{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_26181/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_26181","id":"gutenberg_26181","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26181","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: German Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Nibelungenlied -- Adaptations","Siegfried (Legendary character) -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Chris Curnow, Joe Cooper,\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttps://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n        [Illustration: Then Mimer saw the bear, (see page 4)]\n\n\n                     TOLD TO THE CHILDREN SERIES\n\n                       EDITED BY LOUEY CHISHOLM\n\n\n\n                              STORIES OF\n\n                              SIEGFRIED\n\n\n\n                       TOLD TO THE CHILDREN BY\n\n                            MARY MACGREGOR\n\n\n\n                           WITH PICTURES BY\n\n                            GRANVILLE FELL\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                      LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK\n\n                     NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTO\n\nDENIS\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nDear Denis,--Here is a story that I found in an old German poem called\nthe Nibelungenlied. The poem is full of strange adventure, adventure\nof both tiny dwarf and stalwart mortal.\n\nSome of these adventures will fill this little book, and already I can\nsee you sitting in the nursery as you read them.\n\nThe door is opened but you do not look up. 'Denis! Denis!' You are\ncalled, but you do not hear, for you are not really in the nursery any\nlonger.\n\nYou have wandered away to Nibelheim, the home of the strange little\npeople of whom you are reading, and you have ears only for the harsh\nvoices of the tiny Nibelungs, eyes only for their odd, wrinkled faces.\n\nSiegfried is the merry hero of the Nibelungenlied. I wonder will you\nthink him as brave as French Roland or as chivalrous as your English\nfavourite, Guy of Warwick? Yet even should you think the German hero\nbrave and chivalrous as these, I can hardly believe you will read and\nre-read this little book as often as you read and re-read the volumes\nwhich told you about your French and English heroes.--Yours\naffectionately,\n\nMARY MACGREGOR.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nChap.                                           Page\n\nI.     Mimer the Blacksmith,                      1\n\nII.    Siegfried wins the Treasure,              11\n\nIII.   Siegfried comes home,                     18\n\nIV.    Kriemhild's Dream,                        23\n\nV.     Siegfried journeys to Worms,              27\n\nVI.    Siegfried's Welcome to Worms,             32\n\nVII.   Siegfried's Sojourn at Worms,             42\n\nVIII.  Siegfried sees Kriemhild,                 59\n\nIX.    Siegfried goes to Isenland,               64\n\nX.     Siegfried subdues Brunhild,               71\n\nXI.    Siegfried goes to the Cave,               80\n\nXII.   The Wedding Feast,                        87\n\nXIII.  Siegfried goes home with Kriemhild,       93\n\nXIV.   Siegfried and Kriemhild go to Worms,      99\n\nXV.    Siegfried is slain,                      106\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF PICTURES\n\n\nThen Mimer saw the bear,                                _Frontispiece_\n\n                                                          Facing page\n\n'I will kill thee, for in truth thou art an ugly monster',        8\n\nSeizing the magic sword, he cut off their heads,                 16\n\nKnighted by the royal hand of Siegmund the King,                 20\n\nThe heroes entered the streets of Worms,                         32\n\nThe maiden hurled her spear,                                     76\n\nSiegfried bent low before the lady Kriemhild,                    86\n\nWhile Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen\nstabbed him,                                                     114\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nMIMER THE BLACKSMITH\n\n\nSiegfried was born a Prince and grew to be a hero, a hero with a heart\nof gold. Though he could fight, and was as strong as any lion, yet he\ncould love too and be as gentle as a child.\n\nThe father and mother of the hero-boy lived in a strong castle near\nthe banks of the great Rhine river. Siegmund, his father, was a rich\nking, Sieglinde, his mother, a beautiful queen, and dearly did they\nlove their little son Siegfried.\n\nThe courtiers and the high-born maidens who dwelt in the castle\nhonoured the little Prince, and thought him the fairest child in all\nthe land, as indeed he was.\n\nSieglinde, his queen-mother, would ofttimes dress her little son in\ncostly garments and lead him by the hand before the proud, strong\nmen-at-arms who stood before the castle walls. Nought had they but\nsmiles and gentle words for their little Prince.\n\nWhen he grew older, Siegfried would ride into the country, yet always\nwould he be attended by King Siegmund's most trusted warriors.\n\nThen one day armed men entered the Netherlands, the country over which\nKing Siegmund ruled, and the little Prince was sent away from the\ncastle, lest by any evil chance he should fall into the hands of the\nfoe.\n\nSiegfried was hidden away safe in the thickets of a great forest, and\ndwelt there under the care of a blacksmith, named Mimer.\n\nMimer was a dwarf, belonging to a strange race of little folk called\nNibelungs. The Nibelungs lived for the most part in a dark little town\nbeneath the ground. Nibelheim was the name of this little town and\nmany of the tiny men who dwelt there were smiths. All the livelong day\nthey would hammer on their little anvils, but all through the long\nnight they would dance and play with tiny little Nibelung women.\n\nIt was not in the little dark town of Nibelheim that Mimer had his\nforge, but under the trees of the great forest to which Siegfried had\nbeen sent.\n\nAs Mimer or his pupils wielded their tools the wild beasts would start\nfrom their lair, and the swift birds would wing their flight through\nthe mazes of the wood, lest danger lay in those heavy, resounding\nstrokes.\n\nBut Siegfried, the hero-boy, would laugh for glee, and seizing the\nheaviest hammer he could see he would swing it with such force upon\nthe anvil that it would be splintered into a thousand pieces.\n\nThen Mimer the blacksmith would scold the lad, who was now the\nstrongest of all the lads under his care; but little heeding his\nrebukes, Siegfried would fling himself merrily out of the smithy and\nhasten with great strides into the gladsome wood. For now the Prince\nwas growing a big lad, and his strength was even as the strength of\nten.\n\nTo-day Siegfried was in a merry mood. He would repay Mimer's rebukes\nin right good fashion. He would frighten the little blacksmith dwarf\nuntil he was forced to cry for mercy.\n\nClad in his forest dress of deerskins, with his hair as burnished gold\nblowing around his shoulders, Siegfried wandered away into the depths\nof the woodland.\n\nThere he seized the silver horn which hung from his girdle and raised\nit to his lips. A long, clear note he blew, and ere the sound had died\naway the boy saw a sight which pleased him well. Here was good prey\nindeed! A bear, a great big shaggy bear was peering at him out of a\nbush, and as he gazed the beast opened its jaws and growled, a fierce\nand angry growl.\n\nNot a whit afraid was Siegfried. Quick as lightning he had caught the\ngreat creature in his arms, and ere it could turn upon him, it was\nmuzzled, and was being led quietly along toward the smithy.\n\nMimer was busy at his forge sharpening a sword when Siegfried reached\nthe doorway.\n\nAt the sound of laughter the little dwarf raised his head. It was the\nPrince who laughed. Then Mimer saw the bear,[1] and letting the sword\nhe held drop to the ground with a clang, he ran to hide himself in the\ndarkest corner of the smithy.\n\n[Footnote 1: See frontispiece.]\n\nThen Siegfried laughed again. He was no hero-boy to-day, for next he\nmade the big bear hunt the little Nibelung dwarf from corner to\ncorner, nor could the frightened little man escape or hide himself in\ndarkness. Again and again as he crouched in a shadowed corner,\nSiegfried would stir up the embers of the forge until all the smithy\nwas lighted with a ruddy glow.\n\nAt length the Prince tired of his game, and unmuzzling the bear he\nchased the bewildered beast back into the shelter of the woodlands.\n\nMimer, poor little dwarf, all a-tremble with his fear, cried angrily,\n'Thou mayest go shoot if so it please thee, and bring home thy dead\nprey. Dead bears thou mayest bring hither if thou wilt, but live bears\nshalt thou leave to crouch in their lair or to roam through the\nforest.' But Siegfried, the naughty Prince, only laughed at the little\nNibelung's frightened face and harsh, croaking voice.\n\nNow as the days passed, Mimer the blacksmith began to wish that\nSiegfried had never come to dwell with him in his smithy. The Prince\nwas growing too strong, too brave to please the little dwarf, moreover\nmany were the mischievous tricks his pupil played on him.\n\nPrince though he was, Mimer would see if he could not get rid of his\ntormentor. For indeed though, as I have told you, Siegfried had a\nheart of gold, at this time the gold seemed to have grown dim and\ntarnished. Perhaps that was because the Prince had learned to distrust\nand to dislike, nay, more, to hate the little, cunning dwarf.\n\nHowever that may be, it is certain that Siegfried played many pranks\nupon the little Nibelung, and he, Mimer, determined to get rid of the\nquick-tempered, strong-handed Prince.\n\nOne day, therefore, it happened that the little dwarf told Siegfried\nto go deep into the forest to bring home charcoal for the forge. And\nthis Mimer did, though he knew that in the very part of the forest to\nwhich he was sending the lad there dwelt a terrible dragon, named\nRegin. Indeed Regin was a brother of the little blacksmith, and would\nbe lying in wait for the Prince. It would be but the work of a moment\nfor the monster to seize the lad and greedily to devour him.\n\nTo Siegfried it was always joy to wander afar through the woodland.\nOfttimes had he thrown himself down on the soft, moss-covered ground\nand lain there hour after hour, listening to the wood-birds' song.\nSometimes he would even find a reed and try to pipe a tune as sweet as\ndid the birds, but that was all in vain, as the lad soon found. No\ntiny songster would linger to hearken to the shrill piping of his\ngrassy reed, and the Prince himself was soon ready to fling it far\naway.\n\nIt was no hardship then to Siegfried to leave the forge and the hated\nlittle Nibelung, therefore it was that with right good-will he set out\nin search of charcoal for Mimer the blacksmith.\n\nAs he loitered there where the trees grew thickest, Siegfried took his\nhorn and blew it lustily. If he could not pipe on a grassy reed, at\nleast he could blow a rousing note on his silver horn.\n\n[Illustration: \"I will kill thee, for in truth thou art an ugly\nmonster\"]\n\nSuddenly as Siegfried blew, the trees seemed to sway, the earth to\ngive out fire. Regin, the dragon, had roused himself at the blast, and\nwas even now drawing near to the Prince.\n\nIt was at the mighty strides of the monster that the trees had seemed\nto tremble, it was as he opened his terrible jaws that the earth had\nseemed to belch out fire.\n\nFor a little while Siegfried watched the dragon in silence. Then he\nlaughed aloud, and a brave, gay laugh it was. Alone in the forest,\nwith a sword buckled to his side, the hero was afraid of naught, not\neven of Regin. The ugly monster was sitting now on a little hillock,\nlooking down upon the lad, his victim as he thought.\n\nThen Siegfried called boldly to the dragon, 'I will kill thee, for in\ntruth thou art an ugly monster.'\n\nAt those words Regin opened his great jaws, and showed his terrible\nfangs. Yet still the boy Prince mocked at the hideous dragon.\n\nAnd now Regin in his fury crept closer and closer to the lad, swinging\nhis great tail, until he well-nigh swept Siegfried from his feet.\n\nSwiftly then the Prince drew his sword, well tempered as he knew, for\nhad not he himself wrought it in the forge of Mimer the blacksmith?\nSwiftly he drew his sword, and with one bound he sprang upon the\ndragon's back, and as he reared himself, down came the hero's shining\nsword and pierced into the very heart of the monster. Thus as\nSiegfried leaped nimbly to the ground, the dragon fell back dead.\nRegin was no longer to be feared.\n\nThen Siegfried did a curious thing. He had heard the little Nibelung\nmen who came to the smithy to talk with Mimer, he had heard them say\nthat whoever should bathe in the blood of Regin the dragon would\nhenceforth be safe from every foe. For his skin would grow so tough\nand horny that it would be to him as an armour through which no sword\nor spear could ever pierce.\n\nThinking of the little Nibelungs' harsh voices and wrinkled little\nfaces, as they had sat talking thus around Mimer's glowing forge,\nSiegfried now flung aside his deerskin dress and bathed himself from\ntop to toe in the dragon's blood.\n\nBut as he bathed, a leaf from off a linden tree was blown upon his\nshoulders, and on the spot where it rested Siegfried's skin was still\nsoft and tender as when he was a little child. It was only a tiny spot\nwhich was covered by the linden leaf, but should a spear thrust, or an\narrow pierce that tiny spot, Siegfried would be wounded as easily as\nany other man.\n\nThe dragon was dead, the bath was over, and clad once more in his\ndeerskin, Siegfried set out for the smithy. He brought no charcoal for\nthe forge; all that he carried with him was a heart afire with anger,\na sword quivering to take the life of the Nibelung, Mimer.\n\nFor now Siegfried knew that the dwarf had wished to send him forth to\ndeath, when he bade him go seek charcoal in the depths of the forest.\n\nInto the dusky glow of the smithy plunged the hero, and swiftly he\nslew the traitor Mimer. Then gaily, for he had but slain evil ones of\nwhom the world was well rid, then gaily Siegfried fared through the\nforest in quest of adventure.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nSIEGFRIED WINS THE TREASURE\n\n\nNow this is what befell the Prince.\n\nIn his wanderings he reached the country called Isenland, where the\nwarlike but beautiful Queen Brunhild reigned. He gazed with wonder at\nher castle, so strong it stood on the edge of the sea, guarded by\nseven great gates. Her marble palaces also made him marvel, so white\nthey glittered in the sun.\n\nBut most of all he marvelled at this haughty queen, who refused to\nmarry any knight unless he could vanquish her in every contest to\nwhich she summoned him.\n\nBrunhild from the castle window saw the fair face and the strong limbs\nof the hero, and demanded that he should be brought into her presence,\nand as a sign of her favour she showed the young Prince her magic\nhorse Gana.\n\nYet Siegfried had no wish to conquer the warrior-queen and gain her\nhand and her broad dominions for his own. Siegfried thought only of a\nwonder-maiden, unknown, unseen as yet, though in his heart he hid an\nimage of her as he dreamed that she would be.\n\nIt is true that Siegfried had no love for the haughty Brunhild. It is\nalso true that he wished to prove to her that he alone was a match for\nall her boldest warriors, and had even power to bewitch her magic\nsteed, Gana, if so he willed, and steal it from her side.\n\nAnd so one day a spirit of mischief urged the Prince on to a gay\nprank, as also a wayward spirit urged him no longer to brook Queen\nBrunhild's haughty mien.\n\nBefore he left Isenland, therefore, Siegfried in a merry mood threw to\nthe ground the seven great gates that guarded the Queen's strong\ncastle. Then he called to Gana, the magic steed, to follow him into\nthe world, and this the charger did with right good-will.\n\nWhether Siegfried sent Gana back to Isenland or not I do not know, but\nI know that in the days to come Queen Brunhild never forgave the hero\nfor his daring feat.\n\nWhen the Prince had left Isenland he rode on and on until he came to a\ngreat mountain. Here near a cave he found two little dwarfish\nNibelungs, surrounded by twelve foolish giants. The two little\nNibelungs were princes, the giants were their counsellors.\n\nNow the King of the Nibelungs had but just died in the dark little\nunderground town of Nibelheim, and the two tiny princes were the sons\nof the dead king.\n\nBut they had not come to the mountain-side to mourn for their royal\nfather. Not so indeed had they come, but to divide the great hoard of\ntreasure which the King had bequeathed to them at his death.\n\nAlready they had begun to quarrel over the treasure, and the twelve\nfoolish giants looked on, but did not know what to say or do, so they\ndid nothing, and never spoke at all.\n\nThe dwarfs had themselves carried the hoard out of the cave where\nusually it was hidden, and they had spread it on the mountain-side.\n\nThere it lay, gold as far as the eye could see, and farther. Jewels,\ntoo, were there, more than twelve waggons could carry away in four\ndays and nights, each going three journeys.\n\nIndeed, however much you took from this marvellous treasure, never did\nit seem to grow less.\n\nBut more precious even than the gold or the jewels of the hoard was a\nwonderful sword which it possessed. It was named Balmung, and had been\ntempered by the Nibelungs in their glowing forges underneath the glad\ngreen earth.\n\nBefore the magic strength of Balmung's stroke, the strongest warrior\nmust fall, nor could his armour save him, however close its links had\nbeen welded by some doughty smith.\n\nAs Siegfried rode towards the two little dwarfs, they turned and saw\nhim, with his bright, fair face, and flowing locks.\n\nNimble as little hares they darted to his side, and begged that he\nwould come and divide their treasure. He should have the good sword\nBalmung as reward, they cried.\n\nSiegfried dismounted, well pleased to do these ugly little men a\nkindness.\n\nBut alas! ere long the dwarfs began to mock at the hero with their\nharsh voices, and to wag their horrid little heads at him, while they\nscreamed in a fury that he was not dividing the treasure as they\nwished.\n\nThen Siegfried grew angry with the tiny princes, and seizing the magic\nsword, he cut off their heads. The twelve foolish giants also he slew,\nand thus became himself master of the marvellous hoard as well as of\nthe good sword Balmung.\n\nSeven hundred valiant champions, hearing the blast of the hero's horn,\nnow gathered together to defend the country from this strange young\nwarrior. But he vanquished them all, and forced them to promise that\nthey would henceforth serve no other lord save him alone. And this\nthey did, being proud of his great might.\n\nNow tidings of the slaughter of the two tiny princes had reached\nNibelheim, and great was the wrath of the little men and little women\nwho dwelt in the dark town beneath the earth.\n\nAlberich, the mightiest of all the dwarfs, gathered together his army\nof little gnomes to avenge the death of the two dwarf princes and\nalso, for Alberich was a greedy man, to gain for himself the great\nhoard.\n\n[Illustration: Seizing the magic sword, he cut off their heads]\n\nWhen Siegfried saw Alberich at the head of his army of little men he\nlaughed aloud, and with a light heart he chased them all into the\ngreat cave on the mountain-side.\n\nFrom off the mighty dwarf, Alberich, he stripped his famous Cloak of\nDarkness, which made him who wore it not only invisible, but strong as\ntwelve strong men. He snatched also from the dwarf's fingers his\nwishing rod, which was a Magic Wand. And last of all he made Alberich\nand his thousands of tiny warriors take an oath, binding them evermore\nto serve him alone. Then hiding the treasure in the cave with the\nseven hundred champions whom he had conquered, he left Alberich and\nhis army of little men to guard it, until he came again. And Alberich\nand his dwarfs were faithful to the hero who had shorn them of their\ntreasure, and served him for evermore.\n\nSiegfried, the magic sword Balmung by his side, the Cloak of Darkness\nthrown over his arm, the Magic Wand in his strong right hand, went\nover the mountain, across the plains, nor did he tarry until he came\nagain to the castle built on the banks of the river Rhine in his own\nlow-lying country of the Netherlands.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nSIEGFRIED COMES HOME\n\n\nThe walls of the old castle rang. King Siegmund, his knights and\nliegemen, all were welcoming Prince Siegfried home. They had not seen\ntheir hero-prince since he had been sent long years before to be under\nthe charge of Mimer the blacksmith.\n\nHe had grown but more fair, more noble, they thought, as they gazed\nupon his stalwart limbs, his fearless eyes.\n\nAnd what tales of prowess clustered around his name! Already their\nPrince had done great deeds as he had ridden from land to land.\n\nThe King and his liegemen had heard of the slaughter of the terrible\ndragon, of the capture of the great treasure, of the defiance of the\nwarlike and beautiful Brunhild. They could wish for no more renowned\nprince than their own Prince Siegfried.\n\nThus Siegmund and his subjects rejoiced that the heir to the throne\nwas once again in his own country.\n\nIn the Queen's bower, too, there was great joy. Sieglinde wept, but\nher tears were not those of sadness. Sieglinde wept for very gladness\nthat her son had come home safe from his wonderful adventures.\n\nNow Siegmund wished to give a great feast in honour of his son. It\nshould be on his birthday which was very near, the birthday on which\nthe young Prince would be twenty-one years of age.\n\nFar and wide throughout the Netherlands and into distant realms\ntidings of the feast were borne. Kinsmen and strangers, lords and\nladies all were asked to the banquet in the great castle hall where\nSiegmund reigned supreme.\n\nIt was the merry month of June when the feast was held, and the sun\nshone bright on maidens in fair raiment, on knights in burnished\narmour.\n\n[Illustration: Knighted by the royal hand of Siegmund the King.]\n\nSiegfried was to be knighted on this June day along with four hundred\nyoung squires of his father's realm. The Prince was clad in gorgeous\narmour, and on the cloak flung around his shoulders jewels were seen\nto sparkle in the sunlight, jewels made fast with gold embroidery\nworked by the white hands of the Queen and her fair damsels.\n\nIn games and merry pastimes the hours of the day sped fast away, until\nthe great bell of the Minster pealed, calling the gay company to the\nhouse of God for evensong. Siegfried and the four hundred squires\nknelt before the altar, ere they were knighted by the royal hand of\nSiegmund the King.\n\nThe solemn service ended, the new-made knights hastened back to the\ncastle, and there in the great hall a mighty tournament was held.\nKnights who had grown grey in service tilted with those who but that\nday had been given the grace of knighthood. Lances splintered, shields\nfell before the mighty onslaughts of the gallant warriors, until King\nSiegmund bade the tilting cease.\n\nThen in the great hall feasting and song held sway until daylight\nfaded and the stars shone bright.\n\nYet no weariness knew the merry-makers. The next morning, and for six\nlong summer days, they tilted, they sang, they feasted.\n\nWhen at length the great festival drew to a close, Siegmund in the\npresence of his guests gave to his dear son Siegfried many lands and\nstrong castles over which he might be lord.\n\nTo all his son's comrades, too, the King gave steeds and costly\nraiment, while Queen Sieglinde bestowed upon them freely coins of\ngold. Such abundant gifts had never before been dreamed of as were\nthus lavished by Siegmund and Sieglinde on their guests.\n\nAs the rich nobles looked upon the brave young Prince Siegfried, there\nwere some who whispered among themselves that they would fain have him\nto rule in the land.\n\nSiegfried heard their whispers, but in no wise did he give heed to the\nwish of the nobles.\n\nNever, he thought, while his beautiful mother and his bounteous father\nlived, would he wear the crown.\n\nIndeed Siegfried had no wish to sit upon a throne, he wished but to\nsubdue the evil-doers in the land. Or better still he wished to go\nforth in search of new adventure. And this right soon he did.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nKRIEMHILD'S DREAM\n\n\nNow in the Kingdom of Burgundy the court sat in the city of Worms, a\ncity built on the banks of the great Rhine river.\n\nAt this court dwelt a beautiful Princess named Kriemhild. More\nbeautiful was she than any other maiden in the wide world. Gentle and\nkind too she was, so that her fame had spread to many a far-off land.\n\nThe King, her father, had died when Kriemhild was a tiny maiden. Her\nmother was Queen Ute, who loved well her beautiful and gentle\ndaughter.\n\nBut though the maiden's father was dead, she was well guarded by her\nthree royal brothers, King Gunther, King Gernot, and King Giselher.\n\nIt was King Gunther, Kriemhild's eldest brother, who sat upon the\nthrone, and it was to him that the liegemen took their oath of fealty.\n\nKing Gunther's chief counsellor was his uncle, a cruel man, whose name\nwas Hagen.\n\nThere was great wealth and splendour at the Court of Worms, and many\nnobles and barons flocked thither to take service under King Gunther's\nbanners.\n\nNow one night it chanced that Kriemhild dreamed a strange dream. As\nshe lay in her soft, white bed it seemed to the Princess that a\nbeautiful hawk, with feathers of gold, came and perched upon her\nwrist.\n\nStrong and wild was the bird, but in her dream Kriemhild fondled and\npetted it until it grew quiet and tame. Then the Princess dressed\nherself for the hunt, and with her hawk on her wrist set out with her\nthree royal brothers to enjoy the sport.\n\nNo sooner, however, did the maiden loosen the hawk from off her wrist\nthan it soared upward toward the bright blue sky.\n\nThen the dream-maiden saw two mighty eagles swoop down upon her petted\nhawk, and bearing it away in their cruel talons, tear it into pieces.\n\nWhen the Princess awoke and remembered her dream she trembled for\nfear. In the early dawn the beautiful maiden slipped into her mother's\nbower. Perchance the Queen would be able to tell her the meaning of\nher dream.\n\nQueen Ute listened kindly to her daughter's fears, but when she heard\nof the two cruel eagles she covered her face with her fair white hands\nand answered slowly: 'The hawk, my daughter, is a noble knight who\nshall be thy husband, but, alas, unless God defend him from his foes,\nthou shalt lose him ere he has long been thine.'\n\nBut the beautiful maiden tossed her head, forgetting the sorrow of her\ndream, and cried with a light heart, 'O lady mother, I wish no knight\nto woo me from thy side. Merry and glad is my life here in our court\nat Worms, and here will I dwell with thee and my three royal\nbrothers.'\n\n'Nay,' said the Queen, 'speak not thus, fair daughter, for God will\nsend to thee a noble knight and strong.'\n\nYet still the maiden laughed. She knew not that even now a hero of\ngreat renown was on his way to the royal city, a hero who already bore\nthe maiden's image in his heart, and hoped to win her one day for his\nbride.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nSIEGFRIED JOURNEYS TO WORMS\n\n\nTo the Netherlands, as to many another land, came rumours of the\nbeauty and the gentleness of the Princess Kriemhild. Siegfried at\nfirst paid little heed to what he heard of a wonder-maid who dwelt in\nthe famous court of Worms. Yet by and by he began to think she was\nstrangely like the unknown maid whose image he carried in his heart.\n\nWhen he heard that many knights had ridden far that they might see\nthis fair Princess, he made up his mind that he also would go thither\nto the court at Worms.\n\nSiegmund and Sieglinde had often begged the Prince to wed some great\nprincess. He thought, therefore, that they would be well pleased that\nhe was going into Burgundy to see the beautiful maiden Kriemhild.\n\nBut the King and Queen were grieved when they knew that Siegfried must\nleave them. Kriemhild, it was true, was as good as she was beautiful,\nbut two of her brothers were proud and haughty men of Burgundy,\nmoreover their uncle Hagen had a grim and cruel temper, and it was he\nwho really ruled the land. It might be that their son would not be\nwelcomed to the court at Worms, and ill might betide him in a strange\ncountry.\n\nYet Siegfried would have his way. He must certainly go to Burgundy to\nwoo the gentle maiden who had already sent many knights away, unmoved\nby all their vows of courtesy and love. For, indeed, no knight yet had\nthe lady seen whom she would call her lord.\n\nThen Siegmund, seeing that Siegfried had determined to go to Worms,\nwarned him that King Gunther was too weak to be trusted, while Hagen\nhis chief counsellor was so powerful at court that he might work ill\non whom he would.\n\nAs of old, the hero laughed aloud.\n\n'Should Hagen deny what I shall ask in courtesy, he shall learn that\nstrong is my right hand!' cried the Prince. 'His country and his\nkings I will surely wrest from him if he treat me with disdain.'\n\n'Speak not thus foolishly,' said King Siegmund. 'Should thy wild words\nbe carried to Hagen's ears, thou wouldst never be allowed to cross the\nborders of his country. If go thou must to Burgundy, take with thee an\narmed force. See, I will summon my warriors to follow thee lest danger\nbefall.'\n\n'Nay, but an army will I not take with me, lest Gunther dream I have\ncome to invade his land. I, with eleven brave knights to follow me,\nwill ride to Burgundy. Your help do I crave, good father. Give me, I\npray thee, eleven stalwart warriors.'\n\nThen Siegmund called for eleven of his bravest knights, and bade them\nprepare to follow their Prince.\n\nMeanwhile Queen Sieglinde had been weeping bitterly for fear lest her\ndear son should fall into danger in King Gunther's country.\n\nBut Siegfried stole to her side, and taking her frail, white hands in\nhis strong ones, he said tenderly, 'Lady mother, I pray thee weep\nnot, neither fear for me.' Then, knowing well what would please the\nQueen best, he pleaded with her to aid him in his adventure.\n\n'Provide me and my eleven knights with beautiful garments,' thus he\ncoaxed his lady mother, 'that we may go to Burgundy clad as proud\nheroes should.'\n\nSwiftly the Queen dried her tears. 'If go thou must, dear son,' she\nsaid, 'thou shalt go clothed in the best apparel ever warrior wore,\nthou and also thy brave comrades.'\n\nThus day by day, while the eleven warriors polished their armour until\nit shone as the noontide sun, Sieglinde and her maidens sat stitching,\nstitching. Gladly they stitched, nor ever did their fingers loiter at\ntheir seams until Prince Siegfried's garments were complete.\n\nAt length all was ready and Siegfried and his eleven brave warriors\ntook farewell of their native land. Gently the bold hero kissed his\nlady mother as once again her sad tears fell. 'Fear not, dear mother,'\nhe said, 'fear not; ere long I will return and bring with me the\nbeauteous maiden Kriemhild.' Yet the Queen and her maidens wept, and\nover the little band of knights a sudden gloom fell, they knew not\nwhy.\n\nBut ere long as they journeyed along, gay thoughts cheered the\nwarriors, laughter and merry jests filled the air, for were they not\ngoing forward to fame and fair adventure.\n\nFor six days Siegfried and his knights journeyed, and on the seventh\nthey reached the sandbank by the Rhine which led them into Worms.\nBoldly, and clad in their most costly garments, the Prince and his\ncompanions entered the royal city.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nSIEGFRIED'S WELCOME TO WORMS\n\n[Illustration: The heroes entered the streets of Worms]\n\n\nAs the heroes entered the streets of Worms the people came out of\ntheir houses all agape with wonder. Who could the bold strangers be?\nSee how their horses' trappings shone as burnished gold and how their\nwhite armour glittered in the sunlight.\n\nThen down from the castle rode Gunther's warriors to welcome the\nstrangers. Right courteously did they greet Siegfried and his eleven\nbrave knights. As the custom was, they sent their minions to lead away\nthe strangers' chargers to the stalls, and to bear their shields to a\nplace of safety.\n\nBut Siegfried cried gaily, 'Nay, from our steeds and our armour will\nwe not part, for ere long I and my gallant warriors will ride away\nagain to our own country. I pray thee now tell me where I shall\nfind thy King, for to speak with him came I thither.'\n\n'King Gunther,' cried his warriors, 'is even now seated in yonder\nhall, and around him are gathered many gallant heroes, many brave\nknights.'\n\nNow in the hall tidings had reached King Gunther of the band of\nstrangers who had so boldly entered into the royal city.\n\nWhen he heard of their gorgeous raiment and their shining armour, much\ndid he desire to know from whence they came.\n\nThen one of his lords said to the King, 'We know not who these\nstrangers be, yet if thou wilt send for Hagen, it may be he can tell\nthee. For to Hagen strange lands are well known, as also the kings and\nprinces who dwell therein.'\n\nTherefore Hagen was summoned in all haste to the presence of King\nGunther.\n\n'Tell me now,' said the King, as his counsellor bowed low before him,\n'tell me, if in truth thou knowest, who be these strangers that ride\nso boldly towards the castle?'\n\nStrong and stern Hagen stood up before the King. No winsome hero was\nthis man, but a warrior fierce and grim, with eyes to pierce all on\nwhom he gazed, so keen, so quick they were.\n\n'The truth, sire, will I tell to thee,' answered Hagen, and he walked\nover to the castle window, flung it wide and cast his searching glance\non Siegfried and his noble knights, who were now drawing near to the\ncastle.\n\nWell was the grim counsellor pleased with the splendour of these\nstrangers with their shining helmets, their dazzling white armour,\ntheir noble chargers, yet from whence they came he could not tell.\n\nHagen turned from the window to where the King stood awaiting his\nanswer.\n\n'Whence come these knights I know not,' he said. 'Yet so noble is\ntheir bearing that they must needs be princes or ambassadors from some\ngreat monarch. One knight, the fairest and the boldest, is, methinks,\nthe wondrous hero Siegfried, though never have I seen that mighty\nPrince.'\n\nThen, his fierce eyes gleaming, Hagen told the King of the great\ntreasure Siegfried had won from the Nibelungs. His eyes gleamed with\na greed he could not hide as he told King Gunther of the gold that had\nbeen strewed upon the mountain-side, of the jewels that had sparkled\nthere, for Hagen was envious of the riches of the great hero.\n\nHe told the King, too, how Siegfried had seized the good sword\nBalmung, and with it had killed the two little princely dwarfs, their\ntwelve giants and seven hundred great champions of the neighbouring\ncountry. Of Alberich, too, Hagen told his master, of Alberich from\nwhom Siegfried had taken the Cloak of Darkness and the Magic Wand, and\nwho now guarded the hoard for the mighty hero alone.\n\nNever was such a warrior as Siegfried, thought King Gunther, who was\nhimself neither strong nor brave.\n\nBut yet more had Hagen to tell, even how Siegfried had slain a great\ndragon and bathed in its blood until his skin grew tough and horny, so\nthat no sword-thrust could do him any hurt.\n\nBut of the linden leaf and of the tiny spot between the hero's\nshoulders where he could be smitten as easily as any other knight, of\nthese things Hagen, knowing nothing, did not speak.\n\n'Let us hasten to receive this young Prince,' said the counsellor, 'as\nbefits his fame. Let us hasten to gain his good-will lest our country\nsuffer from his prowess.'\n\nThe King was well pleased with the counsel of his uncle Hagen, for as\nhe gazed at the young hero from the castle window King Gunther loved\nhim for his strength of limb, for his fair young face, and would fain\nwelcome him to the land of Burgundy.\n\n'If in truth the knight be Siegfried,' said the King, 'right glad am\nI. More bold and peerless a prince have I never seen.'\n\n'Siegfried, if so he be, is the son of a wealthy king,' said Hagen.\n'Well pleased would I be to know for what purpose he and his knights\nhave journeyed to our land.'\n\n'Let us go down and welcome the strangers,' said Gunther. 'If their\nerrand be peaceful they shall tarry at our court and see how merry the\nknights of Burgundy can be.'\n\nWith Hagen by his side and followed by his courtiers, Gunther then\nwalked toward the gates of the castle, which he reached as Siegfried\nand his knights rode through them.\n\nGraciously then did the King welcome the noble knight, and Siegfried,\nbowing low, thanked him for his kindly greeting.\n\n'I beseech thee, noble knight,' said the King, 'tell me why thou hast\njourneyed to this our royal city, for thy purpose is yet unknown.'\n\nNow Siegfried was not ready to speak of the fair Princess of whom he\nhad heard in his own country, so he answered the King thus:\n\n'Tidings reached me in my fatherland of the splendour of thy court, O\nKing. Never monarch was more bold, more brave than thou, never ruler\nhad more valiant warriors. Such tales were told to me by the people of\nmy land and I have come to see if they be true. I also, King Gunther,\nam a warrior, and I, too, shall one day wear a crown, for I am\nSiegfried, Prince of the Netherlands. Nor shall I be content until I\nhave done great deeds to make the whole world marvel. For then in\ntruth will people cry aloud that I am worthy to reign.'\n\nAt that moment Siegfried caught sight of Hagen's grim, stern face, and\nsomething he saw in it provoked the gay prince to say right hardily,\n'Therefore to do great deeds have I come to Worms, even to wrest from\nthee, King Gunther, thy broad realm of Burgundy and likewise all thy\ncastles. They shall be mine ere many suns have set.'\n\nThen indeed did the King and all his warriors marvel at the bold young\nknight. 'Was ever heard so monstrous a plan?' murmured the warriors\neach to the other. 'The stripling from a foreign land, with but eleven\nbold knights to aid him, would seize Burgundy and banish the King from\nhis realm. It is a monstrous plan.'\n\n'Thou dost repay my welcome but coldly,' said Gunther to the valorous\nknight 'My fathers ruled over these lands; with honour did they rule.\nWherefore then shall they be taken from their son?'\n\nBut Siegfried cried, 'Thyself must fight and win peace for thy\nfatherland. For unless thou dost conquer me I shall rule in my great\nmight in this realm, and when I die it shall be my heir who shall\nbecome king.'\n\nThen Gunther's brother, King Gernot, spoke, and peaceful were his\nwords.\n\n'We rule over a fair country, bold knight, and our liegemen serve us\nin all good faith. No need have we to fight for this our fatherland.\nTherefore do thou go and leave us in peace.'\n\nBut King Gunther's warriors listened sullenly to the words of Gernot,\nand they muttered, 'Such words shall scarce save the braggart\nstranger, for hath he not challenged our King to fight,' and the hands\nof the stout warriors crept to their sword-hilts. 'We will master this\nhaughty Prince,' they cried aloud then in their anger.\n\nHot was Siegfried's temper as he heard their words, and proudly did he\nanswer, 'Ye are all but vassals and would ye measure swords with me, a\nking's son? Nor, should ye fall on me altogether, could ye hope to\novercome me,' and Siegfried swung aloft his good sword Balmung. Then\none of the stout warriors whom Siegfried thus defied called lustily\nfor his armour and his shield.\n\nBut again King Gernot spoke. 'Not yet hath Siegfried done us any hurt,\nlet us not provoke him to fierce deeds, rather let us seek to gain his\ngood-will.'\n\nKing Gunther looked at Hagen. He was not content that his chief\ncounsellor should keep silence. And indeed at that very moment Hagen's\nstern voice was heard.\n\n'We do well to be wrathful at the words of this bold stripling,' he\nsaid, his keen eyes glancing fiercely meanwhile at Gernot. 'We do well\nto be wrathful, for why should Siegfried thus mock at us who have\nnever done him aught of ill?'\n\n'Dost think I but mock thee with my words,' cried the rash knight.\n'Ere long thou shalt see the deeds which my strong right hand shall do\nin this fair land of Burgundy.'\n\nAgain amid the angry tumult Gernot's voice was raised, forbidding his\nwarriors to answer the stranger with harsh words.\n\nAs Gernot's peaceful voice fell upon Siegfried's ear for the third\ntime, he began to think of Kriemhild, the wonder-lady of his dreams.\nHe grew ashamed of his anger. He would curb it lest he should never\nwin the Princess for his bride.\n\nThen Gernot, seeing the fierceness die out of the stranger's face,\nspoke yet again. 'Thou shalt be welcome, thou and thy comrades, to\nWorms, and right glad will we be to serve thee,' and Gernot ordered\ngoblets of the King's wine to be brought to the strange guests.\n\nSiegfried and his knights took the goblets, and having drained them\nthey were ready to forget their warlike words.\n\nKing Gunther, seeing that his guests were no longer angry, led them to\nthe banqueting hall, and Siegfried was soon laughing his own glad, gay\nlaugh. When at length the feast was ended the stranger knights were\nlodged each as befitted his rank.\n\nThen throughout the fair land of Burgundy there stole the story of the\nKing's bold hero guest, Sir Siegfried.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nSIEGFRIED'S SOJOURN AT WORMS\n\n\nAt the court of Worms high festival was held to do honour to Siegfried\nand his eleven brave warriors. It is true that his boldness when he\nentered the city had made the Kings and their liegemen wish to serve\nthe dauntless hero, yet now it was not of his boldness that they\nthought, but of his happy, winsome ways. Indeed it was but a short\ntime until he was the most favoured Prince in all the gallant throng\nof courtiers that gathered round King Gunther in his royal city.\n\nOnly one in all the country hated the gallant Prince of the\nNetherlands, and that one was the stern and fierce-eyed Hagen; but of\nthe counsellor's ill-will the light-hearted hero knew nought.\n\nMerry were the frolics, gay the pastimes at the court of Worms, and\nin every game and sport Siegfried was the most skilful.\n\nDid the warriors hurl the stone? None could hurl it as far as could\nSiegfried. Did they leap? No one ever leaped as far as did the Prince.\nDid they go a-hunting? No one brought down the prey as often as did\nthe hero. Did they tilt in the tournament? Siegfried it was who ever\ngained the prize. Yet none was envious of the Prince, so glad he was,\nso light of heart.\n\nWhen games were held in the great castle hall, ladies clad in garments\nof richest hue, and sparkling with gems of ruddy gold, would come into\nthe galleries. And ever as they watched the gallant knights their eyes\nwould follow the most gallant of them all, the hero Siegfried. But\namong these fair counts and ladies the Princess Kriemhild was never to\nbe seen, and Siegfried had no thought to spare for any other damsel.\nIn his heart was ever the image of the maiden whom he had come hither\nto win.\n\nThe Princess might not go down to the great hall to see the\ntournament, yet as she sat in her tower she would ofttimes think of\nthe mighty strength of this hero, of his heart of gold. And almost\nbefore she was aware Kriemhild had found the Prince whom she would\ngladly call her lord.\n\nWhen she heard the knights running and leaping in the courtyard,\nKriemhild would lay her seam aside, and Princess though she was, she\nwould run to her lattice window, and peeping through, she would watch\nher hero with glad eyes, victor in every pastime. Nor would she turn\naway until the sports were ended and the courtyard once again grew\nsilent and deserted.\n\nSiegfried did not know that Kriemhild's glad eyes were peeping through\nher lattice window, and had he known he would scarce have dared to\ndream that her glance was fixed on no other save on him alone.\n\nIndeed sometimes the hero's heart misgave him. When would he see the\nmaiden whom he loved? Had she no pleasure in his knightly games, no\nsmile to give him for his skill? Nay, she was as great a stranger to\nhim now as when he had ridden into the royal city of Worms in hope to\ngain her favour.\n\nThus for one whole year Siegfried dwelt with the three Kings of\nBurgundy, and during all that time he never once saw the wonder-lady\nof his dreams, the Princess Kriemhild.\n\nAt the end of the year King Gunther's fair realm of Burgundy was\nthreatened with invasion and with mighty wars. No longer did the\ncastle hall at Worms ring with the merry pastimes of the courtiers.\nAll was grave, silent, for King Gunther and his brothers and his\ncounsellors were in sore distress.\n\nThat day heralds had ridden into the land and demanded audience of\nKing Gunther.\n\n'Now who hath sent you hither?' said the King in angry mood.\n\n'Our masters,' cried the heralds. 'King Ludegast and King Ludeger have\nsent us to warn thee that they hate thee and will invade thy land.\nWith great armies will they come to thy realm of Burgundy. Within\ntwelve weeks will they be here, unless thou dost offer a ransom for\nthy kingdom.'\n\n'Tarry a little,' said Gunther, 'until I have spoken with my\ncounsellors, then shall ye carry my answer back to thy masters.'\n\nKing Gernot had heard the challenge of the heralds, and dauntless he\ncried, 'Our good swords shall defend us. What fear we from the foreign\nhost!'\n\nBut Hagen cried, 'Ludegast and Ludeger are fierce, and evil will\novertake us, for scarce have we time in which to gather our liegemen\ntogether ere the foe will be in our land. Speak thou, O King, unto the\nhero Siegfried. It may be that his powers can help us now.'\n\nMeanwhile King Gunther commanded that the heralds should be lodged\nwith all due courtesy, and this he did for the sake of his fair fame.\n\nNow as Gunther sat brooding over the evil which seemed as though it\nwould overtake his land, Siegfried came to his side. He knew no reason\nfor the King's distress.\n\n'What hath come to pass,' said the hero, 'that all our merry pastimes\nare ended? For since ever I came into the fair land of Burgundy hath\nthe castle hall of thy royal city echoed with the ring of knightly\ndeeds, and tilts and jousts have long held sway. Why, therefore, are\nthe merry pastimes ended, and wherefore dost thou sit here thus sad\nand downcast?'\n\n'Not to everyone,' said King Gunther, 'would I tell my sorrow, nay, to\nnone save a steadfast friend dare I declare it.'\n\nWhen Siegfried heard the King's words, his fair face flushed, then\npaled again.\n\n'Already,' cried the hero, 'have I followed thee in time of need. For\nindeed during the year which he had spent at Worms, Siegfried had gone\nwith Gunther on more than one foray into the neighbouring kingdoms.\n\n'Now,' he continued, 'now if trouble hath come to thee my arm is\nstrong to bring thee aid. I will be thy friend if thou art willing\nwhile life is mine.'\n\n'God reward thee, Sir Siegfried!' cried King Gunther, and right glad\nof heart was he. 'It may be I shall not need thy strength to aid me in\nmy battles, yet do I rejoice that thou art my friend. Never while my\nlife lasts shalt thou be sorry for thy words.'\n\nThen King Gunther told to the brave knight the insolent message which\nthe heralds had brought from their masters, Ludegast and Ludeger.\n\n'Thou needst not be troubled at these tidings,' said the young\nknight. 'If thy foes were as many as thirty thousand, yet with one\nthousand warriors would I destroy them. Therefore leave the battle in\nmy hands.'\n\nKing Gunther, for he was not very brave, rejoiced at Siegfried's\nwords, and scattered his fears to the four winds.\n\nThen he sent for the heralds, and bade them return to their masters to\nsay that King Gunther defied their threats, and in proof thereof would\nere long send an army to punish them for their insolence.\n\nNow when the heralds reached their own country with these tidings,\nKing Ludegast of Denmark, and King Ludeger the Saxon, who was his\nbrother, were filled with dread. Moreover the heralds told them that\nthe famous hero Siegfried would fight for Burgundy, and when they\nheard that the hearts of the rude kings failed for fear.\n\nIn great haste they gathered together their warriors, and soon\nLudegast had twenty thousand men ready to defend his land. Ludeger the\nSaxon, too, had called together even more than forty thousand men, and\nthe two armies formed a mighty host.\n\nKing Gunther meanwhile had assembled his men, and the chief command\nwas given to Hagen with the grim face and the piercing eyes.\n\nWhen Siegfried saw that Gunther was buckling on his armour he drew\nnear to him, and said, 'Sir King, stay thou at home in the royal city\nand guard the women. Neither dost thou have any fear, for in good\nsooth, I can protect both thine honour and thy men.'\n\nAnd King Gunther stayed in the royal city while his warriors went\nforth to battle.\n\nFrom the Rhine river Gunther's vast army marched toward the Saxon\ncountry, and all along the borders they smote those who were in favour\nof their foes, until fear fell upon those lands.\n\nThen leaving Hagen with the main army, Siegfried rode forward alone to\nseek the foe. Nor was it long ere on a plain before him he saw a great\nhost encamped.\n\nIn advance of the great army of more than forty thousand men stood a\nsingle warrior, as though he were a sentinel guarding the plain. A\nshining shield of gold was in his hand, and when Siegfried saw that,\nhe knew that the sentinel was none other than Ludegast himself.\n\nEven as Siegfried knew his enemy and spurred forward his steed,\nLudegast saw the hero. Digging his spurs into the sides of his horse\nhe also sprang forward, and, with lances poised, the two mighty men\nmet and charged with all their strength.\n\nOn dashed the noble steeds as though driven by a tempest, until the\nKing and the Prince drew rein, and turning faced each other once\nagain, their swords now in their hands.\n\nWith such great strokes did Siegfried ply his foe, that fiery sparks\nflamed all around the helmet of the King, while the noise of his\nmighty blows filled the space around as with peals of thunder.\n\nKing Ludegast was a worthy foe and many an ugly thrust did Siegfried\nparry with his shield. But at length with his good sword Balmung, the\nhero pierced through the steel harness of Ludegast the King. Three\ntimes he struck, until his enemy lay helpless at his feet.\n\nWith piteous moan then did Ludegast beg the Prince to spare his life,\nand this Siegfried did.\n\nThen, as the hero was going to sheathe his sword, up rode thirty of\nthe King's warriors, who had watched the fray from afar. Fiercely they\nbeset the hero who had vanquished their King and stealthily did they\nseek to rescue his prisoner. But Siegfried brandished his good sword\nBalmung, and with his own strong right hand slaughtered the thirty\nwarriors, all save one. Him the Prince spared that he might carry the\ndire tidings of the capture of King Ludegast to the army on the plain.\n\nThen Siegfried, left alone with his royal prisoner, lifted him on to\nhis own charger, and brought him to Hagen.\n\nBut the Prince did not linger with the army. Without delay he set out\nfor the forefront of the fray, and close behind him rode his own\neleven knights, while Gernot followed with a thousand men. And soon\nthe great plain was a grim battlefield.\n\nLoud and fierce was the conflict. Many a clanging blow fell upon\nuplifted shields, many an eager sword-thrust struck through helmet\nand through mail, and ever in the thickest of the fight rode\nSiegfried, the valiant Prince of the Netherlands.\n\nThe hero was seeking for King Ludeger, the leader of the Saxon host.\nThree times did he cleave his way through the mighty host until at\nlength he stood before the King.\n\nNow Ludeger had seen how Siegfried swung his good sword Balmung, and\nhow he cleft in twain the helmet of many of the toughest warriors in\nthe Saxon army, and his heart was filled with rage. He knew also that\nhis brother Ludegast had been taken captive by this same bold Prince.\n\nThus it was that when Siegfried stood before his royal foe, the\nonslaught of the King was more violent than the hero had expected. So\nviolent was it that the Prince's war-horse staggered and well-nigh\nfell. With a mighty effort, the steed recovered from the shock, but\nthe rage of the hero was terrible. In his eagerness to reach the\nfierce King Ludeger he dismounted, as also did his foe, and thus they\nfought, while all around them flew the splinters of broken swords and\nspears.\n\nAt length with a great blow Siegfried struck the shield from Ludeger's\nhold; a moment more and he had him at his mercy. For the second time\nthat day the Prince was victor over a King.\n\nAs Siegfried stooped to bind his prisoner, Ludeger's eyes fell upon\nthe crown which was emblazoned on his victor's shield. Then he knew\nthat the rumour which had reached him was true. This mighty hero was\nnone other than Siegfried, the son of Siegmund, King of the\nNetherlands.\n\nVain was it to fight longer with such a hero among their foes, and\nLudeger raised his voice loud above the tumult, and cried to his brave\nSaxon warriors, 'My warriors, my lieges, cease to give battle. Lay\ndown your arms, lower your standards, for none may conquer where\nPrince Siegfried wars.'\n\nAt Ludeger's words all that was left of the great armies of Danes and\nSaxons laid down their arms, lowered their standards, while their King\nhumbly sued for peace.\n\nBy Hagen's command peace was granted, but Ludeger, along with Ludegast\nand five hundred warriors who had been taken prisoner, were forced to\ngo with the Burgundians to the royal city of Worms.\n\nThe victorious army was soon upon its homeward way, the wounded being\ncarried in litters by the command of King Gernot.\n\nTidings were sent to King Gunther, telling him to rejoice, for his\nwarriors had won the day. Yet to all it was well known that the\nvictory was due to the prowess of the mighty Prince Siegfried.\n\nNor did the heralds who were sent to the city with the glad news of\nvictory forget to tell of the marvellous deeds of the hero.\n\nIn Worms there had been grief lest their warriors should be\nvanquished, but now the city was full of triumph, and noble dames and\nhappy maidens gathered round the squires who had brought the good\nnews.\n\nThen Kriemhild sent secretly for one of the squires, for she wished to\nhear without delay all that had befallen her gallant knight. Had she\nnot mourned his absence and scarce slept the long nights through lest\ndanger should come nigh so fearless a warrior? Had she not vowed to\nherself that she would own no other knight as lord, save only this\ngreat hero? For unawares love had stolen into the tender heart of the\nLady Kriemhild.\n\nWhen the squire was led to the bower of the Princess, he stood quiet,\nmodest before the beauteous lady.\n\n'Tell me the dear tidings,' she said, 'stint not thy words, and gold\nwill I give to thee in plenty.'\n\nYet at first the Princess had no courage to ask of Siegfried's\nprowess.\n\n'How fared my brother Gernot, and how have my other kinsmen fought?\nAre many wounded left upon the field?'\n\nThen to her lips sprang the words she would fain have the squire\nanswer before all others.\n\n'And who did best of any?' said the Princess, and her voice broke, and\nher tears fell as she spoke.\n\nBut the young squire knew what the maiden wished to hear, and he told\nher of the mighty deeds done on the battlefield, and how ever in the\nforefront, where the danger was the greatest, was to be seen the\ngallant Prince of the Netherlands, his good sword Balmung in his hand.\nOf his two royal captives, too, the young squire told, and as\nKriemhild listened to the exploits of her knight, her lovely face\nbecame rosy red with delight.\n\nWell rewarded indeed was the squire for his joyous tidings, for the\nPrincess gave him costly raiment and ten gold coins as well.\n\nEre many more days had passed away there came the tramp of armed men\nalong the banks of the great Rhine river. The troops were coming home.\n\nThen to the windows of the castle rushed the maidens, and among them\nwas the beautiful Princess, and together they watched as the warriors\nrode through the streets of the royal city.\n\nKing Gunther himself went forth to welcome his troops, and to thank\nthe young hero who had so gallantly saved the realm of Burgundy from\ninvasion.\n\nOf all those who had gone forth to battle but sixty men were left\nbehind, stricken by the foe.\n\nThe royal prisoners Ludegast and Ludeger the King treated with honour.\nHe indeed promised to set them free if their liegemen, who had been\ntaken prisoners, would stay as hostages in his land. And this the\nprisoners were well pleased to do, that their Kings might return\nwithout ransom to their own lands.\n\nSiegfried the hero now began to think that it was fitting that he\nshould go back to his old father Siegmund, and his dear mother\nSieglinde.\n\nBut King Gunther, to whom he told his wish, entreated him to stay yet\na little longer in the royal city.\n\n'For now,' said the King, 'will we hold a merry festival and kings and\nprinces will we summon to our court. Stay, then, Sir Siegfried, that\nthou mayest show thy skill in the great tournament.'\n\nYet it was neither the wishes of the King nor the thought of the\ntournament which made Siegfried willing to linger on still in the fair\nBurgundian town. It was the image of a gentle maiden, whom yet he had\nnever seen, which kept him from speeding home to his own country.\n\nPerchance if he waited he would see her soon, the wonder-maiden, whose\nimage even on the battlefield was safe hidden in his heart.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nSIEGFRIED SEES KRIEMHILD\n\n\nQueen Ute, the mother of Kriemhild, heard that a great festival was to\nbe held, and she made up her mind that she and her daughter should\ngrace it with their presence.\n\nThen was there great glee among the hand-maidens of the Queen, and\nthey scarce slept at night for thinking of bright ribands and gay\nraiment.\n\nBut to Kriemhild more joyous than any hope of costly garments was the\nhope that at the great festival she would see, nay even speak with,\nher knight, Sir Siegfried.\n\nFolded away in large chests Queen Ute had a store of rich raiment.\nRobes of white embroidered in gold, and sparkling with gems, she now\nbrought forth, robes of purple and blue and many another colour she\nlaid before the eyes of her bewildered maidens. These the Queen\nherself had worked through the glad days of summer, and through the\ndark winter evenings.\n\nThe festival was to be held at Whitsuntide, and as the time drew near,\nnoble guests were seen daily riding into Worms. Kings came from afar,\nthirty-two princes also had journeyed thither, and when Whitsun\nmorning dawned, five thousand men and more had come to Rhineland,\nwhere free from care dwelt King Gunther.\n\nWhen the knights had entered the lists, the King sent a hundred of his\nliegemen that they might bring Queen Ute and her gentle daughter to\nthe great hall.\n\nClad in their rich robes of state, the Queen and her many maidens\ncame, and among them all was none to compare with the peerless maiden\nKriemhild.\n\nWhen Siegfried saw the Princess he knew that she was indeed more\nradiant in her beauty than he had even dreamed, and the hero's heart\ngrew heavy.\n\nHow could it ever be that he should wed so fair, so kind a maiden. He\ncould see the kindness shining in her bright eyes. Yet surely he had\nbut dreamed a foolish dream, and thinking thus the knight grew pale\nand troubled.\n\nThen King Gernot, whose eyes saw what other eyes were ofttimes too\ndull to heed, then King Gernot, seeing Siegfried's cheeks grow pale,\nsaid to his brother Gunther, 'Bid the hero who hath served thee right\nnobly, bid him go greet our sister. For though she hath scorned full\nmany a knight, him will she welcome with right good cheer.'\n\nKing Gernot's words pleased his royal brother, and a messenger was\nsent to Siegfried, bidding him greet the Princess.\n\nSwift then leaped the roses to Sir Siegfried's cheeks, as he hastened\nto where Kriemhild sat among her maidens.\n\n'Be welcome here, Sir Siegfried, for thou art a good and noble\nknight,' said the maiden softly. Then, as in reverence he bent low\nbefore his lady, she rose and took his right hand graciously in her\nown.\n\nAs they stood thus together the great bells of the Minster pealed, and\nlords and ladies wended their way to the church of God to hear a Mass\nsung, and to give thanks for the great victory the Burgundian heroes\nhad won. At the Minster door Siegfried must needs leave the Princess\nthat she might sit among her maidens. But when the service was ended\nthey walked together to the castle.\n\n'Now God reward thee, Siegfried,' said the maiden, 'for right well\nhast thou served my royal brother.'\n\n'Thee I will serve for ever,' cried the happy hero, 'thee will I serve\nfor ever, and thy wishes shall ever be my will!'\n\nThen for twelve glad days were Siegfried and Kriemhild ofttimes side\nby side. And when he tilted in the tournament, he felt that the bright\neyes of his lady were shining upon him, and his skill was greater even\nthan it had used to be.\n\nAt length the merry Maytide games were over. Gifts of gold and silks\ndid King Gunther bestow on all his guests ere they set out for their\nown lands. Queen Ute also and the Princess wished them Godspeed as\nthey filed slowly past the royal throne.\n\nThe festival was over, and it might be he would see the fair maiden\nKriemhild no more, so thought the hero. Well, he would away, away to\nhis own home in the Netherlands once more.\n\nBut Giselher, Kriemhild's youngest brother, heard that Siegfried was\nmaking ready to leave the royal city, and he begged him to stay.\n\n'Tarry here a little longer,' he said, 'and each day, when toil or\nsport is over, thou shalt see my fair sister, Kriemhild.'\n\n'Bid my steed be taken back to its stall,' then cried the happy\nknight, 'and hang my shield upon the wall.'\n\nThus in the gladsome summer days Siegfried and Kriemhild walked and\ntalked together, and ever did the knight love the gentle maiden more.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nSIEGFRIED GOES TO ISENLAND\n\n\nWhitsuntide had come and gone when tidings from beyond the Rhine\nreached the court at Worms.\n\nNo dread tidings were these, but glad and good to hear, of a matchless\nQueen named Brunhild who dwelt in Isenland. King Gunther listened with\nright good-will to the tales of this warlike maiden, for if she were\nbeautiful she was also strong as any warrior. Wayward, too, she was,\nyet Gunther would fain have her as his queen to sit beside him on his\nthrone.\n\nOne day the King sent for Siegfried to tell him that he would fain\njourney to Isenland to wed Queen Brunhild.\n\nNow Siegfried, as you know, had been in Isenland and knew some of the\ncustoms of this wayward Queen. So he answered the King right gravely\nthat it would be a dangerous journey across the sea to Isenland, nor\nwould he win the Queen unless he were able to vanquish her great\nstrength.\n\nHe told the King how Brunhild would challenge him to three contests or\ngames, as she would call them. And if she were the victor, as indeed\nshe had been over many a royal suitor, then his life would be\nforfeited.\n\nAt her own desire kings and princes had hurled the spear at the\nstalwart Queen, and it had but glanced harmless off her shield, while\nshe would pierce the armour of these valiant knights with her first\nthrust. This was one of the Queen's games.\n\nThen the knights would hasten to the ring and throw the stone from\nthem as far as might be, yet ever Queen Brunhild threw it farther. For\nthis was another game of the warrior Queen.\n\nThe third game was to leap beyond the stone which they had thrown, but\never to their dismay the knights saw this marvellous maiden far\noutleap them all.\n\nThese valorous knights, thus beaten in the three contests, had been\nbeheaded, and therefore it was that Siegfried spoke so gravely to\nKing Gunther.\n\nBut Gunther, so he said, was willing to risk his life to win so brave\na bride.\n\nNow Hagen had drawn near to the King, and as he listened to\nSiegfried's words, the grim warrior said, 'Sire, since the Prince\nknows the customs of Isenland, let him go with thee on thy journey, to\nshare thy dangers, and to aid thee in the presence of this warlike\nQueen.'\n\nAnd Hagen, for he hated the hero, hoped that he might never return\nalive from Isenland.\n\nBut the King was pleased with his counsellor's words. 'Sir Siegfried,'\nhe said, 'wilt thou help me to win the matchless maiden Brunhild for\nmy queen?'\n\n'That right gladly will I do,' answered the Prince, 'if thou wilt\npromise to give to me thy sister Kriemhild as my bride, should I bring\nthee back safe from Isenland, the bold Queen at thy side.'\n\nThen the King promised that on the same day that he wedded Brunhild,\nhis sister should wed Prince Siegfried, and with this promise the hero\nwas well content.\n\n'Thirty thousand warriors will I summon to go with us to Isenland,'\ncried King Gunther gaily.\n\n'Nay,' said the Prince, 'thy warriors would but be the victims of this\nhaughty Queen. As plain knight-errants will we go, taking with us\nnone, save Hagen the keen-eyed and his brother Dankwart.'\n\nThen King Gunther, his face aglow with pleasure, went with Sir\nSiegfried to his sister's bower, and begged her to provide rich\ngarments in which he and his knights might appear before the beauteous\nQueen Brunhild.\n\n'Thou shalt not beg this service from me,' cried the gentle Princess,\n'rather shalt thou command that which thou dost wish. See, here have I\nsilk in plenty. Send thou the gems from off thy bucklers, and I and my\nmaidens will work them with gold embroideries into the silk.'\n\nThus the sweet maiden dismissed her brother, and sending for her\nthirty maidens who were skilled in needlework she bade them sew their\ndaintiest stitches, for here were robes to be made for the King and\nSir Siegfried ere they went to bring Queen Brunhild into Rhineland.\n\nFor seven weeks Kriemhild and her maidens were busy in their bower.\nSilk white as new-fallen snow, silk green as the leaves in spring did\nthey shape into garments worthy to be worn by the King and Sir\nSiegfried, and amid the gold embroideries glittered many a radiant\ngem.\n\nMeanwhile down by the banks of the Rhine a vessel was being built to\ncarry the King across the sea to Isenland.\n\nWhen all was ready the King and Sir Siegfried went to the bower of the\nPrincess. They would put on the silken robes and the beautiful cloaks\nKriemhild and her maidens had sewed to see that they were neither too\nlong nor too short. But indeed the skilful hands of the Princess had\nnot erred. No more graceful or more beautiful garments had ever before\nbeen seen by the King or the Prince.\n\n'Sir Siegfried,' said the gentle Kriemhild, 'care for my royal brother\nlest danger befall him in the bold Queen's country. Bring him home\nboth safe and sound I beseech thee.'\n\nThe hero bowed his head and promised to shield the King from danger,\nthen they said farewell to the maiden, and embarked in the little ship\nthat awaited them on the banks of the Rhine. Nor did Siegfried forget\nto take with him his Cloak of Darkness and his good sword Balmung.\n\nNow none was there on the ship save King Gunther, Siegfried, Hagen,\nand Dankwart, but Siegfried with his Cloak of Darkness had the\nstrength of twelve men as well as his own strong right hand.\n\nMerrily sailed the little ship, steered by Sir Siegfried himself. Soon\nthe Rhine river was left behind and they were out on the sea, a strong\nwind filling their sails. Ere evening, full twenty miles had the good\nship made.\n\nFor twelve days they sailed onward, until before them rose the grim\nfortress that guarded Isenland.\n\n'What towers are these?' cried King Gunther, as he gazed upon the\nturreted castle which looked as a grim sentinel guarding the land.\n\n'These,' answered the hero, 'are Queen Brunhild's towers and this is\nthe country over which she rules.'\n\nThen turning to Hagen and Dankwart Siegfried begged them to let him be\nspokesman to the Queen, for he knew her wayward moods. 'And King\nGunther shall be my King,' said the Prince, 'and I but his vassal\nuntil we leave Isenland.'\n\nAnd Hagan and Dankwart, proud men though they were, obeyed in all\nthings the words of the young Prince of the Netherlands.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nSIEGFRIED SUBDUES BRUNHILD\n\n\nThe little ship had sailed on now close beneath the castle, so close\nindeed that as the King looked up to the window he could catch\nglimpses of beautiful maidens passing to and fro.\n\nSir Siegfried also looked and laughed aloud for glee. It would be but\na little while until Brunhild was won and he was free to return to his\nwinsome lady Kriemhild.\n\nBy this time the maidens in the castle had caught sight of the ship,\nand many bright eyes were peering down upon King Gunther and his three\nbrave comrades.\n\n'Look well at the fair maidens, sire,' said Siegfried to the King.\n'Among them all show me her whom thou wouldst choose most gladly as\nyour bride.'\n\n'Seest thou the fairest of the band,' cried the King, 'she who is\nclad in a white garment? It is she and no other whom I would wed.'\n\nRight merrily then laughed Siegfried. 'The maiden,' said he gaily, 'is\nin truth none other than Queen Brunhild herself.'\n\nThe King and his warriors now moored their vessel and leaped ashore,\nSiegfried leading with him the King's charger. For each knight had\nbrought his steed with him from the fair land of Burgundy.\n\nMore bright than ever beamed the bright eyes of the ladies at the\ncastle window. So fair, so gallant a knight never had they seen,\nthought the damsels as they gazed upon Sir Siegfried. And all the\nwhile King Gunther dreamed their glances were bent on no other than\nhimself.\n\nSiegfried held the noble steed until King Gunther had mounted, and\nthis he did that Queen Brunhild might not know that he was the Prince\nof the Netherlands, owing service to no man. Then going back to the\nship the hero brought his own horse to land, mounted, and rode with\nthe King toward the castle gate.\n\nKing and Prince were clad alike. Their steeds as well as their\ngarments were white as snow, their saddles were bedecked with jewels,\nand on the harness hung bells, all of bright red gold. Their shields\nshone as the sun, their spears they wore before them, their swords\nhung by their side.\n\nBehind them followed Hagen and Dankwart, their armour black as the\nplumage of the wild raven, their shields strong and mighty.\n\nAs they approached the castle the gates were flung wide open, and the\nliegemen of the great Queen came out to greet the strangers with words\nof welcome. They bid their hirelings also take the shields and\nchargers from their guests.\n\nBut when a squire demanded that the strangers should also yield their\nswords, grim Hagen smiled his grimmest, and cried, 'Nay, our swords\nwill we e'en keep lest we have need of them.' Nor was he too well\npleased when Siegfried told him that the custom in Isenland was that\nno guest should enter the castle carrying a weapon. It was but\nsullenly that he let his sword be taken away along with his mighty\nshield.\n\nAfter the strangers had been refreshed with wine, her liegemen sent to\nthe Queen to tell her that strange guests had arrived.\n\n'Who are the strangers who come thus unheralded to my land?' haughtily\ndemanded Brunhild.\n\nBut no one could tell her who the warriors were, though some murmured\nthat the tallest and fairest might be the great hero Siegfried.\n\nIt may be that the Queen thought that if the knight were indeed\nSiegfried she would revenge herself on him now for the mischievous\npranks he had played the last time he was in her kingdom. In any case\nshe said, 'If the hero is here he shall enter into contest with me,\nand he shall pay for his boldness with his life, for I shall be the\nvictor.'\n\nThen with five hundred warriors, each with his sword in hand, Brunhild\ncame down to the knights from Burgundy.\n\n'Be welcome, Siegfried,' she cried, 'yet wherefore hast thou come\nagain to Isenland?'\n\n'I thank thee for thy greeting, lady,' said the Prince 'but thou hast\nwelcomed me before my lord. He, King Gunther, ruler over the fair\nrealms of Burgundy, hath come hither to wed with thee.'\n\nBrunhild was displeased that the mighty hero should not himself seek\nto win her as a bride, yet since for all his prowess he seemed but a\nvassal of the King, she answered, 'If thy master can vanquish me in\nthe contests to which I bid him, then I will be his wife, but if I\nconquer thy master, his life, and the lives of his followers will be\nforfeited.'\n\n'What dost thou demand of my master?' asked Hagen.\n\n'He must hurl the spear with me, throw the stone from the ring, and\nleap to where it has fallen,' said the Queen.\n\nNow while Brunhild was speaking, Siegfried whispered to the King to\nfear nothing, but to accept the Queen's challenge. 'I will be near\nthough no one will see me, to aid thee in the struggle,' he whispered.\n\nGunther had such trust in the Prince that he at once cried boldly,\n'Queen Brunhild, I do not fear even to risk my life that I may win\nthee for my bride.'\n\nThen the bold maiden called for her armour, but when Gunther saw her\nshield, 'three spans thick with gold and iron, which four chamberlains\ncould hardly bear,' his courage began to fail.\n\n[Illustration: The maiden hurled her spear]\n\nWhile the Queen donned her silken fighting doublet, which could turn\naside the sharpest spear, Siegfried slipped away unnoticed to the\nship, and swiftly flung around him his Cloak of Darkness. Then unseen\nby all, he hastened back to King Gunther's side.\n\nA great javelin was then given to the Queen, and she began to fight\nwith her suitor, and so hard were her thrusts that but for Siegfried\nthe King would have lost his life.\n\n'Give me thy shield,' whispered the invisible hero in the King's ear,\n'and tell no one that I am here.' Then as the maiden hurled her spear\nwith all her force against the shield which she thought was held by\nthe King, the shock well-nigh drove both Gunther and his unseen friend\nto their knees.\n\nBut in a moment Siegfried's hand had dealt the Queen such a blow with\nthe handle of his spear (he would not use the sharp point against a\nwoman) that the maiden cried aloud, 'King Gunther, thou hast won\nthis fray.' For as she could not see Siegfried because of his Cloak of\nDarkness, she could not but believe that it was the King who had\nvanquished her.\n\nIn her wrath the Queen now sped to the ring, where lay a stone so\nheavy that it could scarce be lifted by twelve strong men.\n\nBut Brunhild lifted it with ease, and threw it twelve arms' length\nbeyond the spot on which she stood. Then, leaping after it, she\nalighted even farther than she had thrown the stone.\n\nGunther now stood in the ring, and lifted the stone which had again\nbeen placed within it. He lifted it with an effort, but at once\nSiegfried's unseen hand grasped it and threw it with such strength\nthat it dropped even beyond the spot to which it had been flung by the\nQueen. Lifting King Gunther with him Siegfried next jumped far beyond\nthe spot on which the Queen had alighted. And all the warriors\nmarvelled to see their Queen thus vanquished by the strange King. For\nyou must remember that not one of them could see that it was Siegfried\nwho had done these deeds of prowess.\n\nNow in the contest, still unseen, Siegfried had taken from the Queen\nher ring and her favourite girdle.\n\nWith angry gestures Brunhild called to her liegemen to come and lay\ntheir weapons down at King Gunther's feet to do him homage. Henceforth\nthey must be his thralls and own him as their lord.\n\nAs soon as the contests were over, Siegfried had slipped back to the\nship and hidden his Cloak of Darkness. Then boldly he came back to the\ngreat hall, and pretending to know nothing of the games begged to be\ntold who had been the victor, if indeed they had already taken place.\n\nWhen he had heard that Queen Brunhild had been vanquished, the hero\nlaughed, and cried gaily, 'Then, noble maiden, thou must go with us to\nRhineland to wed King Gunther.'\n\n'A strange way for a vassal to speak,' thought the angry Queen, and\nshe answered with a proud glance at the knight, 'Nay, that will I not\ndo until I have summoned my kinsmen and my good lieges. For I will\nmyself say farewell to them ere ever I will go to Rhineland.'\n\nThus heralds were sent throughout Brunhild's realms, and soon from\nmorn to eve her kinsmen and her liegemen rode into the castle, until\nit seemed as though a mighty army were assembling.\n\n'Does the maiden mean to wage war against us,' said Hagen grimly. 'I\nlike not the number of her warriors.'\n\nThen said Siegfried, 'I will leave thee for a little while and go\nacross the sea, and soon will I return with a thousand brave warriors,\nso that no evil may befall us.'\n\nSo the Prince went down alone to the little ship and set sail across\nthe sea.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nSIEGFRIED GOES TO THE CAVE\n\n\nThe ship in which Siegfried set sail drifted on before the wind, while\nthose in Queen Brunhild's castle marvelled, for no one was to be seen\non board. This was because the hero had again donned his Cloak of\nDarkness.\n\nOn and on sailed the little ship until at length it drew near to the\nland of the Nibelungs. Then Siegfried left his vessel and again\nclimbed the mountain-side, where long before he had cut off the heads\nof the little Nibelung princes.\n\nHe reached the cave into which he had thrust the treasure, and knocked\nloudly at the door. The cave was the entrance to Nibelheim the dark,\nlittle town beneath the glad, green grass.\n\nSiegfried might have entered the cave, but he knocked that he might\nsee if his treasure were well guarded.\n\nThen the porter, who was a great giant, when he heard the knock\nbuckled on his armour and opened the door. Seeing, as he thought in\nhis haste, a strange knight standing before him he fell upon him with\na bar of iron. So strong was the giant that it was with difficulty\nthat the Prince overcame him and bound him hand and foot.\n\nAlberich meanwhile had heard the mighty blows, which indeed had shaken\nNibelheim to its foundations.\n\nNow the dwarf had sworn fealty to Siegfried, and when he, as the giant\nhad done, mistook the Prince for a stranger, he seized a heavy whip\nwith a gold handle and rushed upon him, smiting his shield with the\nknotted whip until it fell to pieces.\n\nToo pleased that his treasures were so well defended to be angry,\nSiegfried now seized the little dwarf by his beard, and pulled it so\nlong and so hard that Alberich was forced to cry for mercy. Then\nSiegfried bound him hand and foot as he had done the giant.\n\nAlberich, poor little dwarf, gnashed his teeth with rage. Who would\nguard the treasure now, and who would warn his master that a strong\nman had found his way to Nibelheim?\n\nBut in the midst of his fears he heard the stranger's merry laugh.\nNay, it was no stranger, none but the hero Prince could laugh thus\nmerrily.\n\n'I am Siegfried your master,' then said the Prince. 'I did but test\nthy faithfulness, Alberich,' and laughing still, the hero undid the\ncords with which he had bound the giant and the dwarf.\n\n'Call me here quickly the Nibelung warriors,' cried Siegfried, 'for I\nhave need of them.' And soon thirty thousand warriors stood before him\nin shining armour.\n\nChoosing one thousand of the strongest and biggest, the Prince marched\nwith them down to the sea-shore. There they embarked in ships and\nsailed away to Isenland.\n\nNow it chanced that Queen Brunhild was walking on the terrace of her\nsea-guarded castle with King Gunther when she saw a number of sails\napproaching.\n\n'Whose can these ships be?' she cried in quick alarm.\n\n'These are my warriors who have followed me from Burgundy,' answered\nthe King, for thus had Siegfried bidden him speak.\n\n'We will go to welcome the fleet,' said Brunhild, and together they\nmet the brave Nibelung army and lodged them in Isenland.\n\n'Now will I give of my silver and my gold to my liegemen and to\nGunther's warriors,' said Queen Brunhild, and she held out the keys of\nher treasury to Dankwart that he might do her will. But so lavishly\ndid the knight bestow her gold and her costly gems and her rich\nraiment upon the warriors that the Queen grew angry.\n\n'Nought shall I have left to take with me to Rhineland,' she cried\naloud in her vexation.\n\n'In Burgundy,' answered Hagen, 'there is gold enough and to spare.\nThou wilt not need the treasures of Isenland.'\n\nBut these words did not content the Queen. She would certainly take at\nleast twenty coffers of gold as well as jewels and silks with her to\nKing Gunther's land.\n\nAt length, leaving Isenland to the care of her brother, Queen\nBrunhild, with twenty hundred of her own warriors as a body-guard,\nwith eighty-six dames and one hundred maidens, set out for the royal\ncity of Worms.\n\nFor nine days the great company journeyed homeward, and then King\nGunther entreated Siegfried to be his herald to Worms.\n\n'Beg Queen Ute and the Princess Kriemhild,' said the King, 'beg them\nto ride forth to meet my bride and to prepare to hold high festival in\nhonour of the wedding feast.'\n\nThus Siegfried with four-and-twenty knights sailed on more swiftly\nthan the other ships, and landing at the mouth of the river Rhine,\nrode hastily toward the royal city.\n\nThe Queen and her daughter, clad in their robes of state, received the\nhero, and his heart was glad, for once again he stood in the presence\nof his dear lady, Kriemhild.\n\n'Be welcome, my Lord Siegfried,' she cried, 'thou worthy knight, be\nwelcome. But where is my brother? Has he been vanquished by the\nwarrior Queen? Oh, woe is me if he is lost, woe is me that ever I was\nborn,' and the tears rolled down the maiden's cheeks.\n\n'Nay, now,' said the Prince, 'thy brother is well and of good cheer. I\nhave come, a herald of glad tidings. For even now the King is on his\nway to Worms, bringing with him his hard-won bride.'\n\nThen the Princess dried her tears, and graciously did she bid the hero\nto sit by her side.\n\n'I would I might give thee a reward for thy services,' said the gentle\nmaiden, 'but too rich art thou to receive my gold.'\n\n'A gift from thy hands would gladden my heart,' said the gallant\nPrince.\n\nBlithely then did Kriemhild send for four-and-twenty buckles, all\ninlaid with precious stones, and these did she give to Siegfried.\n\nSiegfried bent low before the lady Kriemhild, for well did he love the\ngracious giver, yet would he not keep for himself her gifts, but gave\nthem, in his courtesy, to her four-and-twenty maidens.\n\nThen the Prince told Queen Ute that the King begged her and the\nPrincess to ride forth from Worms to greet his bride, and to prepare\nto hold high festival in the royal city.\n\n[Illustration: Siegfried bent low before the lady Kriemhild]\n\n'It shall be done even as the King desires,' said the Queen, while\nKriemhild sat silent, smiling with gladness, because her knight Sir\nSiegfried had come home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nTHE WEDDING FEAST\n\n\nIn joy and merriment the days flew by, while the court at Worms\nprepared to hold high festival in honour of King Gunther's matchless\nbride.\n\nAs the royal ships drew near Queen Ute and the Princess Kriemhild,\naccompanied by many a gallant knight, rode along the banks of the\nRhine to greet Queen Brunhild.\n\nAlready the King had disembarked, and was leading his bride toward his\ngracious mother. Courteously did Queen Ute welcome the stranger, while\nKriemhild kissed her and clasped her in her arms.\n\nSome as they gazed upon the lovely maidens said that the warlike Queen\nBrunhild was more beautiful than the gentle Princess Kriemhild, but\nothers, and these were the wiser, said that none could excel the\npeerless sister of the King.\n\nIn the great plain of Worms silk tents and gay pavilions had been\nplaced. And there the ladies took shelter from the heat, while before\nthem knights and warriors held a gay tournament. Then in the cool of\nthe evening, a gallant train of lords and ladies, they rode toward the\ncastle at Worms.\n\nQueen Ute and her daughter went to their own apartments, while the\nKing with Brunhild went into the banqueting hall where the wedding\nfeast was spread.\n\nBut ere the feast had begun, Siegfried came and stood before the King.\n\n'Sire,' he said, 'hast thou forgotten thy promise, that when Brunhild\nentered the royal city thy lady sister should be my bride?'\n\n'Nay,' cried the King, 'my royal word do I ever keep,' and going out\ninto the hall he sent for the Princess.\n\n'Dear sister,' said Gunther, as she bowed before him, 'I have pledged\nmy word to a warrior that thou wilt become his bride, wilt thou help\nme to keep my promise?' Now Siegfried was standing by the King's side\nas he spoke.\n\nThen the gentle maiden answered meekly, 'Thy will, dear brother, is\never mine. I will take as lord him to whom thou hast promised my\nhand.' And she glanced shyly at Siegfried, for surely this was the\nwarrior to whom her royal brother had pledged his word.\n\nRight glad then was the King, and Siegfried grew rosy with delight as\nhe received the lady's troth. Then together they went to the\nbanqueting hall, and on a throne next to King Gunther sat the\nhero-prince, the lady Kriemhild by his side.\n\nBut when Brunhild saw the King's beautiful sister sitting on a throne\nwith Siegfried by her side, she began to weep.\n\n'Why dost thou weep, fair lady?' said King Gunther. 'Are not my lands,\nmy castles, and all my warriors thine? Dim not thy bright eyes with\nthy tears.'\n\n'I may well weep,' said Queen Brunhild, 'because thy sister has\nplighted her troth to one who is but a vassal of thine own. Thy sister\nis worthy of a prince.'\n\n'Weep not,' cried the King, 'and when the banquet is ended I will tell\nthee how it is that Siegfried has won the hand of my lady sister.'\n\n'Nay,' cried the impatient Queen, 'thou must tell me without delay or\nnever will I be thy wife,' and Brunhild arose and stepped down from\nthe throne.\n\nKing Gunther was displeased with the Queen's impatience, yet lest his\nguests should be disturbed, he answered her quickly:\n\n'The hero Siegfried has as many castles as have I, and his realms are\nbroader. In truth he is no vassal of mine. Ere long he will be King of\nthe Netherlands.'\n\nBrunhild could but hide her anger now, yet in her heart she disliked\nSiegfried more than she had done before. It did not please her that he\nshould be a greater king than Gunther.\n\nWhen the banquet was ended, the wedding was celebrated, and the King\nplaced a crown upon the brow of the haughty bride, for now she was his\nwife, and Queen of his fair realm of Burgundy.\n\nSiegfried too was wedded to the maiden whom he loved so well, and\nthough he had no crown to place upon her brow, the Princess was well\ncontent.\n\nAs wedding gifts the hero gave to his dear wife the treasure he had\nwon from the Nibelungs, also the girdle and the ring which he had\ntaken from Brunhild in her contests with King Gunther.\n\nWith his merry laugh Siegfried told his wife how he had fought for her\nroyal brother, himself unseen, because he had on his Cloak of\nDarkness. And Kriemhild listening thought never had she known so fair,\nso brave a knight.\n\nFor fourteen days the wedding festivities never ceased. Then King\nGunther and Prince Siegfried scattered costly gifts among their\nguests, so that they returned to their own lands in great glee.\n\nNo sooner were the guests departed than Siegfried also began to make\nready to journey to his own country. Fain would he take his beautiful\nwife to see Siegmund and Sieglinde, and to dwell in the land over\nwhich one day he would be king.\n\nKriemhild, too, was glad to go to her dear lord's country. Taking a\nloving farewell of her lady mother, Queen Ute, and of her royal\nbrothers, with five hundred knights of Burgundy and thirty-two\nBurgundian maids, Kriemhild rode away, Sir Siegfried by her side.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nSIEGFRIED GOES HOME WITH KRIEMHILD\n\n\nIn the court of the Netherlands there was great gladness, for tidings\nhad come that Prince Siegfried and his beautiful wife were already on\ntheir homeward way.\n\nKing Siegmund rejoiced, and resolved that now indeed his son should\nwear the crown.\n\nSieglinde wept for joy, then dried her tears, and bade her maidens\nlook out their richest robes that they might welcome the young bride\nas became her rank.\n\nThen the King and Queen rode forth to meet the travellers, and greeted\nthem with kisses and fair words, and with great rejoicings the whole\ncompany returned to the castle. Here a great feast was held, and\nSiegmund, calling together all his liegemen, placed the crown upon his\ndear son's head, bidding them henceforth swear fealty to him alone.\n\nThe Netherlanders were indeed well pleased to have the mighty hero\nSiegfried for their king, and the castle walls shook with the shouts\nof strong men crying, 'Hail, King Siegfried, hail!'\n\nFor ten years Siegfried ruled and did justice in the land. At the end\nof ten years a little son came to gladden the hearts of the brave King\nand his gentle wife, and in memory of her royal brother, Kriemhild\nnamed him Gunther.\n\nNow Queen Sieglinde had grown old and feeble, and after her little\ngrandson had been born she grew still more weak until one day she\npassed away from earth.\n\nThen Kriemhild took charge of the royal household. So kind was she and\ngentle that she was loved by all her maidens and indeed by all who\ndwelt in the castle.\n\nMeanwhile Brunhild, the haughty Queen of Burgundy, was not happy, even\nher little son could not bring joy to her heart. Little had she to vex\nher, yet day by day her unhappiness grew.\n\nSiegfried was now a mightier King than Gunther, and this displeased\nher more and more, for certainly he had once been but her lord's\nvassal. Had she not herself, from her castle window at Isenland, seen\nhim hold King Gunther's charger until he had mounted, and that a\nPrince would have scorned to do. Yet to-day Siegfried was a King,\nBrunhild could not understand how this could be, and the more she\nthought about it, the angrier she grew. Even the gentle Kriemhild\nseemed to have grown haughty and disdainful, and for her too Brunhild\nhad no love.\n\nAt length Brunhild made up her mind to speak to her husband.\n\n'It is many years,' she said to King Gunther, 'since Siegfried has\nbeen at Worms. Bid him come hither with his wife.'\n\nThen Gunther frowned, ill-pleased at her words. 'Thou dost not dream\nthat I may command so mighty a King as Siegfried!' he cried.\n\nBut these words only made the Queen more angry. 'However great\nSiegfried may be, he dare not disobey his lord,' she said.\n\nKing Gunther smiled to himself at Brunhild's foolish thoughts. Full\nwell he knew that the King of the Netherlands owed no duty to him,\nthe King of Burgundy.\n\nThen Brunhild, seeing that by anger she would not gain her wish,\nsmiled and coming close to Gunther said, 'My lord, fain would I see\nthy sweet sister once more. If thou mayest not bid, wilt thou not\nentreat Siegfried to bring Kriemhild to our country that again we may\nsit together as we were used to do? In truth the gentleness of thy\nlady sister did ever please me well.'\n\nNow Gunther, hearing his wife's kind words, was wishful to do her\nwill. Therefore he sent for thirty warriors, and bade them ride into\nKing Siegfried's land, and entreat him once again to come with his\nfair wife to the royal city of Worms. Queen Ute also sent messages to\nQueen Kriemhild beseeching her to come again to her own country.\n\nWell pleased was Kriemhild when the knights from Burgundy were shown\ninto her presence, and right glad was the welcome given to them by\nKing Siegfried. Then one of the knights hastened to deliver King\nGunther's greetings and the greetings of Queen Ute and her ladies.\n\n'The King and Queen bid you also welcome to a high festival which they\nhold as soon as the winter is ended,' he said.\n\nBut King Siegfried, thinking of all the business of the state,\nanswered courteously, 'Nay, I fear that I may scarce leave my land\nwithout a king. Yet will I lodge you here while I take counsel with my\nliegemen.'\n\nFor nine days King Gunther's men tarried in the Netherlands, and\nbanquets and tournaments were given in their honour.\n\nThen Siegfried summoned his liegemen together and told them of King\nGunther's desire that he and his Queen should go to Rhineland, and\nbade them give him their counsel.\n\n'Take with thee a thousand warriors, sire, and if it be thy will ride\nthus into Burgundy,' said the King's chief adviser.\n\n'I also will go with thee,' said Siegmund, for well did he love his\nson. 'I also will go with thee and take a hundred swordsmen along with\nme.'\n\nRight glad was Siegfried when he heard his father's words. 'My own\ngood father dear,' he cried, and seizing his hand he kissed it. 'In\ntwelve days will I leave my realm and journey toward Burgundy, and\nthou shalt ride with me and Queen Kriemhild.'\n\nThen the heralds of King Gunther, laden with rich gifts, were bidden\nto hasten back to their own land with tidings that Siegfried and his\nQueen would ere long follow them to the royal city.\n\nWhen the heralds stood again before King Gunther, they delivered their\ntidings, and then spread out before him and his courtiers the raiment\nand the gold which Siegfried had bestowed upon them.\n\nHagen looked upon the gifts, his keen eyes full of greed. 'Well may\nthe mighty King Siegfried give such gifts,' he said. 'If he were to\nlive for ever, yet could he not spend the great treasure which he\npossesses in the land of the Nibelungs.'\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nSIEGFRIED AND KRIEMHILD GO TO WORMS\n\n\nOne fine morning Siegfried and all his fair company set out on their\njourney to Rhineland. Their little son they left at the palace in the\nNetherlands.\n\nAs they drew near to Burgundy, a band of Gunther's most gallant\nwarriors rode forth to meet their guests. Brunhild also went to greet\nthe royal company, yet in her heart the hatred she felt for Siegfried\nand his wife grew ever more fierce, more cruel.\n\nGunther rejoiced when he saw the brave light-hearted hero once again,\nand he welcomed him right royally. As for Brunhild, she kissed the\nQueen of the Netherlands, and smiled upon her, so that the lovely lady\nwas well pleased with her greeting.\n\nTwelve hundred gallant warriors sat round the banqueting table in the\ngood city of Worms that day. Then the feast ended, and the travellers\nsought their couches, weary with their long journey. The next morning\nthe great chests which they had brought with them were opened, and\nmany precious stones, and many beautiful garments were bestowed by\nKing Siegfried and Queen Kriemhild on the ladies and the knights of\nthe royal city.\n\nQueen Ute, too, was happy, for now again she might look upon the face\nof her dear daughter.\n\nThen a tournament was held, and the knights tilted, while beautiful\ndamsels looked down upon them from the galleries of the great hall.\nAnd at evensong the happy court would wend its way to the Minster, and\nthere, the Queens, wearing their crowns of state, would enter side by\nside. Thus for eleven days all went merry as a marriage ball.\n\nOne evening, ere the Minster bell pealed for vespers, the two Queens\nsat side by side under a silken tent. They were talking of Siegfried\nand Gunther, their lords.\n\n'There is no braver warrior in the wide world than my lord Siegfried,'\nsaid Kriemhild.\n\n'Nay,' cried Brunhild angrily, 'nay, thou dost forget thy brother,\nKing Gunther. None, I trow, is mightier than he.'\n\nThen the gentle Kriemhild forgot her gentle ways, and bitter to Queen\nBrunhild's ears were the words she spoke.\n\n'My royal brother is neither strong nor brave as is my lord,' she\ncried. 'Dost thou not know that Siegfried it was, not Gunther, who\nvanquished thee in the contests held at thy castle in Isenland? Dost\nthou not know that it was Siegfried, clad in his Coat of Darkness, who\nwrested from thee both thy girdle and thy ring?' And Kriemhild pointed\nto the girdle which she was wearing round her waist, to the ring which\nshe was wearing on her finger.\n\nBrunhild, when she saw her girdle and her ring, wept, and her tears\nwere tears of anger. Never would she forgive Siegfried for treating\nher thus; never would she forgive Kriemhild for telling her the truth.\n\n'Alas! alas!' cried the angry Queen, 'no hero have I wed, but a\nfeeble-hearted knave.'\n\nMeanwhile, Kriemhild, already grieved that she had spoken thus\nfoolishly, had left the angry Queen and gone down to the Minster to\nvespers.\n\nThat evening Brunhild had no smiles, no gentle words, for her lord.\n\n'It was Siegfried, not thou, my lord, who vanquished me in the\ncontests at Isenland,' she said in a cold voice to the startled King.\n\nHad Siegfried then dared to boast to the Queen of the wonderful feats\nhe had done in the land across the sea? Nay, King Gunther could not\nquite believe that the hero would thus boast of his great strength.\n\nBut the Queen was still scolding him, so Gunther, in his dismay,\nstammered, 'We will summon the King to our presence, and he shall tell\nus why he has dared to boast of his might as though he were stronger\nthan I.'\n\nWhen Siegfried stood before the angry Brunhild, the crestfallen King\nsaid as sternly as he dared, 'Hast thou boasted that it was thou who\nconquered the maiden Brunhild?'\n\nBut even as he spoke all Gunther's suspicions fled away. Siegfried\nwith the steadfast eyes and the happy laugh had never betrayed him.\nOf that he felt quite sure. It was true that he might have told his\nwife Kriemhild----\n\nAh, now King Gunther knew what had happened! Not Siegfried, but his\nlady sister had told Brunhild the secret. Truly it was no fault of the\ngallant hero that Queen Brunhild had that day learned the secret which\nhe would fain have kept from her for ever.\n\nSo King Gunther stretched out his hand to Siegfried, who had stood in\nsilence before him, and said, 'Not thou, but my sister Kriemhild hath\nboasted of thy prowess in Isenland,' and the two Kings walked away\ntogether leaving Brunhild in her anger.\n\nBut not long was she left to weep alone, for Hagen, the keen-eyed,\ncoming into the hall, saw her tears.\n\n'Gracious lady, wherefore dost thou weep?' he asked.\n\n'I weep for anger,' said Brunhild, and she told Hagen the foolish\nwords which Siegfried's wife had spoken.\n\nWhen Hagen had heard them he smiled grimly to himself. Siegfried, the\nhero, nor his beautiful wife, should escape his vengeance now. And he\nbegan at once to plan with the Queen how he might punish them. Well\ndid he know that Brunhild would do all in her power to aid him in his\nplots.\n\nSlowly but very surely Hagen drew Gernot and one or two warriors into\nhis schemes against the King of the Netherlands. But when Giselher\nheard that the cruel counsellors even wished to slay Siegfried, he was\nangry, and said bravely, 'Never has Siegfried deserved such hate from\nany knight of Burgundy.'\n\nBut Hagen did not cease his evil whispers against the hero. He would\neven steal upon King Gunther as he sat at his council-table, and he\nwould whisper in his ear that if Siegfried were not so strong, his\nBurgundian heroes would win more glory for their arms, that if\nSiegfried were not living, all his broad lands would belong, through\nKriemhild, to Burgundy.\n\nAt first, Gunther would bid Hagen be silent, and lay aside his hate of\nthe mighty hero. But afterward he would listen and only murmur, 'If\nSiegfried heard thy words, none of us would be safe from his wrath.'\nFor King Gunther was weak and easily made to fear.\n\n'Fear not,' said Hagen grimly, 'Siegfried shall never hear of our\nplots. Leave the matter to me. I will send for two strange heralds to\ncome to our land. They shall pretend that they have come from our old\nenemies, Ludegast and Ludeger, and they shall challenge us to battle\nonce again.'\n\n'When Siegfried hears that thou must go forth to fight, he will even\nas afore-time offer to go for thee against the foe. Then, methinks,\nshall I learn the secret of the great warrior's strength from\nKriemhild, ere he set out, as she will believe he must do, for the\nbattlefield.'\n\nAnd Gunther listened and feared to gainsay the words of his wicked\ncounsellor, also he thought of the great treasure, and longed that he\nmight possess it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nSIEGFRIED IS SLAIN\n\n\nHagen did not delay to carry out his wicked plot. Four days later,\nthirty-two strangers rode into Rhineland, and demanded to see King\nGunther. These were the men who had been hired by the counsellor to\nbring false tidings of battle.\n\nWhen the heralds stood before the King their spokesman said, 'We come\nfrom King Ludegast and King Ludeger, who have gathered together new\narmies with which to invade thy land, and forthwith they challenge\nthee to combat.'\n\nThen the King pretended that he did not know that these were false\nheralds with false tidings. He frowned, and his eyes flashed anger at\nthe strangers as he listened to their words.\n\nSiegfried, who had heard the strangers' words, cried eagerly, 'Fear\nnot, O King, I and my warriors will fight for thee, even as afore-time\nwe have done.'\n\nWell pleased then seemed Gunther at the hero's words. As though he\nreally feared the armies of the foreign kings, he graciously thanked\nSiegfried for his offered aid.\n\nGaily then did Siegfried summon his thousand warriors and bade them\npolish their armour and make their shields shine, for they must go\nforth to fight for the realm of Burgundy.\n\n'Now,' thought Hagen, 'is the moment to win from Kriemhild the secret\nof her lord's strength,' so he hastened to her apartments to bid her\nfarewell. For he, too, was going forth to battle.\n\nWhen Kriemhild saw the grim warrior she cried, 'If thou art near to my\nlord in the battlefield, guard him for my sake, and ever shalt thou\nhave Queen Kriemhild's thanks.'\n\n'Right gladly will I serve Siegfried for thy sake,' said the false\nknight. 'Tell me how best I may guard thy lord.'\n\n'Thou art my kinsman, Hagen,' said the noble lady, 'therefore will I\ntrust thee with the secret of his strength.'\n\nThen the Queen told the warrior of the tiny spot between her husband's\nshoulders on which the linden leaf had fallen while he bathed in the\ndragon's blood, and how, while all the rest of his body was too tough\nto be pierced by spear or arrow, on that spot, he might be wounded as\neasily as any other man.\n\nHagen's eyes glittered. The life of the King was well-nigh in his\nhands.\n\n'If this be so, noble lady, I beg of thee sew a token upon his\ngarment, that I may know the spot which I must guard with my shield,\nand if need be with my life,' said the counsellor.\n\nThen Kriemhild promised to sew a tiny cross upon Siegfried's tunic,\nthat so Hagen might the better be able to shield her lord.\n\nBowing low, Hagen said farewell, then hastened from the presence of\nthe gentle lady whose trust he meant to betray and that right cruelly.\n\nThe next morning Siegfried set out, merrily as was his wont, at the\nhead of his warriors, and close behind him rode Hagen, his keen eyes\nsearching for the little cross.\n\nIt was there, the token which the lady Kriemhild had sewn with eager\nhands on her lord's tunic, thinking thus to guard him from all harm.\n\nThere was no need now for the pretence of war, for Hagen himself held\nSiegfried's life in his hands. The wicked counsellor, therefore,\nordered two of his own followers to ride away in secret, bidding them\nreturn in a day or two, travel-stained, as though they had come from\nafar. With them they were to bring tidings of submission and peace\nfrom Ludegast and Ludeger.\n\nThus, before Siegfried and his great host had marched into the enemy's\nland they were stayed by heralds who brought messages of peace and\ngood-will to Gunther, and much against his wish the gallant hero had\nto return to Worms, no battle fought, no enemy conquered.\n\nBut if Siegfried grieved, Kriemhild rejoiced at his return. Already\nshe had begun to be sorry that she had trusted her kinsman, Hagen.\n\nGunther, too, seemed happy to welcome Siegfried. 'Now that there is\npeace we will go a-hunting,' he said to the hero. Now this hunt had\nbeen planned by Hagen.\n\nThen Siegfried went to say farewell to his beautiful wife ere he rode\naway to the hunt.\n\nBut Kriemhild clung to him, begging her dear lord not to leave her.\nShe longed to warn him, too, against Hagen, yet this she did not dare\nto do.\n\n'Ah, my lord,' she cried, 'last night I dreamed that two wild boars\nchased thee, and again I dreamed that as thou didst ride into the\nvalley two mountains fell upon thee and hid thee for ever from my\nsight. Go not to the hunt, my dear lord Siegfried.'\n\nYet the hero would not heed the dreams of his lady. Gently he loosened\nher hands, and saying farewell, he left her weeping.\n\nOut in the glad sunshine Siegfried smiled. He would be back so soon to\ncomfort his dear wife, and then she, too, would laugh at her fears,\nand thinking thus he joined Gunther and his merry huntsmen, and\ntogether they rode toward the forest.\n\nNever had there been such a hunt or such merry huntsmen, and no prey\nseemed to escape the hero Siegfried.\n\nA strong and savage ox he felled to the ground with his own hand. A\nlion sprang toward him, but swiftly the hero drew his bow, and it lay\nharmless at his feet. An elk, a buffalo, four strong bisons, a fierce\nstag, and many a hart and hind were slain by his prowess. But when,\nwith his sword, he slew a wild boar that had attacked him, his\ncomrades slipped the leash round the hounds and cried, 'Lord\nSiegfried, nought is there left alive in the forest. Let us return to\nthe camp with our spoils.'\n\nAt that moment, clear and loud rang out the hunting horn. It was the\nKing who bade it sound that his merry huntsmen might come to feast\nwith him in the green meadow on the outskirts of the forest.\n\nNow the horn had roused a grisly bear, and Siegfried, seeing it,\njumped from his charger, chased it, and having at length caught it\nwith his strong right hand, bound it without receiving even a scratch\nfrom its claws or a bite from its jaws.\n\nThen the hero dragged the bear back to his charger, tied it to his\nsaddle, and mounting rode quickly forward to the camp.\n\nKing Gunther watched him as he drew near, and so gallant and brave he\nlooked, that his heart grew heavy because he had listened to the cruel\ncounsels of his uncle Hagen.\n\nThe hero wore a tunic of black velvet, a riding cap of sable. By his\nside hung his good sword Balmung, a quiver thrust through his girdle\nwas filled with arrows, the shafts of which were golden.\n\nBefore he reached the camp, Siegfried again alighted and loosed the\ngreat bear, and bewildered, the brute sprang forward into the camp\nkitchen.\n\nUp sprang the scullions from the fire, kettles were toppled over, the\nfire was put out, fish, fowl, meat, all lay in the black and smoking\nashes.\n\nThen Gunther and his merry huntsmen chased the huge bear into the\nwood, and while all were swift, none was so swift as Siegfried. His\ngood sword Balmung flashed in the air, and the bear was slain and\ncarried back to the camp.\n\nNow Hagen had arranged the feast for the huntsmen, and for his own\npurpose he had ordered no wine.\n\n'Where are the cupbearers?' cried Siegfried, who was thirsty after the\nday's sport.\n\n'They have gone across the Rhine whither they thought we hunted,' said\nHagen, the false knight. 'But there is a spring of cold water a little\nway off, thither may we go to quench our thirst.'\n\nSiegfried soon rose to go to the fountain. Then Hagen drew near and\nsaid, 'Ofttimes I have heard that thou art sure and swift of foot.\nWilt thou race with me to the spring?'\n\n'If thou art at the fountain before me,' said the mighty hero, 'I will\neven lay myself at thy feet.'\n\nGunther heard Siegfried's words and shuddered. Yet now he dared not\nsave the hero from his foe.\n\n'I will bear my spear, my sword, my quiver, and my shield as I race,'\nsaid Siegfried. But Hagen and King Gunther, who also wished to run,\nstripped off their upper garments, that they might run more lightly.\n\n[Illustration: While Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen\nstabbed him]\n\nFleet of foot were Hagen and the King, yet fleeter still was\nSiegfried. He reached the well, loosened his sword, and laid it with\nhis bow and arrows on the ground, and leant his spear against a linden\ntree that grew close to the fountain.\n\nHe looked down into the spring, yet though his thirst was great, so\ncourteous was he that he would not drink before King Gunther.\n\nWhen Gunther reached the well, he knelt at once to drink, then having\nquenched his thirst he turned and wandered back along the hillside\ntoward his merry huntsmen.\n\nAs Siegfried now bent over the spring, Hagen with stealthy steps crept\nnear and drew the hero's sword and quiver out of his reach. Stealthy\nstill, he seized the spear which rested against the linden tree. Then\nwhile Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen stabbed him,\nstraight through the little cross of silk which Kriemhild's gentle\nhand had sewed, he stabbed.\n\nThe cruel deed was done, and Hagen turned to flee, leaving the spear\nthere where he had thrust it, between the hero's shoulders, where\nonce, alas! had lain a linden leaf.\n\nSiegfried sprang to his feet as he felt the cruel blow, and reached\nfor his quiver that he might speed the traitor to his death, but\nneither quiver nor sword could he find.\n\nThen unarmed save for his shield the wounded hero ran, nor could Hagen\nescape him. With his shield Siegfried struck the false knight such\nheavy blows that the precious stones dropped out of the shield and\nwere scattered, and Hagen lay helpless at King Siegfried's feet.\n\nBut Siegfried had no sword with which to slay his enemy, moreover his\nwound began to smart until he writhed with pain. Then, his strength\nfailing him, he fell upon the green grass, while around him gathered\nGunther and his huntsmen.\n\nSore wounded was King Siegfried, even unto death, and Gunther, sorry\nnow the cruel deed was done, wept as he looked down upon the stricken\nKing.\n\n'Never would I have been slain, save by treachery,' murmured\nSiegfried. 'Yet how can I think of aught but my beautiful wife\nKriemhild. Unto thee, O King Gunther, do I entrust her. If there be\nany faith in thee, defend her from all her foes.'\n\nNo more could he say, for he was faint from his wound, and ere long\nthe hero lay still on the grass, dead.\n\nThen the knights, when they saw that the mighty King no longer\nbreathed, laid him on a shield of gold, and when night fell they\ncarried him thus, back to the royal city.\n\nWhen Kriemhild knew that her lord, King Siegfried, was dead, bitter\nwere her tears. Full well did she know that it was Hagen who had slain\nhim, and greatly did she bemoan her foolishness in telling the grim\ncounsellor the secret known to her alone.\n\nThe body of the great hero was laid in a coffin of gold and silver and\ncarried to the Minster. Then when the days of mourning were over, the\nold King Siegmund and his warriors went sadly back to the Netherlands.\n\nBut Kriemhild stayed at Worms, and for thirteen years she mourned the\nloss of her dear lord.\n\nHer sufferings, during these years, were made the greater through the\ngreed of Hagen. For at the cruel warrior's bidding, Gunther went to\nthe Queen and urged her to send for the treasure of the Nibelungs.\n\n'It shall be guarded for thy use in the royal city,' said the King.\n\nIn her grief Kriemhild cared little where the treasure was kept; and\nseeing this, her brother sent in her name to command that it should be\nbrought to Worms.\n\nNo sooner, however, did it reach the city than it was seized upon by\nHagen the traitor, and Kriemhild's wealth was no longer her own.\n\nThat henceforth it might be secure from every one save himself and\nKing Gunther, Hagen buried the great treasure beneath the fast-flowing\nriver Rhine.\n\nWhen thirteen years had passed away, Kriemhild married Etzel, the\npowerful King of the Huns, and then at last Hagen began to fear. Would\nthe lady to whom he had been so false punish him now that she was\nagain a mighty Queen?\n\nThe years passed by, and Hagen was beginning to forget his fears when\nheralds came from Etzel, the King of the Huns, bidding King Gunther\nand his knights come visit Queen Kriemhild in her distant home. The\ncommand of Etzel was obeyed.\n\nBut no sooner did Hagen stand before her throne than Kriemhild\ncommanded him to give her back the hidden treasure. This the grim\ncounsellor refused to do.\n\n'Then shalt not thou nor any of thy company return to Burgundy,' cried\nKriemhild.\n\nAnd as the Queen said, so it was, for the warriors of King Etzel\nfought with the warriors of King Gunther, until after a grievous\nslaughter not one Burgundian was left alive. Thus after many years was\nKing Siegfried's death avenged by Queen Kriemhild.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *","title":"Stories of Siegfried, Told to the Children","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":20048}