Curst luck! The ring!
MIME [Laughing maliciously.
Get him to give thee the ring now!
'Tis I, not thou, who shall win it.
ALBERICH
And yet to its lord
Must it at last be surrendered!
[He disappears in the cleft.
[During the foregoing Siegfried, with Tarnhelm and ring, has come slowly and meditatively from the cave; he regards his booty thoughtfully, and stops on the knoll in the middle of the stage.
SIEGFRIED
I do not know
Of what use
Ye are; I chose you
From out the heaped-up hoard
Because of friendly advice.
Meanwhile, of this day
Be ye worn as witness,
Recalling to mind
How with fallen Fafner I fought,
And yet could not learn how to fear.
[He hangs the Tarnhelm on his girdle and puts the ring on his finger. Silence. His notice is involuntarily drawn to the bird again, and he listens to him with breathless attention.