d no brave man lets death frighten him from his desire. Die
thou, Fafnir,' and then Fafnir died.

And after that Sigurd was called Fafnir's Bane, and Dragonslayer.

Then Sigurd rode back, and met Regin, and Regin asked him to roast
Fafnir's heart and let him taste of it.

So Sigurd put the heart of Fafnir on a stake, and roasted it. But it
chanced that he touched it with his finger, and it burned him. Then he
put his finger in his mouth, and so tasted the heart of Fafnir.

Then immediately he understood the language of birds, and he heard the
Woodpeckers say:

'There is Sigurd roasting Fafnir's heart for another, when he should
taste of it himself and learn all wisdom.'

The next bird said:

'There lies Regin, ready to betray Sigurd, who trusts him.'

The third bird said:

'Let him cut off Regin's head, and keep all the gold to himself.'

The fourth bird said:

'That let him do, and then ride over Hindfell, to the place where
Brynhild sleeps.'

When Sigurd heard all this, and how Regin was plotting to betray him, he
cut off Regin's head with one blow of the sword Gram.

Then all 'he birds broke out singing:

'We know a fair maid,
A fair maiden sleeping;
Sigurd, be not afraid,
Sigurd, win thou the maid
Fortune is keeping.

'High over Hindfell
Red fire is flaming,
There doth the maiden dwell
She that should love thee well,
Meet for thy taming.

'There must she sleep till thou
Comest for her waking
Rise up and ride, for now
Sure she will swear the vow
Fearless of breaking.'

Then Sigurd remembered how the story went that somewhere, far away,
there was a beautiful lady enchanted. She was under a spell, so that she
must always sleep in a castle surrounded by flaming fire; there she must
sleep for ever till there came a knight who would ride through the fire
and waken her. There he determined to go, but first he rode right down
the horrible trail of Fafnir. And Fafnir had lived in a cave with iron
doors, a cave dug deep down in the earth, and full of gold bracelets,
and crowns, and rings; and there, too, Sigurd found the Helm of Dread, a
golden helmet, and whoever wears it is invisible. All these he piled on
the back of the good horse Grani, and then he rode south to Hindfell.

Now it was night, and on the crest of the hill Sigurd saw a red fire
blazing up into the sky, and within the flame a castle, and a banner
on the