Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. The Ring of the Niblung, part 2

In fear and woe she bore me,But why did she die through me?Must then all human mothersThus die on givingBirth to a son?That would truly be sad!Ah, if I onlyCould see my mother!—See my mother,A woman once!

[He sighs softly, and leans still further back. Deep silence. Louder murmuring of the wood. His attention is at last caught by the song of the birds. He listens with growing interest to one singing in the branches above him.

O lovely warbler,I know not thy note;Hast thou thy home in this wood?If I could but understand him,His sweet song might say much—Perhaps of my mother tell me.A surly old dwarfSaid to me onceThat men might learnTo follow the senseOf birds when they were singing;Could it indeed be done?Ha! I will singAfter him,On the reed follow him sweetly.Though wanting the words,Repeating his measure—Singing what is his language—Perhaps I shall know what he says.

[He runs to the neighbouring spring, cuts a reed off with his sword, and quickly makes himself a pipe out of it. He listens again.

He stops to hear,So now for my song!

[He blows into the pipe, breaks off, and cuts it again to improve it. He resumes his blowing, shakes his head, and cuts the pipe once more. After another attempt he gets angry, presses the pipe with his hand, and tries again. He ceases playing and smiles.

That rings not right;For the lovely tuneThe reed is not suited at all.I fear, sweet bird,I am too dull;Thy song cannot I learn.

[He hears the bird again and looks up to him.

He listens so roguishlyThere that he shames me;

[Very tenderly.

He waits, and nothing rewards him.Heida! Come hearkenNow to my horn;

[He flings the pipe away.

All I do sounds wrongOn the stupid reed;To a song of the woodsThat I know,A merry song, listen now rather.I hoped it would bringSome comrade to me,But wolves and bearsWere the best that came.Now I will seeWho answers its note:What comrade will come to its call.

[He takes the silver hunting-horn and blows on it. During the long-sustained notes he keeps his eyes expectantly on the bird. A movement in the background. Fafner, in the form of a monstrous lizard-like dragon, has risen from his lair in the cave. He breaks through the underwood and drags himself up to the higher ground, so that the front part of his body rests on it, while he utters a loud sound, as if yawning.

SIEGFRIED

[Looks round and gazes at Fafner in astonishment. He laughs.

My horn with its noteHas allured something lovely;A jolly companion wert thou.

FAFNER

[At the sight of Siegfried has paused on the high ground, and remains there.

What is that?

SIEGFRIED

If thou art a beastWho can use its tongue,Perchance thou couldst teach me something.Here stands oneWho would learn to fear;Say, wilt thou be his teacher?

FAFNER

Is this insolence?

SIEGFRIED

Courage or insolence,What matter?With my sword I will slay thee,Wilt thou not teach me to fear.

FAFNER [Makes a laughing sound.

Drink I came for;Now food I find too!

[He opens his jaws and shows his teeth.

SIEGFRIED

What a fine set of teethThou showest me there!Sweetly they smileIn thy dainty mouth!'Twere well if I closed up thy gullet;Thy jaws are gaping too wide!

FAFNER

They were not madeFor idle talk,But they will serveTo swallow thee.

SIEGFRIED

Hoho! Ferocious,Merciless churl!I have no fancyTo be eaten.Better it seems to meThat without delay thou shouldst die!

FAFNER [Roaring.

Pruh! Come,Boy, with thy boasts!

SIEGFRIED [Draws his sword.

Beware, growler!The boaster comes!

[He springs towards Fafner and remains defiantly confronting him. Fafner drags himself further up the knoll and spits at Siegfried from his nostrils. Siegfried avoids the poison, springs nearer, and stands on one side. Fafner tries to reach him with his tail. Siegfried, who is nearly caught, springs over Fafner with one bound, and wounds him in the tail. Fafner roars, pulls his tail angrily away, and raises the front part of his body so that he may throw its full weight on Siegfried, thus offering his breast to the stroke. Siegfried quickly looks to see where his heart is, and thrusts his sword into it up to the hilt. Fafner raises himself still higher in his pain, and, when Siegfried has let go his sword and sprung aside, he sinks on the wound.

SIEGFRIED

Lie there, envious brute! Nothung's point home has speeded!

FAFNER [In a weaker voice.

Who art thou, boy bold-hearted,That hast pierced my breast?Who stirred up thy childish soulTo the murderous deed?Thy brain schemed not the harmWrought by thy hand.

SIEGFRIED

Not much have I learned,Not even who I am;Thou thyself with thy tauntingStirred me to fight and to slay.

FAFNER

O boy bright-eyed,Who knowest not yet who thou art,Whom thou hast murderedHear from me.Two mighty giants there were,Fasolt and Fafner;The brothers now are both fallen.For the cursèd goldWe got from the GodsI did Fasolt to death.He who now guardsThe hoard as dragon,Fafner, the last remaining,Falls, by a rosy boy slain.Boy in thy bloom,Watch and be wary:He who stirred thee blind to this deedTakes thought how to compass thy death.

[Dying.

Mark the ending!Think on me!

SIEGFRIED

Who was my father?Tell, if thou canst.Dying, thou showest,Wild one, much wisdom.Siegfried my name is; haplyThat may help thee to guess.

FAFNER

Siegfried!…

[He raises himself and dies.

SIEGFRIED

The dead can tell no tidings.My living sword, lead!Lead onward, my sword!

[Fafner has rolled to the side in dying. Siegfried now draws the sword from his breast. In doing so his hand gets sprinkled with the blood; he draws it back quickly.

The hot blood burns like fire!

[Involuntarily he raises his fingers to his mouth to suck the blood from them. As he looks musingly before him his attention becomes more and more attracted by the singing of the birds.

I almost seemTo hear the birds speaking to me.Is there a spell,Perhaps, in the blood?The curious bird up there—Hark! he sings to me.

VOICE OF THE WOOD-BIRD

[From the branches of the lime-tree above Siegfried.

Hei! Siegfried now ownsAll the Nibelung hoard!Oh! could he the hoardIn the cave but find!Tarnhelm, if he could but win it,Would help him to deeds of renown;And could he discover the ring,It would make him the lord of the world!

SIEGFRIED

[Has listened holding his breath and beaming with delight.

Thanks, bonnie bird,For the counsel good:I follow the call!

[He turns towards the back and descends to the cave, where he at once disappears.

Mime steals up, looking about him timidly to assure himself of Fafner's death. At the same time Alberich comes out of the cleft on the opposite side. He observes Mime, rushes on him and bars his way, as the latter turns towards the cave.

ALBERICH

On what errandFurtive and sly,Knave, dost thou slink?

MIME

Accursèd brother,That thou shouldst come!What brings thee here?

ALBERICH

Rogue, has my goldProvoked thy greed?Dost covet my goods?

MIME

Get thee gone quickly!This corner is mine;What huntest thou here?

ALBERICH

Have I disturbed thee,Thief, at thy work,Secret and sly?

MIME

What I have slavedAnd toiled to winShall not escape me.

ALBERICH

Who was it robbedThe Rhine of gold for the ring?And whose cunning wroughtThe spell of magical might?

MIME

Who made the Tarnhelm,Changing its wearer's form?Though thou didst want it,Was it designed by thee?

ALBERICH

And what of thyselfCouldst aright have fashioned, thou bungler?The magic ringForced thee to master thy craft.

MIME

And where is the ring?'Twas reft from thy clutch by the giants.What thou hast lostI will gain and keep by my guile.

ALBERICH

What the boy has wonWould the niggard deny him?'Tis not thine; the heroWho won it is now its lord.

MIME

I brought him up;For my pains now he shall pay;For its rewardMy trouble has waited too long.

ALBERICH

Just for rearing him,The old niggardly,Beggarly knave,Bold as brass,A king now would become?The ring would befitBetter a dogThan bumpkin like thee.Never to theeThe magical ring shall fall!

MIME [Scratches his head.

Well, keep it, then,And guard with careThe gleaming gold;Be thou lord,But treat me as a brother;Give me against itTarnhelm for toy,Fairly exchanged;Divided thus,There will be booty for both.

[He rubs his hands confidingly.

ALBERICH [With a mocking laugh.

Share it with thee?And the Tarnhelm too!How sly thou art!I could neverSleep for a moment safely.

MIME [Beside himself.

What! not evenStrike a bargain!I must go bare,Beggared of gain!Thou wouldst leave me with nothing!

[Shrieking.

ALBERICH

Nothing, not soMuch as a nail,Shall fall to thy portion.

MIME [In a fury.

Neither ring nor TarnhelmShall thy hand touch, then;'Tis I will not share!I will call on Siegfried,Summon the aidOf his keen-edged sword;The lad will makeShort work, dear brother, of thee!

ALBERICH

[Siegfried having appeared in the background.

Turn and look there!From the cavern hither he comes.

MIME

He will have chosenTrivial toys.

ALBERICH

He bears the Tarnhelm!

MIME

Also the ring!

ALBERICH

Curst luck! The ring!

MIME [Laughing maliciously.

Get him to give thee the ring now!'Tis I, not thou, who shall win it.

ALBERICH

And yet to its lordMust it at last be surrendered!

[He disappears in the cleft.

[During the foregoing Siegfried, with Tarnhelm and ring, has come slowly and meditatively from the cave; he regards his booty thoughtfully, and stops on the knoll in the middle of the stage.

SIEGFRIED

I do not knowOf what useYe are; I chose youFrom out the heaped-up hoardBecause of friendly advice.Meanwhile, of this dayBe ye worn as witness,Recalling to mindHow with fallen Fafner I fought,And yet could not learn how to fear.

[He hangs the Tarnhelm on his girdle and puts the ring on his finger. Silence. His notice is involuntarily drawn to the bird again, and he listens to him with breathless attention.

THE WOOD-BIRD'S VOICE

Hei! Siegfried now ownsBoth the helm and the ring!Oh! let him not listenTo Mime, the false!He were wise to be wary ofMime's treacherous tongue.He will understandMime's secret intent,Because he has tasted the blood.

[Siegfried's mien and gestures show that he has understood the bird's song. He sees Mime approaching, and remains without moving, leaning on his sword, observant and self-contained, in his place on the knoll till the close of the following scene.

MIME

[Steals forward, and observes Siegfried from the foreground.

He weighs in his mindThe booty's worth;Can there by chanceHave come this wayA Wanderer wiseWho talked to the child,And taught him crafty runes?Doubly slyBe then the dwarf;My snares must be cunning,Cleverly set,That with cajolingAnd wily falsehoodsThe insolent boy I may fool.

[He goes nearer to Siegfried and welcomes him with flattering gestures.

Ha! Welcome, Siegfried!Say, bold fighter,Hast thou been taught how to fear?

SIEGFRIED

A teacher still is to find.

MIME

But the dragon grimHas fallen before thee?A fell and fierce monster was he.

SIEGFRIED

Though grim and spiteful the brute,I grieve over his death,While there live still, unpunished,Blacker scoundrels than he was!The one who bade me slayI hate far more than the slain.

MIME [Very friendly.

Have patience! Thou wilt notLook on me long.[Sweetly.In endless sleepSoon thine eyelids will be sealed.Thy uses are over,

[As if praising him.

Done is the deed;The only task leftFor me is to win the booty.Methinks that task will not tax me;Thou wert always easy to fool.

SIEGFRIED

To me thou art plotting harm, then?

MIME [Astonished.

What makes thee think that?

[Continuing tenderly.

Siegfried, listen, my own one!I have always loathedThee and all that are like thee.It was not from loveThat I reared thee with care:The gold hid in Fafner's caveI worked for as my reward.

[As if he were promising him something nice.

If thou wilt not yieldIt up to me,

[As if he were ready to lay down his life for him.

Siegfried, my son,Thou plainly must see

[As if in friendly jest.

I have no choice but to slay thee!

SIEGFRIED

That I am hatedPleases me;But must I lose my life for thy pleasure?

MIME [Angrily.

I never said that;Thou hast made a mistake.See, thou art wearyFrom stress of strife,Burning with fever and thirst;Mime, the kind one,To cool thy thirstBrought a quickening draught.While thy blade thou didst meltI brewed thee the drink;Touch it, and straightThy sword shall be mine,And mine the hoard and Tarnhelm too.

[Tittering.

SIEGFRIED

So thou of my swordAnd all it has won me—Ring and booty—wouldst rob me?

MIME [Violently.

Why wilt mistake so my words!Do I drivel or dote?I use the utmostPains with my speech,That what in my heartI mean may be hidden;And the stupid boyMisunderstands what I say!Open thy ears, boy,And attend to me!Hear, now, what Mime means.Take this: the drink will refresh theeAs my drinks oft have done.Many a timeWhen fretful and bad,Though loth enough,The draughts I brought thou hast swallowed.

SIEGFRIED

Of a cooling drinkI were glad;Say, how has this one been brewed?

MIME

[Jesting merrily, as if describing to him a pleasant state of intoxication which the liquor is to bring about.

Hei! Just drink it!Trust to my skill.In mist and darknessSoon shall thy senses be sunk;None to watch or ward them,Stark-stretched shall thy limbs be.Thou lying thus,'Twere not hardTo take the booty and hide it;But wert thou to awake,Nevermore wouldMime be safe,Even owning the ring.So with the swordHe has made so sharp

[With a gesture of extravagant joy.

First I will hackThe child's head off!Then I shall have both rest and the ring!

[Tittering.

SIEGFRIED

Thou wouldst, then, slay me when sleeping?

MIME [Furiously.

Do what, child? Did I say that?

[He takes pains to assume the utmost tenderness. Carefully and distinctly.

I only meanTo chop off thy head!

[With the appearance of heartfelt solicitude for Siegfried's health.

For even if IHad loathed thee less,And had not thy scoffsAnd my drudgery shamefulSo loudly urged to vengeance,

[Gently.

I should never dare to pauseTill from my path I thrust thee:

[Jestingly again.

How else could I come by the booty,Which Alberich covets as well?

[He pours the liquid into the drinking-horn, and offers it to Siegfried with pressing gestures.

Now, my Wälsung,Wolf-begot,Drink the draught and be choked,And never drink again!

[Tittering.

SIEGFRIED [Threatens him with his sword.

Taste thou my sword,Loathsome babbler!

[As if seized by violent loathing, he gives Mime a sharp stroke with his sword. Instantly Mime falls dead to the ground. Alberich's voice in mocking laughter from the cleft.

SIEGFRIED

[Looking at Mime on the ground, quietly hangs his sword again on his belt.

Envy's wagePays Nothung;'Twas for this that I forged him.

[He picks up Mime's body, carries it to the knoll, and throws it into the cave.

In the cavern, there,Lie on the hoard;With steadfast guileThe gold thou hast gained:Now let it belong to its master!And a watchman goodI give thee, that thievesNever may enter and steal.

[With a great effort he pushes the body of the dragon in front of the entrance to the cave, which it completely stops up.

There lie thou too,Dragon grim;Along with thy foeGreedy of gainThou shalt guard the glittering gold:So both at last shall rest in peace.

[He looks down thoughtfully into the cave for a time, and then turns slowly to the front of the stage as if tired. He passes his hand over his brow.

Hot I feelFrom the heavy toil;Fast and furiousFlows my blood,My hand burns on my head.High stands the sun in heaven;From azure heightsFalls his gazeThrough a cloudless sky on my crown.Pleasant shadows will cool me under the linden.

[He stretches himself out under the lime-tree, and again looks up through the boughs.

If only, pretty warbler,So long and soRudely disturbed,I could once more hear thee singing!On a branch I see theeMerrily swaying;Chirping and chattering,Brothers and sistersAre happily hovering round.But I—I am alone,Without brother or sister;My mother died,My father fell,Unseen by their son!The one soul I knewWas a loathsome old dwarf;

[Warmly.

Love he festered notBy kindness;Many a cunningSnare did he set me;At last I was forced to slay him.

[He looks sorrowfully up at the branches.

Bird sweet and friendly,I ask thee a boon:Wilt thou find for meA comrade true?—Wilt thou choose for me the right one?So oft I have called,And yet no one has come!Thou, my friend,Wilt manage it better,So wise thy counsel has been.

[Softly.

Now sing! I hearken to thy song.

THE WOOD-BIRD'S VOICE

Hei! Siegfried has slainThe deceitful dwarf!I know for him nowA glorious bride.She sleeps where rugged rocks soar;Ringed is her chamber by fire.Who battles the flames,Wakens the bride,Brünnhilde wins as reward.

SIEGFRIED

[Starts up impetuously from his seat.

O lovely song,Flower-sweet breath!Thy yearning musicBurns in my breast!Like leaping flameIt kindles my heart.What races so swiftThrough soul and senses?Sweetest of friends, O say!

[He listens.

THE WOOD-BIRD'S VOICE

Grieving yet glad,Love I am singing;Blissful, from woeWeaving my song:They only who yearn understand.

SIEGFRIED

Forth, forth then,Swift and rejoicing!Forth from the wood to the fell!Just one thing moreI would learn, sweet singer:Say, shall I break through the fire?Can I awaken the bride?

[He listens again.

THE WOOD-BIRD'S VOICE

No coward winsBrünnhild' for bride,Or wakes the maid:Only a heart without fear.

SIEGFRIED [Shouting with joy.

The foolish boyWho has never learned fear,Dear bird, that dullard am I!To-day I took endlessTrouble in vain,To find out what fear was from Fafner.With longing I burnNow from Brünnhild' to learn it.What path soonest leads to the fell?

[The bird flutters up, circles over Siegfried, and flies hesitatingly before him.

SIEGFRIED

The bird to my goal will guide me.Fly where thou wilt,I follow thy flight!

[He runs after the bird, who for a time flies uncertainly hither and thither to tease him; at last he follows him, when, taking a definite direction towards the back, the bird flies away.

THE THIRD ACT

A wild spot at the foot of a rocky mountain which rises precipitously at the back on the left. Night, storm, lightning and violent thunder. The latter ceases shortly, but the lightning continues to flash from the clouds for some time. The Wanderer enters and walks resolutely towards a cavernous opening in a rock in the foreground, and takes up his position there, leaning on his spear, while he calls the following towards the entrance to the cave.

WANDERER

Waken, Wala!Wala! Awake!From thy long sleep,Slumberer, wake at my call!I summon thee forth:Arise! Arise!From cloud-covered cavesIn earth's dim abysses, arise!Erda! Erda,Old as the world!From depths dark and hiddenRise to the day!With song I call thee,I sing to wake thee,From deep dreams of wisdomBid thee arise.All-knowing one!Fount of knowledge!Erda! Erda,Old as the world!Waken! Awaken, thou Vala! Awaken!

[A dim bluish light begins to dawn in the cavern. In this light Erda, during the following, rises very gradually from below. She appears to be covered with hoar-frost, which glitters on her hair and garments.

ERBA

Loud is the call;Strong the spell that summons;I have been rousedFrom dark and wise dreams:Who wakes me from my sleep?

WANDERER

'Tis I who awake theeWith song of magic,That what in slumberWas folded fast may rise.The wide earth ranging,Far I have roamed,Seeking for knowledge,Wisdom at fountains primeval.No one that livesIs wiser than thou;Thou knowest allIn the hidden depths,What moves on hill,Dale, in water and air.Where life is found,There thou art breathing;And where brains ponder,There is thy thought.Men say that allKnowledge is thine.That I might ask of thee counsel,I have called thee from sleep.

ERBA

My sleep is dreaming,My dreaming brooding,My brooding wisdom's calm working.But while I sleepThe Norns are wakeful:They twine the rope,And deftly weave what I know.The Norns thou shouldst have questioned.

WANDERER

In thrall to the worldSit the Norns weaving;They cannot alterWhat ordained is.But I would fainBe taught of thy wisdomHow a wheel on the roll can be stayed.

ERBA

Dark and troubledMy mind grows through men's deeds.A God once subduedThe Wala's self to his will.A wish-maidenI bore to Wotan;From fields of battleShe brought him slain heroes;Bold is sheAnd wise to boot:Why waken me?Why seek not counselFrom Erda's and Wotan's child?

WANDERER

The Valkyrie, Brünnhild'?Meanest thou her?She flouted the storm-controller,When, sorely urged, himself he controlled.What the swayer and lordOf battles longed for,What he refrained fromAgainst his desire,Brünnhilde, bold,Rash, over-confident,When the fight was at fiercest,Strove for herself to perform.War-fatherPunished the maid:He pressed slumber into her eyes,On the flame-girt rock she sleeps.The hallowed maidWill waken alone,That she may love and wed with a man.Small hope of answer from her.

ERBA

Dazed have I feltSince I woke;Wild, confusedSeems the world!The Valkyrie,The Wala's child,Bound lay, fettered by sleep,While her all-knowing mother slept!Does revolt's teacherChide revolt?Does the deed he urged toAnger him, done?He who guards the right,To whom vows are sacred,Hinders the right?—Reigns through falsehood?Let me down to the dark,That my wisdom may slumber!

WANDERER

I will not let thee descend,For a potent magic I wield.All-wise one,Planted by theeThe sting of care wasIn Wotan's dauntless heart;For, through thy wisdom,Downfall and shamefulDoom were foretold him;My mind was fettered by fear.Now let the world'sWisest of womenAnswer and sayHow a God may conquer his care.

ERBA

Thou art notWhat thou hast said.Why art thou come, wild and wayward,To trouble the Wala's sleep?

WANDERER

Thou art notWhat thou hast dreamed.Thy end draws near,Mother of wisdom;Thy wisdom at warWith me shall perish.Knowest thou Wotan's will?

[A long silence.

I tell theeThat thou mayest sleepFor evermore unvexed by care.That the Gods are doomed,No longer dismays me,Since I will it so.What, with myself at war, in anguish,Despairing, once I resolved,Gaily, gladly,With delight I now do.Mad with disgust I decreed onceThe world to the Nibelung's hate,But now to the valiant WälsungI leave it with joy.One who never knew me,Though chosen by me,A boy bold and fearless,Helped not by Wotan,Has won the Nibelung's ring.Blest in love,Void of all envy,On him shall fall harmlessAlberich's curse,For no fear does he know.Soon thy child and mine,Brünnhild',Shall be waked by him;And when wakedOur child shall achieveA deed to redeem the world.So slumber again,Closing thine eyelids;Dreaming behold my downfall!Whatever comes after,The God rejoicingYields to youth ever young.Descend, then, Erda,Mother of fear!World-sorrow!Descend! Descend!And sleep for aye!

[Erda, whose eyes are already closed, and who has gradually been sinking deeper, disappears entirely. The cavern has become quite dark again.

Dawn lights up the stage; the storm has ceased. The Wanderer has gone close to the cave, and leans with his back against it, facing the wings.