t,
That my head in good hap I may hold;
But thou and thy son
Are naught fated to thrive,
The bane shall it be of you both.'

"Thereafter," says Regin, "Fafnir slew his father and murdered him, nor
got I aught of the treasure, and so evil he grew, that he fell to lying
abroad, and begrudged any share in the wealth to any man, and so became
the worst of all worms, and ever now lies brooding upon that treasure:
but for me, I went to the king and became his master-smith; and thus is
the tale told of how I lost the heritage of my father, and the weregild
for my brother."

So spake Regin; but since that time gold is called Ottergild, and for no
other cause than this.

But Sigurd answered, "Much hast thou lost, and exceeding evil have thy
kinsmen been! But now, make a sword by thy craft, such a sword as that
none can be made like unto it; so that I may do great deeds therewith,
if my heart avail thereto, and thou wouldst have me slay this mighty
dragon."

Regin says, "Trust me well herein; and with that same sword shalt thou
slay Fafnir."

ENDNOTES:
(1) Waterfall (Ice. "foss", "fors").
(2) Ran is the goddess of the sea, wife of Aegir. The otter was
held sacred by Norsefolk and figures in the myth and legend
of most races besides; to this day its killing is held a
great crime by the Parsees (Haug. "Religion of the Parsees",
page 212). Compare penalty above with that for killing the
Welsh king's cat ("Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales".
Ed., Aneurin Owen. Longman, London, 1841, 2 vols. 8vo).

CHAPTER XV. Of the Welding together of the Shards of the Sword Gram.

So Regin makes a sword, and gives it into Sigurd's hands. He took the
sword, and said--

"Behold thy smithying, Regin!" and therewith smote it into the anvil,
and the sword brake; so he cast down the brand, and bade him forge a
better.

Then Regin forged another sword, and brought it to Sigurd, who looked
thereon.

Then said Regin, "Belike thou art well content therewith, hard master
though thou be in smithying."

So Sigurd proved the sword, and brake it even as the first; then he said
to Regin--

"Ah, art thou, mayhappen, a traitor and a liar like to those former kin
of thine?"

Therewith he went to his mother, and she welcomed him in seemly wise,
and they talked and drank together.

Then spake Sigurd, "Have I heard aright, that King Sigmund gave thee the
good swo