Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/62

50

O’er the blue lake’s shining surface,

And across the open water.

On the beach there stood the sad ones,

On the shingles the unhappy,

And the island girls were weeping,

And the golden maids lamenting.

Wept for long the island-maidens,

Damsels on the cape lamented,

Long as they could see the masthead,

And the ironwork was gleaming,

But they wept not for the masthead,

Nor bewailed the iron fittings,

By the mast they wept the steersman,

He who wrought the iron fittings.

Lemminkainen too was weeping,

Long he wept, and long was saddened,

Long as he could see the island,

Or the outline of its mountains;

But he wept not for the island,

Nor lamented for the mountains,

But he wept the island-damsels,

For the mountain geese lamented.

Then the lively Lemminkainen

O’er the blue lake took his journey,

And he voyaged one day, a second,

And at length upon the third day

Rose a furious wind against him,

And the whole horizon thundered.

Rose a great wind from the north-west,

And a strong wind from the north-east,

Struck one side and then the other,

Thus the vessel overturning.

Then the lively Lemminkainen

Plunged his hands into the water,

Rowing forward with his fingers,

While his feet he used for steering.

Thus he swam by night and daytime

And with greatest skill he steered him,

And a little cloud perceived he,

In the west a cloud projecting,