thy father or thy mother,
Or the eldest of thy brothers,
Or the youngest of thy sisters,
Or some other near relation?

"Not thy father, not thy mother,
Nor the eldest of thy brothers, 330
Nor the youngest of thy sisters
Nor some other near relation.
Thou thyself hast wrought the evil,
And hast done a deadly outrage.
Come thyself to see the mischief,
And to remedy the evil.
Come, before I tell thy mother,
And complain unto thy parents,
More will be thy mother's trouble,
Great the anguish of thy parents, 340
That their son had wrought this evil,
And their son had wrought this folly.

"Hear me, Blood, and cease thy flowing,
O thou Bloodstream, rush no longer,
Nor upon my head spirt further,
Nor upon my breast down-trickle.
Like a wall, O Blood, arrest thee,
Like a fence, O Bloodstream, stand thou,
As a flag in lakelet standing,
Like a reed in moss-grown country, 350
Like the bank that bounds the cornfield,
Like a rock in raging torrent.

"But thy own sense ought to teach thee
How that thou should'st run more smoothly.
In the flesh should'st thou be moving,
With thy current smoothly flowing.
In the body is it better,
Underneath the skin more lovely
Through the veins to trace thy pathway,
With thy current smoothly flowing, 360
Than upon the earth rash downward,
And among the dust to trickle.

"Flow not, milk, upon the flooring,
Soil thou not, O Blood, the meadows,
Nor the grass, O crown of manhood,
Nor the hillocks, gold of heroes.
In the heart should be thy dwelling,
And among the lungs' dark cellars.
Thither then withdraw thou quickly,
There withdraw upon the instant. 370
Do not issue like a river,
Nor as pond extend thy billows,
Trickling forth from out the marshes,
Nor to leak like boats when damaged.

"Therefore, dear one, cease thy flowing,
Crimson Blood, drip down no longer,
Not impeded, but contented.
Dry were once the Falls of Tyrja,
Likewise Tuonela's dread river,
Dry the lake and dry the heaven, 380
In the mighty droughts of summer,
In the evil times of bush-fires.

"If thou wilt not yet obey me,
Still I know another method,
And resort to fresh enchantments:
And I cal