Odin, the father of the gods, told the giants to build a
beautiful bridge to unite Valhalla, the celestial
paradise, with the Earth. The builders demanded in
return Freyja, the goddess of beauty.
When the bridge was finished, the gods wanted to rescue
Freyja from the giants, but the giants demanded a
suitable ransom: the treasure which the Nibelung dwarves
hoarded with the Rhine gold. And so the gods were forced
to steal the dwarves' treasure and hand it over to the
giants, who hoarded it in a cave guarded by the dragon
Fafnir.
Mimi, one of the dwarves, was desperate, for the
dwarves could do nothing against the dragon.
When he learned that Sigmund, King and hero of
the Volsung, had died in battle, he decided to
take charge of the now fatherless little Prince
Siegfried and turn him into a warrior as brave
and strong as the deceased king. The dwarf
became the prince's tutor, with the intention of
getting him to steal the treasure guarded by the
dragon.
Siegfried confronting the Dragon at his caveWhen
Siegfried reached the age of eighteen, Mimi gave
him the broken fragments of his father's sword,
the magic Gram, and taught him how to forge the
sword anew. When the sword was whole again, the
dwarf told Siegfried about the dragon Fafnir,
but not about the treasure
'It would be a great exploit, young Siegfried,
if a prince as strong and brave as you succeeded
in kill the dragon', said Mimi, to entice him.
The bold Siegfried agreed to undertake this task
and lost no time in making his way to the
dragon's cave. On arriving at the monster's lair,
he called him loudly.
Fafnir awoke and came out, intending to devour the
thoughtless intruder. Fearlessly, the hero brandished
the magic Gram and withstood the attack, and when the
dragon reared him enormous head, he plunged the sword
into the beast's neck. Mortally wounded in the jugular,
the beast collapsed in a pool of blood, and a few drops
splashed Siegfried's lips, giving him the wonderful
faculty of understanding the language of the birds:
'Here's young Siegfried who has just killed the dragon.
If he were to bathe in the monster's blood, he would
become invulnerable', sang some birds. 'He is not as
clever as he seems if he doesn't realize that Mimi will
betray him. The dwarf only wanted the treasure that
Fafnir was guarding and now that the dragon is dead, he
will kill Siegfried', cheeped others.
The young man followed the birds' advice and bathed in
the dragon's blood. From then on he was invulnerable.
However, a lime leaf fell on his shoulder while he was
bathing, and this tiny little patch of his body was not
protected by the magic blood.
Then, Siegfried kill the artful Mimi, who only wanted
the treasure, and went into the dragon's cave. The hero,
whom the birds continued to advise, kept the magic
helmet of invisibility and the dwarf's ring, which he
found among the precious objects in the cave. After this
exploit, he sheathed the powerful Gram and set off in
search of new adventures.
