Then he looked again more sharply,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Far away I see an island,
Dimly looming in the distance,
Aspens covered o'er with falcons,
Speckled grouse upon the birch-trees." 60
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
"What you say is surely nonsense,
For no falcons do you see there,
And no speckled grouse you see there,
But perchance the sons of Pohja;
Look more sharply for the third time."
Then the lively Lemminkainen
For the third time looked around him,
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him: 70
"'Tis a ship from Pohja sailing,
With a hundred rowlocks fitted,
And I see a hundred oarsmen,
And a thousand men beside them."
Then the aged Väinämöinen,
All the truth at once perceiving,
Spoke aloud the words which follow:
"Row, thou smith; row, Ilmarinen;
Row, O lively Lemminkainen;
Row ye also, all ye people, 80
That the boat be hurried forward,
And the vessel onward driven."
Rowed the smith, rowed Ilmarinen,
Rowed the lively Lemminkainen,
All the people joined in rowing.
Swayed about the pinewood oars,
Loudly rang the rowan rowlocks,
And the pinewood boat was swaying.
Like a seal the prow dashed onward,
Boiled the waves behind like cataract, 90
Like a bell uprose the water,
And the foam flew up in masses.
As for wager rowed the heroes,
As in race the heroes struggled,
But they rowed, and made no progress,
Nor could urge the wooden vessel
Further from the sailing vessel,
And the ship that came from Pohja.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Saw misfortune fast approaching. 100
On his head was doomsday falling,
And he pondered and reflected,
How to act and how to save him,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Still I know a plan of safety,
Still I see a little marvel."
Then he took a piece of tinder,
In his tinder-box he found it,
And of pitch he took a little,
And a little piece of tinder, 110
And into the lake he threw it,
O'er his shoulder left he threw it,
And he spoke the words which follow,
And in words like these expressed him:
"Let a reef of this be fashioned,
And a cliff be fashioned from it,
Where may run the ship of Pohja,
Fitted with a hundred rowlocks,
And may strike in lake tempestuous,
And amid the waves be shattered." 120
Thereupon a reef grew upward,
In the lake a cliff was fashioned,
Half its length to east directed,
And its breadth to north directed.
Onward sped the ship of Pohja,
Gliding swiftly through the lake-waves,
And upon the reef came rushing,
And upon the rocks wedged firmly.
Broke across the wooden vessel,
And to splinters it was broken; 130
In the lake the masts fell crashing,
And the sails fell drooping downward,
By the wind away were carried,
And the spring wind all dispersed them.