"Your magic helmet would give you his appearance," replied Hagen; "that is, if you would dare face the barrier of fire."
Siegfried's eyes flashed. "Dare? I dare anything, if only King Gunther and his fair sister give me their regard!"
The King sprang to his feet quickly.
"Spoken like a man and a brother!" he exclaimed. "Upon my soul, I love you! And if you will obtain Brunhilde for me, I shall undertake to win Gudrun for you."
"Done!" said Siegfried, grasping his hand. "I shall go with you when you wish."
Then the King ordered wine to be poured.
"Come, drink a pledge with me!" he said. "From this day we are brothers. And on the morrow we will set forth."
Together they drank the pledge and vowed vows of eternal friendship.
Meanwhile Brunhilde had grown very lonely. Although she had urged Siegfried to go out into the world and win greater fame, her heart still cried for him, and she wondered, as the days crept by, when he would return. She no longer thought of Walhalla, or the War Maidens. Her whole thought was of Siegfried the fearless.
One day as she sat and brooded, she heard the long-silent cry of the War Maidens, "Hoyo-to-ho!" and looked up in astonishment to see one of her sisters come flying on her steed through the clouds. The next instant the two maidens were sobbing upon each other's necks in the joy of reunion.