Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/115

Out of Pohjola’s dark regions,
Sariola for ever misty.
Presently his horse he halted
At the new-cleared field of Osmo,
And the aged Väinämöinen,
In the sledge his head uplifted,
Heard the noise within the smithy,
And the clatter in the coal-shed.
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Then himself the smithy entered,60
And he found smith Ilmarinen,
Wielding mightily his hammer.
Said the smith, said Ilmarinen,
“O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Where have you so long been staying,
Where have you so long been living?”
Väinämöinen, old and steadfast,
Answered in the words which follow:
“There have I so long been staying,
There have I so long been living,70
In the gloomy land of Pohja,
Sariola for ever misty.
Long I coursed on Lapland snowshoes,
With the world-renowned magicians.”
Then the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,
Answered in the words which follow
“O thou aged Väinämöinen,
Thou the great primeval sorcerer,
Tell me of your journey thither;
Tell me of your homeward journey.”80
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
“Much indeed have I to tell you:
Lives in Pohjola a maiden,
In that village cold a virgin,
Who will not accept a suitor,
Mocks the very best among them.
Half of all the land of Pohja
Praises her surpassing beauty.
From her temples shines the moonlight,
From her breasts the sun is shining,90