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Opera Stories from Wagner.
by Florence Akin.
TO THE GIRLS AND BOYS
In these stories you will find some wonderful giants.
You will find beautiful maidens who lived in a river.
You will find a large family of little black dwarfs who lived under the river, and you will find a splendid hero.
The little children of Germany used to curl up in their mothers' arms, when bedtime came, and listen to the stories of these strange people.
When these little children grew up, they told the same stories to their children.
So it went for many, many years.
The stories have been put together by a man named Richard Wagner. He put them together in such a way that they make one long and wonderful story.
After he had told these stories in words, he told them again in a more beautiful way. He told them in music.
Sometime you will hear this music, and you will think of beautiful water-maidens, singing and dancing in the suns.h.i.+ne.
You will think of great giants walking over mountains.
You will think of the little black dwarfs under the river, and you will hear them hammering, hammering upon their anvils.
OPERA STORIES FROM WAGNER
THE RHINE-GOLD
THE HAPPY RHINE-DAUGHTERS
In the Rhine River there lived three beautiful maidens. They were called the Rhine-daughters.
They had long, golden hair, which floated upon the waves as they swam from rock to rock.
When their father went away, he left in their care a great lump of pure gold.
This gold was on the very top of the highest rock in the river.
Every morning the beautiful Rhine-daughters would dance and sing about their gold.
They sang a happy song:--
"Heigh-ho! hither, ye waters!
Waver and waft me to sleep on your breast!
Heigh-ho! hither, ye waters!
Weave me sweet dreams on your billowy crest!"
ALBERICH
One morning, when the sun was s.h.i.+ning very brightly, the Rhine-daughters were startled by a strange sound in the depths of the water.
"Look!" whispered one. "What is that scowling at us from the rocks below?"
There, stealing along the river-bed, they saw a hideous little black dwarf.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" asked the Rhine-daughters.
"I am Alberich," answered the dwarf as he tried to climb up on the slippery rocks. "I came from the kingdom of the Nibelungs, down under the earth."
"What!" said the Rhine-daughters. "Surely you do not live down in the dark earth where there is no suns.h.i.+ne?"
"Yes," answered Alberich. "But I have come up to frolic in the suns.h.i.+ne with you"; and he held out his ugly, misshapen little hands to take the hands of the Rhine-daughters.
They only laughed at him and darted away to a higher rock.
Alberich hurried after them.
He blinked and scowled in the suns.h.i.+ne, because his eyes were not used to the light.
The maidens laughed and shouted in their play.
They called to Alberich and teased him.
They went very close to him, pretending that they would take his hand, that he, too, might play in the suns.h.i.+ne. Then they would quickly dart away, mocking him, and laughing at him more loudly than ever.
Alberich grew fierce and angry.
He clenched his fists and cried:--
"Woe be to you if I should catch you now."
THE CARELESS RHINE-DAUGHTERS
Alberich was the most hideous of all the black, ugly little Nibelungs.
The Nibelungs had cross, scowling faces, because they were always scolding each other.
