Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/116

And the Great Bear from her shoulders,
From her back the starry Seven.
“Thou thyself, smith Ilmarinen,
Thou, the great primeval craftsman,
Go thyself to woo the maiden,
And behold her shining tresses.
If you can but forge a Sampo,
With its many-coloured cover,
You will then receive the maiden,
And the fair maid be your guerdon.”100
Said the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,
“O thou aged Väinämöinen,
You have perhaps already pledged me
To the gloomy land of Pohja,
That your own head you might rescue,
And might thus secure your freedom.
Not in course of all my lifetime,
While the golden moon is shining,
Hence to Pohjola I’ll journey,
Huts of Sariola so dreary,110
Where the people eat each other,
And they even drown the heroes.”
Then the aged Väinämöinen
Answered in the words which follow:
“There is wonder after wonder;
There’s a pine with flowery summit,
Flowery summit, leaves all golden,
Near where Osmo’s field is bordered.
On the crown the moon is shining,
In the boughs the Bear is resting.”120
Said the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,
“This I never can believe in,
If I do not go to see it,
And my own eyes have not seen it.”
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
“If you cannot then believe it,
We will go ourselves, and witness
Whether true or false the story.”
Then they both went forth to see it,
View the pine with flowery summit,130