ollowing spring I will send you home. So now do you bear me to my
house."

Thereupon the Aino chief and his sons bore the woman in the litter to
the mountains. They saw that the country was all like moorland. Then the
chieftainess entered the house. There was a room there with a golden
netting, like a mosquito-net. The three men were placed inside it. The
chieftainess fed them herself. In the day-time numbers of women came in.
They sat beside the golden mosquito-net, looking at the men. At
nightfall they went home. So gradually it got to be autumn. Then the
chieftainess spoke as follows, "As the fall of the leaf has now come,
and as there are two vice-chieftainesses besides me, I will send your
two sons to them. You yourself shall be husband to me." Then two
beautiful women came in, and led off the two sons by the hand, while the
chieftainess kept the chief for herself.

So the men dwelt there. When spring came, the chieftain's wife spoke
thus to him: "We women of this country differ from yours. At the same
time as the grass begins to sprout, teeth sprout in our vaginas. So our
husbands cannot stay with us. The east wind is our husband. When the
east wind blows, we all turn our buttocks towards it, and thus conceive
children. Sometimes we bear male children. But these male children are
killed and done away with when they become fit to lie with women. For
that reason, this is a land which has women only. It is called
woman-land. So when, brought by some bad god, you came to this land of
mine, there were teeth in my vagina because it was summer, for which
reason I did not marry you. But I married you when the teeth fell out.
Now, as the teeth are again sprouting in my vagina because spring has
come, it is now impossible for us to sleep together. I will send you
home to-morrow. So do you tell your sons to come here to-day in order to
be ready."

The sons came. The chieftainess stayed in the house. Then, with tears
streaming down her face, she spoke thus; "Though it is dangerous,
to-night is our last night. Let us sleep together!" Then the man, being
much frightened, took a beautiful scabbard in a bag in his bosom, and
lay with the woman with this scabbard. The mark of the teeth remained on
the scabbard. The next day dawned. Then the man went to his boat, taking
his sons with him. The chieftainess wept and spoke thus: "As a fair wind
is blowing away from my country, you, if you set sail and sail straight
ahead, will be a