26. "To the warriors ruddy | rings we offered,
That nought to Atli | e'er they should say;
But swiftly home | they hastened thence,
And eager all | to Atli told.

27. "But close from Guthrun | kept they hid
What first of all | she ought to have known.
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .

28. "Great was the clatter | of gilded hoofs
When Gjuki's sons | through the gateway rode;
The heart they hewed | from Hogni then,
And the other they cast | in the serpents' cave.

29. "Alone was I gone | to Geirmund then,
The draught to mix | and ready to make;
The hero wise | on his harp then smote,
. . . . . . . . . .
For help from me | in his heart yet hoped
The high-born king, | might come to him.

30. Sudden I heard | from Hlesey clear
How in sorrow the strings | of the harp resounded.
I bade the serving-maids | ready to be,
For I longed the hero's | life to save;

[26. In the manuscript lines 3 and 4 stand in reversed order.

27. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; some editors assume the loss not only of two lines, but of an additional stanza. Evidently Guthrun has already become Atli's wife.

28. If a stanza has been lost after stanza 27, it may well have told of Atli's treacherous invitation to the Gjukungs to visit him; cf. Drap Niflunga, which likewise tells of the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar (the other).

27. In the manuscript these three lines follow line 2 of stanza 29. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, In the Volsungasaga Guthrun gives her brother the harp, with which he puts the serpents to sleep. The episode is undoubtedly related to the famous thirtieth Aventiure {sic of the Nibelungenlied, in which Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep before the final battle.

29. In the manuscript the three lines of stanza 28 follow line 2, and line 3 is marked as beginning a new stanza. Geirmund: nothing further is known of him, but he seems to be an ally or retainer of Atli, or possibly his brother. Hlesey: the poet's geography is here in very bad shape. Hlesey is (or may be) the Danish island of Läsö, in the Kattegat (cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and note), and thither he has suddenly transported not only Gunnar's death-place but Atli's whole dwelling (cf. stanza 30), despite his previous references to the ride to Hunland (stanzas 3-4) and the "murky wood" (stanza 25). Geirmund's home, where Oddrun has gone, is separated from Hlesey and Atli's dwelling by a sound (stanza 30). However, geographical accuracy is seldom to be looked for in heroic epic poetry.

30. Many editions combine this stanza with lines 3-4 of stanza 29. The sound: cf. note on stanza 29.]

26. Buðum vit þegnum bauga rauða,
at þeir eigi til Atla segði,
en þeir hvatliga heim skunduðu
ok óliga Atla sögðu.

27. En þeir Guðrúnu görla leyndu því,
at hon heldr vita halfu skyldi.

28. Hlymr var at heyra hófgullinna,
þá er í garð riðu Gjúka arfar;
þeir ór Högna hjarta skáru,
en i ormgarð annan lögðu.

29. Var ek enn farin einu sinni
til Geirmundar gerva drykkju;
nam horskr konungr hörpu sveigja,
því at hann hugði mik til hjalpar sér
kynríkr konungr, of koma mundu.

30. Nam ek at heyra ór Hléseyju,
hvé þar af stríðum strengir gullu;
bað ek ambáttir búnar verða,
vilda ek fylkis fjörvi bjarga.