a blue hood bespangled with golden stars, and that a gray kirtle was
thrown over his shoulders, and that his one eye glistened and sparkled
with a light that was more than human. And he knew that he had again
talked with Odin. Then, with a braver heart than before, he went
forwards, along the river-bank, until he came to Fafnir's trail,--a
deep, wide furrow in the earth, beginning at the river's bank, and
winding far away over the heath, until it was lost to sight in the
darkness. The bottom of the trail was soft and slimy, and its sides had
been worn smooth by Fafnir's frequent travel through it.

In this road, at a point not far from the river, Siegfried, with his
trusty sword Balmung, scooped out a deep and narrow pit, as Odin had
directed. And when the gray dawn began to appear in the east he hid
himself within this trench, and waited for the coming of the monster. He
had not long to wait; for no sooner had the sky begun to redden in the
light of the coming sun than the dragon was heard bestirring himself.
Siegfried peeped warily from his hiding-place, and saw him coming far
down the road, hurrying with all speed, that he might quench his thirst
at the sluggish river, and hasten back to his gold; and the sound which
he made was like the trampling of many feet and the jingling of many
chains. With bloodshot eyes, and gaping mouth, and flaming nostrils, the
hideous creature came rushing onwards. His sharp, curved claws dug
deep into the soft earth; and his bat-like wings, half trailing on the
ground, half flapping in the air, made a sound like that which is heard
when Thor rides in his goat-drawn chariot over the dark thunder-clouds.
It was a terrible moment for Siegfried, but still he was not afraid. He
crouched low down in his hiding-place, and the bare blade of the trusty
Balmung glittered in the morning light. On came the hastening feet and
the flapping wings: the red gleam from the monster's flaming nostrils
lighted up the trench where Siegfried lay. He heard a roaring and a
rushing like the sound of a whirlwind in the forest; then a black,
inky mass rolled above him, and all was dark. Now was Siegfried's
opportunity. The bright edge of Balmung gleamed in the darkness one
moment, and then it smote the heart of Fafnir as he passed. Some men say
that Odin sat in the pit with Siegfried, and strengthened his arm and
directed his sword, or else he could not thus have slain the Terror.
But, be this as it may, the vict