Runo II.—Väinämöinen’s Sowing
Argument
Väinämöinen lands on a treeless country and directs Sampsa Pellervoinen to sow trees (1–42). At first the oak will not grow, but after repeated sowings it springs up, overshadows the whole country, and hides the sun and moon (43–110). A little man rises from the sea, who fells the oak, and permits the sun and moon to shine again (111–224). Birds sing in the trees; herbs, flowers and berries grow on the ground; only the barley will not spring up (225–256). Väinämöinen finds some barleycorns in the sand on the shore, and fells the forest, leaving only a birch-tree as a resting-place for the birds (257–264). The eagle, grateful for this, strikes fire, and the felled trees are consumed (265–284). Väinämöinen sows the barley, prays to Ukko for its increase, and it grows and flourishes (285–378).
Then did Väinämöinen, rising,
Set his feet upon the surface
Of a sea-encircled island,
In a region bare of forest.
There he dwelt, while years passed over,
And his dwelling he established
On the silent, voiceless island,
In a barren, treeless country.
Then he pondered and reflected,
In his mind he turned it over,10
“Who shall sow this barren country,
Thickly scattering seeds around him?”
Pellervoinen, earth-begotten,
Sampsa, youth of smallest stature,
Came to sow the barren country,
Thickly scattering seeds around him.
Down he stooped the seeds to scatter,
On the land and in the marshes,
Both in flat and sandy regions,
And in hard and rocky places.20
On the hills he sowed the pine-trees,
On the knolls he sowed the fir-trees,
