Siegfried held the noble steed until King Gunther had mounted, and this he did that Queen Brunhild might not know that he was the Prince of the Netherlands, owing service to no man. Then going back to the ship the hero brought his own horse to land, mounted, and rode with the King toward the castle gate. King and Prince were clad alike. Their steeds as well as their garments were white as snow, their saddles were bedecked with jewels, and on the harness hung bells, all of bright red gold. Their shields shone as the sun, their spears they wore before them, their swords hung by their side. Behind them followed Hagen and Dankwart, their armour black as the plumage of the wild raven, their shields strong and mighty. As they approached the castle the gates were flung wide open, and the liegemen of the great Queen came out to greet the strangers with words of welcome. They bid their hirelings also take the shields and chargers from their guests. But when a squire demanded that the strangers should also yield their swords, grim Hagen smiled his grimmest, and cried, 'Nay, our swords will we e'en keep lest we have need of them.' Nor was he too well pleased when Siegfried told him that the custom in Isenland was that no guest should enter the castle carrying a weapon. It was but sullenly that he let his sword be taken away along with his mighty shield. After the strangers had been refreshed with wine, her liegemen sent to the Queen to tell her that strange guests had arrived. 'Who are the strangers who come thus unheralded to my land?' haughtily demanded Brunhild. But no one could tell her who the warriors were, though some murmured that the tallest and fairest might be the great hero Siegfried. It may be that the Queen thought that if the knight were indeed Siegfried she would revenge herself on him now for the mischievous pranks he had played the last time he was in her kingdom. In any case she said, 'If the hero is here he shall enter into contest with me, and he shall pay for his boldness with his life, for I shall be the victor.' Then with five hundred warriors, each with his sword in hand, Brunhild came down to the knights from Burgundy. 'Be welcome, Siegfried,' she cried, 'yet wherefore hast thou come again to Isenland?' 'I thank thee for thy greeting, lady,' said the Prince 'but thou hast welcomed me before my lord. He, King Gunther, ruler over the fair realms of Burgundy, hath come hither to wed with thee.' Brunhild was displeased that the mighty hero should not himself seek to win her as a bride, yet since for all his prowess he seemed but a vassal of the King, she answered, 'If thy master can vanquish me in the contests to which I bid him, then I will be his wife, but if I conquer thy master, his life, and the lives of his followers will be forfeited.' 'What dost thou demand of my master?' asked Hagen. 'He must hurl the spear with me, throw the stone from the ring, and leap to where it has fallen,' said the Queen.