there rose from the sea a pygmy, armed in copper, whom
Wainamoinen deemed incapable of coping with so large a tree, until the
dwarf suddenly transformed himself into a giant of such proportions
that four blows from his copper axe felled the oak, scattering its
trunk to the east, its top to the west, its leaves to the south, and
its branches to the north. The chips from the fallen oak were
collected by a Northland maiden to make enchanted arrows for a
magician, and the soil it overshadowed immediately began to bear
vegetation of sundry kinds.

Gazing at this new growth Wainamoinen discovered every kind of seed
sprouting there save barley. Soon after he found seven grains of this
cereal on the sea-shore and consulted the birds how best to plant
them. They advised him to fell the forests, burn the branches, and
plant the barley in the land thus cleared. While obeying these
directions in the main, Wainamoinen allowed the birch to stand,
declaring there must be some place where the cuckoo and the eagle
could build their nests. These two birds, greatly pleased by this
attention, watched Wainamoinen as he sowed his seed, and heard him
chant a prayer to Ukko, Father of Heaven, to send down rain to help it
germinate. This prayer was answered to such, good purpose that eight
days later Wainamoinen found a crop of barley ready to harvest, and
heard the cuckoo's notes as it perched in the birch trees.

"Therefore I have left the birch-tree,
Left the birch-tree only growing,
Home for thee for joyful singing.
Call thou here, O sweet-voiced cuckoo,
Sing thou here from throat of velvet,
Sing thou here with voice of silver,
Sing the cuckoo's golden flute-notes;
Call at morning, call at evening,
Call within the hour of noontide,
For the better growth of forests,
For the ripening of the barley,
For the richness of the Northland,
For the joy of Kalevala."

_Rune III._ In the beautiful Land of the Heroes--Kalevala--Wainamoinen
sang songs so wonderful that their fame spread northward to the land
of the Lapps, and prompted Youkahainen to journey southward and
challenge the "ancient minstrel" to a singing contest. In vain
Youkahainen's parents strove to dissuade him from this undertaking;
the bold youth harnessed his sledge and drove rapidly southward,
colliding with Wainamoinen, who was also out in his sledge that day.
Although Wainamoinen was modest, his opponent was boastful and boldly
proposed they show t