Siguršr fared home to Hjalprekr. Then Reginn egged Siguršr on to do battle with Fafnir. Siguršr and Reginn fared up on Gnita Heath and found there Fafnir's track, where he crept to the water. Then Siguršr readied a great pit in the way, and Siguršr went therein. But when Fafnir crept from the gold, he spat poison, and that fell from above onto Siguršr's head. But when Fafnir crept over the pit, then Siguršr laid sword into his heart. Fafnir shuddered and beat with head and tail. Siguršr leapt out of the pit, and they saw each other. Fafnir said:
1.
"Youth! o youth!
of whom were you born, youth?
of what men's kin are you?
that you reddened
the keen blade from Fafnir:
the sword stands in my heart!"
Siguršr concealed his name, because that was the belief in old times, that the words of a doomed man could be mighty, if he ill-wished his foe by name. He said,
2.
"I am called the Stately Animal,
and I have gone
a motherless kinsman;
I have no father,
as the sons of men do,
I have ever gone alone."
Fafnir said:
3.
"If you had no father,
as the sons of men do,
[...]
do you know of what wonder you were born?"
Siguršr said:
4.
My forefathers
have never been unknown,
and the same of myself:
Sigmundr hight my father;
I hight Siguršr,
who have battled against you with weapons!"
Fafnir said:
5.
"Who whetted you,
and why did you let yourself be whetted,
to fare after my life?
thou gleaming-eyed youth!
you had a bold father,
what is born within shows itself soon."
Siguršr said:
6.
"My soul whetted me,
my hand helped me,
and my keen sword.
Few are brave
who become older
if they are fearful in childhood."
Fafnir said:
7.
"I know that if you had been able to grow up
before your friends' breasts,
man would see you fierce in battle;
now you are fettered,
and battle-taken -
the bound ever speak tremblingly!"
Siguršr said:
8.
"You brandish this at me now, Fafnir,
because you see me far
from my father's kin:
I am not fettered,
though I was battle-taken;
you found this at your loss of life!"
Fafnir said:
9.
"You expect to hear
only foelike words in all things,
but I say one thing to you truthfully:
the ringing gold,
and the glow-red wealth,
those rings become your bane!"
Siguršr said:
10.
"Every man
wants to rule wealth ever,
until that one day,
for at some time
shall every life
fare hither to Hel."
Fafnir said:
11.
"The doom of the norns
shall have you before the nesses
and the unwise fool;
in water you'll drown,
if you row into the wind,
all is dangerous to the fey."
Siguršr said:
12.
"Tell me, Fafnir,
all that you wisely say,
and greatly know well:
who are those norns
who are helpbringers at need
and choose (to free) a mother from sons?"
Fafnir said:
13.
"I say that norns
may be seen of greatly different births,
they are not of one ętt together.
Some are of the Ęsir-kin,
some of the alf-kin,
some are the daughters of Dvalin."
Siguršr said:
14.
"Tell me, Fafnir,
all that you wisely say,
and greatly know well:
how hight the holm where
Surtr and the Ęsir
shall blend blade-wetness together?"
Fafnir said:
15.
"It hight Unshaped,
but there shall all
the gods play with spears.
The Trembling Mile breaks
when they fare out,
and steeds swim in the flood.
16.
"I bore the Helm of Awe
among the sons of ages,
while I lay among the treasures.
I thought myself alone
stronger than all,
found I never so many young men."
Siguršr said:
17.
"The Helm of Awe
hides no one
when wrathful men shall battle;
it will be found
when many come together,
that no one alone is the keenest."
Fafnir said:
18.
"I sprayed out poison
when I lay on the great inheritance
of my father
[...]"
19.
"Thou gleaming wyrm!
you made great hissing
and showed a hardy soul;
greatly grimmer
become the sons of men
if they have that helm."
20.
"I give you this rede, Siguršr -
take you rede
and ride home from here!
the ringing gold
and the glow-red wealth,
those rings become your bane."
21.
"Your rede is spoken,
yet I shall ride to the gold
where it lies in the heather.
But you, Fafnir,
lie in your death-throes
there where Hel has you!"
22.
"Reginn gave me rede,
he shall give you rede,
he shall become the bane of us both!
I think that Fafnir must
leave his life,
you became now the greater in main-strength."
Reginn had vanished away while Siguršr slew Fafnir, and he came then afterwards while Siguršr wiped blood from the sword. Reginn said:
23.
"Hail thou now, Siguršr!
Now you have battled victoriously
and overcome Fafnir!
Of those men
who have trodden the dust,
I say you are born the most fearless!"
24.
"That is uncertain to know
when all come together,
sons of the victory-gods,
who is born the most fearless;
many are brave
who never reddened sword
in another's breast."
25.
"Glad are you now, Siguršr,
and joying in victory,
as you dry Gram on the grass.
You have slain
my own brother,
though I myself ruled some of that."
26.
"You gave rede
that I should ride
up the high fell to here;
the gleaming wyrm would have ruled
wealth and life
except that you spoke to me of a brave soul."
Then went Reginn to Fafnir and cut the heart out of him with a sword which hight Ridhill, and he drank the blood out of the wound afterward:
27.
"Sit you now, Siguršr -
for I must go to sleep -
and hold Fafnir's heart to the fire!
I wish to
eat the heart
after this drink of blood."
28.
"You went far away,
while I reddened
my keen sword on Fafnir;
my strength I strained
against the wyrm's main,
while you lay in the heather!"
29.
"Long would you have let lie
in the heather
the old etin,
if you had not enjoyed the sword
which I myself made for you,
and your keen sword!"
30.
"Soul is better
than the sword's main,
where the fierce shall battle,
for I see a brave man
in every battle
win victory with a dull sword.
31.
"It goes better to the brave
than the cowardly
in battle-play,
better to the glad
than the fearful,
whatever comes to hand."
Siguršr took Fafnir's heart and roasted it on a twig. But when he sensed that it was fully roasted, and the blood foamed up from the heart, then he tested with his finger whether it was fully roasted. He burnt it and stuck the finger in his mouth. But when Fafnir's heartblood came on his tongue, then he understood bird-speech. He heard titmice twittering in the wood. - The titmouse said:
32.
"There sits Siguršr,
sprinkled with blood,
roasting Fafnir's heart
at the fire;
wise the destroyer of rings
would seem to me,
if he ate the life-muscle
of the gleaming one."
33.
"There lies Regin,
takes counsel with himself,
wishes to betray
the youth who trusts him,
bears false words
together from wrath,
the evil smith wishes
to avenge his brother."
34.
"A head shorter,
let him, the hoary thul,
fare hence to Hel!
He would be able to rule
all the gold alone,
the wealth which lay under Fafnir."
35.
"He would seem wise to me
if he were able to have
the friendly rede
of us sisters;
thought about himself
and gladdened Huginn -
I expect a wolf
when I see the ears."
36.
"The battle-tree is not
so wise,
as I had thought
the army's foremost,
if he lets the brother
come away,
when he has robbed the other
of life-age."
37.
"Greatly unwise,
if he still spares
the warrior-destroying foeman,
Reginn lies there,
who has betrayed him -
he is not able to see such!"
38.
"A head shorter let him,
the rime-cold etin, (be)
and dwell upon the rings:
then over the wealth
which Fafnir ruled
you shall be sole ruler!"
39.
"It was not so powerfully shaped,
that Regin should
bear my bane-words,
because both brothers
shall swiftly
fare hence to Hel!"
Siguršr hewed the head from Reginn, and then he ate Fafnir's heart and drank the blood of them both, Reginn and Fafnir. Then Siguršr heard what the titmice said:
40.
"Gather, Siguršr,
the red rings
- it is not kinglike
to fear much! -
I know a maid,
the fairest of many,
clad in gold,
if you can get her.
41.
"Green lie the ways to Gjuki
- forward shows
the shaping for
the folk's host-leader -
there a lordly king
has a fair daughter,
you shall buy her
with a dowry, Siguršr.
42.
"A hall is on high
Hind's Fell,
all outside it is
wrapped around
with fire;
wise men have built it
from the undark fire
of the flood.
43.
"I know of the battle-maid
sleeping on the fell,
and over her plays the
linden's harm;
Yggr stuck (her) with a thorn:
the flax-goddess felled
another hero
than he had willed.
44.
"Youth, you may see
the maiden under helm,
who rode
Vingskornir from battle;
you may not break
Sigrdrifa's sleep,
descendant of Skjoldings,
before the norns' shaping!"
Siguršr rode along Fafnir's tracks to his lair and he found it open and the doors and doorposts were of iron; of iron were all the pillars of the house, and buried in the earth. There Siguršr found a great deal of gold and filled two chests with it. There he took the Helm of Awe and a gold byrnie and the swort Hrotti and many precious treasures and loaded Grani with them. But the horse would not go forward, until Siguršr climbed onto his back. (Volsunga saga adds, "and the horse ran as if he were unloaded.")
Note: This translation and others in this collection bearing this notice are the sole work of Stephan Grundy and are here with his permission. They are under his copyright. They are freely reproducible and quotable as long as this notice is attached if these are being reproduced or due credit is given to him for his translation if they are being quoted in another work.