Now it came to pass that a giant and giantess invaded Dietmar’s land;
and slew, burnt, and plundered the people. They were so strong that no
one could resist them. The king went against them at the head of an
army; but could not find them. He saw everywhere on his borders the
desolation they had caused; but none could tell him where they were
concealed. At this ill-success young Dietrich and his master were as
much distressed as the king himself. They determined to search for the
giants till they found them, though the search should cost them years.
They wandered over mountains and valleys seeking the monsters, but
seeing nothing of them. One day they set out to hunt with their hawks
and hounds, and came to a great forest, in the middle of which was a
green meadow, where they thought they should find plenty of game. They
uncoupled the hounds, and rode, one to the left and the other to the
right of the meadow, holding their weapons in readiness. As Dietrich
slowly advanced, keeping a sharp look out, a dwarf crossed his path.
Stooping from his horse, he caught up the mannikin and placed him in
front of him. The little prisoner made so loud a moan, that Hildebrand
heard him, and galloped across the meadow to see what was the matter.
Catching sight of the dwarf,—
“Hillo!” he cried. “Hold the rascal tight. He knows all roads, both on,
and under the earth. He is Elbegast, the prince of thieves, and is
certain to be a friend of the robbers.”
The dwarf shrieked louder than before, and declared that far from being
their friend, he had suffered much wrong at the hands of the giant Grim
and his sister Hilde, that he had even been obliged to forge for them
the good sword Nagelring, and the strong helmet Hildegrim, and had been
forced to lead them to their victims by hidden ways known only to
himself. He swore to help the warriors if they wished to fight the
unholy pair.
The mannikin was therefore set at liberty. He drew a long breath, and
said:
“You could not catch me now, if I wished to escape you; but I will
serve you faithfully, that I may be freed from the power of the giants.
Come back to this place at day-break to-morrow, and I will give you the
sword Nagelring, without which you cannot conquer the monster. I shall
steal it from him as truly as I am Elbegast, the prince of thieves.
Then I will show you his foot-marks in the dewy grass, that you may
track him to his hollow mountain, where, if you slay him and his wicked
sister, you will find rich booty to reward you.”
The dwarf had no sooner uttered these words than he vanished. The next
morning, before daylight, the prince and his companion came to the edge
of the green meadow talking of this and that. They agreed that the word
of a mountain goblin was not to be trusted, and that thievish Elbegast
would probably be false like all his kindred. Their conversation was
interrupted by a strange clanking sound, and at the same moment they
noticed the rosy dawn overspreading the sky. They started to their
feet, and looked about. Elbegast came up to them dragging a huge sword.
Dietrich seized it with a cry of joy, unsheathed it and swung it in the
air.
“Now,” cried Elbegast, “you have the strength of twelve men, and can
fight the monster on equal terms. Look carefully and you will see the
marks of his shoes distinctly printed on the dewy grass. I had to make
his shoes of iron for he is miserly, and said that leather was too
dear. Follow the tracks, and they will lead you to the entrance of his
cave. I can go with you no farther.”
He vanished, and the heroes followed the giant’s tracks in obedience to
the dwarf’s advice.
At length they reached a great cliff, but there was no opening to be
seen large enough to serve as a door. A few cracks might be noticed
here and there in the stone, so small that only a dwarf or a lizard
could have crept in; certainly not a man in armour, and still less a
giant. Hildebrand thought that a bit of the rock might perhaps be
fitted into the cliff instead of a door. He tried to shake and loosen
any projecting piece of the cliff that he could clutch. His efforts
were not in vain. An enormous block of stone stirred and rocked beneath
his hands, and just as Dietrich came to his assistance, it fell
thundering into the valley below. The sunlight penetrated the darkness
of a deep cavern, in the background of which a great fire was burning.
Grim was lying on a bed of bear and wolf skins close to the flames.
Wakened by the falling rock, he raised himself on his elbow, and
perceiving the warriors’ approach, looked about for his sword; not
finding it, he snatched up a burning log, and rushed upon Dietrich. His
blows sounded like claps of thunder, and fell as thick as hail; it was
only the young warrior’s nimbleness that saved his life, which was
endangered not only by the force of the blows, but by the smoke and the
burning sparks that flew from the log. Hildebrand would have gone to
his pupil’s assistance had not the latter forbidden him. And indeed he
soon had enough to do to defend himself, for the giantess now appeared,
and catching Hildebrand up in her arms, held him tight. It was a deadly
embrace. The warrior could not breathe. He struggled in vain to free
himself from the sinewy arms that held him. At last the giantess threw
him on his back, pressing his hands and arms as though in a vice, and
making the blood spirt from under his nails. She looked about for a
rope with which to bind and hang him. Hildebrand called to his
companion to help him in his need. Dietrich seeing his friend’s danger
leaped over the giant’s weapon with a despairing spring, and at the
same time seizing his sword in both hands, split the monster’s head
from the crown to the collar-bone. Then turning upon the giantess, he
slew her after a short but sharp engagement.
Hildebrand now staggered to his feet, and said that from henceforth he
would regard his former pupil as his master, because that woman had
been harder to deal with than any foe he had ever met before. Dietrich
and Hildebrand took the treasure they found hidden away in a side cave,
as their meed of victory, and brought it home to Bern.
King Dietmar rejoiced in the glory of his heroic son, whose name had
become famous in every land; but he did not live long after these
events. He died loved and honoured by all. When Dietrich ascended the
throne, he gave his young brother Diether into Hildebrand’s charge,
begging his friend to teach the boy to be a hero and a worthy scion of
his noble race.
And Hildebrand did his best, with the help of his wife, the good
high-souled Ute (Uote), whom he married soon after. Together they
taught the boy to love what was good and true, to be brave, and to be
not only an admirer but a doer of high deeds.