Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Went back likewise to his country,
But he took the Sampo's fragments,
And the fragments of the cover,
From the lakeshore where he found them,
From the fine sand of the margin. 390
And he sowed the Sampo's fragments,
And the pieces of the cover,
Out upon the jutting headland,
On the misty island's summit,
That they there might grow and flourish,
Might increase and yield their produce,
As the ale obtained from barley,
As the bread that rye is yielding.
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Spoke aloud the words which follow: 400
"Grant, O Jumala, Creator,
That we now may live in comfort,
And be joyous all our lifetime,
And thereafter die in honour,
In our pleasant land of Suomi,
And in beautiful Carelia.
"Keep us, O thou great Creator,
Guard us, Jumala most gracious,
From the men to us unfriendly,
And from that old woman's malice. 410
Guard us from terrestrial evils,
And the spells of water-sorcerers.
"O protect thy sons for ever,
May'st thou always aid thy children,
Guard them always in the night-time,
And protect them in the daytime,
Lest the sun should cease from shining,
Lest the moon should cease from beaming,
Lest the winds should cease from blowing,
Lest the rain should cease from falling, 420
Lest the Frost should come and freeze us,
And the evil weather harm us.
"Build thou up a fence of iron,
And of stone a castle build us,
Round the spot where I am dwelling,
And round both sides of my people.
Build it up from earth to heaven,
Build it down to earth from heaven,
As my own, my lifelong dwelling,
As my refuge and protection, 430
That the proud may not devour us,
And they may not spoil our harvests,
In the course of all our lifetime,
When the golden moon is shining."
Runo XLIV.—Väinämöinen's New Kantele
Argument