“Oh, no, no!” she muttered. “I thought I heard the North Wind blowing, a pine tree falling in the forest, the billows roaring and the breakers beating. But it is not so. The air is mild, the sea is calm, no storm is near. That which I hear is not the wind, it is not a hostile army. It is the multitude of guests assembling, the hosts of friends coming to rejoice with us because it is Ilmarinen’s wedding day.” [[247]]
“How shall we know the bridegroom when we see him? How can we distinguish him in the great crowd of friends and neighbors?” asked a little waiting-maiden.
“You shall know him as you know an oak among the willows, as you know the moon among the tiny stars,” answered the Mistress. “The steed which he drives is as black as a raven. His magic sledge is glowing bright and golden as the sun. Six yellow birds sit on his shafts sweetly singing, and of bluebirds there are seven perched gayly on the dashboard. You cannot fail to distinguish the noble hero.”
Even while she spoke there was a clatter in the roadway, a humming and a bustling and a tramping of many feet. The bridegroom had arrived with all his friends around him. Swiftly he drove his bright-hued sledge into the courtyard, and quickly he alighted while the bluebirds sang and the cuckoos called lustily to the swallows beneath the eaves. The young men shouted, the old men laughed, and the very air was bubbling with joy.
“Hostler, hasten!” called the Mistress. “Take the bridegroom’s horse, and loose him [[248]]gently from the shafts. Remove the copper-plated harness, the silver breast-band, the reins of silver. Lead the noble steed to the spring and let him drink his fill of the gushing water. Then put him in the hindmost stable, in the stall reserved for heroes’ horses. Tether him to the ring of iron that is set in the polished post of birchwood. Set three trays of food before him, the first filled with oats, the second with soft hay, the third with finest chaff. And when you have curried him and smoothed his shining hair, cover him with a soft blanket and leave him alone, locking the stable door behind you.”
“I will do everything as you have bidden me,” answered the serving-man, and he led the steed gently from the courtyard.
“Now, my boys,” said the Mistress, “you little lads of Pohyola! Conduct the bridegroom to the house and show him the doorway. Take off his hat gently, gently. Remove his gloves also. Let us see if the door is wide enough for him to pass through; let us see if it is high enough to admit so great a hero.”
Without delay the waiting-lads took their appointed places, four at the right hand and four [[249]]at the left, six in front of him and six behind, and thus they marched lightly and orderly into the dwelling.
“Now let all give thanks to Jumala, the gracious,” said the Mistress, and her unlovely face grew pleasanter for the moment. “Give thanks to Jumala, for the hero has passed through the door in safety, he has entered the house of the bride.”
And the bridegroom responded, “Give thanks to Jumala, and may his blessing rest upon this house and all that abide beneath its roof.”