did not laugh with them.

He would not take his eyes off the gold.

"That," said the maidens, "is our Rhine-gold."

"A very pretty plaything it is," said Alberich.

"Yes," replied the careless sisters, "it is magic gold. Who moulds this
gold into a ring shall have all power upon the earth, save love."

Alberich muttered to himself: "What do I care for love if I have all the
gold I want?"

Then he sprang upon the slippery rock and snatched the gold. With one
wild leap he plunged into the depths below.

Down, down he went to his deep, dark kingdom, clutching fast the
precious gold and muttering:--

"Now all the earth is mine. It is mine, all mine. Now I shall rule the
world."

Poor foolish Alberich! He did not know that the best things in this
world are the things which gold cannot buy.

The power of love is greater than the power of gold.

The maidens shrieked and screamed: "Our gold! Our gold! Our precious
gold!"

Too late! Far, far below, they heard a laugh, the rough, rude laugh of
Alberich, the dwarf.

THE SAD RHINE-DAUGHTERS

After that, when the Rhine-daughters came to the rock where the gold had
been, they could not sing their happy song.

Their faces were very sad now, and they said: "Oh, why did Alberich
steal our beautiful gold? It cannot make him happy, for no one can ever
be truly happy who does not know love."

They often sat upon the rocks in the dusk of the evening and cried as if
their hearts would break because they had lost their gold.

"The black waves surge in sorrow through the depths, And all the Rhine
is wailing in its woe."

A CASTLE ON THE RHINE

On a mountain-side, above the banks of the Rhine, lived a family of
splendid giants.

The greatest of the giants was Wotan. He was the king.

They had always lived out of doors, because the king had never been
able to find a giant who was large enough to build such a grand castle
as he wanted for his family.

But one day there came to the mountainside the largest giant Wotan had
ever seen.

His name was Fafner.

He was many times larger than Wotan.

Wotan told Fafner how much he wanted a wonderful castle.

Fafner said: "I will build such a castle for you if you will give me
your sister, Freya."

Fafner wanted to take the beautiful Freya to his own country.

Wotan did not stop to think what an awful thing it would be to lose
Freya.

His thoughts were of nothing but the wonderful castle.

"Build it, Fafner," sa