Part 2
How well thou knowest And namest the race! Rogue, I see thou art clever. The foremost question Thou hast solved; The second answer me, dwarf. A crafty Niblung Shelters Siegfried, Hoping he will slay Fafner, That the dwarf may be lord of the hoard, The ring being his. Say, what sword, If Fafner to fall is, Must be by Siegfried swung?
MIME
[_Forgetting his present situation more and more, rubs his hands joyfully._
Nothung is The name of the sword; Into an ash-tree's stem Wotan struck it; One only might bear it: He who could draw it forth. The strongest heroes Tried it and failed; Only by Siegmund Was it done; Well he fought with the sword Till on Wotan's spear it was split. By a crafty smith Are the fragments kept, For he knows that alone With the Wotan sword A brave and foolish boy, Siegfried, can slay the foe.
[_Much pleased._
A second time My head have I saved?
[Illustration: Mime and the Wanderer. See p. 17]
WANDERER [_Laughing_.
The wisest of wise ones Thou must be, surely; Who else could so clever be! But wouldst thou by craft Employ the boy-hero As instrument of thy purpose, With one question more I threaten thee. Tell me, thou artful Armourer, Whose skill from the doughty splinters Nothung the sword shall fashion.
MIME [_Starts up in great terror._
The splinters! The sword! Alas! my head reels! What shall I do? What can I say? Accursèd sword! I was mad to steal it! A perilous pass It has brought me to. Always too hard To yield to my hammer! Rivet, solder-- Useless are both.
[_He throws his tools about as if he had gone crazy, and breaks out in utter despair._
The cleverest smith Living has failed; And, that being so, Who shall succeed? How rede aright such a riddle?
WANDERER [_Has risen quietly from the hearth._
Three things thou wert to ask me; Thrice was I to reply. Thy questions were Of far-off things, But what stood here at thy hand-- Needed much--that was forgot, Now that I guess it, Thou goest crazed, And won by me Is the cunning one's head. Now, Fafner's dauntless subduer, Hear, thou death-doomed dwarf. By him who knows not How to fear Nothung shall be forged.
[_Mime stares at him; he turns to go._
So ward thy head Well from to-day. I leave it forfeit to him Who has never learned to fear.
[_He turns away smiling, and disappears quickly in the wood. Mime has sunk on to the bench overwhelmed._
MIME
[_Stares before him into the sunlit wood, and begins to tremble more and more violently._
Accursèd light! The air is on fire! What flickers and flashes? What buzzes and whirs? What sways there and swings And circles about? What glitters and gleams In the sun's hot glow? What rustles and hums And rings so loud? With roll and roar It crashes this way! It bursts through the wood, Making for me!
[_He rises up in terror._
Its jaws are wide open, Eager for prey; The dragon will catch me! Fafner! Fafner!
[_He sinks shrieking behind the anvil._
SIEGFRIED
[_Behind the scenes, is heard breaking from the thicket._
Ho there! Thou idler! Is the work finished?
[_He enters the cave._
Quick, come show me the sword.
[_He pauses in surprise._
Where hides the smith? Has he made off? Hey, there! Mime, thou coward! Where art thou? Where hidest thou?
MIME
[_In a small voice, from behind the anvil._
'Tis thou then, child? Art thou alone?
SIEGFRIED [_Laughing._
Under the anvil? Why, what doest thou there? Wert thou grinding the sword?
MIME [_Comes forward, greatly upset and confused._
The sword? The sword? How could I weld it?
[_Half aside._
By him who knows not How to fear Nothung shall be forged. Too wise am I To attempt such work.
SIEGFRIED [_Violently._
Wilt thou speak plainly Or must I help thee?
MIME [_As before._
Where shall I turn in my need? My wily head Wagered and lost is,
[_Staring before him._
And forfeit to him it will fall Who has never learned to fear.
SIEGFRIED [_Vehemently._
Dost thou by shuffling Seek to escape?
MIME [_Gradually recovering himself._
Small need to fly Him who knows fear! But that lesson was one never taught thee. A fool, I forgot The one great thing; What thou wert taught Was to love me, And alas! the task proved hard. Now how shall I teach thee to fear?
SIEGFRIED [_Seizes him._
Hey! Must I help thee? What work hast thou done?
MIME
Concerned for thy good, In thought I was sitting: Something of weight I would teach thee.
SIEGFRIED [_Laughing._
'Twas under the seat That thou wert sitting; What weighty thing foundest thou there?
MIME
[_Recovering himself more and more._
Down there I learned how to fear, That I might teach thee, dullard.
SIEGFRIED [_With quiet wonder._
This fear then, what is it?
MIME
Thou knowest not that, Yet wouldst from the forest Forth to the world? What help in the trustiest sword, Hadst thou not learned to fear?
SIEGFRIED [_Impatiently._
What absurd Invention is this?
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._
When the limbs shiver, Shaken with terror,
[_With a quivering voice._
And the heart, filled with dismay, Hammers, bursting the breast-- Hast thou not yet felt that, A stranger art thou to fear.
SIEGFRIED [_Musing._
Wonderful truly That must be. Steadfast, strong Beats my heart in my breast. The shiver and shudder, The fever and horror, Burning and fainting, Beating and trembling-- Ah, how glad I would feel them,
[_Tenderly._
Could I but learn this delight! But how, Mime, Can it be mine? How, coward, could it be taught me?
MIME
Following me, The way thou shalt find; I have thought it all out. I know of a dragon grim That slays and swallows men: Fear thou wilt learn from Fafner, When I lead to where he lies.
SIEGFRIED
Where has he his lair?
MIME
Neidhöhl' Named, it lies east Towards the end of the wood.
SIEGFRIED
It lies not far from the world?
MIME
The world is quite close to the cave.
SIEGFRIED
That I may learn what this fear is, Lead me there straightway; Then forth to the world! Make haste! Forge me the sword. In the world fain I would swing it.
MIME
The sword? Woe's me!
SIEGFRIED
Quick to the smithy! Show me thy work!
MIME
Accursèd steel! Unequal my skill to the task; The potent magic Surpasses the poor dwarf's strength. 'Twere more easily done By one who never felt fear.
SIEGFRIED
Artful tricks The idler would play me; He is a bungler; He should confess, And not seek to lie his way out. Here with the splinters! Off with the bungler!
[_Coming to the hearth._
His father's sword Siegfried will weld: By him shall it be forged.
[_Flinging Mime's tools about, he sets himself impetuously to work._
MIME
If thou hadst practised Thy craft with care, Thou wouldst have profited now; But thou wert far Too lazy to learn, And now at need canst do nothing.
SIEGFRIED
Where the master has failed What hope for the scholar, Had he obeyed him in all?
[_He makes a contemptuous grimace at him._
Be off with thee! Meddle no more, In case with the steel I melt thee.
[_He has heaped a large quantity of charcoal on the hearth, and keeps blowing the fire, while he screws up the pieces of the sword in a vice and files them to shavings._
MIME
[_Who has sat down a little way off, watches Siegfried at work._
Why file it to bits? There is the solder All fused, ready to hand.
SIEGFRIED
Off with the pap, I need it not; With paste I fashion no sword!
MIME
Now the file is ruined, The rasp is useless; Why grind thus the steel to splinters?
SIEGFRIED
It must be shivered And ground into shreds; Only so can splinters be patched.
[_He goes on filing with great energy._
MIME [_Aside._
I see a craftsman Is useless here; By his own folly the fool is best served. Look how he toils With lusty strokes; The steel disappears, And still he keeps cool.
[_Siegfried has blown the fire to a bright flame._
Though I am as old As cave and wood, The like I never yet saw!
[_While Siegfried continues to file the piece of the sword impetuously, Mime seats himself a little further off._
He will forge the sword-- I see it plain-- Boldly weld it anew. The Wanderer was right. Where shall I hide My luckless head? If nothing teaches him fear, Forfeit it falls to the boy.
[_Springing up and bending down in growing agitation._
But woe to Mime! If Siegfried learn fear, The dragon will never be slain; And, if so, how gain the ring? Accurst dilemma! Would I escape, I must find out some way Of subduing the boy for myself.
SIEGFRIED
[_Has now filed down the pieces, and puts the filings in a crucible, which he places on the fire._
Hey, Mime! The name!-- Quick, name the sword That I have pounded to pieces.
MIME [_Starts and turns towards Siegfried._
Nothung, that is The name of the sword; 'Twas mother told me the tale.
SIEGFRIED
[_During the following song keeps blowing the fire with the bellows._
Nothung! Nothung! Conquering sword! What blow, I wonder, broke thee. Thy keen-edged glory I chopped to chaff; The splinters now I am melting. Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows blow! Brighten the flame! In the woods A tree grew wild; It fell, by my hand hewn down. The brown-stemmed ash To charcoal I burned; Now it lies heaped high on the hearth. Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows blow! Brighten the flame! How bravely, brightly The charcoal burns! How clear and fair its fire! With showering sparks It leaps and glows,-- Hohei! Hoho! Hohei!-- Dissolving the splintered steel! Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows, blow! Brighten the flame! Hoho! Hoho! Hoho, hohei! Hohei! Nothung! Nothung! Conquering sword! Thy steel chopped to chaff is fused; In thine own sweat Thou swimmest now,
[Illustration: The forging of Nothung--See p. 34]
[_He pours the glowing contents of the crucible into a mould, which he holds up._
But soon my sword thou shalt be!
MIME
[_During the pauses in Siegfried's song, still aside, sitting at a distance._
The sword he will forge And vanquish Fafner, So much I can clearly foresee; Hoard and ring The victor will have; How to win them both for myself! By wit and wiles They shall be captured, And safe shall be my head.
[_In the foreground, still aside._
After the fight, when athirst, For a cooling draught he will crave; Of fragrant juices Gathered from herbs The draught I will brew for him. Let him drink but a drop, And in slumber Softly lapped he shall lie: With the very sword That he fashioned to serve him He shall be cleared from my way, And treasure and ring made mine.
[_He rubs his hands with satisfaction._
Ha! dull didst hold me, Wanderer wise! Does my subtle scheming Please thee now? Have I found A path to peace?
[_He springs up joyfully, fetches several vessels, shakes spices and herbs from them into a pot, and tries to put it on the hearth._
SIEGFRIED
[_Has plunged the mould into a pail of water. Steam and loud hissing ensue as it cools._
In the water flowed A flood of fire; Furious with hate, Grimly it hissed; Though scorching it ran, In the cooling flood No more it flows; Stiff, stark it became, Hard is the stubborn steel; Yet warm blood Shall flow thereby! Now sweat once again, That swift I may weld thee, Nothung, conquering sword!
[_He thrusts the steel into the fire, and blows the bellows violently. While doing so he watches Mime, who, from the other side of the hearth, carefully puts his pot on the fire._
What does the booby Make in his pot? While I melt steel, What art thou brewing?
MIME
A smith is put to shame, And learns from the lad he taught; All the master's lore is useless now; He serves the boy as cook. Steel thou dost brew into broth; Old Mime boils thee Eggs for thy meal.
[_He goes on with his cooking._
SIEGFRIED
Mime, the craftsman, Learns to cook now, And cares no longer to forge; I have broken All the swords that he made me; What he cooks my lips shall not touch.
[_During the following he takes the mould from the fire, breaks it, and lays the glowing steel on the anvil._
To find out what fear is Forth he will guide me; A far-off teacher shall teach me; Even what he does best He cannot do well; In everything Mime must bungle!
[_During the forging._
Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Forge me, my hammer, A trusty sword. Hoho! Hahei! Hoho! Hahei! Blood-stained was once Thy steely blue, The crimson trickle Reddened thy blade. How cold was thy laugh! The warm blood cooled at thy touch! Heiaho! Haha! Haheiaha! Now red thou comest From the fire, And thy softened steel To the hammer yields. Angry sparks thou dost shower On me who humbled thy pride. Heiaho! Heiaho! Heiahohohohoho! Hahei! Hahei! Hahei! Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Forge me, my hammer, A trusty sword! Hoho! Hahei! Hoho! Hahei! How I rejoice In the merry sparks! The bold look best When by anger stirred! Gay thou laughest to me, Grimly though thou dost pretend! Heiaho, haha, haheiaha! Both heat and hammer Served me well; With sturdy strokes I stretched thee straight; Now banish thy modest blush, Be as cold and hard as thou canst. Heiho! Heiaho! Heiahohohohoho! Heiah!
[_He swings the blade, plunges it into the pail of water, and laughs aloud at the hissing._
MIME
[_While Siegfried is fixing the blade in the hilt, moves about in the foreground with the bottle into which he has poured the contents of the pot. Aside._
He forges a sharp-edged sword: Fafner, the foe Of the dwarf, is doomed; I brewed a deadly draught: Siegfried must perish When Fafner falls. By guile the goal must be reached; Soon shall smile my reward! For the shining ring My brother once made, And which with a potent Spell he endowed, The gleaming gold That gives boundless might-- That ring I have won now, I am its lord.
[_He trots briskly about with increasing satisfaction._
Alberich even, Whom I served, Shall be the slave Of Mime the dwarf. As Nibelheim's prince I shall descend there, And all the host Shall do my will; None so honoured as he, The dwarf once despised! To the hoard will come thronging Gods and men;
[_With increasing liveliness._
The world shall cower, Cowed by my nod, And at my frown Shall tremble and fall! No more shall Mime Labour and toil, When others win him Unending wealth. Mime, the valiant, Mime is monarch, Prince and ruler, Lord of the world! Hei, Mime! Great luck has been thine! Had any one dreamed of this!
SIEGFRIED
[_During the pauses in Mime's song has been filing and sharpening the sword and hammering it with the small hammer. He flattens the rivets of the hilt with the last strokes, and now grasps the sword._
Nothung! Nothung! Conquering sword! Once more art thou firm in thy hilt. Severed wert thou; I shaped thee anew, No second blow thy blade shall shatter. The strong steel was splintered, My father fell; The son who now lives Shaped it anew. Bright-gleaming to him it laughs, And for him its edge shall be keen.
[_Swinging the sword before him._
Nothung! Nothung! Conquering sword! Once more to life I have waked thee. Dead wert thou, In fragments hewn, Now shining defiant and fair. Woe to all robbers! Show them thy sheen! Strike at the traitor, Cut down the rogue! See, Mime, thou smith; Thus sunders Siegfried's sword!
[_He strikes the anvil and splits it in two from top to bottom, so that it falls asunder with a great noise. Mime, who has mounted a stool in great delight, falls in terror to a fitting position on the ground. Siegfried holds the sword exultantly on high. The curtain falls._
[Illustration]
[Illustration
THE SECOND ACT
_A deep forest_
_Quite in the background the entrance to a cave. The ground rises towards a flat knoll in the middle of the stage, and slopes down again towards the back, so that only the upper part of the entrance to the cave is visible to the audience. To the left a fissured cliff is seen through the trees. It is night, the darkness being deepest at the back, where at first the eye can distinguish nothing at all._
ALBERICH
[_Lying by the cliff, gloomily brooding._
In night-drear woods By Neidhöhl' I keep watch, With ear alert, Keen and anxious eye. Timid day, Tremblest thou forth? Pale art thou dawning Athwart the dark?
[_A storm arises in the wood on the right, and from the same quarter there shines down a bluish light._
What comes yonder, gleaming bright? Nearer shimmers A radiant form; It runs like a horse and it shines; Breaks through the wood, Rushing this way. Is it the dragon's slayer? Can it mean Fafner's death?
[_The wind subsides; the light vanishes._
The glow has gone, It has faded and died; All is darkness. Who comes there, shining in shadow?
WANDERER
[_Enters from the wood, and stops opposite Alberich._
To Neidhöhl' By night I have come; In the dark who is hiding there?
[_As from a sudden rent in the clouds moonlight streams forth and lights up the Wanderer's figure._
ALBERICH
[_Recognises the Wanderer and shrinks back at first in alarm, but immediately after breaks out in violent fury._
'Tis thou who comest thus? What wilt thou here? Go, get thee hence! Begone, thou insolent thief!
WANDERER [_Quietly._
Schwarz-Alberich Wanders here? Guardest thou Fafner's house?
ALBERICH
Art thou intent On mischief again? Linger not here! Off with thee straightway! Has grief enough Not deluged the earth through thy guile? Spare it further Sorrow, thou wretch!
WANDERER
I come as watcher, Not as worker. The Wanderer's way who bars?
ALBERICH
Thou arch, pestilent plotter! Were I still the blind, Silly fool that I was, When I was bound thy captive, How easy were it To steal the ring again from me! Beware! For thy cunning I know well,
[_Mockingly._
And of thy weakness I am fully aware too. Thy debts were cancelled, Paid with my treasure; My ring guerdoned The giants' toil, Who raised thy citadel high. Still on the mighty Haft of thy spear there The runes are written plain Of the compact made with the churls; And of that Which by labour they won Thou dost not dare to despoil them: Thy spear's strong shaft Thou thyself wouldst split; The staff that makes thee Master of all Would crumble to dust in thy hand.
WANDERER
By the steadfast runes of treaties Thou hast not, Base one, been bound; On thee my spear may spend its strength, So keen I keep it for war.
ALBERICH
How dire thy threats! How bold thy defiance! And yet full of fear is thy heart! Foredoomed to death Through my curse is he Who now guards the treasure. What heir will succeed him? Will the hoard all desire Belong as before to the Niblung?-- That gnaws thee with ceaseless torment. For once I have got it Safe in my grasp, Better than foolish giants Will I employ its spell. The God who guards heroes Truly may tremble! I will storm Proud Walhall with Hella's hosts, And rule, lord of the world!
WANDERER [_Quietly._
Thy design I know well, But little I care: Who wins the ring Will rule by its might.
ALBERICH
Thou speakest darkly, But to me all is plain. Thy heart is bold Because of a boy,
[_Mockingly._
A hero begot of thy blood. Hast thou not fostered a stripling To pluck the fruit thou durst not
[_With growing violence._
Pluck frankly for thyself?
WANDERER [_Lightly._
With me 'Tis useless to wrangle; But Mime thou shouldst beware; For thy brother brings here a boy To compass the giant's doom. He knows not of me; He works for Mime alone. And so I say to thee, Do as seems to thee best.
[_Alberich makes a movement expressive of violent curiosity._
Take my advice, Be on thy guard: The boy will hear of the ring When Mime tells him the tale.
ALBERICH [_Violently._
Wilt thou hold thy hand from the hoard?
WANDERER
Whom I love Must fight for himself unaided; The lord of his fate, He stands or falls: All my hope hangs upon heroes.
ALDERICH
Does none but Mime Dispute me the ring?
WANDERER
Only thou and Mime Covet the gold.
ALDERICH
And yet it is not to be mine?
WANDERER [_Quietly coming nearer._
A hero comes To set the hoard free; Two Nibelungs yearn for the gold. Fafner falls, He who guards the ring; Then a hand, seizing, shall hold it. More wouldst thou learn, There Fafner lies, Who, if warned of his death, Gladly would give up the toy. Come, I will wake him for thee.
[_He goes towards the cave, and, standing on the rising ground in front of it, calls towards it._
Fafner! Fafner! Wake, dragon! Wake!
ALBERICH [_With anxious amazement, aside._
Does the madman mean it? Am I to have it?
FAFNER'S VOICE
Who troubles my sleep?
WANDERER [_Facing the cave._
A well-wisher comes To warn thee of danger; Thy doom can be averted, If thou wilt pay the price With the treasure that thou guardest.
[_He leans his ear towards the cave, listening._
FAFNER'S VOICE
What would he?
ALBERICH
[_Has come to the Wanderer and calls into the cave._
Waken, Fafner! Dragon, awake! A doughty hero comes To try his strength against thine.
FAFNER'S VOICE
I want a meal.
WANDERER
Bold is the boy and strong; Sharp-edged is his sword.
ALBERICH
The ring he seeks, Nothing besides. Give me the ring, and so The strife shall be stayed. Still guarding the hoard, In peace shalt thou live long!
FAFNER [_Yawning._
I have and I hold:-- Let me slumber!
WANDERER
[_Laughs aloud and then turns again to Alberich._
Well, Alberich! That ruse failed, But call me rogue no more. This one thing thou shouldst Never forget: Each according to his kind must act; Nothing can change him. I leave thee the field now; Show a bold front, And try thy luck with thy brother; Thou knowest his kind perhaps better. And things unknown Thou also shalt learn!
[_He turns away, and disappears quickly in the wood. A storm arises and a bright light breaks forth; then both quickly cease._
ALBERICH
[_Looks after the Wanderer as he gallops off._
Away on his shining Horse he rides, And leaves me to care and scorn! Laugh on! Laugh on, Ye light-minded And high-spirited Race of immortals! One day ye shall perish And pass! Until the gold Has ceased to gleam, Will wise Alberich watch, And his hate shall prevail.
[_He slips into the chasm at the side. The stage remains empty. Dawn._