"Save me, save me, brother," Freïa cried.
"I shall save thee," Wotan answered, reassuringly. "Did not Loge promise to ransom thee? He will be here presently. Have no fear." Nevertheless Wotan, himself, was not too confident, and he looked anxiously for the Spirit of Flame. Meantime the Giants were striding over the mountain.
"Come now," they shouted, "while we wrought, ye slept. Give us our reward as promised and we shall be off."
"Well, what do ye want? Name a suitable reward and I shall give it to ye." Wotan answered, trying to pacify them.
"We want only what is promised, and we shall have it. We shall take the Goddess Freïa." They struck the earth with their staves and roared loudly.
"Donner! Froh!" Freïa shrieked to her brothers, and immediately they rushed upon the scene. Donner, the God of Thunder, carried a great hammer with which he woke the thunders. "Save me from Fasolt and Fafner," Freïa cried.
"We'll save thee, sister," Froh answered, facing the Giants, while Donner menaced them with his thunders.
"You know the weight of my hammer's blow," he threatened, while the Giants laughed a horrible, rumbling laugh and Donner swung his hammer. Wotan feared the strife that would surely follow, and being a god of war, understood the value of diplomacy, as well as of force, so he interposed his spear between the Giants and Donner.
"Thy thunder is powerless against my spear, Donner. The whole world is shattered if only I interpose thus; so hold thy peace."
"Even Wotan abandons us," Fricka cried in despair. "Where is now thy fine Loge?"
"I can quench thy accursed Loge with only one blow of my hammer, which shall make the mists collect and the waters descend upon the earth till his fires are put out," Donner answered bitterly.
"Hold thy peace," Wotan commanded. "His cunning is worth all thy force and here he comes to straighten out this coil. Come, Loge," Wotan demanded, "thou hast promised to free us from this bargain; get thy wits to work."
"Alas, Wotan!" the tricky fellow replied, coming into their midst, "I have wandered everywhere for a substitute for the Goddess Freïa, and have found none; but I have brought news of great misfortune, which thou art called upon to set right," he said, watching the Giants craftily out of the corner of his eye. "The Rhein-daughters have lost their gold. It has been stolen by a Nibelung, and with the golden treasure he can rule the world. The bargain with the Fates was: he who should forswear love forever would be able to make of the Rheingold a magic ring which would give him power over all the earth and over the Eternals as well. Alberich has done this and has stolen the gold."