Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot

Author:Elias Lönnrot [Lönnrot, Elias]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241403075
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2021-04-29T04:00:00+00:00

RUNO 24

The Teaching of the Bridegroom

Now the bride has been advised, And the maiden well-directed.

I will speak now to my brother, To the bridegroom from my mouth: “Bridegroom, you my little brother,5

Yet more precious than a brother, Dearer than a mother’s child, Closer than a father’s offspring, Listen as I speak to you, As I speak, as I tell you Of your little linnet here, Beautiful bird you have captured.

“Lucky bridegroom, thank your fortune13

For the good that you receive, In your thanking, thank it well.

Good you got and good befell; Good the great Creator promised, Good the gracious God has given.

Also, give thanks to the father, Even more thanks to the mother Who has cradled such a daughter, Such a special bride for you.

“Pure the virgin at your side,23

Shining in your bridal gifts, Radiant one now in your power, Graceful one now in your keeping.

Capable the girl beside you And so blushful as your partner, Lively girl for any labour At the threshing, at the haying; Able laundress, linen bleacher, Skilful spinner, clever weaver.

“Like a cuckoo on a hill35

Is the creaking of her batten, Swift as weasel through a woodpile Is the swooping of her shuttle, With the bobbin spinning like a Pine cone in a squirrel’s mouth.

Neighbours do not sleep so soundly Nor the people of the manor Since the creaking of her batten And the whirring of her shuttle.

“Bridegroom, young man, handsome figure,45

Forge yourself a scythe, a steel one, And affix a handle to it; Carve the handle in the gateway, Whittling, sitting on a stump.

When the sunny days have come, Take your sweetheart to the meadow – Notice how the hay is rustling, Coarse hay creaking, sedges sighing, Sorrel swishing, tussocks levelling, And observe the suckers snapping.

“When the right occasion comes59

Then present her with a shuttle, Sturdy batten, fitting warp beam; Carve out shapely, graceful treadles – All the makings of a loom.

Set her on the weaver’s bench With the batten in her hand.

Then the creaking of the batten And the clatter of the loom Will be heard by all the neighbours, And still farther through the village.

Village women will be wondering, Neighbour women will be asking: ‘Who is weaving cloth at this time?’

Properly enough, you answer: ‘Oh, that? That’s my darling weaving, My own sweetheart at her rattling.’

‘Does the cloth show any flaws, Are there any broken warp threads?’

‘In the cloth there are no flaws, And there are no broken warp threads; Flawless as the Moonmaid’s weaving Or the spinning of the Sunmaid; Skilful as the Great Bear’s daughter, As accomplished as the Starmaid.’

“Bridegroom, young man, handsome figure,85

When you set out on this journey, Driving out away from here, Driving with your youthful bride, With your lovely chick beside you, Do not drive your little sparrow, Little linnet, off the road At the corner of a fence, Tip her over on a stump Stretched out on the stony ground.

Never in her father’s house, In her tender mother’s care, Was she driven off the road At the corner of a fence Or tipped over on a stump, Overturned upon a rock pile.

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