One alone of all the maidens,
Of the mighty race of Saari,
Would not list to any lover,
Not the greatest man among them;160
Kyllikki, the fairest maiden,
Loveliest flower of all in Saari.
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
Wore a hundred boats to tatters,
Rowed in twain a hundred oars
As he strove to win the maiden,
Kyllikki herself to conquer.
Kyllikki the lovely maiden
Answered him in words that follow:170
"Wherefore wander here, O weakling.
Racing round me like a plover,
Always seeking for a maiden,
With her tin-adorned girdle?
I myself will never heed you
Till the stone is ground to powder.
Till the pestle's stamped to pieces,
And the mortar smashed to atoms.
"Nought I care for such a milksop,
Such a milksop, such a humbug;180
I must have a graceful husband,
I myself am also graceful;
I must have a shapely husband,
I myself am also shapely;
And a well-proportioned husband,
I myself am also handsome."
But a little time thereafter,
Scarce had half a month passed over,
On a certain day it happened.
As was usual in the evenings,190
All the girls had met for pleasure,
And the beauteous maids were dancing;
In a grove near open country,
On a lovely space of heathland.
Kyllikki was first among them,
She the far-famed Flower of Saari.
Thither came the ruddy scoundrel,
There drove lively Lemminkainen,
With the best among his horses,
With the horse that he had chosen,200
Right into the green arena
Where the beauteous maids were dancing.
Kyllikki he seized and lifted,
Then into the sledge he pushed her,
And upon the bearskin sat her,
That upon the sledge was lying.
With his whip he lashed the stallion,
And he cracked the lash above him,
And he started on his journey,
And he cried while driving onward:210
"O ye maidens, may ye never
In your lives betray the secret,
Speak of how I drove among you.
And have carried off the maiden.
"But if you will not obey me,
You will fall into misfortune;
To the war I'll sing your lovers,
And the youths beneath the sword-blades,
That you hear no more about them,
See them not in all your lifetime,220
Either in the streets when walking.
Or across the fields when driving."
Kyllikki lamented sorely,
Sobbed the beauteous Flower of Saari:
"Let me but depart in safety,
Let the child depart in safety,
Set me free to journey homeward
To console my weeping mother.
"If you will not now release me,
Set me free to journey homeward,230
O then I have five strong brothers,
And my uncle's sons are seven,
Who can run with hare-like swiftness,
And will haste the maid to rescue."
When she could not gain her freedom,
She began to weep profusely,
And she spoke the words which follow:
"I, poor maid, was born for nothing,
And for nought was born and fostered,
And my life was lived for nothing,240
Since I fall to one unworthy,
In a worthless fellow's clutches,
One for battle always ready,
And a rude ferocious warrior."