Kalevala, The Land Of The Heroes Volume Ii Part 7

"Now that thou hast grown to greatness, And attained thy fullest stature, Dar'st thou me with cold to threaten, And to seize my ears attemptest, To attack my feet beneath me, And my finger-tips attacking? 260

"But I shall not let you freeze me.

Not to miserably freeze me, Fire I'll thrust into my stockings, In my boots thrust burning firebrands, In the seams thrust burning embers, Fire will thrust beneath my shoestrings, That the Frost may never freeze me, Nor the sharpest weather harm me.

"Thither will I now condemn thee, To the furthest bounds of Pohja, 270 To the place from whence thou camest, To the home from whence thou camest.

Freeze upon the fire the kettles, And the coals upon the hearthstone, In the dough the hands of women, And the boy in young wife's bosom, In the ewes the milk congeal thou, And in mares let foals be frozen.

"If to this thou pay'st no heeding, Then indeed will I condemn thee 280 To the midst of coals of Hiisi, Even to the hearth of Lempo, Thrust thee there into the furnace, Lay thee down upon the anvil, Unprotected from the hammer, From the pounding of the hammer, That the hammer beat thee helpless, And the hammer beat thee sorely.

"If this will not overcome thee, And my spells are insufficient, 290 Still I know another station, Know a fitting station for thee.

I will lead thy mouth to summer, And thy tongue to home of summer, Whence thou never canst release thee, In the course of all thy lifetime, If I do not give thee freedom, And I should myself release thee."

Then the Frost, the son of Northwind, Felt that he was near destruction, 300 Whereupon he prayed for mercy, And he spoke the words which follow: "Let us understand each other, Nor the one the other injure, In the course of all our lifetime, While the golden moon is s.h.i.+ning.

"Should'st thou hear that I would freeze you, Or again should misbehave me, Thrust me then into the furnace, Sink me in the blazing fire, 310 In the smith's coals do thou sink me, Under Ilmarinen's anvil, Or my mouth to summer turn thou, And my tongue to home of summer, Never more release to hope for, In the course of all my lifetime."

Then the lively Lemminkainen Left his vessel in the ice-floes, Left his captured s.h.i.+p of battle, And proceeded on his journey; 320 Tiera too, the other hero, Followed in his comrade's footsteps.

O'er the level ice they wandered, 'Neath their feet the smooth ice crunching, And they walked one day, a second, And at length upon the third day, Then they saw a cape of hunger, And afar a wretched village.

'Neath the cape there stood a castle, And they spoke the words which follow: 330 "Is there meat within the castle, Is there fish within the household, For the worn and weary heroes, And the men who faint with hunger?"

Meat was none within the castle, Nor was fish within the household.

Spoke the lively Lemminkainen, Said the handsome Kaukomieli: "Fire consume this wretched castle, Water sweep away such castles!" 340

He himself pursued his journey, Pus.h.i.+ng onward through the forest, On a path with houses nowhere, On a pathway that he knew not.

Then the lively Lemminkainen, He the handsome Kaukomieli, Sh.o.r.e the wool from stones in pa.s.sing, From the rocks the hair he gathered, And he wove it into stockings, Into mittens quickly wrought it, 350 In the mighty cold's dominion, Where the Frost was freezing all things.

On he went to seek a pathway, Searching for the right direction.

Through the wood the pathway led him, Led him in the right direction.

Spoke the lively Lemminkainen, Said the handsome Kaukomieli, "O my dearest brother Tiera, Now at length we're coming somewhere, 360 Now that days and months we've wandered, In the open air for ever."

Then did Tiera make him answer, And he spoke the words which follow: "We unhappy sought for vengeance, Recklessly we sought for vengeance, Rus.h.i.+ng forth to mighty conflict In the gloomy land of Pohja, There our lives to bring in danger, Rus.h.i.+ng to our own destruction, 370 In this miserable country, On a pathway that we knew not.

"Never is it known unto us, Never known and never guessed at, What the pathway is that leads us, Or the road that may conduct us To our death at edge of forest, Or on heath to meet destruction, Here in the abode of ravens, In the fields by crows frequented. 380

"And the ravens here are flocking, And the evil birds are croaking, And the flesh the birds are tearing, And with blood the crows are sated, And the ravens' beaks are moistened In the wounds of us, the wretched, To the rocks our bones they carry, And upon the stones they cast them.

"Ah, my hapless mother knows not, Never she, with pain who bore me, 390 Where her flesh may now be carried, And her blood may now be flowing, Whether in the furious battle, In the equal strife of foemen, Or upon a lake's broad surface, On the far-extending billows, Or on hills with pine-cones loaded, Wandering 'mid the fallen branches.

"And my mother can know nothing Of her son, the most unhappy, 400 Only know that he has perished, Only know that he has fallen; And my mother thus will weep me, Thus lament, the aged woman:

"'Thus my hapless son has perished, And the wretched one has fallen; He has sown the seed of Tuoni, Harrows now in Kalma's country.

Perhaps the son I love so dearly, Perhaps my son, O me unhappy, 410 Leaves his bows untouched for ever, Leaves his handsome bows to stiffen.

Now the birds may live securely, In the leaves the grouse may flutter, Bears may live their lives of rapine, In the fields the reindeer roll them.'"

Answered lively Lemminkainen, Said the handsome Kaukomieli: "Thus it is, unhappy mother, Thou unhappy, who hast borne me! 420 Thou a flight of doves hast nurtured, Quite a flock of swans hast nurtured, Rose the wind, and all were scattered, Lempo came, and he dispersed them, One in one place, one in other, And a third in yet another.

"I remember times aforetime, And the better days remember, How like flowers we gathered round thee, In one homeland, just like berries. 430 Many gazed upon our figures, And admired our forms so handsome, Otherwise than in the present, In this time so full of evil.

Once the wind was our acquaintance, And the sun was gazing on us: Now the clouds are gathering round us, And the rain has overwhelmed us.

But we let not trouble vex us, Even in our greatest sorrow, 440 Though the girls were living happy, And the braidless maids were jesting, And the women all were laughing, And the brides were sweet as honey, Tearless, spite of all vexation, And unshaken when in trouble.

"But we are not here enchanted, Not bewitched, and not enchanted, Here upon the paths to perish, Sinking down upon our journey, 450 In our youth to sadly perish, In our bloom to meet destruction.

"Let those whom the sorcerers hara.s.sed And bewitched with eyes of evil, Let them make their journey homeward, And regain their native country.

Be the sorcerers' selves enchanted, And with songs bewitched their children; Let their race for ever perish, And their race be brought to ruin. 460

"Ne'er in former times my father, Never has my aged father Yielded to a sorcerer's orders, Or the wiles of Lapland's children.

Thus my father spoke aforetime, And I now repeat his sayings: 'Guard me, O thou kind Creator, Guard me, Jumala most gracious, Aid me with thy hand of mercy, With thy mighty power protect me, 470 From the plots of men of evil, And the thoughts of aged women, And the curses of the bearded, And the curses of the beardless.

Grant us now thy aid eternal, Be our ever-faithful guardian, That no child be taken from us, And no mother's child shall wander From the path of the Creator, Which by Jumala was fas.h.i.+oned.'" 480

Then the lively Lemminkainen, He the handsome Kaukomieli, From his care constructed horses, Coursers black composed from trouble, Reins from evil days he fas.h.i.+oned, Saddles from his secret sorrows, Then his horse's back he mounted, On his white-front courser mounted, And he rode upon his journey, At his side his faithful Tiera, 490 And along the sh.o.r.es he journeyed, On the sandy sh.o.r.es proceeded, Till he reached his tender mother, Reached the very aged woman.

Now will I abandon Kauko, Long from out my song will leave him; But he showed the way to Tiera, Sent him on his homeward journey.

Now my song aside will wander, While I turn to other matters. 500

RUNO x.x.xI.--UNTAMO AND KULLERVO

_Argument_

Untamo wages war against his brother Kalervo, overthrows Kalervo and his army, sparing only a single pregnant woman of the whole clan. She is carried away to Untamo's people, and gives birth to her son Kullervo (1-82). Kullervo resolves in his cradle to take revenge on Untamo, and Untamo attempts several times to put him to death, but without success (83-202). When Kullervo grows up, he spoils all his work, and therefore Untamo sells him as a slave to Ilmarinen (203-374).

'Twas a mother reared her chickens, Large the flock of swans she nurtured; By the hedge she placed the chickens, Sent the swans into the river, And an eagle came and scared them, And a hawk that came dispersed them, And a flying bird dispersed them.

One he carried to Carelia, Into Russia bore the second, In its home he left the third one. 10

Whom the bird to Russia carried Soon grew up into a merchant; Whom he carried to Carelia, Kalervo was called by others, While the third at home remaining, Bore the name of Untamoinen, For his father's lifelong anguish, And his mother's deep affliction.

Untamoinen laid his netting Down in Kalervo's fish-waters: 20 Kalervoinen saw the netting, In his bag he put the fishes.

Untamo of hasty temper Then became both vexed and angry, And his fingers turned to battle, With his open palms he urged it, Making strife for fishes' entrails, And for perch-fry made a quarrel.

Thus they fought and thus contended, Neither overcame the other, 30 And though one might smite the other, He himself again was smitten.

At another time it happened, On the next and third day after, Kalervoinen oats was sowing, Back of Untamoinen's dwelling.

Sheep of Untamo most reckless Browsed the oats of Kalervoinen, Whereupon his dog ferocious Tore the sheep of Untamoinen. 40

Untamo began to threaten Kalervo, his very brother; Kalervo's race vowed to slaughter, Smite the great, and smite the little, And to fall on all the people, And their houses burn to ashes.

Men with swords in belt he mustered, Weapons for their hands provided, Little boys with spears in girdle, Handsome youths who shouldered axes, 50 And he marched to furious battle, Thus to fight his very brother.

Kalervoinen's son's fair consort Then was sitting near the window, And she looked from out the window, And she spoke the words which follow: "Is it smoke I see arising, Or a gloomy cloud that rises, On the borders of the cornfields, Just beyond the new-made pathway?" 60