But the business of man's life is not mere pastime; and none
knew this truth better than the wise old king, Siegmund.

"All work is noble," said he to Siegfried; "and he who
yearns to win fame must not shun toil. Even princes should
know how to earn a livelihood by the labor of their hands."

And so, while Siegfried was still a young lad, his father
sent him to live with a smith called Mimer, whose smithy was
among the hills not far from the great forest. For in those
early times the work of the smith was looked upon as the
most worthy of all trades,--a trade which the gods
themselves were not ashamed to follow. And this smith Mimer
was a wonderful master,--the wisest and most cunning that
the world had ever seen. Men said that he was akin to the
dwarf-folk who had ruled the earth in the early days, and
who were learned in every lore, and skilled in every craft;
and they said that he was so exceeding old that no one could
remember the day when he came to dwell in the land of
Siegmund's fathers. And some said, too, that he was the
keeper of a wonderful well, or flowing spring, the waters of
which imparted wisdom and far-seeing knowledge to all who
drank of them.

To Mimer's school, then, where he would be taught to work
skilfully and to think wisely, Siegfried was sent, to be in
all respects like the other pupils there. A coarse blue
blouse, and heavy leggings, and a leathern apron, took the
place of the costly clothing which he had worn in his