ger, was about to attack him again, Gunther asked Siegfried's
assistance, and began to prepare as if for war. When Kriemhild heard that
her beloved husband was about to rush into danger she was greatly troubled.
Hagen artfully pretended to share her alarm, and so won her confidence that
she revealed to him that Siegfried was invulnerable except in one spot,
between his shoulders, where a lime leaf had rested and the dragon's blood
had not touched him.

"'So now I'll tell the secret, dear friend, alone to thee
(For thou, I doubt not, cousin, wilt keep thy faith with me),
Where sword may pierce my darling, and death sit on the thrust.
See, in thy truth and honor how full, how firm, my trust!

"'As from the dragon's death-wounds gush'd out the crimson gore,
With the smoking torrent the warrior wash'd him o'er,
A leaf then 'twixt his shoulders fell from the linden bough.
There only steel can harm him; for that I tremble now.'"
_Nibelungenlied_ (Lettsom's
tr.).

Pretending a sympathy he was far from feeling, and disguising his unholy
joy, Hagen bade Kriemhild sew a tiny cross on Siegfried's doublet over the
vulnerable spot, that he might the better protect him in case of danger,
and, after receiving her profuse thanks, returned to report the success of
his ruse to the king. When Siegfried joined them on the morrow, wearing the
fatal marked doublet, he was surprised to hear that the rebellion had been
quelled without a blow; and when invited to join in a hunt in the Odenwald
instead of the fray, he gladly signified his consent. After bidding
farewell to Kriemhild, whose heart was sorely oppressed by dark
forebodings, he joined the hunting party. He scoured the forest, slew
several boars, caught a bear alive, and playfully let him loose in camp to
furnish sport for the guests while the noonday meal was being prepared.
Then he gaily sat down, clamoring for a drink. His exertions had made him
very thirsty indeed, and he was sorely disappointed when told that, owing
to a mistake, the wine had been carried to another part of the forest. But
when Hagen pointed out a fresh spring at a short distance, all his wonted
good humor returned, and he merrily proposed a race thither, offering to
run in full armor, while the others might lay aside their cumbersome
weapons. This challenge was accepted by Hagen and Gunther. Although heavily
handicapped,