'Thee I will serve for ever,' cried the happy hero, 'thee will I serve for ever, and thy wishes shall ever be my will!'
Then for twelve glad days were Siegfried and Kriemhild ofttimes side by side. And when he tilted in the tournament, he felt that the bright eyes of his lady were shining upon him, and his skill was greater even than it had used to be.
At length the merry Maytide games were over. Gifts of gold and silks did King Gunther bestow on all his guests ere they set out for their own lands. Queen Uté also and the Princess wished them Godspeed as they filed slowly past the royal throne.
The festival was over, and it might be he would see the fair maiden Kriemhild no more, so thought the hero. Well, he would away, away to his own home in the Netherlands once more.
But Giselher, Kriemhild's youngest brother, heard that Siegfried was making ready to leave the royal city, and he begged him to stay.
'Tarry here a little longer,' he said, 'and each day, when toil or sport is over, thou shalt see my fair sister, Kriemhild.'
'Bid my steed be taken back to its stall,' then cried the happy knight, 'and hang my shield upon the wall.'
Thus in the gladsome summer days Siegfried and Kriemhild walked and talked together, and ever did the knight love the gentle maiden more.