Wotan: Of Nibelheim’s night-shrouded land new tidings we’ve heard tell: it’s said that Alberich works mighty wonders; the urge to feast our eyes on them has driven us here as your guests.
Alberich: (#33b:) Envy [“Neid”] brings you to Nibelheim: (#33b:) such dauntless guests, believe me, I know well (:#33b).
Loge: You know me well, you childish elf? Then say who I am that you yelp like that. In a frozen hole where you coweringly lay, who’d have given you light and warming fire if Loge hadn’t smiled upon you? What use would your forge-work have been (#35:) if I hadn’t heated your forge? I am your kinsman and once was your friend: so your thanks seem far from fitting (:#35)! (#35)
Alberich: (#35:; #33voc?:) So Loge now smiles on the light-elves, cunning rogue that he is? If, false traitor, you’re now their friend, as you once were a friend to me, haha! – I’m glad – from them I’ve nothing to fear (:#35; :#33voc?).
Loge: and so, I think, you can trust me.
Alberich: I trust your dishonesty, not your honesty! (adopting a defiant attitude: [[ #48 embryo ]]; [[ #47 ]]) – I can safely defy you all!
Alberich, having observed that Loge betrayed his kinship and friendship with Alberich by working now on behalf of the gods, introduced two new motifs, #48 and #47, as he explained that, thanks to this betrayal, he trusts Loge’s dishonesty, not his honesty, and that for this reason he can now safely defy the gods. The new motif #48, heard in embryonic form here, is the “Serpent” or “Dragon Motif,” which is the form into which Alberich will transform himself shortly (employing the Tarnhelm’s magic) in answer to Loge’s question, how does Alberich intend to protect the Ring from theft when he is sleeping. #48 is in the same family as #35 (one of Loge’s Motifs), #42 (the Tarnhelm), #43 (the Tarnhelm’s transformations), and #154 (Hagen’s Potion Motif). It would be premature to offer a detailed explanation of #48’s first occurrence at this point, since this can only be understood in the context of many events which haven’t yet transpired, but I can safely suggest that it has something to do with Alberich’s assertion that thanks to the Tarnhelm his Ring power is omnipresent, and that it will even appear where least expected.
The embryonic form of the new motif #47, which Dunning has coined “Alberich’s Revolt,” is heard just after #48. #47 is in effect an inversion of Wotan’s Spear Motif #21. As I have already listed the motifs which evolve out of #21 I will not repeat them here. However, #47 is a key component of a very important compound motif, #82, which will be heard just prior to Wotan’s
