Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/46

34

And his face was full of trouble,

And his heart with care o’erladen.

Then his mother came to meet him,

As along the path he hurried,

As he past the fence was walking,

And his mother first bespoke him.

“O my son, my son, my youngest,

Thou the strongest of my children!

Why returnest thou so sadly,

Home from Pohjola’s dark regions?

Hast thou harmed thyself by drinking

At the drinking-bout of Pohja?

If the goblet made thee suffer,

Here a better one awaits thee,

Which thy father won in battle,

Which he fought for in the contest.”

Said the lively Lemminkainen,

“O my mother who hast borne me,

If the goblet made me suffer,

I would overcome the masters,

Overcome a hundred heroes,

And would face a thousand heroes.”

Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,

“Wherefore art thou then in trouble?

If the horse has overcome you,

Wherefore let the horse annoy you?

If the horse has overcome you,

You should buy yourself a better,

With your father’s lifelong savings,

Which the aged man provided.”

Said the lively Lemminkainen,

“O my mother who hast borne me,

If I quarrelled with the courser,

Or the foal had over-reached me,

I myself have shamed the masters,

Overcome the horses’ drivers,

Foals and drivers I have vanquished,

And the heroes with their coursers.”

Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,

“Wherefore art thou then in trouble,