Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/199

Runo XVII]

Then at once did Väinämöinen,

Draw his sword and free the iron

From the scabbard formed of leather,

From his belt of lambskin fashioned;

Fell the poplar from his shoulders,

Fell the birch-trees from his temples,

From his chin the spreading alders,

From his beard the willow-bushes,

From his brow the firs with squirrels,

From his teeth the branching pine-trees.

Then he thrust his stake of iron

Into Vipunen’s mouth he thrust it,

In his gnashing gums he thrust it,

In his clashing jaws he thrust it,

And he spoke the words which follow:

“Rouse thyself, O slave of mortals,

Where beneath the earth thou restest,

In a sleep that long has lasted.”

Vipunen, in songs most famous,

Suddenly awoke from slumber,

Feeling he was roughly treated,

And with pain severe tormented.

Then he bit the stake of iron,

Bit the outer softer iron,

But the steel he could not sever,

Could not eat the inner iron.

Then the aged Väinämöinen,

Just above his mouth was standing,

And his right foot slipped beneath him,

And his left foot glided onward.

Into Vipunen’s mouth he stumbled,

And within his jaws he glided.

Vipunen, in songs most famous,

Opened then his mouth yet wider,

And his jaws he wide extended,

Gulped the well-beloved hero,

With a shout the hero swallowed,

Him the aged Väinämöinen.

Vipunen, in songs most famous,

Spoke the very words which follow: