26. "Afar didst thou go | while Fafnir reddened
With his blood my blade so keen;
With the might of the dragon | my strength I matched,
While thou in the heather didst hide."

Regin spake:

27. "Longer wouldst thou | in the heather have let
Yon hoary giant hide,
Had the weapon availed not | that once I forged,
The keen-edged blade thou didst bear."

Sigurth spake:

28. "Better is heart | than a mighty blade
For him who shall fiercely fight;
The brave man well | shall fight and win,
Though dull his blade may be.

29. "Brave men better | than cowards be,
When the clash of battle comes;
And better the glad | than the gloomy man
Shall face what before him lies.

30. "Thy rede it was | that I should ride
Hither o'er mountains high;
The glittering worm | would have wealth and life
If thou hadst not mocked at my might."

[26. In the manuscript stanzas 26-29 stand after stanza 31, which fails to make clear sense; they are here rearranged in accordance with the Volsungasaga paraphrase.

28-29. Almost certainly interpolated from some such poem as the Hovamol. Even the faithful Volsungasaga fails to paraphrase stanza 29.

30. Something has evidently been lost before this stanza. Sigurth clearly refers to Regin's reproach when he was digging the trench (cf. note on introductory prose), but the poem does not give such a passage.]

26. "Þú því rétt, er ek ríða skyldak
hélug fjöll hinig;
féi ok fjörvi réði sá inn fráni ormr,
nema þú frýðir mér hvats hugar."

Þá gekk Reginn at Fáfni ok skar hjarta ór hánum með sverði, er Riðill heitir, ok þá drakk hann blóð ór undinni eftir. Reginn kvað:

27. "Sittu nú, Sigurðr, en ek mun sofa ganga,
ok halt Fáfnis hjarta við funa;
eisköld ek vil etin láta
eftir þenna dreyra drykk."

Sigurðr kvað:

28. "Fjarri þú gekkt, meðan ek á Fáfni rauðk
minn inn hvassa hjör;
afli mínu atta ek við orms megin,
meðan þú í lyngvi látt."

Reginn kvað:

29. "Lengi liggja létir þú lyngvi í
þann inn aldna jötun, ef þú sverðs né nytir,
þess er ek sjalfr gerða, ok þíns ins hvassa hjörs."

Sigurðr kvað:

30. "Hugr er betri en sé hjörs megin,
hvars vreiðir skulu vega,
því at hvatan mann ek sé harðliga vega
með slævu sverði sigr."