Once when Dietrich and Hildebrand were hunting in the wild mountains of
Tyrol, the king confessed that he had never been able to forget Queen
Virginal, who had come out to warn him of Sigenot’s approach.
“You would find it as easy to gain the love of a star as to wile Queen
Virginal away from her glaciers and snow mountains,” said Hildebrand.
While the heroes were thus talking together, a tiny little mannikin
dressed in full armour suddenly stood before them.
“Noble warriors,” he said, “you must know that I am Bibung, the
unconquerable protector of Queen Virginal, ruler of all the dwarfs and
giants in these mountains. With my help she chased thievish Elbegast
away from her dominions; but the wretch has now invaded her realm with
the help of the magician Ortgis, his giants and his lind-worms. He has
forced her by his black art to pay him a shameful tribute. He obliges
her every full moon to give him one of her beautiful maidens, whom he
then imprisons, fattens, and eats for his dinner. So Jeraspunt, her
palace, is filled with weeping and mourning. My lady, hearing that you
conquered the dread Sigenot, entreats you to come to her aid; therefore
hasten to Jeraspunt and rescue our great queen.”
The heroes consented, and asked to be shown the way. The dwarf guided
them till they came within sight of a wondrous building shining on the
heights in the light of the evening sun. Hildebrand broke the silence
that had fallen on them by exclaiming, “Truly if the lady Ute were not
my wife, I should be inclined to try my luck with Queen Virginal; but
as things are, I will do my best to help you to win her. Well,
Bibung!—why, where in the world has the rascal got to?”
“The unconquerable protector of the queen has a wholesome terror of
Ortgis,” laughed Dietrich. “But now let us on to the palace.”
“Night is the time for witches to journey, not honest men,” said
Hildebrand, “so let us stretch ourselves on the soft moss, and rest
until morning.”
The next morning was dull and misty, and a snow storm beat in the faces
of the warriors as they climbed the steep mountain on foot, by a road
impassable for horses. On and on they went, a weary way. As they
stopped to slake their thirst at a spring, they heard a woman’s voice
shrieking for help. A girl rushed up to them and entreated their aid
against terrible Ortgis, to whom she had been delivered according to
the treaty, and who was now hunting her down with his dogs. At the same
moment the holloa of the huntsman was heard, and in another the battle
of the heroes with Ortgis and his followers had begun. Gigantic as were
Ortgis and his train, they soon fell under the swords of the heroes.
One man alone escaped, but he was the worst of the whole crew, for he
was Janibas, son of Ortgis, and a great magician like his father.
Dietrich and Hildebrand determined to take shelter in the castle of
Ortgis which was nigh at hand. When they knocked at the door several
armed giants rushed out upon them, but at length they too were
conquered. A horseman in black armour had kept behind the rest during
the battle. He murmured something in a strange language, and obedient
to his voice, new giants arose out of the earth, to take the place of
the slain; still the heroes were victorious. The black horseman
continued to murmur, and horrible lind-worms crept out of the ground,
and with them Dietrich and Hildebrand had to fight all night long. The
black horseman disappeared at last, when the first rays of the rising
sun lighted up the castle in the valley. At the same moment the heroes
saw an enormous old lind-worm crawling away with an armed man in its
jaws. It wanted to creep away unnoticed, but the warriors immediately
attacked it. The dragon let its victim fall, and hurled itself,
hissing, upon Dietrich who stood nearest. With one claw it tore away
his shield and ripped up his coat of mail; at the same time it caught
up Hildebrand with its tail and flung him to a great distance. But
Dietrich thrust his sword right through its jaws, and so deep into a
neighbouring tree, that the creature was pinned down, and died a few
minutes after, roaring like thunder.
The maiden they had saved from Ortgis had watched the combat from afar.
She now approached and bound up Dietrich’s wounds, pouring in a healing
balm. Meanwhile, Hildebrand had picked up the man the dragon had let
fall, and recognised him as Ruotwin, the son of Helfrich of Tuscany,
who was his mother’s brother.
Ruotwin joined the other two, and promised to help them to punish the
wizard Janibas. Further help appeared in the person of Helfrich. The
whole party now moved on towards the magician’s castle, the gates of
which stood open. The court was full of armed men, amongst whom was
Janibas in black armour, riding on a coal black steed. He murmured
magic words, and lions rushed out on the heroes. These great beasts
were slain, and so were the men-at-arms who followed them. Janibas
alone escaped.
Dietrich and his followers entered the castle, where they found three
of the queen’s maidens cooped up for fattening, and set them free.
After which, they burnt the magician’s fortress, that it might not
serve as a refuge to Janibas if he returned to that part of the country.
The whole party then started for Aron, the castle of Helfrich, where
the heroes were to rest before continuing their journey to the palace
of Queen Virginal. A short respite from their toil was the more
necessary, as Dietrich’s wounds were very painful; but their hostess’s
good nursing had soon the happiest effect in subduing the fever, and
healing the wounds. At last the day was fixed for their departure, and
Helfrich had settled to go with them, and lead them to Jeraspunt. While
they were making their final arrangements, a dwarf galloped up to the
door, and throwing himself from his horse, entered the hall, his mantle
torn and dusty, and his countenance as pale as death.
“Help, noble heroes, help!” he cried. “Janibas has come against Queen
Virginal in battle array. He has ordered her to deliver all her maidens
up to him, and also the carbuncle in her coronet. If he gets that into
his power, no one can withstand him, for it would give him complete
command over all the mountains, and over all the giants, dwarfs and
lind-worms that inhabit them. Woe to them, if they fall into his hands.”
Dietrich at once declared his readiness to go alone to the queen’s
help, if the others were not prepared to start on the instant.
“What, alone!” cried the dwarf. “If you go alone you are a dead man.
Even I, her majesty’s special defender, had to turn my back, and fly
before the foe; what then would become of you?”
Nobody could help laughing at the mannikin’s conceit; but there was no
time to lose, and all the warriors hastened to arm and start for the
palace.
The heroes and their friends had a long and hard pull up the mountain
side, over snow fields and glaciers, in the midst of which great
crevasses yawned in unexpected places, but they were cheered on their
way by catching from every height a glimpse of Jeraspunt. At length
they came so near that they heard shrieks and howls, and other sounds
of battle. A few minutes later the terrible scene was visible. Some of
the palace guard were killed and mangled, others were yet defending
themselves. Gigantic dogs, monsters of every sort, and hordes of savage
warriors formed the enemy’s ranks. Many had forced their way through
the broken gate, and were raging, storming, and howling round the
queen’s throne.
The sovereign lady sat there unmoved, surrounded by her trembling
maidens; a carbuncle glowed in the diadem that graced her head, and a
silver veil was wrapt about her. Her only protection seemed to be a
magic circle that her assailants could not pass. Whether the magic lay
in her wonderful beauty or in the spiritual love that shone in her
face, it were impossible to say. No one had yet dared to approach her.
Even the heroes halted for a moment on first seeing her, but then
recovering themselves, pressed forward.
They made their way in spite of clouds of snow, and lumps of ice, to
say nothing of a frightful hurricane that almost blew them away. The
mountains trembled under repeated thunder claps, and a bottomless
crevasse divided them from the palace. But at the same moment Dietrich
perceived the black horseman reading his magic spells from an iron
tablet. He sprang upon him, broke the tablet, and slew the magician. A
great clap of thunder rolled over the mountains, avalanches fell, ice
fields broke up, and then came a silence as of death. The spell was
broken, the yawning gulf closed, and the way to the palace was free.
The magician’s followers, eager to avenge their master, attacked the
heroes and their men, but their efforts were vain. The monsters, who
yet lived, had soon to fly and seek refuge in the solitudes of the snow
mountains.
[Illustration: DIETRICH ESPIES QUEEN VIRGINAL.]
Dietrich now approached the queen at the head of his followers. He
would have knelt before her, but she rose from her throne, and offering
him her hand, greeted him with a kiss. Unable to utter a word, he let
her lead him to the throne, and seated himself at her side.
“Know, great hero,” she said, “that I have seen your love and your
deeds. I give up my rule in Elf-land, and will go home with you, and
live amongst mortal men till death parts us.”
The palace was cleansed by invisible hands; the gate, and all the
broken posts and pillars were mended during the night, and the marriage
of the mortal hero with the elf-queen was solemnized soon after. The
husband and wife then started for Bern, where Virginal made his home so
delightful that it was long before Dietrich thought of seeking more
adventures. Meanwhile there was sorrow in the mountains, and in the
heart of every elf that lived there. The queen had left her country and
her people for the sake of a mortal. All nature mourned her absence,
the sunsets had no longer the prismatic hues of former times, and the
fairy palace was invisible to all.
[Illustration: WIELAND, THE SMITH, ARMING HIS SON WITTICH.]
II.
DIETRICH’S COMRADES.