Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/127

In a noble house was nurtured,
By his dear and much-loved mother,
Where the bay spread out most widely,
Where the cape extended furthest.
Kauko fed himself on fishes,
Ahti was reared up on perches,10
And he grew a man most handsome,
Very bold and very ruddy,
And his head was very handsome,
And his form was very shapely,
Yet he was not wholly faultless,
But was careless in his morals,
Passing all his time with women,
Wandering all around at night-time,
When the maidens took their pleasure
In the dance, with locks unbraided.20
Kylli, beauteous maid of Saari,
Saari’s maiden, Saari’s flower,
In a noble house was nurtured,
And her stature grew most graceful,
Sitting in her father’s dwelling,
Resting there in seat of honour.
Long she grew, and wide was famous:
Suitors came from distant regions,
To the far-famed maiden’s homestead,
To the dwelling of the fair one.30
For his son, the Sun had wooed her
, But she would not go to Sunland,
Where the Sun is ever shining
In the burning heats of summer.
For his son, the Moon had wooed her,
But she would not go to Moonland,
Where the Moon is ever shining,
In the realms of air to wander.
For his son, a Star had wooed her,
But she would not go to Starland,40
Through the live-long night to glimmer,
In the open skies of winter.
Many suitors came from Viro,
And from Ingerland came others;