downy pillows, wherein every night his mother had been wont, with
gentle care, to see him safely covered, was given up for a rude heap of
straw in a corner of the smithy. And the rich food to which he had
been used gave place to the coarsest and humblest fare. But the lad
did not complain. The days which he passed in the smithy were mirthful
and happy; and the sound of his hammer rang cheerfully, and the sparks
from his forge flew briskly, from morning till night.

And a wonderful smith he became. No one could do more work than he,
and none wrought with greater skill. The heaviest chains and the
strongest bolts, for prison or for treasure house, were but as toys in
his stout hands, so easily and quickly did he beat them into shape.
Cunning also was he in work of the most delicate and brittle kind.
Ornaments of gold and silver studded with the rarest jewels, were
fashioned into beautiful forms by his deft fingers. And among all of
Mimer's apprentices none learned the master's lore so readily, or
gained the master's favor more.

One morning the master, Mimer, came to the smithy with a troubled look
upon his face. It was clear that something had gone amiss; and what it
was the apprentices soon learned from the smith himself. Never, until
lately, had any one questioned Mimer's right to be called the foremost
smith in all the world; but now a rival had come forward. An unknown
upstart---one Amilias, a giant of Burgundy--had made a suit of armor,
which, he boasted, no stroke of sword could dint, and no blow of spear
could scratch; and he had sent a challenge to all other smiths, both in
the Rhine country and elsewhere, to equal that piece of workmanship, or
else acknowledge themselves his underlings and vassals. For many days
had Mimer himself toiled, alone and vainly, trying to forge a sword
whose edge the boasted armor of Amilias could not foil; and now, in
despair, he came to ask the help of his pupils and apprentices.

"Who among you is skilful enough to forge such a sword?" he asked,

One after another, the pupils shook their heads. And the foreman of
the apprentices said, "I have heard much about that wonderful armor,
and its extreme hardness, and I doubt if any skill can make a sword
with edge so sharp and true as to cut into it. The best that can be
done is to try to make another war coat whose temper shall equal that
of Amilias's armor."

Then the lad Siegfried quickly said, "I will make such a swor