Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/89

Runo VII]

If you send me to my country,

To the borders of my cornfields,

There to hear my cuckoo calling,

And my birds so sweetly singing.

Will you choose a gold-filled helmet,

Or a hat filled up with silver?”

Louhi, Pohjola’s old Mistress,

Answered in the words which follow:

"O thou wisest Väinämöinen,

Thou the oldest of the sages,

Golden gifts I do not ask for,

And I wish not for thy silver.

Gold is but a toy for children,

Silver bells adorn the horses,

But if you can forge a Sampo,

Weld its many-coloured cover,

From the tips of swan’s white wing-plumes,

From the milk of barren heifer,

From a single grain of barley,

From a single fleece of ewe’s wool,

Then will I my daughter give you,

Give the maiden as your guerdon,

And will bring you to your country,

There to hear the birds all singing,

There to hear your cuckoo calling,

On the borders of your cornfields.”

Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,

Answered in the words which follow:

“No, I cannot forge a Sampo,

Nor can weld its pictured cover.

Only bring me to my country,

And I’ll send you Ilmarinen,

Who shall forge a Sampo for you,

Weld its many-coloured cover.

He perchance may please the maiden,

Win your daughter’s young affections.

“He’s a smith without an equal,

None can wield the hammer like him,

For ’twas he who forged the heaven,

And who wrought the air’s foundations,