Sigurd Talks to Birds

Sigurd took Fafnir’s heart and roasted it on a spit. And when he thought that it was done, and the juice was dripping out of the heart, he prodded it with his finger to see if it was done. He burnt himself and stuck his finger in his mouth. And when Fafnir’s heart-blood came on his tongue, he understood the speech of birds. He heard that there were nuthatches twittering in the branches. The nuthatch said:

32 ‘There sits Sigurd, splattered with blood,
roasting Fafnir’s heart on the fire;
the destroyer of rings would seem wise to me
if he were to eat the shining life-muscle.’

A second nuthatch said:
33 ‘There lies Regin plotting to himself,
he intends to betray the boy who trusts him,
in fury crooked words he cooks up,
that smith of evil wants to avenge his brother.’

A third one said:
34 ‘Shorter by a head he should send the old sage
off to hell from here!
Then all the gold he alone would possess,
that heap which lay under Fafnir.’

A fourth one said:
35 ‘Wise he’d seem to me if he knew how to get
the friendly vital advice of you sisters;
if he thought about himself and made the raven happy;
I expect a wolf when I see his ears.’

A fifth one said:
36 ‘The warrior isn’t so wise
as I thought a war-leader ought to be,
if he lets one brother get away,
when he’s denied the other old age.’

A sixth one said:
37 ‘He’ll be extremely foolish if he still spares
the murderous enemy;
there Regin is lying and plotting against him;
he doesn’t know how to guard against such a thing.’

A seventh said:
38 ‘Shorter by a head he should leave the frost-cold giant
and make him lose the rings;
then the treasure which Fafnir owned
would be in one man’s control.’

Sigurd said:
39 ‘Fate is not so powerful that Regin will
find himself reporting my death,
since those two brothers are going, very quickly,
to set off for hell from here.’

Sigurd cut off Regin’s head and then he ate Fafnir’s heart and drank the blood of both Regin and Fafnir. Then Sigurd heard the nuthatches saying:

40 ‘Gather up, Sigurd, the red rings;
it’s not kingly to be afraid of anything!
I know a girl, the fairest by far,
endowed with gold, if you could win her.

41 ‘Green paths lie straight towards Giuki,
fate points forward for a far-travelling man.
There the lavish king has raised up a daughter.
Sigurd, you’ll win her with a wedding settlement.

42 ‘There is a hall on high Hindarfell,
outside it is all surrounded with flame;
wise men have made it
out of radiant river-light.

43 ‘I know on the mountain the battle-wise one sleeps,
and the terror of the linden plays above her;
Odin stabbed her with a thorn;
the goddess of flax had brought down
a different fighter from the one he wanted.

44 ‘Young man, you shall see the girl under the helmet,
who rode away from battle on Vingskornir.
Sigrdrifa’s sleep may not be broken,
by a princely youth, except by the norns’ decree.’

Sigurd rode along Fafnir’s track to his lair and found it open and with doors and door-frames of iron. All the beams of the house were of iron, and they were driven down into the earth. There Sigurd found a huge amount of gold and filled two chests with it.


- Poetic Edda, Fafnismal