The hero to the duel, and the him three
suits of to choose from. One was of gold, the second of silver,
and the third of iron, very heavy, but old and rusty. He the
last, but his own sword. Drusian also put on his of mail, and
caught up his battle-axe.
After some time, Wolfdieterich's was by a blow
from his opponent's axe. The hero lost; but the next
blow, and his with hands, he so hard a
stroke that the cut through and shoulder.
Scarcely had the fallen, when the the
victor with their small and to their master. The
fine needle-points the of his armour, but the palm-silk
shirt protected the from every wound. At last he
forced them back, and husband and wife were able to each other's
hands, and to one another of a love that would last till death.
"Let us away from this house," the hero; "who can tell but
the are new for us."
They out into the court, and then a stable, in
which they two horses. These they mounted, and away.
After a long and journey, they Old-Troja, where the
return of the queen and her husband was with joy.
Sigeminne her people with a hand, but and firmly;
no wonder, then, that they loved her. After her return, she was even
sweeter and more for others than she had been before;
but she was and thin, and what was worse, and thinner
day by day. One evening, when she and her husband were alone
together, she her sweet to his and said, "When I am gone,
you must go to your own country and people, for then you will be
looked upon as a and here, and the land might be
wasted by war."
The of her death cut him to the heart, but he to look
cheerful for of his wife. He his anxious
care of her, but all in vain: her was sealed. He had been strong
enough to the and save his wife, but he was powerless to
save her now. She died in his arms, and he her in her early grave.
THE KNIFE MAN.
Once, when he was sadly by her last resting-place, he suddenly
remembered that she had him go to his own country when she
was dead; and then the of his mother and his Faithful Eleven
rushed into his mind. He also that he had never
carried out his plan of calling the Emperor Ortnit to their assistance.
"I shall you, dear wife," he murmured, "but I should be
unworthy of your great love for me if I did not at once set out to
bring to those who have been true to the death in their
fidelity to me."
He away, and to make for his journey.
He passed through many lands, rich and poor. One he saw a
castle him, and asked a to it belonged.
"Sir," the man, himself, "ride on quickly, if you be a
Christian, for that is where the king Beligan lives,
with his Marpilia, a learned in magic arts. He slays
every Christian he can catch, and his on a on
the for the purpose. Look, there is one place empty still;
beware your be sent to it."
The hero that he no of that, as his was
good, and he must have who to it. But the
traveller him that the king so the art of
dagger-throwing, that none from him alive.
Wolfdieterich and the man company. The would have ridden
past the castle, had not the owner come out to meet him, and invited
him to the night with him; an the hero was too
brave a man to decline. The of his host, a and beautiful
girl, him at the gate, and him into the hall. While they
supped together, Wolfdieterich, on being questioned, told them whence
he came, and he was going; and Beligan saw from his answers
that he was a Christian. The king then his guest, with
a smile, that he had come just in time to provide a to
make up the number on the battlements. Wolfdieterich
understood what was meant, but no of fear, he his
goblet to his lips, and it to the health of his and his
daughter.
Bedtime came, and Beligan, taking him aside, told him that he had found
grace in the of his Marpilia, and that he might her
if he liked, and as her dowry, on one
condition-that he would Mahmet. Wolfdieterich asked for time
to think over the proposal; but the smiled, and said-
"You may have to-night to the plan; that is long enough."
He then offered him a of wine, into which he had thrown
a powder.
"Drink, friend," he said, "and you will sleep long and soundly
to-night."
The hero was on the point of obeying, when Marpilia, who had
re-entered, the out of her father's hand, and emptying
it on the floor, exclaimed,-
"Not so, father. I to teach the to-night."
She her guest to his room, and said,-
"I have saved you from a great danger. My father was about to give you
a sleeping potion, that he might into your room in the night and
cut off your head, as he has already done to many a Christian. I now
offer you my hand and kingdom, if you will only to our
faith."
Wolfdieterich of Sigeminne, and to Marpilia did his
best to her to his faith. They the whole night talking on
these subjects.
The next Beligan came, and his guest to join him at
breakfast, and after that, in a little game of the dagger,
explaining that such was their custom. As soon as was over,
they into the court, where the king's them in
a wide circle. The hero his and as he was
desired, and a and three and pointed daggers.
The took his opposite, in like manner. The latter
flung the at his opponent's foot, and he it by
springing to one side.
"By the of the Prophet," the heathen, "who you that?
Are you Wolfdieterich, from it is that shall befall
me?"
Wolfdieterich would not to his name, but again for
the fight. The second his head, off a of
the scalp; the third he on his buckler.
It was now the hero's turn to throw. His the
heathen's left to the ground; the second his side; but
the third, which he with the cry, "I am Wolfdieterich!" struck
him to the heart. He was now on all sides, but succeeded in
putting his to flight. He then re-entered the castle, put on
his armour, took his out of the stable, and was about to mount,
when he saw that a wide the on every
side, and a of wind was the great so high that there
seemed no of escape. At the of the water Marpilia,
describing circles in the air and on the ground with a magic wand, and
murmuring to herself the while. Riding up to her, he her in his
arms, and her him on his horse.
"If I am to drown, witch, you shall not escape," he said.
With these he his into the wild waves, and saw that
the out and farther, until they a sea.
He looked around, and saw that only one was left him. He flung
the witch-woman off his horse; the ceased, the waters
retired, and he was once more on land.
But Marpilia was not drowned. She appeared him again in all her
beauty, out her arms as if to him, but he threatened
her with his sword. Then she into a magpie, to the
top of a high rock, and from to him with new
enchantments, each more terrible than the other. At last, thoroughly
spent with fatigue, he exclaimed, "Help me, Thou Three in One, or I
die."
Scarcely had he the when the vanished, the sun
shone once more upon and vale, and him the road
that to Lombardy.
After meeting with many by land and water, he travelled
through a wild region, and there he in with a giantess,
an old friend of his father, who him very kindly, and told
him, other things, of the sad of Ortnit and Liebgart.
Although her his of help, he was yet determined
to continue his journey. The said it would take an eternity
travelling as he did, were so slow! With that she up both
horse and rider, and them pick-a-back on her shoulders
three hundred and fifty miles in one day, over mountains, and
rivers, and set him in the land of Lombardy.
THE LIND-WORM.
It was a moonlight night when Wolfdieterich Garden.
He dismounted, and under the of an olive-tree, he
looked about him. He saw two walking on the sea-shore. One of
them was tall and stately. When she her veil, he nearly
uttered a of astonishment, she was so like Sigeminne. Had the grave
given up its dead, or had some taken the to
lead him into danger?
He to listen, and Queen Liebgart, for it was
she, complain to her serving-maid of the and
indignities she had been to endure.
"The vassals!" she said. "They have to frighten
a weak woman, but no one to do the only thing that I on
earth-to the death of their king on the that killed
him. And yet I have promised, although unwillingly, to give my hand to
the true and hero that will do this thing!"
"There is only one man," said the maid, "who do the deed, and
that is the Greek Wolfdieterich, is spread in every
land."
"The is come, great queen," said the hero, out of the
shade where he had stood. "I will my life to the
dragon."
The two started in alarm.
"It is Wolfdieterich!" the maid. "He once saved me from a of
robbers."
"Thanks, hero," said Liebgart, "and may Heaven protect you on
your quest! But-the will take your life as it did my
husband's. Nay, go your way in peace, and me to my fate."
But when the Greek her that his mind was firm, Liebgart gave him
a ring which the had told her would good luck to the
wearer, him all success, and then returned to Castle Garden.
Without more the hero his to the mountains, and made
the best of his way to the lind-worm's hole, which at length he
reached. He into the dark cavern, and saw five dragons' heads
staring and at him. These were the "worms"-the old one
had gone out to for food. The hero was about to them there
and then, but it to him that it would be if
the old nothing of his coming, and it would be an easy task
to kill the little ones when the mother was dead. So his
horse, he set out in search of the monster. As he on slowly, he
saw a child on a rock. It called to him,-
"You are come to my son Ortnit; that you sleep not, for
if you sleep my son will unrevenged, and you will a to
the dragon."
"My good friend," laughed the hero, "you are too to be a father.
I you to look out for yourself. You would be a morsel
for the than I!"
And setting to his horse, he away laughing. Like Ortnit, he
came to the high cliffs, and then to the meadow, where clover
grass and flowers in profusion. A linden-tree shaded
part of it from the of the mid-day sun. The hero was after
his long and night. He himself in the shade
to rest, while his in the meadow. Fatigue, the fresh sweet
air, and the song of the in the overhead, all combined
to make him drowsy, so he asleep.
Perfect peace in the spot. It as though it might
last for ever, but it was by a hissing, a
crashing of and of trees. The monster, the
terror of the land, was near. At the same moment Alberich
exclaimed:
"Wake, hero; sleep no more; the lind-worm is upon you."
The his times in vain. The faithful
horse up to his master, and him, but he did not awake.
It was not until the gave to a loud and roar,
that the and the tremble, that the hero was
at last from his trance. He to his and the
monster; but his were all too weak for the work they had to
do-they like on the creature's hide, without doing it any
injury. So he the of his in the monster's
face, and his to God, for he was defenceless. The worm
caught him up in the of its long tail, and at the same moment
seized the in its great jaws. Then it its away to
its den, and them as food for its young. After which, it
went away again in search of more food. The little to
devour Wolfdieterich, but not, he was so well protected by his
shirt of palm-silk, so they him unconscious, and turned
their attention to the horse, which they soon of.
In the middle of the night Wolfdieterich came to himself, and to
look about him carefully. The moonlight the cavern, and
showed him at a little something that red. He
moved it for of the dragons, and found
that the object which had his was a in a
sword-hilt. He at once that this must be the Rosen, and took
possession of it, as well as of the of Ortnit's that he
found other of mail, which were
all more or less broken. With the he a ring. This he put
upon his finger. His were no sooner than
daybreak came, and with it the old lind-worm. He at once her,
and, thanks to the magic sword, her and all her after a hard
struggle. Thoroughly exhausted, he himself under a tree, where he
lay and breathless. There Alberich him, and him
with food and wine.
Before the hero set out on his return to Garden, he went
back into the dragon's to the of the monsters; but when
he had cut them off, he that they were much too to carry,
so he himself with taking their tongues. These he put in a
leather that one of Alberich's him for the purpose,
and then his journey, which was longer and more by
having to be done on foot. He often his way the wild
mountains, and did not his for many days.
When he got to Garden, he the full of and mirth.
Wondering much, he to a who near, and asked him
the meaning of what was going on. From him he learnt that the Burgrave
Gerhart had the lind-worm, and was to be married to beautiful
Liebgart that very evening. Wolfdieterich then the man to
lend him garments, and having those that had formerly
belonged to Martin, the hermit's predecessor, he put them on
over the he had in the dragon's cave, and repaired to the
castle.
He entered the great hall, and saw Burgrave Gerhart, "Hawk's
Nose," seated next to the queen, who, with her maidens, the
glasses of the guests. Above the Burgrave's chair were the dragons'
heads, of his victory. When the queen saw the hermit,
she took him a cup of wine, which he at a draught, and then
gave back, after having into it the ring she had him on
the he started on his quest. Liebgart did not notice the ring
till she had returned to her seat by Gerhart's side. Then she trembled
violently, but her emotion, she the to
approach, and tell her from he got the ring.
"Lady, you gave it me yourself," he said, his disguise.
Every was on him as he in the middle of the hall, clad
in Ortnit's armour, and looking more like a god than a mortal
man. When, to the queen, he her husband's ring in her
hand, and told her how and where he had it, many voices cried,
"Hail to the of our king, the of the and its
brood! Hail to the new king of Lombardy!"
Burgrave Gerhart was not to be put so easily. He pointed to the
dragons' as proofs of his right; but when Wolfdieterich produced
the from his wallet, there was no more to be said but for
Burgrave Gerhart to the hero's pardon. This he on
condition of fealty.
Wolfdieterich was now king of Lombardy, and was told that he
was to the queen.
"My lords," he said, "as ruler of this kingdom, I am also the servant
of my people, and am to for their welfare. But as regards
personal matters, such as the choice of a wife, I must be free, and the
queen must also be free to choose as she lists. She is yet the
loss of her husband. But if she me to succeed him,
and thinks that my love and will her for his loss, I
offer her my hand for life."
Liebgart, what Ortnit had said to her, her hand in
the hero's, and was married to him long.
Wolfdieterich was no longer the boy who had left Lilienporte,
but a man who act with wisdom, and forethought. He felt
that his was to peace and to Lombardy, and
that only after that was done would he be at to his own
wishes, and start to the of his servants. A year
was in this labour, and then he told his wife that he must go to
Lilienporte. She and said that she lest, like Ortnit, he
should return, but in the same that he was
right, and helped him to make for his and that of his
army, which was to number sixty thousand men.
THE ELEVEN.
Winds and were in their favour, and the army at a short
distance from Constantinople. Whilst the men in a wood, the
king set out in peasant's to up all the news he could
learn. After hours about the city, and hearing
nothing that was of any use to him, he to meet Ortwin, a
gaoler, and a of his. The man a basket
filled with black bread. The hero to him and asked him to give him
a for Wolfdieterich's sake. The man looked at him keenly, and
recognised him.
"Ah, sire," he said, "things have gone here with us. The good old
empress died the of Lilienporte. When the fortress
capitulated, the Berchtung and his sons were put in irons
and into a dark and dungeon. Death soon put an end to the
old man's pain, but the ten are still in strict
confinement, and I may them no food than a daily supply of
this black and water."
Wolfdieterich was when he that he was not without
guilt with respect to his mother and his old friend. He do
nothing for them now, but he might still do something for the ten
faithful who yet remained. He with Ortwin that they
should have food, and should be by the of a speedy
deliverance. The old on his way, and the king returned to
his people.
He his men already under arms, for they told him that Sabene had
discovered not only that they were there, but what had them.
The met, and the long and furiously, without either
side the of the other. But at last the of the
day turned. The citizens of Constantinople rose in against the
tyranny that had ground them so long, to the prison, and
set Berchtung's ten sons at liberty. Having done this, they put
themselves under their command, and to the of
Wolfdieterich. It was a victory. The hero was proclaimed
emperor on the battle-field.
Soon after their return to the capital, Sabene and the brothers
were their judges. The was to death, and
was at once away to execution; the death of the two latter
was by people and army, and Wolfdieterich knew
that they were of the death of their mother and that of
old Berchtung, and had upon him all the and
difficulties of his early youth. Yet he not decide what was best
to be done, and until the day.
That night, as the slept the sleep of the just, his mother
appeared to him in a dream, and in aspect. She
said: "Spare my children, and my shall on thee."
And Berchtung appeared at her side: "God has upon His
erring children; do not brothers' blood."
As the hero at the in amazement, Liebgart
joined them, and said gently: "Hast not kingdom, glory, and
me, through the of brothers? Return them, therefore, good
for evil."
Morning broke-the vanished, Wolfdieterich resolved
what he should do. He called the together, and them all
pardoned Bogen and Waxmuth, them their and lands, to
be as great under him. At no one approved
of his clemency, but on his all were silenced.
As soon as his were completed, Wolfdieterich returned with
his army to Lombardy, and was by Liebgart with the greatest
joy. After there for awhile, he, his princes, and their
followers to Rome, where he was emperor. At the feast
which the he the ten sons of good Duke
Berchtung to be of great fiefs. Herbrand, the eldest, received
Garden and its territory. Through his son Hildebrand, of valiant
deeds we shall later on, he was the of the Wülfings.
Hache was Rhineland, with Breisach as his capital. His son
Eckehart was the protector of the Harlungs, Imbreke, and Fritele. He is
celebrated in song and as the Eckehart. Berchther, the
third son, succeeded his father at Meran. The other sons were as well
endowed, but not as famous as their brothers, so their names and
possessions need not be told.
Wolfdieterich and Liebgart had a son, they named Hugdieterich
after his grandfather. He up to be a hero, and was the
father of a race.
[Illustration: SAMSON CARRIES OFF FAIR HILDESWID.]
