king, who recovered. As for Reynard, he enjoyed great honor as long as he
lived, and his adventures have long been the delight of the people, whom
his tricks never failed to amuse.

"Highly honor'd is Reineke now! To wisdom let all men
Quickly apply them, and flee what is evil, and reverence virtue!
This is the end and aim of the song, and in it the poet
Fable and truth hath mixed, whereby the good from the evil
Ye may discern, and wisdom esteem; and thereby the buyers
Of this book in the ways of the world may be daily instructed.
For it was so created of old, and will ever remain so.
Thus is our poem of Reineke's deeds and character ended.
May God bring us all to eternal happiness. Amen!"




CHAPTER IV.



THE NIBELUNGENLIED.


[Sidenote: Origin of Poem.] Germany's greatest epic is, without doubt, the
ancient poem entitled "Nibelungenlied," or the "Lay," "Fall," or "Calamity
of the Nibelungs." Although nothing certain is known concerning the real
authorship of this beautiful work, it is supposed to have been put into its
present form either by the Austrian minstrel von Kürenberg or by the German
poet von Ofterdingen, some time previous to the year 1210, the date