Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/220

200

To the smith came grievous trouble,

To the iron-worker sorrow.

From his grasp the tongs slid downward,

From his hand he dropped the hammer.

Said the smith, said Ilmarinen,

“Annikki, my little sister.

I will forge you now a shuttle,

Pretty rings to deck your fingers,

Golden earrings, two or three pairs,

Five or six linked girdles make you.

Warm for me the pleasant bathroom,

Fill the room with fragrant vapour,

Let the logs you burn be small ones,

And the fire with chips be kindled,

And prepare me too some ashes,

And some soap in haste provide me,

That I wash my head and cleanse it,

And I may make white my body

From the coal-dust of the autumn,

From the forge throughout the winter.”

Annikki, whose name was famous,

Heated secretly the bathroom,

With the boughs the wind had broken,

And the thunderbolt had shattered.

Stones she gathered from the river,

Heated them till they were ready,

Cheerfully she fetched the water,

From the holy well she brought it,

Broke some bath-whisks from the bushes,

Charming bath-whisks from the thickets,

And she warmed the honeyed bath-whisks,

On the honeyed stones she warmed them,

Then with milk she mixed the ashes,

And she made him soap of marrow,

And she worked the soap to lather,

Kneaded then the soap to lather,

That his head might cleanse the bridegroom,

And might cleanse himself completely.

Then the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,

He the great primeval craftsman,