Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v1.djvu/223

Thereupon the servant answered,
“Horses six are in the stable,
Horses six, on oats that fatten;
Which among them shall I yoke you?”390
Said the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,
“Take the best of all the stallions,
Put the foal into the harness,
Yoke before the sledge the chestnut,
Then provide me with six cuckoos,
Seven blue birds at once provide me,
That upon the frame they perch them,
And may sing their cheerful music,
That the fair ones may behold them,
And the maidens be delighted.400
Then provide me with a bearskin,
That I seat myself upon it,
And a second hide of walrus,
That the bright-hued sledge is covered.”
Thereupon the skilful servant,
He the servant paid with wages,
Put the colt into the harness,
Yoked before the sledge the chestnut,
And provided six fine cuckoos,
Seven blue birds at once provided,410
That upon the frame should perch them,
And should sing their cheerful music;
And a bearskin next provided,
That his lord should sit upon it,
And another hide of walrus,
And with this the sledge he covered.
Then the smith, e’en Ilmarinen,
He the great primeval craftsman,
Sent aloft his prayer to Ukko,
And he thus besought the Thunderer:420
“Scatter forth thy snow, O Ukko,
Let the snowflakes soft be drifted,
That the sledge may glide o’er snowfields,
O’er the snow-drifts gliding swiftly.”
Then the snow did Ukko scatter.
And the snowflakes soft were drifted,