MIME
[Approaching Siegfried with more and more confidence.
'Tis thy mother's wish
Speaking through me.
I must fulfil
The promise I gave her:
That the world and its wiles
Thou shouldst not encounter
Until thou hadst learned how to fear.
SIEGFRIED [Vehemently
Is it an art?
Why was I not taught?
Explain: this fearing, what is it?
MIME
In the dark wood
Hast thou not felt,
When shades of dusk
Fall dim and drear,
When mournful whispers
Sigh afar,
And fierce growling
Sounds at hand,
When strange flashes
Dart and flicker,
And the buzzing
And clamour grow—
[Trembling.
Hast thou not felt grim horror
Hold every sense in its clutches?—
[Quaking.