.

So she remained (I say sooth) till the fourth year after her husband's
death, and had spoken no word to Gunther, nor once, in the whole of that
time, had looked on Hagen, her foe.

Then said Hagen of Trony, "Couldst thou contrive that thy sister took
thee to friend again? So would the Nibelung gold come into this land.
Thou mightest win much thereof for thyself, if the queen were appeased."

"We will try it," answered the king. "I will send my brothers thither,
that haply they may prevail upon her to do it gladly."

But Hagen said, "I doubt that will never be."

Gunther sent Ortwin and the Margrave Gary to the court. When that was
done, they brought Gernot, and Giselher the youth. And on friendly wise
they essayed it with Kriemhild.

Bold Gernot of Burgundy said, "Lady, thou mournest Siegfried's death too
long. The king will prove to thee that it was not he that slew him.
Evermore thou art heard wailing bitterly."

She said, "No one blameth the king. Hagen's hand slew him, and from me
he discovered where he should stab. How could I know he hated him? Good
care had I taken then not to betray his beautiful body, and had not
needed now to weep, wretched woman that I am. I will never be the friend
of them that did it."

Then began Giselher, the valiant man, to entreat her.

She said, "Ye give me no peace. I must greet him, but great is your
blame therein, for without fault of mine the king hath brought on me
bitter heart's dole. With my mouth I may pardon him, but with my heart,
never."

"After this it will be better," thought her friends. "What if he so
entreat her that she grow glad again?"

"He may yet make it good to her," said Gernot, the warrior.

And the sorrowful woman said, "See, I will do as ye desire; I will greet
the king."

When they told him that, the king went with his best friends to her. But
Hagen durst not come before her. Well he knew his guilt, and that he had
done her a wrong.

Since she had hid her hate to him, Gunther deemed it well to kiss her.
If he had not wrought her such woe, he might have gone often and boldly
into her presence.

Friends were never reconciled with so many tears, for her wrongs weighed
heavy on her heart. She forgave them all, save the one man, for none but
Hagen had slain him.

Soon after, they contrived that Kriemhild won the great hoard from the
land of the Nibelungs, and brought it to the Rhine. It was her
marriage-morning gift, and rig