"I give thee mine oath!" said he.
Then having the oath of Wotan which he might not break, Fricka turned at once from him, for she had accomplished her purpose, and went where she had left her chariot drawn by rams. Near by was Brunnhilde standing with her horse, and as she passed her—
"Thy father waits for thee," she said. "Go thee and learn from him that which he has chosen." Then mounting her chariot, she lashed the rams with her golden whip, and they sped down the mountain-side.
[CHAPTER VI]
SIEGMUND'S LOT IS CAST
But Brunnhilde had heard Fricka laugh as she mounted her chariot, the which boded no good thing to her father Wotan; and as she approached him she saw that he leaned his head on his hand in great heaviness, and was as one utterly cast down.
"Father, father, what is it?" she said. "What sorrow holds thee? Never have I seen thee so."
Then Wotan's arm dropped, and his head sank on his bosom. "I am bound by the fetters I have forged," said he. "All are free but I, the lord of all. O shame, O bitter ill-hap, and worm that dies not. There is no sorrow so heavy as mine!"