"Enforced," made answer Gunther, "were we by a grievous wrong. Within their lodging murdered were all mine henchman-throng, Murdered by thine own heroes!--whereby had I earned such meed? I came to thee trustful-hearted, I held thee a friend indeed!" Then spake of the Princes Burgundian the youngest, Giselher: "Ye warriors of King Etzel which be yet alive, give ear. What have ye against me, heroes? What have I done unto you, I, who to this land journeyed with loving heart and true?" "_Thy love!_" they replied: "our castles are filled by reason thereof With mourning, and all our country! We well could have spared thy love, Hadst thou never journeyed hither from Worms beyond the Rhine! The whole land lieth orphaned through thee and those brethren of thine!" {P. 287} Then in mighty indignation Gunther the hero cried: "Would ye suffer this deadly hatred even now to be laid aside In peace with the homeless warriors, for us and for you it were well. For no guilt of ours is the anger of Etzel the King so fell." The King to the guests gave answer: "Not yet made equal they are, Your sufferings and Etzel's--the bitter travail of war, The scathe and the deadly insult that ye have loaded on me-- For these no man of you living cometh forth into liberty!" To the King made answer Gernot the stalwart and valorous: "At the least may God incline thee to do one grace unto us: Slay us indeed, the homeless; but let us forth unto you From this prison into the open: for your honour this should ye do. Whatsoever then may betide us, be it quickly over and done. Ye have hosts of men unwounded: if they dare one and all set on, They shall give to the battle-weary death and a soon-won rest. How long shall we knights linger thus grievously distressed?" Now the warriors of King Etzel would lightly have done them the grace That the heroes forth of the feast-hall should come to the open space. But so soon as Kriemhild heard it, in anguish of wrath she cried Against it; and unto the homeless was this last boon denied. "Nay, noble knights," she pleaded, "the thing ye incline unto Ye never will grant, if ye hearken to faithful counsel and true, To let these murder-lusters set foot forth of the hall! If ye do it, many your kinsmen in the pit of death shall fall. If only three were living, my brethren, Uta's sons, And to free air of heaven came forth those mighty ones, To cool their scalding harness, ye were lost!--not lightly I warn; For verily braver heroes on earth were never born."