e ring which you have gotten
shall impart to its possessor its own nature. Grasping, snaky, cold,
unfeeling, shall he live; and death through treachery shall be his
doom."

Then he turned away, delighted that he had thus left the curse of
Andvari with Hreidmar and his sons, and hastened northward toward the
sea; for he wished to redeem the promise that he had made to the
Ocean-queen, to bring back her magic net, and to decoy the richly laden
ship into her clutches.

No sooner were the strange huntsmen well out of sight than Fafnir and
Regin began to ask their father to divide the glittering hoard with
them.

"By our strength and through our advice," said they, "this great store
has come into your hands. Let us place it in three equal heaps, and
then let each take his share and go his way."

At this the farmer waxed very angry; and he loudly declared that he
would keep all the treasure for himself, and that his sons should not
have any portion of it whatever. So Fafnir and Regin, nursing their
disappointment, went to the fields to watch their sheep; but their
father sat down to guard his new-gotten treasure. He took in his hand
the glittering serpent ring, and gazed into its cold ruby eyes; and, as
he gazed, all his thoughts were fixed upon his gold; and there was no
room in his heart for love toward his fellows, nor for deeds of
kindness, nor for the worship of the All-Father. And behold, as he
continued to look at the snaky ring, a dreadful change came over him.
The warm red blood, which until that time had leaped through his veins,
and given him life and strength and human feelings, became purple and
cold and sluggish; and selfishness, like serpent's poison, took hold of
his heart. Then, as he kept on gazing at the hoard which lay before
him, he began to lose his human shape; his body lengthened into many
scaly folds, and he coiled himself around his loved treasures,--the
very likeness of the ring upon which he had looked so long.

When the day drew near its close, Fafnir came back from the fields with
his herd of sheep, and thought to find his father guarding the
treasure, as he had left him in the morning; but instead he saw a
glittering snake, fast asleep, encircling the hoard like a huge scaly
ring of gold. His first thought was that the monster had devoured his
father; and, hastily drawing his sword, with one blow he severed the
serpent's head from its body. And, while yet the creature writhed in
t