among the grass-roots,
Hide thyself among the hillocks,
'Neath the turf thy mouth conceal thou,
Make thy dwelling in a hillock.
If you lift your head from out it,
Ukko surely will destroy it,
With his nails, all steely-pointed,
With a mighty hail of iron." 670

Thus was Lemminkainen talking,
But the serpent heeded nothing,
And continued always hissing,
Darting out its tongue for ever,
And its mouth was always hissing
At the head of Lemminkainen.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Of an ancient spell bethought him,
Which the old crone once had taught him,
Which his mother once had taught him. 680

Said the lively Lemminkainen,
Spoke the handsome Kaukomieli,
"If you do not heed my singing,
And it is not quite sufficient,
Still you will swell up with anguish
When an ill day comes upon you.
Thou wilt burst in two, O vile one,
O thou toad, in three will burst thou,
If I should seek out your mother,
And should search for your ancestress. 690
Well I know thy birth, vile creature,
Whence thou comest, earthly horror,
For Syoejaetaer was your mother,
And the sea-fiend was your parent.

"Syoejaetaer she spat in water,
In the waves she left the spittle,
By the wind 'twas rocked thereafter,
Tossed upon the water-current,
Thus for six years it was shaken,
Thus for seven whole summers drifted, 700
On the ocean's shining surface,
And upon the swelling billows.
Thus for long the water stretched it,
By the sun 'twas warmed and softened,
To the land the billows drove it,
On the beach a wave upcast it.

"Walked three Daughters of Creation
On the beach of stormy ocean,
On the beach, the waves that bounded,
On the beach they saw the spittle, 710
And they spoke the words which follow:
'What might perhaps of this be fashioned,
If a life by the Creator,
And if eyes were granted to it?'

"This was heard by the Creator,
And he spoke the words which follow:
'Evil only comes from evil,
And a toad from toad's foul vomit,
If I gave a life unto it,
And if eyes were granted to it.' 720

"But the words were heard by Hiisi,
One for mischief always ready,
And he set about creating;
Hiisi gave a life unto it,
Of the sli