this finds no support in the sources, for here the dwarfs and
Fafnir are never confused. The "Nibelungenlied" describes an
adventure with each, but the treasure is only connected with the
dwarfs. The "Thidreksaga" knows only the dragon fight but not
the dwarfs, as is likewise the case with the Seyfrid ballad.
Only in the Norse sources do we find a contamination. The story
of Hreithmar and his sons, who quarrel about the treasure,
resembles that of Schilbung and Nibelung in the "Nibelungenlied",
and probably has the same source. One of the sons, because of
his guarding the treasure, is identified with the dragon, and so
we read that Fafnir becomes a dragon, after gaining the treasure.
Originally, however, he was not a dragon, but a dwarf. These two
independent forms can be geographically localized. The dwarf
legend is the more southern; it is told in detail in the
"Nibelungenlied". The dragon legend probably originated in the
Cimbrian peninsula, where the "Beowulf" saga, in which the dragon
fight plays such an important part, likewise arose.

There thus stand sharply opposed to each other two theories, one
seeing in the Siegfried saga a personification of natural forces,
the other tracing it back to a purely human story of murder
through greed. It may be, that the true form of the original
saga lies half way between these two views. The story of the
fall of the Nibelungs, that is, their killing at Etzel's court,
may go back to the tale of the murder of relatives for money. On
the other hand it is hard to believe that the Siegfried saga is
nothing but a repetition of the Attila motive, for this is too
brief a formula to which to reduce the long legend of Siegfried,
with its many deeds. Even if we discard the mythological
interpretation, it is the tale of a daring hero, who is brought