Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/97

Like the hue of the lake creatures,
Like the wool of ewe of meadow.
Come at evening and night’s darkness,
When the twilight round is closing,
Then do thou lead home my cattle,
Lead them to their noble mistress,270
On their backs the water pouring,
Lakes of milk upon their cruppers.
“When the sun to rest has sunken,
And the bird of eve is singing,
Then I say unto my cattle,
Speak unto my horned creatures.
“‘Come ye home, ye curve-horned cattle,
Milk-dispensers to the household,
In the house ’tis very pleasant,
Where the floor is nice for resting.280
On the waste ’tis bad to wander,
Or upon the shore to bellow,
Therefore you should hasten homeward,
And the women fire will kindle,
In the field of honeyed grasses,
On the ground o’ergrown with berries.’
“Nyyrikki, O son of Tapio,
Blue-coat offspring of the forest!
Take the stumps of tallest pine-trees,
And the lofty crowns of fir-trees,290
For a bridge in miry places,
Where the ground is bad for walking,
Deep morass, and swampy moorland,
And the treacherous pools of water.
Let the curve-homed cattle wander,
And the split-hoofed cattle gallop,
Unto where the smoke is rising,
Free from harm, and free from danger,
Sinking not into the marshes,
Nor embogged in miry places.300
“If the cattle pay no heeding,
Nor will home return at nightfall,
Pihlajatar, little damsel,
Katajatar, fairest maiden,