THE CONTEST AND PARTING OF THE BROTHERS
On the following morning the three sons of Kalev set out before
sunrise towards the south; but they rested under the trees and
took some refreshment during the heat of the day. In the
evening they passed a house which was lighted up as if for
company. The father and mother stood at the door, and invited
them to choose brides from among their rich and beautiful
daughters. The eldest brother answered that they were not come
to woo brides, and had no thought of marriage; but the second
brother said he should like the girls to come out to swing with
them; and they were forthwith summoned. Then the youngest
brother said he hoped the young ladies would not distress
themselves, but really he and his brothers had no idea of
marrying at present, and they must beg to be excused.
[Pg 56]
Then they continued their journey southwards, and on the third
day they reached a small lake with steep banks.
[48] Water-birds were sporting in the lake, and on the opposite
shore they saw the holy forest of Taara shining in the sunset.
"Here is the place where our lot must be decided," said the
eldest brother; and each selected a stone for the trial of
strength. It was arranged that whoever should cast his stone
across the lake to the firm ground opposite should be adjudged
his father's heir, and the other two should wander forth to
seek their fortunes in other lands.
The eldest brother, in all friendliness, claimed his right to the first
trial, and cast his stone. It flew from his hand with the speed of a
bird or of the tempest, but suddenly changed its direction, and plunged
into the middle of the lake. The water foamed up over it, and entirely
concealed it from sight.
The second brother then seized his stone, and sent it whistling
through the air like an arrow. It rose up till it was nearly
lost to sight, and then turned and fell on the shore close to
the water, where it sank for half its bulk into the
[Pg 57]
mud. Then came the turn of the third, who, though the
youngest, was much taller and stronger than his brothers.
The youngest brother made some sad reflections on his posthumous birth,
and on the course of his childhood, and then cast forth his rock like a
bird, or like a ship in a storm. It flew up far and high, but not up to
the clouds, like that cast by his brother, and afterwards made great
ducks and drakes across the whole lake, reaching at last the firm
ground beyond.
"Don't let us wait here," said the eldest brother, "but let us
go and look for the stones, and decide our competition." As the
nearest way to the opposite shore was through the lake, they
waded straight across it, and at the deepest place the water
reached a little above their knees. The stone cast by the
eldest brother had disappeared entirely in the water, and no
trace of it could be found; but that thrown by the second was
found on the shore half sunken in the mud. Only the stone
thrown by the youngest brother, easily recognisable by its
marks, was found on firm ground, lying on the grass at some
little distance beyond the lake. Then the eldest brother
declared
[Pg 58]
that the gods had plainly assigned the kingdom to the
youngest, and that the others must now bathe him and adorn him
as king.
[49] After this the three brothers took an affectionate leave
of each other, and the two elder ones wandered cheerfully away.
The youngest sat on the rock sadly reflecting on the lost joys
of youth, and how he must now depend on his own unaided
efforts. At length he threw a silver coin into the water as an
offering to the gods, an old custom now forgotten.
It was the duty of the new king both to plough the country and to
defend it, and he therefore set to work with his sword by his side.
Early and late he ploughed, stocking the country with corn, grass,
trees, and berries.
One hot noonday, seeing his white horse
[50] nearly exhausted, he unyoked him from the plough, hobbled
him, and left him to graze, while he
[Pg 59]
himself lay down in the grass and fell asleep. His head rested
on the top of a hill, and his body and legs spread far over the
plain below. The sweat ran from his forehead and sank into the
earth, whence arose a healing and strengthening spring of
wonderful virtues. Those who taste the water of this spring are
greatly strengthened; weak children grow strong, the sick grow
healthy; the water heals sore eyes, and even blindness; the
weary are refreshed, and the maidens who taste it have rosy
cheeks for their whole lifetime.
While the Kalevide lay asleep, he dreamed that he saw his good
horse torn to pieces by wolves. And truly the horse had strayed
away to some distance, when a host of wild animals, wolves,
bears, and foxes, emerged from the forest. As the horse's feet
were hobbled, he could not escape, and was soon overtaken. He
defended himself as well as he could with hoofs and head, and
killed many of the beasts; but he was finally overpowered by
their ever-increasing numbers, and fell. Where he sank the
ground is hollow, and a number of little hills represent the
wolves killed in the struggle. The horse's blood formed a red
lake, his liver a mountain, his entrails a
[Pg 60]
marsh, his bones hills, his hair rushes, his mane bulrushes,
and his tail hazel-bushes.
[51]
[Pg 61]