Hartmut now went to his sister and said: “I pray thee, comfort Gudrun and be a sister to her, so many bitter griefs hath she been forced to bear. Seek, too, to turn her heart toward me by kindness. Canst thou but do this, my sister, then will I owe thee thanks so long as I do live!”  
Ortrun wept for joy at these words, and embracing her brother fondly, replied: “Happy indeed shall I be once more to see thy love. Our mother forbade me to approach her, and great grief was this to me.”
 
Then said Hartmut: “Henceforth thou shalt share all thy joys with her, dear Ortrun. Perchance if we make her happy here with us her heart may yet be mine.”
 
52
Joyfully Ortrun hastened to Gudrun and besought her love and friendship, telling her the good news that hereafter by Hartmut’s desire they were to share the same chamber; and the two royal maidens acknowledged they had missed and longed for one another.
 
Happier days dawned for Gudrun. She spent all her time with Ortrun, whose only thought was to cheer her sorrowful companion. When Gudrun talked of her home and people, she listened with loving interest or shared her tears. She would gladly have welcomed the Danish princess as her sister-in-law and lost no opportunity to speak good of Hartmut, whom she dearly loved. But as ti............