The rock's sharp edge
Is cutting the rope;
The threads loosen
Their hold and grow slack;
They droop tangled and frayed.
From woe and wrath
Rises the Nibelung's ring;
A curse of revenge
Ruthlessly gnaws at the strands:—
Canst thou the end foretell?
THE THIRD NORN
[Hastily catching the rope which is thrown to her.
The rope is too short,
Too loose it hangs;
It must be stretched,
Pulled straighter, before
Its end can reach to the north!
[She pulls hard at the rope, which breaks.
It breaks!
THE SECOND NORN
It breaks!
THE FIRST NORN
It breaks!