Stories of the Nibelungen for Young People Part 3

Then they arrayed themselves in costly garments and set sail, and after a twelve-day voyage, they reached the coast of Ireland. When Siegfried beheld the green palaces of marble, he felt a vague uneasiness, for it all had a strangely familiar look. Where had he seen this place before?

He remembered it dimly, as in a dream.

When he entered Brunhilda's palace, she advanced to meet him, with both hands outstretched, crying:

"Siegfried, is it indeed you, and have you come to tilt with me?"

He looked at her with the eyes of a stranger, and replied:

"I come to represent Gunther, King of Burgundy. He wishes to sue for your heart and hand. He is my lord; I am his va.s.sal, and have come to do his bidding."

Brunhilda was sorely grieved and perplexed; she could not in the least understand Siegfried's behavior. Surely it was he who had aroused her from her magic sleep, and surely it was he who had placed the beautiful ring upon her hand, vowing that he would return and claim her for his bride. But as he continued to look at her as though he had never seen her before, she felt that she must give him a reply.

And as she had no reasonable excuse for refusing his request, she said that Gunther might enter the lists with her. She felt sure that he, too, would be overthrown. Siegfried thanked her gravely for her kindness, and made haste to carry her reply back to Gunther.

He then disclosed his plan to aid Gunther in the undertaking. Gunther was to appear clad in armor and mounted upon Siegfried's horse, the one which had belonged to Mimi; then he, Siegfried, would put on his tarnhelm and become invisible; Gunther was to ride boldly into the field, and go through all the necessary motions, while Siegfried, unseen by the others, would do all the actual fighting. Gunther said he considered the plan a capital one, and declared that Siegfried was as clever as he was brave.

VIII

HOW GUNTHER WON HIS BRIDE

THE day of the tournament dawned bright and fair. The field was crowded with lovely women and brave knights. Twelve men now appeared, bearing an immense round stone, which was so large that it took all their united strength to handle it. They set it down in that part of the field where the contest was to take place.

At length all was ready. From the castle issued forth the warrior-king and the warrior-maiden. They were clad in glistening armor, and mounted on prancing chargers. The signal was given, and then began a test of strength such as had never before been witnessed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BRUNHILDA WAS THROWN TO THE GROUND]

Brunhilda seized her javelin, and hurled it with such force that when Siegfried caught it upon Gunther's shield the shield was shattered into pieces. Then Siegfried, still invisible, grasped Gunther's javelin, and hurled it with such force at Brunhilda that she was thrown to the ground. She was overcome with surprise and anger; never before had such a thing befallen her.

Quickly recovering herself, she sprang to her feet, and grasping the huge stone which twelve men had found hard to carry, she whirled it deftly thrice around her head, and then threw it far into the distance.

Then, while the people sat spell-bound, she leaped after it, and sprang lightly over the stone.

"Now," thought she to herself, "surely no one can do more than that."

But she had reckoned without Siegfried. Hastily seizing the stone, he hurled it much farther than Brunhilda had thrown it, and not to be outdone by her, he grasped Gunther firmly under the arms, and sprang with him over the stone, landing much farther beyond it than she had.

Then a mighty shout from thousands of throats rent the air, and while the people were crowding around, hailing Gunther as victor, Siegfried tore off his tarnhelm, and took his place among the crowd.

And now what could Brunhilda do? She had publicly proclaimed that she would marry any man whose strength was greater than her own, so sure had she felt of her power. She would not break her word, and so with a sorrowful heart she made ready to travel back to Worms with Gunther.

At Worms Kriemhild joyfully accepted Siegfried's hand, and there was a grand double wedding, at which all Burgundy was present. The festivities lasted fourteen days.

One evening, while Gunther and his bride were sitting together, Gunther noticed tears on Brunhilda's lashes, and asked what was troubling her.

She replied that she was grieving that his sister had married his va.s.sal. This was not the truth. She was feeling sad and lonely because the man she loved so well had taken Kriemhild for his bride.

Gunther told her not to worry, as he could explain all that to her, and promised to do so at some future time. He said that Siegfried was greater than she knew.

After the wedding, Siegfried and Kriemhild journeyed to Santum, to visit Siegmund and Siegelinda, whom he had left in his youth. They were overjoyed to see him, and listened with breathless interest to all he had to tell. They knew all about the dragon, and the Rhine gold, and the magic cap which he had won, for the fame of his wondrous deeds had traveled far and wide. And now, strange to tell, Siegfried had recovered the memory of almost all his past; only Brunhilda and the magic ring remained forgotten.

After the young couple had been at Santum for some time, Siegmund withdrew from his throne, and made Siegfried and Kriemhild the rulers of the kingdom. The people of Niederland hailed the hero with delight, although they grieved to give up their old king and queen, who had won the hearts of all their subjects by their wisdom and kindness.

IX

KRIEMHILD AND BRUNHILDA'S QUARREL

YEARS pa.s.sed by, and Brunhilda had come to love her husband very dearly.

They had one child, a little boy whom they had named Siegfried.

Kriemhild, meanwhile, had been living very happily with her husband in Niederland. They had had two great sorrows, the death of the old king and that of the queen, and all the people of Niederland still mourned the loss of these two.

Then there arrived one day in Niederland a messenger from the King and Queen of Burgundy, inviting Siegfried and Kriemhild to attend a great feast which was to be held in Worms. They accepted with pleasure.

Kriemhild was anxious to see her mother and brothers again, for she loved them dearly. So they started for Burgundy.

For some days after they arrived in Worms everything went happily. But then the tournaments began, and Siegfried won every honor as he had done in days gone by, for he had lost none of his wonderful strength.

Both the queens were present at the contests, and as he overthrew one knight after another, Kriemhild looked at him lovingly, and said that he was the best and greatest king the world had ever seen, and that no king could stand against him; all paid him tribute.

Brunhilda replied: "All except Gunther; next to him Siegfried is the most powerful king on earth; but strong as your husband is, he could never hold his own against Gunther."

Kriemhild controlled her temper, and made no reply, but that evening when they attended vespers, Kriemhild attempted to enter the cathedral first. Brunhilda interfered, saying:

"The wife of a va.s.sal should never precede the wife of his lord!"

"And who says that King Siegfried is Gunther's va.s.sal?" demanded Kriemhild.

"I have his own word for it," Brunhilda replied. "When they first appeared in Ireland, Siegfried approached me, saying: 'I come to represent the King of Burgundy; I am his va.s.sal, he is my lord.'"

Then Kriemhild lost all patience, for well she knew by what trick Gunther had won his bride. She cried:

"And do you think that Gunther overthrew you in the tilt? Gunther only pretended to fight. It was Siegfried, made invisible by his tarnhelm, who did the real fighting; it was Siegfried who hurled the javelin which unhorsed you; it was Siegfried who threw the heavy stone, and he it was, invisible to you, but holding Gunther in his arms, who sprang over the stone, and vanquished you," she declared.

Looking at Kriemhild's heaving breast and blazing eye, Brunhilda knew she spoke the truth. And at the same time, there flashed across her mind something that Gunther had once said to her about Siegfried being greater than she knew.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "IT WAS SIEGFRIED WHO DID THE REAL FIGHTING"]

And now she fell into a royal rage, and her indignation knew no bounds.

There was but one way of atonement; Siegfried must die for the deceit practiced on her. So she went to Hagen, Gunther's uncle, who had promised always to defend her rights, and demanded Siegfried's life.

When Hagen first spoke to Gunther of the matter, Gunther would not hear of the plan to do away with Siegfried, and vowed that no harm should befall the man with whom he had sworn blood brothership ere they set out for Ireland. But Brunhilda was firm in her resolve; nothing less than his death would satisfy her honor, nor wipe out the stain of his deceit.

And finally Gunther gave an unwilling consent. However, they could not fall upon Siegfried, and kill him in cold blood, so Hagen made a clever plan: they would receive a false summons to war. Accordingly, a few days later, a messenger rode posthaste into Worms, bearing the false tidings that the enemy was approaching.

Then everything was in great confusion, and Gunther a.s.sembled his hosts, and set out to meet the enemy. Siegfried accompanied him, to render what a.s.sistance he could, for he loved his kinsman as a brother. Just before the army started on the march, Kriemhild went to Hagen, and begged him to watch over her husband, and see to it that no one attacked him from behind, for she explained that Siegfried could not be wounded anywhere except in the spot on his back where the linden-leaf had fallen.