The good horse bore him straight to Glistenheath—to the cave where Fafnir had hidden the ill-fated hoard. Here he found gold and gems in such heaps that his eyes were dazzled, and he turned away fearing to burden himself with the treasure and the curse which rested upon it. But from the pile he took Andvari’s ring, which he placed upon his finger, and a gold helmet. He also chose from the treasures of the hoard a magic cape and a shield. Then he remounted Greyfel, after placing upon him as many sacks of gold as the horse could well carry.
The Valkyrie[48]
[48] From this chapter on, the incidents follow the story in the Nibelungenlied. [Back]
FOR many days Siegfried travelled on, saddened and discouraged, and having no heart for further adventures, since his first one had ended so sadly. He felt that he cared but little what became of him, and, letting the reins lie loose on Greyfel’s neck, he allowed the horse to carry him wherever it would. At night he rested under the shade of the forest trees, and by day he wandered aimlessly over the country, too disheartened even to wish to return to King Alf’s court again. But although he did not care to guide Greyfel, the horse was being led by a hand far wiser than his own, for Odin had other tasks in store for Siegfried, and it was he who now directed the young hero’s path.
One day at nightfall they came to the foot of a mountain[49] and Greyfel stopped, as if waiting for his master to dismount. Siegfried, not wishing to rest here, urged his horse forward; but, for the first time, Greyfel refused to obey. His master, wondering at this stubbornness, but too tired and indifferent to force him further, dismounted and prepared to remain where he was for the night. Something about the place, its loneliness and silence, recalled the other mountain side where his first deed of glory and his first great sorrow had come to him. He could not sleep, so he wandered about among the trees, now and then stopping to listen as some sound broke the stillness of the night.
[49] The mountain was called Hindfell. [Back]
Once when he was looking toward the mountain top, he fancied he caught the glimmer of a light somewhere among the trees; and as he watched it longer, he saw what appeared to be tongues of flame leaping up and then disappearing. Alert now, and eager to get nearer this strange sight, he mounted Greyfel and directed him toward the fire. The horse obeyed readily, seeming to know the way; and when Siegfried drew nearer, he found that this was no common fire, but a circle of flames enclosing a large rock. There was no path up the mountain, and Siegfried felt uncertain whether to proceed. The horse, however, did not hesitate, but began the ascent boldly, picking his way among the trees and over the fallen trunks; sometimes stumbling and sometimes bruising his legs, but never once faltering or showing a desire to turn back.
Suddenly Siegfried felt upon his face a scorching wind followed by thick smoke that blinded his eyes. A quick turn of Greyfel’s had brought them almost upon a wall of leaping flames, which rose so high that Siegfried could see nothing beyond them. The intense heat burned his face, and he dared not open his eyes to look about him. Greyfel snorted and pawed the ground, then suddenly made a movement forward as if to plunge into the flames. For an instant Siegfried thought of the prophecy made by his father Siegmund that he should be the greatest of the Volsungs, and he hesitated to risk his life thus lightly. Then he felt ashamed of the momentary cowardice, and with but one quick throb of fear at the peril he was rushing into, he bent forward and spurred Greyfel into the fire.
It was all over in an instant. He felt the scorching flames lick his face, and then he heard the horse’s feet strike upon solid rock. When he opened his eyes to look about him, he realized that he had ridden through the fire all unharmed, and he was full of wonder at his safety. Greyfel, too, was unhurt; not a single hair upon his mane was singed; and Siegfried offered a silent prayer to Odin, who had guided them through such peril.