The maiden hurled her spearThe maiden hurled her spear
While the Queen donned her silken fighting doublet, which could turn aside the sharpest spear, Siegfried slipped away unnoticed to the ship, and swiftly flung around him his Cloak of Darkness. Then unseen by all, he hastened back to King Gunther's side.
A great javelin was then given to the Queen, and she began to fight with her suitor, and so hard were her thrusts that but for Siegfried the King would have lost his life.
'Give me thy shield,' whispered the invisible hero in the King's ear, 'and tell no one that I am here.' Then as the maiden hurled her spear with all her force against the shield which she thought was held by the King, the shock well-nigh drove both Gunther and his unseen friend to their knees.
But in a moment Siegfried's hand had dealt the Queen such a blow with the handle of his spear (he would not use the sharp point against a woman) that the maiden cried aloud,'King Gunther, thou hast won this fray.' For as she could not see Siegfried because of his Cloak of Darkness, she could not but believe that it was the King who had vanquished her.
In her wrath the Queen now sped to the ring, where lay a stone so heavy that it could scarce be lifted by twelve strong men.
But Brunhild lifted it with ease, and threw it twelve arms' length beyond the spot on which she stood. Then, leaping after it, she alighted even farther than she had thrown the stone.
Gunther now stood in the ring, and lifted the stone which had again been placed within it. He lifted it with an effort, but at once Siegfried's unseen hand grasped it and threw it with such strength that it dropped even beyond the spot to which it had been flung by the Queen. Lifting King Gunther with him Siegfried next jumped far beyond the spot on which the Queen had alighted. And all the warriors marvelled to see their Queen thus vanquished by the strange King. For you must remember that not one of them could see that it was Siegfried who had done these deeds of prowess.
Now in the contest, still unseen, Siegfried had taken from the Queen her ring and her favourite girdle.
With angry gestures Brunhild called to her liegemen to come and lay their weapons down at King Gunther's feet to do him homage. Henceforth they must be his thralls and own him as their lord.
As soon as the contests were over, Siegfried had slipped back to the ship and hidden his Cloak of Darkness. Then boldly he came back to the great hall, and pretending to know nothing of the games begged to be told who had been the victor, if indeed they had already taken place.
When he had heard that Queen Brunhild had been vanquished, the hero laughed, and cried gaily, 'Then, noble maiden, thou must go with us to Rhineland to wed King Gunther.'
'A strange way for a vassal to speak,' thought the angry Queen, and she answered with a proud glance at the knight, 'Nay, that will I not do until I have summoned my kinsmen and my good lieges. For I will myself say farewell to them ere ever I will go to Rhineland.'
Thus heralds were sent throughout Brunhild's realms, and soon from morn to eve her kinsmen and her liegemen rode into the castle, until it seemed as though a mighty army were assembling.
'Does the maiden mean to wage war against us,' said Hagen grimly. 'I like not the number of her warriors.'
Then said Siegfried, 'I will leave thee for a little while and go across the sea, and soon will I return with a thousand brave warriors, so that no evil may befall us.'
So the Prince went down alone to the little ship and set sail across the sea.
The ship in which Siegfried set sail drifted on before the wind, while those in Queen Brunhild's castle marvelled, for no one was to be seen on board. This was because the hero had again donned his Cloak of Darkness.
On and on sailed the little ship until at length it drew near to the land of the Nibelungs. Then Siegfried left his vessel and again climbed the mountain-side, where long before he had cut off the heads of the little Nibelung princes.
He reached the cave into which he had thrust the treasure, and knocked loudly at the door. The cave was the entrance to Nibelheim the dark, little town beneath the glad, green grass.
Siegfried might have entered the cave, but he knocked that he might see if his treasure were well guarded.
Then the porter, who was a great giant, when he heard the knock buckled on his armour and opened the door. Seeing, as he thought in his haste, a strange knight standing before him he fell upon him with a bar of iron. So strong was the giant that it was with difficulty that the Prince overcame him and bound him hand and foot.
Alberich meanwhile had heard the mighty blows, which indeed had shaken Nibelheim to its foundations.
Now the dwarf had sworn fealty to Siegfried, and when he, as the giant had done, mistook the Prince for a stranger, he seized a heavy whip with a gold handle and rushed upon him, smiting his shield with the knotted whip until it fell to pieces.
Too pleased that his treasures were so well defended to be angry, Siegfried now seized the little dwarf by his beard, and pulled it so long and so hard that Alberich was forced to cry for mercy. Then Siegfried bound him hand and foot as he had done the giant.
Alberich, poor little dwarf, gnashed his teeth with rage. Who would guard the treasurenow, and who would warn his master that a strong man had found his way to Nibelheim?
But in the midst of his fears he heard the stranger's merry laugh. Nay, it was no stranger, none but the hero Prince could laugh thus merrily.
'I am Siegfried your master,' then said the Prince. 'I did but test thy faithfulness, Alberich,' and laughing still, the hero undid the cords with which he had bound the giant and the dwarf.
'Call me here quickly the Nibelung warriors,' cried Siegfried, 'for I have need of them.' And soon thirty thousand warriors stood before him in shining armour.
Choosing one thousand of the strongest and biggest, the Prince marched with them down to the sea-shore. There they embarked in ships and sailed away to Isenland.
Now it chanced that Queen Brunhild was walking on the terrace of her sea-guarded castle with King Gunther when she saw a number of sails approaching.
'Whose can these ships be?' she cried in quick alarm.
'These are my warriors who have followed me from Burgundy,' answered the King, for thus had Siegfried bidden him speak.
'We will go to welcome the fleet,' said Brunhild, and together they met the brave Nibelung army and lodged them in Isenland.
'Now will I give of my silver and my gold to my liegemen and to Gunther's warriors,' said Queen Brunhild, and she held out the keys of her treasury to Dankwart that he might do her will. But so lavishly did the knight bestow her gold and her costly gems and her rich raiment upon the warriors that the Queen grew angry.
'Nought shall I have left to take with me to Rhineland,' she cried aloud in her vexation.
'In Burgundy,' answered Hagen, 'there is gold enough and to spare. Thou wilt not need the treasures of Isenland.'
But these words did not content the Queen. She would certainly take at least twenty coffers of gold as well as jewels and silks with her to King Gunther's land.
At length, leaving Isenland to the care of herbrother, Queen Brunhild, with twenty hundred of her own warriors as a body-guard, with eighty-six dames and one hundred maidens, set out for the royal city of Worms.
For nine days the great company journeyed homeward, and then King Gunther entreated Siegfried to be his herald to Worms.
'Beg Queen Uté and the Princess Kriemhild,' said the King, 'beg them to ride forth to meet my bride and to prepare to hold high festival in honour of the wedding feast.'
Thus Siegfried with four-and-twenty knights sailed on more swiftly than the other ships, and landing at the mouth of the river Rhine, rode hastily toward the royal city.
The Queen and her daughter, clad in their robes of state, received the hero, and his heart was glad, for once again he stood in the presence of his dear lady, Kriemhild.
'Be welcome, my Lord Siegfried,' she cried, 'thou worthy knight, be welcome. But where is my brother? Has he been vanquished by the warrior Queen? Oh, woe is me if he is lost, woe is me that ever I was born,' and the tears rolled down the maiden's cheeks.
'Nay, now,' said the Prince, 'thy brother is well and of good cheer. I have come, a herald of glad tidings. For even now the King is on his way to Worms, bringing with him his hard-won bride.'
Then the Princess dried her tears, and graciously did she bid the hero to sit by her side.
'I would I might give thee a reward for thy services,' said the gentle maiden, 'but too rich art thou to receive my gold.'
'A gift from thy hands would gladden my heart,' said the gallant Prince.
Blithely then did Kriemhild send for four-and-twenty buckles, all inlaid with precious stones, and these did she give to Siegfried.
Siegfried bent low before the lady Kriemhild, for well did he love the gracious giver, yet would he not keep for himself her gifts, but gave them, in his courtesy, to her four-and-twenty maidens.
Then the Prince told Queen Uté that the King begged her and the Princess to ride forth from Worms to greet his bride, and to prepare to hold high festival in the royal city.
Siegfried bent low before the lady KriemhildSiegfried bent low before the lady Kriemhild
'It shall be done even as the King desires,' said the Queen, while Kriemhild sat silent, smiling with gladness, because her knight Sir Siegfried had come home.
In joy and merriment the days flew by, while the court at Worms prepared to hold high festival in honour of King Gunther's matchless bride.
As the royal ships drew near Queen Uté and the Princess Kriemhild, accompanied by many a gallant knight, rode along the banks of the Rhine to greet Queen Brunhild.
Already the King had disembarked, and was leading his bride toward his gracious mother. Courteously did Queen Uté welcome the stranger, while Kriemhild kissed her and clasped her in her arms.
Some as they gazed upon the lovely maidens said that the warlike Queen Brunhild was more beautiful than the gentle Princess Kriemhild, but others, and these were the wiser, saidthat none could excel the peerless sister of the King.
In the great plain of Worms silk tents and gay pavilions had been placed. And there the ladies took shelter from the heat, while before them knights and warriors held a gay tournament. Then in the cool of the evening, a gallant train of lords and ladies, they rode toward the castle at Worms.
Queen Uté and her daughter went to their own apartments, while the King with Brunhild went into the banqueting hall where the wedding feast was spread.
But ere the feast had begun, Siegfried came and stood before the King.
'Sire,' he said, 'hast thou forgotten thy promise, that when Brunhild entered the royal city thy lady sister should be my bride?'
'Nay,' cried the King, 'my royal word do I ever keep,' and going out into the hall he sent for the Princess.
'Dear sister,' said Gunther, as she bowed before him, 'I have pledged my word to a warrior that thou wilt become his bride, wilt thou help me to keep my promise?' NowSiegfried was standing by the King's side as he spoke.
Then the gentle maiden answered meekly, 'Thy will, dear brother, is ever mine. I will take as lord him to whom thou hast promised my hand.' And she glanced shyly at Siegfried, for surely this was the warrior to whom her royal brother had pledged his word.
Right glad then was the King, and Siegfried grew rosy with delight as he received the lady's troth. Then together they went to the banqueting hall, and on a throne next to King Gunther sat the hero-prince, the lady Kriemhild by his side.
But when Brunhild saw the King's beautiful sister sitting on a throne with Siegfried by her side, she began to weep.
'Why dost thou weep, fair lady?' said King Gunther. 'Are not my lands, my castles, and all my warriors thine? Dim not thy bright eyes with thy tears.'
'I may well weep,' said Queen Brunhild, 'because thy sister has plighted her troth to one who is but a vassal of thine own. Thy sister is worthy of a prince.'
'Weep not,' cried the King, 'and when the banquet is ended I will tell thee how it is that Siegfried has won the hand of my lady sister.'
'Nay,' cried the impatient Queen, 'thou must tell me without delay or never will I be thy wife,' and Brunhild arose and stepped down from the throne.
King Gunther was displeased with the Queen's impatience, yet lest his guests should be disturbed, he answered her quickly:
'The hero Siegfried has as many castles as have I, and his realms are broader. In truth he is no vassal of mine. Ere long he will be King of the Netherlands.'
Brunhild could but hide her anger now, yet in her heart she disliked Siegfried more than she had done before. It did not please her that he should be a greater king than Gunther.
When the banquet was ended, the wedding was celebrated, and the King placed a crown upon the brow of the haughty bride, for now she was his wife, and Queen of his fair realm of Burgundy.
Siegfried too was wedded to the maiden whom he loved so well, and though he had no crown to place upon her brow, the Princess was well content.
As wedding gifts the hero gave to his dear wife the treasure he had won from the Nibelungs, also the girdle and the ring which he had taken from Brunhild in her contests with King Gunther.
With his merry laugh Siegfried told his wife how he had fought for her royal brother, himself unseen, because he had on his Cloak of Darkness. And Kriemhild listening thought never had she known so fair, so brave a knight.
For fourteen days the wedding festivities never ceased. Then King Gunther and Prince Siegfried scattered costly gifts among their guests, so that they returned to their own lands in great glee.
No sooner were the guests departed than Siegfried also began to make ready to journey to his own country. Fain would he take his beautiful wife to see Siegmund and Sieglinde, and to dwell in the land over which one day he would be king.
Kriemhild, too, was glad to go to her dear lord's country. Taking a loving farewell of her lady mother, Queen Uté, and of her royal brothers, with five hundred knights of Burgundy and thirty-two Burgundian maids, Kriemhild rode away, Sir Siegfried by her side.
In the court of the Netherlands there was great gladness, for tidings had come that Prince Siegfried and his beautiful wife were already on their homeward way.
King Siegmund rejoiced, and resolved that now indeed his son should wear the crown.
Sieglinde wept for joy, then dried her tears, and bade her maidens look out their richest robes that they might welcome the young bride as became her rank.
Then the King and Queen rode forth to meet the travellers, and greeted them with kisses and fair words, and with great rejoicings the whole company returned to the castle. Here a great feast was held, and Siegmund, calling together all his liegemen, placed the crown upon his dear son's head, bidding them henceforth swear fealty to him alone.
The Netherlanders were indeed well pleased to have the mighty hero Siegfried for their king, and the castle walls shook with the shouts of strong men crying, 'Hail, King Siegfried, hail!'
For ten years Siegfried ruled and did justice in the land. At the end of ten years a little son came to gladden the hearts of the brave King and his gentle wife, and in memory of her royal brother, Kriemhild named him Gunther.
Now Queen Sieglinde had grown old and feeble, and after her little grandson had been born she grew still more weak until one day she passed away from earth.
Then Kriemhild took charge of the royal household. So kind was she and gentle that she was loved by all her maidens and indeed by all who dwelt in the castle.
Meanwhile Brunhild, the haughty Queen of Burgundy, was not happy, even her little son could not bring joy to her heart. Little had she to vex her, yet day by day her unhappiness grew.
Siegfried was now a mightier King than Gunther, and this displeased her more andmore, for certainly he had once been but her lord's vassal. Had she not herself, from her castle window at Isenland, seen him hold King Gunther's charger until he had mounted, and that a Prince would have scorned to do. Yet to-day Siegfried was a King, Brunhild could not understand how this could be, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she grew. Even the gentle Kriemhild seemed to have grown haughty and disdainful, and for her too Brunhild had no love.
At length Brunhild made up her mind to speak to her husband.
'It is many years,' she said to King Gunther, 'since Siegfried has been at Worms. Bid him come hither with his wife.'
Then Gunther frowned, ill-pleased at her words. 'Thou dost not dream that I may command so mighty a King as Siegfried!' he cried.
But these words only made the Queen more angry. 'However great Siegfried may be, he dare not disobey his lord,' she said.
King Gunther smiled to himself at Brunhild's foolish thoughts. Full well he knew that theKing of the Netherlands owed no duty to him, the King of Burgundy.
Then Brunhild, seeing that by anger she would not gain her wish, smiled and coming close to Gunther said, 'My lord, fain would I see thy sweet sister once more. If thou mayest not bid, wilt thou not entreat Siegfried to bring Kriemhild to our country that again we may sit together as we were used to do? In truth the gentleness of thy lady sister did ever please me well.'
Now Gunther, hearing his wife's kind words, was wishful to do her will. Therefore he sent for thirty warriors, and bade them ride into King Siegfried's land, and entreat him once again to come with his fair wife to the royal city of Worms. Queen Uté also sent messages to Queen Kriemhild beseeching her to come again to her own country.
Well pleased was Kriemhild when the knights from Burgundy were shown into her presence, and right glad was the welcome given to them by King Siegfried. Then one of the knights hastened to deliver King Gunther's greetings and the greetings of Queen Uté and her ladies.
'The King and Queen bid you also welcome to a high festival which they hold as soon as the winter is ended,' he said.
But King Siegfried, thinking of all the business of the state, answered courteously, 'Nay, I fear that I may scarce leave my land without a king. Yet will I lodge you here while I take counsel with my liegemen.'
For nine days King Gunther's men tarried in the Netherlands, and banquets and tournaments were given in their honour.
Then Siegfried summoned his liegemen together and told them of King Gunther's desire that he and his Queen should go to Rhineland, and bade them give him their counsel.
'Take with thee a thousand warriors, sire, and if it be thy will ride thus into Burgundy,' said the King's chief adviser.
'I also will go with thee,' said Siegmund, for well did he love his son. 'I also will go with thee and take a hundred swordsmen along with me.'
Right glad was Siegfried when he heard his father's words. 'My own good father dear,' he cried, and seizing his hand he kissed it. 'Intwelve days will I leave my realm and journey toward Burgundy, and thou shalt ride with me and Queen Kriemhild.'
Then the heralds of King Gunther, laden with rich gifts, were bidden to hasten back to their own land with tidings that Siegfried and his Queen would ere long follow them to the royal city.
When the heralds stood again before King Gunther, they delivered their tidings, and then spread out before him and his courtiers the raiment and the gold which Siegfried had bestowed upon them.
Hagen looked upon the gifts, his keen eyes full of greed. 'Well may the mighty King Siegfried give such gifts,' he said. 'If he were to live for ever, yet could he not spend the great treasure which he possesses in the land of the Nibelungs.'
One fine morning Siegfried and all his fair company set out on their journey to Rhineland. Their little son they left at the palace in the Netherlands.
As they drew near to Burgundy, a band of Gunther's most gallant warriors rode forth to meet their guests. Brunhild also went to greet the royal company, yet in her heart the hatred she felt for Siegfried and his wife grew ever more fierce, more cruel.
Gunther rejoiced when he saw the brave light-hearted hero once again, and he welcomed him right royally. As for Brunhild, she kissed the Queen of the Netherlands, and smiled upon her, so that the lovely lady was well pleased with her greeting.
Twelve hundred gallant warriors sat round the banqueting table in the good city of Wormsthat day. Then the feast ended, and the travellers sought their couches, weary with their long journey. The next morning the great chests which they had brought with them were opened, and many precious stones, and many beautiful garments were bestowed by King Siegfried and Queen Kriemhild on the ladies and the knights of the royal city.
Queen Uté, too, was happy, for now again she might look upon the face of her dear daughter.
Then a tournament was held, and the knights tilted, while beautiful damsels looked down upon them from the galleries of the great hall. And at evensong the happy court would wend its way to the Minster, and there, the Queens, wearing their crowns of state, would enter side by side. Thus for eleven days all went merry as a marriage ball.
One evening, ere the Minster bell pealed for vespers, the two Queens sat side by side under a silken tent. They were talking of Siegfried and Gunther, their lords.
'There is no braver warrior in the wide world than my lord Siegfried,' said Kriemhild.
'Nay,' cried Brunhild angrily, 'nay, thou dost forget thy brother, King Gunther. None, I trow, is mightier than he.'
Then the gentle Kriemhild forgot her gentle ways, and bitter to Queen Brunhild's ears were the words she spoke.
'My royal brother is neither strong nor brave as is my lord,' she cried. 'Dost thou not know that Siegfried it was, not Gunther, who vanquished thee in the contests held at thy castle in Isenland? Dost thou not know that it was Siegfried, clad in his Coat of Darkness, who wrested from thee both thy girdle and thy ring?' And Kriemhild pointed to the girdle which she was wearing round her waist, to the ring which she was wearing on her finger.
Brunhild, when she saw her girdle and her ring, wept, and her tears were tears of anger. Never would she forgive Siegfried for treating her thus; never would she forgive Kriemhild for telling her the truth.
'Alas! alas!' cried the angry Queen, 'no hero have I wed, but a feeble-hearted knave.'
Meanwhile, Kriemhild, already grieved thatshe had spoken thus foolishly, had left the angry Queen and gone down to the Minster to vespers.
That evening Brunhild had no smiles, no gentle words, for her lord.
'It was Siegfried, not thou, my lord, who vanquished me in the contests at Isenland,' she said in a cold voice to the startled King.
Had Siegfried then dared to boast to the Queen of the wonderful feats he had done in the land across the sea? Nay, King Gunther could not quite believe that the hero would thus boast of his great strength.
But the Queen was still scolding him, so Gunther, in his dismay, stammered, 'We will summon the King to our presence, and he shall tell us why he has dared to boast of his might as though he were stronger than I.'
When Siegfried stood before the angry Brunhild, the crestfallen King said as sternly as he dared, 'Hast thou boasted that it was thou who conquered the maiden Brunhild?'
But even as he spoke all Gunther's suspicions fled away. Siegfried with the steadfast eyesand the happy laugh had never betrayed him. Of that he felt quite sure. It was true that he might have told his wife Kriemhild——
Ah, now King Gunther knew what had happened! Not Siegfried, but his lady sister had told Brunhild the secret. Truly it was no fault of the gallant hero that Queen Brunhild had that day learned the secret which he would fain have kept from her for ever.
So King Gunther stretched out his hand to Siegfried, who had stood in silence before him, and said, 'Not thou, but my sister Kriemhild hath boasted of thy prowess in Isenland,' and the two Kings walked away together leaving Brunhild in her anger.
But not long was she left to weep alone, for Hagen, the keen-eyed, coming into the hall, saw her tears.
'Gracious lady, wherefore dost thou weep?' he asked.
'I weep for anger,' said Brunhild, and she told Hagen the foolish words which Siegfried's wife had spoken.
When Hagen had heard them he smiled grimly to himself. Siegfried, the hero, nor hisbeautiful wife, should escape his vengeance now. And he began at once to plan with the Queen how he might punish them. Well did he know that Brunhild would do all in her power to aid him in his plots.
Slowly but very surely Hagen drew Gernot and one or two warriors into his schemes against the King of the Netherlands. But when Giselher heard that the cruel counsellors even wished to slay Siegfried, he was angry, and said bravely, 'Never has Siegfried deserved such hate from any knight of Burgundy.'
But Hagen did not cease his evil whispers against the hero. He would even steal upon King Gunther as he sat at his council-table, and he would whisper in his ear that if Siegfried were not so strong, his Burgundian heroes would win more glory for their arms, that if Siegfried were not living, all his broad lands would belong, through Kriemhild, to Burgundy.
At first, Gunther would bid Hagen be silent, and lay aside his hate of the mighty hero. But afterward he would listen and only murmur, 'If Siegfried heard thy words, none of us wouldbe safe from his wrath.' For King Gunther was weak and easily made to fear.
'Fear not,' said Hagen grimly, 'Siegfried shall never hear of our plots. Leave the matter to me. I will send for two strange heralds to come to our land. They shall pretend that they have come from our old enemies, Ludegast and Ludeger, and they shall challenge us to battle once again.'
'When Siegfried hears that thou must go forth to fight, he will even as afore-time offer to go for thee against the foe. Then, methinks, shall I learn the secret of the great warrior's strength from Kriemhild, ere he set out, as she will believe he must do, for the battlefield.'
And Gunther listened and feared to gainsay the words of his wicked counsellor, also he thought of the great treasure, and longed that he might possess it.
Hagen did not delay to carry out his wicked plot. Four days later, thirty-two strangers rode into Rhineland, and demanded to see King Gunther. These were the men who had been hired by the counsellor to bring false tidings of battle.
When the heralds stood before the King their spokesman said, 'We come from King Ludegast and King Ludeger, who have gathered together new armies with which to invade thy land, and forthwith they challenge thee to combat.'
Then the King pretended that he did not know that these were false heralds with false tidings. He frowned, and his eyes flashed anger at the strangers as he listened to their words.
Siegfried, who had heard the strangers' words, cried eagerly, 'Fear not, O King, I and my warriors will fight for thee, even as afore-time we have done.'
Well pleased then seemed Gunther at the hero's words. As though he really feared the armies of the foreign kings, he graciously thanked Siegfried for his offered aid.
Gaily then did Siegfried summon his thousand warriors and bade them polish their armour and make their shields shine, for they must go forth to fight for the realm of Burgundy.
'Now,' thought Hagen, 'is the moment to win from Kriemhild the secret of her lord's strength,' so he hastened to her apartments to bid her farewell. For he, too, was going forth to battle.
When Kriemhild saw the grim warrior she cried, 'If thou art near to my lord in the battlefield, guard him for my sake, and ever shalt thou have Queen Kriemhild's thanks.'
'Right gladly will I serve Siegfried for thy sake,' said the false knight. 'Tell me how best I may guard thy lord.'
'Thou art my kinsman, Hagen,' said the noble lady, 'therefore will I trust thee with the secret of his strength.'
Then the Queen told the warrior of the tiny spot between her husband's shoulders on which the linden leaf had fallen while he bathed in the dragon's blood, and how, while all the rest of his body was too tough to be pierced by spear or arrow, on that spot, he might be wounded as easily as any other man.
Hagen's eyes glittered. The life of the King was well-nigh in his hands.
'If this be so, noble lady, I beg of thee sew a token upon his garment, that I may know the spot which I must guard with my shield, and if need be with my life,' said the counsellor.
Then Kriemhild promised to sew a tiny cross upon Siegfried's tunic, that so Hagen might the better be able to shield her lord.
Bowing low, Hagen said farewell, then hastened from the presence of the gentle lady whose trust he meant to betray and that right cruelly.
The next morning Siegfried set out, merrily as was his wont, at the head of his warriors,and close behind him rode Hagen, his keen eyes searching for the little cross.
It was there, the token which the lady Kriemhild had sewn with eager hands on her lord's tunic, thinking thus to guard him from all harm.
There was no need now for the pretence of war, for Hagen himself held Siegfried's life in his hands. The wicked counsellor, therefore, ordered two of his own followers to ride away in secret, bidding them return in a day or two, travel-stained, as though they had come from afar. With them they were to bring tidings of submission and peace from Ludegast and Ludeger.
Thus, before Siegfried and his great host had marched into the enemy's land they were stayed by heralds who brought messages of peace and good-will to Gunther, and much against his wish the gallant hero had to return to Worms, no battle fought, no enemy conquered.
But if Siegfried grieved, Kriemhild rejoiced at his return. Already she had begun to be sorry that she had trusted her kinsman, Hagen.
Gunther, too, seemed happy to welcome Siegfried. 'Now that there is peace we will go a-hunting,' he said to the hero. Now this hunt had been planned by Hagen.
Then Siegfried went to say farewell to his beautiful wife ere he rode away to the hunt.
But Kriemhild clung to him, begging her dear lord not to leave her. She longed to warn him, too, against Hagen, yet this she did not dare to do.
'Ah, my lord,' she cried, 'last night I dreamed that two wild boars chased thee, and again I dreamed that as thou didst ride into the valley two mountains fell upon thee and hid thee for ever from my sight. Go not to the hunt, my dear lord Siegfried.'
Yet the hero would not heed the dreams of his lady. Gently he loosened her hands, and saying farewell, he left her weeping.
Out in the glad sunshine Siegfried smiled. He would be back so soon to comfort his dear wife, and then she, too, would laugh at her fears, and thinking thus he joined Gunther and his merry huntsmen, and together they rode toward the forest.
Never had there been such a hunt or such merry huntsmen, and no prey seemed to escape the hero Siegfried.
A strong and savage ox he felled to the ground with his own hand. A lion sprang toward him, but swiftly the hero drew his bow, and it lay harmless at his feet. An elk, a buffalo, four strong bisons, a fierce stag, and many a hart and hind were slain by his prowess. But when, with his sword, he slew a wild boar that had attacked him, his comrades slipped the leash round the hounds and cried, 'Lord Siegfried, nought is there left alive in the forest. Let us return to the camp with our spoils.'
At that moment, clear and loud rang out the hunting horn. It was the King who bade it sound that his merry huntsmen might come to feast with him in the green meadow on the outskirts of the forest.
Now the horn had roused a grisly bear, and Siegfried, seeing it, jumped from his charger, chased it, and having at length caught it with his strong right hand, bound it without receiving even a scratch from its claws or a bite from its jaws.
Then the hero dragged the bear back to his charger, tied it to his saddle, and mounting rode quickly forward to the camp.
King Gunther watched him as he drew near, and so gallant and brave he looked, that his heart grew heavy because he had listened to the cruel counsels of his uncle Hagen.
The hero wore a tunic of black velvet, a riding cap of sable. By his side hung his good sword Balmung, a quiver thrust through his girdle was filled with arrows, the shafts of which were golden.
Before he reached the camp, Siegfried again alighted and loosed the great bear, and bewildered, the brute sprang forward into the camp kitchen.
Up sprang the scullions from the fire, kettles were toppled over, the fire was put out, fish, fowl, meat, all lay in the black and smoking ashes.
Then Gunther and his merry huntsmen chased the huge bear into the wood, and while all were swift, none was so swift as Siegfried. His good sword Balmung flashed in the air, and the bear was slain and carried back to the camp.
Now Hagen had arranged the feast for the huntsmen, and for his own purpose he had ordered no wine.
'Where are the cupbearers?' cried Siegfried, who was thirsty after the day's sport.
'They have gone across the Rhine whither they thought we hunted,' said Hagen, the false knight. 'But there is a spring of cold water a little way off, thither may we go to quench our thirst.'
Siegfried soon rose to go to the fountain. Then Hagen drew near and said, 'Ofttimes I have heard that thou art sure and swift of foot. Wilt thou race with me to the spring?'
'If thou art at the fountain before me,' said the mighty hero, 'I will even lay myself at thy feet.'
Gunther heard Siegfried's words and shuddered. Yet now he dared not save the hero from his foe.
'I will bear my spear, my sword, my quiver, and my shield as I race,' said Siegfried. But Hagen and King Gunther, who also wished to run, stripped off their upper garments, that they might run more lightly.
While Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen stabbed himWhile Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen stabbed him
Fleet of foot were Hagen and the King, yet fleeter still was Siegfried. He reached the well, loosened his sword, and laid it with his bow and arrows on the ground, and leant his spear against a linden tree that grew close to the fountain.
He looked down into the spring, yet though his thirst was great, so courteous was he that he would not drink before King Gunther.
When Gunther reached the well, he knelt at once to drink, then having quenched his thirst he turned and wandered back along the hillside toward his merry huntsmen.
As Siegfried now bent over the spring, Hagen with stealthy steps crept near and drew the hero's sword and quiver out of his reach. Stealthy still, he seized the spear which rested against the linden tree. Then while Siegfried drank of the cool, clear water, Hagen stabbed him, straight through the little cross of silk which Kriemhild's gentle hand had sewed, he stabbed.
The cruel deed was done, and Hagen turned to flee, leaving the spear there where he hadthrust it, between the hero's shoulders, where once, alas! had lain a linden leaf.
Siegfried sprang to his feet as he felt the cruel blow, and reached for his quiver that he might speed the traitor to his death, but neither quiver nor sword could he find.
Then unarmed save for his shield the wounded hero ran, nor could Hagen escape him. With his shield Siegfried struck the false knight such heavy blows that the precious stones dropped out of the shield and were scattered, and Hagen lay helpless at King Siegfried's feet.
But Siegfried had no sword with which to slay his enemy, moreover his wound began to smart until he writhed with pain. Then, his strength failing him, he fell upon the green grass, while around him gathered Gunther and his huntsmen.
Sore wounded was King Siegfried, even unto death, and Gunther, sorry now the cruel deed was done, wept as he looked down upon the stricken King.
'Never would I have been slain, save by treachery,' murmured Siegfried. 'Yet how can I think of aught but my beautiful wife Kriemhild.Unto thee, O King Gunther, do I entrust her. If there be any faith in thee, defend her from all her foes.'
No more could he say, for he was faint from his wound, and ere long the hero lay still on the grass, dead.
Then the knights, when they saw that the mighty King no longer breathed, laid him on a shield of gold, and when night fell they carried him thus, back to the royal city.
When Kriemhild knew that her lord, King Siegfried, was dead, bitter were her tears. Full well did she know that it was Hagen who had slain him, and greatly did she bemoan her foolishness in telling the grim counsellor the secret known to her alone.
The body of the great hero was laid in a coffin of gold and silver and carried to the Minster. Then when the days of mourning were over, the old King Siegmund and his warriors went sadly back to the Netherlands.
But Kriemhild stayed at Worms, and for thirteen years she mourned the loss of her dear lord.
Her sufferings, during these years, were madethe greater through the greed of Hagen. For at the cruel warrior's bidding, Gunther went to the Queen and urged her to send for the treasure of the Nibelungs.
'It shall be guarded for thy use in the royal city,' said the King.
In her grief Kriemhild cared little where the treasure was kept; and seeing this, her brother sent in her name to command that it should be brought to Worms.
No sooner, however, did it reach the city than it was seized upon by Hagen the traitor, and Kriemhild's wealth was no longer her own.
That henceforth it might be secure from every one save himself and King Gunther, Hagen buried the great treasure beneath the fast-flowing river Rhine.
When thirteen years had passed away, Kriemhild married Etzel, the powerful King of the Huns, and then at last Hagen began to fear. Would the lady to whom he had been so false punish him now that she was again a mighty Queen?
The years passed by, and Hagen was beginning to forget his fears when heralds camefrom Etzel, the King of the Huns, bidding King Gunther and his knights come visit Queen Kriemhild in her distant home. The command of Etzel was obeyed.
But no sooner did Hagen stand before her throne than Kriemhild commanded him to give her back the hidden treasure. This the grim counsellor refused to do.
'Then shalt not thou nor any of thy company return to Burgundy,' cried Kriemhild.
And as the Queen said, so it was, for the warriors of King Etzel fought with the warriors of King Gunther, until after a grievous slaughter not one Burgundian was left alive. Thus after many years was King Siegfried's death avenged by Queen Kriemhild.