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THE LAY OF SIGURD.
193
“Fain wilt thou be
Oddrun to win,
But thy good liking
Shall Atli let;
But in secret wise
Shall ye win together,
And she shall love thee
As I had loved thee,
If in such wise
Fate had willed it.

“But with all ill
Shall Atli sting thee,
Into the strait worm-close
Shall he cast thee.

“But no long space
Shall slip away
Ere Atli too
All life shall lose.
Yea, all his weal
With the life of his sons,
For a dreadful bed
Dights Gudrun for him,
From a heart sore laden,
With the sword’s sharp edge.

“More seemly for Gudrun,
Your very sister,
In death to wend after
Her love first wed;