drink she bare to Sigurd, so that he had no more memory of
my very name."

"All wrong thou talkest; a lie without measure is this," quoth Gudrun.

Brynhild answered, "Have thou joy of Sigurd according to the measure of
the wiles wherewith ye have beguiled me! Unworthily have ye conspired
against me; may all things go with you as my heart hopes!"

Gudrun says, "More joy shall I have of him than thy wish would give unto
me: but to no man's mind it came, that he had aforetime his pleasure of
me; nay not once."

"Evil speech thou speakest," says Brynhild; "when thy wrath runs off
thou wilt rue it; but come now, let us no more cast angry words one at
the other!"

Says Gudrun, "Thou wert the first to cast such words at me, and now thou
makest as if thou wouldst amend it, but a cruel and hard heart abides
behind."

"Let us lay aside vain babble," says Brynhild. "Long did I hold my peace
concerning my sorrow of heart, and, lo now, thy brother alone do I love;
let us fall to other talk."

Gudrun said, "Far beyond all this doth thine heart look."

And so ugly ill befell from that going to the river, and that knowing of
the ring, wherefrom did all their talk arise.

CHAPTER XXIX. Of Brynhild's great Grief and Mourning.

After this talk Brynhild lay a-bed, and tidings were brought to King
Gunnar that Brynhild was sick; he goes to see her thereon, and asks what
ails her; but she answered him naught, but lay there as one dead: and
when he was hard on her for an answer, she said--

"What didst thou with that ring that I gave thee, even the one which
King Budli gave me at our last parting, when thou and King Giuki came to
him and threatened fire and the sword, unless ye had me to wife? Yea, at
that time he led me apart, and asked me which I had chosen of those who
were come; but I prayed him that I might abide to ward the land and be
chief over the third part of his men; then were there two choices for me
to deal betwixt, either that I should be wedded to him whom he would, or
lose all my weal and friendship at his hands; and he said withal that
his friendship would be better to me than his wrath: then I bethought me
whether I should yield to his will, or slay many a man; and therewithal
I deemed that it would avail little to strive with him, and so it fell
out, that I promised to wed whomsoever should ride the horse Grani with
Fafnir's Hoard, and ride through my flaming fire, and slay those men
whom I called on him to