The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin
To Heimdal, then, the heralds hastened, bearing the words which Odinhad spoken. And the watchful warder of the mid-world came at once to thecall of the All-Father.
"Turn your eyes to the sombre mountains that guard the shadowy Mist-landfrom the sea," said Odin, "Now look far down into the rocky gorge inwhich the Fanander Cataract pours, and tell me what you see."
Heimdal did as he was bidden.
"I see a shape," said he, "sitting by the torrent's side. It is Loki'sshape, and he seems strangely busy with strong strings and cords."
"Call all our folk together!" commanded Odin. "The wily Mischief-makerplots our hurt. He must be driven from his hiding-place, and put wherehe can do no further harm."
Great stir was there then in Asgard. Every one hastened to answer Odin'scall, and to join in the quest for the Mischief-maker. Thor came onfoot, with his hammer tightly grasped in his hands, and lightningflashing from beneath his red brows. Tyr, the one-handed, came withhis sword. Then followed Bragi the Wise, with his harp and his sagecounsels; then Hermod the Nimble, with his quick wit and ready hands;and, lastly, a great company of elves and wood-sprites and trolls.Then a whirlwind caught them up in its swirling arms, and carriedthem through the air, over the hill-tops and the country-side, andthe meadows and the mountains, and set them down in the gorge of theFanander Force.
But Loki was not caught napping. His wakeful ears had heard the tumultin the air, and he guessed who it was that was coming. He threw the net,which he had just finished, into the fire, and jumped quickly into theswift torrent, where, changing himself into a salmon, he lay hiddenbeneath the foaming waters.
When the eager Asa-folk reached Loki's dwelling, they found that he whomthey sought had fled; and although they searched high and low, among therocks and the caves and the snowy crags, they could see no signs of thecunning fugitive. Then they went back to his house again to consult whatnext to do. And, while standing by the hearth, Kwaser, a sharp-sightedelf, whose eyes were quicker than the sunbeam, saw the white ashes ofthe burned net lying undisturbed in the still hot embers, the wovenmeshes unbroken and whole.
"See what the cunning fellow has been making!" cried the elf. "It musthave been a trap for catching fish."
"Or rather for catching men," said Bragi; "for it is strangely like theSea-queen's net."
"In that case," said Hermod the Nimble, "he has made a trap for himself;for, no doubt, he has changed himself, as is his wont, to a slipperysalmon, and lies at this moment hidden beneath the Fanander torrent.Here are plenty of cords of flax and hemp and wool, with which heintended to make other nets. Let us take them, and weave one like thepattern which lies there in the embers; and then, if I mistake not, weshall catch the too cunning fellow."
All saw the wisdom of these words, and all set quickly to work. Ina short time they had made a net strong and large, and full of finemeshes, like the model among the coals. Then they threw it into theroaring stream, Thor holding to one end, and all the other folk pullingat the other. With great toil, they dragged it forwards, against thecurrent, even to the foot of the waterfall. But the cunning Loki creptclose down between two sharp stones, and lay there quietly while the netpassed harmlessly over him.
"Let us try again!" cried Thor. "I am sure that something besides deadrocks lies at the bottom of the stream."
So they hung heavy weights to the net, and began to drag it asecond time, this time going down stream. Loki looked out from hishiding-place, and saw that he would not be able to escape again by lyingbetween the rocks, and that his only chance for safety was either toleap over the net, and hide himself behind the rushing cataract itself,or to swim with the current out to the sea. But the way to the sea waslong, and there were many shallow places; and Loki had doubts as tohow old AEgir would receive him in his kingdom. He feared greatly toundertake so dangerous and uncertain a course. So, turning upon hisfoes, and calling up all his strength, he made a tremendous leap highinto the air, and clean over the net. But Thor was too quick for him. Ashe fell towards the water, the Thunderer quickly threw out his hand, andcaught the slippery salmon, holding him firmly by the tail.
When Loki found that he was surely caught, and could not by any meansescape, he took again his proper shape. Fiercely did he struggle withmighty Thor, and bitter were the curses which he poured down upon hisenemies. But he could not get free. Into the deep, dark cavern, beneaththe smoking mountain, where daylight never comes, nor the warmth ofthe sun, nor the sound of Nature's music, the fallen Mischief-maker wascarried. And they bound him firmly to the sharp rocks, with his faceturned upwards toward the dripping roof; for they said that nevermore,until the last dread twilight, should he be free to vex the world withhis wickedness. And Skade, the giant wife of Niord and the daughter ofgrim Old Winter, took a hideous poison snake, and hung it up above Loki,so that its venom would drop into his upturned face. But Sigyn, theloving wife of the suffering wretch, left her home in the pleasant hallsof Asgard, and came to his horrible prison-house to soothe and comforthim; and evermore she holds a basin above his head, and catches in itthe poisonous drops as they fall. When the basin is filled, and sheturns to empty it in the tar-black river that flows through that homeof horrors, the terrible venom falls upon his unprotected face, and Lokiwrithes and shrieks in fearful agony, until the earth around himshakes and trembles, and the mountains spit forth fire, and fumes ofsulphur-smoke.
And there the Mischief-maker, the spirit of evil, shall lie in tormentuntil the last great day and the dread twilight of all mid-world things.How strange and how sad, that, while Loki lies thus bound and harmless,evil still walks the earth, and that so much mischief and such diredisasters were prepared for Siegfried and the folk of Nibelungen Land!
Adventure XVIII. How the Mischief Began to Brew.
One day a party of strangers came to Siegfried's Nibelungen dwelling,and asked to speak with the king.
"Who are you? and what is your errand?" asked the porter at the gate.
"Our errand is to the king, and he will know who we are when he seesus," was the answer.
When Siegfried was told of the strange men who waited below, and ofthe strange way in which they had answered the porter's question, heasked,--
"From what country seem they to have come? For surely their dress andmanners will betray something of that matter to you. Are they South-landfolk, or East-land folk? Are they from the mountains, or from the sea?"
"They belong to none of the neighbor-lands," answered the earl who hadbrought the word to the king. "No such men live upon our borders. Theyseem to have come from a far-off land; for they are travel-worn, andtheir sea-stained clothing betokens a people from the south. They aretall and dark, and their hair is black, and they look much like thoseRhineland warriors who came hither with our lady the queen. And theycarry a blood-red banner with a golden dragon painted upon it."
"Oh, they must be from Burgundy!" cried the queen, who had overheardthese words. And she went at once to the window to see the strangers,who were waiting in the courtyard below.
There, indeed, she saw thirty tall Burgundians, clad in the gay costumeof Rhineland, now faded and worn with long travel. But all save one wereyoung, and strangers to Kriemhild. That one was their leader,--an oldman with a kind face, and a right noble bearing.
"See!" said the queen to Siegfried: "there is our brave captain Gere,who, ever since my childhood, has been the trustiest man in my brotherGunther's household. Those men are from the fatherland, and they bringtidings from the dear old Burgundian home."
"Welcome are they to our Nibelungen Land!" cried the delighted king.
And he ordered that the strangers should be brought into the castle,and that the most sumptuous rooms should be allotted to them, and aplenteous meal prepared, and every thing done to entertain them in astyle befitting messengers from Kriemhild's fatherland. Then Gere, thetrusty captain, was led into the presence of the king and queen. Rightgladly did they welcome him, and many were the questions they askedabout their kin-folk, and the old Rh
"Tell us, good Gere," said Siegfried, "what is thy message from ourfriends; for we are anxious to know whether they are well and happy, orwhether some ill luck has overtaken them. If any harm threatens them,they have but to speak, and I, with my sword and my treasures, willhasten to their help."
"They are all well," answered the captain. "No ill has befallen them,and no harm threatens them. Peace rules all the land; and fair weatherand sunshine have filled the people's barns, and made their hearts glad.And thus it has been ever since Gunther brought to his dwelling thewarrior-maiden Brunhild to be his queen. And this is my errand and themessage that I bring: King Gunther, blessed with happiness, intendsto hold a grand high-tide of joy and thanksgiving at the time of theharvest-moon. And nothing is wanting to complete the gladness of thattime, but the sight of you and the peerless Kriemhild in your old placesat the feast. And it is to invite you to this festival of rejoicing thatI have come, at the king's command, to Nibelungen Land."
Siegfried sat a moment in silence, and then thoughtfully answered,--
"It is a long, long journey from this land to Burgundy, and many dangersbeset the road; and my own people would sadly miss me while away, and Iknow not what mishaps might befall."
Then Gere spoke of the queen-mother Ute, now grown old and feeble,who wished once more, ere death called her hence, to see her daughterKriemhild. And he told how all the people, both high and low, yearnedfor another sight of the radiant hero who in former days had blessedtheir land with his presence and his noble deeds. And his persuasivewords had much weight with Siegfried, who said at length,--
"Tarry a few days yet for my answer. I will talk with my friends and theNibelungen earls; and what they think best, that will I do."
For nine days, then, waited Gere at Siegfried's hall; but still the kingput off his answer.
"Wait until to-morrow," he said each day, for his heart whispered dimforebodings.
At length, as midsummer was fast drawing near, the impatient captaincould stay no longer; and he bade his followers make ready to go backforthwith to Burgundy. When the queen saw that they were ready totake their leave, and that Gere could wait no longer upon the king'spleasure, she urged her husband to say to Gunther that they would cometo his harvest festival. And the lords and noble earl-folk added theirpersuasions to hers.
"Send word back to the Burgundian king," said they, "that you will go,as he desires. We will see to it that no harm comes to your kingdomwhile you are away."
So Siegfried called Gere and his comrades into the ball, and loaded themwith costly gifts such as they had never before seen, and bade them sayto their master that he gladly accepted the kind invitation he had sent,and that, ere the harvest high-tide began, he and Kriemhild would bewith him in Burgundy.
And the messengers went back with all speed, and told what wondrousthings they had seen in Nibelungen Land, and in what great splendorSiegfried lived. And, when they showed the rare presents which had beengiven them, all joined in praising the goodness and greatness of thehero-king. But old chief Hagen frowned darkly as he said,--
"It is little wonder that he can do such things, for the Shining Hoardof Andvari is his. If we had such a treasure, we, too, might live inmore than kingly grandeur."
Early in the month of roses, Siegfried and his peerless queen, with aretinue of more than a thousand warriors and many fair ladies, startedon their long and toilsome journey to the South-land. And the folk whowent with them to the city gates bade them mane tearful farewells, andreturned to their homes, feeling that the sunshine had gone forever fromthe Nibelungen Land. But the sky was blue and cloudless, and the breezeswarm and mild, and glad was the song of the reapers as adown the seawardhighway the kingly company rode. Two days they rode through Mist Land,to the shore of the peaceful sea. Ten days they sailed on the waters.And the winds were soft and gentle; and the waves slept in the sunlight,or merrily danced in their wake. But each day, far behind them, therefollowed a storm-cloud, dark as night, and the pleasant shores of MistLand were hidden forever behind it. Five days they rode through theLowlands, and glad were the Lowland folk with sight of their hero-king.Two days through the silent greenwood, and one o'er the barren moor, andthree amid vineyards and fields, and between orchards fruitful and fair,they rode. And on the four and twentieth day they came in sight of thequiet town, and the tall gray towers, where dwelt the Burgundian kings.And a great company on horseback, with flashing shields and fine-wroughtgarments and nodding plumes, came out to meet them. It was King Gernotand a thousand of the best men and fairest women in Burgundy; and theywelcomed Siegfried and Kriemhild and their Nibelungen-folk to the fairland of the Rhine. And then they turned, and rode back with them to thecastle. And, as the company passed through the pleasant streets of thetown, the people stood by the wayside, anxious to catch sight of theradiant Siegfried on his sunbright steed, and of the peerless Kriemhild,riding on a palfrey by his side. And young girls strewed roses in theirpathway, and hung garlands upon their horses; and every one shouted,"Hail to the conquering hero! Hail to the matchless queen!"
When they reached the castle, King Gunther and Giselher met them, andushered them into the old familiar halls, where a right hearty welcomegreeted them from all the kingly household. And none seemed more gladin this happy hour than Brunhild the warrior-queen, now more gloriouslybeautiful than even in the days of yore.
When the harvest-moon began to shine full and bright, lighting up thewhole world from evening till morn with its soft radiance, the gayfestival so long looked forward to began. And care and anxiety, and thefatigues of the long journey, were forgotten amid the endless round ofpleasure which for twelve days enlivened the whole of Burgundy. And thechiefest honors were everywhere paid to Siegfried the hero-king, and toKriemhild the peerless queen of beauty.
Then Queen Brunhild called to mind, how, on a time, it had been toldher in Isenland that Siegfried was but the liegeman and vassal of KingGunther; and she wondered why such honor should be paid to an underling,and why the king himself should treat him with so much respect. And asshe thought of this, and of the high praises with which every one spokeof Kriemhild, her mind became filled with jealous broodings. And soonher bitter jealousy was turned to deadly hate; for she remembered then,how, in the days long past, a noble youth, more beautiful and moreglorious than the world would ever see again, had awakened her from thedeep sleep that Odin's thorn had given; and she remembered how Guntherhad won her by deeds of strength and skill which he never afterwardscould even imitate; and she thought how grand indeed was Kriemhild'shusband compared with her own weak and wavering and commonplace lord.And her soul was filled with sorrow and bitterness and deepest misery,when, putting these thoughts together, she believed that she had in someway been duped and cheated into becoming Gunther's wife.
When at last the gay feast was ended, and most of the guests had goneto their homes, she sought her husband, and thus broached the matter tohim.
"Often have I asked you," said she, "why your sister Kriemhild was givenin marriage to a vassal, and as often have you put me off with vagueexcuses. Often, too, have I wondered why your vassal, Siegfried, hasnever paid you tribute for the lands which he holds from you, and why hehas never come to render you homage. Now he is here in your castle; buthe sets himself up, not as your vassal, but as your peer. I pray you,tell me what such strange things mean. Was an underling and a vassalever known before to put himself upon a level with his liege lord?"
Gunther was greatly troubled, and he knew not what to say; for he fearedto tell the queen how they had deceived her when he had won the games atIsenstein, and how the truth had ever since been kept hidden from her.
"Ask me not to explain this matter further than I have already done,"he answered. "It is enough that Siegfried is the greatest of all myvassals, and that his lands are broader even than my own. He has helpedme out of many straits, and has added much to the greatness and strengthof my kingdom: for this reason he has never been asked to pay ustribute, and for th
But this answer failed to satisfy the queen.
"Is it not the first duty of a vassal," she asked, "to help his liegelord in every undertaking? If so, Siegfried has but done his duty, andyou owe him nothing. But you have not told me all. You have deceived me,and you would fain deceive me again. You have a secret, and I will findit out."
The king made no answer, but walked silently and thoughtfully away.
It happened one evening, not long thereafter, that the two queens sattogether at an upper window, and looked down upon a company of men inthe courtyard below. Among them were the noblest earl-folk of Burgundy,and Gunther the king, and Siegfried. But Siegfried towered above all therest; and he moved like a god among men.
"See my noble Siegfried!" cried Kriemhild in her pride. "How grandly hestands there! What a type of manly beauty and strength! No one cares tolook at other men when he is near."
"He maybe handsome," answered Brunhild sadly; "and, for aught I know, hemay be noble. But what is all that by the side of kingly power? Were hebut the peer of your brother Gunther, then you might well boast."