Kalevala, The Land of the Heroes, Volume Two

Excerpt

Lemminkainen, greatly offended that he was not invited to the wedding, resolves to go to Pohjola, although his mother dissuades him from it, and warns him of the many dangers that he will have to encounter (1-382). He sets forth and succeeds in passing all the dangerous places by his skill in magic (383-776).

Ahti dwelt upon an island,
By the bay near Kauko's headland,
And his fields he tilled industrious,
And the fields he trenched with ploughing,
And his ears were of the finest,
And his hearing of the keenest.
Heard he shouting in the village,
From the lake came sounds of hammering,
On the ice the sound of footsteps,
On the heath a sledge was rattling,
Therefore in his mind he fancied,
In his brain the notion entered,
That at Pohjola was wedding,
And a drinking-bout in secret.
Mouth and head awry then twisting,
And his black beard all disordered,
In his rage the blood departed
From the cheeks of him unhappy,
And at once he left his ploughing,
'Mid the field he left the ploughshare,
On the spot his horse he mounted,
And he rode directly homeward,
To his dearest mother's dwelling,
To his dear and aged mother.
And he said as he approached her,
And he called, as he was coming,
"O my mother, aged woman,
Bring thou food, and bring it quickly,
That the hungry man may eat it,
And the moody man devour it,
While they warm the bathroom for me,
And the bathroom set in order,
That the man may wash and cleanse him,
And adorn him like a hero."
Then did Lemminkainen's mother,
Bring him food, and bring it quickly,
That the hungry man might eat it,
And the moody man devour it,
While they put the bath in order,
And arranged the bathroom for him.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Quickly ate the food she gave him,
Hurried then into the bathroom,
Hastened quickly to the bathroom,
There it was the finch now washed him,
There the bullfinch washed and cleansed him,
Washed his head to flaxen whiteness,
And his throat to shining whiteness.
From the bath the room he entered,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"O my mother, aged woman,
Seek the storehouse on the mountain,
Bring me thence my shirt, the fine one,
Likewise bring the finest clothing,
That I now may put it on me,
And may fitly clothe me in it."
But his mother asked him quickly,
Asked him thus, the aged woman,
"Whither goes my son, my dearest,
Dost thou go to hunt the lynxes,
Or to chase the elk on snowshoes,
Or perchance to shoot a squirrel?"
Answered lively Lemminkainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
"O my mother who hast borne me,
Not to hunt the lynx I wander,
Nor to chase the elk on snowshoes,
Neither go I squirrel shooting,
But I seek the feast at Pohja,
And the secret drinking-party,
Therefore fetch my shirt, the fine one,
Bring me, too, the finest clothing,
That I hasten to the wedding,
And may wander to the banquet."
But his mother would forbid him,
Vainly would his wife dissuade him,
Two, whose like were not created,
And three daughters of Creation,
Sought to hold back Lemminkainen
Back from Pohjola's great banquet.
To her son then said the mother,
And her child advised the old one,
"Do not go, my son my dearest,
O my dearest son, my Kauko,
Go not to the feast at Pohja,
To that mansion's drinking-party,
For indeed they did not ask you,
And 'tis plain they do not want you."
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Answered in the words which follow:
"Only bad men go for asking;
Uninvited good men dance there....