“Nay, that must not be,” answered Brunhilda. “Thou must live still, Sieglinda, for thou shalt have a son, who will one day be the greatest hero in the world. Heed now what I say. To the eastward there lies a mighty forest; there Wotan will not pursue thee, for he abhors the spot. It is the dwelling of Fafnir the dragon, his mortal foe. Thither haste thee. I will remain here to face the god’s wrath, and hinder him till thou hast escaped far on thy journey.”
“Fly, then, Sieglinda!” cried Brunhilda; “speed to the east! Faint not and fear not, whatever betide. Live for thy son, and call him by this name from me—Siegfried the Victor! Give him these shattered pieces of his father’s sword—from the field of death I took them. One day he shall weld them into a mighty weapon. Farewell, Sieglinda!” It was none too soon. Another minute, and with a crash the angry god descended in the midst of the dismayed Valkyries.
“Where is Brunhilda, the rebel?” he roared in tones of fury. “Let her come forth! Dare any to shelter her, they shall share the same doom.”
The Valkyrie sisters had closed round Brunhilda in the vain hope of hiding her; but at these words she came out from their midst, her face pale and set. “Here am I, my father, to suffer my sentence,” she said firmly.
Wotan was not prepared for such calm fearlessness. “I sentence thee not,” he answered. “’Tis thine own misdeed condemns thee!” Then, with gathering wrath, he continued, “I made thee a Valkyrie, highest in honor and favor. Thou hast forsworn thy noble calling, and played traitor to thy father. No longer mayest thou dwell in Valhalla as my child. Never more will I send thee for my dead heroes. Never again shalt thou fill my cup at the feast! Degraded and exiled art thou forever!”
Brunhilda stood as though turned to stone.
The Valkyries burst into loud lamentations. “Woe! woe! Alas, our unhappy sister!”
Then Brunhilda cried aloud in great agony of mind, “O father, disown me not! Take not from me all thy gifts! Leave me not to utter desolation!”
But Wotan was not to be appeased, and the worst part of the sentence was yet to come. “Thou thyself hast called down my curse, and here where we now stand it shall strike thee!” he answered. “A deep, dreamless sleep shall overpower thee, and to that man who first awakens thee shalt thou belong from henceforth!”
At this grim sentence all the Valkyries lifted their voices in a wail of horror and dismay, crying: “Oh, terrible father, recall the curse! Let not our sister be degraded to such a shameful fate. Each one of us shares in her disgrace.”