Runo XLII.—The Capture of the Sampo
Argument
The heroes arrive at Pohjola, and Väinämöinen announces that he has come to take possession of the Sampo, either with good-will, or by force (1-58). The Mistress of Pohjola refuses to yield it either by consent or by compulsion, and calls together her people to oppose him (59-64). Väinämöinen takes the kantele, begins to play, and lulls to sleep all the people of Pohjola, and goes with his companions to search for the Sampo; they take it from the stone mountain and convey it to the boat (65-164). They sail homewards well satisfied, carrying the Sampo with them (165-308). On the third day the Mistress of Pohjola wakes from her sleep, and when she finds that the Sampo has been carried off, she prepares a thick fog, a strong wind, and other impediments, to oppose the robbers of the Sampo, which reach the vessel, and during the tempest Väinämöinen's kantele falls into the water (309-562).
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Secondly, smith Ilmarinen,
Third, the lively son of Lempi,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
Sailed upon the lake's broad surface,
O'er the far-extending billows,
To the cold and dreary village,
To the misty land of Pohja,
To the land where men are eaten,
Where they even drown the heroes. 10
Who should row the vessel onward?
First, the smith named Ilmarinen.
He it was who rowed the vessel,
He was first among the rowers,
And the lively Lemminkainen
Was the last among the rowers.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
In the stern himself was seated,
And he steered the vessel onward,
Through the waves he steered it onward, 20
Through the foaming waves he steered it,
Steered it o'er the foam-capped billows,
Unto Pohja's distant haven,
To his well-known destination.
When they reached the goal they sought for,
And the voyage at length was ended,
To the land they drew the vessel,
Up they drew the tarry vessel,
Laid it on the steely rollers,
At the quay with copper edging. 30
After this the house they entered,
Crowding hastily within it,
Then did Pohjola's old Mistress,
Ask the purport of their coming.
"Men, what tidings do you bring us,
What fresh news, O heroes, bring you?"
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
"Men are speaking of the Sampo,
Heroes, of its pictured cover. 40
We have come to share the Sampo,
And behold its pictured cover."
Then did Pohjola's old Mistress
Answer in the words which follow:
"Two men cannot share a grouseling,
Nor can three divide a squirrel,
And the Sampo loud is whirring,
And the pictured cover grinding,
Here in Pohjola's stone mountain,
And within the hill of copper. 50
I myself rejoice in welfare,
Mistress of the mighty Sampo."