Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/145

Runo XII]

Started quickly on his journey.

Rocked the sledge, the way grew shorter,

And the silver sand was scattered,

And the golden heather crackled.

Thus he drove one day, a second,

Drove upon the third day likewise,

And at length upon the third day

Came the hero to a village.

Then the lively Lemminkainen

Drove the rattling sledge straight onward

Forth along the furthest pathway,

To the furthest of the houses,

And he asked upon the threshold,

Speaking from behind the window:

“Is there some one in this household

Who can loose my horse’s harness,

And can sink the shaft-poles for me,

And can loose the horse’s collar?”

From the floor a child made answer,

And a boy from out the doorway:

“There is no one in this threshold,

Who can loose your horse’s harness,

Or can sink the shaft-poles for you,

Or can loose the horse’s collar.”

Little troubled Lemminkainen,

O’er the horse his whip he brandished,

With the beaded whip he smote him,

Drove the rattling sledge straight onward,

On the midmost of the pathways

To the midmost of the houses,

And he asked upon the threshold,

And beneath the eaves he shouted:

“Is there no one in this household

Who will hold the horse-reins for me,

And the chest-bands will unloosen,

That the foaming steed may rest him?”

From the stove a crone responded

From the stove-bench cried a gossip:

“There are plenty in this household

Who can hold the horse-reins for you,