 Chapter 16 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Finnish Legends by R. Ivend. Vajnamojenens boat building. Vajnamojenens started to build a boat from the rainbow maiden's distuff, but he had soon used up all his timber, and the boat was far from finished. So he asked Sampsa, the planter of the first trees that grew on earth, to go and search out the needful timber in order to finish the boat. Sampsa started off with a golden axe upon his shoulder and a copper hatchet in his belt. He wandered through the mountain forests, and at length came upon a great aspen, and was just going to cut it down when the aspen asked him what he wanted. I wished to take your timber for a vessel, Sampsa replied, that the vice magician Vajnamojenen is building. Then the aspen answered, all the boats that have been made of my wood have been but failures. They flowed but a little way, and then sink to the ocean's bottom, for my trunk is full of hollow places where the worms have eaten my wood. So Sampsa left the aspen and searched still further until he came to a pine tree that was even taller than the aspen was. Sampsa struck a blow with his axe, and at the same time asked the pine tree if it would furnish good timber for Vajnamojenen's boat. But the pine tree answered, all the ships that have been made from me are useless. I am full of imperfections for the ravens live among my branches and bring ill luck. And Sampsa was obliged to leave the pine tree and go on until he came to a trendimus oak tree, whose trunk was thicker than the height of even tallest men. And he asked the oak tree if it would furnish wood for Vajnamojenen's boat. I will gladly furnish the wood, replied the oak tree, for I am tall and sound and strong. Sampsa shines upon me for three months in the summer, and the sacred cuckoo dwells in my branches and brings good fortune. So Sampsa quickly felt the oak and brought the timber, skillfully hewn, to Vajnamojenen. The vice magician Vajnamojenen then began to put his boat together by the aid of magic spells. The first magic song that he sang joined the framework together, and the second song fashioned the blanking in the ribs, and the third put the rollocks in place and made the oars. But alas! When all this was done, there were still three magic words needed to complete the stem and stern and bulwarks. Vajnamojenen saw that all his labor was in vain, unless he found the three magic words, for unless the stern and stem were fastened and the bulwarks built, the boat could never put to sea. He pondered long over where he might find the lost words and after a while he concluded that they might be found in the brains of swallows and the heads of swans and the plummage of the sea duck. But though he killed great numbers of these birds he could not find the three lost words. Then he thought that he might find them in the tongues of reindeer or of the squirrels. But though he killed great numbers of them and found many words on their tongues the three lost words were not there. Then he said to himself, I will seek the lost words in the kingdom of Manala. There are countless words to be found there in the deathland. So off he went, traveling for three weeks over hill and dale through marshes and thickets until at length he came to the river of Tuoni. There he called out in a voice like thunder, bring a boat or daughter of Tuoni and ferry me over this black and fatal river. Tuoni's daughter, a wee little dwarf but very wise and ancient, gave him first say while he was still alive. And first Vajnamunen answered that Tuoni himself the death god had sent him. But the maid replied, Had Tuoni brought thee, he would now be with thee and though would be wearing his cap and gloves. So Vajnamunen answered again, I was lain by an iron weapon. But the maid would not believe him because he had no bleeding wound. Then he said the third time that he had been washed there by the river. But still the maid would not believe him for his clothing was not wet. And the fourth time he said that fire had burnt him. But the maid replied, If the fire had brought thee to Manala thy hair and eyebrows and beard would all be signed and burnt. But now I ask thee for the last time what it is that hath brought thee living hither. Tell me the truth this time. Then Vajnamunen told her that he had been building a boat by magic but that he yet lacked one spell and had come thither to seek it. When he had said this, Tuoni's daughter came across and rode him to the opposite side having first tried to dissuade him from coming. But Vajnamunen was not afraid and when he had landed he walked straight up to the abode of Tuoni. There Tuonatar, Tuoni's wife gave him a golden goblet filled with beer saying Drink Tuoni's beer, o wise and ancient Vajnamunen. But he carefully inspected the liqueur before he tasted it and saw that it was black and full of the spawn of frogs and poisonous serpent broods. And he said to Tuonatar I have not come hither to drink Tuoni's poisons for they that do so will surely be destroyed. Tuonatar then asked him why he had come and he told her of his boat building and how he still needed the three magic words and that he hoped to find them there. Tuoni will never reveal them, Tuonatar said nor shall thou ever leave these gates alive. And as she spoke she waked the slumber wand over Vajnamunen's head and he sank into a deep sleep. And to make sure of his not escaping Tuoni's son, a hideous wizard with only three fingers wove nets of iron and of copper and set them all through the river to catch Vajnamunen if by any chance he should get so far. But Vajnamunen soon freed himself from Tuonatar's slumber spell and knowing in how great danger he was he instantly transformed himself into a serpent and wriggled his way to the river and through the nets that had been set to catch him until at length he came out safe into the land of the living again. And the next morning when Tuonatar's wizard son went to look at his nets he found all kinds of evil fish and serpents but not the wise old magician but Vajnamunen prayed to Ukko I thank thee, O Ukko, that thou hast protected me but never suffer any other of thy heroes not even the wisest to go against the laws of nature to the awful Tuonella for there are but few who return from thence and then Vajnamunen called together the people on the plains of Kalevala and spoke to the young men and maidens saying Listen, all young people never disobey your parents never harm the innocent nor wrong the weak nor utter falsehood else ye will pay the penance for it in the gloomy prison of Manawa for there is the dwelling place of the wicked and a place for the guilty Beneath the burning rocks there are fire couches with pillows of hissing serpents and coverlets of green breathing vipers and the wicked there drink the blood of others but have nothing to eat at all if ye would be happy shun this abode of the wicked ones in Tuonella but I thought Vajnamunen wasn't to use any wood for his boat except the pieces of the distuff, said Mimi Well, you see, said Father Mikko the main thing was to build the boat by magic and we'll see now how he did that I don't believe a little extra wood made any difference so he went on End of Vajnamunen's boat building Chapter 17 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Finnish Legends by R.Ivind Vajnamunen finds the lost words Vajnamunen had failed to find the three magic words in the Deathland and now he sat and pondered whether he should go next to seek them While he was thinking over this a shepherd came to him and said The accounts find a thousand words of wisdom on the tongue of the dead hero Vipunen I know the road that leads to his grave First, thou must journey a long distance over the points of needles and then a long way up on the edges of sharp swords and then a third road on the edges of hatchets Then Vajnamunen considered how he should be able to walk over the needles and swords and hatchets and at last hit on a plan He went to the smith Ilmarinen and bade him make shoes of iron and gloves of kappa and a magic staff of the strongest metal as he was going to seek the lost words from the wise Vipunen Ilmarinen made him the shoes and gloves and staff but said The wise magician Vipunen died long ages ago He surely cannot tell thee the magic words Still Vajnamunen was not disheartened but began his journey The first day he hurried along over the points of needles and all the second day over the sword edges and on the evening of the third day he had come across the edges of the hatchets and reached the spot where Vipunen lay buried From Vipunen's shoulders grew great aspen On each temple grew a birch tree on his mighty chin and alder from his beard grew villows from his mouth a fir tree and an oak up on his forehead Then Vajnamunen drew his magic hatchet from its leather seeith and cut down all the trees that were growing over Vipunen and then he took his magic staff and trusted between Vipunen's teeth and pried open his mouth and as he did so he sang the spell to bring Vipunen's spirit back from the death land to Onella and when the spell was sung Vipunen felt the pain of the staff within his mouth and bit it so hard that he cut clear through the iron outside but the censor was off steel too hard even for Vipunen's teeth so he opened his mouth wide in anguish and as he did so Vajnamunen slipped and fell head along armor and all right down his throat and Vipunen said as he swallowed him I have eaten sheep and reindeer, bears and oxen but I have never tasted a sweeter morsel than this But now Vajnamunen was sorely perplexed to know what he should do After pondering over the matter he took a dagger that he wore and from the wooden handle he built a boat by the aid of magic spells and began to row all through the old magician's body through every single vein and vessel but Vipunen scarcely felt it and paid no attention to him Then Vajnamunen thought again and taking off his armor he made it into a forge with bellows and all complete and used his knees for an anvil and his arm for hammer and started to work For three days he worked away inside the magician's body until the bellows blew a perfect whirlwind and the anvil rang like thunder At length old Vipunen could burn it no longer and cried out What great magician art though for I have eaten many men and heroes and never such in one as thou for the smoke is pouring from my nostrils and the fire streams from my mouth and my throat is full of iron clinkers Go and leave me, wretched torturer Why has thou come hither to hurt me art though a trial sent by mighty Ukko for if so I will be resigned but if thou art of some human race I will search out thy tribe and destroy it Leave my body, cease thy forging let me rest in peace and slumber or if thou wilt not leave me I will call on all the great magicians of the past the spirits of the mountains and woods and seas and rivers On Ilmatar, daughter of the eater to assist me or if this be not sufficient I will call on mighty Ukko drive thee forth if thou art from the winds then return to the copper mountains where they live if from the sea return to it if from the forests then return to them or I will drive thee to the bottom of the cold black river of Tuoni whenth thou shalt never move again I'm well contented here, said Vainamöinen in these room caverns I can eat thy heart and flesh and for drink I will take thy blood and I will set my forge still deeper in thy vitals and will swing my hammer still harder on thy heart and lungs and liver I shall never leave thee until I learn all thy wisdom and the three lost words that all thy magic knowledge may not perish with thee from the earth then Vipuren began to sing all his knowledge and his magic spells for Vainamöinen he sang the origin of witchcraft and the source of good and evil and how by the will of Ukko the water was first divided from the ether and next he sang of how the moon and sun were made and whence the colors of the rainbow came and how the stars were sprinkled in the sky three whole days and nights he sang until the stars and the moon stood still to listen and the very waves of the sea and the tides ceased to rise and fall and the rivers stopped in their courses at length Vainamöinen had learned all the wisdom of the great magician and the three lost words and he made ready to leave Vipuren's body bidding him open wide his mouth that he might get out and leave him forever I have eaten many things, oh Vainamöinen, said Vipuren bears and reindeer and wolves and oxen but never such a thing as thou now thou hast found the wisdom that thou seekest go in peace and never come back to me then he opened his mouth wide and Vainamöinen glided forth and hastened swiftly as the deer to Kalevala first he went in the smithy and Ilmarinen asked him if he had learned the lost words that would enable him to finish his vessel I have learned a thousand magic words answered Vainamöinen and among them are the lost words that I sought thereupon he hastened off to where his vessel lay and with the three lost words he joined the stem and stern and raised the bulwarks thus he had built the vessel with magic alone and by magic art he launched it too not touching it with foot or knee or hand using only magic to push it thus was the task completed which should gain for him the rainbow maiden in her beauty oh, do hurry and tell us about that said Mimi and father Miko continued end of Vainamöinen finds the lost words Chapter 18 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sonja Finnish Legends by R. Avin Chapter 18 The Rival Suiters Now the rainbow maiden was really the same as old Lohi's fairest daughter whom Vainamöinen had wooed and for whom Ilmarinen had made the magic Sampo and Vainamöinen had learnt this so when the magic boat was finished he made ready for a journey to the Northland to try once more to win the faire pojola maiden for his bride he ornamented the magic vessel with gold and silver and painted it scarlet and on the mass he set sails of linen red, white and blue then he stepped on board and called on Ukko to protect and help him and on the winds to aid him on his way and off the magic boat flew towards pojola never needing an oar to help it Aniki, Ilmarinen's sister was down by the seashore just at dawn that morning and as she gazed out over the sea she saw a blue speck in the distance at first she thought it was a flock of birds and then, as it drew nearer it looked like a great tree floating on the water but at last she saw that it was a vessel with but one man in it and when it came still nearer she recognized Vainamöinen she called out to him and asked him whether he was going he replied that he was come fishing but Aniki said thy boat is not rigged like a fisher boat nor has thou lines on nets with thee tell me the truth, oh Vainamöinen and he answered the second time that he had come to kill wild geese and ducks but Aniki told him that she knew that was untrue for he had no hunting dogs in the vessel with him nor any weapons then he told her that he was sailing to the wars Aniki replied my father often used to sail to war but in a ship with many rowers and with many armed heroes on board but thy vessel is surely not fitted for battle now tell me the truth, oh wise Vainamöinen or else I will send a storm wind after thee and break thy ship in pieces then he told her the truth that he was going to who the rainbow maiden Lohi's daughter and then Aniki knew that he spoke the truth she hurried off to her brother Smiddy and said to him dearest brother if thou wilt forge for me a silver loom and gold and silver finger rings and earrings golden girdles and golden ornaments for my hair I will tell thee something that is very important for thee to know so Ilmarinen promised and his sister said oh Ilmarinen if thou hopeest ever to wed the fair maid of Pohiola thou must hasten and make thy sledge ready for Vainamöinen is now sailing thither in a magic boat to win her before thee then Ilmarinen made his sister prepare a magic soap and make a bath ready for him while he was forging the golden silver ornaments that she had bargained for when Ilmarinen had finished his work he found the bath and the magic soap all ready for him and he began to wash off the grime and dirt and soot of the Smiddy when he was through and came out of the bath he had grown wonderfully bright and handsome for the magic soap had made his cheeks rosy and his eyes bright as moonlight then he put on his finest garments soft linen and silken stockings a blue vest and scarlet trousers and a fur coat of seal skin held by buttons made of jewels and a belt with golden buckles after he was dressed he ordered his magic sledge to be harnessed and on the front placed six cacus and seven bluebirds that they might sing and charm the Northland maiden when all was ready Ilmarinen prayed to great Ukot to send snow that it might cover all the country and let his sledge glide easily to Pohiola and the snow came and Ilmarinen wrapped himself up warmly in bearskins and drove off like the wind first invoking Ukot's blessing on his journey on he went over hill and dale with the cacus and bluebirds singing on the sledge and then he drove along the seashore to the North in a cloud of snow and sand and mist and sea foam looking out for Weynarmoinen's vessel on the evening of the third day he called up with Weynarmoinen and called out to him oh ancient Weynarmoinen let us woo the maiden peacefully and let her choose which one of us she will to this Weynarmoinen agreed and having promised not to use the seed of any sword against one another they hurried on their way Weynarmoinen calling up the south wind to help him and Ilmarinen's steed shaking the hills of Northland as he galloped on soon they drew near to Lohi's dwelling and the watchdogs began to bark more loudly than they had ever done before Lohi's husband told his daughter to go and see what the trouble was but she replied that she was busy grinding barley and could not go then he told his wife to go but she was too busy cooking dinner so the father grew angry and said women are always busy either baking or sleeping go my son and learn what all the trouble is but the son refused because he was busy splitting wood so at last Lohi's husband was obliged to go himself for the dogs kept barking louder and louder there as soon as he had reached the gate he saw a scarlet colored ship sailing into the bay and a sledge driving up along the shore at full speed then he hastened back into the house and told them all that he had seen and Lohi took a branch and gave it to her daughter saying place this on the fire my daughter and if in burning it drips blood then these strangers bring war and bloodshed but if clear water then they come in peace so the maiden put the branch on the fire and as they watched it they saw honey trickling out and from this Lohi knew that the two men were coming as suitors then they hastened out into the courtyard and saw the vessel in the harbour painted scarlet and an ancient white-bearded magician at the helm and on the land they saw a brightly colored sledge with cocoons and bluebirds singing on the front and driven by a young and handsome hero Lohi immediately recognized them both and said to her daughter will thou have one of these suitors, dearest daughter he that comes in the ship is good old Vajnamoinen bringing countless treasures for thee from Kalevala the other in the sledge with the singing birds is the blacksmith Ilmarinen who brings no presents save himself when they come into the house bring a pitcher of honey-drink and give it to the one that thou wilt follow give it to old Vajnamoinen for he brings thee countless treasures but the daughter replied I will never marry a man for riches but for his real worth mothers did not use to sell their daughter's dust in the olden times to suitors whom they did not love I shall choose Ilmarinen for his true worth and wisdom old Lohi grew angry at this and tried to change her daughter's mind but all she could say did not move her and just then Vajnamoinen came to the house and addressed the maiden thus come with me, o lovely maiden be my bride and honoured wife and share my joys and sorrows with me the maiden answered has thou built the magic vessel using neither hand nor foot to touch it I have built it and brought it hither answered Vajnamoinen it is finally made by magic and will live in the worst of storms nothing can ever sink it but then the maiden said to him I will not wear the husband born in the sea storms would bring us trouble and the winds wreck our hearts I cannot go with thee cannot marry thee, o Vajnamoinen Chapter 19 Ilmarinen's wooing Just as Vajnamoinen had received his answer Ilmarinen came hurrying into the house and into the guest-room their servants brought him honey-drink in silver-pitchers but he said I will never taste the drink of Northland till I see the rainbow maiden with her I will gladly drink for I have come hither to seek her hand then Lohi said to him the maiden is not ready to receive thee and thou may not woo her before thou hast ploughed the field of hissing serpents once the evil spirit Lampo ploughed it but it has never been done since Ilmarinen wondered off sadly but while he was pondering over what he should do he saw the lovely maid herself he went up to her and said long ago I forged a sample for thee and then thou promised to become my wife but now thy mother demands that I first ploughed the field of serpents before I windy but the maiden comforted him and told him how to plough the field with a plough of gold and silver and copper so Ilmarinen went off and built a smithy and placed in the furnace gold and silver and copper and iron from these he forged a plough with plough share of gold and beam of silver and copper handles and for himself he made boots and gloves and armor of iron and as he worked he sang magic spells to give his work power to overcome the serpents then he harnessed to the plough the fire-breathing hissy horse and went into the field there were serpents of every sort creeping and crawling over one another and hissing horribly but Ilmarinen cast a spell over them and ploughed the field so that all the snakes were buried in the furrows and then he went to Lohi and claimed her daughter's hand but Lohi refused to let him have her daughter until he should catch the great bear of Manala and bring him to her so he went off to the maid again and told her what old Lohi had demanded of him the lovely maiden instructed him how to prepare a muzzle for the bear forging it of steel on a rock beneath the water at a spot where three currents met together and the straps were to be of steel and copper mixed and Ilmarinen made a muzzle as she had directed and set off for Manala the dismal deathland as he went he prayed to the goddess of the mists to send a fog where the great bear of Manala was so that he might not see Ilmarinen as he approached and the goddess sent the fog Ilmarinen was able to creep up to the bear and throw the magic muzzle over his head and then to lead him to Lohi without any trouble when he had brought the bear to her he asked her again for her lovely daughter's hand but Lohi said to him thou must perform one more task still and then when that is done thou shalt have my dear daughter catch for me the monster pike that lives in the river of Tuoni but thou may not use hook nor line nor nets nor boat hundreds have been sent to catch it but all have died in Tuoni's dark waters and now Ilmarinen was deeply discouraged and went off to tell the maiden of this third task which he thought it was impossible to do but she told him to forge an eagle in his magic furnace and that the eagle would catch the monster pike for him so Ilmarinen went to work and forged an eagle in his smithy talons of iron, beak of steel and copper and when the eagle was entirely made from iron and copper he mounted on its speck and bade it fly away to the river of Tuoni there to catch the monster pike when they had reached the bank Ilmarinen dismounted and began to search for the pike while the eagle hovered over the water while Ilmarinen was searching a huge monster rose from the depth and tried to seize him but the eagles whooped down and with one bite of his mighty beak wrenched off the monster's head still Ilmarinen continued his search until at last the monster pike itself rose up to seize him but as it came to the surface the giant eagles whooped down upon it and buried its talons in the pike's flesh then the fish, maddened with the pain rushed down to the deepest caverns dragging the eagle with it until the bird had to lose its hold and saw aloft again a second time the eagles whooped down and struck deep into the pike's shoulders but the pike dived to the bottom again and escaped at last the eagle made a third descent and this time grasped the pike firmly with his beak of steel and planted his talons firmly on the rocks and this time he succeeded in dragging the pike from out the river then the eagle flew off with the pike to the top of a tall pine tree and there ate the body of his victim leaving the head for Ilmarinen but the eagle himself sought up into the air up beyond the clouds and at length disappeared behind the sun Ilmarinen returned to Lohi with the pike's head and again claimed her daughter in marriage Lohi answered him Thou hast performed this last task but badly since Thou only brought me the worthless head but still since Thou hast completed the other tasks also I will give thee my fair daughter Thou hast won the maid of beauty to be the help and joy of all thy future life but while Ilmarinen was rejoicing in his good fortune the aged Vynamoinen wandered sorrowfully homewards bewailing his sad lot thus to be compelled to live without a wife to cheer his home Woe is me, he sang that I did not woo and marry in my youth for the old men cannot hope to conquer the young ones when they go awooing When this story was ended father Mikko stopped a while to rest and the others discussed the stories that he had just told all were pleased that the rainbow maiden had chosen Ilmarinen instead of the aged Vynamoinen and little Antero asked Papa Mikko what they had had to eat at the wedding he was rather more deeply interested in things to eat than anything else so father Mikko continued after he had rested a while End of Chapter 19 Chapter 20 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sonja Finnish Legends by R. Avin Chapter 20 The Brewing of Beer Great preparations were now made in Lohi's home for her daughter's wedding with Ilmarinen In distant Kajala, a part of Kalevala was a great ox the largest in the world He took a weasel seven days to travel round his neck and shoulders The swallow had to fly a whole day without resting to get from one horn tip to the other The squirrel travelled thirty days starting from the tail before he reached the shoulders This great ox was led by a thousand heroes to Poyola, to Lohi's house but when he had come dither no one could be found to kill him Then there came an aged hero from Kajala and went up to the ox to kill him with his war-club but the ox turned and gave him one fierce glance and the old warrior dropped his club and ran away and hid in the forest Then they sent forth far and near to find someone to kill the ox but no one came At last there arose from the sea a tiny dwarf who when he stepped on land grew suddenly into a giant with hands of iron, a copper-coloured face a head of flint upon his head and sandstone shoes upon his feet As soon as the sea spirit saw the ox he rushed at it and killed it with one blow of his golden sword Thus was the meat provided for the feast The banquet hall was so large that when a dog barked at one door no one could hear him at the opposite side and when a cock crowed on the roof no one on the ground could hear him Lohi went in thither to see that all was being put in readiness but while she was there she said aloud as if to herself Whence will I get the liquor for my guests for I know nothing of the secret of beer-brewing An old man was sitting beside the fire and he answered her Beer comes from barley, hops and water The seed of the hops was scattered loosely over the earth and from them arose the graceful hop-vine climbing over everything The barley was planted in the land of Kalevala and it grew and flourished there Then the hops clinging to the trees began to hum and the barley and the water in the wells to sing saying let us join our forces together that we may live united for that is far better than to be separated as now we are So the ancient maiden Osmotar took six golden grains of barley, seven hops and seven cups of water and set them in a cauldron on the fire There she let them steep and boil during the warm summer days and at length poured off the liquor into tubs made of birchwood Now she pondered long how she should make the liquor ferment and cause it to foam and sparkle Then Osmotar called one of the Kalevala maidens and baited her step into the birch and tub The maiden did so and on looking around she saw a splinter of wood lying on the bottom She picked it up thinking it was worthless but nevertheless she took it to Osmotar Osmotar rubbed her hands upon her knees and turned a bit of wood into a white squirrel As soon as she had made the squirrel she sent it off to Tapio's kingdom to the Great Forest and commanded it to bring her cones from the magic fir trees and young shoots from the magic pines and the squirrel hurried off and travelled through the forest until it came to Tapio's home There it found three magic pine trees growing and three fir trees beside them and having taken the young shoots and the cones and stowed them in its pouch it came back again to Osmotar But when she put the cones and the pine shoots into the beer it still refused to ferment So Osmotar made the Kalevala maiden get into the birch and tub once more and this time the maiden found a chip upon the bottom When she took it to Osmotar the letter rubbed her hands upon her knees again and turned the chip into a magic golden breasted martin Then she sent the martin off to the dens of the mountain bears to gather the foam from their angry lips as they fought with one another The martin flew away and soon returned with the foam that it had gathered from the mouth of the raging bears But when Osmotar edited it to the liquor there was no effect and the beer remained as still as ever For a third time then the maid of Kalevala stepped into the tub and this time found a pod on the bottom Osmotar took the pod and rubbed it between her hands and knees and there flew out of it a honey bee She sent the bee off to the islands of the sea telling it to go to a meadow there where a maiden lay asleep and growing by the maiden's side there were honey grasses and fragrant flowers From these the bee was to collect the honey and bring it back The bee flew off straight over the ocean and on the evening of the third day reached the isles of the sea where it found the maiden fast asleep among the flowers clad in a silver robe with a girdle of copper By her grew the loveliest and sweetest flowers and grasses and the bee loaded itself down with the honey and returned to Osmotar with it This time when the honey was placed in the beer it began to ferment and rise and bubble and foam until it filled all the tubs and ran over on the sands When the beer was ready all the heroes of Kalevala came to drink it and Lemminkine drank so much that he became intoxicated But Osmotar, now that she had made the beer did not know how to keep it for it was still running out of the tubs and over everything While she was sitting and grieving over this the robins sank to her from an aspen and told her to put it into strong, open barrels bound with copper hoops and thus the last difficulty was overcome Thus was the first beer brewed from Hobbes and Barley, continued the old man, and the beer of Kalevala is famed to strengthen the feeble to cheer the sad to make the old young and the timid brave It makes the heart joyful and puts wise sayings on the tongue but the fool it makes still more foolish Thus the old man ended his account of the origin of beer and Lowy, who had listened to him carefully, took all the tubs she had and put Hobbes and Barley in them and water on top and then lit huge fires to heat stones that she might drop them in the mixture and make it boil She made such a great quantity of beer that the springs were emptied and the forest grew small and such a vast column of smoke went up as filled half of Poyola and was seen even in distant Karjala and Lemminkainen's home and all the people there thought it arose from some mighty battle between great heroes but Lemminkainen pondered over it and at last he found out that it was the fires for Lowy's beer making for the wedding feast and he grew bitterly angry for Lowy had refused him her daughter's hand and now had given her to Ilmarinen but now the beer was ready and was stored away in casks whooped with copper and thousands of delicate dishes were made ready for the feast but when all was nearly ready the beer began to grow impatient in its casks and cried out for the guests to come that songs might be sung in its honor so Lowy sent first for a pike salmon to sing its praises but they could not do it next she sent for a boy but the boy was too ignorant to sing the praises of the beer and all this time the beer was calling out more and more loudly from its prison then Lowy determined to invite the guests at once lest the beer should break forth from the casks so she called one of her servants and said to her go my trusted servant and called together all the Poyola people go out into the highways too and bring in all the poor and blind and cripples the old and the young that they may be merry at my daughter's wedding and ask all the people of Kajala and the ancient Vajnamoinen but be sure thou dost not invite while Lemminkainen at this the servant asked why she was not to ask Lemminkainen and Lowy answered Lemminkainen must not come for he loves war and strife and then sorrow to our feast and scoff at our maidens and the servant having learned from Lowy how he should recognize Lemminkainen set off and invited rich and poor, old and young the deaf, the blind and the cripples in all Poyola and Kajala but did not ask Lemminkainen End of chapter 20 Chapter 21 of Finnish Legends This is a Libri Fox recording in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Foe Finnish Legends by R. Elvind Elmarinen's Wedding Feast At length the guest began to arrive and Elmarinen came escorted by hundreds of his friends driving a cold black steed and with the same bird singing on his sledge as when he came to Wu the Rainbow Maiden Lowy's fairest daughter When he alighted from his sledge Lowy sent her best servants to take the steed and give him the very best of food in a manger of pure gold but as Elmarinen advanced to enter the house they found that he was too tall to pass through the doorway without stooping which would have been very unlucky so Lowy had to have the top beam taken away before he could enter Inside the dwelling was so changed that no one would have recognized it Lowy had cast a magic spell over it and all the beams and door and window sails were made from bones that leaned like ivory the windows were adorned with trout scales and the fires were set in flowers and the seats and tables and floors were of gold and silver and copper with marble heart stones and silken carpets on the floors Lowy bathed Elmarinen welcome when he came into the guest hall and calling a perservant maidens she gazed at her daughter's suitor The maidens bore waxed tapers and by their light the bright groom looked handsomer than ever and his eyes sparkled like the waves of the sea Then Lowy bathed the maidens lead Elmarinen to the seat of honor at the table in the great hall and then all the other guests took their places and the feast began First of all the daintiest dishes of every sort were served by Lowy to the bright groom honey, biscuits, river salmon butter, bacon and every delicacy one can think of and after he was served the servants took the dishes around to the others After this the foaming beer was brought in silver pictures and all were served in the same order All the heroes and magicians assembled there began to grow merry and Weynemoynen said that someone should sing the praises of the beer but no one else could be found to do it and all pressed Weynemoynen to sing so at last he arose and began He sang of the beer first and then from his great stock of wisdom he sang them one song after the other of the days of old until every guest grew happy from his magic power of song When Weynemoynen had finished his singing he added yet I am but a poor singer for if great Akko should sing his perfect songs of wisdom he would sing the oceans into honey and the sands to berries and the pebbles into barley the rivers into beer, the fruit to gold and the mountains into bread Grant I blessing great Akko upon this feast of ours so enjoy in health and comfort to all those here that we may ever look back with pleasure till in Marilyn's marriage with the fair maiden of the rainbow Thus Weynemoynen the great singer ended his singing and the time had come for the bride and bridegroom to leave for their distant home in Kalevala but first must Osmotar the wise maiden instruct to bride as to her future life Osmotar told her that she must henceforth be thoughtful and not foolish and she must love her husband's kinsfolk as their own Osmotar told her too never to be idle and then instructed her in all the many household duties of the wives of Kalevala but at the same time impressed it upon her how wicked she would be if with all this she were to forget her own parents after this Osmotar turned to the bridegroom and made him ever love his bride and honour her not ever treat her ill Thus she advised them both and they made ready to leave but the maiden of the rainbow wept because she was leaving all the joys and pleasures of her youth and though she loved to go to a distant land new and strange and perhaps too hard for her Yet at length all the farewells had been said the last goodbye was spoken and the two got into their sludge in the next instant the swift black steed flew off like an arrow rushing on toward the land of Kalevala leaving far behind them the gloomy Northland which was yet so dear to the rainbow maiden and which she was never to see again Three days they journeyed onward over hill and valley without stopping and the third evening they found them in sight of Ilmarin and Smithy and they could see the smoke rising from the chimneys of their home There they found that they had been expected for a long time and there was great rejoicing when their sledge drove up with the birds singing merrily on its front and all bright and happy Lako, Ilmarin's mother received him at the door and welcomed the fair rainbow maiden most heartily and when the bridal pair had taken off their furs she served him with the very best of food and drink twice as bits of rain year, wheat and biscuit honey cakes and fish of all sorts and the best of beer and while they ate the others who had been old Luhi's guests began to arrive and soon there was a great feast going on almost as great one as there had been before at Luhi's while they were all feasting Vainamoyan arose and began to sing again this time he sang the praises of the bridegroom's father and mother in the bridegroom and ended up with praising the guests that were assembled there then he and many of the guests took their leave and journeyed off together to their homes three days they drove on together and Vainamoyan kept on singing all the time until suddenly his song was cut short for his sledge ran into a birch tree and was broken into pieces but Vainamoyan considered the case and then said is there anyone here who will go to Tuonula to the Deathland for the auger of Tuoni that I may mend my sledge with it but no one would venture on so perilous a journey so at length Vainamoyan went himself and obtained Tuonula's magic auger and with its aid on his return he put together his magic sledge again then he harnessed up his steed once more and galloped off to his home thus ended Ilmarinan's wedding and the feasts that followed it these two stories took Antero's fancy and he begged that Papa Miko would tell about some more times when they had good things to eat but father Miko said people can't be eating all the time Antero I think the others would rather hear about what Lemon Kainan did when he heard of the feast and was not invited himself Mimik write yes yes and so the old man began end of chapter 21 Ilmarinan's wedding feast recording by phone chapter 22 of finish legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by phone finish legends by R. Ivan the origin of the serpent as Lemon Kainan was plowing his fields one day he heard the noise of sledges as if a vast number of people were on their way past at once he guessed the reason for they were the guests going to Ilmarinan's wedding while he alone had not been invited then his face turned pale with anger and he left his plowing and hastened off to his house when he arrived there he asked his mother to give him a hearty meal and after that he went to the bath house and after the bath put on his finest garments as if going to a feast his mother asked him where he was going and he told her that he was bound for the great feast that Louis had prepared but his mother tried to keep him from going telling him that they did not want him there or else they would have invited him but he answered this sword with its sharp edges constantly reminds me that I am needed in distant old Jola his mother spoke again saying do not go my dear son for a death will meet thee thrice upon the way Lemenkainen replied that he did not fear death but would overcome him but at the same time asked his mother what the first danger would be when thou has travelled for one day she replied thou wilt come to a stream of fire with a fiery cataract and in a firefall a rock and on the rock a fiery hill and an eagle made of flames who devours all that approach him Lemenkainen answered that he would easily pass this danger and asked to know the second his mother told him when thou has travelled two days thou wilt come to a fiery pit filled with red hot stones and no one has ever been able to pass over it but Lemenkainen thought but little of the second danger and asked his mother to tell him what the third one was she replied one day farther and has come to Podula the wolf and the black bear will attack thee and many hundred men have perished in their jaws but he told her how easily he would overcome them and then have conquered all the dangers of the journey then his mother added there are three things still to conquer when thou reaches Luhi's dwelling thou wilt find walls filled with iron rising up to the sky and surrounded by railings of spares on which are serpents and all manner of venomous creatures and all that they are living and creeping about and right before the gateway lies the largest of them all longer than the rafters of a house and beyond all this thou wilt find great hosts of armed warriors who have grown angry over their bear and they will certainly kill you and if thou should come into the courtyard thou wilt find it full of sharp steaks to hold the heads of those that go that are unbidden do not forget how thou once fared in Podula that had I not saved thee thou would now be at the bottom of the Tuoni's river yet after she had warned him of all this lemon-kynan would not be persuaded to remain at home but put on his magic armor of copper and took his father's sword and his own strongest bow then he had his deed hitched to a sledge and went out into the courtyard to drive off there his mother bade him farewell and gave him some last words of advice telling him that if he should come to the feast to drink but half of his goblet of beer for there were serpents in the other half and to behave modestly and not to try to take the best of everything for himself when she had ended lemon-kynan jumped upon his sledge cracked his whip and drove off like the wind he had not gone far before a flock of wild birds flew across his road and dropped a few feathers on the ground lemon-kynan stopped and picking him up put him carefully in his leather pouch for he thought no one knows what may happen as soon as he had picked up the feathers he was off again he had not gone far when his deed stopped in terror for there right in front of them was a broad river of fire and a fire fall with a rock in the middle and on the rock a fiery hill and on the hill a flaming eagle the eagle asked him whether he was going and lemon-kynan replied that he was hurrying to Luhi's feast and begged the eagle to let him pass truly thou shalt pass the eagle answered but only through the flames and down my throat but lemon-kynan was not dismayed he took out the feathers from his pouch and rubbed him between his fingers and presently there arose a whole flock of birds and flew straight down the eagle's mouth so that its hunger was satisfied then lemon-kynan was able to pass over the river by the help of his magic and to drive on his way he drove for another day and then his horse suddenly stopped again in terror for there was a huge pit full of fire right in front which stretched as far as one could see to east and west lemon-kynan was not discouraged but prayed to the great echo that it would send a great storm from all the four points of the compass and fill the pit with snow and the snow came and as it fell into the seething pit of fire it melted and formed a lake and lemon-kynan quickly cast a spell upon this lake so that a solid bridge of ice was formed over it and he drove over in perfect safety thus the second danger was passed and he drove on more swiftly than ever after another day's journey near to Louie's abode his horse stopped again trembling with fear this time there were a fierce wolf and a great black bear in the road but lemon-kynan put his hand into his leathern pouch and pulled out a tuft of wool this he rubbed between his hands and breathed on it and it changed into a whole flock of sheep on which the bear and the wolf jumped and left lemon-kynan to pursue his journey in peace in a very short time he had reached Louie's house but there he found a great wolf iron of spears and horrible snakes on lizard that his mother had told him of yet he pulled out his magic broadsword and cut an opening through the wall and the fence of spears and the mass of serpents and passed through the gateway there he found a huge serpent with a hundred eyes each as large as bowls and a thousand tongues long as javelins and teeth like hatchets lemon-kynan sang one spell but it was not powerful enough and a huge monster started to rush at him and seize him in his awful mouth but lemon-kynan just in time began to sing a stronger spell for evil things cannot bear to have their wicked origin told and if therefore one sings the source of any evil one makes it harmless at once so lemon-kynan sang if thou wilt not give room for me to pass I will sing of thy evil origin will tell how thy horrid head was made svojeta, thy evil mother once spat upon the waves of the sea the spittle was rocked by the waves and warmed by the sun until after a long time it was washed ashore there the daughters of Uko the creator saw it and said what would happen if great Uko were to breathe the breath of life into this writhing, sentless mass but Uko overheard them and said not but evil comes from evil therefore I will not give it life now wicked Lempo heard what Uko had said and he himself breathed into it the breath of life and shaped it to the form of a serpent adding to the spittle all manner of evil things every poisonous blonde and things from the death land this was thine origin, O serpent filest thing of all creation therefore clear the pathway that I may enter the halls of the hostess Louhi this sang lemon-kynan and the serpent encoyled itself and crawled away while Auti himself went on through the gateway end of chapter 22 the origin of the serpent chapter 23 of Finnish legends this is the LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording my phone Finnish legends by R. Ivan the unwelcome guest thus lemon-kynan came unbidden to Louhi's abode but he had arrived too late for the feast he entered the house with such a mighty thread that the floor spent under him and the walls and ceilings creaked as he advanced Louhi's husband was seated in the guest room and lemon-kynan said to him the same greeting to Di but thou giveest to me are there food and beer here for a stranger and barley for a hungry steed Louhi's husband answered I have never yet refused the place in my stables for a stranger's horse and if thou wilt act honestly there is a place for Di between the iron kettles lemon-kynan said when my father Lempo comes to a house as a guest he is well received and given a place of honour and I, his son, be put between the pots and kettles to be covered with soot but these words he walked up to the table and taking his seat he waited to be served then Louhi said to him oh lemon-kynan thou were not invited hither and I feel that thou bring a sorrow with thee oh our dinner was eaten and our beer drunk yesterday and we have nothing left for Di this made lemon-kynan very angry and he replied oh toothless mistress of Pojula I must manage thy feast very badly for thou hast had delicacies of every sort for the others who gave but trifling presence while for me who have sent the most of all thou has nothing at all after my long journey then Louhi called up one of her meanest servants and bait her served a guest and there came a little short woman who made ready a soup out of fish bones and fish heads and crusts of bread and turnip stalks and brought him the worst of the servant's beer lemon-kynan looked into the pictures of beer and saw snakes and worms and lizards floating about in them this made him furiously angry yet he resolved to drink the beer at any rate and then to punish them for their evil treatment of him so he drew a fish hook out of his magic wallet and with it he called all the evil creatures in the beer and killed them with his sword and drank the beer when he had done this he turned to the host and abraded him for his bad treatment as the pojola folk could not treat guests decently perhaps he could purchase good beer at least at this Louhi's husband grew angry and conjured up a little lake in the floor at lemon-kynan's feet and bait him quenched his thirst at that but lemon-kynan conjured up a bowl with golden silver horns that drank up all the water then Louhi's husband conjured up a wolf to devour the bowl but Ati called up a rabbit to draw off the wolf's attention next the host conjured up a dog to eat the rabbit but Ati drew away the dog by means of a squirrel that he called up by his magic at that the host made a golden marten to cut his squirrel and lemon-kynan a scarlet-coloured fox which ate the golden marten next the host conjured a hen to distract scarlet fox and lemon-kynan made a hawk to tear the hen to pieces then old Louhi's husband cried we shall never be happy here until thou art driven out, oh evil Ati and with these words he drew his sword and challenged lemon-kynan to combat so Ati drew his sword also and when the two were measured they found that Ati's was the shorter by half an inch then lemon-kynan said to his host although thou has the longer sword yet thou shall begin the fight after this they placed themselves in position and the host of Bojula began but so powerful was lemon-kynan's magic that he only hit the walls and floors and rafters but could not touch Ati himself then lemon-kynan said sneeringly what harm if the walls and rafters done that thou should cut them to pieces but come let us go out into the courtyard that the hole may not be covered with blood so they went out into the yard and there they spread out in oxide and took up their places on it to continue the fight lemon-kynan again allowed the host to begin and the latter struck three mighty blows but still could not harm Ati then the battle began in real earnest and the sparks flew from their swords until it seemed as if there were a sheet of flame flowing from lemon-kynan's sword and down upon the head and shoulders of his opponent and when he saw this lemon-kynan said oh thou son of Bojula see how their neck is shining like the ocean at dawn the other turned without thinking to see what it was and quickest lightning lemon-kynan whirled his sword round his head and with one blow cut off the host's head as easily as one cuts the top from a turnip and the head rolled along on the ground in the yard were hundreds of sharp steaks and on all but one there was a human head so lemon-kynan quickly took the host's head and stuck it on the empty steak and then went into the house and ordered Luhi to bring in water to wash his hands as he had just slain her husband but Luhi hastened out and called in hundreds of armed warriors to avenge her husband's death and in a very short time lemon-kynan saw that he must either flee or else be killed if he remained End of chapter 23 The Unwelcome Guests Chapter 24 of Finnish Legends This is the LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org recording by phone Finnish Legends by R. Ivan The Isle of Refuge Lemon-kynan hasted from Luhi's house and looked around for his sledge and steed to escape from the Pogela men but both had disappeared and in their place was only a clump of willows As he stood there, wondering what he should do next the noise of armed men running together grew louder and louder and he knew that they would soon reach him So Lemon-kynan changed himself into an eagle and rose up into the clouds As he flew towards the south he met a grey hawk flying northward and called to it Oh grey hawk! fly to Pogela and tell the warriors of the northland that they will never catch the eagle, Lemon-kynan ere he reaches his home in distant Kalevala Then he flew on home and taking on again his own form he went to his mother's house When she saw the troubled look in his face she guessed that some great danger threatened him and began to ask him if it was this or that or the other that troubled him but to all her questions he answered No At length she baited him tell her then what his trouble was and he replied All the men of northland are sharpening their swords and spears to kill thy unlucky son Ati I have slain the host of Pogela Lily's husband in a quarrel and the men of northland will soon come hither to avenge it His mother then reminded him how she had warned him of the journey and its troubles and asked him where he was going to take refuge Lemon-kynan replied that he did not know and asked his mother to help him and she answered If I should turn thee into a tree thou might be cut down for firewood or if into a berry the maidens might pluck thee or if to a fish thou might never have a happy life but if thou wilt swear to me not to go to war again for sixty years then I will tell thee of a distant isle far off across the ocean where thou mayst rest in safety So Lemon-kynan gave his promise on his honor not to fight for sixty years and then his mother told him how to find the isle of refuge He must sail across nine seas and in the middle of the tenth he would come to the island where his father had once taken refuge long before where he must stay until the third year was come and then he might return to his home Lemon-kynan took enough provisions in his boat for a long journey and then bidding farewell to his mother and his home he sailed away When he had raced the linen sails he called up the fair wind to drive him onward and for three months he sailed on without the moment's rest until at length he reached the magic isle of refuge First he asked the people of the island if there was room there for his boat and on receiving their consent he drew it up out of the water Next he asked them if he might take refuge and conceal himself there and they grounded this too but when he asked for a little ground to cultivate and a place in the forest to cut down the trees they told him that the whole island had long ago been divided up amongst them and that he must live in one of their houses if he wished to stay on the island But Lemon-kynan was not satisfied with this and told him that he only wished to be allowed to go into the forest and sing some few magic songs there that he willingly allowed him to do So he went into the forest and began to sing the most wondrous spells making oak trees to grow up around him and on each branch him acorn and on each acorn sat a cuckoo Then the cuckoos began to sing and gold fell from every beak and silver from their wings and copper from their feathers until the isle was abundantly supplied with precious metals Then Lemon-kynan sang again and turned to sandy gems and the pebbles into pearls and made little islands with flowers and made little lakes with golden-silver ducks until everyone was delighted and the maidens most of all Then Ati said If I were in a fine castle I would conjure up the most wonderful feats and sing the grandest songs you have ever heard No sooner had he said this than they had led him to their finest castle and dare he conjured up splendid feasts with knives and forks and all the dishes made of golden-silver From this time on Ati was treated as an honoured guest and spent his time most delightfully In every village on the island were seven castles and in each castle were seven daughters and all of these made Lemon-kynan welcome as he went from one to another according to his fancy Thus he spent a whole of his years in exile but there was one maid old and ugly and living in a remote village whom he neglected At length the time of his return was come and he made up his mind to leave and when he had neglected came to him and made him beware for she was going to take revenge for his slighting her but Lemon-kynan scarcely heard her for he was so busy thinking about his journey home but the maiden went around to all the men of the island and told him evil stories about Lemon-kynan and then she went and burned his boat The next morning Lemon-kynan started off to bid his friends the maidens farewell but he had not gone far before he saw the men getting their weapons ready to come and attack him but he must fly immediately if he wish to escape alive so he hastened down to his boat but when he reached it there were only the ashes left At first he did not know what to do but he spied seven broken pieces of planks and a few fragments from a broken disk staff and taking these he began to sing some mystic spells over them Now sooner had he finished his incantations then a magic boat stood ready before him and he got into it and sailed away but before he was far from the shore all the maidens came down to the beach and began to weep and beg him to come back and dwell with them forever but Lemon-kynan answered them that he felt a great longing to see his home once more in his mother yet that he was truly sorrowful to leave them but it must be so and so he sailed on until the isle was out of sight The boat sailed on and on for two days and nights but on the third day came a mighty storm wind and tossed the vessel about until it broke all in pieces and left Lemon-kynan struggling in the waters He swam for long days and nights struggling with the waves until at length he reached the rocky point projecting out into the ocean There he landed and soon found his way to a castle that was built upon the rocks He told the mistress of the castle how he had been in the water for days and days and was almost perishing from hunger and she, being a kind hearted woman gave him a splendid feast of bread and butter and feel and bacon and fish and honey cakes and when he had eaten that and rested she gave him a new boat loaded with provisions in which to finish his journey So off he sailed again and after many weary days of sailing he at length reached his beloved island home but when he landed and went up to where the houses stood there was not a sign of anything left The whole place was all overgrown with trees and bushes Then Lemon-kynan sat down and began to weep but it was not for the loss of his home and all his riches that he wept but for his beloved mother In the sector he got sight of an eagle flying in the air above and Artie asked him if he knew what had happened to his mother but the eagle could only tell him that his people had all perished long ago Next he asked a raven and the raven told him that his people had been killed by his enemies from Bodjila On hearing this Lemon-kynan began again to mourn her loss and to look about for some dear relic that he might keep in remembrance of her But as he looked away from the house and on it he saw the prints of light feet He began to follow it eagerly over hill and valley until he reached the gloomy forest There it led him to a hidden glade right in the middle of the island and there he found a humble cabin and his grey-haired mother weeping in it Artie cried her loud for joy at the sight of her and then he told her how he had mourned her as dead She asked him in return how he had spent those years on the Isle of Refuge and he told her all how charming the life there was and how he had enjoyed himself there but that at the end all the men of the Isle had come to hate him because the maidens admired him so much and how through their jealousy and the hatred of the one maid whom he had neglected he had nearly lost his life and when he had ended the story they both gave thanks to great echo that they had found each other again End of Chapter 24 The Isle of Refuge Chapter 25 When the next day began to dawn Lemenkainen went to the beach that was hidden behind the projecting point where his vessels lay he found them still there but as he approached he heard the rigging wailing in the wind and saying must we lie here forever and wrought since Artie has sworn not to go to the beach and he told her that he had gone to the beach and that he had gone to the beach since Artie has sworn not to go to war for 60 long years then Lemenkainen cried out to his vessels more no more my good warships for soon you shall be filled with warriors and hastening to the battle when he had uttered these words he hurried back to his mother and bade her sorrow no longer over the insult that the Pojila warriors had offered to her for he was going now to make war on them in order to punish them for it his mother when she heard his intention earnestly not to go to war and break his oath to her for some great misfortune was surely come upon him but he paid no heed to her and went to seek his friend Kura to accompany him on his expedition when he came to the isle in which Kura lived he went up to the house and said oh my dear friend Kura does now not remember the time when we fought together long ago against the men of dismal Northland come with me now and be my companion in another war against them but Kura's father was sitting by the window whittling out the javelin and his mother was near the door skimming milk and his brothers and sisters were also working nearby and all of them cried out that Kura could not go to war for he was but lately married and they bade lemon kind of leave him but Kura himself jumped up from where he was lying before the fire and began to put on his armor in great haste on his helmet were wolves with bronze and a horse on each javelin then Kura took his mighty spear and going forth into the court he hurled it towards the north and it flew on and on whistling through the air until at length it fell upon the earth of the distant Northland and after this Kura touched his javelin against lemon kind and spear and promised to be his faithful comrade in this expedition so the two great warriors made all need for preparation and set forth to sail to dismal Pogela but Luhi knew by magic art that they were coming and she called the black frost to her and gave him these commands hasten forth oh black frost and freeze all the white sea freeze lemon kind in his vessel fast in the ice and freeze the magician himself in his vessel so that he may never more awaken from his icy sleep until I myself may choose to free him so the black frost hastened off to do her bidding and first he stripped the leaves of the trees and took all the color from the flowers on his way to the seashore when he reached the shore he saw the rivers that empty into the sea and the waters along the shore but he did not touch the open sea that night but on the second night he froze all the sea and the ice kept growing thicker and thicker all around lemon kind in his vessel until at last the black frost even began to freeze lemon kind in his hands and feet and ears but when lemon kind in felt this he began to sing an incantation against the black frost saying black frost evil child of the Northland and only son of winter and the waters and the very stones but let me be in peace freeze the iron mountains till they burst in thunder freeze Voxi and Imatra but do not try to harm me for I will sing thine origin and make thee powerless for thou were born on the borders of the ever dismal Northland and were fed by crawling snakes the Northwind rocked thee to sleep in the marshes and thus thou grew a thing of evil and at last the name of frost was given thee and as thou became larger the trees in winter and to cover all the lakes with ice but if thou wilt not leave me now I will cast thee into Lembo's fiery heart and will lay thee on the anvil that Ilman and him may pound thee to pieces with his mighty hammer now the frost fiend knew how great a magician lemon kind was and therefore he agreed that he would leave the two warriors unharmed but keep their ship frozen up as it was and so Ati and Kura had to leave their vessel and journey over the ice to land at length they reached a country called Starvation land and there they found a house but there was no food in it so they went on still farther over hill and valley and as they went lemon kind gathered soft moss from the tree trunks and made stockings of it to keep their feet warm on and on they went seeking from some pathways to guide them but all was one snow covered wilderness then Kura said Alas, O Ati, we came hither to take vengeance on the men of Pogila but a fear that we shall leave our own bones here and our flesh be food for eagles and ravens we shall never learn the pathway that can guide us to our homes my poor mother will never know what has become of me whether I have perished in the heat of battle or on some lonely hill or in some dismal forest she can only mourn me as one dead and sit and we bit her tears then lemon kind and said my aged mother think of our former happy days when all went well and all was joy and happiness but now sorrow and misfortune have come upon me yet shall we not despair for we are young and strong and will give way neither to hunger nor to evil sorcerers but we'll use the prayer my father used to pray saying, Gardus, O thou great creator shield us in thine arms and give us of thy wisdom be our guardian and our father that thy children may not wonder from the path which thou has given them then when lemon kinden had finished speaking he took a scare as I made fleet courses of them and the rains he made of days of evil and from his pains he made the saddles then he and cura galloped off each to his own home and thus lemon kinden was once more returned to his aged mother's arms now let us leave him there and cura with his brightened kinsfolk and speak hereafter of other heroes thus father Miko ended adding, and I think we must stop now for the night for it is getting late then they had supper and it was not long before all of them had gone to bed and were sound asleep early the next morning they were all awakened by a dull thud and a smothered shout Eric and father Miko jumped up in little lantern and then hurried to the door which stood open they had dug a passageway out through the snow the day before and they saw that the walls of snow had just caved in and sticking out of the middle of the heap was a pair of small legs waving about wildly in the air the next minute they had pulled out the owner of the legs and little untoro stood before them looking very much frightened and very foolish too he had his snowshoes and some meat with him and managed to explain between his sobs that he had intended to go and hunt for reindeer and lapland the way Lemenkainen did in the story but his snowshoe had caught in the wall and disaster had overtaken him the would-be hero was promptly taken in charge by mother Stina and soon all was quiet again when they went out the next morning they found that the snow had long since stopped but the wind was blowing so hard and it was so bitterly cold the father Miko was easily persuaded to stay another day after dinner they settled down exactly as the day before Mimi and Papa Miko slapped again and in a few minutes he began to tell them some more of his wonderful stories I will tell you about someone you have not heard of yet father Miko said about Kulofo though I am sure you will none of you like Kulofo himself but yet the story itself may be interesting so he began end of chapter 25 to Frostfield Chapter 26 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Fernando Jahangiri Finnish Legends by R. Iowen Chapter 26 Many ages ago there was a mother who had three sons and one of them grew up to be a prosperous merchant but the other two were carried off one to a distant Pahjola and one to Karjala and the one in Pahjola was named Untamo but the one in Karjala was called Kalawonian One day Untamo set his nets near Kalervoinen's home to catch salmon but in the evening Kalervoinen came by and took all the fish out of the nets and carried them off home When Untamo found it out he went to his brother and soon they fell to blows but neither could conquer the other though they gave one another sound beatings after this had happened Kalervoinen sewed some body near Untamo's barns and Untamo's sheep broke into the field and ate the body and then Kalervoinen's dog killed the sheep This made Untamo so angry that he collected a great army and marched against his brother to put him and all his tribe to death and when they reached Kalervoinen's home they burnt all the houses and killed everyone except Kalervoinen's daughter Untamo Now not long after this a child was born to Untamo and she named him Cooler War Then they laid a fatherless infant in the cattle and began to rock him but he began to advance to make the cattle rock without assistance and he rocked for 3 whole days so hard that his hair stood quite on end on the third day he began to kick until he had burst his sweat and clothes and then he crept out of the cattle and broke that also in pieces When Kalervo was only 3 months old he began to speak and the first wars which he authored were these When I have grown big and strong I will avenge the murder of my grandfather Kalervoinen and his people At this Untamo was greatly alarmed and took counsel with his people as to what should be done with the child At length they hit upon a plan they took the child and bound him firmly in a willow basket and then put him in the lake among the bullrushes After 3 days had passed they went to see if he was dead but he had broken loose from the basket and was sitting on the waves fishing with a copper rod and a golden line so they took him back again to the house Next Untamo ordered a great heap of dried brushwood to be collected together and a pile was made higher than the 3 tops On the top of this they set the boil and then set fire to the pile 3 whole days and then Untamo sent men to see if the child was dead but they found him sitting in the middle of the fire raking the coals together with a copper rod and not a hair of his head was even synched Then they took him home and considered again how they should kill him and this time they took him and crucified him on an oak tree And on the third day they came and found that he had painted an armed warrior on every leaf made fast though he was to the tree and so they took him down and brought him home again this time they saw that they could not harm him so Untamo told him that he would take him as a servant and that if he did well he should be paid well When Kullarbo had grown a little he was said to take care of a baby and was given very careful instructions as to how to rock it and attend to all its wants but the cruel Kullarbo treated it harshly and in the evening killed it and burned the cradle in the fire so Untamo was afraid to give him any further employment about the house but made him go out and cut down the forest on the mountain side the Kullarbo went to the smith and made him make a huge axe of copper and when it was ready he spent one day sharpening it and another in making the handle and then hastened off to the forest there he chose the biggest tree on all the mountain side and felled at one blow six more huge trees were cut down just as easily but then Kullarbo grew disgusted with the work and pronounced a curse over the whole mountain and stopped working so when Untamo came in the evening to see how he was getting on and found early seven trees felled he thought that he must set Kullarbo to some other task the next day therefore he took him into a field and paid him by the fence around it as soon as Untamo was gone Kullarbo set to work using whole trees and raising the fence higher than the clouds and when he had finished there was no gate to enter by and the fence was so high that no one could climb over it when Untamo came and saw what he had done and that no one could now get into the field he told Kullarbo that he wasn't fitted for such work and must go and thresh the rarion barley then Kullarbo made a flail and set to work and he threshed so hard that all the grain was beaten to powder and the straw was broken up into useless pieces but when Untamo saw this he grew very angry and cried out that Kullarbo was a wretched workman who was spoiled whatever he touched and the next day he took him off and sold him to the blacksmith Ilmarinan in distant Karjada and the price Ilmarinan paid was three old worn out cattle seven wolfs of sickles and three old skydives and whose and axes show they quiet enough for such a fellow end of chapter 26 chapter 27 of Finnish Legends this is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Fanu Jahangiri Finnish Legends by R. Iwin chapter 27 as soon as the purchase was completed Kullarbo asked Ilmarinan and his wife to give him some work for the next day so they decided to make him a shepherd but the wife once the rainbow maiden did not like their new servant so she baked him a cheat loaf a very thick loaf half of body half of oatmeal and with a great flint stone in the center and around the flint stone was melted butter then he gave it to Kullarbo and told him not to eat it until he was out on the pasture ground the next morning Ilmarinan's wife Kullarbo the cattle and bait him take them to the open glaze among the forests where they would find food in abundance then she addressed the prayer to Ukho that he would guard the flock in case the shepherd should neglect them and she sought the aid to of all the goddesses of the forests and the daughters of summer and the spirits of the fountains and the brooks to care for her cattle and watch over them and she also sang a spell to keep away the bears from coming and devouring them and when all these prayers and spells were in that she sent Kullarbo off with the house Kullarbo drove them off to their pastures in the woods carrying his lunch in a basket on his arm and as he walked he sang of his hard lot as a slave and how he was given only the scraps and crusts to eat while his master and mistress fed on honey, cakes and wheat and biscuit and time came for him to eat his luncheon and he sat down and drew the cheat loaf from the basket but instead of eating it at once he turned it carefully over and over in his hands and thought many loaves are fine to look at on the outside but are nothing but chaff inside and he drew out his knife to try to look. This knife was the one thing that his mother had kept of all her father's possessions and Kullarbo looked upon it as something sacred and now as he plunged it into the chief loaf it hit right upon the hard flint in the center and broke in several pieces then Kullarbo sat down and began to weep over his loss and to ponder how he should revenge it but the raven was sitting in a tree nearby and overhead him talking to himself and the raven said why are those so distressed go there well drive the hair away one half to the wolves and the other half to the bear's dance they may all be devoured and then when it is time to return home call together the wolves and bears and make them look like cattle buy dye magic art and drive them home for dye mistress to milk thus thou wilt repay this insult at these words Kullarbo jumped up and did as the raven had said and when the sun was setting in the west Kullarbo hastened homeward driving bells and wolves before him but by a magic spell he made them look like cattle and as he went he said to them says my hateful mistress when she comes to milk the cattle and tear and vent her in pieces and he took a cow horn and made a bugle of it and blew till the hills rang to announce his return when here reached the co-yard Elmarin's wife greeted him joyfully for it was late and she had feared that something had happened and she told her oldest maesal to go and milk the cows as she herself was busy but Kullarbo said thou shouldn't go thyself for the cows are in better condition tonight than they have ever been before and so she went and when she saw them she cried out in wonder truly my cattle are beautiful tonight for their hair glistens not the fair of the nexus and is soft as her mind's skin with these words she seated herself to begin milking but all at once the wolves appeared in their true shapes and began to tear her to pieces then she cried out to Kullarbo when she saw what he had done but he answered if I have done evil thou has done still greater evil for thou has baked a stone inside my bread and I have broken on it my knife the only relic of my mother's people then Elmarin's wife began to beg him to aid her and promised him the best of everything to eat and that he should never have to work again but Kullarbo would not listen to her prayers but rejoice at her agony and then the wolves and bears made one more onset and she fell and died such was the end of the beautiest rainbow maiden for whom so many had wove and who had become the pride and joy of Kalevala End of Chapter 27 Chapter 28 of Finesh Legends this is a LibriVox recording which recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Fandor Jahangili Finesh Legends by R.I.Wend Kullarbo's life and death when Kullarbo hastened off before Elmarinen should come home and find out what had happened and after he was at a safe distance he began to play upon the bugle he had made until Elmarinen ran out of his smithy to see what it could be and there before him in the courtyard Elmarinen saw the body of his wife and learned what had happened and he sat down and wept bitterly for all the joy of his life was now gone from him but Kullarbo hastened on and as he went he mourned his heart left when he had gone a little way he met an old witch on the road and she asked him where he was going I shall journey to the dismal Northland and said Kullarbo he played a wicked untamo who was called all my kin's folk then the witch said what's wrong for their father and their sisters escaped from Untamo's mess and now their mother has joined them and they are living happily together on the distant borders of Kullarbo and then Kullarbo begged her to tell him their way to them she did so and he hastened off to find them at last he reached his parents above but at first they did not recognize him Kullarbo spoke to his mother she knew him at once and embraced him and kissed him and made him welcome in his new home and then they related to one another all that had happened in the years they had been apart and his mother ended by saying praise be your call that thou has come back to us but there is yet one absent one the elder sister strayed away many years ago haunting berries on the hills Kullarbo settled down to lay with his parents and began to work with the others the first day they all went out to fish for salmon and Kullarbo was put at the oars to row their boats then he asked whether he should row with all his strength or only a little part of it and they told him that he could not pull too hard so he put forth all his giants strength and in a minute the boat was all broken to pieces his father said it was too clumsy to row perhaps thou would do better to drive the salmon into the nets and Kullarbo asked again whether he should use all his strength and he received the same answer as before so he set to work beating the water to scare the fish into the net but he beat so hard that he mixed all the mud on the bottom with the water and pounded the salmon all to pulp and destroyed all the nets then his father saw that he was not fit for such work so he sent him off to practice Kullarbo did so and after he had paid them he started off in his sledge to drive home again he had not driven far when he met a lovely maiden whom he asked to get into his sledge and come with him to his home and marry but she made fun of him and he drove off in anger and when he had driven still farther he met another maiden still more lovely than the first and this one he had lens persuaded to marry him but when they had driven along for two days they maiden asked him about his king's walk and he told her that he was Kullarbo's son no sooner had the maiden heard this than she gave a great cry of anguish and cried out then tell what's my brother for I am Kullarbo's daughter who wandered off one day to pick berries and never returned and with these words she jumped from the sledge and hastened a weeping to her river nearby and jumped beneath the icy waters and was never seen again alive but her lifeless body floated down to the black river of Tuane but Kullarbo unharnessed his estate from the sledge and galloped off home and there related to his mother all that had occurred and how he had unknowingly been the cause of his sister's death and when he had finished his story he added woe is me Paugola that was later wicked on Tama and myself will also slain having said this he also made ready his armor and ground his brood's ward until it was as sharp as a razor but before he went he asked his father and brother and sister and mother if they would grieve when they heard of his death and all but his mother told him that they would never sorrow over the death of such an evil fellow but his mother alone said that in spite of all the evil he had done her mother's love was still strong and that she would weave over him for years to come there upon Kullarbo went forth on his journey to the icy north land but before he had gone far a messenger came and told him that his father was dead and asked Kullarbo to come back and help bury him but he would not come and a little later he was told of the death of his brother and then of his sister and last of all of his mother still refused to come to bury any of them only when the news of his mother's death came he mourned that he had not been with her in her last moments and they the servants buried her with every possible honor and respect now as he near the home of Untamo's tribe he prayed to Ukko to endow his sword with magic powers so that Untamo and all his people might be sure this name but Ukko did as he had asked and with the magic sword Kullarbo slew single handed Untamo's people and burned older villages to ashes leaving behind him only dead bodies and smoking ruins then he hastened home and found that it was only too true that all his family had died while he was away and he went out to his mother's grave and wept over it but as he wept his mother spoke to him from the grave and baked him letter old duck lead him into the forest to the home of the wood nymphs who would care for him so Kullarbo set off led by the faithful god but on the way they came to the grassy mound where Kullarbo had met his long lost sister and there he found that even the grass and the flowers and the trees were weeping suddenly overcome with sorrow he drew forth his magic sword from out it's scabbard and bidding a last farewell to all the world he thrust the handle firmly into the earth and threw himself upon the sword point so that it pierced his heart thus ended the evil life of Kullarbo they were all silent for a moment when the saddest story of Kullarbo's life and death was ended and then Mimi said I wish you tell us about nice men like Ilmarinen and Wayne Moynen Papamiko Kullarbo was real hateful well then I will tell you of what Ilmarinen did when he had lost his wife the rainbow maiden and the old man began and after that for three months he did not go into his smithy nor even so much as left the hammer from the ground and as he moaned he cried who is me for all is very innocent sorrow not that my dear wife is staying and there is no more rest for me in my home but after the three months of mourning were passed Ilmarinen went out and dug up a great quantity of gold and silver and cut down 30 sledge loaves of birch trees which he burned to charcoal then he put the charcoal in the bottom of his furnace and laid a large piece of gold and a still larger piece of silver on top and closing the furnace he started the fire and set the walkman to blow in the pillows but the men were lazy and let the fire go out so Ilmarinen drove them all away and began to blow the fire by magical spells alone three days he walked the bellows by his magical spells and on the evening of the third day hoping to see an image rising from the melted gold and silver and there came forth a lovely lamb all gold and silver and everyone admired his beauty Ilmarinen who said get back into the furnace for I only desire a beauty's bride born of the melted gold and silver so he threw the lamb back into the furnace and added a still more gold and silver and other magic metals and then set his walkman to blow the bellows again but they proved lazy this time too and he had once more to use his magical spells to blow the fire and again he looked into the furnace on the evening of the third day and this time there arose a cult of gold and silver with hoofs of shining copper everyone admired a beautiful cult Ilmarinen who threw it back into the furnace once more he added gold and silver and set the walkman to blow the bellows but they neglected their walk this time too then he blew the fire by magic and cast other magic spells over the furnace so that the gold and silver should grow into a lovely maiden when he looked into the furnace on the evening of the third day he saw at last the figure of a maiden rising from the flames but it had neither feet no hands nor ears so Ilmarinen took her from the fire and forged unceasingly until feet and hands and ears were all completed and the maiden was now the most beautiful that anyone had ever seen but yet she could not walk no talk, no sea, no hair but Ilmarinen carried the golden maiden out of the smithy and took her to the bathroom where he washed the golden and silver image and then took it and laid it in his couch in his wife's place that night he heaped up bear skins and rugs of old coins on top of the bed hoping that the image would come to life from the warmth but it was all in vain and Ilmarinen was almost frozen himself when he rose next morning then he said to himself truly this lovely maiden was not meant to be my bride I will take her to Vynemuinen and perhaps she may come to life for him so off he went and offered the beautiful image to Vynemuinen telling him that he had brought a lovely maiden to be Vynemuinen's bride now in his old age but Vynemuinen after praising the image's beauty said my dear brother Ilmarinen it is better to throw this image back into thy furnace and to forge from the melted metal a thousand useful trinkets for I will never wed an image made of golden silver and then Vynemuinen turned to those of his people who were standing nearby and said to them never bow to any image made of gold or silver for they cannot see here nor speak and they will only bring you sorrow end of chapter 29 chapter 30 are finished legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox at the orc recording by fan of Jehangiri finished legends by R.I. Wendt Ilmarinen's fruitless Wuig so Ilmarinen cast a maid of gold into a corner of his smithy and harnessed up his sledge and drove off to this small north land to ask Luhi to give him another of her daughters in marriage three days he journeyed and on the evening of the third he reached all Luhi's home Luhi asked him how her daughter the rainbow maiden third and Ilmarinen with hanging head and sorrowful face told how his poor wife had perished and ended up his story by asking Luhi to give him her next fairest daughter to be his wife but Luhi grew angry and uprated him with not having guarded her other daughter and thus being guilty of her death and she scornfully refused to give him another of her daughters but Ilmarinen went into the house in great anger and there addressed Luhi's next fairest daughter begging her to come to his home with him and become his wife the maid replied I would never marry the man who has been the cause of my dear sister's death and even if I were to marry I would wish the nobler suitor than a mere blacksmith then Ilmarinen grew pale with anger and ceasing the maiden in his mighty arms he rushed off to his sledge and drove off like the wind before anyone could stop him the poor maid wept and begged Ilmarinen to release her and to let her die by the roadside rather than to take her thus to his home if thou would not release me she said I would change into a man unscathed he but Ilmarinen told her that he would pursue her in the shape of a pike then the maiden said first that she would become an ermine but Ilmarinen told her he would turn into a snake and catch her and then she said that she would become a swallow but Ilmarinen threatened to become an eagle so they drove on and on and the maiden left the whole time and begged Ilmarinen to let her go even if it were only to die in the snow but he refused and grew more and more angry at her obstinacy at length they reached Ilmarinen's home and he took the maiden into the house but here seeing there was no hope of escape she determined to make him so angry that he would kill her and thus she would be freed from her so she began to make fun of him and to scorn him and laugh at him until Ilmarinen was in such a rage that he scarcely knew what he was doing and drew his sword to kill her but the sword refused to do this cruelty saying I was born to drink the blood of warriors but not of such a pure and lovely maid as this so Ilmarinen being unable to kill her began to weave a magical spell about her and in a few minutes she changed all of a sudden into a seagull and flew off screaming toward the sea cliffs and when he had done this Ilmarinen went out and went into his sledge and drove off to his brother Vayne Moynen when he arrived Vayne Moynen asked him why he was so sad and whether all was well in Paojola to this Ilmarinen replied why should not all be well in Paojola they have the sump odor and until it leaves them they will always prosper and then Vayne Moynen asked him of the maiden whom he had gone to woo I have turned that hateful maid into a seagull and answered throning and now she flew shaking above the rolling waves and will never have another suitor End of Chapter 30 Chapter 31 of Finnish Legends This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Farno Jahangili Finnish Legends by R.I. Wind Chapter 31 Vayne Moynen's expedition and the birth of the Cantalee Harp Vayne Moynen reflected on what Ilmarinen had said of the prosperity of the Northland and at length proposed that they should go and capture the Sampo and bring it back to Kalevala But Ilmarinen said it will be hard to carry off the Sampo for Luhi has fastened it with nine great locks and around it great three roots beneath the mountain and the waters Still Vayne Moynen persuaded him to go and Ilmarinen went to his smithy and began to forge a sword for Vayne Moynen And when it was finished it was so strong by the power of the magic spells that had been used in making it that it would cut through the hardest Flintstones. Then the two heroes put on their armor and made their sledges ready and drove off along the seashore northward But they had not gone far before they heard a voice lamenting and drove up to their spot when the voice seemed to come and there they found a ship lying deserted on the sand Vayne Moynen asked the ship what it was lamenting over and the ship replied Alas, I will because I am obliged to remain here idle for I am built to be a warship and I long to sail full with warriors against the foe but I am left here to lie alone and roll to pieces Then Vayne Moynen said you should lie here no longer but we will sail in the against the man Ola, but tell me whether the Artemagic ship that can sail without wind or oarsman or pilot Nay, the ship replied I cannot sail if the wind or oars do not help me and then someone guide me with their other but give me these to help me and I can sail faster than any other ship in the world Then they left their sledges and launched the ship and stepped abroad and Vayne Moynen began to sing his wondrous spells and in an instant one side of the vessel was filled with bearded warriors and the other with lovely maids and in the middle came powerful grey bearded heroes First he set the young men at the oars but however hard they strove they could not budge the ship and next the maidens tried but they too failed Last of all, the mighty grey bearded heroes took the oars but yet their vessel did not move Then Ola Moynen himself grasped the oars and in a moment the vessel was moving through the waters at full speed with all Vayne Moynen at the helm They had not gone far when they came to an island and on the shore was a man working on a fishing boat As they drew nearer, he looked up and hailed them, asking whether they were bound Vayne Moynen answered O'er Suberlem and Kynan dost thou not recognize us and canst thou not guess where we are bound? Then Lemmer Kynan for it was really he said I recognize you both now it is Ola Marinen who is rolling in the ward Vayne Moynen but tell me, where are you sailing? Where are you sailing? Then Vayne Moynen told him that they were bound for Pau Jola to capture the magic sample and on hearing this Lemmer Kynan back to go with them saying that he would fight valiantly with them So they took him on board and the three great heroes sailed on their way but before they had gone much farther they came to a place where there were lovely maidens singing sweetly on the shore but all around were hidden rocks and whirlpools and their vessel was near sinking but Lemmer Kynan knew the spell that would compel the maidens to calm their whirlpools and to lead the ship in safety passed all the hidden reefs out into open water again and when Lemmer Kynan had sung this spell Vayne Moynen was able to steer in safety through the foam covered rocks and out into open water but no sooner were they clear then the vessel stopped as suddenly as if she were anchored to the spot Elmerinen and Lemmer Kynan then plunged the lung pole to the bottom of the waters on a strove to push the ship ahead but it was impossible then Vayne Moynen bade Lemmer Kynan look beneath the vessel to see what it was to stop them and they found that it was no hidden reef or sandbar but a mighty pike on whose shoulders the vessel had stuck fast at Vayne Moynen's order Lemmer Kynan drew his sword and aimed a mighty blow at the monster but he missed it and fell overboard he was drawn out all dripping and the others consoled him for his failure Nexilmerinen drew his sword and struck at the monster but at the first blow his sword broke in pieces at last Vayne Moynen reproaching the others for their feebleness drew his magic sword and with one thrust he impaled the monster on it then lifting the monster out of the water he cut him into pieces and let them fall on the water and float in towards land thus the vessel was free at last but the heroes were weary with their exertions and so they rode in to land and there gathered up the fragments of the fish that had floated onto the shore Vayne Moynen handed these pieces to the maidens who were with them in the vessel and they prepared the most delicious feast from the pike having enough and to spare for all on board and they piled the bones in a heap under rocks then Vayne Moynen looked at the pile of bones and after pondering deeply he said wondrous things may be made from these bones if only I can find a skillful workman to carry out my design and make the cantilee but no workman could be found who was wise enough to understand Vayne Moynen's directions for no one had ever heard of a cantilee before at length all Vayne Moynen saw that there was no one who could help him and so he set to work himself he made the arches of the harp from the pox jaw bones and the pins that hold the strings he made from the teeth and for the strings he took hairs tail of a magic steed and at last the first cantilee was finished and it was so beautiful that everyone crowded around to look at it when it was already Vayne Moynen handed it to those around to try their skill but they could only make these chords whenever they touched it then Lyman Kynan baited the others leave it to him for he would show them how to play upon it but when he touched the strings it sounded worse than when any of the others had tried it and after one and all had tried it and found that it only gave forth the chords they proposed to throw it into the sea but the harp said I shall never perish in the sea but will bring great joy to Caliwala put me in my maker's hands and I will sing for him so they took it and laid it at the aged Vayne Moynen's feet then the great magician took the wondrous cantilee and rested it upon his knee first he tuned it, tightening older strings until they sounded sweetly together and then he swept his hands across them and a flood of wonderful melody powered forth from the cantilee and as the wondrous notes resounded in the air every living thing that heard them stopped and listened from the forests came the bears and air mines and the wolves and Lennoxes even Tapio the forest god drew near with all his attentance spirits enchanted by the magic sounds from the sea the fishes came to the edge of the waters and the sea god Atul with his water spirits the daughters of the sun and moon stopped their spinning on the clouds and dropped their spindles so that the threats were broken in two for three whole days the magic cantilee powered forth this melody beneath by the monsters' skillful fingers until everyone that heard it wept and even the master player himself was at last moved to tears by the power of his own playing the bright teardrops float down his long beard and over his garments and on over the air in sparkling streams until they were lost in the waters of deep sea and then the music sees and when the moin and lay the cantilee aside and said is there anyone here who can gather up my teardrops from the sea but all were silent for they could not do it but the raven came flying up and offered to attempt it and the moin and promise seemed the most beautiful plumage if he should succeed but the raven tried and failed then came a dock and the moin and made it the same promise and the duck swab off and dive down to the ocean's depth and at length it had collected every teardrop and brought them to the great magician by the wondrous change had taken place in them for they were no longer tears but the most beautiful pearls that's where pearls were created and for this the blue duck received its lovely plumage that is the loveliest story of all cried Mimi how I wish I could have heard by the moin's music what is cantilee like the one papa has up in the love papa miko if it was I wish papa would play on ours I expect they are just alike replied water miko and when your papa's papa was alive I remember that he used to play on the cantilee very sweetly but there are not many in our land that can play the cantilee now well said Mimi I suppose there aren't so you might as well tell us what wine and moin did next papa miko please and father miko began again end of chapter 31