The Minstrel saw now that he was beaten; he felt that all his secret plans had been discovered, and so he concealed his bitter feelings while he acknowledged defeat. “Wisest of smiths,” he said, “we are friends and brothers, and therefore we must not fall out and quarrel. [[193]]Let us still be lovers as of old. I assure you, I swear to you, I will do nothing to offend you. Ride on and woo the Maid of Beauty, and I will return alone to our dear home in the Land of Heroes.”
The heart of the Smith was touched by the generosity of his friend. He felt that he must not be less generous, and in an instant all his anger vanished.
“O brother, tried and true!” he answered, “I know the thoughts of your heart, I know your great ambition. Let us agree each to woo this maiden honorably as a man and a hero would woo her. Let her freely choose one of us, or let her a second time refuse us both. Do you agree to this, my elder brother?”
“Truly, I do,” said the Minstrel heartily. “I promise—yes, I swear to you that I will do naught that is dishonorable or unfair. If the maiden shall prefer you, I will not be envious; for your good luck will be my good fortune, and my success will be your triumph.”
“I thank you, Wainamoinen!” shouted the Smith, waving his hand.
“I thank you, Ilmarinen!” returned the Minstrel, bowing to his friend. [[194]]
Then with speed each resumed his journey, one travelling by sea, the other by land. Swiftly the gray racer flew along the shore; fleetly the boat of magic skimmed over the wrinkled waters. The hills and forests rang with the clattering hoofs of Ilmarinen’s wizard steed. The white waves danced and trembled in the wake of Wainamoinen’s gold-beaked vessel. The cuckoos twittered, the bluebirds sang merrily, and the birchwood runners of the enchanted sledge whizzed over the sand and then glided through the new-fallen snow. The South Wind breathed on the sails of blue and red, and the West Wind whispered joy in the nostrils of the fleeting gray racer.
“Good luck to my steed, good luck to my sledge, good luck to me!” shouted the hero Smith. “O Jumala, kind protector, helper, guide! Be my safeguard in this journey, lead me rightly on my way!”
And the Minstrel, standing at the prow of his fairy vessel, shouted words of magic to the winds and waves, while he too prayed for guidance and help. “O Jumala, just and true, think not hard of me if I have gone astray! Pardon me if I have been false to my friend. Give me fair [[195]]winds and a gentle sea, and guide me safely to my journey’s end. Good luck to me, good luck to my boat, good luck to everybody!”
Thus the two heroes journeyed onward, the one by land, the other by sea. [[196]]