Roamed about a honey-pawed one, 450
Never would I dare to venture
To the feet of aged women.
There are many other regions,
There are many other penfolds,
Where a man may go to wander,
Roaming aimless at his pleasure.
Therefore move thy paws across them,
Do thou move thy paws across them,
In the blue wood's deep recesses,
In the depths of murmuring forest. 460
"On the heath o'er pine-cones wander,
Tramp thou through the sandy districts,
Go thou where the way is level,
Do thou bound along the lakeshore,
To the furthest bounds of Pohja,
To the distant plains of Lapland.
There indeed mayst thou be happy,
Good it is for thee to dwell there,
Wandering shoeless in the summer,
Wandering sockless in the autumn, 470
Through the wide expanse of marshland,
And across the wide morasses.
"But if thou should not go thither,
If thou canst not find the pathway,
Hasten then to distant regions,
Do thou wander, on thy pathway
Unto Tuonela's great forest,
Or across the heaths of Kalma.
There are marshes to be traversed,
There are heaths that thou mayst traverse, 480
There is Kirjos, there is Karjos,
There are many other cattle,
Fitted with their iron neck-chains,
Ten among them altogether;
There the lean kine quickly fatten,
And their bones are soon flesh-covered.
"Be propitious, wood and forest,
Be thou gracious, O thou blue wood,
Give thou peace unto the cattle,
And protection to the hoofed ones, 490
Through the whole length of the summer,
Of the Lord the loveliest season.
"Kuippana, thou king of woodland,
Active greybeard of the forest,
Hold thy dogs in careful keeping,
Watch thou well thy dogs and guard them;
Thrust some fungus in one nostril,
In the other thrust an apple,
That they may not smell the cattle,
And they may not scent their odour. 500
Bind their eyes with silken ribands,
Likewise bind their ears with linen,
That they may not hear them moving,
And they may not see them walking.
"If this is not yet sufficient,
And they do not much regard it,
Then do thou forbid thy children,
Do thou drive away thy offspring.
Lead them forth from out this forest,
From this lakeshore do thou drive them, 510
From the lands where roam the cattle,
From among the spreading willows,
Do thou hide thy dogs in caverns,
Nor neglect to bind them firmly,
Bind them with the golden fetters,
With the slender silver fetters,
That they may commit no evil,
And be guilty of no outrage.
"If this is not yet sufficient,
And they do not much regard it, 520
Ukko, then, O golden monarch,
Ukko, O thou silver guardian,
Hearken to my words so golden,
Listen to my lovely sayings!
Take a snaffle made of rowan,
Fix it on their stumpy muzzles,
Or if rowan will not hold them,
Cast thou then a copper muzzle,
If too weak is found the copper,
Forge thou then an iron muzzle, 530
If they break the iron muzzle,
And it should itself be shattered,
Drive thou then a stake all golden,
Through the chin and through the jawbone,
Do thou close their jaws securely,
Fix them that they cannot move them,
That they cannot move their jawbones,
And their teeth can scarcely open,
If the iron is not opened,
If the steel should not be loosened, 540
If with knife it is not severed,
If with hatchet 'tis not broken."
Then did Ilmarinen's housewife,
Of the smith the wife so artful,
Drive from out their stalls the cattle,
Send the cattle forth to pasture,
After them she sent the shepherd,
That the slave should drive the cattle.
RUNO XXXIII.--THE DEATH OF ILMARINEN'S WIFE
_Argument_
While Kullervo is in the pasture in the afternoon he tries to cut the
cake with his knife which he completely spoils, and this goes to his
heart the more because the knife was the only remembrance left to him of
his family (1-98). To revenge himself on the mistress, he drives the
cattle into the marshes to be devoured by beasts of the forest, and
gathers together a herd of wolves and bears, which he drives home in the
evening (99-184). When the mistress goes to milk them she is torn to
pieces by the wild beasts (185-296).
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Put his lunch into his wallet,
Drove the cows along the marshes,
While across the heath he wandered,
And he spoke as he was going,
And repeated on his journey,
"Woe to me, a youth unhappy,
And a youth of wretched fortune!
Wheresoe'er I turn my footsteps,
Nought but idleness awaits me; 10
I must watch the tails of oxen,
And must watch the calves I follow,
Always tramping through the marshes,
Through the worst of level country."
Then upon the ground he rested,
On a sunny slope he sat him,
And he then composed these verses,
And expressed himself in singing:
"Sun of Jumala, O shine thou,
Of the Lord, thou wheel, shine warmly, 20
On the warder of the smith's herd,
And upon the wretched shepherd,
Not on Ilmarinen's household,
Least of all upon the mistress,
For the mistress lives luxurious,
And the wheaten-bread she slices,
And the finest cakes devours,
And she spreads them o'er with butter,
Gives the wretched shepherd dry bread,
Dry crusts only for his chewing, 30
Only oaten-cake she gives me,
Even this with chaff she mixes,
Even straw she scatters through it,
Gives for food the bark of fir-tree,
Water in a birch-bark bucket,
Upscooped 'mid the grassy hillocks.
March, O sun, and wheat, O wander,
Sink in Jumala's own season,
Hasten, sun, among the pine-trees,
Wander, wheat, into the bushes, 40
'Mid the junipers, O hasten,
Fly thou to the plains of alder,
Lead thou then the herdsman homeward,
Give him butter from the barrel,
Let him eat the freshest butter,
Over all the cakes extending."
But the wife of Ilmarinen
While the shepherd was lamenting,
And while Kullervo was singing,
Ate the butter from the barrel, 50
And she ate the freshest butter,
And upon the cakes she spread it,
And hot soup had she made ready,
But for Kullervo cold cabbage,
Whence the dog the fat had eaten,
And the black dog made a meal from,
And the spotted dog been sated,
And the brown dog had sufficient.
From the branch there sang a birdling,
Sang a small bird from the bushes, 60
"Time 'tis for the servant's supper,
O thou orphan boy, 'tis evening."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Looked, and saw the sun was sinking,
And he said the words which follow:
"Now the time has come for eating,
Yes, the time has come for eating,
Time it is to take refreshment."
So to rest he drove the cattle,
On the heath he drove the cattle, 70
And he sat him on a hillock,
And upon a green hill sat him.
From his back he took his wallet,
Took the cake from out the wallet,
And he turned it round and eyed it,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Many a cake is outside handsome,
And the crust looks smooth from outside,
But within is only fir-bark,
Only chaff beneath the surface." 80
From the sheath he took his knife out,
And to cut the cake attempted.
On the stone the knife struck sharply,
And against the stone was broken.
From the knife the point was broken;
And the knife itself was broken.
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Looked, and saw the knife was broken,
And at length he burst out weeping,
And he said the words which follow: 90
"Save this knife I'd no companion,
Nought to love except this iron,
'Twas an heirloom from my father,
And the aged man had used it.
Now against a stone 'tis broken,
'Gainst a piece of rock 'tis shattered
In the cake of that vile mistress,
Baked there by that wicked woman.
"How shall I for this reward her,
Woman's prank, and damsel's mockery, 100
And destroy the base old woman,
And that wicked wench, the bakeress?"
Then a crow cawed from the bushes,
Cawed the crow, and croaked the raven.
"O thou wretched golden buckle,
Kalervo's surviving offspring,
Wherefore art thou so unhappy,
Wherefore is thy heart so troubled?
Take a switch from out the bushes,
And a birch from forest-valley, 110
Drive the foul beasts in the marshes,
Chase the cows to the morasses,
Half to largest wolves deliver,
Half to bears amid the forest.
"Call thou all the wolves together,
All the bears do thou assemble,
Change the wolves to little cattle,
Make the bears the larger cattle,
Lead them then like cattle homeward,
Lead them home like brindled cattle; 120
Thus repay the woman's jesting,
And the wicked woman's insult."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"Wait thou, wait thou, whore of Hiisi,
For my father's knife I'm weeping,
Soon wilt thou thyself be weeping,
And be weeping for thy milchkine."
From the bush a switch he gathered,
Juniper as whip for cattle, 130
Drove the cows into the marshes,
And the oxen in the thickets,
Half of these the wolves devoured,
To the bears he gave the others,
And he sang the wolves to cattle,
And he changed the bears to oxen,
Made the first the little cattle,
Made the last the larger cattle.
In the south the sun was sinking,
In the west the sun descended, 140
Bending down towards the pine-trees
At the time of cattle-milking.
Then the dusty wicked herd-boy,
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Homeward drove the bears before him,
And the wolf-flock to the farmyard,
And the bears he thus commanded,
And the wolves he thus instructed:
"Tear the mistress' thighs asunder,
See that through her calves you bite her, 150
When she comes to look around her,
And she bends her down to milk you."
Then he made a pipe of cow-bone,
And a whistle made of ox-horn,
From Tuomikki's leg a cow-horn,
And a flute from heel of Kirjo,
Then upon the horn blew loudly,
And upon his pipe made music.
Thrice upon the hill he blew it,
Six times at the pathway's opening. 160
Then did Ilmarinen's housewife,
Wife of smith, an active woman,
Who for milk had long been waiting,
And expecting summer butter,
Hear the music on the marshes,
And upon the heath the cattle,
And she spoke the words which follow,
And expressed herself in thiswise:
"Praise to Jumala be given,
Sounds the pipe, the herd is coming, 170
Whence obtained the slave the cow-horn,
That he made a horn to blow on?
Wherefore does he thus come playing,
Blowing tunes upon the cow-horn,
Blowing till he bursts the eardrums,
And he gives me quite a headache?"
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Answered in the words which follow:
"In the swamp the horn was lying,
From the sand I brought the cow-horn, 180
To the lane I brought your cattle,
In the shed the cows are standing;
Come you forth to smoke the cattle,
And come out to milk the cattle."
Then did Ilmarinen's housewife
Bid the mother milk the cattle.
"Mother, go and milk the cattle,
Do thou go to tend the cattle,
For I think I cannot finish
Kneading dough as I would have it." 190
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Ever do the thrifty housewives,
Ever do the careful housewives
Go the first to milk the cattle,
Set themselves to milk the cattle."
Then did Ilmarinen's housewife
Hasten forth to smoke the cattle,
And she went to milk the cattle,
And surveyed the herd before her, 200
Gazed upon the horned cattle,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"Beauteous is the herd to gaze on,
Very sleek the horned cattle,
They have all been rubbed with lynx-skin
And the wool of sheep of forest,
Well-filled, too, are all their udders,
And expanded with their fulness."
So she stooped her down to milk them,
And she sat her down for milking, 210
Pulled a first time and a second,
And attempted it a third time,
And the wolf sprang fiercely at her,
And the bear came fiercely after.
At her mouth the wolf was tearing,
And the bear tore through her tendons,
Halfway through her calves they bit her,
And they broke across her shinbones.
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring
Thus repaid the damsel's jesting, 220
Damsel's jesting, woman's mocking,
Thus repaid the wicked woman.
Ilmarinen's wife illustrious
Then herself was brought to weeping,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"Ill thou dost, O wicked herdsman,
Driving bears unto the homestead,
To the yard these wolves gigantic."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring
Heard, and thus he made her answer: 230
"Ill I did, a wicked herd-boy,
Not so great as wicked mistress.
In my cake a stone she baked me,
Baked a lump of rock within it,
On the stone my knife struck sharply,
'Gainst the rock my knife was shattered;
'Twas the knife of mine own father,
Of our race a cherished heirloom."
Then said Ilmarinen's housewife,
"O thou herd-boy, dearest herd-boy, 240
Wilt thou alter thy intention,
And recall thy words of magic,
And release me from the wolf's jaws,
From the bear's claws now release me?
Better shirts will I then give you,
And will give you handsome aprons,
Give you wheaten-bread, and butter,
And the sweetest milk for drinking,
For a year no work will give you,
Give you light work in the second. 250
"If you haste not to release me,
Come not quickly to my rescue,
Death will quickly fall upon me,
And to earth shall I be altered."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Answered in the words which follow:
"If you die, so may you perish,
If you perish, may you perish!
Room there is in earth to hold you,
Room in Kalma's home for lost ones, 260
For the mightiest there to slumber,
For the proudest to repose them."
Then said Ilmarinen's housewife,
"Ukko, thou, of Gods the highest,
Haste to bend thy mighty crossbow,
Of thy bows the best select thou,
Take thou then a bolt of copper,
And adjust it to the crossbow,
Shoot thou then a flaming arrow,
Shoot thou forth the bolt of copper, 270
Shoot it quickly through the arm-pits,
Shoot it that it split the shoulders.
Thus let Kalervo's son perish,
Shoot thou dead this wicked creature,
Shoot him with the steel-tipped arrow,
Shoot him with thy bolt of copper."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"Ukko, thou, of Gods the highest,
Shoot me not as she has prayed thee, 280
Shoot the wife of Ilmarinen,
Do thou kill this wicked woman,
Ere from off this spot she riseth,
Or can move herself from off it."
Then did Ilmarinen's housewife,
Wife of that most skilful craftsman,
On the spot at once fall dying,
Fell, as falls the soot from kettle,
In the yard before her homestead,
In the narrow yard she perished. 290
Thus it was the young wife perished,
Thus the fairest housewife perished,
Whom the smith so long had yearned for,
And for six long years was sought for,
As the joy of Ilmarinen,
Pride of him, the smith so famous.
RUNO XXXIV.--KULLERVO AND HIS PARENTS
_Argument_
Kullervo escapes from the homestead of Ilmarinen, and wanders
sorrowfully through the forest, where he meets with the Old Woman of the
Forest, who informs him that his father, mother, brothers and sisters
are still living (1-128). Following her directions he finds them on the
borders of Lapland (129-188). His mother tells him that she had long
supposed him to be dead, and also that her elder daughter had been lost
when gathering berries (189-246).
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
He, the youth with blue-dyed stockings,
And with yellow hair the finest,
And with shoes of finest leather,
Hurried quickly on his journey
From the home of Ilmarinen,
Ere report could reach the master
Of the death his wife had suffered,
And might harm him in his anger,
And he might at once destroy him. 10
From the smith he hurried piping,
Joyful left the lands of Ilma,
On the heath his horn blew loudly,
Shouted loudly in the clearing,
And he dashed through plains and marshes,
While the heath re-echoed loudly,
And his horn kept loudly blowing,
And made horrible rejoicing.
In the smithy did they hear it,
At the forge the smith was standing, 20
To the lane he went to listen,
To the yard to look around him,
Who was playing in the forest,
And upon the heath was piping.
Then he saw what just had happened,
Saw the truth without deception,
There he saw his wife was resting,
Saw the fair one who had perished,
Where she in the yard had fallen,
On the grass where she had fallen. 30
Even while the smith was standing,
All his heart was dark with sorrow;
Many nights he spent in weeping,
Many weeks his tears were flowing,
And his soul like tar was darkened,
And his heart than soot no lighter.
Kullervo still wandered onwards,
Aimlessly he hurried forward,
For a day through thickest forest,
Through the timber-grounds of Hiisi, 40
And at evening, when it darkened,
Down upon the ground he threw him.
There the orphan boy was sitting,
And the friendless one reflected:
"Wherefore have I been created,
Who has made me, and has doomed me,
Thus 'neath moon and sun to wander
'Neath the open sky for ever?
"Others to their homes may journey,
And may travel to their dwellings, 50
But my home is in the forest,
And upon the heath my homestead.
In the wind I find my fire-place,
In the rain I find my bathroom.
"Never, Jumala most gracious,
Never in the course of ages,
Form a child thus mis-created,
Doomed to be for ever friendless,
Fatherless beneath the heavens,
From the first without a mother, 60
As thou, Jumala, hast made me,
And hast formed me to be wretched,
Formed me like a wandering seagull,
Like a seagull on the lake-cliffs.
Shines the sun upon the swallow,
Brightly shines upon the sparrow,
In the air the birds are joyous,
I myself am never happy,
On my life the sun shines never,
And my life is always joyless. 70
"Now I know not who has nursed me,
And I know not who has borne me,
For, as water-hens are used to,
Or as ducks among the marshes,
Like the teal on shore she left me,
Or in hollow stone, merganser.
"I was small, and lost my father,
I was weak, and lost my mother,
Dead is father, dead is mother,
All my mighty race has perished, 80
Shoes of ice to wear they left me,
Filled with snow they left my stockings,
On the ice they left me lying,
Rolling on the platform left me,
Thus I fell into the marshes,
And amid the mud was swallowed.
"But in all my life I never,
Never in my life I hastened,
Through the swamp to make a platform,
Or a bridge in marshy places; 90
But I sank not in the marshes,
For I had two hands to help me,
And I had five nimble fingers,
And ten nails to lift me from it."
Then into his mind it entered
In his brain he fixed the notion
Unto Untamo to journey,
There his father's wrongs avenging,
Father's wrongs, and tears of mother,
And the wrongs himself had suffered. 100
Then he spoke the words which follow:
"Wait thou, wait thou, Untamoinen,
Watch thou, of my race destroyer!
If I seek thee out in battle,
I will quickly burn thy dwelling,
And thy farms to flame deliver."
Then an old dame came to meet him,
Blue-robed Lady of the Forest,
And she spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed her: 110
"Whither goeth Kullervoinen,
Where will Kalervo's son hasten?"
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Answered in the words which follow:
"In my mind the thought has entered,
In my brain has fixed the notion
Hence to other lands to wander,
Unto Untamo's own village,
There my father's death avenging,
Father's wrongs, and tears of mother, 120
There with fire to burn the houses,
And to burn them up completely."
But the old wife made him answer,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"No, your race has not yet perished,
Nor has Kalervo been murdered;
For your father still is living,
And on earth in health your mother."
"O my dearest of old women,
Tell me, O my dear old woman, 130
Where I yet may find my father,
Where the fair one who has borne me?"
"Thither is thy father living,
There the fair one who has borne thee,
Far away on Lapland's borders,
On the borders of a fishpond."
"O my dearest of old women,
Tell me, O my dear old woman,
How I best can journey to them,
And the road I may discover?" 140
"Easy 'tis for thee to journey,
Though to thee unknown the pathway.
Through the forest must thou journey,
By the river thou must travel,
Thou must march one day, a second,
And must march upon the third day,
Then must turn thee to the north-west,
Till you reach a wooded mountain,
Then march on beneath the mountain,
Go the left side of the mountain, 150
Till thou comest to a river,
(On the right side thou wilt find it,)
By the riverside go further,
Till three waterfalls rush foaming,
When thou comest to a headland,
With a narrow tongue projecting,
And a house at point of headland,
And beyond a hut for fishing.
There thy father still is living,
There the fair one who has borne thee, 160
There thou'lt also find thy sisters,
Two among the fairest maidens."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
Started then upon his journey,
And he marched one day, a second,
Likewise marched upon the third day,
Then he turned him to the north-west,
Till he reached a wooded mountain,
Then he marched halfway below it,
Turning westward from the mountain, 170
Till at length he found the river,
And he marched along the river,
On the west bank of the river,
Past three water-falls he journeyed,
Till at length he reached a headland
With a narrow tongue projecting,
And a house at point of headland,
And beyond, a hut for fishing.
Thereupon the house he entered,
In the room they did not know him. 180
"From what lake has come the stranger,
From what country is the wanderer?"
"Is your son then all forgotten,
Know you not your child, your offspring,
Who by Untamo's marauders,
With them to their home was carried,
Greater not than span of father,
Longer not than mother's spindle?"
Then his mother interrupted,
And exclaimed the aged woman, 190
"O my son, my son unhappy,
O my golden brooch so wretched,
Hast thou then, with eyes yet living,
Wandered through these countries hither,
When as dead I long had mourned thee,
Long had wept for thy destruction?
"I had two sons in the past days,
And two daughters of the fairest,
And among them two have vanished,
Two are lost among the elder, 200
First my son in furious battle,
Then my daughter, how I know not.
Though my son has reached the homestead,
Never has returned my daughter."
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
In his turn began to question.
"How then has your daughter vanished,
What has happened to my sister?"
Then his mother made him answer,
And she spoke the words which follow: 210
"Thus has disappeared my daughter,
Thus it happened to your sister.
To the wood she went for berries,
Sought for raspberries 'neath the mountain,
There it is the dove has vanished,
There it is the bird has perished,
Thus she died without our knowledge,
How she died we cannot tell you.
"Who is longing for the maiden?
Save her mother, no one missed her. 220
First her mother went to seek her,
And her mother sought, who missed her,
Forth I went, unhappy mother,
Forth I went to seek my daughter,
Through the wood like bear I hurried,
Speeding through the wastes like otter,
Thus I sought one day, a second,
Sought her also on the third day.
When the third day had passed over,
For a long time yet I wandered, 230
Till I reached a mighty mountain,
And a peak of all the highest,
Calling ever on my daughter,
Ever grieving for the lost one.
"'Where is now my dearest daughter?
O my daughter, come thou homeward!'
"Thus I shouted to my daughter,
Grieving ever for the lost one,
And the mountains made me answer,
And the heaths again re-echoed, 240
'Call no more upon thy daughter,
Call no more, and shout no longer,
Never will she come back living,
Nor return unto her household,
Never to her mother's dwelling,
To her aged father's boathouse.'"
RUNO XXXV.--KULLERVO AND HIS SISTER
_Argument_
Kullervo attempts to do different kinds of work for his parents, but
only succeeds in spoiling everything, so his father sends him to pay the
land-dues (1-68). On his way home he meets his sister who was lost
gathering berries, whom he drags into his sledge (69-188). Afterwards,
when his sister learns who he is, she throws herself into a torrent, but
Kullervo hurries home, relates his sister's terrible fate to his mother,
and proposes to put an end to his own life (189-344). His mother
dissuades him from suicide, and advises him to retire to some retreat
where he may be able to recover from his remorse. But Kullervo resolves
before all things to avenge himself on Untamo (345-372).
Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring,
With the very bluest stockings,
After this continued living,
In the shelter of his parents,
But he comprehended nothing,
Nor attained to manly wisdom,
For his rearing had been crooked,
And the child was rocked all wrongly,
By perversest foster-father,
And a foolish foster-mother. 10
Then to work the boy attempted,
Many things he tried his hand at,
And he went the fish to capture,
And to lay the largest drag-net,
And he spoke the words which follow,
Pondered as he grasped the oar:
"Shall I pull with all my efforts,
Row, exerting all my vigour;
Shall I row with common efforts,
Row no stronger than is needful?" 20