mffiiiiipiiipiMifiPi
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 WAGNER OPERA 
 STORIES. 
 
 By 
 GRACE EDSON BARBER, 
 
 ez^^ 
 
 Blctmin^Un, Illintiii, 
 
 Public-School Publishing Co. 
 1901. 

 
 Copyright I go I, 
 GRACE EDSON BARBER, 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 
 
 Copyright igoi, 
 
 PUBLIC-SCHOOL PUBLISHING CO., 
 . BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS. 
 
 Press of 
 
 Pantagraph Ptg. & Sta. Co., 
 
 bloomington, ill.
 
 lOD 
 
 k-7 *^ a 
 
 To My Father and Mother,
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Pagb. 
 
 I, Introduction - - - - 13 
 
 II. The Rhine-Gold . . - 19 
 
 III. Die Walkiire, or the Story of Brunhilde 53 
 
 IV. Siegfried I . . - - 73 
 V. Siegfried II , . . - 97 
 
 VI. Die Gotterdammerung - - 1 29 
 
 VII. Parsifal I - - - - - 1 55 
 
 VIII. Parsifal II - - - - 173
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Brunhilde - - - Fro7itispiece 
 
 Alberich Stealing the Gold - - - 25 
 
 Wotan Gains Possession of the Magic Ring - 39 
 
 Walhalla and the Rainbow Bridge - - 47 
 
 Siegfried Slays the Dragon - - - 113 
 
 Siegfried at the Palace of Hagen - - 135 
 
 Siegfried Understands the Song of the Rhine 
 
 Daughters - - - - - 149
 
 INTRODUCTION,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Stories hold the same relative position 
 in the development of children that liter- 
 ature does in the life of the adult. They 
 give to the child a broader glimpse of life 
 than his own little v^^orld can afford him. 
 They bring to him richer and more varied 
 experiences than it is possible for him to 
 pass through personally. In the right 
 kind of stories are made possible all those 
 splendid "might he's" which like giants 
 battle down the prison walls of fear and 
 give to the soul the courage to bring to 
 light its fair ideals and beautiful dreams 
 and thus change life from dull prose to 
 glorious poetry. One does not need a 
 lengthy conversation with a man or 
 woman to discover whether his or her 
 childhood has been passed in the common-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 place details of every day life, or to feel 
 that he or she, in childhood, became 
 familiar with prophets and psalmists, 
 with king's and queens, with g-enii and 
 g'iant. In the latter case there is a light- 
 ness of touch, a quickness of intellect and 
 intuitive perception of the courtesy due 
 the occasion and which is recognized al- 
 though it remains an indescribable some- 
 thing. In the one case the imagination 
 has been rightly cultivated and in the other 
 case it has been neg'lected. And yet there 
 is scarcely any part of education that is 
 as misunderstood as the wise selection of 
 stories for children. 
 
 There still lingers in the minds of some 
 good people a prejudice ag'ainst the re- 
 telling to children, of the g-reat myths of 
 the race, simplified of course as to com- 
 plexity of detail and motive. As well 
 might we refuse to let them listen to the 
 
 14
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 best music, or to look at the world's best 
 pictures. There is even a closer relation- 
 ship between the childish mind and the 
 mythical story than there is between it 
 and sublime music or great pictures. In 
 the myth the child-race embodied its deep- 
 est spiritual experiences in simple child- 
 like forms. It had no other way of leaving- 
 a record of its "far-off calling after God." 
 It was a necessary stage of race-develop- 
 ment and is an equally necessary stage of 
 child-development. Myths and the right 
 kinds of fairy-tales are truth put into em- 
 bodied form, without comment or moral 
 appendix. How much of our comprehen- 
 sion of the teachings of Jesus Christ would 
 have been lacking if we had not the par- 
 ables of the sower, the house on the sand, 
 the prodigal son, and all the rest of those 
 beautiful mythical stories with which He 
 taught the multitude? 
 
 15
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I know of no finer illustration of how to 
 
 handle the great myth-treasures of the race 
 
 than that shown by Miss Barber in the 
 
 following" simple retelling' of some of the 
 
 old legends, told and retold by generations 
 
 of mothers to their listening' children, and 
 
 which finally culminated by setting the 
 
 soul of Richard Wagner on fire. They have 
 
 interpreted the meaning' of music to the 
 
 childish heart as I have seldom seen it 
 
 interpreted. What was too complex 'is 
 
 left out. What was sweet and true and 
 
 strong has been retained, and all has been 
 
 rewoven with a daintiness of touch that 
 
 belongs to the true artist which in this 
 
 case is but another name for the true story 
 
 teller. 
 
 Elizabeth Harrison, 
 
 Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 16
 
 THE RHINE-GOLD.
 
 THE RHINE-GOLD. 
 
 All is quiet, beautiful, and peaceful in 
 our world now, but it has not always been 
 so. 
 
 Thousands of years ago it was very dif- 
 ferent. Great earthquakes shook the 
 foundations of the earth. Sharp lig-ht- 
 ning- kept the sky on fire and deep thun- 
 der rolled. Great giants lived on moun- 
 tains so high that their peaks were partly 
 hidden by the clouds. Black and ugly 
 dwarfs lived under the earth and worked 
 with all kinds of metals, while on the 
 earth's surface lived the common race of 
 men. 
 
 Great were the struggles of these early 
 days and many were the lessons learned. 
 So wonderful was the story of those far- 
 
 ^
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 away ages that it has been told again and 
 again. Men whose souls seem to have 
 been on fire have written books telling 
 this story. Others have shown it in pic- 
 tures great and beautiful, but the most 
 wonderful way it has ever been told is by 
 the greatest musician of the world. In 
 grand and sublime music he has told of 
 the mighty conflicts, the battles lost, the 
 victories won, and the peace which came 
 at last. So wonderful is this story as he 
 told it that the greatest singers of the 
 world sing it over and over again so that 
 all people may learn its great lesson and 
 be filled with a love stronger than the 
 giants themselves. 
 
 Perhaps as you read this story, or when 
 you are men and women and you hear it 
 sung, your hearts, too, will respond again 
 to the struggles of those mighty heroes 
 of long ago. 
 
 20 
 
 \ 
 
 I,
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 THE RHINE-GOLD. 
 
 Far away over the ocean in Germany, 
 there is a very beautiful river which is 
 called the Rhine. People g^o hundreds 
 and thousands of miles to ride upon its 
 waters. From its banks rise many hills. 
 Some of them are very high, while others 
 are lower and less steep. On these hills 
 are quaint old castles which for centuries 
 were the homes of brave, true knigh 
 But the story is not about the Rhine a 
 is now, but as it was thousands of ye :; 
 ag-o. 
 
 At that time ever so many strange, un- 
 earthly creatures lived in the beaut a: 
 Rhine river. They had long-, g-olden ! ti: 
 and very happy faces, for they had never 
 known sorrow. The queer thing- nbout 
 these maidens was that they could '.v 
 be seen out of the river. They ate, ■ i^pl 
 and played in its depths. Their i'^hv^ 
 
 21
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD. 
 
 who had left them many years ago, had 
 called them the Rhine Daughters, after 
 their river home. 
 
 In this river were many rocks. Some 
 were very high and others so low that they 
 could scarcely be seen. These were play- 
 mates for the Rhine Daughters. They 
 could jump from one rock to another as 
 lightly as a squirrel can spring from tree 
 to tree. 
 
 On the highest rock of all was what all 
 this story is about, — a lump of pure, solid 
 gold, more bright than anything imagin- 
 able. This gold had belonged to the river 
 Rhine as long as anyone then living could 
 remember, and it, too, was named after 
 the river. So its name was the Rhine- 
 Gold.j 
 
 When the father of the maidens left 
 them he told tliem that whatever else 
 they did, they must be sure to watch and 
 
 22
 
 THE RHINE 
 
 G L D 
 
 g-uard this Rhine-Gold. Never for one 
 instant were they to leave it alone lest 
 some one might come and steal it away. 
 
 One morning- they were unusually happy 
 as they danced from one rock to another, 
 and no wonder; for the Rhine-Gold looked 
 more beautiful than ever as the sun came 
 up and shone upon it. It looked then as 
 if hundreds of sunbeams were hidden 
 within it. 
 
 The Rhine Daughters noticed how 
 beautiful it was, and taking hold of hands 
 they danced around it. As they danced 
 they began to sing in fresh, glad tones, a 
 beautiful song, and this is their song: 
 
 | ^,frfp-^ i jjjjjifj>r;irf .rrf^4 
 
 ?^ 
 
 =??= 
 
 RHINE DAUGHTERS MOTIVE. 
 
 Scarcely had the last notes died away 
 when they heard a voice. They turned 
 
 23 
 
 /
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 quickly to see whence it came, but no one 
 was there. Presently they heard the voice 
 again, and looking down they saw many 
 little ripples on the surface of the river. 
 The voice seemed to be coming" nearer and 
 nearer. They listened and this is what 
 they heard: 
 
 NIBELUNG MOTIVE. 
 
 In a moment, up out of the river came 
 the ugliest little dwarf you can imagine. 
 He was very small, and instead of stand- 
 ing up straight as a knight or brave man 
 would stand, he was bent away over. His 
 face was dark and hideous, and his coal 
 black hair as matted as if it had never 
 been combed. 
 
 He was so different from any one the 
 Rhine Daughters had ever seen that at 
 first they were frightened. 
 
 24 
 
 \ 
 
 -i
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 "Good morning- to you," said the dwarf, 
 
 "Good morning-, sir," said the Rhine 
 Daughters. "Who are you and where did 
 you come from?" 
 
 "I am Alberich, King- of the Nibelungs, 
 and I came from my home under the 
 earth." 
 
 "You do not live under the earth where 
 there is no sunshine, do you?" asked one 
 of the maidens. 
 
 "Sunshine!" said Alberich, squinting his 
 eyes, "I do not like sunshine. It hurts my 
 eyes." 
 
 "Are the Nibelungs all black and ugly 
 like you?" asked another Rhine Daughter. 
 
 "Yes, they are all dark, but if you will 
 come back with me I will make you my 
 queen and then you will not think us ugly." 
 
 "What! leave the sunshine and our 
 Rhine-Gold? Never! Not even to be a 
 queen would I do that!"
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD. 
 
 "Gold," said Alberich, "where is it?" 
 
 "Come up here and you will see it," 
 called the Rhine Daughters. 
 
 Alberich tried to climb up, but the rocks 
 were so slippery that it took him a long- 
 time, for at every other step he slipped 
 back. Finally he got high enough to see 
 the gold, and it almost blinded him, for 
 the sun was shining directly upon it, and 
 then, too, you know, his eyes were not 
 used to the sunlight. 
 
 "Tell me about this gold," said Alberich. 
 
 "Oh yes! We never tire of telling the 
 story of Rhine-Gold — that is, as much as 
 we know of it. 
 
 "Many, many years ago, when our 
 father left us, he told us to watch and 
 guard the gold; then he told us the secret 
 of its power: Whoever can gain posses- 
 sion of the gold can make it into a magic 
 
 28
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 ring", and that ring will make him master 
 of all earthly powers except love." 
 
 "Love! What do I care for love if I can 
 have magic power," cried the dwarf. 
 
 "Oh, but love is all that makes the 
 world beautiful. 'Tis love that sends the 
 sunshine and the flowers," said one of the 
 Rhine Daughters. 
 
 "Love is nothing- to me," said Alberich, 
 and before they knew it he had stolen the 
 gold and was fast disappearing beneath 
 the river. 
 
 "Oh! Our Rhine-Gold! Our Rhine-Gold 
 is gone!" cried the maidens. They called 
 loudly to Alberich, but it was too late; 
 for already he had vanished, and they 
 could see nothing but the ripples on the 
 surface of the river. They sprang into 
 the water, but only to see him sink down, 
 down, down to his deep, dark home, and 
 they could hear him say, "Now the earth 
 is mine!" 29
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 "Ah," said the sorrowful Rhine Daugh- 
 ters, as they came up to their rocks again, 
 "he thinks he has the whole world, but it 
 will be nothing to him if he has not love. 
 Our gold! Our beautiful gold! Why did 
 Alberich steal it!" And they sadly 
 mourned. 
 
 After that the Rhine Daughters rarely 
 played on the rocks, but whenever they 
 were seen there they could be heard sing- 
 ing of their Rhine-Gold. But how changed 
 was their song! Instead of being full of 
 joy, it was sorrowful and sad, for the 
 beautiful lump of gold which had always 
 been theirs had been stolen. 
 
 High up on top of a mountain lived 
 some very wise giants. The wisest one 
 was the king, and his name was Wotan. 
 
 For a long time Wotan had wanted a 
 palace large enough for all the giants to 
 live in, but he could find no one stalwart
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 and strong" enough to build it, so they had 
 to live out of doors on the mountain. 
 
 One morning they were all awakened 
 very early by a queer, rumbling sound. 
 
 "What is that noise?" said Wotan's 
 sister. 
 
 "I do not know. It sounds like an earth- 
 quake," answered he. 
 
 "Listen! It seems to come nearer! It 
 looks as if a great mountain were moving 
 toward us." 
 
 ■-> ^ - - ^ 1 '^ M . .L m.-i^l - L. - J J 
 
 m 
 
 2:^ 
 
 •"•;;/Ci;"fJf LfC^C/'V^-tj' 
 
 GIANT MOTIVE. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the sound, and 
 nearer came what they thought was a 
 mountain. 
 
 31
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD. 
 
 ''It is a man!" cried Wotan, "but he is 
 ten times larger than any of us. I must 
 go to meet him." 
 
 "Ho there!" cried Wotan, "what do you 
 want?" 
 
 "I have come to build you a palace," 
 thundered the big giant. 
 
 ' 'First tell me who you are," said "Wotan. 
 
 "I am Fafner, the frost giant, and I am 
 so strong I could lift this mountain if I 
 chose." 
 
 "How long will it take you, and how 
 much will you charge for building me a 
 palace? It must be so large that it will 
 cover the whole top of yonder mountain." 
 
 "I will build the palace tonight so that 
 you can move in tomorrow at sunrise, but 
 for pay you must give me your beautiful 
 sister." 
 
 Wotan's thoughts were only of the pal- 
 ace, so without thinking, he promised to 
 
 32
 
 THE R H I N E - G L D . 
 
 give his sister to Fafner as soon as the 
 palace was finished. 
 
 All that day Wotan and his comrades 
 feasted and danced and had a very happy 
 time for they were all thinking of the 
 beautiful palace which was to be theirs in 
 the morning. 
 
 At night all but Fafner lay down on the 
 mountain-side to sleep. The full moon 
 shone as bright as day and gave light to 
 Fafner for his work. 
 
 With one step he crossed over to the 
 mountain where the palace was to be, and 
 quickly went to work. Such stones as he 
 brought! Some were as large as an ordi- 
 nary house, some smaller, and some even 
 larger. At midnight the outside of the 
 palace was completed, and Fafner went 
 inside to finish putting in the windows 
 and doors. 
 
 After a while the moon and stars began 
 
 33
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD. 
 
 to grow dim, and the great g"iant came out- 
 side to look at his work. 
 
 "All finished," he said, "and before sun- 
 rise, too. I will step back to the other 
 mountain and wait for the giants to 
 awaken." 
 
 Very soon it began to grow light. The 
 sun came uj) and shone on the beautiful 
 white marble palace. Fafner sat down 
 and waited, but it was not long" before he 
 heard Wotan's wife calling" him to awake 
 and see the beautiful palace. Wotan and 
 the other giants arose quickly and looked 
 across to the mountain on which stood 
 their new home. 
 
 "How beautiful! How beautiful!" they 
 cried. 
 
 "Now you must give me your sister," 
 said Fafner, "for I must g"o back at once 
 to the frost country." 
 
 "You must think of some other way for 
 
 34
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD 
 
 me to pay you, for I cannot let my sister 
 g-o. Every morning she feeds us with 
 g-olden apples and that keeps us always 
 young." 
 
 "Very well," said Fafner, and the whole 
 mountain shook as he spoke, for he was 
 more than angry. "Iwill tear the palace 
 down quicker than I built it. " 
 
 "No, no, do not do that," cried Wotan. 
 "Give me just one hour in which to talk 
 to my brother about it." 
 
 "One hour only," said Fafner. 
 
 Wotan soon found his brother, and told 
 him they had but one hour in which to 
 save their sister. Then he told him how 
 he had promised to give his sister in pay- 
 ment for the palace. 
 
 "That was a very foolish thing to do," 
 said his brother, "but perhaps we can 
 think of something else which will an- 
 
 swer." 
 
 35
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 "This morning' when I was walking 
 down beside the Rhine I saw Black Al- 
 berich steal the Rhine-Gold, and I also 
 heard the Rhine Daughters tell him that 
 a ring- could be made of it, and the ring 
 would give him a magic secret, so he could 
 possess all earthly power save love." 
 
 "Perhaps Fafner would take the gold 
 instead of our sister," continued the 
 brother, "Let us go and ask him." 
 
 They hurried back to Fafner and asked 
 him if he would take the gold instead of 
 their sister. 
 
 "Yes, I will, but until you have the gold 
 I will keep your sister. When you bring- 
 the g-old here, I will bring your sister back 
 to you." 
 
 Then lifting the beautiful maiden in his 
 arms, Fafner hurried away, and instantly 
 the giants began to g^row old. Clouds came 
 across the sky. The sun was hidden. 
 
 36
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 "Quick, brother, let us go at once!" 
 cried Wotan. 
 
 They started immediately and went 
 down, down, down. As they neared Al- 
 berich's kingdom such a noise as greeted 
 their ears! It was just like ever so many 
 hundreds of people pounding- on anvils. 
 
 v"-^ r' ff' rv ' T f I T 
 
 NIBELUNG MOTIVE. 
 
 "Here we are, " said Wotan. "I wonder 
 where Alberich is! When he comes what 
 shall I say to him?" 
 
 "Leave that to me," said his brother. 
 Wotan's brother was the most cunning and 
 sly one of all the family of giants. 
 
 Running back and forth in every direc- 
 tion were queer little people, all black and 
 bent like Alberich, and each one carrying 
 gold, silver or jorecious stones. 
 
 37
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD 
 
 "Mime, bring- me that magic helmet at 
 once or I will give you a good beating," 
 called Alberich to his brother. 
 
 *I cannot make it," whined Mime. 
 
 "You have it in your hand. I am king 
 here, and I want you to understand that 
 what you make belongs to me, and not to 
 you!" cried Alberich. 
 
 "Take it then," said Mime, throwing it 
 at him. 
 
 At that moment Alberich noticed Wotan 
 and his brother. :^' 
 
 "What are you here for, and what do 
 you want," he asked. 
 
 "Oh, we just came to see you," said 
 Wotan's brother. ' 'What use is that magic 
 helmet?" 
 
 "With that I can change -myself into 
 anything I wish," answered Alberich. 
 
 "Change into a dragon," said Wotan. 
 
 .38
 
 II
 
 THE RHINE - GOLD. 
 
 Alberich slipped the helmet over his 
 head and instantly he disappeared, and a 
 huge dragon lay squirming before them, 
 and then, just as quickly the dragon van- 
 ished and Alberich appeared. 
 
 "That is all very easy," said Wotan's 
 brother, "but I don't believe you can 
 change into anything as small as a toad, 
 can you?" 
 
 This made Alberich angry and he put 
 on the helmet and in a moment a toad 
 hopped at their feet. 
 
 "Step on him quick, Wotan," said his 
 brother. 
 
 Wotan put his great foot upon the little 
 toad, but instantly the toad was gone and 
 there was Alberich struggling to get from 
 under the giant's foot. 
 
 "Let me go! you are crushing me!" 
 screamed Alberich. 
 
 "Not until you give me every bit of your 
 
 41
 
 THE RHINE -GOLD 
 
 gold, the helmet and the ring, " said Wotan. 
 
 "You may have all but the ring-. That 
 I will keep," said Alberich. 
 
 "Then I will crush you," said the King 
 of the Giants. 
 
 "Take it all, then, and let me go," cried 
 the dwarf. 
 
 Wotan lifted his foot and Alberich got 
 up and commanded the gold to be brought. 
 Without delay Wotan and his brother 
 gathered it up and put it into large sacks. 
 Then, turning to Alberich, Wotan de- 
 manded the helmet which he unwillingly 
 gave. 
 
 "Now the magic ring." 
 
 Alberich 's face grew blacker and blacker 
 as he handed the ring to Wotan. 
 
 "Listen well to what I say, " he shouted. 
 
 "Cursed is that ring. It will bring only 
 
 sorrow and unhappiness to anyone who 
 
 may possess it." 
 
 42
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 But Wotan and his brother paid no at- 
 tention to the curse. They picked up the 
 g-old and hurried back to the mountain. 
 As they neared it they heard ag-ain the 
 rumbling sound, and looking- to the east 
 they saw the Frost Giant, with the sister 
 in his arms, coming" over the moun- 
 tain. 
 
 "Here is the g^old! Now g^ive us our sis- 
 ter that we may be young- again," said 
 Wotan. 
 
 "Make a pile of it as high as your sister 
 is tall," said Fafner, "but if there is one 
 little hole in it through which I can see 
 the light, I will not give her back." 
 
 Wotan and the rest of the wise giants 
 soon had the gold piled up, but they were 
 careful not to put either the helmet or the 
 magic ring upon it. 
 
 "I see a crack! Put on that helmet!' 
 shouted Fafner. 
 
 43
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 Seeiug that it was no use to refuse, Wo- 
 tan threw the helmet on the pile. 
 
 Fafner walked around the great heap of 
 gold and looked closely at it. 
 
 "Here is just one more little crack. You 
 must put the ring" here or I will take your 
 sister away again." 
 
 "No, I must keep the ring," said 
 Wotan. 
 
 "Very well. I was afraid you would not 
 give me enough gold," and taking the sis- 
 ter up in his arms, Fafner started off. 
 
 "Give him the ring! Give him the ring!' 
 cried all the giants, "or we shall soon 
 grow so old that we cannot walk nor even 
 see." 
 
 "Stop, Fafner," called Wotan. "Leave 
 our beautiful sister. Here is the ring, but 
 I warn you that a curse goes with it." 
 
 "What do I care for a curse! I do not 
 need love and happiness if I have gold 
 
 44
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 and Fafner gathered up the shining- heap, 
 the helmet and the ring. With one step 
 he disappeared. But he had left the beau- 
 tiful maiden, and in less than no time a 
 change came over all the giants. They 
 were young once more! 
 
 But although Wotan had regained his 
 youth, he had such a queer, heavy feeling 
 in his heart. Again and again he thought 
 he heard a voice say "Cursed is the Ring! 
 It will bring only sorrow and unhappiness 
 to whoever possesses it!" 
 
 "I shall never, never be really and truly 
 happy again because I did not give the 
 ring back to the Rhine Daughters. It has 
 taken happiness away from me. Whom 
 next will it curse? Oh, if I had but given 
 it back I could have brought happiness in- 
 stead of unhappiness to many." 
 
 As he sat thinking, many black clouds 
 appeared in the sky. Fierce lightning 
 
 45
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 flashed. The thunder shook the whole 
 earth. The rain poured down. 
 
 It was a wild and terrible storm, but it 
 lasted only a few moments. Again the sun 
 shone out. Wotan called all the giants 
 about him, and looking up they saw a rain- 
 bow bridge stretching from the mountain 
 on which they were, away over to the one 
 where the splendid palace stood in all its 
 beauty. 
 
 "Let us go over to our Walhalla," said 
 Wotan, "for that shall be the name of our 
 new home." 
 
 One by one they stepped upon the bridge, 
 and walked slowly over, and all the time 
 the Walhalla music could be heard. 
 
 v.' j^'^yfir:/r^l 
 
 WALHALLA MOTIVE. 
 
 Wotan was the last one to step upon 
 
 46
 
 DIE W A L K U R E 
 
 the bridge. Very slowly he walked. Sud- 
 denly he stopped. 
 
 "What do I hear?" said he to himself. 
 "Oh, it is the Rhine Daughters singing of 
 their lost gold, and I might have given it 
 back to them if I had only been brave 
 enough. It will take some one who is 
 braver and more of a hero than I to give it 
 back," he added as he walked slowly on. 
 "How different everything might have 
 been if I had given it back. Then I would 
 not feel this sadness. And now, to think 
 that everyone who has the ring must be 
 unhappy because I did not give it back 
 and break the curse! 
 
 "How beautiful Walhalla is," said Wo- 
 tan as he stepped into the palace, "but 
 how dearly have I paid for it!" 
 
 49
 
 DIE WALKURE.
 
 DIE WALKURE, 
 
 OR THE STORY OF BRUNHILDE. 
 
 Wotan and the other g-iants lived for a 
 time very happily in the splendid Wal- 
 halla. 
 
 The palace was very beautiful. The 
 windows were so large that they seemed 
 to let almost all the sunshine in the sky 
 into the halls. The floors were of polished 
 silver, and the walls were of solid gold, 
 set with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and 
 diamonds. 
 
 The grounds which surrounded Walhalla 
 were even more beautiful than the palace 
 itself. There were trees so tall that it 
 seemed as if the branches must almost 
 touch the sky; and their trunks were so 
 large that it took Wotan and six other 

 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 g^iants, all taking" hold of hands, to reach 
 around one of them. 
 
 Besides these wonderful shade trees, 
 which had been growing- for hundreds of 
 years, there were great trees which bore 
 delicious fruit all the year round. 
 
 Then, too, there were large, cool lakes, 
 and the queerest boats, in which the giants 
 would often ride. 
 
 With these beautiful surroundings the 
 giants were very happy. All except Wo- 
 tan. Every night they would sit out un- 
 der the trees and listen to sweet music and 
 feast upon the golden apples given them 
 by the sister. These golden apples, you 
 know, kept them always young. 
 
 Very often the giants would ask their 
 king why he was so sad. 
 
 "Alas, I am afraid I have paid too 
 dearly for Walhalla, " was the mournful 
 
 reply. 
 
 54
 
 DIE W A L K U R E 
 
 "Do not think so much about that but 
 enjoy its beauties," said his brother. 
 
 But Wotan would not be comforted, for 
 it seemed to him as if a voice was always 
 whispering to him: "Cursed is the gold! 
 Only sorrow will follow him who pos- 
 sesses it." 
 
 "Unhappiness and sorrow are sure to 
 come to our home, " thought he, "so I must 
 prepare for it. I must find a means of de- 
 fense or some day Walhalla and all its 
 beauties will be destroyed. I will take my 
 magic spear and go to find protection, even 
 though I have to travel around the whole 
 world." 
 
 Therefore, one dark night, taking with 
 him his magic spear, Wotan left Wal- 
 halla. 
 
 This spear was very wonderful, for with 
 it Wotan ruled the whole world. It was a 
 magician's spear, and with it in his hands 
 
 55
 
 DIE W A L K U R E : 
 
 he had but to command and the whole 
 earth obeyed. Should this spear be broken 
 Wotan could no long'er rule the world. 
 Many swords had battled with it, but 
 only to be shattered and broken, while the 
 spear had not even a scratch upon it. 
 
 There was g'reat excitement among" the 
 giants the next morning when they found 
 their king had left them. All that day 
 they searched for him, but in vain. He 
 was nowhere to be found. Night came, 
 and still there was no trace of him. 
 
 "Look and see if he has taken the magic 
 spear," said one of the g"iants. 
 
 They looked, and it was g"one! 
 
 "We need not expect him home for 
 weeks, even months, and perhaps years," 
 said his wife, "for when Wotan goes away 
 and takes his spear, it means that he has 
 started on a long journey." 
 
 And sure enough! The days grew into 
 
 56
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 weeks, and the weeks into months. Still 
 Wotan did not return. The months grew 
 slowly into years, and years passed by. 
 Still the king- came not to "VValhalla! 
 
 Many of the giants began to think he 
 would never return. But the years to 
 them did not mean what a year means to 
 us. They could live for hundreds of years, 
 and so long as they had the golden apples 
 to feast upon, they never grew old. Still, 
 the time seemed very long to them while 
 their king stayed away. 
 
 "Walhalla seems very gloomy now," 
 said one of the giants as he laid down to 
 sleep one night. "I wonder what Wotan 
 will bring with him when he returns. He 
 never wanders upon the earth for so long 
 a time, leaving' us lonely here upon the 
 mountain, without bringing back some- 
 thing which adds much to our comfort," 
 said another giant.
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 \ 
 
 - ■ — — 1 
 
 I 
 
 In a short time all was quiet and peace- \ 
 ful in the palace. The moon kept watch ' 
 while the giants slept. But about mid- 
 night they were awakened by some mar- 
 velous singing. 
 
 The giants started up. 
 
 "That must be Wotan!" they said. 
 "Listen, it seems to come nearer." 
 
 "No, no, that is not his song!" 
 
 "Who can it be!" 
 
 "Hark! Hark! how different it sounds 
 from our music!" 
 
 All the giants sprang to their feet and 
 stood breathless, listening. An d this is 
 what they heard: 
 
 r flT'^-rr-] 
 
 RIDE OF THE WALKURE. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the music, and 
 clearer and clearer rang out the song. 
 Soon the giants could see their king. 
 
 58
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 But he is not alone! He has people 
 with him! And they have horses, and 
 look! look! the horses have wings and are 
 flying! 
 
 See, there are nine horses, and on each 
 horse is seated a beautiful maiden! 
 
 By this time Wotan and nine maidens 
 dashed up to the palace steps, and sprang 
 from their horses. 
 
 Each maiden was dressed in silver ar- 
 mour which glistened and sparkled in the 
 moonlight; each held a large glittering 
 shield, while on their heads were bright 
 shining helmets, on each of which were 
 two golden wings. 
 
 "Why did you bring all these maid- 
 ens to Walhalla?" demanded Wotan's 
 wife. 
 
 "These are the great War-Maidens. 
 Mounted on their winged horses they are 
 to go to the places where wars are wag- 
 
 59
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 ing-. They will ride into the thick of the 
 battles, and bring the bravest of all the 
 heroes here. Then we shall be protected, 
 and our palace free from harm. " 
 
 As Wotan said this the War-Maidens 
 sprang on their horses and rode round and 
 round Walhalla, singing their song all the 
 whilet 
 
 The horses' feet never touched the 
 ground, but with their powerful wings 
 they flew more swiftly than eagles. 
 
 Each one of these War-Maidens had a 
 name, but this story is about one of them 
 only, and her name was Brunhilde. They 
 were all very dear to Wotan, but he felt a 
 more tender love for Brunhilde than for 
 any of the others. She was the most 
 beautiful because she was braver and 
 stronger than any of her sisters. 
 
 60
 
 DIE W A L K U R E 
 
 Not a day passed but some of the maid- 
 ens rode into a battle and brought back 
 a brave hero, and quite often all went, so 
 that before long- Walhalla was filled with 
 the bravest heroes of the earth. Brun- 
 hilde and her sisters were always allowed 
 to choose for themselves the hero whom 
 they would bring, and they had never 
 made a mistake. No one had ever been 
 brought, over whom Wotan did not 
 rejoice. 
 
 Now there were so many brave warriors 
 about the king that he had less fear of 
 Alberich's curse. Still he never quite for- 
 got it. 
 
 Wotan had many friends upon the earth 
 and he often sent Brunhilde to bring one 
 to Walhalla. Fricka, his wife, also had 
 friends upon the earth, but her friends 
 were not always among the most truthful 
 men. One friend in particular was very 
 
 61
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 dear to her, and she often begged her hus- 
 band to have him brought to the palace, 
 but Wotan always had some reason for not 
 sending for him. 
 
 By and by a great quarrel arose between 
 Fricka's friend and a brave friend of Wo- 
 tan's. This gave the king much unhap- 
 piness. Pricka came to him and again 
 demanded to have her friend brought. 
 
 "Do you not know, Wotan," she said, 
 "that your friend has not been true to all 
 the laws, and could you, knowing that, 
 have him brought to Walhalla?'' 
 
 Wotan, after a hard struggle with him- 
 self told her that in that respect she was 
 right, and he would give the victory to 
 her friend. 
 
 King Wotan was now very unhappy. 
 Nevertheless he called Brunhilde to him 
 and told her all about this terrible quar- 
 rel, — a quarrel which had resulted in a 
 
 62
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 battle so fierce that thousands had taken 
 sides in it and were now fighting". 
 
 "Now, my brave War-Maiden, mount 
 your horse! Fly at once to the battle and 
 bring to our palace my wife's friend. " 
 
 "But, Wotan, what troubles you? I 
 never saw you look so sad when sending 
 me tor a hero," said Brunhilde. 
 
 "I never loved another as I love my 
 friend and it makes me sad indeed to feel 
 that I cannot have him brought here to 
 live in our beautiful Walhalla." 
 
 "Let me bring your friend, father, 
 since you love him so dearly, " said 
 Brunhilde. 
 
 "No, he has sinned, and I have made the 
 promise to my wife. Go at once, and be- 
 fore sunset bring my wife's friend." 
 
 Brunhilde mounted her winged horse and 
 was out of sight in a moment. They flew 
 through the air, over mountain after moun- 
 
 63
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 tain. Soon she heard the clashing of 
 swords. 
 
 "Stop, my horsel Down here is the 
 battle," said she. 
 
 Then the horse flew straight to the 
 earth. 
 
 Brunhilde had never before seen such a 
 terrible battle. It seemed to her as if 
 Wotan's friend was by far the bravest and 
 truest hero that she had ever seen. For 
 one instant she hesitated and then with a 
 cry sprang forward to give the victory to 
 him. Suddenly a cloud as red as fire ap- 
 peared, with Wotan and his spear in the 
 middle of it. 
 
 Wotan sprang in front of Brunhilde and 
 stretched out his terrible spear. His friend 
 at that moment had raised his sword to 
 strike the enemy. Crash went the sword, 
 broken in two pieces, for it had hit Wo- 
 tan's mighty spear. 
 
 64
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 So the battle was over and the victory- 
 lost. 
 
 Wotan was so furious that the whole 
 earth shook with his angry words. Brun- 
 hilde was terrified, but she could not re- 
 sist picking up the broken sword. As she 
 did so a mysterious voice whispered to her, 
 "Nothung is the name of the sword. It is 
 to be given to the hero who knows no 
 fear." 
 
 ' 'Brunhilde, " shouted Wotan, ' 'go at once 
 to Walhalla and await me there." 
 
 She mounted her horse and was soon 
 back at the palace. Her sisters were wait- 
 ing for her. 
 
 "Quick! sisters! take this broken sword 
 and give it to the hero who knows no fear. " 
 
 Again the sky was ablaze as with a 
 great fire. Then Wotan appeared, bring- 
 ing Fricka's friend to Walhalla. 
 
 "Come hither, Brunhilde!"' thundered 
 
 ()5
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 Wotan. ' 'With your horse and your shield 
 follow me to the side of the mountain. " 
 
 Much frightened, she obeyed. 
 
 "Leave your horse, lay down your shield 
 and stand before me." 
 
 "Father, father, what have I done?" 
 
 "You have dared to disobey the king of 
 all giants, Wotan the Mighty, who rules 
 the earth, and you must be punished for it. " 
 
 "But Wotan, I tried to save the one you 
 love," cried Brunhilde, kneeling at his feet. 
 
 "Oh! my friend, my friend," mourned 
 Wotan, and he bowed his head in his hands. 
 
 Thus he sat a long time, and neither he 
 nor Brunhilde moved or spoke. After a 
 time he raised his head. The anger was 
 all gone from his face and his voice was 
 gentle as he said sadly to the maiden: 
 
 "Brunhilde, my best beloved, most beau- 
 tiful War-Maiden, I must punish you. Look 
 up into my face while I tell you what your 
 
 66
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 punishment must be. You have disobeyed 
 me so I must send you from Walhalla. You 
 can be a War-Maiden no longer. Yester- 
 day you brought your last brave hero to 
 our palace. Now you will have to 
 live like any other woman upon the 
 earth." 
 
 "Oh father, father, anything- but that! 
 Do not make me leave Walhalla!" 
 
 "Yes, my Brunhilde, it must be so. I 
 shall put you to sleep and the first one 
 who kisses you will awaken you, and you 
 will come to Walhalla no more." 
 
 "One thing I ask, my father! Will 3'ou 
 not place me in some spot where none but 
 a hero can reach me? Surely you will not 
 deny me this, " pleaded Brunhilde. 
 
 "No, my War-Maiden," answered he 
 sadly. "I will not deny your request. I 
 will place you where only the hero who 
 knows no fear can awaken you." 
 
 67
 
 DIEWALKURE. 
 
 And as he spoke Wotan lifted Brunhilde 
 in his strong- arms, picked up the shield, 
 and telling her horse to follow, he carried 
 her, his beautiful War-Maiden, to a large 
 smooth rock and laid her upon it. 
 
 "Here, Brunhilde, on the top of this 
 lofty mountain, you are to await the hero 
 who knows no fear. Sit up and look for 
 the last time at Walhalla. Think of what 
 it has cost me. All my happiness! Prom- 
 ise me, my daughter, after the hero awak- 
 ens you, you will ever be brave and true. 
 If you are, your life will be filled with 
 a happiness which far exceeds anything I 
 have ever known, living- in yonder marble 
 halls." 
 
 "Yes, my father, I promise. I will be 
 brave and true," and Brunhilde for the 
 last time gazed upon the towers and 
 turrets of the beautiful white marble 
 
 palace. 
 
 68
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 "Wotan, may my brave horse stay with 
 me?" said she, as she laid down. 
 
 "Yes, your horse, the trees, the grass, 
 and the flowers which surround you shall 
 sleep. It will be very hard for anyone to 
 reach you, my daughter, for I shall call on 
 the fire to come and encircle this spot. 
 Goodbye, my brave War-Maiden," and as 
 he said this he stooped and kissed her. 
 Instantly she fell asleep as did her winged 
 steed, the trees, and the flowers. At that 
 moment the sweetest slumber music could 
 be heard. Softer and sweeter it g'reAV as 
 she slept. A sweet smile spread over her 
 face. She had done what she thought was 
 right, and though she was no more a War- 
 Maiden, she still was and will always be 
 the heroic Brunhilde. 
 
 ^ 
 
 •'^^ J r r -^ 
 
 O!^ 
 
 SLUMBER MOTIVE. 
 69
 
 DIE W A L K U R E . 
 
 Wotan took his spear and with it marked 
 a magic circle about the sleeping" one. 
 
 « 
 
 Then lifting" it high in the air he called 
 upon the fire. Instantly it came and sur- 
 rounded his beloved companion and daug"h- 
 ter. Great red flames shot up almost to 
 the sky. The fire crackled and roared, 
 but Brunhilde still slumbered. 
 
 Wotan walked slowly and sadly back to 
 Walhalla, and again he heard the curse, 
 "Only sorrow and unhappiness shall fol- 
 low him who possesses the ring." 
 
 Day after day, week after week, and 
 year after year rolled by. Still Brunhilde 
 slept, awaiting the hero who knew no fear 
 who was to come and waken her. 
 
 70
 
 i^-* 
 
 SIEGFRIED
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 I. 
 
 Long-, long-, indeed, seemed the days to 
 Wotan. Again and again did his thoughts 
 carry him back to the day when Walhalla 
 first stood before him in all its splendid 
 beauty. Many were the times when in his 
 memory the g-reat frost giant, Fafner, 
 stood before him demanding- all the gold, 
 even the ring. Is it any wonder that the 
 days seemed long to him? 
 
 But everything- was different with Faf- 
 ner, for he now had what he had always 
 desired, — a great pile of g^old and magic 
 power. He very seldom thought of Wal- 
 halla. His thoughts were of nothing but 
 the gold. 
 
 First he carried his treasure, — the gold, 
 the magic helmet, and the fated ring-, — far
 
 5 I E G F R I E D . 
 
 away to his own country. But hardly had he 
 reached his home when he realized that the 
 gold would not be safe, for at any moment 
 some one might come and steal it away. 
 
 Again he gathered up his treasure and 
 started to look over all the world to find 
 the best and safest place for it. The jour- 
 ney would have seemed very long to us, 
 but to him it was the work of only three 
 or four days, for with a single step he 
 could cover miles of distance. 
 
 River after river he crossed, stepping 
 over many a high mountain, speeding 
 across far reaching plains and deserts, till 
 at last he came to a great dark forest^ 
 The forest was dark because the trees 
 grew so close to one another that their 
 branches overlapped and kept out the sun- 
 light. In some places, however, the trees 
 were not so close, and there the sun shone 
 warm and bright all the day. 
 
 74
 
 S I E G F R I E D . 
 
 This forest was the home of many fierce 
 •wild animals, especially of bears. 
 
 "Ha, ha!" exclaimed Fafner, as he 
 looked about him. "Here I can live with 
 my gold. No one will be apt to come into 
 this wild place." 
 
 So he pushed his way into the dark for- 
 est until he came to a deep, black cave. 
 All the time he held close to him the bags 
 which contained his treasure. 
 
 "Just the place!" said he, as he peered 
 into the cave. "Here I will stay day and 
 night with my gold. In this doorway I 
 will sit forever to guard my hoard. '' 
 
 As he sat there he heard the lions roar- 
 ing, the bears growling and the leaves 
 rustling as they talked to the wind. Faf- 
 ner's face looked more like shadow than 
 sunlight as he crouched near his gold. 
 
 "Some wanderer might possibly pass by 
 my cave," thought he, "and in some way 
 
 75 
 
 'mu
 
 5 I E G F R I E D . 
 
 discover my gold and steal it. What can 
 I do to make it more safe." 
 
 Suddenly his face changed. Jumping 
 up he grasped the magic helmet. 
 
 "I know what I will do. I will put this 
 helmet on my head and change into a dra- 
 gon, so great and fierce and ugly that no 
 one will dare come near me." 
 
 And all for the sake of the gold, he put 
 on the magic helmet and the change came. 
 He was no longer the great frost giant, 
 but a fierce and terrible dragon. He did 
 not stand erect and mighty like the great 
 giant that he had been, but lay squirming 
 and twisting, — a huge, awful serpent. 
 
 He was more terrible than you can im- 
 agine. His body was somewhat like that 
 of a whale, while his skin was covered 
 with slimy green scales. His tail was 
 long and pointed, and in the end was a 
 sting of deadly poison. 
 
 76
 
 5 I E G F R I E D . 
 
 His teeth were sharp like a saw, and 
 he breathed out fiery smoke so hot and 
 poisonous that should it touch anyone it 
 would kill him instantly. 
 
 This was what the frost giant, the 
 mighty Fafner, changed himself into for a 
 pile of gold! 
 
 Meantime, Alberich and all the other 
 Nibelungs were having a very uncom- 
 fortable, unhappy time, for each one was 
 trying to think how he could manage to 
 get possession of the gold again, Albe- 
 rich's face seemed to grow blacker and 
 blacker each day, and he was so cross 
 and ugly that no one dared to go near 
 him. 
 
 Mime, Alberich's brother, was also plot- 
 ting and planning how he could steal 
 away the gold. 
 
 The Nibelungs in one way were not so 
 afraid of Mime as they were of Alberich 
 
 77
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 for he did not frighten them with such ter- 
 rible threats. But he was very sly and 
 untruthful, so they could never believe 
 anything he said. One day there was 
 great excitement in this underground 
 kingdom, for Mime was missing. They 
 searched in every place, but nowhere was 
 he to be found. Then Alberich was still 
 uglier for he felt sure Mime was in some 
 way going to find the gold, and he wanted 
 to get it for himself. 
 
 The night before, when all were asleep, 
 Mime had silently stolen away from his 
 underground home. He had taken with him 
 a number of his tools that he might still 
 forge chains and swords and many other 
 things which a blacksmith makes. 
 
 These ugly little Nibelungs had a queer, 
 sly way of finding out all sorts of things 
 which were not meant for them to know. 
 No one ever knew how they learned these 
 
 78
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 thing's, strange, sly little dwarfs that they 
 were. It was not to be wondered at that 
 they heard strange earth voices speaking 
 to them when no one else could hear. It 
 must have been in some such way as this 
 that Mime found out about the fated gold, 
 because, although he did not know just 
 where it was, he did know that in a dark 
 forest somewhere Fafner, in the shape of 
 a huge dragon, was guarding it. And so, 
 in hopes of stealing the gold, Mime came 
 from his dark, dreary home to live above 
 the earthj 
 
 He wandered many days before he could 
 find any trace of the dragon. It was in 
 the Springtime, and the earth was just 
 budding into new beauty. The flowers 
 were in bloom and giving out their sweet- 
 est perfume. The trees had just put out 
 new leaves, while hidden in their branches 
 were many little nests in which sat mother 
 
 79
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 birds upon the eg-gs, soon to tell their 
 secret. 
 
 The whole earth rang- with the glad, 
 joyous song- of Springtime. But Mime did 
 not notice any of these beauties, for there 
 was no Springtime in his heart. All his 
 thoughts were of the gold and the magic 
 
 ^&' 
 
 At last he succeeded in finding the cave 
 in which lived the fearful dragon guarding- 
 the fated gold. Mime often crouched for 
 hours in some dark part of the forest, try- 
 ing to plan some way to gain possession 
 of the g-old and the ring. But he knew, 
 deep down in his heart, that he, himself, 
 could never kill the dragon, for he was a 
 coward, and one must be without fear to 
 dare face such a monster. 
 
 At last Mime's plans were completed. 
 He had decided to find a cave in another 
 part of the forest and there spend his days 
 
 80
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 forging a sword strong enough to slay the 
 dragon. 
 
 "But I will not dare go near enough to 
 kill him even though I may forge a sword 
 stout enough to pierce his heart, " thought 
 he. "Ah! now I have it! There in my cave 
 I will work day and night until a sword 
 shall be made which no human power can 
 break. Then I will wait until a hero, 
 strong and brave, shall come through the 
 forest. I will deceive him so that he will 
 kill for me the dragon, and then — then I 
 will destroy the hero, and the gold shall 
 be mine!" 
 
 As Mime said this his face looked blacker 
 and more repulsive than before. Very lit- 
 tle time was lost before he was settled in 
 a cave in another part of the forest. Here 
 he heaped a pile of stones, and on them 
 placed his anvil, while near by he made a 
 forge of large, rough rocks which were 
 near at hand. 81
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 Many days and nights the queer little 
 Nibelung- spent trying to forge the sword 
 of which he had dreamed, but it was in 
 vain, for when he struck the sword upon 
 a stone, it would break into pieces. Often 
 tired and almost discouraged with his 
 wicked work, Mime would walk sometimes 
 far into the forest, but this he never en- 
 joyed, for the growling of the bears, and 
 the roaring of the lions struck terror to his 
 cowardly heart. 
 
 However, one morning he ventured a lit- 
 tle farther than usual into the woods, 
 hoping he might in some way learn how 
 to make the sword. Suddenly he stopped, 
 for he heard a cry like that of a little 
 baby. He listened, and again the same 
 cry was heard. His first thought was to 
 run back to his cave. Then he decided to 
 find whence came the cry. He did not have 
 to go far, for almost at his feet lay a 
 
 82
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 little baby boy, hardly more than a day 
 old. 
 
 There was something" in the child's face 
 which made Mime know that when he was 
 grown to manhood he would be one of 
 earth's bravest heroes. Stooping to look 
 more closely at the baby, Mime's eyes 
 caught sight of a broken sword, and he 
 knew at once that this sword, when 
 mended, would be the weapon of his 
 dreams, for it was large and sharp and 
 made of the strongest steel in the world. 
 
 He thought for a moment, then said "I 
 will take the baby, bring him up to be a 
 strong man and then have him, with this 
 sword, slay the dragon. Afterwards I can 
 in some way rid myself of him, and the 
 gold and the ring will be mine!" 
 
 So he lifted the beautiful baby boy in 
 his arms, picked up the broken sword, and 
 was about to start for his cave when he 
 
 83
 
 SIEGFRIED, 
 
 heard a mysterious voice say "Siegfried is 
 the name of the child, and Nothung the 
 name of the magic sword, and only he who 
 knows no fear can weld it together." 
 
 Mime looked all about him to see whence 
 came the voice, but no one could be seen. 
 Again it was heard, fainter and farther 
 away this time, "Siegfried is the name of 
 the child, and Nothung the name of the 
 magic sword, and only he who knows no 
 fear can weld it together." 
 
 "Aha!" laughed Mime, "whoever it is 
 that spoke, does not know of my cunning 
 work. I can easily mend the sword! 
 Magic, magic, " he chuckled as he turned 
 away with the baby and the sword in his 
 arms. "Magic! So much the better! All 
 the more confident now, am I, that when 
 mended it will pierce the heart of the 
 dragon. " 
 
 The first thing Mime did on reaching the 
 
 84
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 cave was to hide the sword where he was 
 quite sure it would never be discovered. 
 Next he brought skins and placed them 
 on a huge, hollow log. This was the baby's 
 bed. 
 
 "I will be as good as I can to the child, 
 and give him the right kind of food, so 
 that he may grow up to be of use to me," 
 thought the dwarf. 
 
 How different this baby's life was from 
 the lives of our babies! He had no loving 
 mother to sing him to sleep at night and 
 to comfort him when he felt unhappy over 
 some little sorrow, and above all, to tell 
 him strange, wonderful stories of brave 
 heroes who had given their lives to pro- 
 tect weaker ones. 
 
 He never saw anyone but Mime, — never 
 knew that anyone else lived but the strange 
 little Nibelung. 
 
 Mime, however, was as kind to the baby, 
 
 85
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 in his rough way, as he knew how to be. 
 Every morning when the sun was shining 
 he would carry him out of the cave and 
 place him under the trees that he might 
 lie and kick out his little limbs and, 
 breathing in the fresh forest air, listen to 
 the merry songs of the birds as they flew 
 through the blue sky far above the tops of 
 the trees. 
 
 Mime now very seldom left his cave, and 
 day after day could be heard his strange, 
 unhappy song. 
 
 p^' '.' rm' r \ 
 
 :jHE 
 
 NIBELUNG MOTIVE. 
 
 He had but one thought now, and that 
 was of the baby growing to a strong man 
 that he might kill the dragon. So he 
 watched with great interest the growth 
 of the child. Each day little Siegfried 
 
 86
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 grew stronger and stronger so that before 
 long he could walk. Then came very- 
 happy days for him. 
 
 He would wander into the forests quite 
 away from the cave and sit and listen to 
 the wind as it whispered to the trees. 
 Often a little baby bear would come up to 
 him and play with him for hours at a 
 time. Sometimes the mother bear would 
 come and lie on the grass nearby, watch- 
 ing the young child playing with her baby, 
 but she never thought of doing him any 
 harm. 
 
 Day by day Siegfried grew more beauti- 
 ful. His little arms and legs grew stronger, 
 his body more erect, and his golden hair 
 fell like sunbeams about his baby face 
 which each day had more strength in it. 
 
 He was clothed in real forest dress, con- 
 sisting of a little fur shirt, and skin sandals 
 on his feet. Mime had made for him a 
 
 87
 
 5" 
 
 G F R 
 
 D 
 
 silver horn which he wore swung over his 
 shoulders. With this horn he could call 
 the birds and play to the bears which 
 were his constant companions. Often 
 would that part of the forest ring with 
 the glad, happy notes of his silver horn. 
 
 HORN MOTIVE. 
 
 Not only did the birds and bears respond 
 to the call, but the mother foxes would 
 come with their little ones, and the wolves 
 with their cubs. They would nestle close 
 to the young boy while he played on his 
 horn for them. They felt his courage and 
 loved him for it. 
 
 Happy, indeed, were these days to the 
 young Siegfried, and this is the way the 
 music told of them: 
 
 88
 
 6- 
 
 F R 
 
 D 
 
 m 
 
 ip^ 
 
 2=4: 
 
 m i rfrif | r'r r i fff|ffg | f 
 
 SIEGFRIED AS A LITTLE BOY (SIEGFRIED 
 
 MTF.) 
 
 Is it to be wondered at that he grew up 
 to be all that even the grasping- Mime 
 could desire? Never was such a hero seen 
 before. One bright sunny morning, tri- 
 umphant in the strength of his young 
 manhood, Siegfried stood before Mime, 
 demanding a sword so strong that he 
 could not break it. 
 
 Mime was such a cowardly dwarf that 
 the brave youth could not do otherwise 
 than despise him, and he very seldom 
 stayed in the cave. This was the reason 
 he demanded a strong sword, for he was 
 planning to leave Mime and the forest and 
 see something of the world, but he would 
 not go without some means of defense. 
 
 89
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 "The sword must be made by the time I 
 return," said the youth as he disappeared 
 in the forest. 
 
 "Now is my time! At last, at last, the 
 gold will be mine!" cried Mime. 
 
 Cautiously he crept to the place where 
 the broken sword had been laid away for 
 so many years. Again he heard the 
 words, "It is a magic sword, and only 
 he who knows no fear can weld it to- 
 gether." 
 
 "That voice does not know of my cun- 
 ning as a smith," laughed Mime, as he 
 hastened to the bellows. 
 
 He blew the fire to a white heat and 
 plunged the sword in, and made ready his 
 hammer and anvil. Then drawing the 
 sword from the fire he pounded it as he 
 had never pounded before, trying to wield 
 it together. But to his horror he could 
 make no impression upon it. Again the 
 
 90
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 voice, "Only he who knows no fear can 
 weld it tog-ether. " 
 
 "Alas, alas!" cried Mime, "I can never 
 do it. Whom now can I get to mend me 
 the sword?" 
 
 Again and again did he try, but it was 
 of no use. 
 
 Meanwhile Siegfried had gone far into 
 the forest and thrown himself upon the 
 ground. Putting his horn to his lips he 
 called to his friends, the forest beasts and 
 birds. Soon he was answered by singing 
 birds, huge bears, cunning foxes, and 
 wolves. Each mother that day had 
 brought her babies with her. Siegfried 
 said very little to them, for he was think- 
 ing strange sweet thoughts. 
 
 "How kind all the forest beasts are to 
 their little ones, and the babies look just 
 like their mother and father. Who is my 
 mother?" cried Siegfried. 
 
 91
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 With this he sprang up and ran to a 
 stream close by and looked in. There he 
 saw his own image reflected. Large, 
 strong, and erect was his body; pure, true, 
 and brave was his face. Long he stood 
 gazing at his reflection in the water and 
 thinking "Why should not I look like my 
 mother and father? All the forest crea- 
 tures do. I am no longer a boy. I am a 
 man, and this very day I will make Mime 
 tell me who I am, and who my parents are. 
 He cannot be my father, for I do not look 
 at all like him. Mime is cowardly and sly, 
 but the sight of a bear will frighten him 
 so that he will not dare tell me anything 
 but the truth. " 
 
 Again he blew his horn and a great 
 black bear came running up to him. Sieg- 
 fried fastened a rope about the bear's neck, 
 and together they started for the cave in 
 which dwelt the cowardly Mime, who would 
 
 92
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 so soon have to tell Siegfried who he was 
 and why he was living' in the forests with 
 a little ugly sly dwarf, when he himself 
 was so brave and true. 
 
 93
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 II.
 
 i
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 II. 
 
 Siegfried, leading the bear, soon reached 
 the cave of the dwarf. 
 
 "Mime," he called, "Where are you? 
 Why do you not come from your hiding 
 place? I know you are somewhere in the 
 cave. Come and see what a nice play- 
 fellow I have brought from the forest." 
 
 Mime, who had crouched with fear be- 
 hind the forge, lifted his head, but at the 
 sight of the bear standing with Siegfried 
 at the entrance of the cave, he again 
 shrank behind the forge. 
 
 "Come out at once, you sly little dwarf. 
 I have many questions I wish to ask you," 
 said Siegfried. 
 
 "Let the bear go. Then I will come." 
 
 With this the bear only growled the
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 louder, and that frig'htened the Nibelung" 
 even more. 
 
 "Let the bear g-o," he cried," and I will 
 answer every question you ask." 
 
 "If you were not such a coward, the bear 
 would not g^rowl at you," replied Siegfried. 
 "Still, if you will not come until I let him 
 g"o, I will send him away. But before I do 
 that you must promise to answer every 
 question I ask. " 
 
 "Yes, yes, all shall be answered." 
 
 Siegfried let go the rope which held the 
 bear, and the beast ran back into the for- 
 est. Mime then crept cautiously from be- 
 hind the forg"e, looking" in every direction 
 to be sure the bear was no longer near. 
 
 "Come closer," demanded Siegfried, 
 "What a coward you are!" 
 
 The dwarf crept nearer. He seemed 
 more cowardly than ever as he approached 
 the youth. Siegfried was brave and fear- 
 
 98
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 less, and his young" face shone with a new 
 light as he looked down upon the crouch- 
 ing' figure of the Nibelung, and this is the 
 way the music tells us of Siegfried the 
 Fearless: 
 
 -» r - 
 
 & 
 
 pfi %^P^ 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE FEARLESS. 
 
 "Mime, today I have been watching the 
 forest beasts with their little ones. The 
 baby birds are like the mother and father 
 bird. The young bear resembles its par- 
 ents, and the wolf cubs bear likeness to 
 the older ones. The time has come now 
 when you must tell me who I am. I know 
 you cannot be my father for there is no 
 resemblance between us." 
 
 "What difference does it make to you 
 who your parents are so long as I love 
 you," said Mime. 
 
 99
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 "You do not truly love me. You are sly 
 and cowardly and untruthful. Tell me 
 who I am!" and with flashing eyes and his 
 powerful arms uplifted he sprang toward 
 Mime. 
 
 "Stop ! Stop !' ' cried the dwarf, shielding 
 his head with his arm, "I will tell you 
 all. " 
 
 Then in low, sullen tones he told Sieg- 
 fried how he had found him, a tiny baby, 
 in the forest, and how, as he lifted him 
 from the ground a voice had said, "Sieg- 
 fried is the name of the child, " but Mime 
 was very careful not to say one word about 
 the sword. 
 
 "How do I know you are telling me the 
 truth," said Siegfried angrily. "I must 
 have some proof. Show me something 
 that will prove to me what you say is 
 true." 
 
 Mime knew by Siegfried's tone that it 
 
 100
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 would be dang"erous to refuse, so he crept 
 behind the forge and brought out the 
 broken sword, Nothung. 
 
 "Here is the proof. This broken sword 
 lay by your side when I found you," 
 
 "Broken," said Siegfried, as he exam- 
 ined it closely, "but it is made of the best 
 steel. How it shines! How strong it will 
 be when mended!' Mend it for me. Mime. 
 This is what I have waited and longed to 
 possess. As soon as the sword is mended 
 I will leave this hated cave forever and 
 go forth into the world to see what it is 
 like. " 
 
 Turning his face which was now white 
 with fear, toward Siegfried, Mime said, 
 "Alas, Alas! I cannot mend the sword!" 
 
 "You have boasted long of your cun- 
 ning as a smith. Why can you not do what 
 I ask? If you are skillful enough with 
 your tools to make a silver horn you 
 
 101
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 ought surely to be able to mend a sword," 
 replied Siegfried impatiently. 
 
 "Listen to me," said the dwarf, cower- 
 ing and cringing from head to foot. "The 
 voice which told me your name in the for- 
 est so many years ago also told me this: 
 'Nothung is the name of the sword. It is 
 a magic sword and only he who knows no 
 fear can weld it together.'" 
 
 "I do not wonder, then," thundered 
 Siegfried, that you could do nothing with 
 it. Give me the sword and I will weld it 
 together. " 
 
 He seized the broken sword and im- 
 patiently strode toward a huge file which 
 was fastened to the forge and began to 
 file it to dust which fell into a small basin. 
 
 "You are spoiling the sword!" screamed 
 Mime. 
 
 "On no, I am not," laughed Siegfried as 
 he filed the faster. 
 
 102
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 Soon the sword, all but the handle, was 
 changed into sparkling" dust. He then 
 took the basin which held the powder and 
 placed it on the forge. Reaching up he 
 grasped the bellows and worked it until 
 the fire had melted the powder into a 
 glowing liquid. Close at hand was the 
 mold, and into it he poured the glowing 
 mass. 
 
 For one moment he stood with beating 
 heart, wondering if Nothung would be all 
 he expected when he opened the mold. 
 Carefully he lifted the cover, and there 
 lay the perfect sword. Quickly seizing it 
 with a huge pair of pinchers, Siegfried 
 hurried to the forge and plunged the 
 sword into the fire which was kept at a 
 white heat by the bellows. Allowing it to 
 remain for a moment only in the fierce 
 fire, he grasped it again with the pinchers 
 and laid it, red hot, upon the anvil. Seiz- 
 
 103 

 
 ^■1 
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 ing" his huge hammer, with heavy strokes 
 he pounded it until the edges were sharp 
 and thin. Then, again heating it, he 
 fastened it to the handle. 
 
 At last it was finished, and Siegfried 
 held it up and felt the edg-es. They must 
 be even sharper for so trusty a sword. For 
 the last time he placed it in the fire, and 
 blew the bellows even faster than before. 
 Once more it was red hot. As he laid it 
 on the anvil and pounded it, the sparks 
 flew in very direction, and Siegfried, filled 
 with joy, sang" of the sword and the work 
 it would one day do. Faster and faster 
 fell the mighty hammer. Thinner and 
 sharper grew the keen edges until the 
 young" hero threw aside the hammer, and 
 flourishing the sword in all its new glory 
 above his head, burst into a new, glad, 
 triumphant sword song: 
 
 104
 
 5- 
 
 E 
 
 F R 
 
 D 
 
 'Nothung^, Nothung-! Wonderful sword! 
 Thy life again have I given!" 
 
 1 ^ . Mf 1 , 1 | .i. ^M' 
 
 SWORD MOTIVE. 
 
 With one powerful blow of the sword, 
 the anvil fell in pieces. How the cave 
 rang" with the sword of Nothung-, and rig-ht 
 with it came the music of Sieg-fried the 
 Fearless. 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE FEARLESS. 
 
 Mime, terrified at the light which shone 
 from the sparks as they flew about, and 
 also at Sieg-fried's streng-th, had fallen 
 upon the ground in another part of the 
 cave. There he lay on his face until Sieg- 
 fried called to him. 
 
 "Now that I have such a trusty sword, 
 I will leave the cave forever. All over 
 
 105
 
 IM 
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 the world will I seek for new tests of my 
 strength, and never again will I come 
 back to you, Mime. Is there anything you 
 wish to say to me before I start?" 
 
 "Yes, I have much to say," answered 
 the dwarf as he slowly raised his body. 
 "Sit down and I will tell you. 
 
 "You are a strong youth, and brave as 
 well, but one thing you do not know." 
 
 "Tell me what that one thing is," said 
 the impatient youth, 
 
 "It is fear, " said Mime. 
 
 "Fear," said Siegfried. "What is 
 fear?" 
 
 ' 'Have you never felt your whole body 
 tremble and your heart beat fast and loud 
 when the wild beasts were growling near 
 you? Have you never run to escape 
 them?" 
 
 "No, never, Mime. You have taught 
 me many things. Now teach me fear. 
 
 106
 
 SIEGFRIED, 
 
 Take me to the place where I shall know 
 what you mean by fear. " 
 
 "Very well," said the sly Mime. "Far 
 distant in the forest is Hate Cavern, the 
 home of the terrible drag'on, Fafner. I 
 will take you there, and you will learn 
 fear at once. ' ' 
 
 "A dragon, — what is a dragon?" asked 
 Sieg-fried. 
 
 "A dragon is the animal of all animals 
 which most terrifies man, and this one is 
 the most dangerous of them all. The cav- 
 ern where he dwells has never been ap- 
 proached by mortal since he took up his 
 abode there. 
 
 "He is like a huge, awful worm. He 
 does not walk, but twists and turns his 
 slimy body as he crawls in the dust: His 
 tail has a fatal sting and is long and 
 pointed. No one dares approach him, for 
 if he tries to come from the back, the dra- 
 
 107
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 g-on will be sure to sting: 'h.xm, and if he 
 comes near his head or sides, the poison- 
 ous breath will bring- instant death." 
 
 "Oh, that is nothing of which to be 
 afraid, " laughed Siegfried. ' 'He will make 
 me a nice playfellow. But come, let us 
 be off. I am anxious to see this dragon 
 and know if he can teach me fear." 
 
 Mime strapped his drinking- horn to his 
 belt, and going to an inner part of the 
 cave, filled it with some mysterious liquid. 
 Then turning to Siegfried he said, "I am 
 ready." 
 
 All that night they traveled silently 
 through the forest. Each was busy with 
 his own thoughts, so neither spoke. As the 
 sun was rising Mime said "Let us stop 
 here. Straight ahead, at some distance, 
 is the cavern where Fafner dwells. I will 
 wait for you here. Now go, and learn 
 well your lesson." 
 
 108
 
 F R 
 
 D . 
 
 Siegfried was only too glad to get away 
 from the cowardly dwarf. How free and 
 happy he felt as he walked on with No- 
 thung in his hand. 
 
 "There is the cave. I will lie down here 
 in the sunshine and wait for the dragon," 
 said he, half aloud, as he threw himself 
 upon a huge log. 
 
 '/ fi'fn"- - . . -'llTTlMXLiLL 
 
 
 FOREST LIFE. 
 109
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 The bright morning- sun shone on his 
 golden hair, and there was a new light in 
 his eyes as he looked up at the trees. 
 Soon he heard the beautiful song of a for- 
 est bird. It was like the music above. 
 
 So sweet was the song that he scarcely- 
 moved. 
 
 "The bird is certainly singing to me. 
 Why can I not understand her?" thought 
 he. "I will make a whistle from a reed 
 and see if I can answer her. " 
 
 Springing up, he seized a reed. The 
 whistle was soon made and he tried to 
 answer the bird. But he did not succeed 
 for the bird would not listen. 
 
 "I will try my horn," thought he, and 
 putting the horn to his lips he blew it loud 
 and clear. But instead of the bird song, 
 this is what he heard: 
 
 .jpD: ^njf^nj si^^un^ 
 
 ! 
 
 ^ 
 
 "rjt^"^^l"utf&^^nwj?- 
 
 GIANT MOTIVE. 
 
 no
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 "Oh ho! That must be the drag-on!" 
 Again he heard the noise, and, sure 
 enoug-h, the squirming-, crawling body of 
 the awful monster appeared, coming nearer 
 and nearer to him. 
 
 "Who are you?" growled the dragon. 
 
 "I am Siegfried, and Mime said you 
 would teach me what fear is." 
 
 "I will eat you!" 
 
 The dragon ground his teeth together 
 and thrust out his long, red tongue. His 
 ugly face grew darker and darker. 
 
 "Oh, but you are much mistaken," 
 laughed the youth. 
 
 This infuriated the dragon, and as he 
 snorted there poured forth fiery smoke 
 that was deadly poison. Siegfried, how- 
 ever, was wise enough to keep out of the 
 reach of the poisonous smoke, and it did 
 not harm him. 
 
 Ill
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 "Come nearer to me if you know no 
 .fear," sneered the dragon. 
 
 "Yes, that I will," said Siegfried. 
 
 With these words he sprang forward and 
 plunged into the heart of the dragon No- 
 thung, the mighty sword. 
 
 "Cursed is the Ring and only sorrow and 
 unhappiness will follow him who possesses 
 it, " gasped the dragon as he fell over dead. 
 
 Siegfried drew his dripping sword from 
 the body of the monster. As he did so 
 one drop of the dragon's blood fell upon 
 his hand. It burned as if a coal of fire had 
 touched his hand and instinctively he 
 thrust it into his mouth to stop the pain. A 
 sudden change came over him. He stood 
 spell-bound, and listened amazed, for he 
 heard the bird notes as words:" 
 
 "Mime is wicked and cowardly. He 
 loves no one. Everyone v/ho comes near 
 him he harms. He is at this moment mak- 
 
 112
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 ing poison with which to kill you. So, 
 brave youth, you must kill him before he 
 does anyone else harm," sang the bird. 
 
 Siegfried entered the cave where the 
 dragon for so many years had lived with 
 the gold. He took the Ring and the magic 
 Helmet, but left the bags of gold. He put 
 the Ring on his finger and carried the Hel- 
 met in his hand. In this way he left the 
 cave and met Mime approaching, carrying 
 very carefully the drinking horn. 
 
 "Here is a nice cool drink for you, my 
 boy, after your hard work." 
 
 Eyeing him sternly, Siegfried said, "That 
 is poison. I will not touch it." With that 
 he hurled the horn from Mime's trembling 
 hand, and with Nothung, killed the cow- 
 ardly, wicked Nibelung. 
 
 Once more Seigfried threw himself on 
 the log, but this time his thoughts were 
 different. 
 
 115
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 "I am lonely. Would that my mother 
 were here. " 
 
 
 FTV^ 'J J l J U- | :g ^ 
 
 £:;r 
 
 -i*^ 
 
 ^^m 
 
 S 
 
 LOVE MOTIVE ( LOVE LIFE.) 
 
 Again the birds sang: 
 
 "I will tell you of someone who will 
 love you — love you better than all the 
 world. High on yonder mountain, sur- 
 rounded by fire, sleeps a beautiful maiden, 
 awaiting the hero who knows no fear to 
 awaken her. Follow me and I will show 
 you the way." 
 
 Filled with joy, Siegfried sprang to his 
 feet and followed the little singer. It was 
 a weary way, but the longing for love 
 made it seem short. Suddenly the bird 
 
 116
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 disappeared, and Siegfried came face to 
 face with the mighty Wotan. 
 
 Wotan, king" of all the giants, was much 
 larger than Siegfried, and in his hand he 
 carried the mighty spear with which he 
 ruled the world. 
 
 "Where are you going, young man?" 
 asked Wotan. 
 
 "Yonder on the mountain, upon a rock 
 surrounded by fire, sleeps a beautiful 
 maiden, who, when I shall awaken her, 
 will always love me." 
 
 "Dare you face the fire?" Wotan spoke 
 slowly. 
 
 "I am not afraid! Do not delay me!" 
 and Siegfried attempted to pass. 
 
 "Stop!" commanded the giant king. 
 
 "I will not!" replied the fearless hero. 
 
 "Stand back, you shall not go," thun- 
 dered the giant. "My all-powerful, 
 mighty spear shall prevent you. Do you 
 
 117
 
 SIEGFRIED, 
 
 think, brave as you are, that you can shat- 
 ter the spear which for hundreds of years 
 has ruled the world?" 
 
 Siegfried answered not a word, but rais- 
 ing" Nothung high in the air, and with 
 more than giant strength brought it down 
 upon the mighty spear. A great crash 
 was heard as the spear fell in two pieces 
 at the feet of the king. 
 
 "Go forward," said Wotan, slowly bow- 
 ing his head, "I can no longer prevent 
 you. Some power stronger than giant 
 power must rule the world," and turning 
 he went silently to Walhalla. 
 
 Siegfried, filled with hope, began to as- 
 cend the mountain. He had not climbed 
 far when he noticed the increased heat in 
 the air. 
 
 "I must be near the circle of fire," 
 thought he, and sure enough, as he 
 looked he saw the bright red flames shoot- 
 
 118
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 ing- almost up to the sky. Nearer and 
 nearer he came, and hotter and hotter 
 grew the flames. Soon he stood before 
 the fire. 
 
 "Only the fire between me and the one 
 I am to love, — the one who is to love me," 
 cried he, and with a leap he sprang- into 
 the fire.^; And this is the wonderful music 
 which tells us of Siegfried as he went 
 through the fire. 
 
 K '' f ftf i F ff ^^^ 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE HERO. 
 
 Unharmed, and without one touch of the 
 fire Siegfried stood before the sleeping 
 one. Somewhat confused, he looked about 
 him. 
 
 "All the trees are sleeping; so are the 
 flowers, and a horse lies asleep under the 
 tree, and there rests a beautiful young 
 
 119
 
 SIEGFRIED, 
 
 knight. I will go nearer and remove the 
 
 shield. 
 
 ir 1 1 I ' 'ii 
 
 SLUMBER MOTIVE. 
 
 Slowly he crept nearer the sleeping fig- 
 ure and took away the shield, but under 
 that was a coat of mail. 
 
 "This coat I must also remove, but it is 
 fastened with steel rings. Come, Nothung, 
 and cut them." 
 
 Very carefully he cut the rings, and the 
 coat of mail fell jingling to the ground. 
 
 "Now I will lift the helmet," said he. 
 
 Tenderly Siegfried lifted the helmet, and 
 Brunhilde's golden hair fell in long curls 
 over her. 
 
 "Oh! It is not a man!" cried Siegfried 
 as he sprang back. 
 
 120
 
 SIEGFRIED, 
 
 His whole body was trembling" and his 
 heart beat fast and loud. 
 
 "Now I know what fear is," said he, 
 "A beautiful maiden! Can she love me? 
 Why does she not waken?" 
 
 Several times he called, but she still 
 slept on. 
 
 Trembling-ly he approached, and stood 
 long, gazing- thoughtfully upon her. Then 
 he bent and tenderly kissed her, and in- 
 stantly she awoke, as did all about her. 
 
 Slowly she raised herself and looked all 
 around her. Long she gazed at her horse; 
 then, lifting her eyes, she beheld the sun- 
 shine, and all the sunshine in her re- 
 sponded in a song. 
 
 "Hail, Thou Sunshine!" 
 
 These were her first words on awaken- 
 ing from her long, long slumber. Then 
 she noticed Siegfried. 
 
 "You are Siegfried the Fearless. You 
 
 121
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 are the hero who dared come throug-h the 
 fire to rescue me!" 
 
 "Yes, the bird sang to me of you and of 
 the love which would be mine, could I but 
 waken you. " 
 
 "You are my brave hero, and I will love 
 you always, yes, love you more than the 
 whole world. And as a pledge of my love 
 I will give you my brave winged horse. 
 He it was who carried the brave heroes to 
 Walhalla. Although the power of bis 
 wings is gone, he is still the swiftest horse 
 on all the earth. He shall be no more 
 Brunhilde's, but Siegfried's horse. 
 
 "Brunhilde, my pledge of love to you 
 
 shall be this ring. What joy it is to have 
 
 »*3 someone to love!" and not heeding the 
 
 warning of the dragon, Siegfried placed 
 
 the ring on Brunhilde's finger. 
 
 Long they sat talking together. Some- 
 times their joy would burst forth into song. 
 
 122
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 Brunhilde sang of her life in the beautiful 
 Palace of Walhalla 
 
 ij.^-/> ii^-i\p^^ 
 
 and Siesffried of his free forest life. 
 
 FOREST LIFE. 
 123
 
 SIEGFRIED. 
 
 Brunhilde sang- of the War Maidens, 
 
 RIDE OF THE WALKYR. 
 
 Siegfried of his sword, Nothung, 
 
 nr J, iM- n' ^ 
 
 and of the dragon he had slain, 
 
 
 GIANT MOTIVE. 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE FEARLESS. 
 
 also of the magic fire and the slumbering- 
 maiden, 
 
 124
 
 s 
 
 R 
 
 D . 
 
 I f^t\\' rfiTfr I 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE HERO. 
 
 1 ^' ' r I 'gi i 
 
 £?fe: 
 
 SLUMBER MOTIVE. 
 
 but the music which told of their love was 
 sweeter than all the rest. 
 
 
 
 -*« 
 
 3Eg 
 
 LOVE MOTIVE ( LOVE LIFE.) 
 
 Brunhilde thou^dit no more of Walhalla. 
 Siegfried no more of Mime. So filled with 
 love were they that the whole world 
 seemed to have gained new glory for them. 
 
 125
 
 DIE 
 GOTTERDAMMERUNG.
 
 If 
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 After Siegfried had cut the spear in 
 pieces with Nothung-, Wotan returned 
 sadly to Walhalla. Eager for news all 
 the g-iaats gathered around him, but they 
 were slow to speak when they noticed the 
 broken spear. At last one of them 
 said: 
 
 "Wotan, what is troubling you? You 
 do not look as happy as you did when you 
 went away." 
 
 "No! No! No! I am not happy! Happi- 
 ness will never again be ours. While 
 walking upon the earth I met Siegfried, 
 the fearless hero. He was then on his 
 way up the mountain to awaken the sleep- 
 ing Brunhilde. I tried to detain him with 
 my spear which hitherto has conquered all
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 things, but love was in his heart, and with 
 one blow of his trusty sword he cut the 
 spear in two pieces. Now I know that our 
 giant power will no longer rule the world, 
 but something stronger will soon reign in 
 its place. Alas! Alas! Alberich's curse 
 is coming true." 
 
 As Wotan was speaking, a cloud crept 
 slowly over the sky. 
 
 Siegfried and Brunhilde, meantime, were 
 spending the hours happily together. One 
 day Brunhilde called Siegfried to her. 
 
 "Siegfried, you were indeed brave to kill 
 the dragon. Braver still were you to come 
 through the fire. Are you brave enough 
 now to leave me for a time? 
 
 "If you are a true hero you must go and 
 do more brave deeds. To remain always 
 by my side would be to forget all else. 
 Your trusty sword would rust in its sheath 
 were it never used. And I, too, must learn 
 
 130
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 new courage, for if I truly love you, as I 
 do, I must send you away from me that 
 you may gain new strength." 
 
 Siegfried listened intently while Brun- 
 hilde was speaking. 
 
 "You are right, Brunhilde. I will go, 
 but you will always be in my thoughts. I 
 shall not stay away long, but 1 shall not 
 return until I have done some brave deed 
 worthy of your praise." 
 
 So Siegfried, the Hero, dressed in full 
 armor, and riding Brunhilde's war horse, 
 left the mountain and rode through the fire 
 into what was to him a new world. His 
 journey was long, but the war horse trav- 
 eled so swiftly that they passed over hun- 
 dreds of miles in the time it would take us 
 to travel one. 
 
 Finally he neared the Rhine, and seeing 
 a boat, he sprang in, and called to his 
 horse to follow. He pushed the boat far 
 
 131
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 into the river and sped on. At last lie 
 neared a large palace. 
 
 In this palace there lived a very wicked 
 man who was a friend of Alberich's, and 
 his name was Hag^en. Alberich had talked 
 much of the gold, and they had many times 
 discussed the power of the magic helmet 
 and the ring. 
 
 Hagen was also anxious to gain the ring 
 and the gold. He, like Alberich, cared 
 nothing for love. All his time was spent 
 in thinking how he could get possession of 
 the ring, yet he knew that Brunhilde had 
 it, and that Siegfried had given it to her. 
 He knew also that she lived on the moun- 
 tain top, and was surrounded by fire. 
 Again and again did Hagen say "No one 
 but Siegfried the hero can go through the 
 fire. If I could only lay a plan to capture 
 this youth, and make him forget Brunhilde, 
 I could then force him to get the ring for 
 me. 132
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 One day he sat in the palace door think- 
 ing- the same wicked thoug-hts when the 
 sound of a horn reach his ears. 
 
 "It is someone coming" up the river," 
 cried he, springing to his feet, "Come, 
 let us g-o and see who it is!" he called to 
 his friends. 
 
 All hurried down to the river bank and 
 there they saw a wonderful sight. Sieg"- 
 fried in full armor stood in the bow of the 
 boat. One hand rested on his war horse, 
 while with the other he paddled the boat 
 ag-ainst the swift current. 
 
 Hagen and all his friends stood, spell- 
 bound, hardly daring- to move, for such 
 streng-th as Siegfried possessed had never 
 been seen by them. 
 
 "It can be no other than Siegfried, the 
 hero," Hagen said at last. "Such streng-th 
 belongs to no one else. See, he paddles 
 with one hand ag-ainst the current. Surely 
 that is Siegfried." 133
 
 DIE GOTTERDAM MERUN G. 
 
 Swiftly the boat glided to the shore, and 
 Siegfried sprang out. 
 
 "Are you not Siegfried?" asked Hagen. 
 
 "Yes, and I have come from a beautiful 
 mountain to seek new adventures." 
 
 "Stay with us for a time," said Hagen. 
 "There are many wild animals here which 
 ought to be slain, but no one is strong 
 enough to do it. You may hunt all day 
 and then when night falls amuse yourself 
 by listening to fine music and interesting 
 stories." 
 
 "You are most kind to me," replied 
 Siegfried, not dreaming Hagen was such 
 a wicked man. "I will accept your gener- 
 ous hospitality." 
 
 So the boat was drawn up on the shore, 
 and the war horse stepped proudly out, 
 pawing the ground impatiently. 
 
 "What a superb horse!" exclaimed 
 Hagen, "and it has wings." 
 
 134
 
 •J 
 
 ■X, 
 
 u 
 a, 
 
 ■■A 
 
 < 

 
 il
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 "Yes, " said Siegfried, and his eyes shone 
 with a glad light. "He is the swiftest 
 horse in the world, and is very dear to me. ' ' 
 
 "Can he fly?" 
 
 "Not now. Long, long years ago he had 
 power in his wings, but that was taken 
 away by Wotan before he was given to 
 me." 
 
 "But come," said Hagen, "let us go in 
 and refresh ourselves with cooling drinks 
 and some food." 
 
 He led the way and they entered a 
 bright, sunny room in the palace. There 
 they ate and drank and talked of the 
 country round about and the wild animals 
 that Siegfried would slay. 
 
 "I am eager to be off to the hunt, " said 
 Siegfried as they finished their repast. 
 
 "I will have some of my servants show 
 you the way at once," replied Hagen, "if 
 you are anxious to go." 
 
 137
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 Hagen then called his servants and told 
 them to show Siegfried the path to the 
 forest where the ferocious animals lived. 
 Joyfully the brave Siegfried mounted his 
 horse and rode away. Hagen watched 
 him until he had ridden far out of sight. 
 Then, with a scornful leer he went into a 
 dark room and seated himself in a corner. 
 
 "Now I can think better, here in the 
 dark," muttered he to himself. 
 
 It is no wonder he chose a dark room, 
 for his thoughts were darker than the 
 blackest night. 
 
 "This youth is certainly the bravest 
 hero in the world. How can I surely make 
 him get the ring for me?" 
 
 Just then he heard^ something like this 
 
 NIBELUNG MOTIVE. 
 
 and right before him stood Alberich. 
 
 138
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 "Ah, Alberich, you here! Hateful crea- 
 ture! How I loathe you! Why do you not 
 stay where you belong", down in your foul 
 and miserable king-dom?" 
 
 "Bah! Have I not a right to come into 
 the upper air?" and a look of hateful cun- 
 ning came into his eyes. "I am here be- 
 cause of the ring. Why do you not get this 
 Siegfried to get it from Brunhilde?" 
 
 "How can I do that when Siegfried all 
 the time thinks of no one but her?" 
 
 "Listen, — I am afraid to say it very 
 loud — the only way to do is to give him a 
 magic drink which will make him forget 
 her." 
 
 "How can I do that?" 
 
 "I will mix such a liquid, and when he 
 comes in tired and warm from the hunt 
 you can say to him, 'Here, brave Sieg- 
 fried, is a cooling drink which will refresh 
 you.' Do you understand?" 
 
 139
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 "Yes, but how will I get the ring- from 
 Brunhilde?" 
 
 "Leave that to me and all will be well. 
 After he has swallowed the magic potion 
 we will make him take the ring from Brun- 
 hilde," and with these w^ords Alberich 
 vanished. But on the table near where he 
 had been standing was a drinking horn in 
 which was the magic liquid. 
 
 "Aha!" exclaimed the wicked Hagen, 
 "the ring will soon be mine, mine, mine! 
 Alberich thinks I will give it to him, but 
 he is greatly mistaken," and he laughed 
 loudly. 
 
 Just then Siegfried's silver horn could 
 be heard clear and sweet in the distance. 
 Nearer and nearer it came, and Hagan 
 seizing the drinking horn, went out to 
 meet him. 
 
 "I have slain one of the wild animals, " 
 said Siegfried as Hagen approached him. 
 
 140
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMM ERU NG. 
 
 "Then we have much for which to thank 
 you," said Hagan, smiling- and bowing in 
 seeming- politeness, "but before you do 
 anything else refresh yourself with this 
 cool drink." 
 
 "Thank you, " returned Siegfried. "This 
 is very pleasant country about here. I 
 think I will remain for a while." 
 
 His thoughts then for the first time were 
 more of his own pleasure than of his be 
 loved Brunhilde, so, carelessly, he put the 
 horn to his lips and drank the magic po- 
 tion. Instantly Brunhilde was forgotten. 
 
 After this a change came over Siegfried. 
 He went no more to the hunt, but staid in 
 the palace and did nothing but feast and 
 have a good time. As the days went by 
 he seemed more and more intent upon en- 
 joying himself. So eager was he for his 
 own pleasure that he forgot even his trusty 
 Nothung, and the sword which could do so 
 
 141
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 much hung- unused upon the wall of the 
 palace. Strange that he could have for- 
 gotten that day in the forest when he 
 forged Nothung anew. But everything- 
 was forgotten save his own pleasure. 
 
 High up on the mountain, surrounded by 
 the magic fire, waited Brunhilde. 
 
 "Why does not my Sieg-fried come back 
 to me. The days are long and dreary. 
 The air is close and heavy. Darkness is 
 spreading over the earth . Some evil must 
 have befallen my hero, for he said he 
 would return to me soon, and it has been 
 many long weeks since he went away. I 
 feel that he needs me. I will go to him. 
 Yes, I will go at once," and Brunhilde 
 sprang up. "I will start this very mo- 
 ment. " And as the night was falling over 
 the earth, guided by love, Brunhilde 
 walked through the fire to find her Sieg- 
 fried. 
 
 142
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 Long" was her journey. Day and night 
 she traveled, but she never grew weary 
 for always she heard the voice telling her 
 that Siegfried was in need of her. 
 
 Early one morning she heard singing and 
 stopped for a moment to listen. 
 
 ^^^^^^^^m 
 
 RHINE DAUGHTERS MOTIVE. 
 
 Before her was the River Rhine, and 
 there were the Rhine Daughters singing 
 of their lost gold and the ring and the 
 curse upon it. 
 
 "Why does not some one give the ring 
 back and break the curse," thought Brun- 
 hilde as she stood gazing at the scene be- 
 fore her. 
 
 Hagen, in the meantime, began to think 
 it was about time for Siegfried to get the 
 ring for him. 
 
 143
 
 DIE GOTTERDAM MERUNG, 
 
 "I will insist upon having- it today! It 
 is early morning- now. Before nig-ht the 
 ring shall be mine." 
 
 So he blew his horn, called his men to 
 him and sent them in search of Siegfried. 
 
 In the meantime, however, Sieg-fried had 
 risen early and wandered about the palace, 
 seeking- for some new pleasure. Suddenly 
 his eye caug-ht sight of the forgotten 
 Nothung hang-ing- on the wall. 
 
 "A hunt will be the best enjoyment for 
 me this morning-," said he, as he buckled 
 on the sword. 
 
 With these thoughts he mounted his 
 horse and rode away, but the horse seemed 
 not to travel so swiftly as it once did. 
 Many times he stopped and dismounted 
 when he heard the noise of an animal, 
 but could get none of them. Finally he 
 stopped the horse and threw himself down 
 on the g-rass. All at once he heard a bird 
 singingf. , ', -' - ^ 14I
 
 DIE GOTTERDAM M ERU NG. 
 
 f* m^ i^ ^ 1 [7^ I mn 
 
 FOREST LIFE. 
 
 I was in a forest, too. That was a long" 
 time ago. Yes, and it was at that time I 
 forged my Nothung" anew and g'ave it new 
 
 +ir 1 I I'l- rr^ 
 
 SWORD MOTIVE. 
 145 
 
 ■JU
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG, 
 
 life," and Siegfried's face became lighter 
 as memory became clearer. "Yes, and I 
 killed the- dragon. 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE FEARLESS. 
 
 Mime's heart also was pierced with No- 
 thung. I also tasted the dragon's blood, 
 and Oh, yes, yes, it was then I understood 
 the bird, and she sang of a magic fire, — of 
 a sleeping maiden 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 SLUMBER MOTIVE. 
 
 Yes, and I went through the fire 
 
 SIEGFRIED THE HERO. 
 
 and 
 
 Suddenly he stopped and sprang up, for 
 
 146
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 he heard something- sweeter and dearer to 
 him than all else in the world. 
 
 Y-==^t r i"'r^T<^ 
 
 ^^m 
 
 ^ i ^i ^j^ iij j^ 
 
 
 BRUNHILDE. — LOVE MOTIVE. 
 
 His memory had returned to him and he 
 ^•ave a g^lad cry. 
 
 Brunhilde stood before him! 
 
 "I knew you needed me so I came to you, 
 my Sieg-fried," said she. 
 
 Ag-ain he was the brave hero of the other 
 days, even braver than before, for had he 
 not overcome the power of the magic 
 drink? 
 
 Hagen came suddenly upon them! 
 "The ring, the ring," he shouted. "Give 
 
 147
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 me the magic ring or you shall both die! 
 Come men, and take the ring!" 
 
 Noble indeed then was Brunhilde, as, 
 drawing her majestic body to its queenly 
 height, with one sweep of her arm she 
 commanded the army of men to stand 
 back. 
 
 Slowly she drew the ring from her finger 
 and clasped it in her hand. Raising it 
 high above her head, she told all to listen 
 to what she was about to say. Clear and 
 ringing was her voice as she spoke. 
 
 She told them the sad history of the 
 ring. How Alberich had stolen the gold 
 from the Rhine Daughters, — its rightful 
 owners, and by giving up love had been 
 able to make a magic ring of it. This ring 
 had cursed all who possessed it. 
 
 Fafner, the mighty frost giant, and even 
 Wotan, king of all giants and ruler of the 
 world, had felt its curse. She told them 
 
 148
 
 SIKGFRIED UNDKRSTANDSTHK SONG OFTHK RHINE DAUGHTERS.
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 that giant power was about to vanish for- 
 ever from the earth that it might give 
 place to love. That in their thirst for gold 
 they had given up all that made the world 
 beautiful, for all was useless without love. 
 
 No one moved while she was speaking. 
 
 "The transformation is coming!"' she 
 cried. 
 
 A new light shone in her eyes, and with 
 a glad triumphant shout she flung the ring 
 back to the Rhine Daughters. 
 
 Instantly darkness settled over the 
 earth. All was hushed and silent, for 
 everything was changing. For days and 
 days the sun did not shine. 
 
 At last the morning broke! The sun 
 shone brighter than ever before, and told 
 his message of love so plainly that no one 
 misunderstood. 
 
 The birds awoke and caroled glad songs 
 of love, and every mother gathered her 
 
 151
 
 DIE GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 
 
 little children around her and told them 
 that Walhalla and the giants were no 
 more; that within each heart was a 
 power stronger and purer in its strength 
 than all the giants of Walhalla, and that 
 was the power which would rule forever 
 and ever. 
 
 And that power, strong and mighty, was 
 love! 
 
 152
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 I.
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 I. 
 
 - How everything- changed after love had 
 again come into the world! Again and 
 again did the children ask to be told of 
 Walhalla and Siegfried and about the 
 heroic Brunhilde who had been brave 
 enough to give the ring back to the Rhine 
 Daughters that love might again come to 
 rule. 
 
 It seemed as if everyone felt the change 
 for they were kinder and nobler than they 
 had ever been. Each person tried to do 
 what he thought would make some one 
 else happy; and if they loved each other 
 so dearly, how much more did they love 
 the kind Heavenly Father who sent the 
 birds to sing and the sun to tell the story 
 of His love.
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 So great was their love for Him that 
 they built beautiful churches in which to 
 worship Him and talk to each other about 
 how they would make the world more beau- 
 tiful and men's hearts happier. 
 
 The g'reat musician who told the story 
 of the Rhine-Gold, told another story, 
 though it was much shorter. Indeed, it 
 was the last story he told before the Father 
 called him home that his g'reat soul mig'ht 
 respond in triumphant heavenly music to 
 the angels' song. 
 
 This story you also are to hear. Al- 
 though the hero killed no dragons and 
 went through no fires, he was even braver 
 than Siegfried; for when the whole world, 
 — as it seemed to him, — was calling him 
 to forsake the right and good, his heart 
 was strong and brave, and he turned away, 
 saying" he could never do as they wished 
 because his heart told him it was not right. 
 
 156
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 In the days when this story was first 
 heard there was something" which every 
 one longed with all his soul to possess for 
 his very own. It was the most beautiful 
 and holy thing in all the world and it was 
 called the Holy Grail. Everyone who had 
 ever possessed it was made nobler and 
 kinder than ever before, so it is no wonder 
 that all people wished for it. 
 
 No one knew just where to find it, and 
 what was so very strange about it was 
 that it was found in so many different 
 places. Some found it right in their own 
 homes, while others had to wander over 
 the whole world before they could possess 
 it, and many never found it at all for they 
 were not ready for it. No one could find 
 this Holy Grail and have it for his own un- 
 less he were so pure and loving that he 
 could harbor no evil thought or be unkind. 
 
 Once a company of strong, true knights 
 
 157
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 started in search of the Holy Grail. They 
 were so brave that just to look at them 
 gave one new courag^e, for the glad light 
 of an unselfish life shone in their faces. 
 They were dressed in armour, but had no 
 horses to ride, so they had to travel slowly, 
 and often they would get very tired. 
 
 Sometimes their way led them over 
 stony paths, and again over hot, sandy 
 deserts, and often before them would be 
 seen a high, steep mountain. Sometimes 
 they would travel all night, but oftener 
 they would stop and rest while it was 
 dark. At such times, after their evening 
 prayers had been said they would throw 
 themselves upon the ground and sleep so 
 as to be able to travel the faster when the 
 morning came. 
 
 How many stories the stars and the 
 moon could tell if we could but under- 
 stand! The same stars and' moon that 
 
 158
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 shine in the sky tonight kept watch while 
 these weary knights of long- ago slept and 
 dreamed of the Holy Grail. 
 
 When morning broke these brave knights 
 would arise, and after the morning prayer 
 of thanksgiving, would again press on. 
 They did not stop for breakfast, but ate 
 their simple food while they were on their 
 way. 
 
 Early one morning they came to a great 
 forest. Tired, and almost disheartened, 
 they stopped. 
 
 "We must not remain here," said their 
 leader, whose name was Amfortas. "When 
 you are tired think of the joy that awaits 
 us when we have found the Holy Grail. 
 A little weariness must not be thought of 
 now. " 
 
 Encouraged by his words the knights 
 entered the dark forest. On and on they 
 traveled, arid strange as it may seem, the 
 
 159
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 farther into the forest they went, the less 
 weary they grew. It was no wonder, for 
 though they did not know it, they were 
 coming nearer the Holy Grail. 
 
 "Let us stop here, comrades," said Am- 
 fortas, "and again thank our Heavenly 
 Father for bringing us thus far. " 
 
 So once more they knelt and prayed, 
 thanking the Great Father for His good- 
 ness, and asking Him if they might not 
 this day find the Holy Grail. 
 
 As they knelt in prayer a great light 
 filled the forest above their heads. They 
 rose to their feet. Not a knight spoke, for 
 it seemed as if the Father must be with 
 them. With faces upturned they listened, 
 and a voice coming from the very center 
 of the light spoke to them saying, ' 'Here 
 you have found the Holy Grail. Build 
 here a beautiful church in which to wor- 
 ship by prayer and song your Heavenly 
 
 160
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 Father, but should any one need you, go 
 to him at once though it be thousands of 
 miles away. From this time on you shall 
 be called the Knights of the Holy Grail, 
 and Amfortas shall be your king." 
 
 The voice ceased. Again the knights 
 fell on their knees and worshiped God. 
 When they arose the great light had van- 
 ished, but in the face of each brave knight 
 shone a new, peaceful light, for they knew 
 that at last they had found what they had 
 been for so many years striving to gain. 
 
 It always happened that whenever any- 
 one found the Holy Grail the light came 
 and the voice spoke, although the mes- 
 sages were always different. It did not 
 tell everyone to build churches, but it told 
 these knights to do so. 
 
 They lost no time in obeying, and soon 
 in the midst of the forest stood the most 
 beautiful church in the world, — the Church 
 
 161
 
 A R S 
 
 F 
 
 L 
 
 of the Holy Grail. It was indeed beauti- 
 ful with its great stained g-lass windows 
 through which the light shone in many 
 rich colors, but the most wonderful thing 
 about it was the music which told always 
 of the Holy Grail. 
 
 
 
 
 rfT 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 r-^ 
 
 rS— » 
 
 A>v J 1 ^- 
 
 ^y== 
 
 H4^= 
 
 -f; nrz 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Ea 
 
 E 
 
 ^^\ 
 
 ^ — -J— ^ 
 
 ¥-*- 
 
 -^ J* * ' 
 
 
 1 _u^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 r. ~ 
 JA^ f — 
 
 fr-tf- 
 
 -0-^ 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 
 
 t- 
 
 ' >ii ' 1 
 
 tfc 
 
 -F=^ 
 
 B 
 
 'M i 
 
 1=^ 
 
 b 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 1 a 
 
 GRAIL MOTIVE. 
 
 Each day the knights went into the 
 church to pray, for if they were always t6 
 be brave and pure their needs must have 
 daily help from Heaven. 
 
 Far distant in this same forest was an 
 enchanted palace in which lived a very 
 wicked man. So wicked was he that his 
 life was given up to doing harmful deeds. 
 Surrounding this palace was a garden of 
 enchanted flowers. They were large, 
 
 162
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 bright-colored blossoms, and g"ave none of 
 the sweet perfume of the pure white lily 
 of the valley or of the deep blue violet. 
 
 The wicked man who was known as a 
 magician, had magic power and he did 
 many harmful things. One of his most 
 wicked deeds was to keep a very beautiful 
 woman under his spell. He commanded 
 her to sing in this garden when brave 
 knights were passing by that she might 
 entice them to come in. If once they en- 
 tered they were also bound by this wicked 
 man's power. Not only did this woman 
 sing, but all the flowers sang with her, so 
 that it took a knight even braver than 
 Siegfried to resist going into the garden. 
 
 Amfortas and all of his knights knew of 
 this palace, and it gave them much uneasi- 
 ness for they knew the harm its master 
 could do. At last Amfortas decided to go 
 with his knights to that part of the forest 
 
 163
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 and break the power of the magician's 
 spell by destroying the palace. 
 
 As they started Amfortas warned them 
 not to stop for a moment to listen to the 
 music as they passed by the garden. In 
 his hand he carried a holy spear which he 
 had once captured from a Christian pil- 
 grim. So holy and wonderful was this 
 spear that were it used in the right way it 
 could destroy all evil and bring joy and 
 happiness. 
 
 As the knights journeyed through the 
 forest they sang of their holy church and 
 the joy that would be theirs when the 
 magic palace should be destroyed. 
 
 Nearer and nearer they came. At first 
 they could hear only a faint sound, but 
 soon they heard the fatal singing. All 
 stood more erect than before as if to resist 
 the temptation. As they approached the 
 garden all the bright flowers could be seen, 
 
 164
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 and they sang- louder and louder as the 
 knights advanced. 
 
 Slowly and manfully the knights walked 
 by, — all but Amfortas, their king-, who was 
 riding behind the others. As he ap- 
 proached, carrying- his spear, the song of 
 the flowers became louder than ever, and 
 the beautiful woman appeared and sang" 
 to him. So enticing- was her charm under 
 the magician's spell that Amfortas, King 
 of the Holy Grail, forgot all else, entered 
 the garden, laid down his holy spear, and 
 approached her whose singing- had tempted 
 him until he yielded. 
 
 Instantly the wicked man appeared, and 
 grasping the spear he pierced Amfortas' 
 side. 
 
 With a cry of agony Amfortas fell to the 
 g-round. The palace and the garden he 
 now forg-ot and remembered only the Holy 
 Grail. 
 
 165
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 The knights, hearing the cry, hurried 
 back to the garden, and tenderly lifting 
 their wounded king, carried him back to 
 their home. Before they started they tried 
 to find the spear, but the wicked magician 
 had vanished with it. When they reached 
 home with their king they very carefully 
 bound up his wounded side with a healing 
 medicine which always before had cured 
 the deepest wounds. 
 
 How Amfortas suffered day and night! 
 The fever burned, and it seemed to him 
 that his body was on fire. For weeks and 
 weeks he lay in his bed hardly able to 
 move, so great was the pain. All the 
 medicine the kind knights gave him and 
 all their tender nursing seemed to do him 
 no good. The wound in his side remained 
 the same as it was the day the spear 
 pierced it. 
 
 Months went by. Often the knights 
 
 166
 
 R S 
 
 L 
 
 would carry their king- down to the lake 
 close at hand and bathe him in its cool 
 waters, but even that did not ease his suf- 
 fering. 
 
 Every day, as was their custom, the 
 knig-hts would enter the church and listen 
 to the music. 
 
 GRAIL MOTIVE. 
 
 Sometimes they would carry Amfortas 
 there, thinking that it might ease his ter- 
 rible suffering, but it did not help him. 
 They brought medicine from all parts of 
 the earth, but it could not heal the wound. 
 
 One day the bell in the church rang out 
 
 I '/i n i.ii^/i ^ 
 
 BELL MOTIVE. 
 167
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 and in deep, solemn tones called the 
 knig-hts to enter the church. Slowly they 
 approached, carrying", very tenderly, their 
 king". As they entered the music beg"an. 
 Carefully laying Amfortas down they knelt 
 and prayed that their king- mig'ht very 
 soon be well. 
 
 As they rose from their knees Amfortas 
 sat up and spoke to them ag"ain of the 
 Holy Grail, telling' them that if they al- 
 ways kept their lives pure and unselfish 
 .they would always have the Holy Grail 
 with them. As he finished speaking" he 
 fell back exhausted, and the pain in his 
 side seemed almost g"reater than ever. 
 
 For a moment therp was silence. Then 
 a faint voice was heard which seemed to 
 come direct from Heaven. Slowly and 
 softly it spoke: 
 
 "Wait for him whose life is filled with 
 love and pity. He will g"o all around the 
 
 168
 
 R 
 
 world and bring back the holy spear with 
 which he will touch the side of Amfortas, 
 and it will be healed." 
 
 What joy shone in the faces of the 
 knights as they left the church, for the 
 prophecy had been given of the end of the 
 sufferings of Amfortas. 
 
 169
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 II.
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 II. 
 
 Happy indeed were the knights that the 
 promise of the healing- of Amfortas had 
 been given, but they had to wait so long 
 that at times they wondered if they could 
 have mistaken the voice. 
 
 "No, that could not be, " said the oldest 
 among them, "for did not the voice come 
 from above, and does that Divine Love 
 ever fail?" 
 
 So, by the trusting faith of the old 
 knight was the courage of all kept up. The 
 days truly seemed very long, but faith and 
 trust were in their hearts. Amfortas bore 
 his suffering like the brave king that he 
 was, and when the wound pained him 
 most, he repeated to himself what the
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 voice had said, — "Wait for the one whose 
 life is filled with love and pity." 
 
 One day the white-haired old knight was 
 walking with his hands folded behind him, 
 as if in deep meditation. His face, though 
 thoughtful, was quiet and calm, for all the 
 hard battles of life were over for him. To 
 be sure, wrinkles could be seen on his 
 brow, but they only told of the sacrifices 
 which had been lovingly made. They 
 were the handwriting on his face. Sud- 
 denly he stopped walking, and looking up 
 to Heaven asked if the one who was to 
 heal Amfortas would not soon come. 
 Hardly had he finished speaking when a 
 youth in forest dress, with a bow and ar- 
 row in his hand, bounded in front of him. 
 The old knight was first to speak: 
 
 "My brave youth, who are you, and 
 whence do you come?" 
 
 "I am Parsifal." 
 
 174
 
 R S 
 
 F A L 
 
 As he said it the Parsifal music was 
 heard. 
 
 tff[fi^fWffi^i[ff?M^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 5^ 
 
 l\ ^ 
 
 m 
 
 PARSIFAL MOTIVE. 
 
 T*^ 
 
 The youth continued to speak. 
 
 "I was very happy in the forest, living 
 quietly with my mother. Very few people 
 passed that way, but, alas, one day some 
 gallant knights in full armour rode by. 
 After that I was not contented. My heart 
 burned like a living coal. Over and over 
 again I told myself I ought to be a knight. 
 At last I could contain myself no longer. 
 I bade my dear mother good-by and 
 started in search of knighthood." 
 
 "My young friend, do you know what 
 
 175
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 true knighthood means?" asked the old 
 knight. 
 
 "Alas! I only know that the men I saw 
 looked brave and true," replied the youth. 
 
 "To be a knight means even more than 
 that. Years ago in my youth I also left 
 home to become a knight, and it has taken 
 me a whole lifetime to realize true knight- 
 hood." 
 
 "Everything is so peaceful here. To 
 what place have I come?" asked the youth 
 looking wonderingly about him. 
 
 "This is the domain of the Knights of 
 the Holy Grail, and yonder stands the 
 church on the very spot where we found 
 the Grail." 
 
 While the old knight was speaking the 
 bell began to peal, and the procession of 
 knights, bearing Amfortas, could be seen 
 entering the church with slow and solemn 
 steps. 
 
 176
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 "Let us g-o into the church. There you 
 will hear music like unto the songs of the 
 angels," said the old knig-ht. 
 
 "Shall I find the Holy Grail there within 
 the church?" eagerly asked Parsifal. 
 
 ' 'Th at no earthly knowledg'e can reveal, " 
 replied his companion, and they entered 
 the church together. 
 
 With folded hands Parsifal stood spell- 
 bound just within the door. The old 
 knight took his place among the others. 
 
 It would be hard to tell the feelings of 
 the young Parsifal as he listened to the 
 music. He had never before been in a 
 church, and the music seemed indeed like 
 an angel's song" to him. As it ceased the 
 knig-hts knelt in prayer, after which they 
 tenderly raised their king that he mig'ht 
 speak to them. His strength was so nearly 
 exhausted that he could scarcely speak, 
 but Parsifal heard these word:
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 "Always be faithful to the Holy Grail." 
 
 Again the music burst forth and the pro- 
 cession of knights, moving slowly down 
 the long aisle, left the church. 
 
 Parsifal stood, apparently transfixed, 
 until the old knight approached and said 
 softly to him "Come with me, and I will 
 tell you all."' 
 
 The youth whose life was just begun and 
 the old knight who before many years 
 would enter a new life, passed on slowly. 
 Beside the calm waters of the lake they 
 stopped and the knight told the whole sad 
 story of Amfortas to the young Parsifal. 
 He told him also of the voice which said 
 "Wait for the one whose life is filled with 
 love and pity." 
 
 "One must touch again the wound with 
 the Holy Spear if our king lives," con- 
 tinued the knight, "and that is in the pos- 
 session of the wicked magician. But I 
 
 178
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 must leave you now for I have duties to 
 perform." So, bidding- the youth good-by, 
 he returned to the house. 
 
 Parsifal watched him until he disap- 
 peared. Then, with a heart filled with 
 love and pity he turned in the direction of 
 the magician 's palace. His mind was filled 
 with thoughts of the church and of Amfor- 
 tas, King of the Grail. As he walked on, a 
 great desire came to him to possess the 
 Holy Grail, and now and then he stopped 
 to see if he could not hear the voice tell- 
 ing him he had found it. But no voice 
 spoke. 
 
 "I must press on so that I may recover 
 the Holy Spear of Amfortas. That, and 
 that alone, the old knight told me, could 
 cure the wounded side." 
 
 The air seemed somewhat heavier as the 
 youth hurried on, and it seemed more diffi- 
 cult for him to breathe than it did in the 
 
 179
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 knig^hts' domain. But he did not stop. Al- 
 though he knew it not he was approach- 
 ing the wicked magician's palace. So 
 wicked was the magician that his power 
 seemed to affect the very atmosphere. 
 
 Soon Parsifal stopped and listened, for 
 he heard music. 
 
 "I must hasten on," thought he, "for 
 that music comes from the garden of the 
 magician's palace." 
 
 Louder grew the song as he neared the 
 garden. 
 
 "Strange," said he to himself, "this 
 music makes me think only of myself, 
 while the Holy Grail music made me think 
 of my Heavenly Father. It is so differ- 
 ent. " 
 
 Just then he came to the garden. Big, 
 bright colored flowers were before him. 
 Each flower was singing to him to enter, 
 but he stood unmoved. 
 
 180
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 "Those flowers, though so highly col- 
 ored, are poisonous, and they have none 
 of the sweet perfume of my forest blos- 
 soms." 
 
 Louder and louder sang- the flowers. In 
 their midst stood a woman dressed in 
 bright and glittering garments. Soon she 
 too began to sing. 
 
 Parsifal listened as in strains of won- 
 derful music she coaxed him to come into 
 the garden where he could have everything 
 that he wished to eat and drink and wear. 
 Here he could listen to entrancing music 
 all the day long, and have for companions 
 the gay flowers. 
 
 "Come, only come," sang the woman. 
 
 Parsifal hesitatingly lingered and lis- 
 tened. So enticing was the song of the 
 woman that it seemed to the youth as if 
 the whole world were calling him. Sud- 
 denly he put his hand on his side as if in 
 great pain. 181
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 "Now I know what Amfortas suffers," 
 cried he. "No, I will not come into the 
 garden. Is it not enough that you have 
 caused Amfortas. to suffer as he does?" 
 
 "Come, come, only come! We will make 
 you forget all else," sang the woman. 
 
 "Never!" cried Parsifal. 
 
 Then the woman called aloud to the 
 magician, for she knew her power was gone. 
 As she screamed the magician appeared 
 with Amfortas's Holy Spear. Looking for 
 one moment at the youth he said angrily: 
 
 "I will wound you as I did Amfortas," 
 and with that he threw the spear straight 
 at Parsifal. 
 
 But strange as it may seem, instead of 
 touching the youth, the spear hung poised 
 in the air above his head. Surely some 
 great love stayed it there. Filled with 
 hope, Parsifal reached up and took the 
 Holy Spear in his hand. 
 
 182
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 Just as he touched it a mig-hty crash 
 came and the mag-ician's palace and all its 
 inmates, the g-org-eous flowers and spark- 
 ling- fountains, all disappeared. In its 
 place stood wide-spreadingr shade trees. 
 
 Parsifal looked in amazement at the 
 sudden chang-e. Then he said, "I must 
 hasten back to the knig-hts, for now it will 
 be but a few hours before Amfortas will 
 be made well, " 
 
 He looked in front of him; then turned 
 and looked the other way, but alas, he 
 knew not whether to turn to the rig-ht or 
 to the left. He was lost! 
 
 Standing along- in the forest he prayed 
 to the Heavenly Father that he might find 
 the Holy Grail, and also that he might 
 find his way back to the knig-hts and to 
 Amfortas. The thought of what the old 
 knight told him came again to his mind, — 
 ^'Some people have to travel all around 
 
 183
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 the world before they find the Holy Grail." 
 
 "Perhaps I may be one who has to 
 travel far to find it, but I will press on, 
 and when my life is pure enough and ray 
 heart filled with love, then I, too, may 
 possess it." 
 
 Long and hard was the journey of the 
 young Parsifal. For days and days he 
 traveled without rest, and when at last 
 he did lie down to sleep, in his dreams he 
 traveled on, and even reached the end of 
 his journey. But when he awoke he heard 
 a voice say: 
 
 "Travel on. Love leads the way to the 
 place where you will find the Holy Grail." 
 
 Often he would be obliged to go over 
 rough and thorny paths. At other times 
 high, jagged mountains loomed up before 
 him, but hardest of all was the slimy, 
 muddy slough which he had to wade 
 through. His feet were bruised and sore 
 
 184
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 and many times his throat was parched 
 and thirsty, but still he kept on, and never 
 tor a moment did he let go of the Holy 
 Spear. 
 
 At times in his long" journey he met 
 people who needed his help. A poor, 
 tired mother carrying a heavy baby would 
 be going his way, and being young and 
 strong he would take the baby in his arms 
 and carry it for the mother; and at times 
 an old man needed to be helped over a 
 rough place. 
 
 One day as he was hurrying on he heard 
 a faint moan, and looking down he saw a 
 little white lamb that seemed to have lost 
 its way. Very tenderly did he lift the 
 little lamb in his arms and hold it close to 
 his heart. It seemed as if in some way it 
 gave new warmth to him, and again he 
 thought of the sweet story his mother used 
 to tell him of the dear Savior who carried 
 
 185
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 the lambs in his bosom. Parsifal's heart 
 was so peaceful as he walked on. Soon 
 he came to the shepherd and his herd of 
 sheep, and placing the little lamb near its 
 mother he passed on. 
 
 ' 'You are coming" nearer the Holy Grail, " 
 said the voice. 
 
 It was night time now, and as Parsifal 
 walked on he looked up into the sky 
 studded with twinkling stars. Far in the 
 east the moon rose into the heavens and 
 shed its beams on all the sleeping earth. 
 
 "How beautiful our world is!" thought 
 Parsifal. 
 
 All that night he traveled. Presently 
 the stars, one by one, disappeared, and as 
 the earth awoke the moon gave place to 
 the sun that it might do its work. Straight 
 ahead of the youth was a forest. As he 
 entered it his heart gave a glad leap, for 
 it seemed to him as if he had been there 
 
 186
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 some time long" before. With bowed head 
 he walked on. Suddenly he stopped for 
 he heard a voice say: 
 
 "Will not the one whose life is filled 
 with love and pity soon come! The suffer- 
 ing of Amfortas increases day by day." 
 
 There through the trees Parsifal saw the 
 old knight walking by the lake, and near 
 him was the woman who had sung to him 
 in the garden of the magician's palace. 
 She looked very different now from what 
 she did when she had tried to tempt him. 
 Now her face was indeed beautiful, for a 
 change had taken place within her heart. 
 For years she had been under the spell of 
 the magician, for in her youth she had 
 done a wrong thing, and that was her pun- 
 ishment. The spell the magician held over 
 her could not be broken until some one 
 would be strong enough to resist all temp- 
 tation. This Parsifal had done, so the 
 
 187
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 spell was broken when the palace disap- 
 peared, and the magician's power over her 
 was gone. Now her life was given up to 
 doing- good that she, too, might find the 
 Holy Grail. 
 
 With the spear in his hand, and a heart 
 filled with love and pity, Parsifal ap- 
 proached them. The knight and the 
 woman stood silent, for Parsifal's face 
 shone like the sun, and in his hand they 
 recognized the Holy Spear. 
 
 Parsifal spoke: 
 
 "I have traveled all around the world, 
 and hard indeed has been the way, but 
 love always whispered that at last I 
 should find the church and Amfortas 
 again." 
 
 And as he was speaking a great light 
 shone above his head, and a voice, coming 
 from the very center of the light, said: 
 
 "Here you have found the Holy Grail. 
 
 188
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 Ever after this you are to be King of the 
 Grail," and to the woman the voice said, 
 "You have also found the Holy Grail. Be 
 true to it always." 
 
 The voice ceased, and Parsifal placing" 
 the Holy Spear in the sand said, "Let us 
 offer a prayer of thanksgiving." 
 
 Long they talked with the Heavenly 
 Father, thanking him for all he had given 
 to them, and asking him to always keep 
 their lives pure and loving that the Holy 
 Grail might remain with them forever. 
 As they rose, the dust-worn clothes of 
 Parsifal fell to the ground, and he stood 
 before them robed in pure white gar- 
 ments. 
 
 The bells in the church pealed forth in 
 sweeter and more solemn tones than ever 
 before, for it was Good Friday, the Friday 
 before Easter. Once again the knights 
 could be seen carrying Amfortas into the 
 
 189
 
 PARSIFAL. 
 
 church. Taking- the spear in his hand 
 Parsifal said: 
 
 "Let us also go into the church." 
 
 All was silent as they entered. Parsifal 
 walked slowly to the suffering Arafortas, 
 and gently uncovered the wounded side. 
 Then, lifting- the Holy Spear on high, he 
 touched the wound. 
 
 Instantly the pain ceased, and for the 
 first time since he had gone into the en- 
 chanted garden, Amfortas stood before 
 them. Great indeed was their amazement, 
 but greater still was their gratitude as 
 they thanked the Father. 
 
 The great light shone again, and from 
 the light came a pure white dove. It flew 
 direct to Parsifal and alighted on his 
 shoulder. Then all knew that he was 
 King of the Holy Grail. 
 
 Again the music burst forth and told its 
 story of the joy of unselfish love. It was 
 
 190 
 
 wl
 
 R 
 
 more beautiful than ever, for it not only 
 told of the Holy Grail, but it told the story 
 of Good Friday and of the glorious Easter 
 day which followed so that the whole 
 earth would know that the Divine Love 
 which made the Easter Tide, like the sun, 
 shines on forever. 
 
 GRAIL MOTIVE. 
 
 191
 
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