She wore the cord of silk of Nineveh, set with precious stones; in sooth
'twas fair enow. When Brunhild spied it, she began to weep. Gunther and
all the Burgundian men must needs now learn of this.

Then spake the queen: "Bid the prince of the Rhineland come hither. I
will let him hear how his sister hath mocked me. She saith here openly
that I be Siegfried's wife."

The king came with knights, and when he saw his love a-weeping, how
gently he spake: "Pray tell me, dear lady, who hath done you aught?"

She answered to the king: "I must stand unhappy; thy sister would fain
part me from all mine honors. I make here plaint to thee she doth aver
that Siegfried, her husband hath had me as his leman."

Quoth King Gunther: "Then hath she done ill."

"She weareth here my girdle, which I have lost, and my ring of ruddy
gold. It doth repent me sore that I was ever born, unless be thou
clearest me of this passing great shame, for that I'll serve thee ever."

King Gunther spake: "Have him come hither. He must let us hear if
he hath made boast of this, or he must make denial, the hero of
Netherland." One bade fetch at once Kriemhild's love.

When Siegfried saw the angry dames (he wist not of the tale), how
quickly then he spake: "I fain would know why these ladies weep, or for
what cause the king hath had me fetched."

Then King Gunther spake: "It doth rue me sore, forsooth. My Lady
Brunhild hath told me here a tale, that thou hast boasted thou wast the
first to clasp her lovely body in thine arms; this Lady Kriemhild, thy
wife, doth say."

Then spake Lord Siegfried: "And she hath told this tale, she shall rue
it sore, or ever I turn back, and I'll clear me with solemn oaths in
front of all thy men, that I have not told her this."

Quoth the king of the Rhineland: "Let that be seen. The oath thou dost
offer, and let it now be given, shall free thee of all false charges."

They bade the proud Burgundians form a ring. Siegfried, the bold,
stretched out his hand for the oath; then spake the mighty king: "Thy
great innocence is so well known to me, that I will free thee of that
of which my sister doth accuse thee and say, thou hast never done this
thing."

Siegfried replied: "If it boot my lady aught to have thus saddened
Brunhild, that will surely cause me boundless grief."

Then the lusty knights and good gazed one upon the other. "One should
so train women," spake again Siegfried, the knight, "that they leave
haugh