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Runo XL]
The Pike and the Kantele
153

And in both thy hands collect them,
With thy hands repress their fury,30
That upon our breasts they splash not,
Nor upon our heads are falling.
“Thou, old dame, beneath the billows,
Lady, pillowed on the waters,
Raise thy head above the waters,
Rise from bosom of the waters,
That the foam be heaped together,
And that thou mayst watch the foam-wreaths,
Lest they should o’erwhelm the guiltless,
And should overthrow the faultless.40
“Stones that stand amid the river,
Slabs of stone with foam o’ercovered,
Be ye sunk into the water,
And your heads be pressed beneath it,
From the red boat’s pathway banished,
From the course the tarred boat follows.
“If this is not yet sufficient,
Kimmo-stone, O son of Kammo,
Make an opening with thy auger,
Pierce an opening with thy auger,50
Through the stones in river standing,
And the dangerous slabs that border,
That the boat may pass uninjured,
And the vessel pass undamaged.
“If this is not yet sufficient,
Water-Father, ’neath the river,
Into moss the rocks transform thou,
Make the boat like pike’s light bladder,
As amid the foam it rushes,
As beneath the banks it passes.60
“Maiden in the cataract dwelling,
Girl who dwell’st beside the river,
Do thou spin a thread of softness,
In a soft ball do thou wind it,
Drop thy thread into the water,
Through the blue waves do thou guide it,
That the boat its track may follow,