just behind him.
Onward came the crone of Pohja,
And the wondrous bird was hovering
Like a hawk about his shoulders,
With the body of an eagle. 180

Soon she came near Vaeinaemoeinen,
And she flew upon the masthead,
Clambered out upon the sailyard,
And upon the pole she sat her,
And the boat was nearly sinking,
And the vessel's side lurched downward.

Thereupon smith Ilmarinen
Sought from Jumala assistance,
And invoking the Creator,
Then he spoke the words which follow: 190
"Save us, O thou good Creator,
Gracious Jumala, protect us,
That the son may not be hurried,
Nor the mother's child hurled downward,
From among the living creatures,
From the creatures whom thou rulest.

"Ukko, Jumala the Highest,
Thou our Father in the heavens,
Cast a fiery robe around me,
Over me a shirt of fire, 200
That I thus may fight protected,
And may thus contend protected,
That my head may fear no evil,
Nor my hair may be disordered,
When the shining swords are clashing,
And the steely points are meeting."

Said the aged Vaeinaemoeinen,
And he spoke the words which follow:
"Hail, O Pohjola's great Mistress!
Wilt thou now divide the Sampo, 210
Out upon the jutting headland,
On the misty island's summit?"

Then said Pohjola's old Mistress,
"No, I'll not divide the Sampo,
Not with thee, thou wretched creature,
Not with thee, O Vaeinaemoeinen!"
And she swooped to snatch the Sampo
From the boat of Vaeinaemoeinen.

Then the lively Lemminkainen
Drew his sword from out his swordbelt, 220
Firm he grasped the sharpened iron,
And from his left side he drew it,
Striking at the eagle's talons,
At the claws of eagle striking.

Struck the lively Lemminkainen,
As he struck, these words he uttered:
"Down ye men, and down ye swordsmen,
Down with all the sleepy heroes!
From her wings, ye men a hundred,
Ten from ends of every feather." 230

Answered then the crone of Pohja,
And she answered from the masthead:
"O thou lively son of Lempi,
Wretched Kauko, worthless fellow,
For thou hast deceived thy mother,
Lied unto thy aged mother!
Thou wast pledged to seek no battle
In the space of sixty summers,