Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/161

Runo XXXIX]

Thereupon smith Ilmarinen

Sat him down, and set to rowing;

Now moved on the wooden vessel,

Sped the boat and made good progress,

Far was heard the splash of oars,

Far the splashing of the rudder.

On he rowed, while splashed the water,

Cracked the seats, and shook the planking,

Clashed the mountain-ashwood oars,

Creaked like hazel-grouse the rudders,

And their tips like cry of blackcock.

Like a swan the prow clove onward,

Croaked the stern as croaks a raven,

Hissed the rowlocks just as geese hiss.

And the aged Väinämöinen

Steered the vessel quickly onward,

From the stern of the red vessel,

With the aid of the strong rudder,

Till they saw a cliff before them,

And perceived a wretched village.

On the cape was Ahti dwelling,

In its bend was Kauko living,

Weeping that the fish had failed him,

Weeping that the bread had failed him;

For the smallness of his storehouse,

Wept the scamp his wretched fortune.

At a boat’s planks he was working,

At a new boat’s keel was working,

On this hungry promontory,

And beside the wretched village.

Very keen was Ahti’s hearing,

But his sight was even keener;

As he gazed afar to north-west,

And to south his head was turning,

Suddenly he saw a rainbow,

And a single cloud beyond it;

What he saw was not a rainbow,

Nor a little cloud beyond it;

But a boat that speeded swiftly,

And a vessel rushing onward