Scene 3
(the same)

Mime: (hallucinating) The light! Oh, what's that light? The air's on fire!! Sparks are flashing all around me, making my head spin! It's over there now, just like the sun shining in my cave! Oh, my eyes! I can't stand it! It's rustling all around me, filling my ears with a terrible humming! What IS it? It's coming toward me now, all around me, coming through the forest to get me! What kind of monster is it, coming after me?! Oh no!! It's the dragon! He's after me! Fafner! Fafner!

Siegfried: (entering) Hey, lazy, I'm back! Are you finished with my sword? (to himself) Hey, where is he? Has he run away from me? Mime! Mime, you coward! Where are you? Where are you hiding?

Mime: Is it you, boy? Are you alone?

Siegfried: Under the anvil?? What are you doing there? Are you sharpening my sword on the ground?

Mime: (to himself) The sword? The sword? How can I ever forge it? "Only he who knows no fear can forge Nothung new again." I know too much about fear to be able to do it!

Siegfried: Are you going to talk to me, or do I have to force it out of you?

Mime: (to himself) Who can help me now? I've gambled away my life; "He who knows no fear" will take it from me now!

Siegfried: Are you ignoring me? What is all this nonsense? Are you trying to get out of your promises again?

Mime: (still to himself) If he only knew what fear was, I'd gladly run away from him. But I forgot to teach him what fear was! If only I'd taught him to really love me, but I couldn't! How can I ever teach him fear now?

Siegfried: Mime, what is your problem? What have you been doing while I've been gone?

Mime: (finally out loud) Oh, Siegfried - I was lost in thought, thinking how I could best help you. I've got something very important in store for you.

Siegfried: Really? Is it something you found while you were hiding under the anvil? Do you keep all your important things there?

Mime: I was learning what fear is, so I could teach it to you.

Siegfried: "Fear"? What's that?

Mime: You mean you don't know what fear is, and you want to go seek your fortune in the world beyond our forest? What use will your sword be to you if you haven't been tempered by fear?

Siegfried: Are you making all this up to try and trick me again?

Mime: Your mother made me promise not to let you out of my care until I had taught you what fear was. She knew what was best for you, and now I'm only trying to keep my promise to her.

Siegfried: If it's a skill, why haven't I learned it before? Out with it! What is this "fear"?

Mime: Have you ever been in the deep, dark forest, in a lonely place, with the sun going down? You're all alone, and you hear noises all around you. You don't know what they are, or what they want - maybe they're coming to get you! You see flashes in front of your eyes, you're confused and bewildered by things you can't see and don't understand. Confusion sets in, you feel like you're in danger, and you want to run, but you don't know where. You feel horror, you start to shake, but you can't run - you can't move at all! Your heart is pounding in your chest like it's going to split open!! If you've never felt that, then you surely don't know what fear is!

Siegfried: That sounds like an incredible feeling! But my heart is always firm and strong in my chest. I can't imagine what all this shaking and shuddering, these lights flashing, this burning feeling in my body, could feel like. I'd love to find out, but how could someone like you teach me to feel anything that sounds so wonderful?

Mime: Follow me; I'll show you where you can feel like that! It just hit me today as I was thinking about it - I know of a mighty dragon who has defeated many men; killed them horribly, and eaten them! If you follow me to his den, he will show you what fear is!

Siegfried: Where is his den?

Mime: It's a place called Neidhöhle; it's at the Eastern end of the forest.

Siegfried: Then...It's not far from the World?

Mime: No. It's very close.

Siegfried: Well then, let's go right now! I can learn this thing called fear, then make my way out into the World! Come on! Get my sword! I'll need it when I'm finally on my own!

Mime: (aside) Oh no! The sword!

Siegfried: Come on, hurry up! Show me what you managed to do today!

Mime: That damned sword! The steel can't be mended. Master that I am, my skill isn't great enough; only "he who knows no fear" will be able to tame that stubborn blade!

Siegfried: What? You fool! Why do you lie to me, and tell me how great you are? Why don't you just admit you have no idea what you're doing? Just bring me the pieces, and get out of my sight! I'll have to do it myself; my father's sword doesn't deserve any less!

Mime: Now, this should be interesting! If you'd taken the time to learn what I tried to teach you about smithing, you might actually be able to do it. How do you think you're going to be able to forge that sword, as little as you studied what I tried to teach you?

Siegfried: Even if I'd listened to everything you said, how do you expect that I would've learned anything from someone who can't even do what he tries to teach others? Get away from me, and don't interfere; I might just decide to forge YOU as well! (goes to work on the sword)

Mime: What are you doing? Here, use the solder - I've worked my whole life to perfect it.

Siegfried: Get that crap away from me! I don't need it at all! Do you really expect me to use papier mâché to fix a sword?

Mime: But you're breaking the teeth off the file! You've ruined my rasp, hacking on the steel like that! Are you trying to destroy your sword?

Siegfried: I've got to break it down into splinters; then I can put it back together again.

Mime: He won't listen to reason. Nothing I can say will help him now. People who don't know what they're doing only listen to their own stupidity. He's working so hard, shredding the sword's blade - But still, he almost seems to be guided in what he's doing, like he's done it all his life. I'm as old as this cave and the forest itself, but I've never seen anything like it! I can see now that he's going to get that sword back together again, and he has no idea what he's really accomplishing there. The Wanderer knew! Once he has his sword, how will I protect myself from his anger? If Fafner doesn't teach him fear, then he will kill me. But if Fafner does kill him, how will I ever get the Ring for myself? What a dilemma I'm in! I've got to think, got to use all my wits to figure a way out of this one. I know my brains will get me through it!

Siegfried: Hey, Mime! This sword I've broken down into shreds - does it have a name?

Mime: Your sword's name is "Nothung". Your mother told me that much about it, at least.

Siegfried: Nothung! Nothung! Wonderful sword! How was your blade ever shattered? I've broken your shining steel down into splinters, and now you'll melt on my fire. Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows, blow on the glorious flame! There was a brown ash tree that grew wild in the forest; I cut it down and burned it into the charcoal that fuels the hearth now. Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows, blow on the glorious flame! The coal from the ash tree burns so strongly; it showers the cave with sparks, and glows so magnificently! Hohei! Hoho! Hohei! The splinters from my sword melt so easily in it! Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho! Bellows, blow on the glorious flame!

Mime: (aside) He'll forge the sword, and kill Fafner with it - I see that now clear as day. He'll win the treasure and the Ring, and how will I ever get them from him? I'm going to have to use every bit of cunning and craftiness to steal them, and to save my head as well.

Siegfried: Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hohei! Hoho!

Mime: (aside) He'll be tired after he's fought with the dragon, and he'll probably want something to drink. I've got some sweetly-spiced juices that I can make him a drink with; it won't take but a few drops of that, and he'll sink into a deep sleep. Then I can take that sword he's so crazy about, get him out of the way with no trouble at all, and take the Ring and all the gold for myself! What do you think of that plan, Wanderer? Do you still think I'm so stupid? I've found a way out of my situation; now what do you think of my cleverness?

Siegfried: Nothung! Nothung! Wonderful sword! I've melted the splinters of your steel, and you're swimming in your own sweat! Soon, I'll proudly raise you as my sword! A fiery river flowed in the water there; it hissed with fury, and seared everything in its path. It's not liquid any more, though; it's become strong and stiff, and turned into beautiful, hard steel. Soon, I'll draw hot blood with it! Now, Nothung, my trusty sword, sweat in the fire again, so I can shape you! (looking at Mime) What's that idiot doing with that pot over there? Mime! I'm cooking steel over here, and you're making soup?

Mime: You've put me to shame; the boy teaches the master his craft. I'm finished with smithing for good, and I'll reduce myself to cooking for you from now on. You make your broth from steel there, and I'll be content to use eggs. [A play on words between "steel" (Eisen) and "eggs" (Eiern)]

Siegfried: I can't believe it! Mime, the "master craftsman", learns how to cook. He's lost his taste for blacksmithing because I broke everything he made. Well, I won't eat anything he cooks, either! He can't even teach me what fear is by himself; he has to take me to see someone else! The best he can do doesn't do me any good at all; he can't help but screw everything up! Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Hammer out a strong, sturdy sword for me! Hoho! Hahei! Hoho! Hahei! Once, your blue steel ran blood-red, and red rivers trickled off your blade. You laughed at it, and licked the hot blood cool! Heiaho! Haha! Haheiaha! Now you've turned red from the heat of my fire; I've weakened you just enough for you to give in to my hammer. Ah, now you're mad at me, and showering me with sparks, just because I broke you down to nothing when no one else could! Heiaho! Heiaho! Heiahohoho! Hahei!

Mime: He's making a sword to slay my enemy Fafner; I'm setting a trap for him to fall into when he's finished. I can't help but win now! Heaven is smiling on me today!

Siegfried: Hoho! Hoho! Hahei! Hammer out a strong, sturdy sword for me! Hoho! Hahei! Hahei! Hoho! It makes me so happy to see those sparks fly! Work like this is what true heroes live for! Your sparks are like the heartiest laughter to me, but I'll take your joy and turn you into a heartless killer! Heiaho! Haha! Haheaha! I've done a great job! My hammer and fire have made you straight and strong. Now, into the water you go, to lose every trace of your red-faced shame! Become as cold and hard as you can!! Heiaho! Heiaho! Heiahohoho! Heiaho!

Mime: That wonderful Ring my brother made, the magic spell he put on it, the Gold whose power will make me master of everything - they're all mine! I've won them! Alberich was my master once; now it's payback time. I'll go down to Nibelheim as the master now, and they'll all be my slaves! Everyone hated me, but now I'll be their king! Gods and heroes alike will be drawn to my wealth and power; the world will bend to every nod of my head, and tremble at my wrath!! All the trouble I've gone through is over - It'll be their turn to slave for me now! Courageous Mime, Mime the King, Master of his People, Ruler of All! Oh, Mime - how lucky you are! Who could have ever imagined it?

Siegfried: Nothung! Nothung! Wonderful sword! I've got your handle on now. You were broken, but I put you back together. Nothing of this earth can ever destroy you again. Your steel broke for a dying father, but a living son made it new again. Now, your bright laughter shines for him - your keen sharpness cuts for him. Nothung! Nothung! Wonderful sword! You lay dead in pieces there. I've brought you back to life, to gleam in all your glory! Show the wretched how the noble can shine. Strike down injustice, destroy villainy! Look here, Mime, you "master" smith! This is how Siegfried's sword cuts!!

(Chops the anvil in two as Mime recoils in terror)