Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/72

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Growing insolent extremely,

And he now grew most terrific,

Then the ice on ice he loaded,

And the great Frost still was freezing,

And with ice he clothed the mountains,

Scattered snow to height of spear-shaft,

Froze the boat upon the water,

Ahti’s vessel on the billows;

Then he would have frozen Ahti,

And in ice his feet would fasten,

And he seized upon his fingers,

And beneath his toes attacked him.

Angry then was Lemminkainen,

Very angry and indignant,

Pushed the Frost into the fire,

Pushed him in an iron furnace.

With his hands the Frost then seized he,

Grasped him in his fists securely,

And he spoke the words which follow,

And in words like these expressed him:

“Pakkanen, Puhuri’s offspring,

Thou, the son of cold of winter,

Do not make my fingers frozen,

Nor my little toes thus stiffen.

Let my ears remain unhandled,

Do not freeze my head upon me.

“There’s enough that may be frozen,

Much is left you for your freezing,

Though the skins of men you freeze not,

Nor the forms of mother’s children.

Be the plains and marshes frozen,

Freeze the stones to frozen coldness,

Freeze the willows near the water,

Grasp the aspen till it murmurs,

Peel the bark from off the birch-tree,

And the pine-trees break to pieces,

But the men you shall not trouble,

Nor the hair of mother’s children.

“If this is not yet sufficient,

Other things remain for freezing.