ied: 'O Sigurd, Sigurd, now hearken while I swear
That the day shall die for ever and the sun to blackness wear,
Ere I forget thee, Sigurd, as I lie 'twixt wood and sea
In the little land of Lymdale and the house that fostered me!'"

The Fostering of Aslaug

According to some authorities, the lovers parted after thus plighting
their troth; but others say that Sigurd soon sought out and wedded
Brunhild, with whom he lived for a while in perfect happiness until
forced to leave her and his infant daughter Aslaug. This child, left
orphaned at three years of age, was fostered by Brunhild's father, who,
driven away from home, concealed her in a cunningly fashioned harp,
until reaching a distant land he was murdered by a peasant couple for
the sake of the gold they supposed it to contain. Their surprise and
disappointment were great indeed when, on breaking the instrument open,
they found a beautiful little girl, whom they deemed mute, as she would
not speak a word. Time passed, and the child, whom they had trained
as a drudge, grew to be a beautiful maiden, and she won the affection
of a passing viking, Ragnar Lodbrog, King of the Danes, to whom she
told her tale. The viking sailed away to other lands to fulfil the
purposes of his voyage, but when a year had passed, during which time
he won much glory, he came back and carried away Aslaug as his bride.

"She heard a voice she deemed well known,
Long waited through dull hours bygone
And round her mighty arms were cast:
But when her trembling red lips passed
From out the heaven of that dear kiss,
And eyes met eyes, she saw in his
Fresh pride, fresh hope, fresh love, and saw
The long sweet days still onward draw,
Themselves still going hand in hand,
As now they went adown the strand."

The Fostering of Aslaug (William Morris).

In continuation of the story of Sigurd and Brunhild, however, we are
told that the young man went to seek adventures in the great world,
where he had vowed, as a true hero, to right the wrong and defend
the fatherless and oppressed.

The Niblungs

In the course of his wanderings, Sigurd came to the land of the
Niblungs, the land of continual mist, where Giuki and Grimhild were
king and queen. The latter was specially to be feared, as she was well
versed in magic lore, and could weave spells and concoct marvellous
potions which had power to steep the drinker in temporary