Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/118

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Carried off smith Ilmarinen,

Hurried him to distant regions,

To the gloomy land of Pohja,

Sariola for ever misty.

Then the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,

Journeyed forth, and hurried onwards,

On the tempest forth he floated,

On the pathway of the breezes,

Over moon, and under sunray,

On the shoulders of the Great Bear,

Till he reached the halls of Pohja,

Baths of Sariola the gloomy,

Yet the tailed-dogs were not barking,

And the watch-dogs were not yelping.

Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress,

Old and gap-toothed dame of Pohja,

In the house she stood and listened,

And at length she spoke as follows:

“Who then are you among mortals,

Who among the roll of heroes,

On the tempest-path who comest,

On the sledgeway of the breezes,

Yet the dogs ran forth not, barking,

And the shaggy-tailed ones barked not.”

Said the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,

“Surely I have not come hither

That the village dogs should shame me,

Or the shaggy-tailed ones hurt me,

Here behind these foreign portals,

And behind these unknown fences.”

Then did Pohjola’s old Mistress

Question thus the new-come stranger:

“Have you ever on your travels,

Heard reports of, or encountered

Him, the great smith Ilmarinen,

Most accomplished of the craftsmen?

Long have we been waiting for him,

Long been anxious for his coming

Here to Pohjola’s dark regions,

That a Sampo he might forge us.”