And she said : ' I know because , when I was younger , I used to have to rise and light the fires , and still I waken at the same time . ' ' A strange Queen to light the fires , ' thought the King . Then he asked the Queen , who was dressed like a maid , ` How do you know in the dark of night whether the hours are wearing near the dawn ? ' ` My father gave me a gold ring , ' said she , ` and always , ere the dawning , it grows cold on my finger . ' ' A rich house where the maids wore gold , ' said the King . ` Truly you are no maid , but a King 's daughter . ' So he treated her royally , and as time went on she had a son called Sigurd , a beautiful boy and very strong . He had a tutor to be with him , and once the tutor bade him go to the King and ask for a horse . ` Choose a horse for yourself , ' said the King ; and Sigurd went to the wood , and there he met an old man with a white beard , and said , ` Come ! help me in horse-choosing . ' Then the old man said , ` Drive all the horses into the river , and choose the one that swims across . ' So Sigurd drove them , and only one swam across . Sigurd chose him : his name was Grani , and he came of Sleipnir 's breed , and was the best horse in the world . For Sleipnir was the horse of Odin , the God of the North , and was as swift as the wind . But a day or two later his tutor said to Sigurd , ` There is a great treasure of gold hidden not far from here , and it would become you to win it . ' But Sigurd answered , ' I have heard stories of that treasure , and I know that the dragon Fafnir guards it , and he is so huge and wicked that no man dares to go near him . ' ` He is no bigger than other dragons , ' said the tutor , ` and if you were as brave as your father you would not fear him . ' ' I am no coward , ' says Sigurd ; ` why do you want me to fight with this dragon ? ' Then his tutor , whose name was Regin , told him that all this great hoard of red gold had once belonged to his own father . And his father had three sons -- the first was Fafnir , the Dragon ; the next was Otter , who could put on the shape of an otter when he liked ; and the next was himself , Regin , and he was a great smith and maker of swords .
Now there was at that time a dwarf called Andvari , who lived in a pool beneath a waterfall , and there he had hidden a great XXXXX of gold .
Grani King Odin Queen Regin Sleipnir day first hoard hours