Chapter 8
RUNO VIII. VINUMOINEN'S WOUND. ARGUMENT. On his journey, Vinamoynen encounters the magnificently clad maiden of Poya and makes advances to her. The maiden at length consents to his wishes if he will make a boat from the splinters of her spindle and move it into the water without touching it. Vinamoynen sets to work but wounds his knee severely with his axe and cannot stanch the flow of blood. He goes in search of some magic remedy
and finds an old man who promises to stop the bleeding. Lovely was the maid of Poya, famed on land, on water peerless, on the arch of air high-seated, brightly shining on the rainbow,
clad in robes of dazzling luster, clad in raiment white and shining. There she wove a golden fabric, interwoven all with silver, and her shuttle was all golden
and her comb was all of silver. from her hand flew swift the shuttle in her hands the reel was turning and the copper shafts they clattered and the silver comb resounded
as the maiden wove the fabric and with silver interwove it Bynamoinen old and steadfast thundered on upon his journey from the gloomy land of Poya
Sarriola forever misty short the distance he had traveled short the way that he had journeyed when he heard the shuttle whizzing high above his head he heard it.
There upon his head he lifted, and he gazed aloft to heaven, and beheld a glorious rainbow. On the arch the maiden seated, as she wove a golden fabric, as the silver comb resounded. Vinamoynen, old and steadfast, stayed his horse upon the instant,
and he raised his voice, and speaking in such words as these addressed her. Come into my sledge, O maiden In the sledge beside me seat thee Then the maiden made him answer And in words like these responded
Wherefore should the maiden join you In the sledge beside you seated Bynamoinen, old and steadfast Heard her words and then responded Therefore should the maiden join me
In the sledge beside me seat her Bread of honey to prepare me And the best of beer to brew me singing blithely on the benches gaily talking at the window
when in Vainula I sojourn at my home in Kalevala then the maiden gave him answer and in words like these addressed him as I wandered through the bed straws
tripping o'er the yellow meadows yesterday in time of evening as the sun was slowly sinking in the bush a bird was singing and I heard the field fair trilling
singing of the whims of maidens and the whims of new-wed damsels. Thus the bird was speaking to me, and I questioned it in this wise. Tell me, O thou little field-fair,
sing thou that my ears may hear it, whether it indeed is better, whether thou hast heard tis better, for a girl in father's dwelling or in household of a husband.
Thereupon the bird made answer, and the field-fair answered chirping, Brilliant is the day in summer, but a maiden's lot is brighter and the frost makes cold the iron
yet the new bride's lot is colder in her father's house a maiden lives like strawberry in the garden but a bride in house of husband lives like house dog tightly fettered to a slave comes rarely pleasure
to a wedded damsel never by Namoinen old and steadfast answered in the words which follow song of birds is idle chatter and the throstles merely chirping.
As a child a daughter is treated, but a maid must needs be married. Come into my sledge, O maiden. In the sledge beside me seat thee. I am not a man unworthy,
lazier not than other heroes. But the maid gave crafty answer, and in words like these responded, As a man I will esteem you, and as hero will regard you.
If you can split up a horsehair with a blunt and pointless knife blade, and an egg in knots you tie me, yet no knot is seen upon it. Vinamoynen old and steadfast, then the hair in twain divided, with a blunt and pointless knife-blade, with a knife completely pointless
and an egg in knots he twisted, yet no knot was seen upon it. Then again he asked the maiden in the sledge to sit beside him, but the maid gave crafty answer, I perchance at length may join you, if you'll peel the stone I give you, and a pile of ice will hew me, but no splinters scatter from it, nor the smallest fragment loosen.
By Nimoyne an old and steadfast did not find the task a hard one. From the stone the rind he severed, and a pile of ice he hewed her, but no splinters scattered from it, nor the smallest fragment loosened. Then again he asked the maiden in the sledge to sit beside him. but the maid gave crafty answer
and she spoke the words which follow no, I will not yet go with you if a boat you cannot carve me from the splinters of my spindle from the fragments of my shuttle
and shall launch the boat in water push it out upon the billows but no knee shall press against it and no hand must even touch it and no arm shall urge it onward
neither shall a shoulder guide it Vinamoynon old and steadfast answered in the words which follow none in any land or country under all the vault of heaven like myself can build a vessel or so deftly can construct it then he took the spindle splinters of the reel he took the fragments and began the boat to fashion fixed a hundred planks together
on a mount of steel he built it built it on the rocks of iron at the boat with zeal he labored toiling at the work unresting, working thus one day, a second, on the third day likewise working, but the rocks his axe-blade touched not, and upon the hill it rang not. But at length upon the third day, Hese turned aside the axe-shaft,
Lempo turned the edge against him, and an evil stroke delivered. On the rocks the axe-blade glinted, on the hill the blade rang loudly, From the rock the axe rebounded, in the flesh the steel was buried, in the victim's knee t'was buried, in the toes of Vainamoinen. In the flesh did Lempot drive it, to the veins did he see guide it,
from the wound the blood flowed freely, bursting forth in streaming torrents. Vainamoinen, old and steadfast, he the oldest of magicians, uttered words like those which follow and expressed himself in this wise, O thou evil axe ferocious, with thy edge of gleaming sharpness,
thou hast thought to hew a tree trunk and to strike upon a pine tree, match thyself against a fir tree or to fall upon a birch tree. Tis my flesh that thou hast wounded
and my veins thou hast divided. Then his magic spells he uttered and himself began to speak them, spells of origin for healing and to close the wound completely.
but he could not think of any words of origin of iron which might serve to bind the evil and to close the gaping edges of the great wound from the iron by the blue edge deeply bitten but the blood gushed forth in torrents rushing like a foaming river
or the berry bearing bushes and the heath the ground that covered there remained no single hillock which was not completely flooded by the overflowing bloodstream which came rushing forth in torrents from the knee of one most worthy from the toes of Vinamoynen. Vinamoynen, old and steadfast, gathered from the rocks the lichen,
from the swamps the moss collected, earth he gathered from the hillocks, hoping thus to stop the outlet of the wound that bled so freely. But he could not check the bleeding, nor restrain it in the slightest, and the pain he felt oppressed him, and the greatest trouble seized him. vinminen old and steadfast then began to weep full sorely thereupon his horse he harnessed in the sledge he yoked the chestnut on the sledge himself he mounted and upon the seat he sat him o'er the horse his whip he brandished with the bead decked whip he lashed him
and the horse sped quickly onward rocked the sledge the way grew shorter and they quickly reached a village where the path in three divided vinminen old and steadfast drove along the lowest pathway to the lowest of the homesteads and he asked upon the threshold is there no one in this household who can cure the wounds of iron who can soothe the hero's anguish and can heal the wound that pains him on the floor a child was playing by the stove a boy was sitting and he answered him in this wise there is no one in this household who can heal the wounds of iron who can soothe the hero's anguish to the rock can fix it firmly and can heal the wound that pains him such may dwell in other houses drive away to other houses by nemoinen old and steadfast o'er the horse his whip then brandished and the sledge went rattling onward thus a little way he travelled on the midmost of the pathways to the midmost of the houses and he asked upon the threshold and beseeching at the window is there no one in this household who can heal the wounds of iron who can stanch the blood when flowing and can check the rushing bloodstream neath the quilt a crone was resting by the stove there sat a gossip and she spoke and answered plainly as her three teeth gnashed together there is no one in this household who can heal the wounds of iron none who knows efficient blood spells and can close the wound that pains you
such may dwell in other houses drive away to other houses by nemoinen old and steadfast o'er the horses whipped and brandished and the sledge went rattling onward thus a little way he travelled on the highest of the pathways to the highest of the houses and he asked upon the threshold calling from beside the doorpost is there any in this household who can heal the wounds of iron who can check this rushing bloodstream and can stay the dark red torrent by the stove an old man rested on the stove bed lay a graybeard from the stove the old man mumbled and the graybeard cried in answer stemmed before were greater torrents greater floods than this were hindered by three words of the creator by the mighty words primeval brooks and streams were checked from flowing mighty streams and cataracts falling bays were formed in rocky headlands tongues of land were linked together end of runo eight recording by expatriate in bangor maine
