in Wainamoinen's house on golden dishes, and with sparkling beer in
copper beakers. And when all were seated at the table, Wainamoinen rose
and sang the story of Otso's birth and life. And this is the story which
he sang: 'Long ago a maiden walked in the ether on the edges of the
clouds, and as she walked she threw down wool and hair upon the waters
from two boxes that she carried. The wool and hair were floated in to
the shore, and there Mielikki, wife of the forest-god, found them and
joined the wool and hair together by magic spells. Then she laid the
bundle in a birch-bark basket and bound it in the top of the lofty pine,
and there the young bear was rocked into life.
'Otso grew quickly and became graceful in his movements, although his
feet were clumsy and his ankles crooked, his mouth large and forehead
broad; but he still had no teeth or claws. Then Mielikki said: "I would
give thee claws and teeth, Otso, but I fear that thou wilt use them to
harm people with." But Otso fell on his knees and swore that he would
never harm the good. So Mielikki took the hardest knots from all the
trees to make him teeth and claws, but all of them were too weak. Then
she went to a magic fir that grew in Tapio's kingdom, and which had
silver branches and golden cones, and from these she made Otso's claws
and teeth. Thus was Otso born and reared.'
So they feasted and made merry, and when the feast was over they all
tried to see which could pull out Otso's teeth and claws, in order to
preserve them for their magic power. And of all the men there only the
aged Wainamoinen could draw them out. When this was done, Wainamoinen
called for his kantele and bade them light torches, as it was already
dark. Then he sang sweet songs and played lovely music, so that the long
evening passed away like magic, and he sang of the hunter's victory and
prayed to Ukko always to give good fortune to the hunters of Kalevala.
Thus were Louhi's two first attempts at revenge unsuccessful.
[Illustration]
LOUHI STEALS THE SUN, THE MOON, AND FIRE
When these two dangers were overcome, Wainamoinen played upon his
kantele so sweetly that the Sun and Moon came down from their stations
in the sky to listen to his music. But evil Louhi crept upon them
unawares and made both Sun and Moon her captives, and carried them off
to the dismal Northland, and there she hid them both in caverns in the
mountains, that they might never again shine upon Kalevala. Next Louhi
crept back to Kalevala and stole all the fire from the hearths, and left
all their homes cold and cheerless. Then there was nothing but black
night in the world, and great Ukko himself did not know what to do
without the light of the Sun and Moon.
Ukko wandered all over the clouds to find out what had become of the
Sun and Moon, and at last he whirled his fire-sword round his head so
that the lightning flashed over the whole sky. From this lightning he
kindled a little fire, and putting it in a gold and silver cradle, he
gave it to the Ether-maidens to rock and care for, until it grew into a
second Sun. So the Fire-child was cared for tenderly, and he grew fast;
but one day the maidens were not watching him closely, and he escaped
from them, and bursting through the clouds with a noise like a
thunder-clap, he shot across the heavens like a red fire-ball.
Then Wainamoinen said to Ilmarinen: 'Come, let us see what this fire is
that is fallen from the heavens.' And so they set out towards the spot
where the ball of fire had seemed to fall. Soon they came to a wide
river and set to work to make a magic boat to cross it, and in a very
short time the boat was made, and they rowed over. On the other bank
they were met by the oldest of the Ether-maidens, who asked them whither
they were going.
So they told her who they were, and that they had lost all fire and
light in Kalevala, so that they were come to seek the fire that they had
seen fall from the heavens. Then the Ether-maiden told them what had
happened, saying: 'After the Fire-child had begun to grow, he escaped
from us one day and bursting through the clouds he came down to
Pohjola. There he killed youths and babes and old people, until he was
driven away by a magic spell. He fled thence, burning fields and forests
on his way, until at length he plunged into a great lake, and made the
waters boil and rage. Then the fish held a council how to get rid of
him, and it was decided that one of them must swallow him. First the
salmon tried, but failed, and then the bold whiting made a dash and
succeeded in swallowing the evil Fire-child. After this the waters of
the lake grew quiet, and all went on as before.
'But soon the whiting was seized with terrible pains and began to swim
round in agony, begging for some one to kill him and put him out of his
sufferings. For a long time he swam about unheeded, but at last a trout
seized the whiting and swallowed him. For a while all was quiet again,
but then the trout began to suffer in his turn. Still every fish was
afraid to swallow him, until a pike darted up and ate up the trout. But
then the pike was seized with the same pains, and he is now swimming
about in great agony, but none will help him.'
When the Ether-maiden had finished her account of what had happened,
Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen wove a great net from seaweed, and hurrying to
the lake they began to draw the net all through it in order to catch
the Fire-fish. But the net was a poor one, and they failed to catch the
pike that had swallowed the other fish and the Fire-child.
Then the two magicians gave up their useless net, and, choosing an
island near by, they resolved to plant flax that they might make a
stronger and better net. They went to Tuoni's kingdom before they could
find the proper seed, and found it there under the care of a tiny
insect. When they had brought the seed from the Deathland, they planted
it on the shore, in the ashes of a ship that had been burnt there, and
in a single night the flax had grown up and ripened. Then they pulled
it, and washed and dried and combed it, and took it to the Kalevala
maidens to spin. Soon the spinning was done and the net was woven.
So the two great heroes took the flaxen net and hastened back to the
lake and began to drag for the Fire-fish. But they only caught common
fish, and the pike remained hidden in the deep caverns. Then Wainamoinen
made the net longer and wider and they tried again, but though they
caught fish of every species, the Fire-fish was not amongst them.
Wainamoinen then prayed to Ahto, god of the ocean, and his wife,
Wellamo, that they would drive the Fire-fish into his nets. Scarcely
had Wainamoinen finished speaking, when a little dwarf rose from the
waters and offered to help them. They accepted the tiny man's aid, and
while they drew their nets, the dwarf beat the waters with a magic pole
and scared all the fish toward them. And as they drew, Wainamoinen sang
a magic charm to bring the fish in still greater numbers.
This time the net was full of pike, and they dragged it to the shore
rejoicing, and among them they found the Fire-fish. So they threw the
other fish back into the water, and Wainamoinen drew his knife and began
to cut up the Fire-fish. Inside of the pike he found the trout, and
inside of the trout the whiting, and on opening the whiting he came upon
a ball of blue yarn. Wainamoinen quickly unwound the blue ball, and
within that found a red ball, and when he had opened the red ball he
came to the ball of fire in the middle.
They pondered how they should get the fire to Kalevala, and at last
Ilmarinen seized it in his hands to carry it off. But it singed
Wainamoinen's beard and burned Ilmarinen's hands dreadfully, and then it
jumped out of their reach and rolled off over field and forest, burning
everything in its course. Wainamoinen hastened after it, and at length
caught it hidden in a mass of punk-wood. Then he took it and put it,
wood and all, in a copper box and hastened off home. Thus the fire
returned to Kalevala.
But Ilmarinen, suffering great agony from his burnt hands, hastened to
the sea to lave them in the cool water. And he called up the ice and
frost and snow to come and cool his parched hands, and, when all these
proved insufficient, he called on great Ukko to send him some healing
balm to take away the cruel torture. And Ukko granted his prayer and his
hands were healed. Then Ilmarinen returned home and rejoiced to find
that Wainamoinen had already brought the fire thither.
[Illustration]
THE RESTORATION OF THE SUN AND MOON
Though the Fire had been restored to Kalevala, still the golden Moon and
the silver Sun were lost, and the frost came and killed the crops, and
the cattle began to die of hunger. Every living thing felt sick and
faint in the dark, dreary world. Then one of the maidens of Kalevala
suggested to Ilmarinen to make a moon of gold and a sun of silver, and
to hang them up in the heavens; so Ilmarinen set to work. While he was
forging them, Wainamoinen came and asked what he was working at, and so
Ilmarinen told him that he was going to make a new sun and moon. But
Wainamoinen said: 'This is mere folly, for silver and gold will not
shine like the sun and moon.' Still Ilmarinen worked on, and at length
he had forged a moon of gold and a sun of silver, and hung them in
their places in the sky. But they gave no light, as Wainamoinen had
said.
Then Wainamoinen determined to find out where the sun and moon had gone.
So he cut three chips from an alder-tree, and laying them on the ground
before him, he cast many magic spells over them. Then when all was
ready, he asked the alder-chips to tell him truly where the sun and moon
were hid. The alder-chips then answered, that they were hidden in the
caverns of the mountains of Pohjola.
No sooner had Wainamoinen heard this, than he made ready for a journey
and started off for the dismal Northland. When he had travelled three
days and was come to the borders of Pohjola, he found a wide river in
the road and no boat to cross over in. So he built a huge fire on the
shore, and soon such a dense column of smoke arose that Louhi sent some
one to see what was the matter. But when Wainamoinen called to the
messenger to bring him a boat, the man made no reply, but hurried back
to Louhi and told her that it was Wainamoinen, who was coming to her
house.
Then Wainamoinen saw that he could never get across in that way, so he
changed himself into a pike and swam over very easily, and then changed
back to his own shape when he had reached the opposite shore. He
hastened on with mighty strides, and soon reached Louhi's dwelling.
There he was met as if he were a most honoured guest, and they invited
him into the hall. Wainamoinen went in unsuspectingly, but no sooner was
he inside than he found himself surrounded by crowds of armed warriors.
The warriors asked him in a threatening tone why he had come thither.
But Wainamoinen was not frightened, but answered boldly that he had come
to seek the Sun and the Moon. Then the chief of the warriors replied:
'We have the Sun and Moon safe in a mountain cavern, and thou shalt
never get them back, nor shalt thou leave this hall alive.' No sooner
had he finished speaking than Wainamoinen drew his magic sword, and fell
upon those that stood between him and the door. They gave way before
him, and in a moment he was out in the courtyard, where he could have
room to fight fairly. All the warriors rushed at him with drawn swords
and lifted spears, and the fire flashed from their weapons. But
Wainamoinen was more than a match for all of them, and in a very short
time he had stretched them all lifeless on the ground.
Then he left the court and hastened on to find the Sun and Moon. Soon he
came to a solitary birch-tree, and beside the tree stood a carved
pillar of stone, which concealed an opening in the rocks. Wainamoinen
gave three blows with his magic sword, and the pillar broke in pieces,
showing behind it an entrance into the rock; but the entrance was shut
by a massive door, and there was only a little crack through which he
could peep. Inside he saw the Sun and Moon prisoners, but though he
tried with all his strength and all his magic spells to open the door,
it still remained tightly shut, and he could not budge it so much as an
inch.
Wainamoinen began to despair of ever succeeding in liberating the Sun
and Moon, and he hastened off home to ask for Ilmarinen's help. He
directed him to forge a whole set of skeleton-keys, so that some one of
them would fit the lock of the door to the Sun's prison. Ilmarinen went
to work and soon his anvil was ringing merrily to the blows of his
hammer.
Now Louhi had grown very much alarmed after Wainamoinen had slain all
her warriors, and so she assumed the shape of an eagle and flew away to
Kalevala to see what was going on there. She heard the merry ring of
Ilmarinen's work and flew down and lit in the window of the smithy.
There she asked what he was doing, and the cunning Ilmarinen replied: 'I
am forging a collar of steel for the neck of evil Louhi, and with it I
shall bind her fast to the rocks.'
Louhi was terribly alarmed at this, so she flew off to Pohjola and
released the Sun and Moon from prison immediately, and sent them up to
their places in the heavens. Then the silver sunlight and the golden
moonlight returned once more to Kalevala, and Ilmarinen, and
Wainamoinen, and all the people offered up a prayer that they might
never again be deprived of the blessed Sun and Moon.
* * * * *
'It would have served old Louhi right if Ilmarinen _had_ made a steel
collar and put it round her neck,' said Mimi. 'But I'm so glad that
Wainamoinen always got the best of it,' she added.
'There was one time when he was defeated, however,' said Father Mikko,
'and now I shall tell it you. It is the last story, and is about
Wainamoinen's departure from Kalevala.' So he began.
[Illustration]
MARIATTA AND WAINAMOINEN'S DEPARTURE
There lived a fair and lovely maiden in Kalevala, called Mariatta. She
was the loveliest and purest of virgins, and tended her parents' flocks
upon the mountain sides. Here one day, as she was watching the sheep,
she heard a voice calling to her, and on looking round she found that it
was a bright red berry calling to her, and asking her to pluck it.
Mariatta did not know that this was a magic berry, so she picked it and
put it to her lips to eat it. But the berry rolled from her lips down
into her bosom, and said to her: 'Thou shalt have a son, and he shall
become a mighty man and drive forth the old magician Wainamoinen.'
Then Mariatta took the flocks home and was so silent and still that her
parents noticed it and asked her what was the matter. So she told them
what had happened, but they grew angry and would not keep her in their
house, for they did not believe the story about the berry.
Poor Mariatta was now obliged to wander about without a shelter from the
cold winds. At length she sent a servant, who had remained faithful to
her and had accompanied her, to a village of Pohjola to ask for shelter
from an old man named Ruotus. The maid, Piltti, went to Ruotus and told
him of Mariatta's hard lot, but Ruotus and his wife would not have her
in their house, but only grudgingly consented to let her go to a stable
in the forest, where the Fire-horse of Hisi was kept.
So Mariatta was obliged to go to the stable in the dense forest far off
from every human being, and there she begged the Hisi-horse to keep her
warm by his fiery breath. The Hisi-horse was kinder to her than men had
been, for he let her lie down comfortably in his manger, and kept her
warm with his fiery breath. There the babe was born, and his mother grew
happy once more, in spite of her sorrowful circumstances. But one night,
while she slept, the babe disappeared, and the poor mother was
overwhelmed with grief.
Then she wandered forth and looked everywhere for him, but in vain. So
she asked the North-star if he had seen her son. But the North-star
answered: 'I would not tell thee even if I knew. For it is thy son who
hath made me and set me here in the bitter cold.' And next Mariatta
asked the Moon, and received the same answer as the North-star had
given. Then she went to the Sun and asked him. And the Sun said: 'I know
very well where thy son is hidden, for he made me and put me here to
shine with my silver light. He lies sleeping yonder in the Swampland.'
So Mariatta hastened to the spot that the Sun had pointed out and there
found her babe sleeping peacefully in the water among the rushes.
Then she returned with the babe to her father's house, and this time he
received her and allowed her to live there in peace. And the child grew
in beauty and wisdom, and his mother called him Flower, but others
called him Son-of-Sorrow. Then his mother called in an old man,
Wirokannas, to baptize the child, but Wirokannas said: 'First must some
one see if the child shall become an honest man, or a wicked wizard, for
if he be not honest I will not baptize him.'
So Wainamoinen was called to examine the child--it was only two weeks
old then--and see if it would grow up a noble man or not. Wainamoinen
came and saw the child, and then said: 'Since this child is only a poor
outcast, born in a manger, and having no father save a berry, let him be
cast out on to the hillsides or into the marshes to perish.'
But all at once the babe himself began to speak, saying: 'O aged
Wainamoinen, foolish hero, thou hast given a false decision. Thou
thyself hast done great wrongs, yet hast not been punished. Thou gavest
thine own brother Ilmarinen to ransom thy poor life. Thou persecuted the
lovely Aino so that she perished in the deep sea, yet thou wert not
killed for all this.'
Then Wirokannas saw that this was truly a magic babe, and he baptized
him to become a mighty hero, and a ruler and king over Kalevala.
Years passed by after this, and Wainamoinen felt his power gradually
leaving him and going over to Mariatta's child. So the ancient hero,
with a sad heart, sang his last magic spell in Kalevala, and made a
magic boat of copper to sail away in. Then he cast loose from the shore
and sailed off towards the west, singing as he went: 'Fare ye well, my
people. Many suns shall rise and set on Kalevala until the people shall
at length regret my absence and shall call upon me to come back with my
magic songs and wisdom. Fare ye well.'
Thus Wainamoinen, in his magic boat of copper, left Kalevala. On he
sailed to the land of the setting sun, and at length he reached the
haven and anchored his boat, never again to return to Kalevala. But the
wondrous kantele and all his songs and wisdom remain among us to this
day.
* * * * *
'And now,' said Father Mikko, 'I have told you my last story--old
Wainamoinen has left Kalevala and the rule of the Christ-child has
begun. Under it our land has advanced and grown comfortable and
happy--let us only pray that we may never be less so.'
They were all silent for some time, and then all of them thanked Father
Mikko heartily for the pleasure that he had given them. Soon after this
they had supper and went to bed, and the next morning Father Mikko drove
off in his sledge, the moonlight covering all the country with a flood
of silver, and soon he had disappeared into the dark and silent
fir-forest; but not before he had promised them all that he would stop
there again next year if possible.
THE END
_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_
[Illustration]
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+--------------------Transcriber's Note-----------------------+
| |
| Minor punctuation and printing errors have been corrected. |
| |
| Spelling and hyphenation corrections: |
| |
| Page xiii Wuvksi replaced with Wuoksi |
| Page xv pronunced changed to pronounced |
| Page 191 alway changed to always |
| |
| 1 occurrence of sheepskin changed to sheep-skin |
| 1 occurrence of bearksins changed to bear-skins |
| 1 occurrence of bluebirds changed to blue-birds |
| 1 occurrence of sea-weed changed to seaweed |
| 1 occurrence of sea-shore changed to seashore |
| 1 occurrence of sea-gull changed to seagull |
| 1 occurrence of snowshoes changed to snow-shoe |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
End of Project Gutenberg's Finnish Legends for English Children, by R. Eivind