Mime reproaches Siegfried for his ingratitude, reminding
him of the care with which he nursed him in childish days. Siegfried
cannot believe that Mime is his father, and in a fit of passion forces
the dwarf to tell him the real story of his birth. Mime at length
reluctantly produces the fragments of Siegmund's sword, and Siegfried,
bidding him forge it anew, rushes out once more into the forest. The
dwarf is settling down to his task, when his solitude is disturbed by
the advent of a mysterious stranger. It is Wotan, disguised as a
wanderer, who has visited the earth to watch over the offspring of his
Volsung son, and to see how events are shaping themselves with regard to
the Nibelung treasure. The scene between him and Mime is exceedingly
long, and, though of the highest musical interest and beauty, does very
little to advance the plot. The god and the dwarf ask each other a
series of riddles, each staking his head upon the result. Mime breaks
down at the question, 'Who is to forge the sword Nothung anew?' Wotan
tells him the answer, 'He who knows not fear,' and departs with the
contemptuous reminder that the dwarf has forfeited his head to the
fearless hero. Siegfried now returns, and is very angry when he finds
that Mime has not yet forged the sword. The frightened dwarf confesses
that the task is beyond his powers, and finding that Siegfried does not
know what fear is, tells him to forge his sword for himself.
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