Völund spake:
27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . | "The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it | save to thee."
Völund spake:
28. 'I shall weld the break | in the gold so well
That fairer than ever | thy father shall find it,
And better much | thy mother shall think it,
And thou no worse | than ever it was."
29. Beer he brought, | he was better in cunning,
Until in her seat | full soon she slept.
Völund spake:
"Now vengeance I have | for all my hurts,
Save one alone, | on the evil woman."
30. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Quoth Völund: "Would | that well were the sinews
Maimed in my feet | by Nithuth's men."
[26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either with lines 3-4 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27 No gap
is indicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something is so obvious that practically all editors have noted it, although they have
differed as to the number of lines lost.
27. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half might be filled out (partly with the aid of late paper manuscripts) thus:
"But soon it broke, | and swiftly to Völund / She bore it and said--"
29. The manuscript does not name Völund as the speaker before line 3; Vigfusson again inserts his convenient line, "Then Völund
spake, sagest of elves." A few editions combine lines 3-4 with the two lines of stanza 30.
30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 29, and many with the three
lines of stanza 31.]