Saw misfortune hanging over,
  Saw destruction round about him.
  Straightway he began rebuilding
  Him a magic sailing-vessel,
  New and wondrous, full of beauty;
  But the hero needed timber,
  Boards, and planks, and beams, and braces,
  Found the smallest bit of lumber,
  Found of boards but seven fragments,
  Of a spool he found three pieces,
  Found six pieces of the distaff;
  With these fragments builds his vessel,
  Builds a ship of magic virtue,
  Builds the bark with secret knowledge,
  Through the will of the magician;
  Strikes one blow, and builds the first part,
  Strikes a second, builds the centre,
  Strikes a third with wondrous power,
  And the vessel is completed.
  Thereupon the ship he launches,
  Sings the vessel to the ocean,
  And these words the hero utters:
  "Like a bubble swim these waters,
  Like a flower ride the billows;
  Loan me of thy magic feathers,
  Three, O eagle, four, O raven,
  For protection to my vessel,
  Lest it flounder in the ocean!"
  Now the sailor, Lemminkainen,
  Seats himself upon the bottom
  Of the vessel he has builded,
  Hastens on his journey homeward,
  Head depressed and evil-humored,
  Cap awry upon his forehead,
  Mind dejected, heavy-hearted,
  That he could not dwell forever
  In the castles of the daughters
  Of the nameless Isle of Refuge.
  Spake the minstrel, Lemminkainen,
  Handsome hero, Kaukomieli:
  "Leave I must this merry island,
  Leave her many joys and pleasures,
  Leave her maids with braided tresses,
  Leave her dances and her daughters,
  To the joys of other heroes;
  But I take this comfort with me:
  All the maidens on the island,
  Save the spinster who was slighted,
  Will bemoan my loss for ages,
  Will regret my quick departure;
  They will miss me at the dances,
  In the halls of mirth and joyance,
  In the homes of merry maidens,
  On my father's Isle of Refuge."
  Wept the maidens on the island,
  Long lamenting, loudly calling
  To the hero sailing homeward:
  "Whither goest, Lemminkainen,
  Why depart, thou best of heroes?
  Dost thou leave from inattention,
  Is there here a dearth of maidens,
  Have our greetings been unworthy?"
  Sang the magic Lemminkainen
  To the maids as he was sailing,
  This in answer to their calling:
  "Leaving not for want of pleasure,
  Do not go from dearth of women
  Beautiful the island-maidens,
  Countless as the sands their virtues.
  This the reason of my going,
  I am longing for my home-land,
  Longing for my mother's cabins,
  For the strawberries of Northland,
  For the raspberries of Kalew,
  For the maidens of my childhood,
  For the children of my mother."
  Then the merry Lemminkainen
  Bade farewell to all the island;
  Winds arose and drove his vessel
  On the blue-back of the ocean,
  O'er the far-extending waters,
  Toward the island of his mother.
  On the shore were grouped the daughters
  Of the magic Isle of Refuge,
  On the rocks sat the forsaken,
  Weeping stood the island-maidens,
  Golden daughters, loud-lamenting.
  Weep the maidens of the island
  While the sail-yards greet their vision,
  While the copper-beltings glisten;
  Do not weep to lose the sail-yards,
  Nor to lose the copper-beltings;
  Weep they for the loss of Ahti,
  For the fleeing Kaukomieli
  Guiding the departing vessel.
  Also weeps young Lemminkainen,
  Sorely weeps, and loud-lamenting,
  Weeps while he can see the island,
  While the island hill-tops glisten;
  Does not mourn the island-mountains,
  Weeps he only for the maidens,
  Left upon the Isle of Refuge.
  Thereupon sailed Kaukomieli
  On the blue-back of the ocean;
  Sailed one day, and then a second,
  But, alas! upon the third day,
  There arose a mighty storm-wind,
  And the sky was black with fury.
  Blew the black winds from the north-west,
  From the south-east came the whirlwind,
  Tore away the ship's forecastle,
  Tore away the vessel's rudder,
  Dashed the wooden hull to pieces.
  Thereupon wild Lemminkainen
  Headlong fell upon the waters;
  With his head he did the steering,
  With his hands and feet, the rowing;
  Swam whole days and nights unceasing,
  Swam with hope and strength united,
  Till at last appeared a cloudlet,
  Growing cloudlet to the westward,
  Changing to a promontory,
  Into land within the ocean.
  Swiftly to the shore swam Ahti,
  Hastened to a magic castle,
  Found therein a hostess baking,
  And her daughters kneading barley,
  And these words the hero uttered:
  "O, thou hostess, filled with kindness,
  Couldst thou know my pangs of hunger,
  Couldst thou guess my name and station,
  Thou wouldst hasten to the storehouse,
  Bring me beer and foaming liquor,
  Bring the best of thy provisions,
  Bring me fish, and veal, and bacon,
  Butter, bread, and honeyed biscuits,
  Set for me a wholesome dinner,
  Wherewithal to still my hunger,
  Quench the thirst of Lemminkainen.
  Days and nights have I been swimming,
  Buffeting the waves of ocean,
  Seemed as if the wind protected,
  And the billows gave me shelter,"
  Then the hostess, filled with kindness,
  Hastened to the mountain storehouse,
  Cut some butter, veal, and bacon,
  Bread, and fish, and honeyed biscuit,
  Brought the best of her provisions,
  Brought the mead and beer of barley,
  Set for him a toothsome dinner,
  Wherewithal to still his hunger,
  Quench the thirst of Lemminkainen.
  When the hero's feast had ended,
  Straightway was a magic vessel
  Given by the kindly hostess
  To the weary Kaukomieli,
  Bark of beauty, new and hardy,
  Wherewithal to aid the stranger
  In his journey to his home-land,
  To the cottage of his mother.
  Quickly sailed wild Lemminkainen
  On the blue-back of the ocean;
  Sailed he days and nights unceasing,
  Till at last he reached the borders
  Of his own loved home and country;
  There beheld he scenes familiar,
  Saw the islands, capes, and rivers,
  Saw his former shipping-stations,
  Saw he many ancient landmarks,
  Saw the mountains with their fir-trees,
  Saw the pine-trees on the hill-tops,
  Saw the willows in the lowlands;
  Did not see his father's cottage,
  Nor the dwellings of his mother.
  Where a mansion once had risen,
  There the alder-trees were growing,
  Shrubs were growing on the homestead,
  Junipers within the court-yard.
  Spake the reckless Lemminkainen:
  "In this glen I played and wandered,
  On these stones I rocked for ages,
  On this lawn I rolled and tumbled,
  Frolicked on these woodland-borders,
  When a child of little stature.
  Where then is my mother's dwelling,
  Where the castles of my father?
  Fire, I fear, has found the hamlet,
  And the winds dispersed the ashes."
  Then he fell to bitter weeping,
  Wept one day and then a second,
  Wept the third day without ceasing;
  Did not mourn the ancient homestead,
  Nor the dwellings of his father;
  Wept he for his darling mother,
  Wept he for the dear departed,
  For the loved ones of the island.
  Then he saw the bird of heaven,
  Saw an eagle flying near him,
  And he asked the bird this question:
  "Mighty eagle, bird majestic,
  Grant to me the information,
  Where my mother may have wandered,
  Whither I may go and find her!"
  But the eagle knew but little,
  Only knew that Ahti's people
  Long ago together perished;
  And the raven also answered
  That his people had been scattered
  By the swords, and spears, and arrows,
  Of his enemies from Pohya.
  Spake the hero, Lemminkainen:
  "Faithful mother, dear departed,
  Thou who nursed me in my childhood,
  Art thou dead and turned to ashes,
  Didst thou perish for my follies,
  O'er thy head are willows weeping,
  Junipers above thy body,
  Alders watching o'er thy slumbers?
  This my punishment for evil,
  This the recompense of folly!
  Fool was I, a son unworthy,
  That I measured swords in Northland
  With the landlord of Pohyola,
  To my tribe came fell destruction,
  And the death of my dear mother,
  Through my crimes and misdemeanors."
  Then the ministrel [sic] looked about him,
  Anxious, looked in all directions,
  And beheld some gentle foot-prints,
  Saw a pathway lightly trodden
  Where the heather had been beaten.
  Quick as thought the path he followed,
  Through the meadows, through the brambles,
  O'er the hills, and through the valleys,
  To a forest, vast and cheerless;
  Travelled far and travelled farther,
  Still a greater distance travelled,
  To a dense and hidden glenwood,
  In the middle of the island;
  Found therein a sheltered cabin,
  Found a small and darksome dwelling
  Built between the rocky ledges,
  In the midst of triple pine-trees;
  And within he spied his mother,
  Found his gray-haired mother weeping.
  Lemminkainen loud rejoices,
  Cries in tones of joyful greetings,
  These the words that Ahti utters:
  "Faithful mother, well-beloved,
  Thou that gavest me existence,
  Happy I, that thou art living,
  That thou hast not yet departed
  To the kingdom of Tuoni,
  To the islands of the blessed,
  I had thought that thou hadst perished,
  Hadst been murdered by my foemen,
  Hadst been slain with bows and arrows.
  Heavy are mine eyes from weeping,
  And my checks are white with sorrow,
  Since I thought my mother slaughtered
  For the sins I had committed!"
  Lemminkainen's mother answered:
  "Long, indeed, hast thou been absent,
  Long, my son, hast thou been living
  In thy father's Isle of Refuge,
  Roaming on the secret island,
  Living at the doors of strangers,
  Living in a nameless country,
  Refuge from the Northland foemen."
  Spake the hero, Lemminkainen:
  "Charming is that spot for living,
  Beautiful the magic island,
  Rainbow-colored was the forest,
  Blue the glimmer of the meadows,
  Silvered were, the pine-tree branches,
  Golden were the heather-blossoms;
  All the woodlands dripped with honey,
  Eggs in every rock and crevice,
  Honey flowed from birch and sorb-tree,
  Milk in streams from fir and aspen,
  Beer-foam dripping from the willows,
  Charming there to live and linger,
  All their edibles delicious.
  This their only source of trouble:
  Great the fear for all the maidens,
  All the heroes filled with envy,
  Feared the coming of the stranger;
  Thought that all the island-maidens,
  Thought that all the wives and daughters,
  All the good, and all the evil,
  Gave thy son too much attention;
  Thought the stranger, Lemminkainen,
  Saw the Island-maids too often;
  Yet the virgins I avoided,
  Shunned the good and shunned the evil,
  Shunned the host of charming daughters,
  As the black-wolf shuns the sheep-fold,
  As the hawk neglects the chickens."