And Siegfried went again with the master and his fellows to
the smoky smithy, to his roaring bellows and ringing anvil,
and to his coarse fare, and rude, hard bed, and to a life of
labor. And while all men praised Mimer and his knowing
skill, and the fiery edge of the sunbeam blade, no one knew
that it was the boy Siegfried who had wrought that piece of
workmanship.

But after a while it was whispered around that not Mimer,
but one of his pupils, had forged the sword. And, when the
master was asked what truth there was in this story, his
eyes twinkled, and the corners of his mouth twitched
strangely, and he made no answer. But Veliant, the foreman
of the smithy, and the greatest of boasters said, "It was I
who forged the fire-edge of the blade Balmung." And,
although none denied the truth of what he said, but few who
knew what sort of a man he was believed his story. And this
is the reason, my children, that, in the ancient songs and
stories which tell of this wondrous sword, it is said by
most that Mimer, and by a few that Veliant, forged its
blade. But I prefer to believe that it was made by
Siegfried, the hero who afterwards wielded it in so many
adventures. [EN#3] Be this as it may, however, blind hate
and jealousy were from this time uppermost in the coarse and
selfish mind of Veliant; and he sought how he might drive
the lad away from the smithy in disgrace. "This boy has done
what no one else could do," said he. "He may yet do greater
deeds, and set himself up as the master smith of the world,
and then we shall all have to humble ourselves before him as