dead corpses.

"Trow never in him for whom thou hast slain father, brother, or whatso
near kin, yea, though young he be; 'for oft waxes wolf in youngling'.

"Look thou with good heed to the wiles of thy friends; but little skill
is given to me, that I should foresee the ways of thy life; yet good it
were that hate fell not on thee from those of thy wife's house."

Sigurd spake, "None among the sons of men can be found wiser than thou;
and thereby swear I, that thee will I have as my own, for near to my
heart thou liest."

She answers, "Thee would I fainest choose, though I had all men's sons
to choose from."

And thereto they plighted troth both of them.

CHAPTER XXII. Of the Semblance and Array of Sigurd Fafnir's-bane. (1)

Now Sigurd rides away; many-folded is his shield, and blazing with red
gold, and the image of a dragon is drawn thereon; and this same was dark
brown above, and bright red below; and with even such-like image was
adorned helm, and saddle, and coat-armour; and he was clad in the golden
byrny, and all his weapons were gold wrought.

Now for this cause was the drake drawn on all his weapons, that when he
was seen of men, all folk might know who went there; yea, all those who
had heard of his slaying of that great dragon, that the Voerings call
Fafnir; and for that cause are his weapons gold-wrought, and brown
of hue, and that he was by far above other men in courtesy and goodly
manners, and well-nigh in all things else; and whenas folk tell of all
the mightiest champions, and the noblest chiefs, then ever is he named
the foremost, and his name goes wide about on all tongues north of the
sea of the Greek-lands, and even so shall it be while the world endures.

Now the hair of this Sigurd was golden-red of hue, fair of fashion, and
falling down in great locks; thick and short was his beard, and of no
other colour, high-nosed he was, broad and high-boned of face; so
keen were his eyes, that few durst gaze up under the brows of him; his
shoulders were as broad to look on as the shoulders of two; most duly
was his body fashioned betwixt height and breadth, and in such wise as
was seemliest; and this is the sign told of his height, that when he was
girt with his sword Gram, which same was seven spans long, as he went
through the full-grown rye-fields, the dew-shoe of the said sword smote
the ears of the standing corn; and, for all that, greater was his
strength than his growth: well could he wie