"Siegfried, is it indeed you, and have you come to tilt with me?"
He looked at her with the eyes of a stranger, and replied:
"I come to represent Gunther, King of Burgundy. He wishes to sue for your heart and hand. He is my lord; I am his vassal, and have come to do his bidding."
Brunhilda was sorely grieved and perplexed; she could not in the least understand Siegfried's behavior. Surely it was he who had aroused her from her magic sleep, and surely it was he who had placed the beautiful ring upon her hand, vowing that he would return and claim her for his bride. But as he continued to look at her as though he had never seen her before, she felt that she must give him a reply.
And as she had no reasonable excuse for refusing his request, she said that Gunther might enter the lists with her. She felt sure that he, too, would be overthrown. Siegfried thanked her gravely for her kindness, and made haste to carry her reply back to Gunther.
He then disclosed his plan to aid Gunther in the undertaking. Gunther was to appear clad in armor and mounted upon Siegfried's horse, the one which had belonged to Mimi; then he, Siegfried, would put on his tarnhelm and become invisible; Gunther was to ride boldly into the field, and go through all the necessary motions, while Siegfried, unseen by the others, would do all the actual fighting. Gunther said he considered the plan a capital one, and declared that Siegfried was as clever as he was brave.
VIII
HOW GUNTHER WON HIS BRIDE