Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/293

Runo XXIII]

“When you wander to the storehouse,

Thither go to fetch the flour,

Do not linger in the storehouse,

Do not long remain within it,

Lest thy father-in-law should fancy,

Or thy mother-in-law imagine,

You were doling out the flour,

Sharing with the village women.

“When you go to wash the dishes,

And the pots and pans to scour,

Wash the jugs and wash the handles,

And the rims of mugs for drinking,

Sides of cups with circumspection,

Handles of the spoons remembering.

Mind thou, too, the spoons and count them,

Look thou to the dishes also,

Lest the dogs should steal them from you,

Or the cats should take them from you,

Or the birds away should take them,

Or the children should upset them:

For the village swarms with children,

Many little heads thou findest,

Who might carry off the dishes,

And the spoons about might scatter.

“When the evening bath is wanted,

Fetch the water and the bath-whisks,

Have the bath-whisks warm and ready,

Fill thou full with steam the bathroom.

Do not take too long about it,

Do not loiter in the bathroom,

Lest thy father-in-law should fancy,

Or thy mother-in-law imagine,

You were lying on the bath-boards,

On the bench your head reclining.

“When the room again you enter,

Then announce the bath is ready:

‘O my father-in-law beloved,

Now the bath is fully ready:

Water brought, and likewise bath-whisks,

All the boards are cleanly scoured.

Rh