Рихард Вагнер - Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods. The Ring of the Niblung, part 2

Lad, believe me,
If thou canst not
Learn it here and now,
No other place,
No other time
Ever will teach thee fear.
Dost thou see
That cavern yawning dark?
Yonder dwells
A dragon dread and grim,
Horribly fierce,
Enormous in size,
With terrible jaws
That threaten and gape;
With skin and hair,
All at a gulp,
The brute could swallow thee whole.

'Twere well to close up his gullet;
His fangs I will therefore avoid.

Poison pours
From his venomous mouth;
Were he to spue out
Spittle on thee,
Thy body and bones would decay.

That the poison may not consume me,
I will keep out of its reach.

A serpent's tail
Sweeping he swings;
Were that about thee wound
And folded close,
Thy limbs would be broken like glass.

That his swinging tail may not touch me,
Warily then I must watch.
But answer me this:
Has the brute a heart?

A pitiless, cruel heart.

It lies, however,
Where all hearts lie,
Brute and human alike?

Of course! There, boy,
The dragon's lies too.
At last thou beginnest to fear?

Nothung into
His heart I will thrust!
Is that what is meant by fearing?
Hey, old dotard!
Canst thou teach me
Nothing but this
With all thy craft,
Linger no longer by me:
No fear is here to be learnt.

Wait awhile yet!
What I have told thee
Seems to thee empty sound;
When thou hast heard
And seen him thyself,
Thy senses will swoon, overwhelmed!
When thine eyes grow dim,
And when the ground rocks,
When in thy breast
Thy heart beats loud,

Thou wilt remember who brought thee,
And think of me and my love.

Thy love is not wanted!
Hast thou not heard?
Out of my sight with thee;
Let me alone!
Begin again talking of love,
And on the instant I go!
The horrible winking,
The nods and blinking—
When shall I see
The last of them,
And rid be at length of the fool?

Well, I will off,
And rest there by the spring.
Thou must stay here,
And as the sun scales the sky
Watch for the foe:
From his cave
He lumbers this way,
Winds and twists
Past this spot,
To water at the fountain.

Liest thou by the spring,
Unchecked thither the brute shall go;
He shall swallow thee
Down with the water,
Ere with my sword
To the heart I stab him!
So heed well what I say:
Rest not beside the spring.
Seek somewhere else
A far-off spot,
And nevermore return.

Thou wilt not refuse
Cooling refreshment
When the fierce fight is over?

Call on me too
Shouldst thou need counsel,

Or if felled on a sudden by fear.

Fafner and Siegfried—
Siegfried and Fafner—
Might each the other but slay!