sisters was coming to see her?

Was it possible that one of the Walkuere would so far dare Wotan's wrath
as to venture to the mountain's crest?

Nearer came the call:--

"Heiho! hoyotoho! heiho!"

And a battle-maiden came in sight.

Brunhilde was very happy to see her sister again, but the battle-maiden
looked sad.

She brought bad news from Valhalla.

She and Brunhilde sat down upon the rock, and the battle-maiden told the
sad story of the last days of the giants.

"Brunhilde," she said, "Wotan does not know that I have come. Valhalla
is in deepest gloom.

"Wotan has never sent us to a battlefield since that day when we last
saw you.

"Not long ago he came home with his magic spear broken into splinters.
He sat down and buried his face in his hands, and there he sits day
after day.

"He tell us the giants are passing from the earth. A little while and
Valhalla shall be no more.

"He refuses all of Freya's golden fruit. He has grown very old and very
sad.

"Yesterday I heard him say, 'Oh! if Brunhilde would only give the ring
back to the Rhine-daughters, and release the world from the terrible
curse of gold!'

"And, Brunhilde, I have come to beg of you, will you not give the ring
back to the Rhine-daughters?"

Brunhilde clasped the ring close to her breast.

"Give the ring to the Rhine-daughters?" she cried.

Then she looked far away toward the valley----and Siegfried.

"This ring of mine is Siegfried's pledge of love!"

LOVE

The next morning Brunhilde stood upon Walkuere Rock and watched the
glorious sunrise.

Suddenly she heard the glad notes of Siegfried's silver horn.

"Siegfried! Siegfried!" she cried in joy, and hurried down the mountain
to greet him.

All the earth seemed as glad as at that glad time when Siegfried came to
Walkuere Rock to claim Brunhilde for his bride.

But Brunhilde was not altogether happy.

She could not forget the sorrowful news which her sister had brought, of
the gloom at Valhalla.

So, after their first glad greeting, they sat down upon the rocks, and
Brunhilde told Siegfried the sad story of the ring, from the time when
Alberich snatched it from the Rhine-daughters, until the day Siegfried
took it from Hate Cavern.

Then, hand in hand, they went, the valiant Siegfried and the noble
Brunhilde, to the banks of the Rhine.

They called to the Rhine-daughters and the Rhine-daughters came out upon
the rocks.

With a glad shout, Brunhilde flung the