Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/154

From within the hill of copper,
And the ninefold locks that hold it.”
Said the smith, said Ilmarinen,
“Safest is by land the journey.
Lempo on the lake is brooding,
Death upon its mighty surface,
And the wind might drive us onward,
And the tempest might o’erturn us;
We might have to row with fingers,
And to use our hands for steering.”40
Said the aged Väinämöinen,
“Safest is by land the journey,
Safest, but the most fatiguing,
And moreover, full of windings.
Pleasant ’tis in boat on water,
Swaying as the boat glides onward,
Gliding o’er the sparkling water,
Driving o’er its shining surface,
While the wind the boat is rocking,
And the waves drive on the vessel,50
While the west-wind rocks it gently,
And the south-wind drives it onward,
But let this be as it may be,
If you do not like the lake-voyage,
We by land can journey thither,
And along the shore can journey.
“First a new sword do you forge me,
Make me now a keen-edged weapon,
So that I with beasts can struggle,
Chase away the folks of Pohja.60
Forth I go to seize the Sampo,
From the cold and dismal village,
From the gloomy land of Pohja,
Sariola for ever misty.”
Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
He the great primeval craftsman,
Cast some iron in the fire,
Steel upon the glowing charcoal,
And of gold he took a handful,
And of silver took a handful,70