Siegmund and Siegelinda had one son, called Siegfried--a handsome, well-built lad, with eyes as blue and sunny as the sky above on a fair spring morning. He was the only child of the king and queen, but he was more of a sorrow than a joy to them, for he was as willful and disobedient as he was beautiful. He could not bear to be crossed in any way, and wished that he were a man, so that he might do exactly as he pleased. Siegfried's parents loved him dearly in spite of his faults and all the sorrow his wild ways caused them. But one fine morning, while the king and queen were still asleep, he quietly took his hat, and stole out of the castle, for he had made up his mind to go out into the wide world to seek his fortune. Siegfried walked through the beautiful city, and then for some time followed a winding country road, until at length he found himself in the midst of a dense forest. But he was not afraid; he could hear the birds singing and calling to one another in the green trees overhead, and now and then a rabbit or a timid squirrel ran across his pathway, and disappeared in the bushes. So he wandered along, quite happy. Sometimes he would come to a little brook, winding its way through the trees and grass, and babbling and singing among its pebbles. Across the stream he would leap, as lightly as a hare. Thus the day wore on, and as twilight gathered, he began to feel very tired and hungry. He was just beginning to wonder what he should do, when he noticed that he was nearing the edge of the forest, and a little farther on what should he see but a blacksmith's shop among the bushes. In the doorway stood the smith himself in his leathern apron--a little, odd, misshapen dwarf named Mimi. He looked in wonder at the beautiful boy, who smiled upon him in a friendly way, and said: "Good-evening. I am almost dead with thirst and hunger; will you not take me in, and let me be your helper?" Mimi was about to say no, when he chanced to look at Siegfried the second time. He noticed how strong and well built the boy was; so he said: "I am not really in need of a helper, for in this out-of-the-way place there is very little work to be done; but if you wish to learn my trade, I am willing to give you a trial." Siegfried was happy to hear this, and with a hearty relish he ate the coarse brown bread and bowl of milk which Mimi brought to him. The next morning the blacksmith showed Siegfried how to blow the bellows, and swing the sledge-hammer, and also how to shape a horseshoe. "Now, you try it," he said, laying a red-hot piece of iron on the anvil. Siegfried was eager to try. He raised the hammer above his head, and brought it down with such force that the iron flew to pieces and the anvil was buried in the ground.