Kalevala, The Land Of The Heroes Volume I Part 21

Then said Lemminkainen's mother, "This indeed is shameless lying, For no wolf would touch my offspring.

Not a bear touch Lemminkainen!

Wolves he'd crush between his fingers, Bears with naked hands would master.

If you will not truly tell me, How you treated Lemminkainen, 80 I the malthouse doors will shatter, Break the hinges of the Sampo."

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress, "I have fed the man profusely, And I gave him drink in plenty, Till he was most fully sated.

In a boat's prow then I placed him, That he thus should shoot the rapids, But I really cannot tell you What befel the wretched creature; 90 In the wildly foaming torrent, In the tumult of the whirlpool."

Then said Lemminkainen's mother, "This indeed is shameless lying.

Tell me now the truth exactly, Make an end of all your lying, Whither sent you Lemminkainen, Where has Kaleva's son perished?

Or most certain death awaits you, And you die upon the instant." 100

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress, "Now at length I'll tell you truly.

Forth to chase the elks I sent him, And to struggle with the monsters, And the mighty beasts to bridle, And to put the foals in harness.

Then I sent him forth swan-hunting, Seeking for the bird so sacred, But I really cannot tell you If misfortune came upon him, 110 Or what hindrance he encountered.

Nought I heard of his returning, For the bride that he demanded, When he came to woo my daughter."

Then the mother sought the strayed one, Dreading what mischance had happened, Like a wolf she tracked the marshes, Like a bear the wastes she traversed, Like an otter swam the waters, Badger-like the plains she traversed, 120 Pa.s.sed the headlands like a hedgehog, Like a hare along the lakesh.o.r.es, Pushed the rocks from out her pathway, From the slopes bent down the tree-trunks, Thrust the shrubs beside her pathway, From her track she cast the branches.

Long she vainly sought the strayed one, Long she sought, but found him never.

Of her son the trees she questioned, For the lost one ever seeking. 130 Said a tree, then sighed a pine-tree, And an oak made answer wisely: "I myself have also sorrows, For your son I cannot trouble, For my lot's indeed a hard one, And an evil day awaits me, For they split me into splinters, And they chop me into f.a.ggots, In the kiln that I may perish, Or they fell me in the clearing." 140

Long she vainly sought the strayed one, Long she sought, but found him never, And whene'er she crossed a pathway, Then she bowed herself before it.

"O thou path whom G.o.d created, Hast thou seen my son pa.s.s over; Hast thou seen my golden apple, Hast thou seen my staff of silver?"

But the path made answer wisely, And it spoke and gave her answer: 150 "I myself have also sorrows, For your son I cannot trouble, For my lot's indeed a hard one, And an evil day awaits me.

All the dogs go leaping o'er me, And the hors.e.m.e.n gallop o'er me, And the shoes walk heavy on me, And the heels press hardly on me."

Long she vainly sought the strayed one, Long she sought, but found him never. 160 Met the moon upon her pathway, And before the moon she bowed her.

"Golden moon, whom G.o.d created, Hast thou seen my son pa.s.s by you; Hast thou seen my golden apple, Hast thou seen my staff of silver?"

Then the moon whom G.o.d created, Made a full and prudent answer: "I myself have many sorrows, For your son I cannot trouble, 170 For my lot's indeed a hard one, And an evil day awaits me, Wandering lonely in the night-time, In the frost for ever shining, In the winter keeping vigil, But in time of summer waning."

Long she vainly sought the strayed one, Long she sought, but found him never, Met the sun upon her pathway, And before the sun she bowed her. 180

"O thou sun, whom G.o.d created, Hast thou seen my son pa.s.s by you, Hast thou seen my golden apple, Hast thou seen my staff of silver?"

And the sun knew all about it, And the sun made answer plainly: "There has gone your son unhappy, He has fallen and has perished, Down in Tuoni's murky river, Ma.n.a.la's primeval river, 190 There in the tremendous cataract, Where the torrent rushes downward, There on Tuonela's dark frontier, There in Ma.n.a.la's deep valleys."

Then did Lemminkainen's mother, Break out suddenly in weeping.

To the craftsman's forge she wended: "O thou smith, O Ilmarinen, Thou hast worked before, and yestreen.

On this very day O forge me, 200 Forge a rake with copper handle, Let the teeth of steel be fashioned, Teeth in length a hundred fathoms, And of fathoms five the handle."

Then the smith, e'en Ilmarinen, He the great primeval craftsman, Forged a rake with copper handle, And the teeth of steel he fashioned, Teeth in length a hundred fathoms, And of fathoms five the handle. 210

Then did Lemminkainen's mother Take the mighty rake of iron, And she rushed to Tuoni's river, To the sun her prayer addressing: "O thou sun whom G.o.d created, Brilliant work of the Creator!

Shine an hour with heat excessive, Shine again with sultry shimmering, And again with utmost vigour.

Lull to sleep the race of evil, 220 And in Ma.n.a.la the strong ones, Weary out the power of Tuoni!"

Then the sun whom G.o.d created, Shining work of the Creator, Stooped upon a crooked birch-tree, Sank upon a crooked alder, Shone an hour with heat excessive, Shone again with sultry shimmering, And again with utmost vigour, Lulled to sleep the race of evil, 230 And in Ma.n.a.la the strong ones.

Slept the young on sword-hilt resting, And the old folks staff-supported, And the spear-men middle-aged.

Then again he hastened upward, Sought again the heights of heaven, Sought again his former station, To his first abode soared upward.

Then did Lemminkainen's mother Take the mighty rake of iron, 240 And to seek her son was raking All amid the raging cataract, Through the fiercely rushing torrent, And she raked, yet found she nothing.

Then she went and sought him deeper, Ever deeper in the water, Stocking-deep into the water, Standing waist-deep in the water.

Thus she sought her son by raking All the length of Tuoni's river, 250 And she raked against the current, Once and twice she raked the river, And his shirt at length discovered, Found the shirt of him unhappy, And she raked again a third time, And she found his hat and stockings, Found his stockings, greatly sorrowing, Found his hat, with heart-wrung anguish.

Then she waded ever deeper, Down in Ma.n.a.la's abysses, 260 Raked once more along the river, Raked again across the river, And obliquely through the water, And at length upon the third time, Up she drew a lifeless carca.s.s, With the mighty rake of iron.

Yet it was no lifeless carca.s.s, But the lively Lemminkainen, He the handsome Kaukomieli, Sticking fast upon the rake-p.r.o.ngs, 270 Sticking by his nameless finger, And the toes upon his left foot.

Thus she fished up Lemminkainen, Kaleva's great offspring lifted, On the rake all shod with copper, To the light above the water.

Yet were many fragments wanting, Half his head, a hand was wanting, Many other little fragments, And his very life was wanting. 280

As his mother pondered o'er it, Thus she spoke while sorely weeping: "Can a man from this be fashioned, And a hero new created?"

But by chance a raven heard her, And he answered her in thiswise: "No man can from this be fashioned, Not from what you have discovered, For his eyes the powan's eaten, And the pike has cleft his shoulders. 290 Cast the man into the water, Back in Tuonela's deep river, Perhaps a cod may thence be fashioned, Or a whale from thence developed."

Lemminkainen's mother would not Cast her son into the water, But again began her raking, With the mighty rake of copper, All through Tuonela's deep river, First along it, then across it, 300 And his head and hand discovered, And the fragments of his backbone.

Then she found his ribs in pieces, Likewise many other fragments, And her son she pieced together, Shaped the lively Lemminkainen.

Then the flesh to flesh she fitted, And the bones together fitted, And the joints together jointed, And the veins she pressed together. 310

Then she bound the veins together, All their ends she knit together, And with care their threads she counted, And she spoke the words which follow: "Fairest G.o.ddess of the bloodveins, Suonetar, O fairest woman, Lovely weaver of the veinlets, Working with thy loom so slender, With the spindle all of copper, And the wheel composed of iron, 320 Come thou here, where thou art needed, Hasten hither, where I call thee, With a lapful of thy veinlets, And beneath thy arm a bundle, Thus to bind the veins together, And to knit their ends together, Where the wounds are gaping widely, And where gashes still are open.

"If this is not yet sufficient, In the air there sits a maiden, 330 In a boat adorned with copper, In a boat with stern of scarlet.

From the air descend, O maiden, Virgin from the midst of heaven, Row thy boat throughout the veinlets, Through the joints, both forth and backwards, Through the broken bones, O steer thou, And throughout the joints when broken.

"Bind the veins together firmly, Lay them in the right position, 340 End to end the larger bloodveins, And the arteries fit together, Duplicate the smaller bloodveins.

Join the ends of smallest veinlets.

"Take thou then thy finest needle, Thread it next with silken fibre, Sew thou with the finest needle, St.i.tch thou with thy tin-made needle, Sew the ends of veins together, Bind them with thy silken fibre. 350

"If this is not yet sufficient, Help me, Jumala, Eternal, Harness thou thy foal of swiftness, And equip thy mighty courser, In thy little sledge then drive thou Through the bones and joints, O drive thou, Through the flesh that all is mangled, Back and forth, throughout the veinlets, In the flesh the bone then fasten, Ends of veins knit firm together, 360 'Twixt the bones, O fix thou silver, Fix the veins with gold together.

"Where the skin is rent asunder, Let the skin be brought together; Where the veins have snapped asunder, Let the veins be knit together; Where through wounds the blood has issued, Let the blood again be flowing; Where the bones have broke to splinters, Let the bones be fixed together; 370 Where the flesh is torn asunder, Let the flesh be knit together, Fix it in the right position, In its right position fix it, Bone to bone and flesh to flesh fix, Joint to joint unite thou firmly."

Thus did Lemminkainen's mother Form the man, and shape the hero To his former life restore him, To the form he wore aforetime. 380

All the veins had now been counted, And their ends were knit together, But as yet the man was speechless, Nor the child to speak was able.

Then she spoke the words which follow, And expressed herself in thiswise: "Whence shall we obtain an ointment, Whence obtain the drops of honey That I may anoint the patient And that I may cure his weakness, 390 That the man his speech recovers, And again his songs is singing?

"O thou bee, thou bird of honey, King of all the woodland flowerets, Go thou forth to fetch me honey, Go thou forth to seek for honey, Back from Metsola's fair meadows, Tapiola, for ever cheerful, From the cup of many a flower.

And the plumes of gra.s.ses many, 400 As an ointment for the patient, And to quite restore the sick one."

Then the bee, the bird so active, Flew away upon his journey, Forth to Metsola's fair meadows, Tapiola, for ever cheerful, Probed the flowers upon the meadows, With his tongue he sucked the honey From the tips of six bright flowers, From the plumes of hundred gra.s.ses, 410 Then came buzzing loud and louder, Rushing on his homeward journey, With his wings all steeped in honey, And his plumage soaked with nectar.