all the morn-

ing as she braided and unbraided her flowing silken

locks. At last, overcome by the heat of the mid-day
sun, she fell asleep upon the grassy bank. Then the
Mischief-maker quietly crept near, and with his sharp
shears cut offall that wealth of hair, and shaved her

head until it was as smooth as her snow-white hand.

Then he again in the little cave, and
hid himself
chuckled with great glee at the wicked thing he had
done.

By and by Sif awoke, and looked into the stream ;

but she started quickly back with horror and affright

at the image which she saw. She felt of her shorn
head ; and, when she
learned that those rich waving
tresses which had been her joy and pride were no

longer there, she knew not what to do. Hot, burning

tears ran down her cheeks, and with sobs and shrieks
she began to call aloud for Thor. Forthwith there
was a terrible uproar. The lightning flashed, and the
thunder rolled, and an earthquake shook the rocks and
trees. Loki, looking out from his hiding-place, saw
that Thor was coming, and he trembled with fear ;
foi

he knew, that, should the Thunderer catch him, he

would have to pay dearly for his wicked sport. He ran
quickly out of the cavern, and leaped into the river, and
194 Th c Story of Siegfried.

changed himself into a salmon, and swam as swiftly as

he could away from the shore.
But Thor was not so easily fooled ;
for he had long
known Loki, and was acquainted with all his cunning
ways. So when he saw Sif bewailing her stolen hair,
and beheld the frightened salmon hurrying alone
towards the deep water, he was at no loss to know
whose work this mischief was. Straightway he took
upon himself the form of a sea-gull, and soared high up
over the water. Then, poising a moment in the air, he
darted, swift as an arrow, down into the river. When
he arose from the water, he held the struggling salmon
tightly grasped in his strong talons.
" Vile "
Mischief-maker cried Thor, as
! he alighted
"
upon the topof a I
neighboring crag : know thee
who thou art ;
and I will make thee bitterly rue the
work of this day. Limb from limb will I tear thee,
and thy bones will I grind into powder."
Loki, when he saw that he could not
by any means
get away from the angry Thunderer, changed himself
back to his own form, and humbly said to Thor,
" What me ?
if
you do your worst with Will that

oj:ive back a single

o hair to Sif's shorn head ? What I
did was only a thoughtless joke, and I really meant
no harm. Do
but spare my life, and I will more than
make good the mischief I have done."
"
How can that be ? " asked Thor.
" will hie me the secret smithies of
I straight to
dwarfs," answered Loki; "and those cunning little
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 195

kinsmen of mine make golden tresses for fair Sif,

shall

which will grow upon her head like other hair, and cause
her to be an hundred-fold more beautiful than before."
Thor knew was a slippery fellow, and that
that Loki
he did not always do what he promised, and hence he
would not let him go. He called to Frey, who had just
come up, and said,
"
Come, cousin Frey, help me to rid the world of
this sly thief. While I hold fast to his raven hair, and
his long slim arms, do you seize him by the heels, and
we will give his limbs to the fishes, and his body to the
birds, for food."

Loki, now thoroughly frightened, wept, and kissed

Frey's feet, and humbly begged for mercy. And he
promised that he would bring from the dwarf's smithy,
not only the golden hair for Sif, but also a mighty ham-
mer for Thor, and a swift steed for Frey. So earnest
were his words, and so pitiful was his plea, that Thor
at last set the trembling Mischief-maker free, and bade
him hasten away on his errand. Quickly, then, he
went in search of the smithy of the dwarfs.
He crossed the desert moorlands, and came, after
three days, to the bleak hill-country, and the rugged
mountain-land of the South. There the earthquake had
split the mountains apart, and dug dark and bottom-
less gorges, and hollowed out many a low-walled cav-

ern, where the light of day was never seen. Through

deep, winding ways, and along narrow crevices, Loki

crept; and he glided under huge rocks, and downward

196 The Story of Siegfried.

through slanting, crooked clefts, until at last he came

to a great underground hall, where his eyes were dazzljd
by a light which was stronger and brighter than day ;

for on every side were glowing fires, roaring in wonder-

ful little forges, and blown by wonderful little bellows

And the vaulted roof above was thickly set with dia
monds and precious stones, that sparkled and shone
like thousands of bright stars in the blue sky. And
the littledwarfs, with comical brown faces, and wear-
ing strange leathern aprons, and carrying heavy ham-
mers, were hurrying here and there, each busy at his
task. Some were smelting pure gold from the coarse
rough rocks ;
others were making precious gems, and
rich rare jewels, such as the proudest king would be
glad to Here, one was shaping pure, round
wear.

pearls from dewdrops and maidens' tears there, an- ;

other wrought green emeralds from the first leaves of

spring. So busy were they all, that they neither

stopped nor looked up when Loki came into their hall,
but all kept hammering and blowing and working, as if
depended upon their being always busy.
their lives
After Loki had curiously watched their movements
for some time, he spoke to the dwarf whose forge was

nearest to him, and made known his errand. But the

little fellow was fashioning a flashing diamond, which
he called the Mountain of Light ;
and he scarcely
looked up as he answered,
" I do not work in
gold. Go to Ivald's sons :
they
will make whatever you wish,"
 In Nibdungen Land Again. 197

To Ivald's sons, then, in the farthest and brightest

corner of the hall, Loki went. They very readily

agreed the golden hair for Sif, and they began

to make
the work at once. A
lump of purest gold was brought,
and thrown glowing furnace; and it was melt-
into the

ed and drawn, and melted and drawn, seven times.

Then it was given to a little brown elf with merry,
t\vinklin:Or eyes,
J '
who carried it with all speed to another
part of the great hall, where the dwarfs' pretty wives
were spinning. One of the little women took the yellow

lump from the elf's hands, and laid it, like flax, upon

her spinning-wheel. Then she sat down and began to

spin and, as she span, the dwarf -wives sang a strange,
;

sweet song of the old, old days when the dwarf-folk

ruled the world. And the tiny brown elves danced
gleefully around the spinner, and the thousand little

anvils rang out a merry chorus to the music of the sing-

ers. And
the yellow gold was twisted into threads,
and the threads ran into hair softer than silk, and finer
than gossamer. And at last the dwarf-woman held in
her hand long golden tresses ten times more beautiful
than the amber locks that Loki had cut from Sif 's fair

head. When Ivald's sons, proud of their skill, gave

the rare treasure to the Mischief-maker, Loki smiled
as he were well pleased but in his heart he was
if ;

angry because the dwarfs had made so fair a piece of

workmanship. Then he said,
"
This is, indeed, very handsome, and will be very
becoming to Sif. Oh, what an uproar was made about
198 The Story of Siegfried.

those flaxen tresses that she loved so well ! And that

reminds me that her husband, the gruff old Giant-killer,
wants a hammer. promised to get him one and, if
I ;

I fail, he will doubtless be rude with me. I pray

you
make such a hammer as will be of most use to him in
fighting the Jotuns, and you may win favor both i'or

yourselves and me."

"Not now," said the elder of Ivald's sons. "We
cannot make it now for who would dare to send a
;

present to Thor before he has offered one to Odin, the

"
great All-Father ?
"Make me, then, a gift for Odin," cried Loki ;
"and
he will shelter me from the Thunderer's wrath."
So the dwarfs put iron into their furnace, and heated
it to a and then they drew it out,
glowing white-heat ;

and rolled it upon their anvils, and pounded it with

heavy hammers, until they had wrought a wondrous
spear, such as no man had ever seen. Then they in-
laid it with priceless jewels, and plated the point with

gold seven times tried.

"This the spear Gungner," said they.

is "Take it
to the great All-Father as the best gift of his humble

earth-workers."
" Make me now a
present for Frey the gentle," said
" I owe
Loki. my life to him and I have promised to
;

take him a swift steed that will bear him everywhere."

Then Ivald's sons threw gold into the furnace, and
blew with their bellows until the very roof of the great
cave-hall seemed to tremble, and the smoke rolled up
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 199

the wide chimney, and escaped in dense fumes from

the mountain-top. they When working, and the left off

fire died away, a fairy ship, with masts and sails, and

two banks of long oars, and a golden dragon stem, rose

out of the glowing coals and it grew in size until it
;

filled a great part of the hall, and might have furnished

room for a thousand warriors with their arms and

steeds. Then, at a word from the dwarfs, it began to
shrink, and it became smaller and smaller until it was

no broader than an oak-leaf. And the younger of

Ivald's sons folded it up like a napkin, and gave it to

Loki, saying,
" Take Frey the gentle. It is the ship Skid-
this to

bladner. When it is wanted for a voyage, it will carry

all the Asa-folk and their weapons and stores and, no ;

matter where they wish to go, the wind will always

drive it straight to the desired port. But, when it is

not needed, the good Frey may fold it up, as I have

done, and carry it
safely in his pocket."
Loki was much pleased and, although he felt dis- ;

appointed because he had no present for Thor, he

heartily thanked the dwarfs for their kindness and ;

taking the golden hair, and the spear Gungner, and the
ship Skidbladner, he bade Ivald's sons good-by, and
started for home. But, before he reached the narrow
doorway which led out of the cave, he met two crooked-
backed dwarfs, much smaller and much uglier than any
he had seen before.
" "
What have you there ? asked one of them, whose
name was Brok,
2OO The Story of Siegfried.

" Hair for

Sif, a spear for Odin, and a ship for Frey,"
answered Loki.
"Let us see them," said Brok.
Loki kindly showed them the strange gifts, and told
them, that, in his belief, no dwarfs in all the world had
ever before wrought such wonderful things.
"Who made them?" inquired Brok.
"
Ivald's sons."
" Ah ! Ivald's sons sometimes do good work, but
there are many other dwarfs who can do better. For
instance, my brother Sindre, who stands here, can
make three other treasures altogether as good as those

you have."
" It "
cannot be cried Loki.
!

"I tell you the truth," said the dwarf. "And, to

show you that I mean just what I say, I will wager
against your head all the diamonds in the ceiling above
us, that he will make not only as good treasures, but
those which the Asas will esteem much higher."
"Agreed!" cried Loki, "agreed! I take the
wager. Let your brother try his skill at once."
The three went straightway to Sindre's forge, and
the brothers began their task. When the fire was roar-
ing hot, and the sparks flew from the chimney like
showers of shooting-stars, Sindre put a pig-skin into the
furnace, and bade Brok blow the bellows with all his
might, and never stop until he should speak the word.
The flames leaped up white and hot, and the furnace
glowed with a dazzling light, while Brok plied the
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 201

bellows, and Sindre, with unblinking eyes, watched

the slowly changing colors that played around the
melted and shapeless mass within. While the brothers
were thus intent upon their work, Loki changed him-
self to a great horse-fly, and settled upon Brok's hand,

and bit him without mercy. But the dwarf kept on

blowing the bellows, and stopped not until his brother
cried out,
" "
Enough !

Then Sindre drew out of the flickering blue flames

a huge wild boar with long tusks of ivory, and golden
bristles that glittered and shone like the beams of the

sun.
"This is Golden Bristle," said the dwarf. "It is the

gift of Brok and his brother to the gentle Frey. His

ship Skidbladner can carry him only over the sea ;

but Golden Bristle shall be a trusty steed that will bear

him with the speed of the wind over the land or

through the air."

Next the dwarfs threw gold into the furnace, and
Brok plied the bellows, and Sindre gazed into the
flames, as before. And the great horse-fly buzzed in
Brok's face, and darted at his eyes, and at last settled

upon his neck, and stung him until the pain caused big
drops of sweat to roll off of his forehead. But the
dwarf stopped not nor faltered, until his brother again
cried out,
" "
Enough !

This time Sindre drew out a wondrous ring of solid

202 The Story of Siegfried.

gold, sparkling all over with the rarest and most costly
jewels.
"This is the ring Draupner," said he. "It is well
worthy to be worn on Odin's ringer. Every ninth day
eight other rings, equal to it in every way, shall drop
from it. It shall enrich the earth, and make the desert
blossom as the rose and it shall bring plentiful har-
;

vests, and fill the farmers' barns with grain, and their
houses with glad good cheer. Take it to the All-
Father as the best gift of the earth-folk to him and to

mankind."
After this the dwarfs took iron which had been
brought from the mountains of Norse Land ; and, after

beating upon
it their bellows until it
glowed white and
hot, Sindre threw it into the furnace.

"This shall be the gift of gifts," said he to Brok.

"
Ply the bellows as before, and do not, for your life,

stop or falter until the work is done."

But as Brok blew the bellows, and his brother gazed
into the glowing fire, the horse-fly carne again. This
time he settled between the dwarf's eyes, and stung his
his eyes, and ran down his
eyelids until the blood filled
cheeks, and blinded him so that he could not see. At
last, in sore distress, and wild with pain, Brok let go
of

the bellows, and lifted his hand to drive the fly away.
Then Sindre drew his work out of the furnace. It was
a blue steel hammer, well made in every way, save that
the handle was half an inch too short.
"This is the mighty Mjolner," said Sindre to Loki,
 In Nibelungen Land Again. 203

who had again taken his proper shape. "The Thun-

derer may have the hammer that you promised him ;

although it is our gift, and not yours. The stoutest

giant will not be able now to cope with Thor. No

shield, nor armor, nor mountain-wall, nor, indeed, any
thing on earth, shall be proof against the lightning-
strokes of Mjolner."
And Brok took the three treasures which Sindre had
fashioned, and went with Loki to Asgard, the home of

the Asa-folk. And they chose Odin and Thor and Frey
to examine and judge which was best, Loki's three

gifts, the work of Ivald's sons ;

or Brok's three gifts,
the work of Sindre. When judges were seated,
the
and all were in readiness, Loki went forward and gave
toOdin the spear Gungner, that would always hit the
mark and to Frey he gave the ship Skidbladner, that
;

would sail whithersoever he wished. Then he gave

the golden hair to Thor, who placed it upon the head
of fair Sif ;
and it grew there, and was a thousand-fold
more beautiful than the silken tresses she had worn
before.
After the Asas had carefully looked at these treasures,
and talked of their merits, little Brok came humbly
forward and offered his gifts. To Odin he gave the
precious ring Draupner, already dropping richness. To
Frey he gave the boar Golden Bristle, telling him that
wherever he chose to go this steed would serve him

well,and would carry him faster than any horse, while

his shining bristles would lighc the way on the darkest
204 The Story of Siegfried.

night or in the gloomiest path. At last he gave to

Thor the hammer Mjolner, and said that it, like Odin's
spear, would never miss the mark, and that whatever
it struck, it would crush in pieces, and whithersoever
it might be hurled, it would come back to his hand
again.
Then the Asas declared at once that Thor's hammer
was the best of all the gifts, and that the dwarf had
fairly won the wager. But, when Brok demanded Loki's
head as the price of the wager, the cunning Mischief-
maker said,
"
My head is, by the terms of our agreement, yours ;

but my neck is my own, and you shall not on any

account touch or harm it." l

So Brok went back to his brother and his smithy

without the head of Loki, but he was loaded with rich
and rare presents from the Asa-folk.
1
See Note 26 at the end of this volume.
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 205

ADVENTURE XVI.

HOW BRUNHILD WAS WELCOMED

HOME.
WHEN the next morning's sun arose, and its light

gilded the mountain peaks, and fell in a flood of splen-

dor down upon the rich uplands and the broad green
fields ofNibelungen Land, Siegfried, with his earls and
mighty men, rode through the valley, and down to the
seashore. There a pleasant sight met his eyes for the :

little bay was white with the sails of a hundred gold-

beaked vessels which lay at anchor and on the sandy

;

beach there stood in order three thousand warriors,

the bravest and the best of all the Nibelungens, -
clad in armor, and ready to hear and to do their

master's bidding. And Siegfried told them why he

had thus hastily called them together; and he gave
to each one rich gifts of gold and jewels and costly
raiment. Then he chose from among them one thou-
sand of the most trustworthy, who should follow him
back to Isenland and these went aboard the waiting
;

vessels, amid the cheers and the farewells of their com-

rades who were left behind. And when every thing
206 The Story of. Siegfried.

was in readiness, the anchors were hoisted and the sails

were set, and the wafted by pleasant winds,

little fleet,

sailed out of the bay, and eastward across the calm

blue sea. And Siegfried's vessel, with a golden dragon
banner floating from the masthead, led all the rest.
On the fourth day after Siegfried's departure from
Isenland, Dankwart and grim old Hagen sat in a room
of the castle at Isenstein. Outside and below they
heard the fair-haired warriors of Queen Brunhild

pacing to and fro, and ready, at a word, to seize

upon the strangers, and either to put them to death,
or to drive them forever from the land. Old Hagen's
brows were closely knit, and his face was dark as a
thunder-cloud, and his hands played nervously with his
sword-hilt, as he said,
"Where now is Gunther, the man whom we once
called king?"
"
Hestanding on the balcony above, talking with
is

the queen and her maidens," answered Dankwart.

" The craven that he is " cried
Hagen hoarsely.
!

"
Once he was a king, and worthy to be obeyed but ;

now who is the king ? That upstart Siegfried has

but to say what shall be done, and our master Gunther,
blindly and like a child, complies. Four days ago we
might have taken ship, and sailed safely home. Now
is gone, the boasted hero is gone, and nothing
our vessel
is left do but to fight and die."
for us to
"
But we are sure of Odin's favor," returned Dank-
wart ;
and a wild light gleamed from his eyes, and he
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 207

brandished his sword high over his head. "

place in A
Valhal is promised to us for, him who bravely dies
;

with his blood-stained sword beside him and his heart

unrent with fears, the All-Father's victory-wafters will

gently carry home. Even now, methinks, I sit in the

banqueting-hall of the heroes, and quaff the flowing

mead."

In the mean while Gunther stood with Queen Brun-

hild atan upper window, and looked out upon the great
sea that spread forever and away towards the setting
sun. And all at once, as if
by magic, the water was
covered with white-sailed ships, which, driven by friendly
winds and the helping hands of ^Egir's daughters and
the brawny arms of many a stalwart oarsman, came

flying towards the bay.

" What ships are those with the snow-white sails and
"
the dragon-stems asked Brunhild, wondering.
?

Gunther gazed for a moment towards the swift-coming

fleet, and his eyes were gladdened with the sight of

Siegfried's dragon-banner floating from the vessel in

the van. A
great load seemed lifted from his breast,
for now he knew that the hoped-for help was at hand.
And, smiling he answered the queen,
"
Those white-sailed ships are mine. My body-guard
a thousand of my trustiest fighting-men are on
board, and every man is ready to die for me."
And as the vessels came into the harbor, and the
sailors furled the sails, and cast the anchors into the
208 The Story of Siegfried.

sea, Siegfried was seen standing on the golden prow of

his ship, arrayed in princely raiment, with his earls and
chiefs around him. And armor glittered
their bright

in the sunlight, and their burnished shields shone like

so many golden mirrors. A fairer sight had the folk of

Isenstein never seen.

earnestly Queen Brunhild gazed, and then,

Long and
turning away, she burst into tears for she knew
that
;

she had been again outwitted, and that it was vain for

her to struggle against the Noras' decrees. Then,

back the and the sore longing that rose
crushing grief
in her heart, she spoke again to Gunther, and her

eyes shone stern and strange.

" What now you have
will me do ? " she asked ;
" for

you have fairly won me, and my wayward fancies shall

no longer vex you. Shall I greet your friends with

kindness, or shall we send them back again over the
sea?"
" I
you give them welcome to the broad halls
pray
" for no
of Isenstein," he answered truer, nobler men
;

live than these my liegemen."

queevi sent word to Siegfried
So the and his Nibe-

lungen warriors to leave the ships and come ashore.

And she herself, as radiant now as a morning in May,
went down to meet them and welcome them. Then
she had a great feast made in honor of the heroes, and
the long, low-raftered feast-hall rang with the sounds
of merriment, instead of with the clash of arms. The
side by
fair-haired, blue-eyed warriors of the queen sat
 Hoiv Brunhild was welcomed Home. 209

side with the tall strangers from over the sea. And
in the high-seat was Brunhild, her face exceeding pale,
yet beauteous to behold and by her side sat Gunther,
;

smiling and glad, and clad in his kingly raiments. And

around them were the earls and chieftains, and many a
fair lady of Tsenland, and Hagen, smiling through his
frowns, and Dankwart, now grown fearless, and Sieg-
.'ried, sad and thoughtful. Mirth and gladness ruled
the hour, and not until the morning star began to fade
in the coming sunlight did the guests retire to rest.

Only a few days longer did the heroes tarry in Isen-

land ;
for the mild spring dayswere growing warmer,
and all faces were southward turned, and the queen
herself was anxious to haste to her South-land home.
When, at last, the time for leave-taking came, the folk
of Isenland gathered around to bid their queen God-
speed. Then Brunhild called to Dankwart, and gave
him her golden keys, and bade him unlock her closets
where her gold and jewels were stored, and to scatter
with hands unstinted her treasures among the poor.
And many were the tearful blessings, and many the
kind words said, as the radiant queen went down to

the waiting, white-winged vessel, andstepped aboard

with Gunther and the heroes of the Rhine. But she
was not to go alone to the land of strangers ;
for with
her were to sail a hundred fair young damsels, and
more than fourscore noble dames, and two thousand
blue-eyed warriors, the bravest of her land.
When all had gone on board the waiting fleet, the
2io The Story of Siegfried.

anchors were hoisted, and the sails were unfurled to

the breeze and amid the tearful farewells of friends,
;

and the joyful shouting of the sailors, the hundred

heavy-laden vessels glided from the bay, and were soon

far out at sea. And the sorrowing folk of Isenlancl
turned away, and went back to their daily tasks, and to

the old life of mingled pain and pleasure, of shadow

and sunshine ;
and they never saw their loved warrior-
queen again.
The gay white fleet, with its precious cargo of noble
men and fair ladies, sped swiftly onwards through Old
vEgir's kingdom
<J O and it seemed as if Oueen
:
' 'W
Ran had
forgotten to spread her nets, so smooth and quiet was
the sea ; slept on the peaceful bosom of
and the waves
the waters only Ripple and Sky-clear danced in the
:

wake of the flying ships, and added to the general joy.

And on shipboard music and song enlivened the drag-
ging hours and from morn till eve no sounds were
;

heard, save those of merriment and sport, and glad good

cheer. Yet, as day after day passed by, and no sight
met their eyes but the calm blue waters beneath, and
the calm blue sky above, all began to wish for a view,
once more, of the solid earth, and the fields, and the
wild greenwood. But the ships sailed steadily on-
ward, and every hour brought them nearer and nearer
to the wished-for haven.
At length, on the ninth day, they came in sight of a

long, flat coast, stretching faraway towards the Low-

lands, where Old Mgir and his daughters sometimes
 How BrunJiild was welcomed Home. 2 1 1

-
by wasting warfare, sometimes by stealthy strategy
ever plot and toil to widen the Sea-king's domains.
When the sailors saw the green shore rising up, as it

were, out of the quiet water, and the wild woodland

lying dense and dark beyond, and when they knew that
they were nearing the end of their long sea-voyage, they
rent the air with their joyful shouts. And a brisker
breeze sprang up, and filled the sails, and made the ships

leap forward over the water, like glad living creatures.

It was then that the thought came to King Gunther
that he ought to send fleet heralds to Burgundy-land
to make known the happy issue of his bold emprise,

and to tell of his glad home-coming, with Brunhild, the

warrior-maiden, as his queen. So he called old Hagen
to him, and told him of his thoughts, and asked him if

he would be that herald.

" " No
Nay," answered the frowning chief. bearer of

glad tidings am I.
every To man Odin
gifts. has given
To some he has given light hearts, and cheery faces,
and glad voices and such alone are fitted to carry
;

good news and happy greetings. To others he has

given darker souls, and less lightsome faces, and more
uncouth manners and these may bear the brunt of the
;

battle, and rush with Odin's heroes to the slaughter :

but they would be ill at ease standing in the presence

of fair ladies, or telling glad tidings at court. Let me
still linger, I pray, on board this narrow ship, and send
your friend Siegfried as herald to Burgundy-land. He
is well fitted for such a duty."
2 1 2 The Story of Siegfried.

So Gunther sent at once for Siegfried, to whom,

when he had come, he said,
"
My best of friends, although we are now in sight of

land, our voyage still is a long one for the river is yet
;

far away, and, when it is reached, its course is winding,

and the current will be against us, and our progress
must needs be slow. The folk at home have had no
tidings from us since we left them in the early spring ;

and no doubt their hearts grow anxious, and they long

to hear of our whereabouts, and whether we prosper
or no. Now, as we near the headland which juts out
dark and green before us, we will set you on shore,
with the noble Greyfell, and as many comrades as you
wish, to haste with allspeed to Burgundy, to tell the
glad news of our coming to the loved ones waiting
there."

Siegfried at first held back, and tried to excuse him-

self from undertaking this errand, not because he felt

any fear of danger, but because he scorned to be any

man's thrall, to go and do at his beck and bidding.
Then Gunther spoke again, and in a different tone.

"Gentle Siegfried," he said, "if you will not do this

errand for my sake, I pray that you will undertake it

for the sake of my sister, the fair Kriemhild, who has

so long waited for our coming."
Then willingly did the prince agree to be the king's
herald. And
on the morrow the ship touched land ;

and Siegfried bade his companions a short farewell, and

went ashore with four and twenty Nibelungen chiefs,
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 2 1
3

who were to ride with himBurgundy. And, when

to

every thing was readiness, he mounted the noble

in

Greyfell, as did also each warrior his favorite steed, and

they galloped briskly away and their glittering armor
;

and nodding plumes were soon lost to sight among the

green trees of the wood. And the ship which bore
Gunther and his kingly party weighed anchor, and
moved slowly along the shore towards the distant
river's mouth.
For many days, and through many strange lands, rode
Siegfried and his Nibelungen chiefs. They galloped
through the woodland, and over a stony waste, and
came to a peopled country rich in farms and meadows,
and dotted with pleasant towns. And the folk of that
land wondered greatly at sight of the radiant Siegfried,
and the tall warriors with him, and their noble steeds,
and their sunbright armor. For they thought that it
was a company the gods riding through the mid-
of

world, as the gods were wont to do in the golden days

of old. So they greeted them with smiles, and kind,
good words, and scattered flowers and blessings in their

way.
They stopped for a day in Vilkina-land, where dwelt
one Eigill, a famous archer, who, it is said, was a brother
of Veliant, Siegfried's fellow-apprentice in the days of

his boyhood. And men told them this story of Eigill.

That once on a time old Nidung, the king of that land,
in order to test his skill with the bow, bade him shoot
an apple, or, as some say, an acorn, from the head of
214 The Story of Siegfried.

his own little son. And Eigill did this ;

but two other
arrows, which he had hidden beneath his coat, dropped
to the ground. And when the king asked him whixt
these were for he answered, " To kill thee, wretch, had T
l
slain my child."
After this our heroes rode through a rough hill-

country, where the ground was covered with sharp

stones, and the roads were steep and hard. And their
horses lost their shoes, and were so lamed by the
travel, that they were forced to turn aside to seek the
house of one Welland, a famous smith, who re-shod
their steeds, and entertained them most kindly three

days and nights. And it is said by some that Welland

is but another name for Veliant, and that this was the

selfsame foreman whom we knew in

Siegfried's younger
days. may, he was at this time the
But, be this as it

master of all smiths, and no one ever wrought more

cunningly. And men say that his grandfather was
Vilkinus, the first king of that land; and that his
grandmother, Wachitu, was a fair mermaid, who lived
in the deep green sea ; and that his father, Wada, had
carried him, when a child, upon his shoulders through
water fathoms deep, to apprentice him to the cun-
five

ning dwarfs, from whom he learned his trade. And

if this story is true, he could not have been Veliant.
He was wedded to a beautiful lady, who sometimes
took the form of a swan, and flew away to a pleasant
lake near by, where, with other swan-maidens, she
1
See Note 27 at the end of this volume.
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 215

spent the warm summer clays among the reeds and the
water-lilies. And many other strange tales were told
of Welland the smith : how he had once made a boat
from the single trunk of a tree, and had sailed in it
all around the mid-world how, being lame in one foot,
;

he had forged a wondrous winged garment, and flown

like a falcon through the air ;
and how he had wrought
for Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero, a gorgeous war-
coat that no other smith could equal. 1 And so pleas-
antly did Welland entertain his guests that they were
loath to leave him but on the fourth day they bade
;

him farewell, and wended again their way.

Now our heroes rode forward, with greater speed
than before, across many a mile of waste land, and
over steep and through pleasant wooded dales.
hills,

Then, again, they came to fair meadows, and broad

pasture -lands, and fields green with growing corn ;

and every one whom they met blessed them, and bade
them a hearty God-speed. Then they left the farm-
lands and the abodes of men far behind them ;
and
they passed by the shore of a sparkling lake, where
they heard the swan-maidens talking to each other as
they swam among the rushes, or singing in silvery
tones of gladness as they circled in the air above.
Then they crossed a dreary moor, where nothing grew
but heather ;
and they climbed a barren, stony mountain,
where the feet of men had never been, and came at last
to a wild, dark forest, where silence reigned undisturbed
forever.
1
See Note 28 at the end of this volume.
2 1 6 The Story of Siegfried.

was the wood in which dwells Vidar, the silent

It

god, far from the sound of man's busy voice, in the

solemn shade of century-living oaks and elms. There
he sits in quiet but awful grandeur,
strong almost as
Thor, but holding his mighty strength in check. Hoary
and gray, he sits alone in Nature's temple, and com-
munes with Nature's self, waiting for the day when
Nature's silent but resistless forces shall be quickened
into dread action. His head is crowned with sear and
yellow leaves, and long white moss hangs pendent from
his brows and cheeks, and his garments are rusted with

age. On his feet are iron shoes, with soles made thick
with the scraps of leather gathered through centuries
past; and with these, it is said, he shall, in the last

great twilight of the mid-world, rend the jaws of the

Fenris-wolf I .

" Who is this "

Fenris-wolf ? asked one of the Nibe-

lungens as they rode through the solemn shadows of

the wood.
And Siegfried thereupon related how that fierce crea-
ture had been brought up and cared for by the Asa-folk ;

and how, when he grew large and strong, they sought

to keep him from doing harm by binding him with an
iron chain called Leding. But the strength of the
monster was so great, that he burst the chain asunder,
and escaped. Then the Asas made another chain twice
as strong, which they called Drome. And they called
to the wolf, and besought him to allow them to bind
1
See Note 29 at the end of this volume.
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 217

him again, so that, in bursting the second chain, he

might clear up all doubts in regard to his strength.
Flattered by the words of the Asas, the wolf complied ;

and they chained him with Drome, and fastened him to

a great rock. But Fenris stretched his legs, and shook
himself, and the great chain was snapped in pieces.
Then the Asas knew that there was no safety for them
so long as a monster so huge and terrible was unbound ;

and they besought the swarthy elves to forge them

another and a stronger chain. This the elves did.

They made a most wondrous chain, smooth as silk,

and soft as down, yet firmer than granite, and stronger

than steel. They called it Gleipner ;
and it was made
of the sinews of a bear, the footsteps of a cat, the beard
of a woman, the breath of a fish, the sweat of a bird,
and the roots of a mountain. When the Asas had
obtained this chain, they lured the Fenris-wolf to the

rocky Island of Lyngve, and by flattery persuaded

him
to be bound again. But this he would not agree to do
until Tyr placed his hand in his mouth as a pledge of

good faith. Then they tied him as before, and laugh-

ingly bade him break the silken cord.

The huge creature
stretched himself as before, and tried with all his might
to burst but Gleipner held him fast, and the
away ;

worst that he could do was to bite off the hand of

unlucky Tyr. And this is why Tyr is called the one-

armed god.
"But it is added Siegfried, "that in the last
said,"

twilight the Fenris-wolf will break his chain, and

that
218 TJie Story oj Siegfried.

he will swallow the sun, and slay the great Odin him-
self, and that none can subdue him save Vidar the
Silent."
It was thus that the heroes conversed with each other
as they rodethrough the silent ways of the wood.
At length, one afternoon in early summer, the little
company reached the Rhine valley and looking down ;

from the sloping green with growing corn,

hill-tops,

they saw the pleasant town of the Burgundians and

the high gray towers of Gunther's dwelling. And not
long afterwards they rode through the streets of the
old town, and, tired and travel-stained, halted outside
of the castle-gates. Very soon it became noised about
that Siegfried and a company of strange knights, fair
and tall, had come again to Burgundy and to the home
of the Burgundian kings. But when it was certainly
known that neither Gunther the king, nor Hagen of
the evil eye, nor Dankwart his brother, had returned,
the people felt many sad misgivings for they greatly ;

feared that some hard mischance had befallen their

loved king. Then Gernot and the young Giselher,
having heard of Siegfried's arrival, came out with glad
but anxious faces to greet him.
"Welcome, worthy chief!" they cried. "But why
are you alone ? What are your tidings ? Where is our
brother ? and where are our brave uncles, Hagen and
Dankwart ? And who are those strange, fair men who
ride with you ?And what about Brunhild, the warrior-
maiden ? Alas 1 if our brother has fallen by her cruel
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 219

might, then woe to Burgundy ! Tell us quickly all about

it!"
" " " Give
Have patience, friends ! answered Siegfried.
me time to speak, and I will gladden the hearts of all
the folk of Burgundy with my news. Your brother
Gunther is alive and well ;
and he is the happiest man
in the whole mid -world, because he has won the match-
less Brunhild for his bride. And he is ere now making
hisway up the river with a mighty fleet of a hundred
vessels and more than two thousand warriors. Indeed,
you may look for him any day. And he has sent me,
with these my Nibelungen earls, to bid you make ready
for his glad
home-coming."
Then, even before he had alighted from Greyfell, he
went on to tell of the things that had happened at
Isenstein but he said nothing of the part which he
;

had taken in the strange contest. And a crowd of eager

listeners stood around, and heard with unfeigned joy
of the happy fortune of their king.
" And when he had
now," said Siegfried to Giselher,
"
finished his story, carry the glad news to your mother
and your sister ;
for they, too, must be anxious to learn
what fate has befallen King Gunther."
" "
Nay," answered the prince, you yourself are the
king's herald, and you shall be the one to break the
tidings to them. Full glad they'll be to hear the story
from your own lips, for long have they feared that our
brother would never be seen by us again. I will tell

them of your coming, but you must be the first to tell

them the news you bring."
22O The Story of Siegfried.

" "
Very well," answered Siegfried. It shall be as
you say."
Then he dismounted from Greyfell, and, with his
Nibelungen earls, was shown into the grand hall, where
they were entertained in a right kingly manner.
When Kriemhild the peerless, and Ute her mother,
heard that Siegfried had come again to Burgundy, and
that he brought news from Gunther the king, they
hastened to make ready to see him. And, when he
came before them, he seemed so noble, so bright, and
so glad, that they knew he bore no evil tidings.
"
Most noble prince," saicl Kriemhild, trembling in
"
his presence, right welcome are you to our dwelling!
But wherefore are you come ? How fares my brother
Gunther ? Why came he not with you back to Bur
gundy-land ? Oh undone are we, if, through the cruel
!

might of the warrior-queen, he has been lost to us."

" "
Now give me a herald's fees ! cried Siegfried,
"
laughing. King Gunther is alive and well. In the
sames
o of strength
o to which fair Brunhild challenged <-*

him, he was the winner. And now he comes up the

Rhine with his bride, and a great retinue of lords and
ladies and fighting-men. Indeed, the sails of his ships
whiten the river for miles. And I am come by his

desire to ask that every thing be made ready for his

glad home-coming and the loving rvelcome of his peer-

lessqueen."
Great was the joy of Kriemhild and her queenl}
mother when they heard this gladsome news ; and they
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 22 \

thanked the prince most heartily for all that he had

done.
"You have truly earned a herald's fee," said the
" and
lovely maiden, gladly would I pay it you in gold ;

for you have cheered us with pleasant tidings, and light-

ened our minds heavy load. But men of your noble

of a

rank take neither gifts nor fees, and hence we have

only to offer our deepest and heartiest thanks."
" " Think not
Not so," answered Siegfried gayly. I

would scorn a fee. Had I a kingdom of thirty realms,

I should be proud of a gift from you."

still
" "
Then, you shall have your herald's fee cried !

Kriemhild and she sent her maidens to fetch the gift.

;

And with her hands she gave him twenty

own lily

golden bracelets, richly inwrought with every kind of

rare and costly gem-stones. Happy, indeed, was Sieg-
fried to take such priceless gift from the hand of so

peerless a maiden and his face shone radiant with sun-

;

beams as he humbly bowed, and thanked her. But he

had no need for the jewels, nor wished he to keep them
long : so he gave them, with gracious wishes, to the fair

young maidens at court.

From this time forward, for many days, there was

great bustle in Gunther's dwelling. was On every side
heard the noise of busy hands, making ready for the
glad day when welcomed home.
the king should be
The broad halls and the tall gray towers were decked
with flowers, and floating banners, ard many a gay
device; the houses and streets of the pleasant burgh
222 77ie Story of Siegfried.

put on their holiday attire the shady road which led

;

through Kriemhild's rose-garden down to the river-banks

was dusted and swept with daily care and the watch- ;

man was cautioned to keep on the lookout every moment

for thecoming of the expected fleet. And heralds had
been sent to every burgh and castle, and to every country-
side in Burgundy, announcing the happy home-coming
of Gunther and his bride, and bidding every one, both
high and low, to the glad merry-making.
On the morning of the eleventh day, ere the sun had
dried the dew from the springing grass, the keen-eyed
watchman, in his perch on the topmost tower, cried out
in happy accents to the waiting folk below,

"They come at last! I see the white-winged ships

still far down the stream. But a breeze springs up
from the northward, and the sailors are at the oars, and
swift speed the hastening vessels, as if borne on the

wings of the wind. Ride forth, O ye brave and fair, to

"
welcome the fair and the brave !

Then quickly the king-folk, and the warriors, and fair

ladies, mounted their ready steeds, and gayly through

the gates of the castle they rode out river-wards. And
Ute, the noble queen-mother, went first. And the
company moved in glittering array, with flying banners,

and music, and the noisy flourish of drums, adown the

rose-covered pathway which led to the water's side.
And the peerless Kriemhild followed, with a hundred

lovely maidens, all mounted on snow-white palfreys ;

and
Siegfried, proud and happy, on Greyfell, rode beside her.
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 223

When the party reached the river-bank, a pleasant

sight met their eyes for the fleet had now drawn
;

near, and the whole eye could reach,

river, as far as the

glittered with the light reflected from the shield-hung

rails and the golden prows of the swift-coming ships.

King Gunther's own vessel led all the rest ;

and the
king himself stood on the deck, with the glorious Brun-
hild by his side. Nearer and nearer the fresh breeze
of thesummer morning wafted the vessel to the shore,
where stood the waiting multitude. Softly the golden
dragon glided in to the landing-place, and quickly was
it moored to the banks
then Gunther, clad in his
;

kingly garments, stepped ashore, and with him his

lovely queen. And a mighty shout of welcome, and an
answering shout of gladness, seemed to rend the sky as
the waiting hosts beheld the sight. And the queen-
mother Ute, and the peerless Kriemhild, and her kingly
brothers, went forward to greet the pair. And Kriem-
hild took Brunhild by the hand, and kissed her, and
said,
-
"
Welcome, thrice welcome, dear sister ! to thy home
and thy kindred and thy people, who hail thee as queen.
And may thy days be full of joyance, and thy years be
"
full of peace !

Then all the folk cried out their goodly greetings ;

and the sound of their glad voices rang out sweet and

morning air, and rose up from the riverside,

clear in the
and was echoed among the hill-slopes, and carried over
the meadows and vineyards, to the farthest bounds of
224 The Story of Siegfried.

Burgundy-land. And the matchless Brunhild, smiling,

returned the happy greeting and her voice was soft
;

and sweet, as she said,

"O kin of the fair Rhineland, and folk of my new-
found home may your days be summer sunshine, and
!

your lives lack grief and pain and may this hour of
;

"
glad rejoicing be the type of all hours to come!
Then the lovely queen was seated in a golden wain
which stood in waiting for her and Gunther mounted
;

his own war-steed and the whole company made ready

;

to ride to the castle. Never before had so pleasant a

sight been seen in Rhineland, as that glorious array of
king-folk and lords and ladies wending from river to for-
tress along the rose-strewn roadway. Foremost went
the king, and by his side was Siegfried on the radiant

Greyfell. Then came the queen's golden wain, drawn by

two snow-white oxen, which were led with silken cords
by sweet-faced maidens and in it, on an ivory throne
;

deep-carved with mystic runes, sat glorious Brunhild.

Behind rode the queen-mother and her kingly sons,
and frowning Hagen, and Dankwart, and Volker, and
all the earl-folk and
mighty warriors of Burgundy and of
Nibelungen Land. And lastly came Kriemhild and her
hundred damsels, sitting on their snow-white steeds.
And they rode past the blooming gardens, and through
the glad streets of the burgh, and then, like a radiant
vision, they entered the castle-halls ; and the lovely

pageant was seen no more.

For twelve days after this, a joyful high-tide was held
 How Brunhild was welcomed Home. 225

at the castle ;
and the broad rang with merriment
halls

and music and festive mirth. And games and tourna-

ments were held in honor of the king's return. Brave
horsemen dashed here and there at break-neck speed, or
contended manfully in the lists lances flew thick in
;

the air shouts and glad cries were heard on every hand
; ;

and for a time the most boisterous tumult reigned. But

gladness and good-feeling ruled the hour, and no one
thought of aught but merry-making and careless joy.
At length,when the days of feasting were past, the
guests bade Gunther and his queen farewell and each
;

betook himself to his own home, and to whatsoever his

duty called him. And one would have thought that
none but happy days were henceforth in store for the
kingly folk of Burgundy. But alas too soon the cruel
!

frost and the cold north winds nipped the buds and

blossoms of the short summer, and the days of gladness

gave place to nights of gloom.
226 The Story of Siegfried.

ADVENTURE XVII.

HOW SIEGFRIED LIVED IN NIBE-

LUNGEN LAND.
WHEN the twelve-days' high-tide at King Gunther's
home-coming had been brought to an end, and the
guests had all gone to their homes, Siegfried, too,
prepared to bid farewell to the Rhineland kings, and
to wend to his own country. But he was not to go
alone ;
for Kriemhild, the peerless princess, was to
go with him as his bride. They had been wedded dur-
ing the merry festivities which had just closed, and that
event had added greatly to the general joy for never ;

was there a fairer or a nobler pair than Siegfried the

fearless, and Kriemhild the peerless.
" to part with you," said Gunther,
It grieves my heart
" It will fare but with
wringing Siegfried's hand. ill us,

I fear, when we no longer see your radiant face, or hear

your cheery voice."

"
Say not so, my brother," answered Siegfried; "for
the gods have many good things in store for you. And,
ifever you need the help of my arm, you have but to

say the word, and I will hasten to your aid."

 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 227

Thenthe Burgundian kings besought the hero to

take the fourth part of their kingdom as his own and

Kriemhild's, and to think no more of leaving them.

But Siegfried would not agree to this. His heart

yearned to see his father and mother once again, and

then to return to his own loved Nibelungen Land. So
he thanked the kings for their kind offer, and hastened
to make ready for his intended journey.
Early on Midsummer Day the hero and his bride rode

out of Gunther's dwelling, and turned their faces north-

ward. And with them was a noble retinue of warriors,
hundred brave Burgundians, with Eckewart as
five

their chief, who had sworn to be Queen Kriemhild's

vassals in her new, far-distant home. Thirty and two
fair maidens, too, went with her. And with Siegfried
were his Nibelungen earls.

As the company rode down the sands, and filed

gayly along the river-road, it seemed

a lovely although
a sad sight to their kinsmen who gazed after them
from the castle-towers. Fair and young were all the
folk ;
and the world, to most, was still untried. And
they rode, the morning sunlight, away from their
in.

native land, nor recked that never again would they

return. Each warrior sat upon a charger, richly geared
with gilt-red saddle, and gorgeous bridle, and trappings
of every hue and their war-coats were bright and daz-
;

zling;and their spears glanced in the sun; and their

golden shields threw rays of resplendent light around
them. The maidens, too, were richly dight in broi
228 Tlie Story of Siegfried.

dered cloaks of blue, and rare stuffs brought from far-

off Araby and each sat on a snow-white palfrey geared
;

with silken housings, and trappings of bright blue.

For some days the company followed the course of
the river, passing through many a rich meadow, and
between lovely vineyards, and fields of yellow corn.
Then they rode over a dreary, barren waste, and
through a wild greenwood, and reached, at last, the
hills which marked the beginning of King Siegmund's

domains. Then Siegfried sent fleet heralds before

them to carry to his father the tidings of his
coming
with his bride, fair Kriemhild.
Glad, indeed, were old

King Siegmund and Siegfried's gentle mother when

they heard this news.
"Oh, happy isthe day !" cried the king. "Thrice

happy be the day that shall see fair Kriemhild a

crowned queen, and Siegfried a king in the throne of
"
his fathers !

And they showered upon the heralds who had brought

the happy news rich fees of gold and silver,and gave
them garments of silken velvet. And on the morrow

they set out, with a train of earl-folk and lovely ladies,

to meet their son and his bride. For one whole day they
journeyed to the old fortress of San ten, where in former
days the king's dwelling had been. There they met
the happy bridal-party, and fond and loving were the

hearty greetings they bestowed upon Kriemhild

and the
radiant Siegfried. Then, without delay, they returned
to Siegmund's kingly hall ;
and for twelve days a high
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 229

tide, more happy and more splendid than that which

had been held in Burgundy, was made in honor of Sieg-

fried's marriage-day. And, in the midst of those days

of sport and joyance, the old king gave his crown and
sceptre to his son and all the people hailed Siegfried,
;

king of the broad Lowlands, and Kriemhild his loveiy

queen.
Old stories tell how Siegfried reigned in peace and
glad contentment and how the joyous
in his fatherland ;

sunshine shone wherever he went, and poured a flood

of lightand warmth and happiness into every nook and
corner of his kingdom and how, at length, after the
;

gentle Sigelind had died, he moved his court to that

other country of his, --the far-off Nibelungen Land.
And it is in that strange, dream-haunted land, in a

strong-built mountain fortress, that we shall next find

him.
Glad were the Nibelungen folk when their own king
and his lovely wife came to dwell among them and the ;

mists once more were lifted, and the skies grew bright
and clear, and men said that the night had departed, and
the better clays were near. Golden, indeed, and most
glorious, was that summer-time ;
and long to be remem-
bered was Siegfried's too brief reign in Nibelungen
Land. And, ages afterward, folk loved to sing of his
care for his people's welfare, of his wisdom and bound-
less lore, of his deeds in the time of warring, and the

victories gained in peace. And strong and brave were

the men-folk, and wise and fair were the women, and
230 The Story of Siegfried.

broad and rich were the acres, in Siegfried's well-ruled

land. The farm-lands were yellow with the abundant
harvests, fruitful orchards
grew in the pleasant dales,
and fair vineyards crowned the hills. Fine cities
sprang up along the seacoast, and strong fortresses
were built on every height. Great ships were made,
which sailed to every land, and brought home rich goods
from every clime, coffee and spices from India, rich
silks from Zazemang, fine fruits from the Iberian
shore, and soft furs, and ivory tusks of the sea-beast,
from the frozen coasts of the north. Never before was
country so richly blessed for Siegfried taught his
;

people how to till the soil best, and how to delve far
down into the earth for hidden treasures, and how to
work skilfully in iron and bronze and all other metals,
and how to make the winds and the waters, and even
the thunderbolt, their thralls and helpful servants.
And he was as great in war as in peace for no other
;

people dared harm, or in any way impose upon, the

Nibelungen folk, or
any of his faithful liegemen.
It is told how, once on a time, he warred against the

Hundings, who had done his people an injury, and how

he sailed against them in a long dragon-ship of a hun-
dred oars. When he was far out in the mid-sea, and
no land was anywhere in sight, a dreadful storm arose.
The lightnings flashed, and the winds roared, and
threatened to carry the ship to destruction. Quickly
the fearful sailors began to reef the sails, but Siegfried
bade them stop,
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 23 1

" " "

Why be afraid ? he cried. The Norns have
woven the woof of every man's life, and no man can
escape his destiny. If the gods will that we should

drown, it is folly for us to strive against

fate. We
are bound to the shore of the Hundings' land, and
thither must our good ship carry us. Hoist the sails

high on the masts, even though the wind should

tear
"
them into shreds, and split the masts into splinters !

The sailors did as they were bidden ;

and the hur-
ricane caught the ship in mighty arms, and hurried
its

it over the rolling waves with the speed of lightning.

And Siegfried stood calmly at the helm, and guided the
flying vessel. Presently they saw a rocky point rising
up out of the waters before them ; and on it stood an
old man, his gray cloak streaming in the wind, and his
blue hood tied tightly down over his head.
"Whose ship is that which comes riding on the
"
storm ? cried the man.

"King Siegfried's ship," answered the man at the

prow. "There lives no braver man on earth than he."

"Thou sayest truly," came back from the rock.
"
Lay by your oars, reef the sails, and take me on
"
hoard !

" "
Whatyour name
is ? asked the sailor, as the ship

swept past him.

"When the raven croaks glacly over his battle-feast,
men call me Hnikar. But call me now Karl from the
mountain, Fengr, or Fjolner. Reef, quick, your sails,
"
and take me in !
232 The Story of Siegfried.

The men, command, obeyed. And at

at Siegfried's

once the wind ceased blowing, and the sea was calm,
and the warm sun shone through the rifted clouds, and
the coast of Hundings Land lay close before them.
But when they looked for Fjolner, as he called himself,
they could not find him.
One day Siegfried sat in his sun-lit hall in Nibe-
lungen Land and Kriemhild, lovely as a morning in
;

June, sat beside him. And they talked of the early

days when alone he fared through the mid-world, and
alone did deeds of wondrous daring. o And Siesrfried
o
bethought him then of the glittering Hoard of And-
vari, and the cave and the mountain fortress, where the
faithful dwarf Alberich still guarded the measureless
treasure.
"
How I should like to see that mountain fastness
"
and that glittering hoard cried Kriemhild.
!

" You
shall see," answered the king.
And at once horses were saddled, and preparations
were made for a morning's jaunt into the mountains.
And, ere an hour had passed, Siegfried and his queen,
and a small number of knights and ladies, were riding
through the passes. About noon they came to
Alberich's dwelling, a frowning fortress of granite
built in the mountain-side. The gate was opened by
the sleepy giant who always sat within, and the party
rode into the narrow court-yard. There they were met

by Alberich, seeming smaller and grayer, and more

pinched and wan, than ever before.
 How Siegfried lived in Nibclungen Land. 233

" "
Hail, noble master cried he, bowing low before
!

" "
Siegfried. can How
Alberich serve you to-day ?
" Lead us to the
treasure-vaults," answered the king.
"
My queen would fain feast her eyes upon the yellow,
sparkling hoard."
The dwarf obeyed. Through a narrow door they
were ushered into a long, low cavern, so frowning and
gloomy, that the queen started back in affright. But,
re-assured by Siegfried's smiling face, she went forward

again. The entrance-way was lighted by little torches

held in the hands of tiny elves, who bowed in humble

politeness to the kingly party. But, when once beyond

the entrance-hall, no torches were needed to show the

way ;
for thehuge pile of glittering gold and sparkling
jewels, which lay heaped up to the cavern's roof,
lighted all the space around with a glory brighter than

day.
"There is the dwarf's treasure!" cried Siegfried.
" Hoard of Andvari, the gathered wealth of
Behold the
the ages Henceforth, fair Kriemhild, it is yours
!
all

yours, save this serpent-ring."

"And why not that too?" asked the queen; for she
admired its glittering golden scales, and its staring

ruby eyes.
"Alas!" answered he, "a curse rests upon it, the
curse which Andvari the ancient laid upon it when
Loki tore it from his hand. A miser's heart -- selfish,

cold, snaky
- - is bred in its owner's being ;
and he
thenceforth lives a very serpent's life. Or, should he
234 The Story oj

resist its influence, then death through the guile of

pretended friends is sure to be his fate."
"Then why," asked the queen, --" why do you keep
bane? Why not
it
yourself? Why do you risk its

give it to your sworn foe, or cast it into the sea, or

"
melt it in the fire, and thus escape the curse ?

Siegfried answered by telling how, when in the hey-

slain Fafnir, the
day of his youth, he had keeper of this
hoard, upon the Glittering Heath ;
and how, while still

in the narrow trench which he had dug, the blood of

the horrid beast had flown in upon him, and covered
him up.
"And this I have been told by Odin's birds," he
" that that was
went on to say, every part of my body
touched by the slimy flood was made forever proof
against sword and spear, and sharp weapons of every
kind. Hence I have no cause to fear the stroke, either
of open foes or of traitorous false friends."
"
But was all your body covered with the dragon's
of

blood? Was there no small spot untouched?" asked

the queen, more anxious now than she had ever seemed
to be before she had known aught of her husband's

strange security from wounds.

"'
Only one very little spot between the shoulders
vv.is untouched," answered Siegfried.
left "I after-
wards found a lime-leaf sticking there, and I know

that the slimy blood touched not that spot. But then
who fears a thrust in the back ? None save cowards
are wounded there."
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 235

" "
Ah ! said the queen, toying tremulously with the
fatal ring, "that little lime-leaf may yet bring us unut-
terable woe."
But Siegfried laughed at her fears and he took the ;

serpent-ring, and slipped it upon his forefinger, and

said that he would wear it there, bane or no bane, so
long as Odin would let him live.
Then, after another long look at the heaps of glitter-
ing gold and priceless gem-stones, the company turned,
and followed Alberich back, through the gloomy en-
trance-way and the narrow door, to the open air again.
And mounting their steeds, which stood ready, they
started homewards. But, at the outer gate, Siegfried
paused, and said to the dwarf at parting,
"
Hearken, Alberich The Hoard of Andvari is no
!

longer mine. I have made a present of it to

my queen.
Hold it and guard it, therefore, as hers and hers alone ;

and, whatever her bidding may be regarding it, that

do."
"Your word is law, and shall be obeyed," said the
dwarf, bowing low.
Then the drowsy gate-keeper swung the heavy gate
to its place, and the kingly party rode gayly away.
On their way home the company went, by another

route,through the narrow mountain pass which led to-

wards the sea, and thence through a rocky gorge
between two smoking mountains. And 'on one side of
this road a great cavern yawned, so dark and deep that
no man had ever dared to step inside of it. And as
236 The Story of Siegfried.

they paused before it, and listened, they heard, away

down in its dismal depths, horrid groans, sad meanings,
and faint wild shrieks, so far away that it seemed as if

they had come from the very centre of the

earth. And,

while they still listened, the ground around them trem-

bled and shook, and the smoking mountain on the other
side of the gorge smoked blacker than before.
" Loki is uneasy to-day," said Siegfried, as they all

put spurs to their horses, and galloped swiftly

home.
It was the Cavern of the Mischief-maker which the

party had visited ;

and that evening, as they again sat

in Siegfried's pleasant hall, they amused themselves by

telling many strange old tales of the mid-world's child-
hood, when the gods, and the giants, and the dwarf-
folk, had their dwelling on the earth. But they talked
most of Loki, the flame, the restless, the evil-doer.
And this, my children, is the story that was told of the
Doom of the Mischief-maker.
1

THE STORY.

You have heard of the feast that old ^Egir once

made for the Asa-folk in his gold-lit dwelling in the

deep sea ;
and how the feast was hindered, through the
loss of his great brewing-kettle, until Thor had obtained
a still larger vessel from Hymer the giant. It is ve/y
kettle was
likely that the thief who stole King yEgir's
none other than Loki the Mischief-maker but, if this ;

vas so, he was not long unpunished for his meanness.

There was great joy in the Ocean-king's hall, when
1
See Note -50
at tlic ^nrl of this volume.
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 237

at last the banquet was ready, and the foaming ale

began to pass itself around to the guests. But Thor.

who had done so much to help matters along, could not
stay to the merry-making : for he had heard that the
Storm-giants were marshalling their forces for a raid
upon some unguarded corner of the mid-world and so, ;

grasping his hammer Mjolner, he bade his kind host

good-by, and leaped into his iron car.
" Business "
always before pleasure he cried, as he
!

gave the word to his swift, strong goats, and rattled away
at a wonderful rate through the air.
In old ^Egir's hall glad music resounded on every
side and the gleeful Waves danced merrily as the
;

Asa-folk sat around the festal-board, and partook of

the Ocean-king's good fare. ^Egir's two thralls, the
faithful Funfeng and the trusty Elder, waited upon
the guests, and carefully supplied their wants. Never
in all the world had two more thoughtful servants been
seen and every one spoke in praise of their quickness,
;

skill, and their ready obedience.

and their
Then Loki, unable to keep his hands from mischief,
waxed very angry, because every one seemed happy and
free from trouble, and no one noticed or cared for him.

So, while good Funfeng was serving him to meat, he

struck the faithful thrall with a carving-knife, and killed
him. Then arose a great uproar in the Ocean-king's
feast-hall. The Asa-folk rose up from the table, and
drove the Mischief-maker out from among them ;
and in

their wrath they chased him across the waters, and

238 The Story of Siegfried.

forced him to hide in the thick greenwood. After th.it

they went back to ^Egir's hall, and sat down again to
the feast. But they had scarcely begun to eat, when
Loki came quietly out of his hiding-place, and stole
slyly around to ^Egir's kitchen, where he found Elder,
the other thrall, grieving sadly because of his brother's
death.
"I
hear a great chattering and clattering over there
in the feast-hall," said Loki. "The greedy, silly Asa-
folk seem to be very busy indeed, both with their teeth
and their tongues. Tell me, now, good Elder, what they
talk about while they sit over their meat and ale."
" talk of noble deeds," answered Elder. "
They They
speak of gallant heroes, and brave men, and fair women,
and strong hearts, and willing hands, and gentle man-
ners, and kind friends. And for all these they have
words of praise, and songs of beauty ;
but none of them
speak well of Loki, the thief and the vile traitor."

"Ah!" Loki wrathfully, twisting himself into

said
a dozen different shapes, " no one could ask so great a
kindness from such folk. I must go into the feast-hall,
and take a look at this fine company, and listen to their
noisy merry-making. I have a fine scolding laid up for
those good fellows and, unless they are careful with
;

their tongues, they will find many hard words mixed

with their ale."
Then he went boldly into the great hall, and stood up
before the wonder-stricken guests at the table. When
the Asa-folk saw who it was that had darkened the
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 239

doorway, and was now in their midst, a painful silence

fell upon them, and all their merriment was at an end.

And Loki stretched himself up to his full height, and
said to them,

"Hungry and thirsty come I to ^Egir's gold lit hall.

Long and rough was the road I trod, and wearisome

was the way. Will no one bid me welcome ? Will
none give me a seat at the feast ? Will none offer me
a drink of the precious mead ?
Why are you all so
dumb ?
Why so sulky and stiff-necked, when your best
friend stands before you ? Give me a seat among you.
-yes, one of the high-seats, --or else drive me from
your hall ! In either case, the world will never forget
me. I am Loki."
Then one among the Asa-folk spoke up, and said,
"Let him sit with us. He is mad; and when he slew
Funfeng, he was not in his right mind. He is not
answerable for his rash act"
But Bragi the Wise, who sat on the innermost seat,
"
arose, and said, Nay, we not give him a seat
will

among us. Nevermore shall he feast or sup with us,

or share our good-fellowship. Thieves and murderers
we know, and will shun."
This speech enraged Loki all the more and he spared ;

not vile words, but heaped abuse without stint upon all
the folk before him. And by main force he seized hold
of the silent Vidar, who had come from the forest soli-

tudes to be present at the feast, and dragged him away

from the table, and seated himself in his place. Then,
240 The Story of Siegfried.

as he quaffed the foaming ale, he flung out taunts and

jeers and hard words to all who sat around, but chiefly
to Bragi the Wise. Then he turned to Sif, the beautiful

wife of Thor, and began to twit her about her golden hair.
"
Oh, how handsome you were, when you looked at
your bald head in the mirror that day !
Oh, what music
you made when your hands touched your smooth pate !

And now whose hair do you wear ? "

And the wretch laughed wickedly, as he saw the tears

welling up in poor Sif's eyes.

Then suddenly a great tumult was heard outside.
The mountains shook and trembled and the bottom of ;

the sea seemed moved and the waves, affrighted and

;

angry, rushed hither and thither in confusion. All the

guests looked up in eager expectation, and some of

them fled in alarm from the hall. Then the mighty

Thor strode through the door, and up to the table,
swinging his hammer, and casting wrathful glances at
the Mischief-maker. Loki trembled, and dropped his
goblet, and sank down upon his knees before the terrible

Asa.
" " "
I yield me ! he cried. Spare my life, I pray you,
"
and be your thrall forever
I will !

"I want no such thrall," answered Thor. "And I

spare your on one condition only,

life that you go at
once from hence, and nevermore presume to come into
the company of Asa-folk."
"
promise all that you ask," said Loki, trembling
I

more than ever. " Let me go."

 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 241

Thor stepped aside; and the frightened culprit fled

fiom the hall, and was soon out of sight. The feast
was broken up. The folk bade ^Egir a kind farewell,
and embarked on Prey's good ship Skidbladner and
all ;

fair winds wafted them swiftly home to Asgard.

Loki fled to the dark mountain gorges of Mist Land,

and sought for a while to hide himself from the sight of
both gods and men. In a deep ravine by the side of a

roaring torrent, he built himself a house of iron and

stone, and placed a door on each of its four sides, so
that he could see whatever passed around him. There,
for many winters, he lived in lonely solitude, planning
with himself how he might baffle the gods,and regain
his old place inAsgard. And now and then he slipped
slyly away from his hiding-place, and wrought much
mischief for a time among the abodes of men. But
when Thor heard of his evil-doings, and sought to
catch him, and punish him for his evil deeds, he was
nowhere to be found. And at last the Asa-folk deter-
mined, that, if he could ever be captured, the safety of
the world required that he should be bound hand and
foot,and kept forever in prison.
Loki often amused himself in his mountain home by
taking upon him his favorite form of a salmon, and
lying listlesslv beneath the waters of the great Fanan-
der Cataract, which fell from the shelving rocks a
thousand feet above him. One day while thus lying,
he bethought himself of former days, when he walked
the glad young earth in company with the All-Father.
242 The Story of Siegfried.

And among other things he remembered how he had

once borrowed the magic net of Ran, the Ocean-queen,
and had caught xvith it the dwarf Andvari, disguised,
as he himself now was, in the form of a slippery salmon.
"
"
I will make me such a net he cried. " I will
!

make it strong and good and I, too, will fish for men."
;

So he took again his proper shape, and went back to

his cheerless home in the ravine. And he gathered
flax and wool and long hemp, and spun yarn and strong
cords, and wove them into meshes, after the pattern of

Queen Ran's magic net for men had not, at that

;

time, learned how to make or use nets for fishing. And

the first fisherman who caught fish in that way is said
to have taken Loki's net as a model.
Odin sat, on the morrow, in his high hall of Hlid-
skialf, and looked out over all the world, and saw, even
to the uttermost corners, what men-folk were every-
where doing. When his eye rested upon the dark line
which marked the mountain-land of the Mist Country,
he started up in quick surprise, and cried out,
" Who is that who sits
by the Fanander Force, and
"
ties strong cords together ?
But none of those who stood around could tell, for

their eyes were not strong enough and clear enough to

see so far.
" "
Bring Heimdal ! then cried Odin.
Now, Heimdal the White dwells among the blue
mountains of sunny Himminbjorg, where the rainbow,
the shimmering Asa -bridge, spans the space betwixt
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 243

heaven and earth. He is the son of Odin, golden-

toothed, pure-faced, and clean-hearted and he ever
;

keeps watch and ward over the mid-world and the

homes of frail men-folk, lest the giants shall break in,
and destroy and slay. He rides upon a shining steed
named Goldtop ;
and he holds in his hand a horn called
Gjallar-horn, with which, in the last great twilight, he
shall summon the world to battle with the Fenris-wolf
and the sons of Loki. This watchful guardian of the
mid-world is as wakeful as the birds. And his hearing
is so keen, that no sound on earth escapes him, --not
even that of the rippling waves upon the seashore, noi
of the quiet sprouting of the grass in the meadows,
nor even of the growth of the soft wool on the backs
of sheep. And his eyesight, too, is wondrous clear
and sharp for he can see by night as well as by day,
;

and the smallest thing, although a hundred leagues

away, cannot be hidden from him.
To Heimdal, then, the heralds hastened, bearing the
words which Odin had spoken. And the watchful
warder of the mid-world came at once to the call of
the All-Father.
"Turn your eyes to the sombre mountains that guard
the shadowy Mist-land from the sea," said Odin.
" Now down
look far into the rocky gorge in which the
Fanander Cataract pours, and tell me what you see."
Heimdal did as he was bidden.
"I see a shape," said he, "sitting by the torrent's
side. It is Loki's shape, and he seems strangely busy

with strong strings and cords."

244 Th e Story of Siegfried.

" "
Call all our folk together ! commanded Odin.
"The wily Mischief-maker plots our hurt. He must
be driven from his hiding-place, and put where he
can do no further harm."
Great stir was there then in Asgard. Every one
hastened to answer Odin's call, and to join in the quest

for the Mischief-maker. Thor came on foot, with his

hammer tightly grasped in his hands, and lightning
flashing from beneath his red brows. Tyr, the one-
handed, came with his sword. Then followed Bragi
the Wise, with his harp and his sage counsels then ;

Hermod the Nimble, with his quick wit and ready

hands and, lastly, a great company of elves and wood-
;

sprites and trolls. Then a whirlwind caught them up

in its swirling arms, and carried them through the air,
over the hill-tops and the country-side, and the mead-
ows and the mountains, and set them down in the

gorge of the Fanander Force.

But Loki was not caught napping. His wakeful ears
had heard the tumult in the air, and he guessed who it
was that was coming. He threw the net, which he had
just finished, into the fire, and jumped quickly into the
swift torrent, where, changing himself into a salmon,
he lay hidden beneath the foaming waters.
When the eager Asa-folk reached Loki's dwelling,
they found that he whom they sought had fled and ;

although they searched high and low, among the rocks

and the caves and the snowy crags, they could see no
signs of the cunning fugitive. Then they went back
 Hoiv Siegfried lived in Nib elungen Land. 245

to his house again to consult what next to do. And,

while standing by the hearth, Kwaser, a sharp-sighted
elf, whose eyes were quicker than the sunbeam, saw

the white ashes of the burned net lying undisturbed

in the still hot embers, the woven meshes unbroken

and whole.
" See "
what the cunning fellow has been making !

cried the elf. " It must have been a

trap for catching
fish."

"Or rather for catching men," said Bragi ;

"for it

is strangely like the Sea-queen's net."

"In that case," said Hermod the Nimble, "he has
made a trap for himself; for, no doubt, he has
changed himself, as is his wont, to a slippery salmon,
and lies at this moment hidden beneath the Fanandcr
torrent Here are plenty of cords of flax and hemp
and wool, with which he intended to make other nets.
Let us take them, and weave one like the pattern
which lies there in the embers ;
and then, if I mistake
not, we shall catch the too cunning fellow."
All saw the wisdom of these words, and all set

quickly to work. In a short time they had made a net

strong and large, and full of fine meshes, like the model
among the coals. Then they threw it into the roaring
stream, Thor folding to one end, and all the other folk

pulling at the other. With great toil, they dragged it

forwards, against the current, even to the foot of the
waterfall.But the cunning Loki crept close down
between two sharp stones, and lay there quietly while
the net passed harmlessly over him.
246 The Story of Siegfried.

" " " I am sure that

Let us try again cried Thor.
!

something besides dead rocks lies at the bottom of the

stream."
So they hung heavy weights to the net, and began
todrag it a second time, this time going down stream.
Loki looked out from his hiding-place, and saw that he
would not be able to escape again by lying between the
rocks, and that his onlychance for safety was either to
leap over the net, and hide himself behind the rushing
cataract itself, or to swim with the current out to the
sea. But the way to the sea was long, and there were
many shallow places ;
and Loki had doubts as to how
old ^Egir would receive him in his kingdom. He
feared greatly to undertake so dangerous and uncertain
a course. So, turning upon his foes, and calling up all
his strength, he made a tremendous leap high into the

air, and clean over the net. But Thor was too quick
for him. As he fell towards the water, the Thunderer

quickly threw out his hand, and caught the slippery

salmon, holding him firmly by the tail.
WhenLoki found that he was surely caught, and
could not by any means escape, he took again his

proper shape. Fiercely did he struggle wkh mighty

Thor, and bitter were the curses which he poured down
upon his enemies. But he could not get free. Into
the deep, dark cavern, beneath the smoking mountain,
where daylight never comes, nor the warmth of the
sun, nor the sound of Nature's music, the fallen Mis-
chief-maker was carried. And they bound him firmly
 How Siegfried lived in Nibelungen Land. 247

to the sharp rocks, with his face turned upwards

toward the dripping roof; for they said that never-

more, until the last dread twilight, should he be free to
vex the world with his wickedness. And Skadc, the
giant wife of Niord and the daughter of grim Old Win-
ter, took a hideous poison snake, and hung it up above
Loki, so that its venom would drop into his upturned
face. But Sigyn, the loving wife of the suffering
wretch, left her home in the pleasant halls of Asgard,

and came to his horrible prison-house to soothe and

comfort him and evermore she holds a basin above his
;

head, and catches in it the poisonous drops as they fall.

When the basin is filled, and she turns to empty it
in the tar-black river that flows through that home of
horrors, the terriblevenom falls upon his unprotected
face, and Loki writhes and shrieks in fearful agony,
around him shakes and trembles, and
until the earth

the mountains spit forth fire, and fumes of sulphur-

smoke.
And there Mischief-maker, the spirit of evil,
the
shall lie in torment until the last great day and the

dread twilight of all mid-world things. How strange

and how sad, that, while Loki lies thus bound and
harmless, evil still walks the earth, and that so much
mischief and such dire disasters were prepared for
Siegfried and the folk of Nibelungen Land I
 'lite
Story of Siegfried.

ADVENTURE XVIII.

HOW THE MISCHIEF BEGAN TO

BREW.
ONE day a party of strangers came to Siegfried's

Nibelungen dwelling, and asked to speak with the

king.
" "
Who are you ? and what is your errand ? asked the
porter at the gate.
"
Our errand is to the king, and he will know who
we are when he sees us," was the answer.
When Siegfried was told of the strange men who
waited below, and of the strange way in which they
had answered the porter's question, he asked,
" From
what country seem they to have come ? For
surely their dress and manners will betray something
of that matter to you. Are they South-land folk, or
East-land folk ? Are they from the mountains, or from
"
the sea ?

"They belong to none of the neighbor-lands," an-

swered the earl who had brought the word to t'.ie king.
"
No such men live upon our borders. They seem to
have come from a far-off land ;
for they are travel-
 How the Mischief began to Brew. 249

worn, and their sea-stained clothing betokens a people

from the south. They and dark, and their hair
are tall

is black, and they look much like those Rhineland war-

riors who camehither with our lady the queen. And
they carry a blood-red banner with a golden dragon
painted upon it."

"Oh, they must be from Burgundy!" cried the

queen, who had overheard these words. And she

went at once to the window to see the strangers, who
were waiting the courtyard below.
in

There, indeed, she saw thirty tall Burgundians, clad

in the gay costume of Rhineland, now faded and worn

with long travel. But all save one were young, and

strangers to Kriemhild. their leader, -

That one was
an old man with a kind face, and a right noble bearing.
" See " said the " there is our
!
queen to Siegfried :

brave captain Gere, who, ever since my childhood, has

been the trustiest man in my brother Gunther's house-
hold. Those men are from the and theyfatherland,

bring tidings from the dear old Burgundian home."

" Welcome are "
they to our Nibelungen Land cried !

the delighted king.

And he ordered that the strangers should be brought
into the castle, and that the most sumptuous rooms
should be allotted to them, and a plenteous meal pre-
pared, and every thing done to entertain them in a

style befitting messengers from Kriemhild's

father-

land. Then Gere, the trusty captain, was led into the

presence of the king and queen. Right gladly did

250 The Story of Siegfried.

they welcome him, and many were the questions they

asked about their kin-folk, and the old Rhineland home.
" "
Tell us,
good Gere," said Siegfried, what is thy
message from our friends for we are anxious to know
;

whether they are well and happy, or whether some ill

luck has overtaken them. any harm threatens them,
If

they have but to speak, and I, with my sword and my

treasures, will hasten to their help."
" " No ill
They are all well," answered the captain.
has befallen them, and no harm threatens them. Peace
rules all the land ;
and fair weather and sunshine have
filled the people's barns, and made their hearts glad.
And has been ever since Gunther brought to
thus it

his dwelling the warrior-maiden Brunhild to be his

queen. And this is my errand and the message that 1
bring King Gunther, blessed with happiness, intends
:

to hold a grand high-tide of joy and thanksgiving at

the time of the harvest-moon. And nothing is want-

ing to complete the gladness of that time, but the sight
of you and the peerless Kriemhild in your old places at
the feast. And it is to invite you to this festival of

rejoicing that I have come, at the king's command, to

Nibelungen Land."
Siegfried sat a moment in silence, and then thought-
fully answered,
"It a long, long journey from this lard
is to Bur-

gundy, and many dangers beset the road and ; my own

people would sadly miss me while away, and I know
not what mishaps might befall."
 How the Mischief began to Brew 251

Then Gere spoke of the queen-mother Ute, now

grown old and feeble, who wished once more, ere
death called her hence, to see her daughter Kriemhikl.
And he told how all the people, both high and low,
yearned for another sight of the radiant hero who
in

former days had blessed their land with his presence

and his noble deeds. And his persuasive words had
much weight with Siegfried, who said at length,
"
Tarry a few days yet for my answer. I will talk

with my friends and the Nibelungen earls and what ;

they think best, that will I do."

For nine days, then, waited Gere at Siegfried's hall ;

but still the king put off his answer.

"Wait until to-morrow," he said each day, for his
heart whispered dim forebodings.
At length, as midsummer was
fast drawing near, the

impatient captain could stay no longer; and he bade

his followers make ready to go back forthwith to

Burgundy. When
the queen saw that they were ready
to take their leave, and that Gere could wait no longer

upon the king's pleasure, she urged her husband to say

to Gunther that they would come to his harvest
festival. And the lords and noble earl-folk added their

persuasions to hers.
" Send word back to the Burgundian king," said
they,
"
that you will go, as he desires. We will see
to it that no harm comes to your kingdom while you
are away."
So Siegfried called Gere and his comrades into the
252 The Story of Siegfried.

and loaded them with costly gifts such as they

hall,
had never before seen, and bade them say to their
master that he gladly accepted the kind invitation he
had sent, and that, ere the harvest high-tide began,
he and Kriemhild would be with him in Burgundy.
And the messengers went back with all speed, and
told what wondrous things they had seen in Nibelungen

Land, and what great splendor Siegfried lived. And,

in

when they showed the rare presents which had been

given them, all joined in praising the goodness and great-
ness of the hero-king. But old chief Hagen frowned
darkly as he said,
" It is wonder that he can do such things, for
little

the Shining Hoard of Andvari is his. If we had such

a treasure, we, too, might live in more than kingly

grandeur."
Early in the month of roses, Siegfried and his peer-
less queen, with a setinue of more than a thousand
warriors and many fair ladies, started on their long
and toilsome journey to the South-land. And the
folk who went with them to the city gates bade them

many tearful farewells, and returned to their

homes,
feeling that the sunshine had gone forever from the
Nibelungen Land. But the sky - v as blue and cloud-
less, and the breezes warm and mud, and glad was the

song of the reapers as adown the seaward highway the

kingly company rode. Two days they rode through
Mist Land, to the shore of the peaceful sea. Ten days
they sailed on the waters. And the winds were soft
 How the Mischief began to Brew. 253

gentle and the waves slept in the sunlight, or merrily

;

danced in their wake. But each day, far behind them,

there followed a storm-cloud, dark as night, and the

pleasant shores of Mist Land were hidden forever

behind it. Five days they rode through the Lowlands,
and glad were the Lowland folk with sight of their
hero-king. Two days through the silent greenwood,
and one o'er the barren moor, and three amid vine-
yards and fields, and between orchards fruitful and
fair, they rode. And on the four and twentieth day

they came in sight of the quiet town, and the tall gray
towers, where dwelt the Burgundian kings. And a

great company on horseback, with flashing shields and

fine-wrought garments and nodding plumes, came out
to meet them. was King Gernot and a thousand of
It

the best men and fairest women in Burgundy and ;

they welcomed Siegfried and Kriemhild and their

Nibelungen-folk to the fair land of the Rhine. And

then they turned, and rode back with them to the
castle. And, as the company passed through the

pleasant streets of the town, the people stood by

the wayside, anxious to catch sight of the radiant

Siegfried on his sunbright steed, and of the peerless

Kriemhild, riding on a palfrey by his side. And young
girls strewed roses in their pathway, and hung garlands

upon their horses ;

and every one shouted, " Hail to the
"
conquering hero Hail to the matchless queen
! !

When they reached the castle, King Gunther and

Giselher met them, and ushered them into the old
254 The Story of Siegfried.

familiar halls, where a right hearty welcome greeted

them from all the kingly household. And none
seemed more glad in this happy hour than Brunhild
the warrior-queen, now more gloriously beautiful than
even in the days of yore.
When the harvest-moon began to shine full and
bright, lighting up the whole world from evening till
morn with its soft radiance, the gay festival so long
looked forward to began. And care and anxiety, and
the fatigues of the long journey, were forgotten amid
the endless round of pleasure which for twelve days
enlivened the whole of Burgundy. And the chiefest
honors were everywhere paid to Siegfried the hero-
king, and to Kriemhild the peerless queen of beauty.
Then Queen Brunhild called to mind, how, on a
time, it had been told her in Isenland that Siegfried
was but the liegeman and vassal of King Gunther ;

and she wondered why such honor should be paid to

an underling, and why the king himself should treat
him with so much respect. And as she thought of
this, and of the high praises with which every one

spoke of Kriemhild, her mind became filled with jeal-

ous broodings. And soon her bitter jealousy was
turned to deadly hate; for she remembered then, how,
in the days long past, a noble youth, more beautiful and

more glorious than the world would ever see again, had
awakened her from the deep sleep that Odin's thorn
had given and she remembered how Gunther had won
;

her by deeds of strength and skill which he never

 How the Mischief began to Brew. 255

afterwards could even imitate and she thought how

;

grand indeed was Kriemhild's husband compared with

her own weak and wavering and commonplace lord.
And her soul was filled with sorrow and bitterness and
deepest misery, when, putting these thoughts together,
she believed that she had in some way been duped and
cheated into becoming Gunther's wife.
When at last the gay feast was ended, and most of
the guests had gone to their homes, she sought her
husband, and thus broached the matter to him.
"Often have I asked you," said she, "why your sister
Kriemhild was given in marriage to a vassal, and as
often have you put me off with vague excuses. Often,
too, have I wondered why your vassal, Siegfried, has
never paid you tribute for the lands which he holds
from you, and why he has never come to render you
homage. Now he is here in your castle ;
but he sets
himself up, not as your vassal, but as your peer. I

pray you, tell me what such strange things mean. Was

an underling and a vassal e er known before to put
"
himself upon a level with his liege lord ?

Gunther was greatly troubled, and he knew not what

to say for he feared to tell the queen how they had
;

deceived her when he had won the games at Isenstein,

and how the truth had ever since been kept hidden from
her.
" Ask me not to explain this matter further than 1

have already done," he answered. " It is that

enough
Siegfried is the greatest of all my vassals, and that his
256 Tlie Story of Siegfried.

lands are broader even than my own. He has helped

me out of many straits, and has added much to the

greatness and strength of my kingdom for this reason :

he has never been asked to pay us tribute, and for this

reason we grant him highest honors."
But this answer failed to satisfy the queen.
" Is it not the first duty of a vassal," she asked, " to

help his liege lord in everyundertaking ? If so, Sieg-

but done his duty, and you owe him nothing.
fried has
But you have not told me all. You have deceived me,
and you would fain deceive me again. You have a
secret, and I will find it out."
The king made no answer, but walked silently and
thoughtfully away.
happened one evening, not long thereafter, that
It

the two queens sat together at an upper window, and

looked a company of men in the courtyard
down upon
below. Among them were the noblest earl-folk of
Burgundy, and Gunther the king, and Siegfried. But
Siegfried towered above all the rest; and he moved
like a god among men.
"See my noble Siegfried!" cried Kriemhild in her
" How What a type
pride. grandly he stands there !

of manly beauty and strength No one cares to look

!

at other men when he is near."

"
He may be handsome," answered Brunhild sadly ;

"
and, for aught I know, he may be noble. But what
is all that by the side of kingly power ? Were he but
the peer of your brother Gunther, then you might well
boast."
 How tke Mischief began to Brew. 257

"
He is the peer of Gunther," returned Kriemhild.
"And not only his peer, but more; for he. stands as
high above him in kingly power and worth as in bodily
stature."
" "
How can that be
asked Brunhild, growing angry.
?

"For, when Gunther so gallantly won me at Isenstein,

he told me that Siegfried was his vassal and often ;

since that time I have heard the same. And even your
husband told me that Gunther was his liege lord."

Queen Kriemhild laughed at these words, and an-

"
swered, I tell you again that Siegfried is a king far

nobler and richer and higher than any other king on

earth. Think you that my brothers would have given
"
me to a mere vassal to be his wife ?

"
Then Brunhild, full of wrath, replied, Your hus-
band is Gunther's vassal and my own, and he shall do
homage to us as the humblest and meanest of our

underlings. He shall not go from this place until he

has paid all the tribute that has so long been due from
him. Then we shall see who is the vassal, and who is
the lord."
" " No
Nay," answered Kriemhild. It shall not be.
tribute was ever due and, if homage ;
is to be paid, it is

rather Gunther who must pay it."

" It shall be settled once for all " cried
Brunhild, !

now boiling over with rage. " I will know the truth.
If Siegfried is not our vassal, then I have been duped ;

and I will have revenge."

" It is "
well," was the mild answer. Let it be settled,
258 The Story of Siegfried.

once for all ;

and then, mayhap, we shall know who it

was who really won the games at Isenstein, and you for

Gunther's wife."
And
the two queens parted in wrath. 1
Kriemhild's anger was as fleeting as an April cloud,
which does but threaten, and then passes away in tears
and sunshine. But Brunhild's was like the dread winter
storm that sweeps down from Niflheim, and brings ruin
and death in its wake. She felt that she had been
cruelly wronged in some way, and that her life had
been wrecked, and she rested not until she had learned
the truth.
was Hagen who at last told her the story of the
It

cruel deceit that had made her Gunther's wife and ;

then her wrath and her shame knew no bounds.

"Woe betide the day!" she cried, "woe betide the

day that brought me to Rhineland, and made me the

wife of a weakling and coward, and the jest of him who
"
might have done nobler things !

Hagen smiled. He had long waited for this day.

" It
Siegfried, and Siegfried alone, who plotted
was
"
to deceive you," he said. Had it not been for him,
you might still have been the happy maiden-queen of
Isenland., And now he laughs at you, and urges his
queen, Kriemhild, to scorn you as she would an under-
ling."
" I know know it," returned the queen in dis-
I
it,

tress. "And
yet how grandly noble is the man How !

he rushed through the flames to awaken me, when no

1
See Note 31 at the end of this volume.
 How the Mischief began to Brew. 259

one else could save ! How brave, how handsome,

and yet he has been my bane. I can have no peace
while he lives."

Hagen smiled again, and a strange light gleamed

from his dark eye. Then he said, "Truly handsome
and brave is he, but a viler traitor was never born.

He even now plots to seize this kingdom, and to add it

to his domain. Why else should he bring so great a
retinue of Nibelungen warriors to Burgundy? I will

see King Gunther at once, and we will put an end to

his wicked projects."
"Do even so, good Hagen," said Brunhild. "Take
him from. my path, and bring low the haughty pride of
his wife, and I shall be content."
"That I will do!" cried Hagen. "That I will do!
Gunther is and shall be the king without a peer and ;

no one shall dare dispute the worth and the queenly

beauty of his wife."

Then the wily chief sought Gunther, and with cun-
ning words poisoned his weak mind. The feeble old
king was easily made to believe that Siegfried
was
his life, and seeking to wrest the king-
plotting against
dom from him. And he forgot the many kind favors
he had received at the hero's hand. He no longer
remembered how Siegfried had slain the terror of the
Glittering Heath, and freed the Burgundians
from many
a fear ;
and how he had routed the warlike hosts of
the Noith-land, and prisoners of their kings and
made ;

how he had brought his voyage to Isenland to a happy

260 The Story of Siegfried.

and successful ending. He forgot, also, that Siegfried

was his sister's husband. He had ears and mind only
for Hagen's wily words.
" While this man lives," said the dark-browed chief,
" none of us are safe. See how the people follow him !

Hear how they shout at his coming They look upon

!

him as a god, and upon Gunther as a nobody. If we

are wise, we shall rid ourselves of so dangerous a
man."
" It is but a week until he takes his leave of us,

and goes back to his own home in Nibelungen Land.

Watch him carefully until that time, but do him no
harm. When he is once gone, he shall never come
back again," said the king. But he spoke thus, not
because of any kind feelings towards Siegfried, but
rather because he feared the Nibelungen hero.
"
Hehas no thought of going at that time," answered
"
Hagen. He speaks of it, only to hide his wicked and
traitorous plots. Instead of going home, his plans will
then be ready for action, and it will be too late for us to
save ourselves. Still, if you will not believe me, take

your own course. You have been warned."

The cunning chief arose to leave the room ;
but
Guntr er, now thoroughly frightened, stopped him.
"
Hagen," he said, "you have always been my friend,
and the words which you say are wise. Save us and
our kingdom now, in whatsoever way you may deem
best. I know not what to do."

Then the weak king and the warrior-chief talked

 How the Mischief began to Brew. 261

long together in low, hoarse whispers. And, when they

parted, shame and guilt were stamped in plain lines on
Gunther's face, from which they were nevermore
erased ;
and he dared not lift his gaze from the floor,

fearing that his eyes would betray him, if seen by any

more pure-hearted than he. But a smile of triumph
played under the lurking gleams of Hagen's eye and he ;

walked erect and bold, as if he had done a praise-

worthy deed.
That night a storm came sweeping down from the
North, and the cold rain fell in torrents and great hail- ;

stones pattered on the roofs and towers of the castle,

and cruelly pelted the cattle in the fields, and the birds
in the friendly shelter of the trees. And old Thor
fought bravely with the Storm-giants night ;
and all

long the rattle of his chariot-wheels, and the heavy

strokes of his dread hammer, were heard resounding

through the heavens. In his lonely chamber Hagen

sat and rubbed his hands together, and grimly smiled.
"
The time so long waited for has come at last," he
said.

But the guilty king, unable to sleep, walked rest-

lessly to and fro, and trembled with fear at every sound

of the storm-gust without.
When day dawned met the eyes
at last, a sad scene
of all beholders. The
was covered with the
earth
broken branches of leafy trees the flowers and shrubs
;

were beaten pitilessly to the ground and here and ;

there lay the dead bodies of little feathered songsters,

262 The Story of Siegfried.

who, the day before, had made the woods glad with
their music.
The sun had scarcely risen above this sorrowful
scene, gilding the gray towers and turrets and the

drooping trees with the promise of better things, than

a strange confusion was noticed outside of the castle-
gates. Thirty and two horsemen wearing the livery of
the North-lands stood there, and asked to be led to the

Burgundian kings.
" Who "
are you ? and what is your errand ? asked the
gate-keeper.
"
We come as heralds and messengers from Leudigcr
and Leudigast, the mighty kings of the North,"
they
answered. "But our errand we can tell to no man
save to Gunther your king, or to his brothers Gernot
and Giselher."
Then they were by the king's command into the
led
where sat Gunther, Gernot, and the noble
council-hall,

Giselher; and behind them stood their uncle and chief,

brave old Hagen.
"What message bring you from our old friends Leu-
"
diger and Leudigast ? asked Gunther of the stran-
gers.
"
Call them not your friends," answered the chief of
"
the company. We
bring you message from our
this

liege lords, whom you may well count as enemies.

Many years ago they were sorely beaten in battle, and
suffered much hurt at your h?nds. And they vowed
then to avenge the injury, and to wipe out the disgrace
 How tJie
Mischief began to Brew. 263

you had caused them, just so soon as they were strong

enough to do so. Now they are ready, with fifty
thousand men, to march into your country. Ard they
swear to lay waste your lands, and to burn your towns
and villages and all your castles, unless you at once
acknowledge yourselves their vassals, and agree to pay
them tribute. This is the kings' message. And we
were further ordered not to wait for an answer, but to
carry back to them without delay your reply, whether
you will agree to their terms or no."
King Gunther, as was his wont, turned to Hagen for

advice.
"
Send for Siegfried," whispered the chief.
was done. And soon the hero came into the hall.
It

His kingly grace and warlike bearing were such that

Gunther dared not raise his guilty eyes from the
ground and Hagen's furtive glances were, for the
;

moment, freighted with fear and shame. The message

of the heralds was repeated to Siegfried and Gunther ;

said,
"
Most noble friend, you hear what word these trai-

torous kings dare send us. Now, we remember, that,

long years ago, you led us against them, and gave us a
glorious victory. We remember, too, how, by your
counsel, their lives were spared, and they were sent
home with costly gifts. It is thus they repay our kind-
"
ness. What answer shall we send them ?

"
Say that we answered Siegfried at once.
will fight,"
" I will lead my brave Nibelungens against them, and
264 The Story of Siegfried.

they shall learn how serious a thing it is to break an

oath, or to return treason for kindness."

The news soon spread through all the town and
through the country-side, that Leudiger and Leudigast,
with fifty thousand men, were marching into Burgundy,
and destroying every thing in their way. And great
flight and confusion prevailed. Men and women hur-
ried hither and thither in dismay. Soldiers busily
sharpened their weapons, and burnished their armor,
ready for the fray. Little children were seen cowering
at every sound, and anxious faces were found every-
where.
When Queen Kriemhild saw the busy tumult, and
heard the shouts and cries in the street and the court-
yard, and learned the cause of it all, she was greatly
troubled, and went at once to seek Siegfried. When
she found him, she drew him aside, and besought him
not to take part in the war which threatened, but to
hasten with all speed back to their own loved Nibelun
gen Land.
"And why would my noble queen wish me thus to

play the part of a coward, and to leave my friends

when they most need my help?" asked Siegfried in

surprise.
" I
would not have you play the coward," answered
Kriemhild, and hot tears stood in her eyes. "But
some unseen danger overhangs. There are other trai-
tors than Leudiger and Leudigast, and men to be more
feared than they. Last night I dreamed a fearful
 How the Mischief began to Brew. 265

dream, and it follows me still. I dreamed that you

hunted in the forest, and that two wild boars attacked

you. The
grass and the flowers were stained with your
gore, and the cruel tusks of the beasts tore you in
pieces, and no one came to your help. And I cried
out in my distress, and awoke and the storm-clouds
;

roared and threatened, and the hail pattered on the

roof, and the wind and rain beat against the window-

panes. Then I slept again, and another dream, as

fearful as the first, came to me. I dreamed that you
rode in the forest, and that music sprang up in your

footsteps, and all things living called you blessed, but

that suddenly two mountains rose up from the ground,
and their high granite crags toppled over, and fell upon
you, and buried you from my sight forever. Then I

awoke again, and

my heart has ever since been heavy
with fearful forebodmgs. I know that some dread evil

threatens us ; yet, what it is, I cannot tell. But go not

out against the North-kings. Our Nibelungen-folk wait
too long for your coming."
Siegfried gayly laughed at his queen's fears, and said,
"The woof every man's fate has been woven by
of

the Norns, and neither he nor his foes can change it.
When his hour comes, then he must go to meet his

destiny."
Then he led her gently back to her room in the

castle, and bade her a loving farewell, saying, "When

the foes of our Burgundian hosts are put to flight, and
theie is no longer need for us here, then will we hasten
266 The Story of Siegfried.

back to Nibelungen Land. Have patience and hope

for a few days only, and all will yet be well. Forget
your foolish dreams, and think only of my glad return."
It was arranged, that, in the march against the

North-kings, Siegfried with his Nibelungens should

take the lead while Hagen, with a picked company of
;

fighting-men, should bring up the rear. Every one was

eager to join in the undertaking; and no one, save
King Gunther and his cunning counsellor, and Ortwin
and Dankwart, knew that the pretended heralds from
the North-kings were not heralds at all, but merely the
false tools of wicked Hagen. For the whole was but a
well-planned plot, as we shall see, to entrap unwary,
trusting Siegfried.
Soon things were in readiness for the march but,
all ;

as the day was now well spent, it was agreed, that, at

early dawn of the morrow, the little army should set
out. And every one went home to put his affairs in

order, and to rest for the night.

Late that evening old Hagen went to bid Siegfried's
queen good-by. Kriemhild had tried hard to drown
her gloomy fears, and to forget her sad, foreboding
dreams but it was all in vain, for deep anxiety still
;

rested heavily upon her mind. Yet she welcomed her

dark-browed uncle with the kindest words.
"How glad I am," she said, "that my husband is

here to help my kinsfolk in this their time of need ! I

know right well, that, with him to lead, you shall win
But, dear uncle, remember, when you are in the battle,
 Plow the Mischief began to Brew. 267

thatwe have always loved you, and that Siegfried has

done many kindnesses to the Burgundians and, if any ;

danger threaten him, turn it aside, pray you, for

I

Kriemhild's sake. I know that I merit Queen Brun-

hild's anger, because of the sharp words I lately spoke
lo her ;
but let not my husband surfer blame for that
which is my fault alone."

"Kriemhild," answered Hagen, "no one shall suffer

blame, - - neither Siegfried nor yourself. We are all
forgetful, and sometimes speak hasty words ;
but that
which we say angry thoughtlessness should not be
in

cherished up against us. There is no one who thinks

more highly of Siegfried than I, and there is nothing I
would not do to serve him."
" " he were
I should not fear for him," said she, if

not so bold and reckless. When he is in the battle,

he never thinks of his own safety. And I tremble

lest at some time he may dare too much, and meet his
death. If you knew every thing, as I do, you would

fear for him too."

"What is it?" asked Hagen, trying to hide his
-- " what is it that gives you cause for fear ?
eagerness,
Tell me all about it, and then I will know the bettei
how to shield him from danger. I will lay down my
iife for his sake."

Then Kriemhild, trusting in her uncle's word, and

forgetful of every caution, told him the secret of the
dragon's blood, and of Siegfried's strange bath, and of
Jie mischief-working lime-leaf.
268 The Story of Siegfried.

"And now," she added, "since I know that there is

one spot which a deadly weapon might reach, I am in
constant fear that the spear of an enemy may, per-
chance, strike him there. Is there not some way of
"
shielding that spot ?

"There is," answered Hagen. "Make some mark,

or put some sign, upon his coat, that I may know where
that spot is. And, when the battle rages, I will ride
close behind him, and ward off every threatened stroke."
AndKriemhild joyfully promised that she would at
once embroider a silken lime-leaf on the hero's coat,
just over the fatal spot. And Hagen, well pleased,
bade her farewell, and went away.
Without delay the chief sought the weak-minded
Gunther, and to him he related all that the trustful
Kriemhild had told him. And, until the midnight
hour, the two plotters sat in the king's bed-chamber,
and laid their cunning plans. Both thought it best,

now they had learned the fatal secret, to give up the

sham march against the North-kings, and to seek by
other and easier means to lure Siegfried to his death.
" much
The chiefs will be displeased," said Gunther.
"
For all will come, ready to march at the rising of the
sun. What shall we do to please them, and make them
"
more ready change their plans ?
to

Hagen thought a moment, and then the grim smile

that was wont to break the dark lines of his face when
he was pleased spread over his features.
"We will have a grand hunt in the Odenwald to-

morrow," he hoarsely whispered.

 Plow they Hunted in tJie Odenwald. 269

ADVENTURE XIX.

HOW THEY HUNTED IN THE

ODENWALD.
NEXT morning, at earliest daybreak, while yet the
stars were bright, and the trees hung heavy with dew-

drops, and the clouds were light and high, King Sieg-
fried stood with his warriors
before the castle-gate.

They waited but for the sunrise, and a word from

Gunther the king, to ride forth over dale and woodland,
and through forest and brake and field, to meet, as they

believed, the hosts of the North-land kings. And Sieg-

fried moved among them, calm-faced and bright as a
war-god, upon the radiant Grey fell. And men said, long
years afterward, that never had the shining hero
seemed so glorious to their sight. Within the spacious
courtyard a thousand Burgundian braves stood waiting,
too, for the signal, and the king's word of command.
And athead stood Hagen, dark as a cloud in
their

summer, guilefully hiding his vile plots, and giving out

orders for the marching. There, too, were honest
Gernot, and upright, and
fearless Gi;>elher, true as

gold ; and neither of them dreamed of evil, or of the

270 The Story of Siegfried.

dark deed that day was doomed to see. Close by the

gate was Ortwin, bearing aloft the blood-red dragon-
banner, which the Burgundians were wont to carry in
honor of Siegfried's famous fight with Fafnir. And
there was Dankwart, also, ever ready to boast when no

danger threatened, and ever willing to do chief Hagen's

bidding. And next came Volker the Fiddler good,
with the famed sword Fiddle-bow by him, on which, it
is said, he could make the sweetest music while fight-

ing his foes in battle.

At length the sun began to peep over the eastern
hills, and his beams fell upon the castle-walls, and shot

away through the trees, and over the meadows, and

made the dewdrops glisten like myriads of diamonds
among the dripping leaves and blossoms. And a glad
shout went up from the throats of the waiting heroes ;

for they thought that the looked-for moment had come,

and the march would soon begin. And the shout was
echoed from walls to turrets, and from turrets to trees,
and from trees to hills, and from the hillb to the vaulted

sky above. And nothing was wanting now but King

Gunther's word of command.
Suddenly, far down the street, the sound of a bugle

was heard, and then of the swift clattering of horses'

hoofs coming up the hill towards the castle.

"Who are they who come thus to join us at the last
moment ? " asked Hagen of the watchman above the gate.
"They are strangers," answered the watchman;
"and they carry a peace-flag."
 How they Hunted in the Odenwald. 271

In a few moments the strange horsemen dashed up,

and halted some distance from the castle-gate, where
Siegfried and his heroes stood.
" Who "
are you ? and what is your errand ? cried

Ilagen, in the king's name.

They answered they were heralds from the
that
North-land kings, sent quickly to correct the message
of the day before ; Leudiger and
for their liege lords,

Leudigast, they had given

said, up warring against
Burgundy, and had gone back to their homes. And they
had sent humbly to ask the Rhineland kings to forget
the rash threats which they had made, and to allow
them to swear fealty to Gunther, and henceforth to be
his humble vassals, if only they might be forgiven.
" "
Right cheerfully do we forgive them cried !

Gunther, not waiting to consult with his wise men.

" And our
forgiveness shall be so full, that we shall ask
neither fealty nor tribute from them."
Then he turned to Siegfried, and said, "You hear,
how this troublesome matter has been
friend Siegfried,

happily ended. Accept our thanks, we pray you, for

your proffered help ; for, without it, it might have gone
but roughly with us in a second war with the North-
land kings. But now you are free to do what pleases
you. If, you said yesterday, you would fain return
as
to Nibelungen Land, you may send your warriors on
the way to-day, for they arc already
equipped for the
journey. But abide you with us another day, and
to-morrow we will bid you God-speed, and you may
272 The Story of Siegfried.

easily overtake your Nibelungen friends ere they have

reached our own boundaries."

Siegfried was not well pleased to give up an under-

taking scarce begun, and still less could he understand
why the king should be so ready to forgive the affront
which the North-land kings had offered him. And he
was not slow in reading the look of shame and guilt
that lurked in Gunther's face, or the smile of jealous
hate that Hagen could no longer hide. Yet no word of

displeasure spoke he, nor seemed he to understand

that any mischief was brewing ; for he feared neither
force nor guile. So he bade his
Nibelungens to begin
their homeward march, saying that he and Kriemhild,
and the ladies of her train, would follow swiftly on the
morrow.
" Since it is day with us," said Gunther,
your last

grown cunning through Hagen's teaching, "what say

you, dear Siegfried, to a hunt in Odin's Wood ? "
"Right glad will I be to join you in such sport,"
answered Siegfried. " I will change my war-coat for a
hunting-suit, and be ready within an hour."
Then Siegfried went to his apartments, and doffed
his steel-clad armor, and searched in vain through his
wardrobe for his favorite hunting-suit But it was
nowhere to be found and he was fain to put on the rich
;

embroidered coat which he sometimes wore in battle,

instead of a coat-of-mail. And he did not see the
white lime-leaf that Kriemhild with anxious care had
worked in silk upon it. Then he sought the queen,
 How they Hunted in Ike Odenwald. 273

and told her of the unlooked-for change of plans, and

how, on the morrow, they would ride towards Nibe-
lungen Land but to-day he said he had promised
;

Gunther to hunt with him in- the Odenwald.

But Kriemhild, to his great surprise, begged him not
to leave her, even to hunt in the Odenwald. For she
had begun had made a great mistake in
to fear that she

telling Hagen the story of the lime-leaf ; and yet she

could not explain to Siegfried the true cause of her
uneasiness.
"
"Oh, do not join in the hunt!" she cried. Some-
thing tells me that danger lurks hidden in the wood.

Stay in the castle with me, and help me put things in

readiness for our journey homewards to-morrow. Last
night I had another dream. I thought that Odin's
birds, Hugin and Munin, sat on a tree before me.
And Hugin flapped his wings, and said, What more '

vile than a false friend ? What more to be feared than

a secret foe? Harder than stone is his unfeeling heart ;

sharper than the adder's poison-fangs are his words a ;

snake in the grass is he!' Then Hunin flapped his

wings too, but said nothing. And I awoke, and thought
at once of the sunbright Balder, slain through Loki's
vile deceit. And, as I thought upon his sad death, a
withered came fluttering through the casement,
leaf

and fell upon my couch. Sad signs and tokens are

these, my husband and much grief, I fear, they fore-
;

tell."

But Siegfried was deaf to her words of warning, and

274 TJie Story of Siegfried.

he laughed at the foolish dream. Then he bade her

farewell till even-tide, and hastened to join the paity
of huntsmen who waited for him impatiently at the

gate.
When the party reached the Odenwald, they sepa-
rated ;
each man taking his own course, and following
hisown game. Siegfried, with but one trusty hunts-
man and his own hound, sought at once
fleet-footed

the wildest and thickest part of the wood. And great

was the slaughter he made among the fierce beasts of
the forest; for nothing that was worthy of notice could

hide from his sight, or escape him. From his lair in a

and with
thorny thicket, a huge wild boar sprang up ;

glaring red eyes, and mouth foaming,

and tusks gnash-
the hero.
ing with rage, he charged fiercely upon But,
with one skilful stroke from his great spear, Siegfried
laid the beast dead on the heather. Next he met a
him but,
tawny lion, couched ready to spring upon ;

drawing quickly his heavy bow, he sent a quivering

arrow through the animal's heart. Then, one after
elk
another, he slew a buffalo, four bisons, a mighty
with branching horns, and many deers and stags and

savage beasts.
At one time the hound drove from its hiding-place
greater than the first, and
much
another wild boar, far

more fierce. Quickly Siegfried dismounted from his

horse,and met the grizzly creature as it rushed with

raving fury towards him. The sword of the hero cleft

the beast in twain, and its bloody parts lay lifeless on
 How they Hunted in tJie Odenwald. 275

the ground. Then Siegfried's huntsman, in gay mood,

" would not be better to rest a while
said, My lord, it ?

If you keep on slaughtering at this rate, there will soon

be no game left in Odenwald."
Siegfried laughed heartily at the merry words, and a.t

once called in his hound, saying, " You are right ! We

will hunt no more until our good friends have joined
us."

Soon afterward the call of a bugle was heard and ;

Gunthcr and Hagen and Dankwart and Ortwin, with

their huntsmen and hounds, came riding up.
" "
What luck have you had, my friends ? asked Sieg-
fried.

Then Hagen told what game they had taken, --a

deer, ayoung bear, and two small wild boars. But,
when they learned what Siegfried had done, the old

chief's face grew dark, and he knit his eyebrows, and

bit his lips in jealous hate : for four knights, ten hunts-

men, and four and twenty hounds, had beaten every

bush, and followed every trail and yet the Nibelungen
;

king, with but one follower and one hound, had slain
ten times as much game as they.
While they stood talking over the successes of the
day, the sound of a horn was heard, calling the sports-
men together for the mid-day meal and knights and ;

huntsmen turned their steeds, and rode slowly towards

the trysting-place. Suddenly a huge bear, roused by
the noise of baying hounds and tramping feet, crossed
their pathway.
276 The Story of Siegfried.

" " there

"Ah ! cried Siegfried, goes our friend Bruin,
just in time to give us a bit of fun, and some needed
sport at dinner. He shall go with us, and be our
"
guest !

With these words he loosed his hound, and dashed

swiftly forwards after the beast. Through thick under-
brush and tangled briers, and over fallen trees, the
frightened creature ran, until at last it reached a steep
hillside. There, in a rocky cleft, it stood at bay, and

fought fiercely for its life. When Siegfried came up,

and saw that his hound dared not take hold of the
furious beast, he sprang from his horse, and seized the
bear in his own strong arms, and bound him safely
with a stout cord. Then he fastened an end of the
cord to his saddle-bows, and remounted his steed.
And he rode through the forest to the place
thus
where the dinner waited, dragging the unwilling bear
behind him, while the dog bounded gayly along by his
side.

No nobler sight had ever been seen in that forest

than that which Gunther's people saw that day. The
Nibelungen king was dressed as well became so great a
hero. His suit was of the speckled lynx's hide and rich
black upon which were embroidered many strange
silk,

devices, with threads of gold. (But, alas between the !

shoulders was the silken lime-leaf that Queen Kriem-

hild's busy fingers had wrought.) His cap was of the
blackest fur, brought from the frozen Siberian land.
Over his shoulder was thrown his well-filled quiver,
 How they Hunted in the Odenwald. 277

made of lion's skin and in his hands he carried his

;

bow of mulberry, --a very beam in size, and so strong

that no man save himself could bend it. A golden
hunting-horn was at his side, and his sunbright shield
lay on his saddle-bow while his mighty sword, the
;

fire-edged Balmung, in its sheath glittering with gem-

stones, hung from his jewelled belt.
The men who stood around chief Hagen, and who
saw the hero coming thus god-like through the green-
wood, admired and trembled and Dankwart whispered
;

a word of caution to his dark-browed brother. But the

old chief's face grew gloomier than before and he ;

scowled fiercely upon the faint-hearted Dankwart, as

he hoarsely whispered in return,
"
What though he be Odin himself, still will I dare !

It is not I : it is the Norns, who shape every man's

fate."

When Siegfried reached the camp with his prize,

the huntsmen shouted with delight and the hounds ;

howled loudly, and shook their chains, and tried hard

to get at the shaggy beast. The king leaped to the
ground, and unloosed the cords which bound him ;

and at the same time the hounds were unleashed, and

set upon the angry, frightened creature. Hemmed in
on every side, the bear rushed blindly forwards, and
leaped over the fires, where the cooks were busy with
the dinner. Pots and kettles were knocked about in

great confusion, and the scared cooks thrown sprawl-

ing upon the ground and many a dainty dish and
;
278 The Story of Siegfried.

savory mess was spoiled. The bear fled fast down the
forest road, followed by the baying hounds and the
fleet-footed warriors. But none dared shoot an arrow
at him for fear of killing the dogs and it seemed as if
;

he would surely escape, so fast he ran away. Then

Siegfried bounded forwards, swifter than a deer, over-
took the bear, and with one stroke of the sword gave
him his death-blow. And all who saw this feat of
strength and quickness wondered greatly, and felt that
such a hero must indeed be without a peer.
When Gun trier's cooks had made the dinner ready,
the company sat down on the grass, and all partook of
a merry meal ;
for the bracing air and the morning's
sport had made sharp appetites. But,when they had
eaten, they were surprised to find that there was noth-
ing to drink. Indeed, there was neither wine nor
water in the camp.
" How "
am," said Siegfried gayly, that I am
glad I

not a huntsman by trade, if it is a huntsman's way to

go thus dry ! Oh for a glass of wine, or even a cup

"
of cold spring-water, to quench my thirst !

"We will make up for this oversight when we go

back home," said Gunther and ;
his heart was black
with falsehood. "The blame in this matter should
rest on Hagen, for it was he who was to look after the

drinkables."

"My Hagen, "I fell into a mistake by

lord," said

thinking that we would dine, not here, but at the Spes

sart Springs and thither I sent the wine."
;
 How they Hunted in the Odenwald. 279

"And is there no water near?" asked Siegfried.

"Yes," answered Hagen. "There is a cool, shady

spring not far from here, where the water gushes in a
ciear, cold stream from beneath a linden-tree. Do but

forgive me for the lack of wine, and I will lead you to

it. It is a rare spring, and the water is almost as gooo
as wine."
" "
Better than wine for me ! cried Siegfried. And
he asked to be shown to the spring at once.

Hagen and pointed to a tree not far away,

arose,
beneath whose spreading branches Siegfried could see
the water sparkling in the sunlight.
"Men have told me," said the chief, "that the

Nibelungen king is very fleet of foot, and that no one

has ever outstripped him in the race. Time was, when
King Gunther and myself were spoken of as very swift
runners and, though we are now growing old, I fancy
;

that many young men would, even now, fail to keep

pace with us. Suppose we
try a race to the spring,
and see which of the three can win."
"Agreed!" cried Siegfried. "We will run; and, if

I am beaten, I will kneel down in the grass to him who

wins. Igive the odds in your favor too for I
will ;

willcarry with me my spear, and my shield, and my

helmet and sword, and all the trappings cf the chase,
while you may doff from your shoulders whatever
might hinder your speed."
So Gunther and Hagen laid aside all their arms, and
put off their heavy clothing ;
but Siegfried took up his
2 So The Story of Siegfried.

bow and quiver, and his heavy shield, and his beam-
like spear. Then the word was given, and all three
ran with wondrous speed. Gunther and his chief flew
over the grass as light-footed as two wild panthers :

buc Siegfried sped swift as an arrow shot from the hand

of a skilful bowman. He reached the spring when
yet the others were not half way to it. He laid his

spear and sword, and bow and quiver of arrows, upon

the ground, and leaned his heavy shield against the
linden-tree ;
and then he waited courteously for King
Gunther to come up, for his knightly honor would
not allow him to drink until his host had quenched
his thirst.

Gunther, when he reached the spring, stooped over,

and drank heartily of the cool, refreshing water and, ;

after he had risen, Siegfried knelt

upon the grass at
the edge of the pool to quaff from the same gushing
fountain. Stealthily then, and with quickness, did
chief Hagen hide his huge bow and his quiver, and
his good sword Balmung, and, seizing the hero's spear,
he lifted it in air, and with too steady aim struck the
silken lime-leaf that the loving Kriemhild had embroi-
dered. Never in all the wide mid-world was known a
deed more cowardly, never a baser act. The hero was
pierced with his own weapon by one he had deemed his
friend. His blood gushed forth in torrents, and dyed
the green grass red, and discolored the sparkling water,
and even the face and eyes of vile Hagen.
filled

Yet, in the hour of death, King Siegfried showed

 How they Hunted in the Odenwald. 28)

how noble was his soul, how great his strength of

will. Up he rose from his bended knees, and fiercely
glanced around. Then, had not the evil-eyed chief,
who never before had shunned a foe, fled with fleet-

footed fear, quick vengeance would have overtaken

him. In vain did the dying king look for his bow and
his trusty sword : too safely had they been hidden
Then, though death was fast dimming his eyes, he
seized his heavy shield, and sprang after the flying
Hagen. Swift as the wind he followed him, quickly
he overtook him. With his last strength he felled the

vile wretch to the ground, and beat him with the shield,
until the heavy plates of brass and steel were broken,

and the jewels which adorned it were scattered among

the grass. The sound of the heavy blows was heard
far through the forest and, had the hero's strength held
;

out, Hagen would have had his reward. But Siegfried, 1

weak and pale from the loss of blood,

staggered, now
and fell among the trampled flowers of the wood.
Then with his last breath he thus upbraided his false
friends :

"
Cowards and traitors, ye ! A curse shall fall upon
you. My every care has been to serve and please you,
and thus I am requited. Bitterly shall you rue this deed.
The brand of traitor is set upon your foreheads, and it

shall be a mark of loathing and shame to you forever."

Then
the weak old Gunther began to wring his
hands, and to bewail the death of Siegfried. But the
hero bade him hush, and asked him of what use it was
1
See Note 32 at the end of this volume
282 The Story of Siegfried.

to regret an act which could have been done only by

his leave and sanction.
" Better to have
thought of tears and groans before,"
"
have always known that you were a man
said he. I

of weak mind, but never did I dream that you. could

lend yourself to so base a deed. And now, if there is

leftaught of manliness in your bosom, I charge you to

have a care for Kriemhild your sister. Long shall
my loved Nibelungen-folk await my coming home."
The glorious hero struggled in the last agony. The
grass and flowers were covered with his blood ;
the trees

shivered, as sympathy with him, and dropped their

if in

leaves upon the ground the birds stopped singing, and

;

sorrowfully flew away and a solemn silence fell upon

;

the earth, as if the very heart of Nature had been

crushed.
And the men who stood around all save the four

guilty ones bowed their heads upon their hands, and

gave way to one wild burst of grief. Then tenderly
they took up Siegfried, and him upon a shield, laid

with his mighty weapons by him. And, when the

sorrowing Night had spread her black mantle over the
mid-world, they carried him silently out of the forest,
and across the river, and brought him, by Gunther's
orders, to the old castle, which now nevermore would
resound with mirth and gladness. And they laid him
at Kriemhild's door, and stole sadly away to their own

places, and each one thought bitterly of the morrow. 1

"
See Note 33 at the end of this volume.
Q
W
i i

f4
fc.

o
w
-*

w
X
 How the Hoard was brought to Burgundy. 283

ADVENTURE XX.

HOW THE HOARD WAS BROUGHT

TO BURGUNDY.
AND what was done on the morrow ?

Too sad the tale of Kriemhild's woe and her grief

is

for the mighty dead. Let us pass it by in tearful, pity-

ing silence, nor wish awaken the echoes of that
to

morning hopeless anguish which dawned on the

of
cold and cheerless dwelling of the kings. For peace
had fled from Burgundy, nevermore to return.
Siegfried was dead. Faded, now, was the glory of the
Nibelungen Land, and gone was the mid-world's hope.
It is told in ancient story, how men built a funeral-

pile far out on the grassy meadows, where the quiet

river flows and how, in busy silence, they laid the
;

sun-dried beams of ash and elm together, and made

ready the hero's couch and how the pile was dight
;

with many a sun-bright shield, with war-coats and

glittering helms, and silks and rich dyed cloths from

the South-land, and furs, and fine-wrought ivory, and

gern -stones priceless and rare; and how, overall, they

scattered sweet spices from Araby, and the pleasantest
284 The Story of Siegfried.

of all perfumes. Then they brought the golden Sieg-

fried, and laid him on his couch ;

and beside him were
his shield, and Balmung with its fire-edge
battered
bare. And, as the sun rose high in heaven, the noblest
earl-folk who had loved Siegfried best touched fire to
the funeral-pile. And a pleasant breeze from the South-
land fanned the fire to a flame, and the white blaze

leaped on high, and all the folk cried out in mighty

agony to the gods.
Such was the story that men told to each other
when the world was still young, and the heroes were
unforgotten. And some said, too, that Brunhild, the
1

fair and hapless queen, died then of a broken heart and

of a hopeless, yearning sorrow, and that she was

burned with Siegfried on that high-built funeral-pile.

" are gone, the lovely, the mighty, the hope of the ancient
They
earth :
It shall labor and bear the burden as before the day of their

birth: . . .

It shall yearn, and be oft-times holpen, and forget their deeds no

more,
Till the new sun beams on Balder and the happy sealess
shore." 3

Another and much later story is sometimes told of

these last sad days, how the hero's body was laid in a
coffin, and buried in the quiet earth, amid the sorrowful
lamentations of all the Rhineland folk; and how, at
1
See Note 34 at the end of this volume.
3 Morris :
Sigurd the Volsung, Bk. III.
 How the Hoard was brought to Burgundy. 285

Kriemhild's earnest wish, it was afterwards removed te

the place where now stands the little minster of

Lorsch. As to which of these stories is the true one,
it is not for me to say. Enough it is to know that

Siegfried was dead, and that the spring-time had fled,

and the summer-season with all its golden glories had
faded away from Rhineland, and that the powers of
darkness and of cold and of had prevailed.
evil

To this day the city where was the dwelling of the

Burgundian kings is called Worms, in remembrance of
the dragon, or worm, which Siegfried slew and a ;

figure of that monster was for many years painted upon

the city arms, and borne on the banner of the Bur-

gundians. And, until recently, travellers were shown

the Reisen-haus, a stronghold, which, men say, Sieg-
fried built ;
and
were many strange and mighty
in it

weapons, which, they claim, were wielded by the hero.

The lance which was shown there was a great beam
nearly eighty feet in length ;
and the war-coat, wrought
with steel and gold, and bespangled with gem-stones,
was a wonder to behold. And now, in the Church of
St. Cecilia, you may see what purports to be the hero's
grave. And a pleasant meadow, not far from the town,
is still called Kriemhild's Rose-garden ;
while farther

away is the place called Drachenfels, or the dragon's

field, where, they say, Siegfried met Fafnir. But
whether it is the same as the Glittering Heath of the
ancient legend, I know not.
And what became of the Hoard of Andvari ?
286 The Story of Siegfried.

The story is
briefly told.
1
When the days of mourn-

ing were past, and the people had gone back sadly to
their homes, Queen Kriemhild begarr to speak of return-
ing to the land of the Nibelungens. But Ute, her aged
mother, could not bear to part with her, and besought
her to stay, for a while at least, in the now desolate

Burgundian castle. And

Gernot and Giselher, her true
and loving brothers, added their words of entreaty also.
And so, though heart-sick, and with many misgivings,
she agreed to abide for a season in this cheerless and
comfortless place. Many days, even months, dragged
by, and still she remained ;
for she found it still harder
and harder to tear herself away from her mother, and
all that her heart held dear. Yet never, for three years
and more, did she even speak to Gunther, or by any sign
show that she remembered him. And, as for Hagen,
no words could utter the deep and settled hate she felt
towards him. But the dark-browed chief cared nought
either for love or hate and he walked erect, as in the
;

days of yore, and he smiled and frowned alike for both

evil and good. And he said, "It was not I it was the :

Norns, who wove the woof of his life and mine."

The years went by on leaden wings, and brought no
sunlight to Gurither's dwelling ;
for his days were full

of sadness, and
his nights of fearful dreams. At length
" If
he said to chief Hagen, there is aught in the mid-
world that can drive away this gloom, pray thee to
I

help me find it ;
for madness steals upon me."
1
See Note 35 at the end of this volume.
 How the Hoard was broiight to Burgundy. 287

"There is one thing," answered Hagen, "which might

brighten our land again, and lift up your drooping spirits,
and bring gladness to your halls."
" "
What is that ? asked the king.
" It " It
the Nibelungen Hoard," said the chief.
is

is the wondrous treasure of Andvari, which Siegfried

gave as a gift to Kriemhild. If it were ours, we might

become the masters of the world."
" But how can "
we obtain it ?

" It is " But she does

Kriemhild's," was the answer.
not care for it ;
neither could she use it if she wished,
[f you could only gain her favor and forgiveness, I feel

sure that she would let you do with it as you wish."

Then Gunther besought his younger brothers to in-

tercede for him with Kriemhild, that she would so far

forgive him as to look upon his face, and speak with

him once more. And this the queen at last consented
to do. And, when Gunther came into her presence,
she was so touched at sight of his haggard face and
whitened locks, and his earnest words of sorrow, that
she forgave him the great wrong that he had done, and
welcomed him again as her brother. And he swore
that never would he again wrong her or hers, nor do
aught to grieve her. But it was not until a long time
after this, that he proposed to her that they should

bring the Hoard of Andvari away from the Nibelungen

Land.
"For, if it were here, dear sister," he said, "it might
be of great use to you."
288 The Story of Siegfried.

" Do whatever seems best to you," answered Kriem-

"
hild. Only remember the oath that you have given
me."
Then Gunther, because he was anxious to see the
wondrous Hoard, but more because he was urged on by
Hagen, made ready to send to the Nibelungen Land
to bring away the treasure by Kriemhild's command.

Eight thousand men, with Gernot and Giselher as their

leaders, sailed over the sea in stanch vessels, and landed
on the Nibelungen shore. And when they told who
they were, and whence they came, and showed the
queen's signet-ring, they were welcomed heartily by
the fair-haired folk of Mist Land, who gladly acknowl-

edged themselves the faithful liegemen of the loved

Kriemhild.
When the Burgundians made known their errand to
Alberich the dwarf, who still held watch and ward over
the mountain stronghold, he was much amazed, and he

grieved to part with his cherished treasure.

"
But," said he to his little followers, who stood around
him by thousands, each anxious to fight the intruders,
- "but there is
Queen Kriemhild's order and her signet-
ring, and we must, perforce, obey. Yet had we again
the good Tarnkappe which Siegfried took from us, the
Hoard should never leave us."
Then sadly he gave up the keys, and the Burgundians
began to remove the treasure. For four whole days
and nights they toiled, carrying the Hoard in huge
wagons down to the sea. And on the fifth day they
 How the Hoard was brought to Burgundy. 289

set sail, and without mishap arrived in good time at

Worms. And many of Alberich's people, the swarthy

elves of the cave, came with Gernot to Rhineland for
;

they could not live away from the Hoard. And it is

said, that hidden among the gold and the gem-stones
was the far-famed Wishing-rod, which would give to
its owner the power of becoming the lord of the wide
mid-world.
And the vast treasure was stored in the towers and
vaults of the castle. And Queen Kriemhild alone held
the keys, and lavishly she scattered the gold wherever
it was needed most. The hungry were fed, the naked
were clothed, the sick were cared for and everybody ;

near and far blessed the peerless Queen of Nibelungen

Land.
Then Hagen, always plotting evil, whispered to King
"
Gunther, and said, It is dangerous to suffer
your sister
to hold so vast a treasure. All the people are even now

ready to leave you, and follow her. She will yet plot

to seize the kingdom, and destroy us."

And
he urged the king to take the keys and to make
the Nibelungen Hoard his own.
"
But Gunther answered, I have
already done too
great a wrong. And I have sworn to my sister never
to harm her again, or to do aught that will grieve her."
"
Let the guilt, then, rest on me," said Hagen And
he strode away, and took the keys from Kriemhild by
force.

When Gernot and Giselher heard of this last vile

290 The Story of Siegfried.

act of the evil-eyed chief, they waxed very angry, and

vowed that they would help their sister regain that
which was her own. But the wary Hagen was not to
be foiled for, while the brothers were away from the
;

burgh, he caused the great Hoard to be carried to the

river, at a place called Lochheim, and sunk, fathoms
deep, beneath the water. And then, for fear of the
vengeance which might be wreaked upon him, he fled
from Rhineland, and hid himself for a while among the
mountains and the barren hill-country of the South.
And this was the end of the fated Hoard of Andvari.
 THE AFTER WORD.

SUCH is the story of Siegfried (or Sigurd), as we

gather it from various German and Scandinavian

legends. In this recital I have made no attempt to

follow any one of the numerous originals, but have

selected here and there such incidents as best suited

my purpose in constructing one connected story which

would convey to your minds some notion of the beauty
and richness of our ancient myths. In doing this, I

have drawn, now from the Volsunga Saga, now from the

Nibelungen Lied, now from one of the Eddas, and now

from some of the minor legends relating to the great
hero of the North. These ancient stories, although

differing widely in particulars, have a certain general

relationship and agreement which proves beyond doubt

a common origin. "The primeval myth," says Thomas
"
Carlyle, whether it were at first philosophical truth, or
29.
292 The After Word.

historical incident, floats too vaguely on the breath of

men : each has the privilege of inventing, and the far

wider privilege of borrowing and new modelling from

all that preceded him. Thus, though tradition may
have but one root, it grows, like a banian, into a whole

overarching labyrinth of trees."

If you would follow the tradition of Siegfried to the

end ;
if
you would learn how, after the great Hoard had
been buried in the Rhine, the curse of the dwarf

Andvari still followed those who had possessed it, and

how Kriemhild wreaked a terrible vengeance upon Sieg-

fried's murderers, you must read the original story

as related in the Volsung Myth or in the Nibelungen
Song. Our story ends with Siegfried.
The episodes which I have inserted here and there

the stories of ^Egir, and of Balder, and of Idun, and of

Thor do not, as you may know, belong properly to

the legend of Siegfried ;
but I have thrown them in,

in order to acquaint you with some of the most beau-

tiful mythical conceptions of our ancestors.
A grand old people were those early kinsmen of ours,
not at all so savage and inhuman as our histories

would sometimes make us believe. For however mis-

taken their notions may have been, and however

 The After Word. 293

ignorant they were, according to our ideas of things,

they were strong-hearted, brave workers ; and, so far

as opportunity was afforded them, they acted well their

parts. What their notions were of true manhood, a

strong mind in a strong body, good, brave, and hand-

some, may be learned from the story of Siegfried.

CIRCULAT
SrrS ROOM
 Notes.

NOTES.

NOTE i. SIEGFRIED'S BOYHOOD. Page 4.

"ALL men agree that Siegfried was a king's son. He was born,
as we here have good reason to know,
'
at Santen in Netherland,
1

of Siegmund and the fair Siegelinde yet by some family misfor-

;

tune or discord, of which the accounts are very various, he came

into singular straits during boyhood, having passed that happy

period of life, not under the canopies of costly state, but by the
sooty stithy, in one Mimer, a blacksmith's shop." THOMAS CAR-
LYLE, The Nibelungen Lied.
The older versions of this story represent Siegfried, under the
name of Sigurd, as being brought up at the court of the Danish
King Hialprek; his own father Sigmund having been slain in
battle, as related in this chapter. He was early placed under
the tuition of Regin, or Regino, an elf, who instructed his pupil
in draughts, runes, languages, and various other accomplishments.
See Preface to VOLLMER'S Nibelunge Not, also the Song of
Sigurd Fafnisbane, in the Elder Edda, and the Icelandic Vol-

sunga Saga.
NOTE 2. MIMER. Page 18.

"The Vilkinamga\srm.%s before us yet another smith, Mimer,

by whom not only is Velint instructed in his art, but Sigfrit (Sieg-

fried) is brought up, another smith's apprentice. He is occa-

sionally mentioned in the later poem of Biterolf, as Mime the Old.

The old name of Miinster in Westphalia was Mimigardiford ;
the
 Notes. 295

Westphalian Minden was originally Mimidun ;

and Memleben on
the Unstrut, Mimileba. . . . The elder Norse tradition names him
just as often, and in several different connections. In one place,
a Mimingus, a wood-satyr, and possessor of a sword and jewels,
is interwoven into Ihe
myth of Balder and Hoder. The Edda
gives a higher position to its Mimer. He has a fountain, in which
wisdom and understanding lie hidden: drinking of it every moin-
ing, he is the wisest, most intelligent, of men. To Mimer's foun-
tain came Odin, and desired a drink, but did not receive it till lie

had given one of his eyes in pledge, and hidden it in the fountain:
thisaccounts for Odin being one-eyed. Mimer is no Asa, but. . .

an exalted being with whom the Asas hold converse, of whom

they make use, the sum total of wisdom, possibly an older

Nature-god. Later fables degraded him into a wood-sprite, or

clever smith." GRIMM'S Deutsche Mythologie, I. p. 379.
Concerning the Mimer of the Eddas, Professor Anderson says,
"The name Mimer means the knowing. The Giants, being older
than the Asas, looked deeper than the latter into the darkness of
the past. They had witnessed the birth of the gods and the
beginning of the world, and they foresaw their downfall. Con-
cerning both these events, the gods had to go to them for knowl-
edge. It is this wisdom that Mimer keeps in his fountain."

Norse Mythology, p. 209.

In the older versions of the legend, the smith who cared for

Siegfried (Sigurd) is called, as we have before noticed, Regin.

He is thus described by Morris :

" The lore of all men he knew,

And was deft in every cunning, save the dealings of the sword.

So sweet was his tongue-speech fashioned, that men trowed his every word
His hand with the harp-strings blended was the mingler of delight
With the latter days of sorrow all tales he told aright.
:

The Master of the Masters in the smithying craft was he;

And he dealt with the wind and the weather and the stilling of the sea ;

Nor might any learn him leech-craft, for before that race was made,
And that man-folk's generation, all their life-days had he weighed."
Sigurd ike Valuing, Bk. IL
296 Notes.

NOTE 3. THE SWORD. Page 12.

"
By this sword Balmung also hangs a tale. Doubtless it was
one of those invaluable weapons sometimes fabricated by the old
Northern smiths, compared with which our modern Foxes and
Ferraras and Toledos are mere leaden tools. Von der Hagen
seems simply the sword Mimung under another
to think it name ;

in which case, Siegfried's old master, Mimer, had been the maker
of it, and called it after himself, as if it had been his son." CAR-
LYLE, on the Nibelungen Lied, note.
In Scandinavian legends, the story of Mimer and Amilias is

given, differing but slightly from the rendering in this chapter.

See WEBER and JAMIESON'S Illustrations of Northern Antiqui-
ties.

In the older versions of the myth, the sword is called Gram,

or the Wrath. was wrought from the shards, or broken pieces,

It

of Sigmund's sword, the gift of Odin. It was made by Regin

for Sigurd's (Siegfried's) use, and its temper was tested as here
described.

NOTE 4. SIGMUND THE VoLSUNG. Page 16.

Sigmund the Volsung, in the Volsunga Saga, is represented as

the father of Sigurd (Siegfried); but there is such a marked con-

trast between him, and the wise, home-abiding King Siegmund of

the later stories, that I have
thought proper to speak of them here
as two different individuals. The word " Sigmund," or " Sieg-
mund," means literally the mouth of victory. The story of the
Volsungs, as here supposed to be related by Mimer, is derived

mainly from the Volsunga Saga.

NOTE 5. SIEGFRIED'S JOURNEY INTO THE FOREST. Page 22.

" In
shop of Mimer, Siegfried was nowise in his proper ele-
the

ment, ever quarrelling with his fellow-apprentices, nay, as some

say, breaking the hardest anvils into shivers by hi ; too stout ham-
i
 Notes. 297

mering; so that Mimer, otherwise a first-rate smith, could by

no means do with him there. lie sends him, accordingly, to the
neighboring forest to fetch charcoal, well aware that a monstrous
dragon, one Regin, the smith's own brother, would meet him, and
devour him. But far otherwise it proved." CARLYLE, on The
Nibelungen Lied.

NOTE 6. THE NORNS. Pages 26, 53.

The Norns are the Fates, which watch over man through life.

They are Urd the Past, Verdande the Present, and Skuld the
Future. They approach every new-born child, and utter his
doom. They are represented as spinning the thread of fate, one
end of which is hidden by Urd in the far east, the other by Ver-
dande in the far west. Skuld stands ready to rend it in pieces.

Sec GRIMM'S Teutonic Mytliology, p. 405, also ANDERSON'S

Norse Mythology^ p. 209.
The three weirdwomen in Shakspeare's Tragedy of Macbeth
represent a later conception of the three Norns, now degraded to
mere witches.
Compare the Norns with the Fates of the Greek Mythology.
These, also, are three in number. They sit clothed in white, and

garlanded, singing of destiny. Clotho, the Past, spins Lachesis, ;

the Present, divides and Atropos, the Future, stands ready with
;

her shears to cut the thread.

NOTE 7. THE IDEA OF FATALITY. Pages 17,53.

Throughout the story of the Nibelungs and \ olsungs, of

Sigurd and of Siegfried, whether we follow the older versions
or the more recent renderings, there is, as it were, an ever-

present but indefinable shadow of coming fate, "a low, inarticulate

voice of Doom," foretelling the inevitable. This is but in con-
sonance with the general ideas of our Northern ancestors regard-
ing the fatality which shapes and controls ever) man's life
298 Notes.

These ideas are embodied in more than one ancient legend.

We find them in the old Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf. "To
us " cries Beowulf in his last fight, "to us it shall be as our Weird

betides, that Weird that is every man's lord!" "Each man ot

us shall abide the end of his life-work; let him that may work, work
doomed deeds "
his ere death comes ! Similar ideas prevailed

among the Greeks.

Read, for example, that passage in the Iliad
describing the parting of Hector and Andromache, and notice the
deeper meaning of Hector's words.

NOTE 8. REGIN. Page 28.

As we have already observed (Note i), the older versions of this

myth called Siegfried's master and teacher Regin, while the more
recent versions call him Mimer. We have here endeavored to
harmonize the two versions by representing Mimer as being merely
Regin in disguise.

NOTE 9. GRIPIR. Page 30.

" A man of few words was Gripir but he knew of all deeds that
; had been ;

And times there came upon him, when the deeds to be were seen :

No sword had he held in his hand since his father fell to field,
And against the life of the slayer he bore undinted shield :

Yet no fear in his heart abided, nor desired he aught at all;

But he noted the deeds that had been, and looked for what should befall."

MORRIS'S Sigurd the Volsung, Bk. II,

NOTE 10. THE HOARD. Page 51.

This story is found in both the Elder and the Younger Eddas,
and is really the basis upon which the entire plot of the legend of
Sigurd, or Siegfried, is constructed. See also Note 18.

NOTE ii. THE DRAGON. Page 62.

The oldest form of this story is the

Song of Sigurd Fafnisbane,
in the Elder Edda* The English legend of St. George and the
Dragon was probably derived from the same original sources. A
 Notes. 299

similarmyth may be found among all Aryan peoples. Sometimes

it a treasure, sometimes a beautiful maiden, that the monster
is

guards, or attempts to destroy. Its first meaning was probably

this The maiden, or the treasure, is the earth in its beauty and
:

" The monster is the storm-cloud. The hero who fights

fertility.
it isthe sun, with his glorious sword, the lightning-flash. By his
victory the earth is relieved from her peril. The fable has been
varied to suit the atmospheric peculiarities of different climes in
which the Aryans found themselves. ... In Northern mythology
the serpent is probably the winter cloud, which broods over and

keeps from mortals the gold of the sun's light and heat, till in the
spring the bright orb overcomes the powers of darkness and tem-
pest, and scatters his gold over the face of the earth." This
myth appears forms among the Scandinavian
in a great variety of

and German nations. In the Eddas, Sigurd (Siegfried) is rep-

resented as roasting the heart of Fafnir, and touching it to his

lips. We have ventured to present a less revolting version.

See BARING-GOULD'S Curious Myths of the Middle Ages.
" The
slaying of the dragon Fafnir reminds us of Python,
whom Apollo overcame ; and, as Python guarded the Delphic
Oracle, the dying Fafnir prophesies." JACOB GRIMM.

NOTE 12. Page 64.

In order to harmonize subsequent passages in the story as re-

lated in different versions, we here represent Siegfried as turning
his back upon the Glittering Heath, and leaving the Hoard to
some other hero or discoverer. In the Younger Edda, Siegfried
(Sigurd) rides onward until he comes to Fafnir's bed, from which
"he took out all the gold, packed it in two bags, and laid it on
Crane's (Greyfell's) back, then got on himself and rode away."

NOTE 13. BRAGI. Page 67.

This episode of Bragi and his vessel is no part of the original

story of Siegfried, but is here introduced in order to acquaint you

3OO Notes.

with some myths of our ancestors. Bragi was the

of the older

impersonation of music and eloquence, and here represents the

music of Nature, the glad songs and sounds of the spring-time.
" Above "
any other god," says Grimm, one would like to see a
more general veneration of Bragi revived, in whom was vested the

gift ofpoetry and eloquence. . . . He appears to have stood in

pretty close relation to jEgir."

NOTE 14. jEciR. Page 82.

" He
>Egir was the god presiding over the stormy sea. enter-
tains the gods every harvest, and brews ale for them. The name
still survives in provincial English for the sea-wave on rivers."
ANDERSON'S Norse Mythology. See CARLYLE'S Heroes and Hero-
Worship.

NOTE 15. THE VALKYRIES. Page 89.

See GRIMM'S Tetitonic Mythology, p. 417, and ANDERSON'S

Norse Mythology, p. 265.

NOTE 16. BRUNHILD. Page 95.

In the Elder Edda, Brunhild's inaccessible hall stands on a

mountain, where she was doomed to sleep under her shield until
Sigurd should release her. In the Nibelungen Lied, she is repre-
sented as ruling in Isenland, an island far over the sea. The well-
known story of the Sleeping Beauty is derived from this myth.

NOTE 17. NIBELUNGEN LAND. Page 99.

"Vain were it to inquire where that Nibelungen Land speciallv

is. Its very name is Nebel-land, or Nifl-land, the land of Dark-

ness, of Invisibility. . . . Far beyond the firm horizon, that won-

der-bearing region swims on the infinite waters, unseen by bodily
eye, or, at most, discerned as a faint streak hanging in the blue
 Notes. 30 ^
*
1

depths, uncertain whether island or cloud." CARLYLE, on

Lied.

NOTE 18. SCHILBUNG AND NiBELUNG. Page 101.

"
Old King Nibelung, the former lord of the land, had left, when
he died, a mighty hoard concealed within a mountain-cavern. As

Siegfried rode past the mountain-side alone, he found Schilbung

and Nibelung, the king's sons, seated at the moutli of the cavern,
surrounded by more gold and precious stones than a hundred
wagons could bear away. Espying Siegfried, they called upon
him to settle their dispute, offering him as reward their father's
mighty sword Balmung." AUBER FORESTIER'S Translation of
the Nibelungcn Lied.
We have here made some slight variations from the original
versions. (See also Note 12.)
ancient legend relates how King Schilbung had obtained
An
the Hoard in the upper Rhine valley, and how he was afterwards
slain by his brother Niblung. This Nibkmg possessed a magic

ring in the shape of a coiled serpent with ruby eyes. It had been
presented to him by a prince named Gunthwurm, who had come to
him in the guise of a serpent, desiring the Land of his daughter
in marriage. This ring, according to the Eddas, was the one
taken by Loki from the dwarf Andvari, and was given by Sigurd
It was the cause of
(Siegfried) to Brunhild in token of betrothal.
all the disasters that afterwards occurred. See W. JORDAN'S
Sigfridssaga. See also Note 10.

NOTE 19. Page 105.

"... Siegfried the hero good

Failed the long task to finish : this stirred their angry mooa.
The treasure undivided he needs must let remain,
When the two kinc;s indignant set on him with their train ;

But Siegfried gripped sharp Balmung (so hight their father's sword),
And took from them their country, and the beaming, precious hoard."
The Nibclunenlit;d) Leltsom, 96, 97
3O2 Notes.

NOTE 20. SIEGFRIED'S WELCOME HOME. Page 113.

In the Nibelungen Lied this is our first introduction to the

hero. The " High-tide " held in honor of Siegfried's coming to
manhood, and which we suppose to have occurred at this time,
forms the subject of the Second Adventure in that poem.

NOTE 2i. KRIEMHILD'S DREAM. Page 124.

This forms the subject of the first chapter of the Nibelungen

" The Auber
Lied. eagles of Kriemhild's dream," says Forestier,
"are winter-giants, whose wont it was to transform themselves
into eagles; while the pure gods were in the habit of assuming the
falcon's form."

NOTE 22. IDUN. Page 135.

The story of Idun and her Apples is related in the Younger

Edda. there represented as having been told by Bragi him-
It is

self to his friend ^gir. This myth means, that the ever-renovat-
ing spring (Idun) being taken captive by the desolating winter
(Thjasse),all Nature (all the Asa-folk) languishes until she regains

her freedom through the intervention of the summer's heat (Loki).

See ANDERSON'S Norse Mythology.

NOTE 23. BALDER. Page 166.

The story of Balder is, in reality, the most ancient form of the
Siegfried myth. Both Balder and Siegfried are impersonations of
the beneficent light of the summer's sun, and both are represented
as be'ng treacherously slain by the powers of winter. The errand
of Hermod to the Halls of Death (Hela) reminds us of the errand
of Hermes to Hades to bring back Persephone to her mother
Demetre. We perceive also a resemblance in this story to the
myth of Orpheus, in which that hero is described as descending
into the lower regions to bring away his wife Eurydice.
 Notes. 303

NOTE 24. Page 172.

The making of rich clothing for the heroes is frequently re-

" This is a never-
ferred to in the Nibelungen Lied. Carlyle says,

failing preparative
for all expeditions, and is always specified and
;
nsisted on with a simple, loving, almost female impressiveness."

NOTE 25. THE WINNING OF BRUNHILD. Page 175.

The story of the outwitting of Brunhild, as related

in the pages

which follow, is essentially the same as that given in the Nibelun-

gen Lied. It is quite different from the older versions.

NOTE 26. SIF. Page 204.

Sif corresponds to the Ceres of the Southern mythology. (See

GRIMM, p. 309.) The story of Loki and the Dwarfs is derived
from the Younger Edda. It has been beautifully rendered by the
German poet OELENSCHLAGER, a translation of whose poem on
this subject may be found in LONGFELLOW'S Poets and Poetry of

Europe.

NOTE 27. EIGILL. Page 214.

Eigill is the original

William Tell. The story is related in tie

Saga of Thidrik. For a full history of the Tell myth, see

GRIMM'S Teutonic Mythology, p. 380, and BARING-GOULD'S
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, p. no.

NOTE 28. WELLAND THE SMITH. Page 215.

The name of this smith is variously given as Welanrl, Wieland,

\\ elland, Volundr, Velint, etc. The story is found in the Vilkina
of middle age myths.
Saga, and was one of the most popular
in his novel of
^See GRIMM'S Mythology.) Sir Walter Scott,
Kenilworlh, has made use of this legend in introducing the

episode of Wayland Smith.

304 Notes.

NOTE 29. VIDAR i

THE SILENT. Page 216.

" is the name of the silent Asa.

Vidar He has a very thick
shoe, and he is the strongest next to Thor. From him the gods
have much help in all hard tasks." The Younger Edda (Ander-
son's translation).

NOTE 30. LOKI. Page 236.

"
Loki, in nature, is the corrupting element in air, fire, and
water. In the bowels of the earth he is the volcanic flame, in the
sea he appears as a fierce serpent, and in the lower world we

recognize him as pale death. Like Odin, he pervades all nature.

He symbolizes sin, shrewdness, deccitfulness, treachery, malice,
etc." -ANDERSON'S Mythology, p. 372.
He corresponds to the Ahriman of the Persians, to the Satan
of the Christians, and remotely to the Prometheus of the Greeks.

NOTE 31. THE QUARREL OF THE QUEENS. Page 258.

In the ancient versions, the culmination of this quarrel occurred

while the queens were bathing in the river in the Nibelungen :

Lied it happened on the steps leading up to the door of the

church.

NOTE 32. HAGEN. Page 281.

Hagen corresponds to the Hoder of the more ancient myth of

Balder. In the Sigurd Sagas he is called Hogni, and is a brother,
Instead of an uncle, of Gunther (Gunnar).

NOTE 33. THE DEATH OF SIEGFRIED. Page 282.

This story is related here essentially as found in the Nibelun

gen Lied. It is quite differently told in the older versions. Sieg

fried's invulnerability save in one spot reminds us of Achilles,
1
The word Vidar means forest
 Notes. 305

who also was made invulnerable by a bath, and who could be

wounded only in the heel.

NOTE 34. THE BURIAL OF SIEGFRIED. Page 284.

The story of the burning of Siegfried's body upon a funeral-pile,

as related of Sigurd in the older myths, reminds us of the burning
of Balder upon the ship " Ringhorn." (See p. 162.) The Nibelun-

gtn Lied represents him as being buried in accordance with the

rites of the Roman-Catholic Church. This version of the story
must, of course, have been made after the conversion of the
Germans to Christianity. "When the Emperor Frederick III.

(1440-93) visited Worms after his Netherlands campaign," says

" he undertook to have the
Forestier, mighty hero's bones disin-
terred, probably in view of proving the truth of the marvellous
story then sung throughout Germany but, although he had the
;

ground dug into until water streamed forth, no traces of these

became manifest."

NOTE 35. THE HOARD. Page 286.

The story of bringing the Hoard from Nibelungen Land

belongs to the later versions of the myth, and fitly closes the
First Part of the Nibelungen Lied. Lochheim, the place where
the Hoard was sunk, was not far from Bingen on the Rhine.

NOTE 36. A SHORT VOCABULARY OF THE PRINCIPAL

PROPER NAMES MENTIONED IN THIS STORY.
The god of the sea.
ALBERICH and ANDVARI. Dwarfs who guard the great Hoard
ASA. A name applied to the gods of the Norse mythology.
ASGARD. The home of the gods.
BALDER. The god of the summer sunlight.
BRAGI. The god of eloquence and of poetry.
DRAUPNER. Odin's ring, which gives fertility to the earth.
306 Notes.

FAFNIR. The dragon whom Siegfried slays.

FENRIS-WOLF. The monster who in the last twilight slays
Odin.
FREYJA. The goddess of love.
FREY. The god of peace and plenty.
GRIPIR. The giant who gives wise counsel to Siegfried
(Sigurd).
GUNTHER. In the older myths called Gunnar.
HEIMDAL. The heavenly watchman.
HELA. The goddess of death.
HERMOD. The quick messenger who is sent to Hela for

Balder.
HODER. The winter-god. He slays Balder.
HCENIR. One of the three most ancient gods.
HUGIN. Odin's raven, Thought.
IDUN. The goddess of spring.
IVALD. A skilful dwarf.

JOTUNHEIM. The home of the giants.

KRIEMHILD. In the older myths called Gudrun.
LOKI. The mischief-rnaker. The god of evil.
MIMER. In the later German mythology a skilful smith. In

the older mythology a wise giant.

NORNS. The three Fates, Urd, Verdande, and Skuld.
ODIN. The chief of the gods.
REGIN. The teacher of Sigurd, by whom he is slain.
SIEGFRIED. In the older myths called Sigurd.
SIP. Thor's wife.
SLEIPNER. Odin's eight-footed horse.
TYR. The god of war.
THOR. The god of thunder. The foe of the giants.
VAX.HAL. The hall of the slain.
VALKYRIES. The choosers of the slain. Odin's handmaidens
VIDAR. The silent god.
YMIR. The huge giant out of whose body the world was made

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TABLE. Illustrated by S. R. BURLEIGH. i2mo, $1.50.
Mr. Frost has had the happy idea of making a journey to the different places con-
nected with the Arthurian mnumces by history or legend, and of relating the ever
new Round Table Tales on their sites, to the same little girl, now somewhat older,
to whom he told his charming Wagner stories.

THE WAGNER STORY BOOK. FIRELIGHT TALES OF THE GREAT Music

DRAMAS. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. i2mo, $1.50.
" Asuccessful attempt to make the romantic themes of the music drama intelligi-
ble to young readers. The author has full command of his subject, and the style
is easy, graceful, and simple." Boston Beacon.

ROBERT GRANT'S TWO BOOKS FOR BOYS

JACK HALL; OR, THE SCHOOL DAYS OF AN AMERICAN BOY. Illustrated by F.
G. ATTWOOD. i2mo, $1.25.
" A better book for
boys has never been written. It is pure, clean, and healthy,
and has throughout a vigorous action that holds the reader breathlessly."
Boston Herald.

JACK IN THE BUSH ; OR, A SUMMER ON A SALMON RIVER. Illustrated by F. T.

MERRILL. lamo, $1.25.
" A clever book for
boys. It is the story of the camp life of a lot of boys, and is
destined to please every boy reader. It is attractively illustrated."
Detroit Free Press.

THE RANTER GIRLS

By MARY L. B. BRANCH. Illustrated by HELEN M. ARMSTRONG. Square lamo,
$1.50.
The adventures of Jane and Prue, two small sisters, among different peoples of
the imaginative world dryads, snow-children. KoboUls, etc. aided by their
invisible^ rings, their magic boat, and their wonderful birds, are described by the
author with great naturalness and a true gift for story-telling. The numerous
illustrations are very attractive, and in thorough sympathy with the text.
 SCR/BNE^S *BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG

SAMUEL ADAMS DRAKE'S HISTORICAL BOOKS

JUST ISSUED
THE BORDER WARS OF NEW ENGLAND
COMMONLY CALLED KING WILLIAM'S AND QUEEN ANNE'S WARS. By SAMUEL
ADAMS DRAKE. With 58 illustrations atid maps. 121110, $1.50.
Mr. Drake has made a consecutive, entertaining narrative of the border wars
which the French and Indians waged against the English settlers in New Eng-
land during the reigns of King William ;uul Queen Anne. The story is full of
adventurous interest and is told with that minute attention to suggestive and in-
structive details \vhirh have been the distinguishing feature of Mr. Drake's other
books. The illustrations, many of them from photographs of historic spots and of
buildings still standing, are of exceptional interest.

FORHIBR VOLUMES
THE MAKING OF THE OHIO VALLEY STATES. 1660-1837. Illustrated.
i2mo, $1.50.

THE MAKING OF VIRGINIA AND THE MIDDLE COLONIES. 1578-1701. Il-

lustrated. I2111O, $1.50.

THE MAKING OF NEW ENGLAND. 1580-1643. With 148 illustrations and

with maps. 121110, $1.50.

THE MAKING OF THE GREAT WEST. 1812-1853. With 145 illustrations and
with maps. 121110, $1.50.

STORIES OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND HIS-

TORY BY HENRIETTA CHRISTIAN WRIGHT
A NEW VOLUME JUST ISSUED
CHILDREN'S STORIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. 1860-1896. I2mo,
51.25.
Miss Wright here continues the attractive presentation of literary history begun
"
in her Children's Stories in English Literature," taking up the literary figures
that have appeared since the time of the civil war, and treating their works and
personalities in a simple manner, interesting to young readers.

CHILDREN'S STORIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE. -1660-1860. I2mo,

$1.25.

CHILDREN'S STORIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. Two volumes : TALIE-

SIN TO SHAKESPEARK SHAKESPEARE TO TENNYSON. 121110, each, $1.25.

CHILDREN'S STORIES OF THE GROAT SCIENTISTS. With portraits.

121110, $1.25.

CHILDREN'S STORIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. Illustrated. i2mo, $1.25.

CHILDREN'S STORJES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. Illustrated. I2mo,

$1.25.
 SCRIBNEI^S "BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG

THREE BOOKS OF SPORTS AND GAMES

NEW EDITION JUST PUBLISHED OF
THE AMERICAN GIRL'S HANDY BOOK OR. How TO AMUSE YOURSELF ;

AND OTHERS. By LIMA and ADELIA B. BEARD. With more than 300 illustrations.
New and enlarged edition. Square 8vo, $2.00.
Eight new chapters have been added to the forty-two which have carried this
famous book to the hearts of all the young people since its appearance ten years
ago. The new chapters, richly illustrated, treat of Golf, Bicycling, Swimming,
Physical Culture, Girl's Clubs, A New Seashore Game, Apple Target Shooting
and Water Fairies. In its present form the book is a veritable treasure-house of
information and amusement for girls.

THE AMERICAN BOY'S BOOK OP SPORT. OUTDOOR GAMES FOR ALL SEA-
SONS. By DANIEL C. BEARD. With 300 illustrations by the author. 8vo, $2.50.
This new book by Mr. Beard, containing altogether new matter of great interest
to all young lovers of sport, is a companion volume to the author's well-known
"American Boy's Handy Book," of which over twenty-five thousand copies have
been sold, and will undoubtedly rival that famous work in popularity.

THE AMERICAN BOY'S HANDY BOOK ;

OR, WHAT TO Do AND How TO
Do IT. By DANIEL C. BEARD. With 360 illustrations. Square 8vo, $2.00.

THOMAS NELSON PAGE'S TWO BOOKS

AMONG THE CAMPS; OR, YOUNG PEOPLE'S STORIES OF THE WAR. With 8
full-page illustrations.Square 8vo, $1.50.
"
They are number, each having reference to some incident of the Civil
five in
War. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs through them all, and greatly
heightens the charm of them. It is the early experience of the author himself,
doubtless, which makes his pictures of Hie in a Southern home during the great
struggle so vivid and truthful." The Nation.

TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES. With 8 full-page illustrations by KEMBLE

and REDWOOD. Square Svo, $1.50.
"Mr. Page was 'raised' in Virginia, and he knows the 'darkey' of the South
better than any one who writes about them. And he knows white folks," too, and
'

his stories, whether for old or young people, have the charm of sincerity and
beauty and reality." Harper's Young People.

EDWARD EGGLESTON'S TWO POPULAR BOOKS

THE HOOS1ER SCHOOL-BOY. Illustrated. i2mo, $1.00.
"'
The Hoosier School-Boy depicts some of the characteristics of boy-life years
'

ago on the Ohio ; characteristics, however, that were not peculiar to that section.
The story presents a vivid and interesting picture of the difficulties which in those
days beset the path of the youth aspiring for an education."
Chicago Inter-Ocean.
QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. I2mo, $1.00.
"
very bright and attractive little volume for young readers. The stories are
A
fresh, breezy,and healthy, with a good point to them and a good, sound American
view of life and the road to success. The book abounds in good feeling and good
sense, and is written in a style of homely art."- Independent.