Then the lively Lemminkainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
As it chanced, his hair was brushing,
And with greatest neatness brushed it.
To the wall his brush then cast he,
To the stove the comb flung after,
And again he spoke and answered,
In the very words which follow:
"Ruin falls on Lemminkainen,
Evil waits for him unhappy,210
When the brush with blood is running,
And the comb with blood is streaming."
Then went lively Lemminkainen,
To the gloomy land of Pohja,
'Spite the warnings of his mother,
'Gainst the aged woman's counsel.
First he armed him, and he girt him.
In his coat of mail he clad him,
With a belt of steel encompassed,
And he spoke the words which follow:220
"Stronger feels a man in armour,
In the best of iron mail-coats,
And of steel a magic girdle,
As a wizard 'gainst magicians.
Then no trouble need alarm him,
Nor the greatest evil fright him."
Then he grasped his sword so trusty,
Took his blade, like flame that glittered,
Which by Hiisi's self was whetted.
And by Jumala was polished.230
By his side the hero girt it,
Thrust in sheath with leather lining.
How shall now the man conceal him,
And the mighty hero hide him?
There a little time he hid him,
And the mighty one concealed him,
'Neath the beam above the doorway,
By the doorpost of the chamber.
In the courtyard by the hayloft,
By the gate of all the furthest.240
Thus it was the hero hid him
From the sight of all the women,
But such art is not sufficient,
And such caution would not serve him,
For he likewise must protect him
From the heroes of the people,
There where two roads have their parting.
On a blue rock's lofty summit,
And upon the quaking marshes,
Where the waves are swiftly coursing,250
Where the waterfall is rushing,
In the winding of the rapids.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Spoke the very words which follow:
"Rise ye up from earth, O swordsmen,
You, the earth's primeval heroes,
From the wells arise, ye warriors,
From the rivers rise, ye bowmen!
With thy dwarfs arise, O woodlands
Forest, come with all thy people,260
Mountain-Ancient, with thy forces,
Water-Hiisi, with thy terrors,
Water-Mistress, with thy people,
With thy scouts, O Water-Father,
All ye maidens from the valleys,
Richly robed, among the marshes,
Come ye to protect a hero,
Comrades of a youth most famous,
That the sorcerers' arrows strike not,
Nor the swords of the magicians,270
Nor the knife-blades of enchanters,
Nor the weapons of the archers.
"If this be not yet sufficient,
Still I know of other measures,
And implore the very Highest,
Even Ukko in the heavens,
He of all the clouds the ruler,
Of the scattered clouds conductor.
"Ukko, thou of Gods the highest,
Aged Father in the heavens,280
Thou amidst the clouds who breathest,
Thou amid the air who speakest,
Give me here a sword of fire,
By a sheath of fire protected,
That I may resist misfortune,
And I may avoid destruction,
Overthrow the powers infernal,
Overcome the water-sorcerers,
That all foes that stand before me,
And the foes who stand behind me,290
And above me and beside me,
May be forced to own my power.
Crush the sorcerers, with their arrows,
The magicians, with their knife-blades,
And the wizards with their sword-blades,
All the scoundrels with their weapons."
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
From the bush his courser whistled,
From the grass, the gold-maned courser.300
Thereupon the horse he harnessed,
In the shafts the fiery courser,
In the sledge himself he seated,
And the sledge began to rattle.
O'er the horse his whip he flourished,
Cracked the whip, and urged him onward,
Started quickly on his journey.
Rocked the sledge, the way grew shorten
And the silver sand was scattered,
And the golden heather crackled.310
Thus he drove one day, a second;
Drove upon the third day likewise,
And at length upon the third day
Came the hero to a village.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Drove the rattling sledge straight onward
Forth along the furthest pathway.
To the furthest of the houses,
And he asked upon the thresholds
Speaking from behind the window:320
"Is there some one in this household
Who can loose my horse's harness,
And can sink the shaft-poles for me,
And can loose the horse's collar?"