Kalevala : the Epic Poem of Finland – Volume 02. Неизвестный автор

the suitor,

        Round his waist a belt of copper,

        Hammered by the Sun's sweet maidens,

        Ere the early fires were lighted,

        Ere the fire had been discovered.

        Dressed in richness is the bridegroom,

        On his feet are silken stockings,

        Silken ribbons on his ankles,

        Gold and silver interwoven.

        Dressed in beauty is the bridegroom,

        On his feet are shoes of deer-skin,

        Like the swans upon the water,

        Like the blue-duck on the sea-waves,

        Like the thrush among the willows,

        Like the water-birds of Northland.

        Well adorned the hero-suitor,

        With his locks of golden color,

        With his gold-beard finely braided,

        Hero-hat upon his forehead,

        Piercing through the forest branches,

        Reaching to the clouds of heaven,

        Bought with countless gold and silver,

        Priceless is the suitor's head-gear.

        "Now the bridegroom has been lauded,

        I will praise the young bride's playmate,

        Day-companion in her childhood,

        In the maiden's magic mansion.

        Whence was brought the merry maiden,

        From the village of Tanikka?

        Thence was never brought the playmate,

        Playmate of the bride in childhood.

        Has she come from distant nations,

        From the waters of the Dwina,

        O'er the ocean far-outstretching?

        Not from Dwina came the maiden,

        Did not sail across the waters;

        Grew as berry in the mountains,

        As a strawberry of sweetness,

        On the fields the child of beauty,

        In the glens the golden flower.

        Thence has come the young bride's playmate,

        Thence arose her fair companion.

        Tiny are her feet and fingers,

        Small her lips of scarlet color,

        Like the maiden's loom of Suomi;

        Eyes that shine in kindly beauty

        Like the twinkling stars of heaven;

        Beam the playmate's throbbing temples

        Like the moonlight on the waters.

        Trinkets has the bride's companion,

        On her neck a golden necklace,

        In her tresses, silken ribbons,

        On her arms are golden bracelets,

        Golden rings upon her fingers,

        Pearls are set in golden ear-rings,

        Loops of gold upon her temples,

        And with pearls her brow is studded.

        Northland thought the Moon was shining

        When her jeweled ear-ringsglistened;

        Thought the Sun had left his station

        When her girdle shone in beauty;

        Thought a ship was homeward sailing

        When her colored head-gear fluttered.

        Thus is praised the bride's companion,

        Playmate of the Rainbow-maiden.

        "Now I praise the friends assembled,

        All appear in graceful manners;

        If the old are wise and silent,

        All the youth are free and merry,

        All the guests are fair and worthy.

        Never was there in Wainola,

        Never will there be in Northland,

        Such a company assembled;

        All the children speak in joyance,

        All the aged move sedately;

        Dressed in white are all the maidens,

        Like the hoar-frost of the morning,

        Like the welcome dawn of spring-time,

        Like the rising of the daylight.

        Silver then was more abundant,

        Gold among the guests in plenty,

        On the hills were money, pockets,

        Money-bags along the valleys,

        For the friends that were invited,

        For the guests in joy assembled.

        All the friends have now been lauded,

        Each has gained his meed of honor."

        Wainamoinen, old and truthful,

        Song-deliverer of Northland,

        Swung himself upon the fur-bench

        Or his magic sledge of copper,

        Straightway hastened to his hamlet,

        Singing as he journeyed onward,

        Singing charms and incantations,

        Singing one day, then a second,

        All the third day chanting legends.

        On the rocks the runners rattled,

        Hung the sledge upon a birch-stump,

        Broke it into many pieces,

        With the magic of his singing;

        Double were the runners bended,

        All the parts were torn asunder,

        And his magic sledge was ruined.

        Then the good, old Wainamoinen

        Spake these words in meditation:

        "Is there one among this number,

        In this rising generation,

        Or perchance among the aged,

        In the passing generation,

        That will go to Mana's kingdom,

        To the empire of Tuoni,

        There to get the magic auger

        From the master of Manala,

        That I may repair my snow-sledge,

        Or a second sledge may fashion?"

        What the younger people answered

        Was the answer of the aged:

        "Not among the youth of Northland,

        Nor among the aged heroes,

        Is there one of ample courage,

        That has bravery sufficient,

        To attempt the reckless journey

        To the kingdom of Tuoni,

        To Manala's fields