Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/228

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To the courtyard fencing hasten,

Hurry quick across the courtyard,

And they gazed across the water,

To the south their heads then turning,

And they saw from thence approaching,

Swift a ship of novel fashion,

Of a hundred planks constructed,

Out upon the Bay of Lempi.

Underneath the boat looked bluish,

But the sails of crimson colour.

In the stern there sat a hero,

At the copper rudder’s handle,

And they saw a stallion trotting

With a red sledge strange of aspect,

And the gaudy sledge was speeding

On the shore of Sound of Sima,

And they saw six golden cuckoos,

Perching on the frame, and calling,

Seven blue birds were likewise perching

On the reins, and these were singing;

And a stalwart hero, sitting

In the sledge, the reins was holding.

Then said Pohjola’s old Mistress,

And she spoke the words which follow:

“Whom will you accept as husband,

If they really come to woo you,

As a life-companion woo you,

Dove-like in his arms to nestle?

“He who in the boat is sailing,

In the red boat fast approaching,

Out upon the Bay of Lempi,

Is the aged Väinämöinen.

In the boat he brings provisions,

And of treasures brings a cargo.

“He who in the sledge is driving,

In the gaudy sledge is speeding,

On the shore of Sound of Sima,

Is the smith named Ilmarinen.

He with empty hands is coming;

Filled his sledge with spells of magic.