Then the lively Lemminkainen
Ruddy youth, accomplished rascal, 130
Drew his sword from out his sword-belt,
From his side the bone-destroyer,
In the lake his sword plunged deeply,
Thrust it underneath the vessel,
But he splashed into the water,
Plunged his hands into the billows.
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
By the hair seized fast the hero,
Dragged from out the lake the hero,
And he spoke the words which follow: 140
"All pretend to grow to manhood,
And are ready to be bearded,
Such as these we count by hundreds,
And their number mounts to thousands."
From his belt he drew his sword-blade,
From the sheath the keen-edged weapon,
And he struck the fish with fury,
Striking down beneath the vessel,
But the sword in pieces shivered,
And the pike was injured nothing. 150
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Uttered then the words which follow:
"Not the half of manhood have you,
Not the third part of a hero,
But a man is now required,
And a man's sense now is needed,
All the sense of the unskilful,
All the efforts of the others."
Then himself he drew his sword-blade,
Firmly grasped the keen-edged weapon, 160
In the lake his sword then thrust he,
Underneath the boat he struck it,
At the pike's great shoulders striking
At the water-dog's great backbone.
But the sword was fixed securely,
In the fish's jaws fixed firmly;
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Presently the fish uplifted,
Dragged it up from out the water,
And the pike in twain he severed. 170
To the bottom sank the fish-tail,
In the boat the head he hoisted.
Now again moved on the vessel,
And the boat-prow now was loosened.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast
To the shoals steered on the vessel,
To the shore the boat he guided,
And he turned and looked about him,
And the pike's great head examined,
And he spoke the words which follow: 180
"Let the eldest of the yeomen,
Come and cleave the pike to pieces,
Let him carve it into slices,
Let him hew the head to pieces."
From the boat the men made answer,
From the boat replied the women,
"But the captor's hands are finer,
And the speaker's fingers better."
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Drew from out the sheath his knife-blade, 190
From his side the cold sharp iron,
That the pike might be divided,
And he cut the fish to pieces,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Let the youngest of the maidens,
Cook the pike that we have captured,
Let her mince it for our breakfast,
That on fish we make our dinner."
Then the maidens set to cooking,
Ten there were who made the effort, 200
And they cooked the pike for eating,
And they minced it for their breakfast;
On the reefs the bones they scattered,
On the rocks they left the fishbones.