Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/167

Runo XL]

Here amid the open water;

What the force beneath that holds it,

Whether stopped by rocks or branches,

Or by any other hindrance.”

Then the lively Lemminkainen

Stooped him down to look about him,

And he looked beneath the vessel,

And he spoke the words which follow:

“Not on rock the boat is resting,

Not on boat, and not on branches,

But upon a pike’s broad shoulders,

And on water-dog’s great backbone.”

Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,

Answered in the words which follow:

“All things may be found in rivers,

Whether they are pikes or branches.

If we rest on pike’s broad shoulders,

And on water-dog’s great backbone,

Plunge your sword into the water,

Thus in twain the fish to sever.”

Then the lively Lemminkainen

Ruddy youth, accomplished rascal,

Drew his sword from out his sword-belt,

From his side the bone-destroyer,

In the lake his sword plunged deeply,

Thrust it underneath the vessel,

But he splashed into the water,

Plunged his hands into the billows.

Thereupon smith Ilmarinen

By the hair seized fast the hero,

Dragged from out the lake the hero,

And he spoke the words which follow:

“All pretend to grow to manhood,

And are ready to be bearded,

Such as these we count by hundreds,

And their number mounts to thousands.”

From his belt he drew his sword-blade,

From the sheath the keen-edged weapon,

And he struck the fish with fury,

Striking down beneath the vessel,