[Siegfried's mien and gestures show that he has understood the bird's song. He sees Mime approaching, and remains without moving, leaning on his sword, observant and self-contained, in his place on the knoll till the close of the following scene.
MIME
[Steals forward, and observes Siegfried from the foreground.
He weighs in his mind
The booty's worth;
Can there by chance
Have come this way
A Wanderer wise
Who talked to the child,
And taught him crafty runes?
Doubly sly
Be then the dwarf;
My snares must be cunning,
Cleverly set,
That with cajoling
And wily falsehoods
The insolent boy I may fool.
[He goes nearer to Siegfried and welcomes him with flattering gestures.
Ha! Welcome, Siegfried!
Say, bold fighter,
Hast thou been taught how to fear?
SIEGFRIED
A teacher still is to find.
MIME
But the dragon grim
Has fallen before thee?
A fell and fierce monster was he.
SIEGFRIED
Though grim and spiteful the brute,
I grieve over his death,
While there live still, unpunished,
Blacker scoundrels than he was!
The one who bade me slay
I hate far more than the slain.
MIME [Very friendly.
Have patience! Thou wilt not
Look on me long.
[Sweetly.
In endless sleep
Soon thine eyelids will be sealed.
Thy uses are over,
[As if praising him.
Done is the deed;
The only task left
For me is to win the booty.
Methinks that task will not tax me;
Thou wert always easy to fool.
SIEGFRIED
To me thou art plotting harm, then?
MIME [Astonished.
What makes thee think that?
[Continuing tenderly.
Siegfried, listen, my own one!
I have always loathed
Thee and all that are like thee.
It was not from love
That I reared thee with care:
The gold hid in Fafner's cave
I worked for as my reward.
[As if he were promising him something nice.
If thou wilt not yield
It up to me,
[As if he were ready to lay down his life for him.
Siegfried, my son,
Thou plainly must see
[As if in friendly jest.
I have no choice but to slay thee!
SIEGFRIED
That I am hated
Pleases me;