Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. The Ring of the Niblung, part 2. Рихард Вагнер
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. The Ring of the Niblung, part 2 - Рихард Вагнер страница 5

СКАЧАТЬ fly,

      Like the wind o'er the wood

      Wafted away,

      Thee, Mime, beholding no more!

      [He runs into the forest.

      MIME [Greatly alarmed.

      Stop, boy! Stop, boy!

      Whither away?

      Hey! Siegfried!

      Siegfried! Hey!

      [He looks after the retreating figure for some time in astonishment; then he goes back to the smithy and sits down behind the anvil.

      He storms away!

      And I sit here:

      To crown my cares

      Comes still this new one;

      My plight is piteous indeed!

      How help myself now?

      How hold the boy here?

      How lead the young madcap

      To Fafner's lair?

      And how weld the splinters

      Of obstinate steel?

      In no furnace fire

      Can they be melted,

      Nor can Mime's hammer

      Cope with their hardness.

      [Shrilly.

      The Nibelung's hate,

      Need and sweat

      Cannot make Nothung whole,

      Never will weld it anew.

      [Sobbing, he sinks in despair on to a stool behind the anvil.

      WANDERER (WOTAN)

      [Enters from the wood by the door at the back of the cave. He wears a long dark blue cloak, and, for staff, carries a spear. On his head is a round, broad-brimmed slouched hat.

      All hail, cunning smith!

      A seat by thy hearth

      Kindly grant

      The wayworn guest.

      MIME [Starting up in alarm.

      Who seeks for me here

      In desolate woods,

      Finds my home in the forest wild?

      WANDERER [Approaching very slowly step by step.

      Wanderer names me the world, smith.

      From far I have come;

      On the earth's back ranging,

      Much I have roamed.

      MIME

      If Wanderer named,

      Pray wander from here

      Without halting for rest.

      WANDERER

      Good men grudge me not welcome;

      Many gifts I have received.

      By bad hearts only

      Is evil feared.

      MIME

      Ill fate always

      Dwelt by my side;

      Thou wouldst not add to it, surely!

      WANDERER [Slowly coming nearer and nearer.

      Always searching,

      Much have I seen;

      Things of weight

      Have told to many;

      Oft have rid men

      Of their troubles,

      Gnawing and carking cares.

      MIME

      Though thou hast searched,

      And though much thou hast found,

      I need neither seeker nor finder.

      Lonely am I,

      And lone would be;

      Idlers I harbour not here.

      WANDERER [Again coming a little nearer.

      There were many

      Thought they were wise,

      Yet what they needed

      Knew not at all;

      Useful lore was

      Theirs for the asking,

      Wisdom was their reward.

      MIME

      [More and more anxious as he sees the Wanderer approach.

      Idle knowledge

      Some may covet;

      I know enough for my needs.

      [The Wanderer reaches the hearth.

      My own wits suffice,

      I want no more,

      So, wise one, keep on thy way.

      WANDERER [Sitting down at the hearth.

      Nay, here at thy hearth

      I vow by my head

      To answer all thou shalt ask.

      My head is thine,

      'Tis forfeit to thee,

      Unless I can give

      Answers good,

      Deftly redeeming the pledge.

      MIME

      [Who has been staring at the Wanderer open-mouthed, now shrinks back; aside, dejectedly.

      Now how to get rid of the spy?

      The questions asked must be artful.

      [He summons up courage for an assumption of sternness; aloud.

      Thy head for thy

      Lodging pays:

      'Tis pawned; now seek to redeem it.

      Three the questions

      Thou shalt be asked.

      WANDERER

      Thrice then I must answer.

      MIME [Pulls himself together and reflects.

      Since, far on the back

      Of the wide earth roving,

      Thy feet have ranged o'er the world,

      Come, answer me this:

      Tell me what race

      Dwells in the earth's deep gorges.

      WANDERER

      In the depths of earth

      The Nibelungs have their home;

      Nibelheim СКАЧАТЬ