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Updated: May 29, 2025
There was no noise, but the great anvil fell apart, and the sword was as sharp and bright as ever. "This is the best I can do," said Siegfried. "Good master, my sword is done!" Then Mimer sent his swiftest messenger to the king to tell him that he was ready to meet the giant. The day of the contest came. Mimer's friends sat on one side of the road, the giant's friends on the other.
However that may be, it is certain that Siegfried played many pranks upon the little Nibelung, and he, Mimer, determined to get rid of the quick-tempered, strong-handed Prince. One day, therefore, it happened that the little dwarf told Siegfried to go deep into the forest to bring home charcoal for the forge.
Slowly he raised his head and looked at them all. Then he said: "A giant has come into the country, who says he is the most wonderful smith of all. He says he has made a coat of armor that no sword can pierce. I have worked day and night, and cannot make a strong sword. Who is willing to try for me?" The boys all hung their heads, for they knew not how to help Mimer.
After awhile, he took Siegfried into his confidence. He said: "There is a powerful knight in Burgundy who has challenged every smith of my country to make a weapon strong enough to pierce his coat of mail. "I long to try," Mimer went on, "but I am now old and have not strength enough to use the heavy hammer." At these words Siegfried jumped up in great excitement.
He sent word at once to Amilias, in Burgundyland, to meet him on a day, and settle forever the question as to which of the two should be the master, and which the underling. And heralds proclaimed it in every town and dwelling. When the time which had been set drew near, Mimer, bearing the sword Balmung, and followed by all his pupils and apprentices, wended his way toward the place of meeting.
"What say you, then, to leaving one of those far-seeing eyes of yours at the bottom of my well?" asked Mimer, hoping that he would refuse the bargain. "This is the only payment I will take." Odin hesitated. It was indeed a heavy price, and one that he could ill afford, for he was proud of his noble beauty.
Every day he grew wiser and wiser; and as this had been going on ever since the beginning of things, you can scarcely imagine how wise Mimer was.
Mimer shouted aloud in his Joy. Siegfried was now prepared to meet the proud knight of Burgundy. The very first thrust of the sword, Balmung, did the work. The head and shoulders of the giant were severed from the rest of the body. They rolled down the hillside and fell into the Rhine, where they can be seen even now, when the water is clear. At least, so runs the story.
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.
Now as the days passed, Mimer the blacksmith began to wish that Siegfried had never come to dwell with him in his smithy. The Prince was growing too strong, too brave to please the little dwarf, moreover many were the mischievous tricks his pupil played on him. Prince though he was, Mimer would see if he could not get rid of his tormentor.
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