436 SUPERSTITIONS. SHAPE-CHANGING. 



heather cluster, and didst not know heaven from earth ' Regin 

 answered : ' This serpent might have lain long time in his 

 lair if thou hadst not used the sword which I made for thee 

 with my hand, and then thon hadst not done this alone.' 

 Sigurd said : ' When men come to fight, it is better to have a 

 good heart than a sharp sword.' Then Regin said to him 

 very sadly : ' Thou didst slay my brother, and scarcely can I 

 be innocent of this deed.' 



" Then Sigurd cut out the serpent's heart with a sword called 

 Ridil. Regin drank the blood of Fafnir, and said : ' Do one 

 thing for me which is easy to thee ; go to a fire with the heart 

 and roast it, and give it me to eat.' Sigurd went away and 

 roasted it on a spit, and when the blood came out of it, he 

 touched it with his finger to see if it were roasted ; he put his 

 finger in his mouth, and when the serpent's heart- blood touched 

 his tongue he understood the speech of birds ; he heard nut- 

 hatches (Sitta Europeea) chirp in the brushwood near him 

 'There thou sittest, Sigurd, roasting the heart of Fafnir; he 

 (Sigurd) should eat it himself, then he would become wiser than 

 any other man.' Another said : ' There lies Regin, wishing to 

 betray the one who trusts him.' The third one said : ' Let him 

 (Sigurd) cut off his head, thon he can rule alone over the great 

 gold.' The fourth one said : ' He would be wiser if he acted 

 according to our advice, and rode to the lair of Fafnir, and 

 took the great gold which is there, and then rode up to 

 Hindarfjall (Hind-fell), where Brynhild sleeps, where he will 

 learn great wisdom ; he would be wise if he took your advice, 

 and thought of what he ought to do (namely, to slay Regin) ; 

 where I see the ears I expect the wolf.' The fifth said : ' He 

 (Sigurd) is not so wise as I think if he spares him (Regin), 

 having slain his brother.' The sixth said : ' It would be a 

 bold deed if he slew r him, and ruled alone over the gold.' Then 

 Sigurd said : ' It is not my fate that Regin is my slayer, but 

 both the brothers ought rather to go the same way.' He drew 

 the sword Gram and cut off Regin's head. After this he ate 

 part of the serpent's heart, and kept part of it. Then he 

 jumped on his horse and rode on Fafnir's track to his room, 

 and found it open ; all the doors were of iron, and also the 

 door-fittings, and all the beams, and it was dug into the 

 ground. Sigurd found there very much gold, and the sword 

 Hrotti, and there he took the helmet of terror, and the golden 

 coat-of-mail, and many costly things. He found there so 

 much gold that he thought likely that two or three horses 

 would not carry more. He put it all in two chests, and took 

 the bridle of the horse 14 rani, which would not walk, and it 

 was no use to whip it. He found what the horse wished, 



