. This made Untamo so angry that he
collected a great army and marched against his brother to put him and
all his tribe to death. And when they reached Kalerwoinen's home they
burned all the houses and killed every one except Kalerwoinen's daughter
Untamala.

Now not long after this a child was born to Untamala, and she named him
Kullervo. Then they laid the fatherless infant in the cradle and began
to rock him, but he began at once to make the cradle rock without
assistance, and he rocked for three whole days, so hard that his hair
stood quite on end. On the third day he began to kick until he had burst
his swaddling clothes, and then he crept out of the cradle and broke
that also in pieces. When Kullervo was only three months old he began to
speak, and the first words which he uttered were these: 'When I have
grown big and strong I will avenge the murder of my grandfather
Kalerwoinen and his people.'

At this Untamo was greatly alarmed, and took counsel with his people as
to what should be done with the child. At length they hit upon a plan.
They took the child and bound him firmly in a willow basket and then put
him in the lake among the bulrushes. After three days had passed they
went to see if he were dead, but he had broken loose from the basket and
was sitting on the waves, fishing with a copper rod and a golden line;
so they took him back again to the house. Next Untamo ordered a great
heap of dried brushwood to be collected together, and a pile was made
higher than the tree-tops; on the top of this they set the boy and then
set fire to the pile. It burned three whole days, and then Untamo sent
men to see if the child was dead; but they found him sitting in the
middle of the fire raking the coals together with a copper rod, and not
a hair of his head was even singed.

Then they took him home and considered again how they should kill him,
and this time they took him and crucified him on an oak-tree. And on the
third day they came and found that he had painted an armed warrior on
every leaf, made fast though he was to the tree, and so they took him
down and brought him home again. This time they saw that they could not
harm him, so Untamo told him that he would take him as a servant, and
that if he did well he should be paid well.

When Kullervo had grown a little, he was set to take care of a baby, and
was given very careful instructions as to how to rock it and attend to
all its wants; but the cruel Kullervo