Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/212

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“Much I’ve drunk, and much have eaten,

And consumed a thousand dainties,

But before I never swallowed

Aught like aged Väinämöinen.

Good indeed has been thy coming,

Better ’tis when thou departest.”

Then did Antero Vipunen open

Wide expanding gums grimacing,

Open wide his mouth gigantic,

And his jaws extended widely,

While the aged Väinämöinen

To his mouth made lengthened journey,

From the belly of the wise one,

From within his monstrous body.

From his mouth he glided swiftly,

O’er the heath he bounded swiftly,

Very like a golden squirrel,

Or a golden-breasted marten.

Further on his path he journeyed,

Till at length he reached the smithy.

Said the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,

“Have you found the words you wanted,

Have you learned the spells creative,

That the boat-sides you can fashion,

Spells to fix the stern together,

And the bows to deftly fashion?”

Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,

Answered in the words which follow:

“Spells a hundred have I gathered,

And a thousand spells of magic,

Secret spells were opened to me,

Hidden charms were all laid open.”

To his boat he hastened quickly,

And he set to work most wisely,

Set to work the boat to finish,

And he fixed the sides together,

And the stern he fixed together,

And the bows he deftly fashioned,

But the boat he built unhammered,

Nor a chip he severed from it.