for ever,
For I know a little country,
Know a very little refuge,
Wasted not, and safe from battle,
And untrodden by the swordsmen.
Swear me now by oaths eternal,
Binding, free from all deception, 260
In the course of sixty summers,
Nevermore to go to battle,
Neither for the love of silver,
Nor perchance if gold was needed."

Then said lively Lemminkainen,
"Now I swear by oaths the strongest,
Never in the first of summers,
Nor in any other summer,
Mix myself in mighty battles,
In the clashing of the sword-blades. 270
Wounds are still upon my shoulders,
In my breast deep wounds still rankle,
From my former battle-pleasures,
In the midst of all the tumult,
In the midst of mighty battles,
Where the heroes all contended."

Then did Lemminkainen's mother
Answer in the words which follow:
"Take the boat your father left you,
And betake yourself to hiding. 280
Traverse nine lakes in succession,
Half the tenth one must thou traverse,
To an island on its surface,
Where the cliffs arise from water.
There in former times your father
Hid, and kept himself in safety,
In the furious fights of summer,
In the hardest years of battle.
There you'll find a pleasant dwelling,
And a charming place to linger. 290
Hide thyself a year, a second,
In the third year come thou homeward,
To your father's well-known homestead,
To the dwelling of your parents."

RUNO XXIX.--LEMMINKAINEN'S ADVENTURES ON THE ISLAND

_Argument_

Lemminkainen sails across the lakes in his boat and comes safely to the
island (1-180). There he lives pleasantly among the girls and women till
the return of the men from warfare, who conspire against him (181-290).
Lemminkainen flies from the island, much to the grief both of the girls
and himself (291-402). His boat is wrecked in a violent storm, but he
escapes by swimming to land, makes a new boat, and arrives safely on the
shores of his own country (403-452). He finds his old house burned, and
the whole surroundings laid waste, when he begins to weep and lament,
especially for the loss of his mother (453-514). His mother, however, is
still alive, having taken refuge in a thick forest where Lemminkainen
finds her to his great joy (515-546). She relates how the army of
Pohjola came and