Operas Every Child Should Know Part 52

All the G.o.ds fell to talking among themselves. Frea pleaded with Wotan, and Wotan reflected: the word "gold" made even the G.o.ds tremble with pleasure. Why should Wotan not have the treasure for himself?

"Well, answer us!" Fafner shouted, making a motion to take the G.o.ddess and flee. Fricka and Frea shrieked with fright. "What is the secret of this ring?" Fafner asked again.

"That whoever shall make a ring out of the Rheingold shall rule the universe. Alberich has already forsworn love, and is already having the ring made."

"We shall take the G.o.ddess Frea," Fafner cried, "and give ye till evening to decide among yourselves. If ye have not the gold by that time the G.o.ddess is ours forever." So saying he leaped toward Frea, grasped her and fled over mountain and valley, while the G.o.ddess Fricka cried out wildly, and Frea echoed her shrieks. All looked anxiously toward Wotan.

"How darkly Wotan broods," Loge thought, while a great gloom settled upon all. A pale mist gradually enfolded all the G.o.ds, as they stood uncertain and troubled. Until that moment they had appeared young and handsome, but now they looked at each other in fright.

"What aileth thee?" each asked of the other. "Do the mists trick us?"

Each stared at the other in horror, because all were growing old, suddenly.

"My hammer drops from my hand," Donner muttered, weakly.

"My heart stands still," Froh sighed faintly.

"Ah! Know ye not the fate that has overtaken you?" cried Loge. "Ye have not to-day eaten of Frea's magic apples; the Apples of Life.

Without them ye must grow old and die, ye well know. Without Frea to tend the fruit, it must wither."

Reminded of what they had forgotten, the G.o.ds started up in terror.

"'Tis true, 'tis true! We are fainting, dying! What is to be done?"

"Get the gold quickly from Alberich, and redeem the G.o.ddess," the tricky Spirit of Flame answered with decision. "That is why they have taken Frea. Well those Giants know that without her and her apples ye must die; thus they will overcome the good of the G.o.ds. Ye must redeem her before the evening comes, or ye all must die."

"Up, Loge!" Wotan cried desperately. "Down to Nibelheim with me. The gold must be ours. Oh, death! stay thy hand an hour till We can buy back our youth and everlasting life!" Loge interrupted him, narrowly eyeing him:

"The gold belongs to the Rhein-daughters. It should be returned to them."

"Cease thy babbling," Wotan shouted, "and get thee down to Nibelheim."

"Shall we not go through the river Rhein?" Loge craftily asked.

"Get thee through that sulphurous cleft," Wotan answered, pointing to the deep fissure in the rock. "Swing thyself down and I will follow thee." He no sooner ceased to speak than Loge swung himself into the black abyss, and a frightful, sulphurous vapour arose from the opening.

"Await us here till evening," Wotan charged the G.o.ds and Fricka, and he in turn disappeared.

As Wotan followed Loge into the abyss, such clouds of vapour arose as to hide the G.o.ds completely, and as Fricka called "farewell" through the mist the earth began slowly to rise, showing the descent of Wotan and Loge. Their pa.s.sage through the earth was long and filled with astounding sights. It grew blacker and blacker, but after a time they saw the far-off glow of forge-fires, and heard the sound of hammers ringing upon anvils. These things, too, pa.s.sed them by, and on a sudden, they found themselves in the midst of a large open s.p.a.ce, formed by a cavern in the rock.

_Scene III_

As they arrived at that place, they heard groans and moans, and shrieks and wrangling. Presently they saw Alberich bring from a cleft of the rock a wretched Mime, one of the inhabitants of Nibelheim.

"Ah, thou mischievous imp! I'll pinch thee well if thou forgest me not the thing I commanded thee," Alberich shouted, at the same time pinching and poking the miserable little fellow.

"I've finished thy work," the Nibelung screamed, trying to flee from Alberich's blows.

"Then where is it?" the wretch demanded; as he wrenched open the Mime's hand in which was concealed a piece of metal called a Tarnhelm.

"Ah, ha! Now thou shalt writhe," Alberich shouted, and setting the Tarnhelm upon his head he immediately became invisible. Unseen himself, he pinched and cuffed the Mime so as to make the tortured little imp cry for mercy.

"I cannot see you," the Mime screamed piteously, trying to dodge the blows.

"No matter, I am somewhere about," Alberich answered, giving him another pinch. Then taking the Tarnhelm from his head he stood there in his own shape.

"Now," shouted the imp of darkness, "Now I can punish thee properly!

If thy work is not well done I can torment thee to death. With this magic helmet and my ring I can make the whole world smart if I choose.

And I shall choose," he added, rea.s.suringly. "Wait till I get at those fine G.o.ds up there." He disappeared chuckling, into a crack in the rock while the Mime crouched down in pain.

Alberich had no sooner gone, than Loge and Wotan came from the darkness.

"What is wrong with thee, thou merry dwarf?" Wotan asked.

"Only leave me to myself," the Mime sobbed, moving his sore body.

"So we shall, but we shall do more than that; we shall help thee. Only tell us what ye forged for Alberich which gave him such power over ye!"

"Oh, it was a ring, made from the Rheingold. Now he has power over all the Nibelheim, and he will kill us. Till this happened, we wrought at the forge beautiful trinkets for our women-folks and laughed gaily all day, but now he has made us his slaves who must dig precious metals from the earth and turn them into what he commands. There is no more happiness for us. I thought to keep the Tarnhelm he bade me make, and learn its power, but I had to give it up." He went on whining and moaning.

"Ah, thy case is a hard one! but we shall help thee." While Wotan was thinking what they should do, Alberich was heard returning. He was cracking his whip and driving a great host of Nibelungs before him from the cleft of the rock. All were staggering under loads of valuable metals; gold and silver, and precious stones.

"Hi, there! Move thy fastest," he shouted, las.h.i.+ng them as he drove them before him. He had taken his Tarnhelm off and hung it at his girdle: turning, he saw Wotan and Loge.

"Hey! Who are these?" he cried. "Nibelungs, be off to your digging; and mind ye bring me treasure worth having." Las.h.i.+ng them soundly, and raising his magic ring to his lips, the Nibelungen shrunk away in affright and disappeared into the clefts of the rock.

"Ah, ye are a precious possession," he said to the ring. "Whoever fails to obey thy Lord, feels thy power." The little black villain looked gloatingly upon it; then turning to Wotan and Loge he asked: "What are ye doing in my domain?"

"We have heard of thy power, great sir, and came to see it," Loge replied.

"It were nearer the truth if ye come to envy me, and to spy out my possessions," he answered, but Loge laughed as he retorted:

"What! you miserable imp of darkness! You speak thus to me! Do you not remember me? I was once of thy realm. Pray tell me what you would do in your underground caverns with your forges and smithies if I were to deny you my flame? How, then, would you forge your precious rings?"

Loge laughed mockingly.

"You are that false rogue, the Spirit of Flame, then?" Alberich said.

"Never mind calling names; you can't get on without me, you know that well enough," Loge answered, grinning.

"What good can thy treasures do thee here in this perpetual night?"

Wotan asked.

"My gold shall buy me even the G.o.ds, themselves." Alberich replied; "and though I forswore love, I am likely to get even that; my gold shall buy it for me."

"What prevents some one stealing thy magic ring? Thou hast no friend in all the world, so when you sleep who shall guard the ring?"

"My own wit! What, think you I am a fool? Let us see! By my own cunning I have had fas.h.i.+oned this Tarnhelm which makes me invisible to all. Then who shall find me when I sleep?" he demanded triumphantly.