The Story of the Volsungs

CHAPTER XV.

Of the Weld­ing to­geth­er of the Shards of the Sward Gram.

So Re­gin makes a sword, and gives it in­to Sig­urd’s hands. He took the sword, and said –

“Be­hold thy smithy­ing, Re­gin!” and there­with smote it in­to the anvil, and the sword brake; so he cast down the brand, and bade him forge a bet­ter.

Then Re­gin forged an­oth­er sword, and brought it to Sig­urd, who looked there­on.

Then said Re­gin, “Be­like thou art well con­tent there­with, hard mas­ter though thou be in smithy­ing.”

So Sig­urd proved the sword, and brake it even as the first; then he said to Re­gin –

“Ah, art thou, may­hap­pen, a traitor and a liar like to those for­mer kin of thine?”

There­with he went to his moth­er, and she wel­comed him in seem­ly wise, and they talked and drank to­geth­er.

Then spake Sig­urd, “Have I heard aright, that King Sig­mund gave thee the good sword Gram in two pieces?”

“True enough,” she said.

So Sig­urd said, “De­liv­er them in­to my hands, for I would have them.”

She said he looked like to win great fame, and gave him the sword. There­with went Sig­urd to Re­gin, and bade him make a good sword there­of as he best might; Re­gin grew wroth there­at, but went in­to the smithy with the pieces of the sword, think­ing well mean­while that Sig­urd pushed his head far enow in­to the mat­ter of smithy­ing. So he made a sword, and as he bore it forth from the forge, it seemed to the smiths as though fire burned along the edges there­of. Now he bade Sig­urd take the sword, and said he knew not how to make a sword if this one failed. Then Sig­urd smote it in­to the anvil, and cleft it down to the stock there­of, and nei­ther burst the sword nor brake it. Then he praised the sword much, and there­after went to the riv­er with a lock of wool, and threw it up against the stream, and it fell asun­der when it met the sword. Then was Sig­urd glad, and went home.

But Re­gin said, “Now where­as I have made the sword for thee, be­like thou wilt hold to thy troth giv­en, and wilt go meet Fafnir?”

“Sure­ly will I hold there­to,” said Sig­urd, “yet first must I avenge my fa­ther.”

Now Sig­urd the old­er he grew, the more he grew in the love of all men, so that ev­ery child loved him well.